After-market video game device may have contributed to burning of Farmington Hills bo

[wraggster]

Investigators said today an after-market charging device could have played a role in overheating a hand-held video game system that burned a 12-year-old Farmington Hills boy.


Sheilah Clay, whose son Harold is recovering from second-degree burns in the Feb. 6 incident, said the family has retained an attorney. She said representatives from Sony and Pelican Accessories, the company that makes the charger, will be in Michigan in the coming weeks to inspect the device. The Clays have not filed a lawsuit. Clay declined to give the name of their attorney.

“We’re just trying to figure out what happened,” said Sheilah Clay, who is a member of the Farmington Public Schools’ Board of Education. “That’s all we’re focusing on. I want to get the word out to other parents so we can avoid another child being hurt.”

Lt. Denny Hughes of the Farmington Hills Fire Department said today he device was turned over to the Clays’ attorney. He said investigators haven’t identified a specific cause for the Sony PSP overheating, but said the charging unit — which the Clays bought to replace the original one after it was misplaced — likely played a role.

“I think it overheated the unit by overcharging it,” Hughes said.

Sheilah Clay said her son, who is in the seventh grade, is back in school and playing on the basketball team but has a lot of pain when the burns on his left thigh are cleaned. The device was in his pocket when it overheated.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said there have been no recalls of the Sony PSP, is also looking into the incident.

Officials from Sony and Pelican did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS03/80226047

[Fastload]

I call BS on this.

The charger as nothing to do with any kind of "overchaging", the charging circuit is in the game, not the charger...

I would say that the game had a glitch or else and didnt stop or regularize the current to the battery when it was done charging.

My 2c

[John Vattic]

I have just read two complete bs posts

[Fastload]

I have just read two complete bs posts

I beg your pardon?

[Airdevil]

Hang on...... what?

He was charging the psp inside his pocket?

Since when has ANYONE EVER done that? lol and if they do they are clinically insane.

[LilSwish722]

...You can charge a PSP in your pocket? lol

[MZeroEW2]

people. the charger overcharged the battery and Lithiums don't take that to well. he pulled it off the charger put it in his pocket. the battery is still overcharged mind you. and explodes later in his pocket. and the charging circut is in the battery and the charger. they both have one. but it only takes one to fail to cause a problem like this!

and fastload a game controls it? are you kidding me. games are software. a charging circut is hardware. again the battery and the charger control this.

[Art]

The Sony smart batteries have the charger built in.
The PSP "charger" isn't a charger, it's a regulated 5 Volt power supply.
It's the PSP that decides when to stop charging, and the battery that decides what
temperature it is, not any external charger.
That's why you can charge from car lighter sockets, and other external batteries,
as long as the external power source provides regulated 5 Volts at the PSP power socket.

I have just read two complete bs posts
And I've read at least one.

[bah]

I know it's still being charged at the time, but just to give an idea of how much these kinds of batteries love being overcharged:

k5f0VCoFuFM

That in your pocket could certainly do some damage, I liked the 'check your battery' prompt on the display at the end.

I figured the charge time was regulated by the PSP as its just a constant 5v that the AC adaptor provides, but the battery itself has something to prevent overcharging also?
If thats true, then even if the charger was the type where you took the battery out of the PSP to charge it, you couldn't totally blame the charger could you?
If Its all up to the charger, and it was an external charger, then I guess they could be liable. Wouldn't the battery have felt awful warm while handling it though?

[Art]

There's obviously something that went wrong.
It's hard to go for the story about the kid charging it while in his pocket.

The temperature sensor in the battery is only there to detect
charge condition.

Then again, something could have gone wrong with the charger
to cause it to fluctuate from the voltage it was supposed to deliver.

[bah]

Charging while in your pocket sounds very odd.

I'm not really familiar with the li-Ion cells in the PSP or what sort of safety measures they have , but I know LiPo batteries and the way they will sometimes blow up like a balloon and pop when overcharged or you try to draw too many amps (too large a prop. on a model plane, etc).
From that I would assume the danger is while either pushing or drawing too much power through the thing, so a short would make the most sense for a battery just sitting in the PSP in a kids pocket.

Can overcharging somehow leave the battery in a dangerous state where it may pop later (that doesn't sound right but I'm really not that knowledgeable on the topic)?
Or could this be an issue of dodgy batteries like the cargo plane (http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/15/ntsb-looks-to-laptop-batteries-as-possible-cause-of-plane-fire/) and those laptops (http://www.explodinglaptop.com/) that kept blowing up a while back rather than a bad charger.


WeWq6rWzChw
Real perdy fireworks..... :)

[Nocuddle]

prolly he went to the beach for a dip earlier.

[Fastload]

and fastload a game controls it? are you kidding me. games are software. a charging circut is hardware. again the battery and the charger control this.

Sorry for my bad english, not "a" game but "the" game, in my mind, game=console not "Need for speed" as you think I was implying.

I'm not an idiot thinking that a software takes care of charging since it can be done when the game, ooops..sorry, the console is off.

What I was saying is the AC adapter as nothing to do with overcharging, when the PSP (read: charging circuit) sense that the battery is full, it cuts the power to it, if you test the voltage on the AC adapter still plugged in at that momment, you'll notice that the power is still there.

[Fastload]

The Sony smart batteries have the charger built in.
The PSP "charger" isn't a charger, it's a regulated 5 Volt power supply.
It's the PSP that decides when to stop charging, and the battery that decides what
temperature it is, not any external charger.
That's why you can charge from car lighter sockets, and other external batteries,
as long as the external power source provides regulated 5 Volts at the PSP power socket.

And I've read at least one.

That is exactly what I said, in other terms and a bad english.

[bah]

Fastload: Yes, his post was very similar to yours in terms of technical content. It also expanded on the concept with more detail and (IMO) therefore was a perfectly valid post.
This site is frequented by many who have a less thorough understanding of the issue than yourself, additional detail is not something to be frowned upon.

The fact you felt the need to post again, proclaiming the superiority of your post based on punctuality alone and criticising another's despite the fact he clearly expanded on 'your idea' displays nothing but your arrogance.

[Fastload]

Fastload: Yes, his post was very similar to yours in terms of technical content. It also expanded on the concept with more detail and (IMO) therefore was a perfectly valid post.
This site is frequented by many who have a less thorough understanding of the issue than yourself, additional detail is not something to be frowned upon.

The fact you felt the need to post again, proclaiming the superiority of your post based on punctuality alone and criticising another's despite the fact he clearly expanded on 'your idea' displays nothing but your arrogance.

Dont get me wrong, my last reply was ment to be read by MZeroEW2, not for proclaiming (still looking for a proclamation here) my "superiority", It's sad that you interpreted it that way. I should have added a smiley, my bad. ;)

/Flame suit on

I maybe a n00b here but that doesnt give the right to anyone to call BS on what I said and yet insinuing that a "proclaim" myself as superior.

/Flame suit off

I was calling BS on the "concept" in the article, Not at anyone. :rolleyes:

[Art]

A Lot of misunderstanding I think...
My post was to sort of flame Mr John Vattic for being an ignorant asshole,
and provide a bit of backup for Fastload actually ;)

[bah]

I was referring to this post:


The Sony smart batteries have the charger built in.
The PSP "charger" isn't a charger, it's a regulated 5 Volt power supply.
It's the PSP that decides when to stop charging, and the battery that decides what
temperature it is, not any external charger.
That's why you can charge from car lighter sockets, and other external batteries,
as long as the external power source provides regulated 5 Volts at the PSP power socket.

And I've read at least one.


That is exactly what I said, in other terms and a bad English.

Proclaim: to indicate or make known publicly or openly.

How is that post intended for MZeroEW2?
I didn't call BS on anything you said regarding the battery issue. I called arrogance on you for choosing to 'indicate or make known publicly or openly' (post) that you felt Art's comment was bad somehow because it was similar to yours and was in supposedly bad English.

I just disagree and cannot see any other way to interpret that one sentence post.


Art: That's why I didn't like Fastload's last post.

[No_one_in_particular]

I think Fastload was saying his post had bad English, so basically quoting Art saying "that's what I meant to say, but didn't manage to very well".

[bah]

Fair enough if that's true, my mistake and I apologise.

Seems strange to make a post saying 'that is exactly what I said, only in better English' as a means of thanks....

[No_one_in_particular]

Hmm perhaps, it all comes down to the word "said", if he'd typed "meant" then there'd be no confusion. But yeh, I can see what you mean.

[bah]

Agreed.

If saw an Olympic runner run 100m, then I said 'that's exactly what I'd do, only faster' the faster part would normally be interpreted as pertaining to him not me.

[bish]

Art-slightly ot, but not quite-do you charge your psp via solar? if so, how? just regulated 5v from solar panel?

[John Vattic]

A Lot of misunderstanding I think...
My post was to sort of flame Mr John Vattic for being an ignorant asshole,
and provide a bit of backup for Fastload actually ;)

why the hell am i and asshole because i call it like i see it?

maybe i should make a pretty anime-emo avatar and be a total gaming slave.



Point is wraggster used this story which proclaims "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said there have been no recalls of the Sony PSP, is also looking into the incident." as a SCARE Tactic to get a gut reaction.

My gut reaction was hogwash, and your idea of how the battery charges influenced my post.

everyone has to be so friggn' emo-sensitive. Same people who censor games, kill people because they think global warming is real, and have wreckless sexual intercourse without condoms because they don't know anybody with aids, make the world a totally shitty place to try to think in.

And as soon as i put 2 and 2 together you scumbags immediately tell me it equals 3 instead of 4.
Please forgive me if i cannot believe.

Peace Yall! :D

[Art]

Maybe I'm also misunderstanding.


Default
I call BS on this.

The charger as nothing to do with any kind of "overchaging", the charging circuit is in the game, not the charger...

I would say that the game had a glitch or else and didnt stop or regularize the current to the battery when it was done charging.

My 2c

To insult the posts appears to be to be an insult to the poster.
Of course it's bad English, but "charging circuit in the game"
is a give away.
Forgive me if I'm mistaken.

[John Vattic]

who exactly are you quoting? I didn't post that. the ***tard who posted first did.

please reread the thread art. I'll be awaiting your apology.

[Art]

You'll be waiting a long time.
That is a quote of one of the posts you called BS.
Fair enough, the thread starter has to post every bit of news,
so he's going to have to post some BS every day.

The second post is valid from my point of view. It's fact actually.
Fact that I'm well aware of, just expressed in a way that can be misinterpreted.

I'm saying to call that post BS is easily interpreted as an insult to the poster.
I quoted the post that I meant to, and have read the thread properly.

[bah]

why the hell am i and asshole because i call it like i see it?

maybe i should make a pretty anime-emo avatar and be a total gaming slave.



Point is wraggster used this story which proclaims "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said there have been no recalls of the Sony PSP, is also looking into the incident." as a SCARE Tactic to get a gut reaction.

My gut reaction was hogwash, and your idea of how the battery charges influenced my post.

everyone has to be so friggn' emo-sensitive. Same people who censor games, kill people because they think global warming is real, and have wreckless sexual intercourse without condoms because they don't know anybody with aids, make the world a totally shitty place to try to think in.

And as soon as i put 2 and 2 together you scumbags immediately tell me it equals 3 instead of 4.
Please forgive me if i cannot believe.

Peace Yall! :D

lmao, and I thought I could rant off topic......

[No_one_in_particular]

Could I ask you, 'John Vattic' how old you are ?

How is that sentence you quoted a SCARE TACTIC (OoooOOOH) ? It's an article following on from a discussion that was had here, which isn't centered around that sentence in the least.

Your constant banging on about how the world is so 'emo' is honestly ridiculous, I mean it's not even relevant here so do us a favour and shut the **** up.

Oh yeah, and global warming is real.

[Art]

Art-slightly ot, but not quite-do you charge your psp via solar? if so, how? just regulated 5v from solar panel?
Yes, that's how I got some more insight into the communication between the PSP and battery.
The power from the solar panel varies, but by the time the PSP
sees any power from it, it must be regulated to 5 Volts, or there would definitely be a fire, or at least some hefty damage.

Your constant banging on about how the world is so 'emo' is honestly ridiculous
We are not the robots.
I hope when the PSP scene finaly dwindles down to two people,
it's not just me and some other die hard fan bitching at each other :D