Fire Protection Bag for Lithium-Ion Mobile Devices

In many modern mobile devices, the lithium-ion battery is permanently installed inside the housing. Unlike conventional replaceable batteries, an abnormal or damaged energy storage system cannot therefore simply be separated from the actual device.

The Fingerhuth mobile device fire protection bag addresses exactly this issue: the complete device is placed inside the fire protection bag. This allows laptops, tablets, smartphones, diagnostic devices or portable gaming consoles to be accommodated together with the lithium-ion battery installed inside them.

This is particularly relevant if a device should be separated from its immediate surroundings as a precaution after a drop, mechanical damage, unusual heating, deformation or technical malfunction.

This provides an immediately available protection solution without requiring the affected device to be opened technically or the battery to be removed beforehand.

The mobile device fire protection bag was deliberately designed as a flat protection system. In its basic form, it resembles a large insulated laptop or document bag and is therefore primarily suitable for electronic devices with a low to moderate thickness.

With an internal footprint of 600 × 400 mm, many commonly available laptops, notebooks, tablets, smartphones and comparable mobile devices can be fully accommodated.

It is also suitable, for example, for industrial tablets, handheld scanners, flat measuring and diagnostic equipment, radios or walkie-talkies and comparable technical mobile devices, provided that their dimensions are compatible with the bag.

A thermal runaway does not generate heat and flames alone. Large quantities of hot reaction gases can develop within a short period of time, substantially increasing the internal pressure of a closed fire protection bag. A technically effective design must account for this gas generation without simultaneously creating a direct escape path for flames and hot particles.

For this purpose, Fingerhuth uses a specially developed multilayer pressure and gas management system. The vent openings in the individual protective layers are deliberately offset from one another. As a result, there is no straight open connection between the mobile device inside the bag and the external vent openings.

Hot reaction gases are redirected within the multilayer system before reaching the external openings. At the same time, the intermediate layers form an additional barrier against directed flame jets, high-velocity gas streams and hot or burning battery particles.

The concept therefore combines two key requirements: allowing pressure relief while reducing the direct release of flames and particles.

A lithium-ion-powered device does not always show open flames immediately. In many cases, the first signs are unusual heating, deformation, odour, smoke or other technical abnormalities.

In such situations, it may be advisable to separate the complete device from other objects and combustible materials at short notice and place it inside a designated protection system.

The Fingerhuth fire protection bag provides a portable solution for protected containment and subsequent transport. After the device has been placed inside, the bag is closed using the stainless steel twist-lock closures. A rear-mounted carrying handle supports handling of the closed bag.

Typical application areas include IT departments, technical service teams, workshops, manufacturing facilities, laboratories, test areas and other professional environments where large numbers of lithium-ion-powered mobile devices are handled.