Method of activating a battery

• US 8,912,760 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2011
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elitegroup Computer Systems Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Elitegroup Computer Systems Company Limited
• Inventors: Lee, Kun-Ta
• Primary Examiner(s): Tso, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAMADAN, RAMY O
• Application Number:
  US13/275,228
• Publication Number:
  US 20120187910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 320/134
• US Class Current: 320/134
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2010/4271 Battery management systems including electronic circuits, e.g. control of current or voltage to keep battery in healthy state, cell balancing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A method of activating a battery is applied to an electronic device having a controller that keeps counting system time to acquire a system date. The method includes: (1) acquiring data of the battery, including states, an activation number and a last activation date; (2) performing an activation process and setting the battery in an activation state when determining, based on the data, that the battery is in an inactivation state, the activation number is smaller than a predetermined activation number, and an interval between the last activation date and the system date is greater than a predetermined activation interval; (3) discharging the battery, and charging the battery when determining that a battery power level is less than a predetermined power level; and (4) setting the battery in the inactivation state after the activation process is finished. Therefore, a curing problem of the battery is overcome.

Claims

1. A method of activating a battery, applied to an electronic device which has a battery charging/discharging controller and keeps counting system time to acquire a system date, comprising the steps of:

(1) acquiring data of the battery, including states, an activation number and a last activation date of the battery;

(2) enabling the controller to perform an activation process on the battery and set the battery in an activation state when determining, based on the data of the battery, that the battery is in an inactivation state, the activation number of the battery is smaller than a predetermined activation number, and an interval between the last activation date of the battery and the system date is greater than a predetermined activation interval;

(3) enabling the controller to discharge the battery, and enabling the controller to charge the battery when determining that a battery power level of the battery is less than a predetermined power level; and

(4) enabling the controller to set the battery in the inactivation state after the activation process is finished.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data of the battery further comprise one or more of a full power level, a current power level and a power capacity of the battery.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the controller begins to perform the activation process, step (2) further comprises:

(2-1) updating the last activation date with the system date acquired by counting the system time.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising storing the updated last activation date into the battery.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (2) further comprises:

(2-2) clearing the activation number of the battery and updating the system date corresponding to the activation number to be the last activation date, when determining, based on the acquired data of the battery, that the battery is in the inactivation state and that the activation number of the battery is not less than the predetermined activation number; and

(2-3) acquiring and recording the system date corresponding to the system time counted by the electronic device, and returning to step (1) when determining, after predetermined time based on the recorded system date, that a difference between the predetermined time and the recorded system date is greater than a predetermined read time interval.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (2) further comprises:

(2-4) acquiring and recording the system date corresponding to the system time counted by the electronic device when determining, based on the acquired data of the battery, that the battery is in the inactivation state, the activation number of the battery is smaller than the predetermined activation number and the interval between the last activation date of the battery and the system date is not greater than the predetermined activation interval, and returning to step (1) when determining, after predetermined time based on the recorded system date, that a difference between the predetermined time and the recorded system date is greater than a predetermined read time interval.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein step (2) further comprises, before the controller performs the activation process, displaying on the electronic device an querying window as to whether to perform the activation process.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (2) further comprises:

(2-5) acquiring and recording the system date corresponding to the system time counted by the electronic device when determining, based on the acquired data of the battery, that the battery is in the activation state, and returning to step (1) when determining, after predetermined time based on the recorded system date, that a difference between the predetermined time and the recorded system date is greater than a predetermined read time interval.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the activation process performed on the battery is interrupted and the electronic device is turned off, step (3) further comprises:

(3-1) enabling the controller to acquire the data of the battery, and enabling the controller to determine an activation stage of the battery when the battery is determined being in the activation state;

(3-2) when determining that the activation stage of the battery is a discharging stage and that the battery power level is not less than the predetermined power level, enabling the controller to discharge the battery, until the battery power level is less than the predetermined power level, and enabling the controller to charge the battery and proceeding to step (4); and

(3-3) when determining the activation stage of the battery is a charging stage, enabling the controller to charge the battery, and proceeding to step (4).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (2), a setting result of the activation state is stored in the battery when the controller begins to perform the activation process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (3), after the activation process performed on the battery is complete and when the controller sets the battery in the inactivation state, a setting result of the inactivation state is stored in the battery.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the controller begins to perform the activation process, step (2) further comprises:

(2-6) accumulating the activation number and updating the last activation date of the battery with the system date acquired by counting the system time.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein step (2-6) further comprises:

enabling the controller to store the accumulated activation number and the updated last activation date into the battery.