Patent Application
20220140627
This application relates generally to battery technology including, but not limited to, methods, systems and devices for provisioning a rechargeable battery of an outdoor electronic device based on a geographic location of the electronic device.
Electronic devices can be exposed to a wide range of weather conditions when they are used outdoors. Various environmental factors, e.g., latitude, elevation, and atmospheric circulation, may result in a large temperature variation across the different geographic locations for the same type of outdoor electronic devices. For example, average peak summer temperature varies from ˜19° C. in San Francisco to ˜40° C. in Phoenix. As a result, lithium ion batteries used in the outdoor electronic devices can be exposed to large temperature variations. Particularly, when a lithium ion battery is exposed to high summer temperatures, e.g., in Phoenix, gas may be generated inside the battery that causes the battery to swell, which could irreversibly impair battery performance. Excessive battery swelling may also increase internal pressure within an electronic device and create a risk of breaking open a battery enclosure. Such situations associated with battery swelling may become worse if the batteries are held at a relatively high state of charge (e.g., >80%).
Some electronic devices are operated with reduced battery charge voltages (e.g., from 4.2 V to 3.9 V) to prevent the batteries from being fully charged, which could cause excessive battery swelling in high temperature operating conditions. This reduced charging level may lead to shortened device runtime per charge and frequent battery charging, and therefore, could require a device to use larger capacity batteries to achieve desired device runtimes per charge. In many situations, an entire class of outdoor electronic devices (e.g., a family of doorbell cameras) are forced to adopt the same reduced battery charge voltage settings to accommodate high temperature conditions that are only experienced by a small portion of these devices, which may compromise overall device performance, customer satisfaction, or cost efficiency of these electronic devices. As such, there is a need for a mechanism to control battery swelling effectively and efficiently in many electronic devices that include a rechargeable battery and have to operate in a wide range of weather conditions.
This application describes systems and methods for provisioning a rechargeable battery of an outdoor electronic device when the outdoor electronic device is installed and initialized. Local outdoor temperature information is used to determine a battery setting (e.g., an upper limit for a state of charge, or a battery charge voltage) of the rechargeable battery in the electronic device. When identical electronic devices are shipped to different geographic locations having a wide range of weather conditions, the rechargeable battery of each individual electronic device is initialized with a respective battery setting (e.g., the upper limit for the state of charge) to fit a local weather condition. Such an individualized battery setting allows each electronic device to operate with a desirable battery condition without suffering from detrimental side effects associated with unfit battery settings (e.g., battery swelling, device deformation or damage, insufficient battery charge voltages, shortened device runtimes, and/or frequent battery charging).
In one aspect, some implementations include a battery provisioning method. The method includes obtaining geolocation information of a geographic location where an outdoor electronic device is located. The outdoor electronic device includes a rechargeable battery. The method further includes obtaining outdoor temperature information (e.g., an average peak summer temperature) of the geographic location based on the geolocation information of the outdoor electronic device. In an example, the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location is loaded from memory of the outdoor electronic device. In some implementations, the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location includes an average peak summer temperature at the geographic location. The method further includes determining an upper limit for a state of charge of the rechargeable battery based on the outdoor temperature information and provisioning the rechargeable battery with the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery.
In some implementations, the electronic device includes memory for storing a plurality of outdoor temperatures in association with a plurality of known geographic locations. The outdoor temperature information of the geographic location includes one of the plurality of outdoor temperatures. After device provisioning and during normal operation, the electronic device updates the plurality of outdoor temperatures associated with the plurality of known geographic locations that is stored in the memory. The upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery is updated accordingly, such that the rechargeable battery can be charged according to the updated upper limit. This update may occur periodically or upon request.
In another aspect, some implementations include an electronic device having a rechargeable battery, one or more processors and memory having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the one or more processors cause the processors to perform the above battery provisioning method.
In yet another aspect, some implementations include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by one or more processors cause the processors to perform the above battery provisioning method.
For a better understanding of the various described implementations, reference should be made to the Detailed Description below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Various implementations of this application are directed to provisioning a rechargeable battery of an electronic device with a geolocation-based battery setting when the electronic device is installed and initialized at a particular geographic location. Examples of the geolocation-based battery setting include an upper limit for a state of charge and/or a battery charge voltage of the rechargeable battery. Local outdoor temperature information is identified for the geographic location, and used to determine a battery setting for the electronic device. In some implementations, when identical electronic devices are shipped to different geographic locations having a wide range of weather conditions, the rechargeable battery of each of the electronic devices is initialized with a respective battery setting to fit a local weather condition. For example, the upper limit of the state of charge might be initialized as 80% and 60% for rechargeable batteries of electronic devices used in San Francisco and Phoenix, respectively. By these means, battery-powered electronic devices do not need to operate with universal but sub-optimal battery settings and the resulting compromised battery and device performance.
Specifically, an electronic device that is shipped to a location in a lower temperature region (e.g., San Francisco) does not have to adopt a compromised battery setting of those shipped to a location in a higher temperature region (e.g., a lower state of charge used in Phoenix), thereby avoiding associated side effects of insufficient battery charge voltages, shortened device runtimes, and/or frequent battery charging. Likewise, an electronic device that is shipped to a location in a higher temperature region (e.g., Phoenix) does not have to adopt a compromised battery setting of those shipped to a location in a lower temperature region (e.g., a high state of charge used in San Francisco), thereby avoiding associated side effects of battery swelling, device deformation, and/or device damage.
The operating environment 100 includes one or more home devices 108, and the electronic device 102 is one of the home devices 108. The home devices 108 may further include one or more of a thermostat 112 and surveillance cameras 114. The thermostat 112 detects ambient climate characteristics (e.g., temperature and/or humidity) and controls a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system (not shown) of the operating environment 100 accordingly. The cameras 114 may be part of a home security system that monitors activity in and around the operating environment 100 and allow a user to track the activity locally or remotely via the mobile device 104. Various electronic devices 102-108 (also referred to herein as “connected” or “integrated” devices) are interconnected via a local network 150, and further interconnected with the server system 110 and electronic devices 102-108 that are optionally located in another operating environment 100 via one or more communication networks 160.
By virtue of network connectivity, a user may control the home devices 108 (e.g., the electronic device 102) in the operating environment 100 even if the user is not proximate to the home devices 108. As one example, the user may use the mobile device 104 or display assistant device 106 to view or adjust a current set point temperature of the thermostat 112 (e.g., via the local network 150 and through a communication circuitry of the display assistant device 106). In some implementations, the mobile device 104 or display assistant device 106 includes program modules that can control the home devices 108 without user interaction. For example, program modules installed on the mobile device 104 can control the electronic device 102 to update its battery settings based on its local environment. As another example, when the electronic device 102 is a doorbell camera or a surveillance camera, it may store video data locally and wirelessly stream video data to the mobile device 104 or the display assistant device 106 via one or more communication networks 160 and/or the local network 150.
In some implementations, at least a subset of the connected devices 102-108 are also communicatively coupled to the server system 110 through the one or more communication networks 160. The server system 110 includes one or more of: an information storage database 172, a device and account database 174, and connected device processing modules 176. For example, when the electronic device 102 is an outdoor camera, it may stream video data to the server system 110 via the communication networks 160 for storage in the information storage database 172 or for additional processing by the connected device processing module 176 of the server system 110. The user may access the stored video data using the mobile device 104 or the display assistant device 106 via the one or more communication networks 160.
In some implementations, the user establishes a user account (e.g., a Google™ user account) with the server system 110 and associates (e.g., adds and/or links) one or more connected devices 102-108 with the user account. The server system 110 stores information for the user account and associated devices 102-108 in the device and account database 174. The server system 110 enables the user to control and monitor information from the home devices 108 via the connected device processing module 176 (e.g., using an application executing on the mobile device 104 or assistant capabilities of some of the home devices 108). The user can also link the mobile device 104 or display assistant device 106 to one or more of the home devices 108 via the user account. This allows program modules executed on the mobile device 104 or display assistant device 106 (e.g., a doorbell camera program) to receive sensor data and other information collected by the home devices 108 (e.g., the electronic device 102 including a doorbell camera) via the server system 110, or send commands via the server system 110 to the home devices 108.
In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes memory 122, one or more processing units (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, microprocessors, and the like) 124, one or more communication circuitry 126, and one or more communication buses (not shown) for interconnecting these components (sometimes called a chipset). The communication circuitry 126 include, for example, hardware capable of data communications using any of a variety of custom or standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100.5A, WirelessHART, MiWi, etc.) and/or any of a variety of custom or standard wired protocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes one or more output devices that enable presentation of media content, including one or more speakers 128 and/or one or more visual displays (e.g., a light ring formed on a periphery of a front cover plate, a button or a camera lens opening of a doorbell camera). In some implementations, the electronic device 102 also includes one or more sensors 130, including one or more motion sensors 134, a temperature sensor 136, and an ambient light sensor 138, and user interface components that facilitate user input such as a voice-command input unit or microphone 132, a touch screen display, a touch-sensitive input pad, a gesture capturing camera, a doorbell button or other input buttons or controls. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes one or more image/video capture devices 140 (e.g., cameras, video cameras, scanners, photo sensor units).
The memory 122 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and, optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. The memory 122, or alternatively the non-volatile memory within the memory 122, includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In some implementations, the memory 122, or the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of the memory 122, stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof: operating logic including procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks, a device communication module for connecting to and communicating with other network devices connected to one or more networks 160, an input processing module for detecting one or more user inputs or interactions from the one or more input devices and interpreting the detected inputs or interactions, and a user interface module for providing and displaying a user interface in which settings, captured data, and/or other data for one or more devices can be configured and/or viewed.
The electronic device 102 includes a rechargeable battery 142 and a charger 144. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 (e.g., a wireless camera) is not connected to an external power source (e.g., household electricity), and instead is powered by the rechargeable battery 142 to implement its intended functions (e.g., capturing images). In some implementations, the electronic device 102 is physically connected to an external power source, which is employed by the device 102 to charge the rechargeable battery 142 via the charger 144. The battery 142 is coupled to a battery protection system and an external logic board. The battery protection circuit is configured to protect the battery 142 under an overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent, or short circuit condition, and the external logic board has circuit modules (e.g., the charger 144) configured to manage charging and discharging of the battery 142 and, in some embodiments, monitor and control a temperature of the battery 142. The memory 122 stores a battery charging module 182 for controlling a charging process of the rechargeable battery 142 implemented by the charger 144 on the external logic board. In some implementations, during normal operation, a state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 is displayed on a user interface of a client device (e.g., the mobile device 104) that executes an application associated with the electronic device 102. When the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 drops below a first battery recharge threshold (e.g., when the state of charge is below 10%), the client device may receive a notification indicating that the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 is low, and the rechargeable battery needs to be coupled to the external power source to be charged shortly.
Alternatively, in some implementations, the electronic device 102 is connected to the external power source while implementing its intended functions. The rechargeable battery 142 may be used to provide power to a subset of the intended functions of the electronic device 102 while the external power source is connected. The rechargeable battery 142 may also power the entire electronic device 102 when the electronic device 102 is briefly disconnected from the external power source. For example, a doorbell camera is constantly connected to house power via a transformer. The house power powers the entire doorbell camera when a button of the doorbell camera is not pressed. However, the house power is used to power a chimer and a doorbell system in response a user press on a button of the doorbell camera, and the rechargeable battery 142 is used to power a camera system 140 of the doorbell camera concurrently. That said, the rechargeable battery 142 of the doorbell camera may be connected to the external power source for a significant portion (e.g., >95%) of an entire operation time of the doorbell camera, except when the button of the doorbell camera is pressed.
In some situations, a rechargeable battery 142 that is connected to the external power source is charged at a corresponding charge rate to keep the rechargeable battery 142 at a fully charged level (e.g., at an upper limit of the state of charge). Alternatively, in some situations, when it is determined that the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 drops below a second battery recharge threshold (e.g., when the state of charge is below 1%), the rechargeable battery 142 that is connected to the external power source starts to be continuously charged to the fully charged level (e.g., which matches the upper limit of the state of charge). The battery charging module 182 includes instructions for controlling charging of the rechargeable battery 142.
In various implementations of this application, the electronic device 102 is located outdoors, e.g., fixed at a specific outdoor location, and can be exposed to a wide range of weather conditions corresponding to different geographic locations where the electronic device 102 may be placed. The memory 122 stores a battery provisioning module 184 including instructions for implementing a location-based battery provisioning method. That said, when the electronic device 102 is being installed at a specific geographic location, it obtains geolocation information of the geographic location (e.g., a city name, a zip code, a distance from a major city, an IP address). The electronic device 102 also obtains outdoor temperature information (e.g., historical outdoor temperature information) of the geographic location based on the geolocation information of the outdoor electronic device. In some situations, the outdoor temperature information is stored in an outdoor temperature database 186 of memory 122 of the electronic device 102, and the electronic device 102 loads the outdoor temperature information from the memory 122 during the course of device installation and initialization. The electronic device 102 determines a battery setting of a rechargeable battery 142 (e.g., an upper limit for a state of charge) based on the outdoor temperature information, and provisions the rechargeable battery 142 with the battery setting of the rechargeable battery 142. For example, the electronic device 102 sets the upper limit of the state of charge to 80% and 60% for its rechargeable battery 142 if the electronic device is used in San Francisco and Phoenix, respectively. During normal operation, under the control of the battery charging module 182, the rechargeable battery 142 of the electronic device 102 is charged by an external power source to a battery charge voltage that matches the upper limit of the state of charge, and this battery charge voltage is therefore customized according to the geographic location of the electronic device 102.
In some implementations, the memory 122 stores a battery setting adjustment module 188 including instructions for updating battery settings of the rechargeable battery of the electronic device 102 after installation and during normal operation. For example, when the outdoor temperature information is updated in the outdoor temperature database 186, the battery setting of the rechargeable battery 142, which was determined during device provisioning, is updated accordingly. Alternatively, in some implementations, a local environment of the electronic device 102 can be monitored, and the battery setting (e.g., the upper limit of the state of charge) is updated according to the local environment. In some implementations, the memory 122 stores a battery setting lookup table or formula 190. Given the outdoor temperature information (e.g., historical outdoor temperature information) and the local environment of the electronic device 102, the battery setting of the rechargeable battery 142 is determined using the battery setting lookup table or formula 190 during device provisioning and subsequent updates.
The memory 122 of the electronic device 102 further includes a battery setting register 180 for storing one or more battery settings (e.g., a battery voltage setting 302, a top-off timer setting 304, and a battery recharge threshold 306 in
The electronic device 102 obtains the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location based on the geolocation information of the electronic device 102, e.g., from the outdoor temperature database 186. In some implementations, the outdoor temperature information includes historical data of a peak summer temperature, e.g., an average peak summer temperature during the past five years. The electronic device 102 extracts the historical data of the peak summer temperature related to the geographic location and determines (206) the average peak summer temperature based on the historical data of the peak summer temperature. Alternatively, in some implementations, the outdoor temperature information includes historical data of a peak seasonal or monthly temperature, e.g., an average peak seasonal or monthly temperature. The electronic device 102 extracts the historical data of the peak seasonal or monthly temperature related to the geographic location, and determines the average peak seasonal or monthly temperature based on the historical data of the peak seasonal or monthly temperature.
Further, in some implementations, the electronic device 102 identifies (208) a first temperature category among a plurality of predefined temperature categories based on the outdoor temperature information. Each of the plurality of predefined temperature category corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of upper limit levels for a state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142, and these correlations are stored as a battery setting lookup table or formula 190 of the memory 122 of the electronic device 102. In an example, the plurality of predefined temperature categories includes three predefined temperature categories (e.g., a high temperature category, a medium temperature category, and a low temperature category). The high temperature category corresponds to the first battery voltage setting, and the rechargeable battery 142 is allowed to be charged to the battery charge voltage of 3.8 V and have a state of charge up to 68% according to the first battery voltage setting. The medium temperature category corresponds to a second battery voltage setting, and the rechargeable battery 142 is allowed to be charged to the battery charge voltage of 3.9 V and have a state of charge up to 78% according to the second battery voltage setting. The low temperature category corresponds to a third battery voltage setting, and the rechargeable battery 142 is allowed to be charged to the battery charge voltage of 4.0 V and have a state of charge up to 88% according to the third battery voltage setting. In some situations, the first temperature category is identified based partially on a season or a month when the rechargeable battery is provisioned, and the upper limit for the state of charge and the battery charge voltage of the rechargeable battery 142 are determined based partially on the season or month as well.
The plurality of predefined temperature categories are defined according to one or more temperature thresholds. For example, if the average peak summer temperature of the geographic location is greater than a first temperature threshold (e.g., 95° F. or 35° C.), the high temperature category is identified for the electronic device 102. If the average peak summer temperature of the geographic location is less than a second temperature threshold (e.g., 82° F. or 28° C.), the low temperature category is identified for the electronic device 102. Conversely, if the average peak summer temperature of the geographic location is within a range defined by the first and second temperature thresholds, the medium temperature category is identified for the electronic device 102.
In some implementations, the electronic device 102 identifies (210) the first temperature category as the high temperature category based on the outdoor temperature information, and therefore, maintains the first battery voltage setting that sets the battery charge voltage as 3.8 V and an upper limit of the state of charge as 68%. Alternatively, in some implementations, the electronic device 102 identifies (212) the first temperature category as the medium temperature category based on the outdoor temperature information, and therefore, changes to the second battery voltage setting that sets the battery charge voltage as 3.9 V and an upper limit of the state of charge as 78%. Alternatively, in some implementations, the electronic device 102 identifies (214) the first temperature category as the low temperature category based on the outdoor temperature information, and therefore, changes to the third battery voltage setting that sets the battery charge voltage as 4.0 V and an upper limit of the state of charge as 88%.
It is noted that the rechargeable battery 142 is provisioned with the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 at each time of installing and initializing the electronic device 102. This is implemented for each individual electronic device 102, and implemented when the electronic device is installed for the first time or moved to a new geographic location. In the absence of this individualized provisioning process, the electronic device 102 may operate with a default battery setting (e.g., the first battery charge voltage), regardless of where the electronic device 102 is installed. By implementing the process 200, an electronic device 102 that is shipped to a location associated with the low or medium temperature category does not have to adopt the first battery charge voltage, and can operate with a higher battery charge voltage without having a shortened device runtimes or requiring frequent battery charging. Stated another way, the electronic device 102 associated with the low or medium temperature category does not have to compromise its performance because other electronic devices 102 need to be shipped to a location associated with the high temperature category, i.e., the worst case thermal scenario.
In some implementations, the battery voltage setting of the rechargeable battery 142, which is stored in bits 3-7 of the battery setting register 180, is provisioned based on a geographic location of the electronic device 102. The battery voltage setting is selected from a plurality of battery voltage options (e.g., the first, second and third battery charge voltages in
In some implementations, the outdoor temperature information stored in the outdoor temperature database 186 further includes numbers of days over a predefined temperature 404 (e.g., 99° F.) for the selected number of U.S. cities. The battery setting of the electronic device 102 is adjusted according to a number of days over the predefined temperature 404 at the geographic location of the electronic device 102. For example, both Riverside, Calif. and Houston, Tex. have an average peak summer temperature of 93° F., while Riverside, Calif. has 17 days above 99° F. and Houston, Tex. has 3 days above 99° F. The battery setting of the electronic device 102 is optionally modified according to the numbers of days over the predefined temperature. That said, the electronic device 102 located in Riverside, Calif. is provisioned with a lower upper limit for a state of charge than the electronic device 102 located in Houston, Tex. to accommodate the excessive number of days over 99° F. in Riverside, Calif.
In some implementations, the temperature sensor 136 of the electronic device 102 is a battery temperature sensor configured to measure the battery temperature 502. The current local temperature 504 of the geographic location is obtained from a remote server via the one or more communication networks 160. Optionally, the remote server is associated with the regional weather station, and the electronic device 102 directly obtains the current local temperature 504 from an information source associated with the regional weather station. Optionally, the remote server includes the server system 120 that is associated with the electronic device 102 and configured to obtain the current local temperature and transfer the current local temperature 504 to the electronic device 102. The measured battery temperature 502 is compared (506) with the current local temperature 504 to determine a difference value 508 between the battery temperature 502 and current local temperature 504. The upper limit for the state of charge is adjusted for the rechargeable battery 142 based on the difference value 508. In some implementations, it is determined that the battery temperature 502 is greater than the current local temperature 504 and that the difference value 508 is greater (510) than an alert temperature threshold. The electronic device 102 generates (512) an alert message indicating that the electronic device 102 needs to be checked.
In some situations, the measured battery temperature 502 is greater than the current local temperature 504, and the different value 508 is positive. If the different value 508 is greater than a first difference threshold DVTH1, the rechargeable battery 142 is heated up due to the local environment (e.g., direct sun exposure), and the upper limit of the state of charge is reduced (514) such that the rechargeable battery 142 is charged to a lower battery charge voltage to avoid battery swelling. Conversely, if the different value 508 is not greater than a first difference threshold, the impact of the local environment is negligible, and the upper limit of the state of charge and battery charge voltage remain as previously provisioned or adjusted.
Alternatively, in some situations, the measured battery temperature 502 is less than the current local temperature 504, and the different value 508 is negative. If the different value 508 is less than a second difference threshold DVTH2, the rechargeable battery 142 is cooled down due to the local environment (e.g., a shade shield), and the upper limit of the state of charge is increased (516) such that the rechargeable battery 142 is charged to a higher battery charge voltage to extend a battery runtime and reduce a battery recharge frequency. Conversely, if the different value 508 is equal to or greater than the second difference threshold DVTH2, the impact of the local environment is negligible, and the upper limit of the state of charge and battery charge voltage remain as previously provisioned or adjusted. Absolute values of the first and second difference thresholds DVTH1 and DVTH2 are optionally equal to each other, or independent of each other.
Further, in some implementations, the outdoor temperature information corresponds to a first temperature category among a sequence of ordered temperature categories (e.g., high, medium, and low temperature categories in
More specifically, if the measured battery temperature 502 is greater than the current local temperature 504 and the difference value 508 exceeds (i.e., is greater than) the first difference threshold DVTH1, the first upper limit of the state of charge is reduced to the second upper limit of the state of charge, and the corresponding battery charge voltage of the rechargeable battery is reduced as well. If the measured battery temperature 502 is less than the current local temperature 504 and the difference value 508 exceeds (i.e., is less than) the second difference threshold DVTH2, the first upper limit of the state of charge is increased to the second upper limit of the state of charge, and the corresponding battery charge voltage of the rechargeable battery is increased as well.
For each electronic device 102, the rechargeable battery 142 is provisioned with the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 based on a geographic location of the electronic device 102 at each time of installing and initializing the outdoor electronic device 102. This happens when the electronic device 102 is newly taken out of box or moved to a new geolocation. During normal operation, the rechargeable battery 142 of the electronic device 102 is charged up to the upper limit for the state of charge, i.e., to a battery charge voltage. The upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery can be updated periodically (e.g., once a week) or upon request during normal operation. In some implementations, memory 122 of the electronic device 102 stores a plurality of outdoor temperatures in association with a plurality of known geographic locations (e.g., in
Conversely, in some prior art implementations, worst case operating conditions are universally applied to cover all normal customer use scenarios and corner cases across different geographic locations. For example, when designing an outdoor battery powered product for the U.S. market, when considering the thermal impact, the average peak summer temperature (˜40° C.) in Phoenix, Ariz. is often used as a worst case thermal scenario, in combination with maximum solar irradiance, and peak device operation. This design would be ideal for only a small percentage of customers living in the most extreme conditions, while the remaining customers located in milder temperature regions (e.g., in San Francisco) would be negatively impacted by reduced battery performance. In some implementations, a doorbell camera has a battery charge voltage set to a single fixed setting, and all users are exposed to the same reduced runtime impact. Given the large average peak temperature variation across the U.S., a battery charge voltage needs to be reduced down to 3.8 V (˜68% state of charge) in Phoenix, while in San Francisco with a milder temperature, a battery charge voltage of 3.9 V (˜78% state of charge) is sufficient to meet the same battery swelling speciation requirement. A difference of these two battery charge voltages corresponds to ˜10% runtime loss for users in San Francisco due to using a single design that accommodates the worst case high temperature impact in Phoenix.
The electronic device 102 obtains (702) geolocation information of a geographic location where the electronic device 102 is located. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 obtains (704) an IP address of the electronic device 102 on one or more communication networks 160, and determines (706) the geolocation information of the geographic location based on the IP address of the electronic device 102.
The electronic device 102 obtains (708) outdoor temperature information (e.g., historical outdoor temperature information) of the geographic location based on the geolocation information of the electronic device. In some implementations, the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location includes an average peak summer temperature. The electronic device 102 extracts (710) historical data of a peak summer temperature related to the geographic location, and determines (712) the average peak summer temperature based on the historical data of the peak summer temperature. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes memory 122 for storing a plurality of average peak summer temperatures in association with a plurality of predefined locations, e.g., in an outdoor temperature database 186. The electronic device 102 identifies (714) a first predefined location that is associated with the geographic location of the electronic device among the plurality of predefined locations, and extracts (716) a first average peak summer temperature corresponding to the first predefined location as the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 determines (718) a season or a month when the rechargeable battery is provisioned and adjusts (720) the outdoor temperature information of the geographic location according to the season for provisioning the rechargeable battery, thereby determining the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery based on the season or month.
The electronic device 102 determines (722) a battery setting (e.g., an upper limit for a state of charge and a battery charge voltage) of the rechargeable battery 142 based on the outdoor temperature information. In some implementations, the electronic device 102 identifies (724) a first temperature category among a plurality of predefined temperature categories based on the outdoor temperature information, and each predefined temperature category corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of upper limit levels. The electronic device 102 selects (726) one of the plurality of upper limit levels to define the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142, and the selected one of the plurality of upper limit levels corresponding to the first temperature category. More details on determining the battery setting based on temperature categories are explained above with reference to
The electronic device 102 provisions (728) the rechargeable battery 142 with the battery setting (e.g., the upper limit for the state of charge and the battery charge voltage) of the rechargeable battery 142. In some implementations, the rechargeable battery 142 is provisioned with the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 at each time of installing and initializing the electronic device 102 (730). During normal operation, the rechargeable battery 142 of the electronic device 102 is charged up to the upper limit for the state of charge. The upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 is adjusted (732) periodically or upon request during normal operation.
In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes a temperature sensor 136. The electronic device 102 measures (734) a battery temperature 502 of the electronic device with the temperature sensor 136, obtains a current local temperature 504 of the geographic location from a remote server, determines a difference value 508 between the battery temperature and the current local temperature, and adjusts the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery based on the difference value. Further, in some implementations, the outdoor temperature information corresponds to a first temperature category among a sequence of ordered temperature categories. The upper limit for the state of charge is a first upper limit that corresponds to the first temperature category and is selected from a plurality of upper limit levels associated with the sequence of ordered temperature categories. In accordance with a determination that the difference value exceeds a temperature difference threshold, the electronic device 102 adjusts the upper limit from the first upper limit corresponding to the first temperature category to a second upper limit corresponding to a second temperature category that is immediately next to first temperature category in the sequence of ordered temperature categories. More details on adjusting the battery setting based on a local environment of the electronic device 102 are discussed above with reference to
In some implementations, in accordance with a determination that the difference value 508 is greater than an alert temperature threshold and the battery temperature 502 is greater than the current local temperature 504, the electronic device 102 generates (736) an alert message indicating that the electronic device 102 needs to be checked.
In some implementations, the electronic device 102 includes memory 122 for storing a plurality of outdoor temperatures in association with a plurality of known geographic locations, e.g., in an outdoor temperature database 186. The outdoor temperature information of the geographic location includes one of the plurality of outdoor temperatures. The electronic device 102 updates (e.g., downloads from a server system) (738) the plurality of outdoor temperatures associated with the plurality of known geographic locations that is stored in the memory 122. The upper limit is updated (738) for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142. The rechargeable battery 142 is configured to be charged according to the updated upper limit. As such, the upper limit for the state of charge of the rechargeable battery 142 corresponds to the battery charge voltage, and after battery provisioning or update, the rechargeable battery 142 is configured to be charged up to the battery charge voltage at each subsequent battery charge.
It should be understood that the particular order in which the operations in
The terminology used in the description of the various described implementations herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described implementations and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Additionally, it will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.
As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting” or “in accordance with a determination that,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in accordance with a determination that [a stated condition or event] is detected,” depending on the context.
The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific implementations. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The implementations were chosen and described in order to best explain principles of operation and practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art.
Although various drawings illustrate a number of logical stages in a particular order, stages that are not order dependent may be reordered and other stages may be combined or broken out. While some reordering or other groupings are specifically mentioned, others will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art, so the ordering and groupings presented herein are not an exhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover, it should be recognized that the stages can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof.
