Patent Grant
12119699
The present disclosure relates to a method for periodically activating a battery unit and an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method for periodically activating a battery unit and an electronic device which can reduce the probability of battery leakage.
Currently, electronic products are generally designed for low power consumption and energy saving to increase the service life thereof. However, when such electronic products are equipped with batteries, the batteries are prone to leakage due to long-term placement in the electronic products. The electrolytes inside the batteries are corrosive to metals, and tend to corrode the copper foil of circuit boards or metal springs of battery boxes of the electronic products, which may cause malfunction or damage to the electronic products.
According to one embodiment, a method for periodically activating a battery unit applied to an electronic device equipped with the battery unit includes steps as follows. A plurality of intervals are defined, wherein each of the intervals has an initial voltage value and a target voltage value, and the initial voltage value is greater than the target voltage value. An activation strategy for each of the intervals is defined. A voltage value of the battery unit is detected. One of the intervals is selected as a selected interval according to the voltage value of the battery unit, wherein the voltage value of the battery unit is less than or equal to the initial voltage value of the selected interval, and the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value of the selected interval. The battery unit is activated according to the activation strategy of the selected interval.
According to another embodiment, a method for periodically activating a battery unit applied to an electronic device equipped with the battery unit includes steps as follows. A plurality of activation time points are defined, wherein each of the activation time points corresponds to a target voltage value. A voltage value of the battery unit is detected when a usage time of the battery unit reaches one of the activation time points. Whether the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point is determined. When the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point, the battery unit is activated till the voltage value of the battery unit is equal to the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point.
According to further another embodiment, an electronic device includes a control unit, a battery unit and a predetermined energy consumption unit. The battery unit is electrically connected to the control unit. The predetermined energy consumption unit is electrically connected to the control unit and the battery unit. The control unit is configured to: define a plurality of intervals, wherein each of the intervals has an initial voltage value and a target voltage value, and the initial voltage value is greater than the target voltage value; define an activation strategy for each of the intervals; detect a voltage value of the battery unit; select one of the intervals as a selected interval according to the voltage value of the battery unit, wherein the voltage value of the battery unit is less than or equal to the initial voltage value of the selected interval, and the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value of the selected interval; and activate the battery unit according to the activation strategy of the selected interval.
According to yet another embodiment, an electronic device includes a control unit, a battery unit and a predetermined energy consumption unit. The battery unit is electrically connected to the control unit. The predetermined energy consumption unit is electrically connected to the control unit and the battery unit. The control unit is configured to: define a plurality of activation time points, wherein each of the activation time points corresponds to a target voltage value; detect a voltage value of the battery unit when a usage time of the battery unit reaches one of the activation time points; and determine whether the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point. When the voltage value of the battery unit is greater than the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point, the battery unit is activated till the voltage value of the battery unit is equal to the target voltage value corresponding to the reached activation time point.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
In the following detailed description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. In addition, identical numeral references or similar numeral references are used for identical components or similar components in the following embodiments. The phrase “one component being connected electrically to another component” refers that the components can transmit electrical signals directly, indirectly, wired or wirelessly.
According to the present disclosure, the phrase “activating the battery unit”/“the battery unit being activated” refers to the process that the battery unit discharges/consumes power when the electronic device is in standby mode.
Please refer to
Please refer to
In Step 210, a plurality of intervals are defined, wherein each of the intervals has an initial voltage value and a target voltage value, and the initial voltage value is greater than the target voltage value. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of intervals are divided according to voltage values. When the intervals are continuous, the target voltage value of one of the intervals is the initial voltage value of the following interval. For example, when the intervals include a first interval and a second interval, and the first interval and the second interval are continuous (i.e., the second interval is adjacent to the first interval), the target voltage value of the first interval is the initial voltage value of the second interval.
In Step 220, an activation strategy for each of the intervals is defined. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the activation strategy for each of the intervals is to activate the battery unit 120 according to an activation frequency. The activation frequency refers to activate the battery unit 120 a fixed number of times within a fixed time, and the activation frequencies of the intervals may be the same or different. In addition, the activation strategy can be defined according to the voltage values that the battery unit 120 should reach at different usage time points under normal usage frequency.
In Step 230, a voltage value of the battery unit 120 is detected. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit 110 can detect the voltage value of the battery unit 120 at regular time intervals. For example, the control unit 110 can detect the voltage value of the battery unit 120 once a day, once a week, or once an hour.
In Step 240, one of the intervals is selected as a selected interval according to the voltage value of the battery unit 120, wherein the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is less than or equal to the initial voltage value of the selected interval, and the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is greater than the target voltage value of the selected interval. In Step 250, the battery unit 120 is activated according to the activation strategy of the selected interval.
The method 200 for periodically activating the battery unit of
Afterwards, the activation strategy of each of the first interval R1 and the second interval R2 are defined. For example, an activation frequency f1 of the first interval R1 can be defined as 3 times per week, that is, f1=3 times/week, and an activation frequency f2 of the second interval R2 can be defined as 2 times per week, that is, f2=2 times/week (Step 220). In the embodiment, the activation frequency f1>the activation frequency f2, which is defined based on the discharge characteristics of general batteries. In General, the decay speed of the power of the battery in the early period is slower than that in the later period. Therefore, the first interval R1 with a slower decay speed is arranged with a higher activation frequency f1, and the second interval R2 with a faster decay speed is arranged with a lower activation frequency f2. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The number of the intervals, the initial voltage value and the target voltage value of each of the intervals, the predetermined service life and the activation frequencies are exemplary, which are arranged to allow the battery unit 120 to drain out of power within the predetermined service life and thus can be adjusted according to practical needs. For example, the usage time of the battery unit 120 corresponding to the first interval R1 can be lengthened (e.g., from half a year to 8 months), the usage time of the battery unit 120 corresponding to the second interval R2 can be shortened (e.g., from half a year to 4 months), the target voltage value of the first interval R1 (also the initial voltage value of the second interval R2) can be lowered, and the activation frequency f1 can be adjusted to equal to the activation frequency f2.
Afterward, the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is detected at regular time intervals (Step 230). Assuming that the detected voltage value is 5.6 V, which falls within the voltage range of the first interval R1, the first interval R1 is selected as the selected interval (Step 240), and the battery unit 120 is activated according to the activation frequency f1 of the first interval R1 (Step 250). Assuming that the detected voltage value is 4.8V, which falls within the voltage range of the second interval R2, the second interval R2 is selected as the selected interval (Step 240), and the battery unit 120 is activated according to the activation frequency f2 of the second interval R2 (Step 250).
According to the method 200 for periodically activating the battery unit of the present disclosure, even the electronic device 100 is in the standby mode for a long time (for example, the usage frequency of the electronic device 100 is low, or the user goes out for a long time and thus the electronic device 100 is idle), resulting in the power consumed by the control unit 110 and the predetermined energy consumption unit 130 is limited, the power of the battery unit 120 can be consumed appropriately by activating the battery unit 120 according to the activation strategy of the selected interval. It is beneficial to the battery unit 120 to drain out of power within the predetermined service life, and can prevent the battery unit 120 from leakage due to long-term placement in the electronic device 100. Accordingly, malfunction or damage of the electronic device 100 can be prevented. Furthermore, the activation strategy is defined according to the voltage value that the battery unit 120 should reach at different usage time points under normal usage frequency, which can avoid over-activating the battery unit 120 and causing the battery unit 120 to drain out of power prematurely.
Please refer to
In Step 310, a plurality of activation time points are defined, wherein each of the activation time points corresponds to a target voltage value. Please refer to
It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the time interval between two adjacent activation time points of the activation time points is obtained by dividing the predetermined service life of the battery unit 120 by the number of activation times of the battery unit 120. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Specifically, the time intervals between any two adjacent activation time points can be different. For example, the time interval between two adjacent activation time points in the early period can be longer than that in the later period. Alternatively, the time interval between two adjacent activation time points in the early period can be shorter than that in the later period.
Moreover, in the embodiment, the target voltage value of the activation time point is set based on the fact that “the voltage interval between two target voltage values corresponding to two adjacent activation time points of the activation time points is obtained by dividing a difference between the primary voltage value and the lower limit voltage value of the battery unit 120 by the number of activation times of the battery unit 120”. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiment, the target voltage values of the activation time points can be set according to the voltage values that the battery unit 120 should reach at different usage time points under normal usage frequency, or the target voltage values of the activation time points can be set based on the discharge characteristics of general batteries, wherein the decay speed of the power of the battery in the early period is slower than that in the later period.
Please refer back to
Afterwards, when the usage time of the battery unit 120 reaches the first activation time point T1, the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is detected (Step 320). Whether the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is greater than 5.8 V is determined (Step 330). When the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is greater than 5.8 V, which means that the power consumption of the battery unit 120 is too slow and may result in leakage due to long-term placement, the battery unit 120 is activated till the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is equal to 5.8 V (Step 340), such that the power consumption rate of the battery unit 120 can meet the expectation. When the voltage value of the battery unit 120 is less than or equal to 5.8 V, which means that the power consumption rate of the battery unit 120 meets the expectation or has exceeded the expectation. In this case, because the probability of leakage due to long-term placement is low, the battery unit 120 is not activated (Step 350). The next detection will be performed when the usage time of the battery unit 120 reaches the second activation time point T2. The number of the activation time points (T1-T3), the target voltage values (V1-V3) corresponding to the activation time points (T1-T3), the time interval between two adjacent activation time points of the activation time points (T1-T3), the voltage interval between two target voltage values corresponding to two adjacent activation time points of the activation time points (T1-T3), the primary voltage value, the lower limit voltage value are only exemplary and can be adjusted according to practical needs. For example, in other embodiment, the time intervals between the activation time points can be different, the voltage intervals between the target voltage values corresponding to the activation time points can be different, as long as the time intervals and voltage intervals are arranged to allow the battery unit 120 to drain out of power within the predetermined service life.
According to the method 300 for periodically activating a battery unit of the present disclosure, when the electronic device 100 is in the standby mode for a long time, the power consumed by the control unit 110 and the predetermined energy consumption unit 130 is limited. By detecting the voltage value of the battery unit 120 at the activation time point and determining whether to activate the battery unit 120 according to the detected result, it allows the voltage value of the battery unit 120 to be less than or equal to the target voltage value corresponding to the activation time point. It is beneficial to the battery unit 120 to drain out of power within the predetermined service life, and can prevent the battery unit 120 from leakage due to long-term placement in the electronic device 100. Accordingly, malfunction or damage of the electronic device 100 can be prevented.
As mentioned above, the phrase “activating the battery unit”/“the battery unit being activated” refers to the process that the battery unit discharges/consumes power when the electronic device is in standby mode. Therefore, during the process of activating the battery unit 120, the control unit 110 does not drive the predetermined energy consumption unit 130 to consume power. According to one embodiment, the control unit 110 can increase its operating frequency to increase power consumption, or the control unit 110 can drive the additional energy consumption unit 140 to consume power to activate the battery unit 120.
Furthermore, the electronic device 100 can be, but is not limited to, an electronic lock. The electronic devices 100 equipped with the battery unit 120 are all within the scope of the present disclosure.
Comparing to prior art, when the method for periodically activating a battery unit of the present disclosure is applied to an electronic device equipped with the battery unit, it is beneficial to the battery unit to drain out of power within the predetermined service life, and can prevent the battery unit from leakage due to long-term placement in the electronic device. Accordingly, malfunction or damage of the electronic device can be prevented.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110133162 | Sep 2021 | TW | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080116853 | Du | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20110133571 | Kiyohara | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 102082310 | Dec 2013 | CN |
| 104662730 | Mar 2017 | CN |
| 5728647 | Jun 2015 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20230074135 A1 | Mar 2023 | US |
