Claims
- 1. A method of reforming a wet-tantalum capacitor, comprising:
charging the capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than one of a maximum and rated voltage for the capacitor; and providing an open circuit condition and allowing the capacitor to at least partially discharge through leakage current.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging of the capacitor is provided automatically.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging of the capacitor is periodic.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging of the capacitor begins manually.
- 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
holding the capacitor at the voltage for a time period.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
discharging the capacitor through a non-therapeutic load.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately less than ninety percent (90%) of the rated voltage.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately fifty percent (50%) of the rated voltage.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately twenty percent (20%) of the rated voltage.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging is at a substantially slower rate than a nominal therapy charging rate.
- 11. A method of reforming a wet-tantalum capacitor, comprising:
charging the capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than a rated voltage for the capacitor; and discharging the capacitor through a non-therapeutic load.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the charging of the capacitor is carried out automatically.
- 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the charging of the capacitor is carried out periodically.
- 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the charging of the capacitor is initiated manually.
- 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
holding the capacitor at the voltage for a time period.
- 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
discharging the capacitor through a leakage current.
- 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately less than ninety percent (90%) of the rated voltage.
- 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately fifty percent (50%) of the rated voltage.
- 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the voltage is maximally approximately twenty percent (20%) of the rated voltage.
- 20. A method of reforming a wet-tantalum capacitor, comprising:
applying an electric field across the capacitor dielectric; and causing dehydration of an anodic oxide phosphate deposit.
- 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the anodic oxide comprises Ta2O5.
- 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the phosphate deposit exists in the interstices of the anodic oxide, and was deposited during the forming of the anodic oxide.
- 23. A method of reducing the size of an implantable cardiac defibrillator, comprising:
reducing the size of the battery powering the defibrillator, by reducing power requirements in reforming the capacitor, wherein reforming the capacitor is accomplished by, charging the capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than a rated voltage for the capacitor; and providing a condition by which the capacitor is discharged.
- 24. An implantable cardiac device including a processing device for controlling the implantable cardiac device, comprising:
a processor; a power source; and a capacitor device including at least one wet-tantalum capacitor, the device coupled to the power source, wherein the processor carries out instructions to charge at the least one wet-tantalum capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than a rated voltage for the at least one wet-tantalum capacitor and to discharge the at least one wet-tantalum capacitor by at least one of opening the circuit to allow for current leakage and providing a path for a non-therapeutic discharge.
- 25. The implantable cardiac device of claim 24, wherein the capacitor device has a rated voltage in the range of 150V-300V.
- 26. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for reforming a wet-tantalum capacitor, comprising:
charging the capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than a rated voltage for the capacitor; and providing a condition by which the capacitor is discharged.
- 27. The program storage device of claim 26, wherein the condition by which the capacitor is discharged includes opening a circuit and allowing for current leakage.
- 28. An apparatus for reforming a wet-tantalum capacitor, comprising:
a means for charging the capacitor to a voltage that is substantially less than a rated voltage for the capacitor; and a means for providing a condition by which the capacitor is discharged.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/261,066, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING ENERGY STORAGE IN AN ELECTRICAL STORAGE DEVICE”, filed Sep. 30, 2002, and which is herein incorporated by reference.