Determining chemistry of a battery for an electronic device

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a system that determines a battery chemistry for a battery in a peripheral device. During operation, the system determines a first voltage of the battery at a first time and a second voltage of the battery at a second time. The first voltage and the second voltage are then compared to one or more predetermined battery usage profiles to determine the battery chemistry. The remaining life of the battery is determined using the battery chemistry.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for determining battery chemistry, the method comprising:
 determining a first voltage of a battery corresponding to a first charge level of the battery;   determining a second voltage of the battery corresponding to a second charge level of the battery;   determining the chemistry of the battery by comparing the first voltage and second voltages to one or more battery usage profiles that represent battery voltage as a function of charge level;   determining the remaining life of the battery based, at least in part, on the determined battery chemistry, a corresponding battery usage profile, and one or more determined voltage values;   generating an indicator in event the remaining battery life falls below a predetermined level.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more determined voltage values are different from the first and second determined voltages of the battery. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage, and   wherein determining the remaining life of the battery is further based on the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage and an estimate of current drawn from the battery by a peripheral device.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more battery usage profiles that represent battery voltage as a function of charge level correspond to battery usage profiles of the peripheral device. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more battery usage profiles represents voltage as a function of charge level for lithium batteries. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more battery usage profiles represents voltage as a function of charge level for alkaline batteries. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one battery usage profile corresponds to a low current drain profile. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the corresponding battery usage profile is a function of average battery usage, or peak battery value, or both. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the first voltage of the battery and determining the second voltage of the battery are done periodically once every predetermined period. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , wherein the period is four hours. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 determine a first voltage of a battery corresponding to a first charge level of the battery;   determine a second voltage of the battery corresponding to a second charge level of the battery;   determine the chemistry of the battery by comparing the first voltage and second voltages to one or more battery usage profiles that represent battery voltage as a function of charge level;   determine the remaining life of the battery based, at least in part, on the determined battery chemistry, a corresponding battery usage profile, and one or more determined voltage values;   generate an indicator in event the remaining battery life falls below a predetermined level.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more determined voltage values are different from the first and second determined voltages of the battery. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , further storing instructions that when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:
 determine the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage, and   wherein determining the remaining life of the battery is further based on the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage and an estimate of current drawn from the battery by a peripheral device.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium claim of  13 , wherein the one or more battery usage profiles that represent battery voltage as a function of charge level correspond to battery usage profiles of the peripheral device. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the corresponding battery usage profile is a function of average battery usage, or peak battery value, or both. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein determining the first voltage of the battery and determining the second voltage of the battery are done periodically once every predetermined period. 
     
     
         17 . A system for determining a battery chemistry for a battery of an electronic device, the system comprising:
 a measurement apparatus device configured to:
 determine a first voltage of a battery corresponding to a first charge level of the battery; and 
 determine a second voltage of the battery corresponding to a second charge level of the battery; and 
   a comparison apparatus configured to:
 determine the chemistry of the battery by comparing the first voltage and second voltages to one or more battery usage profiles that represent battery voltage as a function of charge level; 
 determine the remaining life of the battery based, at least in part, on the determined battery chemistry, a corresponding battery usage profile, and one or more determined voltage values; and 
 generate an indicator in event the remaining battery life falls below a predetermined level. 
   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more determined voltage values are different from the first and second determined voltages of the battery. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the measurement apparatus is further configured to:
 determine the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage, and   wherein determining the remaining life of the battery is further based on the time elapsed between the determination of the first voltage and the determination of the second voltage and an estimate of current drawn from the battery by the electronic device.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a communicating apparatus, configured to:   communicate the indicator to a remote device.