Patent Description:
Battery durability has always been an important concern for consumers. Batteries used currently are usually polymer lithium ion batteries. Along with use in electronic products such as mobile phones, irreversible reaction occurs in the polymer lithium ion batteries, such that the battery durability is gradually decreased. <CIT> discloses a method for charging a battery. The method comprises: measuring a battery voltage with a voltage sensor and a battery current with a current sensor; applying, with a charging circuit, a first charging current to the battery until the measured battery voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage threshold, a magnitude of the first charging current being held at a first constant value; applying, with the charging circuit, in response to the measured battery voltage exceeding the predetermined voltage threshold, a second charging current to the battery until a cutoff criterion is satisfied, a magnitude of the second charging current being such that the battery voltage exceeds a steady state voltage limit for the battery; after the cutoff criterion is satisfied, determining a rest voltage of the battery; and updating the cutoff criterion based on a difference between the determined rest voltage and a target rest voltage.

<CIT> discloses a charging method and device. The charging method provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises N charging stages, wherein each charging stage comprises M charging processes; N is an integer greater than or equal to <NUM>; M is an integer greater than or equal to <NUM>; each charging process comprises the steps of charging a battery with constant current until the battery reaches cutoff voltage and charging the battery with constant voltage until the battery reaches cutoff current, wherein the cutoff current used in the charging processes in the ith charging stage is smaller than that used in the charging processes in the (i+<NUM>)th charging stage; and the value range of i is [<NUM>, N-<NUM>]. <CIT> discloses a method and apparatus for extending the cycle life of a battery by using different charge voltages or different current cut-offs to recharge the battery during the course of the battery's life. The capacity of a battery is gradually depleted as the battery is repeatedly charged and discharged. The rate at which the battery capacity is depleted varies in accordance to the charge voltage, or the current cut-off, used to recharge the battery.

The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling charging.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method of controlling charge is provided as defined by claim <NUM>.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for controlling charge is provided as defined by claim <NUM>.

The present disclosure will be detailed below in combination with specific examples shown in drawings. However, these examples are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

The terms used in the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing particular examples only, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Terms determined by "a", "the" and "said" in their singular forms in the present disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include plurality or multiple, unless clearly indicated otherwise in the context. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein is and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Some examples of the present disclosure will be detailed below in combination with accompanying drawings. In a case of no conflict, the following examples and features in the examples may be combined mutually.

An example of the present disclosure provides a method of controlling charge, which may be applied to any terminal with a rechargeable battery, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a medical device, a lighting device and the like. Generally, the rechargeable battery is a polymer lithium ion battery, and the present disclosure does not limit the type of the rechargeable battery, as long as the method of controlling charge in the present disclosure works on the rechargeable battery. <FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling charge showing only a subset of the steps defined in claim <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the method includes the following steps S101-S103.

At step S101, charge cycle counts of a battery are determined.

At step S101, the terminal records the charge cycle counts of the battery by obtaining an accumulation of battery charge volumes. One complete charge cycle refers to a process of full charge and full discharge of the battery.

At step S103, a set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle counts is obtained based on a preset charge strategy.

With the continuous increase of charge cycle counts, irreversible reaction occurs in the battery. Therefore, the battery will gradually age and the durability of the battery will also gradually decrease. At step S103, set charge cut-off currents corresponding to different charge cycle counts are preset based on the preset charge strategy. In this way, a set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle counts is obtained, where the set cut-off current is a current value when the battery reaches full charge state or a certain charge state.

At this step, the preset charge strategy specifically includes: for each increase of N cycles, increasing the set charge cut-off current by X milliamperes based on an initial charge cut-off current, where N and X are respectively natural numbers. After the charge cycle counts reach a threshold, the set charge cut-off current reaches a maximum value.

In an example, when a terminal is charged for the first time, the charge cut-off current is set to 100mA. When the charge cycle counts are <NUM>, the charge cut-off current is increased to 125mA. When the charge cycle counts are <NUM>, the charge cut-off current is increased to 150mA, and so on, the charge cut-off current is increased by 25mA for each increase of <NUM> cycles. When the charge cycle counts reach the threshold of <NUM> cycles, the maximum of the charge cut-off current is 200mA correspondingly. The charge cut-off currents corresponding to the charge cycle counts are described below:.

As described above, the increase of the charge cut-off current may lead to the reduction of the charge capacity of the battery. However, the increase of the charge cut-off current may effectively improve the occurrence of side reaction on a surface of the battery, thereby prolonging the life of the battery.

At step S105, a charge cut-off current of the battery is adjusted based on the set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle counts to control a charge volume of the battery.

At step S105, based on the preset charge strategy in the method of controlling charge, the cut-off current of the battery is adjusted according to the set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle count, so that the charge volume of the battery is controlled. In this example, shallow charge may be performed for the battery by controlling the charge volume through adjusting the charge cut-off current, which may effectively improve the aging and overcharging of the battery and optimize the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) film of the cathode of the battery, thereby effectively increasing the cycle life of the battery.

As shown in <FIG>, the method of controlling charge further includes the following steps S201-S203.

At step S201, after the charge cycle counts reach a first preset threshold, a prompt is generated for each increase of M cycles, so that a user determines whether to enter a battery charge protection mode based on the prompt.

At step S203, in the battery charge protection mode, the charging of the battery is stopped after the charge volume reaches a set charge volume, where the set charge volume is smaller than the full charge volume of the battery and M is a natural number.

In an example, to prolong a life of the battery, the method of controlling charge according to the present disclosure may perform intelligent charge strategy selection according to the use requirements of the user. In the method of controlling charge, after the charge cycle counts of the battery reach the first preset threshold (fixed counts, for example <NUM> cycles), a prompt is generated for each increase of M cycles (for example, <NUM> cycles) so that the user determines whether to enter the battery charge protection mode. If the user needs to go to an environment where the terminal device of the user cannot be charged, the battery of the terminal device may be charged to full. If the user does not require that the battery is charged to full, the battery charge protection mode may be selected, that is, the charging of the battery is stopped after the charge volume reaches the set charge volume. The set charge volume is <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the full charge volume. Preferably, the set charge volume is <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the full charge volume.

Further, as shown in <FIG>, the method of controlling charge according to the present disclosure further includes the following steps S301-S303.

At step S301, after the charge cycle counts reach a second preset threshold (in an example, the second preset threshold is a fixed value), a prompt is generated for each increase of Y cycles, so that the user determines whether to enter the battery repair charge mode.

At step S303, in the battery repair charge mode, a charge current of the battery is limited to a set charge current for battery charge. The charge current is a current charging for the battery, and the set charge current is lower than the charge current of the battery in a battery non-repair charge mode.

In this example, the user may select a current-limited charge or a normal charge or the like based on its own requirements. Through the intelligent charge strategy selection, the user may repair the battery by using a lower current for charging on a condition that a relatively long charge time is allowed, so as to prolong the use life of the battery. Further, the use life of a mobile phone having the battery is prolonged and the user experiences are greatly improved.

Y is a natural number which is the same as or different from M. In a case that there is no limitation both in the charge time and the charge environment, the user may determine whether to perform a full charge according to the method of controlling charge of the present disclosure. Meanwhile, the user may determine whether to perform a current-limited charge to repair the battery, in other words, the battery may reach a non-full charge, such as <NUM>% of the full charge, in a manner of current-limited charging selected by the user.

In the present disclosure, by adjusting the charge manner, the aging and overcharging of the battery are effectively improved and the SEI film of the cathode of the battery is optimized. In this way, a life of the battery is greatly improved without affecting the use of the user, thereby solving the problem that the battery is not durable after a long time of use.

Corresponding to the examples of the above method, the present disclosure further provides an example of an apparatus for controlling charge.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for controlling charge showing only a subset of modules defined in independent claim <NUM>.

The apparatus for controlling charge includes:.

The various circuits, device components, modules, units, blocks, or portions may have modular configurations, or are composed of discrete components, but nonetheless can be referred to as "units," "modules," or "portions" in general. In other words, the "circuits," "components," "modules," "blocks," "portions," or "units" referred to herein may or may not be in modular forms.

In the apparatus for controlling charge according to the present disclosure, the terminal records the charge cycle counts of the battery by obtaining an accumulation of battery charge volumes. One complete charge cycle refers to a process of full charge and full discharge of the battery.

With the continuous increase of charge cycle counts, irreversible reaction occurs in the battery. Therefore, the battery will gradually age and the durability of the battery will also gradually decrease. Charge cut-off currents corresponding to different charge cycle counts are preset based on the preset charge strategy. In this way, a set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle counts is obtained, where the set cut-off current is a current value when the battery reaches full charge state or a certain charge state.

In this example, the obtaining module includes a first processing module. When the preset charge strategy is performed by the first processing module, the first processing module is configured to increase the set charge cut-off current by X milliamperes based on an initial charge cut-off current for each increase of N cycles, where N and X are respectively natural numbers. After the charge cycle counts reach a threshold, the set charge cut-off current reaches a maximum value. Based on the preset charge strategy of the apparatus for controlling charge, the cut-off current of the battery is adjusted according to the charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle count, so that the charge volume of the battery is controlled.

According to the invention, the apparatus further includes:
a second processing module configured to generate a prompt for each increase of M cycles after the charge cycle counts reach a first preset threshold, so that a user determines whether to enter a battery charge protection mode based on the prompt, where the charging of the battery is stopped after the charge volume reaches a set charge volume in the battery charge protection mode. The set charge volume is smaller than the full charge volume of the battery.

In an example, to prolong a life of the battery, the apparatus for controlling charge according to the present disclosure may perform intelligent charge strategy selection according to the use requirements of the user. In the apparatus for controlling charge, after the charge cycle counts of the battery reach the first preset threshold (fixed counts, for example <NUM> cycles), a prompt is generated for each increase of M cycles (for example, <NUM> cycles) so that the user determines whether to enter the charge protection mode. If the user needs to go to an environment where the terminal device of the user cannot be charged, the battery of the terminal device may be charged to full. If the user does not require that the battery is charged to full, the charge protection mode may be selected, that is, the charging of the battery is stopped after the charge volume reaches the set charge volume. The set charge volume is <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the full charge volume. Preferably, the set charge volume is <NUM>%-<NUM>% of the full charge volume.

Further, the apparatus for controlling charge further includes:
a third processing module configured to generate a prompt for each increase of Y cycles after the charge cycle counts reach a second preset threshold (in an example, the second preset threshold is a fixed value), so that the user determines whether to enter the battery repair charge mode, where the charge current of the battery is limited to a set charge quantity for battery charge in the battery repair charge mode.

In this example, the user may select a current-limited charge or a normal charge or the like based on its own requirements. Through the intelligent charge strategy selection, the user may repair the battery by using a lower current for charging on a condition that a relatively long charge time is allowed, so as to prolong the life of the battery. Further, the life of a mobile phone having the battery is prolonged and the user experiences are greatly improved.

Y is a natural number which is the same as or different from M. In a case that there is no limitation both in the charge time and the charge environment, the user may determine whether to perform a full charge according to the method of controlling charge of the present disclosure. Meanwhile, the user may determine whether to perform a current-limited charge to repair the battery, in other words, the battery may reach a non-full charge, such as <NUM>% of the full charge, in a manner of current-limited charging selected by the user. In this way, a use life of the battery is greatly improved without affecting the use of the user, thereby solving the problem that the battery is not durable after a long time of use.

For the apparatus examples, since it substantially corresponds to the method examples, a reference may be made to the partial descriptions of the method examples. The apparatus examples described above are merely illustrative, where the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located at one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the present disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand and carry them out without creative work.

According to an example not covered by the claims, there is provided an apparatus for controlling charge, including:.

The one or mere processors are configured to:.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of an apparatus for controlling charge according to an example of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> for controlling charge according to an example may be a terminal such as a computer, a mobile phone, a digital broadcast terminal, a message transceiver, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, a fitness device, a personal digital assistant.

As shown in <FIG>, the apparatus <NUM> for controlling charge may include one or more of the following components: a processing component <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a power supply component <NUM>, a multimedia component <NUM>, an audio component <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) interface <NUM>, a sensor component <NUM> and a communication component <NUM>.

The processing component <NUM> generally controls the overall operations of the apparatus <NUM>, such as operations associated with display, phone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component <NUM> may include one or more processors <NUM> to execute instructions to complete all or part of the steps of the above methods. In addition, the processing component <NUM> may include one or more modules which facilitate the interaction between the processing component <NUM> and other components. For example, the processing component <NUM> may include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component <NUM> and the processing component <NUM>.

The memory <NUM> is to store various types of data to support the operation on the apparatus <NUM>. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operated on the apparatus <NUM>, contact data, telephone directory data, messages, pictures, videos, and so on. The memory <NUM> may be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory devices or a combination thereof, such as a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a disk or a CD.

The power supply component <NUM> may include a power supply management system, one or more power supplies, and other association components for generating, managing and distributing power for the apparatus <NUM>.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen providing an output interface between the apparatus <NUM> and a user. In some examples, the screen may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Touch Panel (TP). In some embodiments, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display or other types of displays can be adopted.

If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only sense the boundary of a touch or swipe operation but also sense a duration and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe operation. In some examples, the multimedia component <NUM> may include a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and/or rear camera may receive external multimedia data when the apparatus <NUM> is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode. Each of the front camera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or may be capable of focal length and optical zoom.

The audio component <NUM> is to output and/or input an audio signal. For example, the audio component <NUM> includes a microphone (MIC). When the apparatus <NUM> is in an operable mode, such as a call mode, a record mode and a voice recognition mode, the microphone is to receive an external audio signal. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory <NUM> or sent via the communication component <NUM>. In some examples, the audio component <NUM> further includes a speaker for outputting an audio signal.

The I/O interface <NUM> provides an interface between the processing component <NUM> and a peripheral interface module. The peripheral interface module may be a keyboard, a click wheel, a button and the like. These buttons may include but not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button and a lock button.

The sensor component <NUM> includes one or more sensors to provide status assessments of various aspects for the apparatus <NUM>. For example, the sensor component <NUM> may detect the on/off state of the apparatus <NUM>, and relative positioning of component, for example, the component is a display and a keypad of the apparatus <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may also detect a change in position of the apparatus <NUM> or a component of the apparatus <NUM>, a presence or absence of the contact between a user and the apparatus <NUM>, an orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the apparatus <NUM> and a change in temperature of the apparatus <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may include a proximity sensor to detect the presence of a nearby object without any physical contact. The sensor component <NUM> may further include an optical sensor, such as a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) or Charged Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor which is used in imaging application. In some examples, the sensor component <NUM> may further include an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the apparatus <NUM> and other devices. The apparatus <NUM> may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WIFI, <NUM> or <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In an example, the communication component <NUM> may receive a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an example, the communication component <NUM> may also include a Near Field Communication (NFC) module for promoting short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technology.

In an example, the apparatus <NUM> may be implemented by one or more Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), Programmable Logical Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors or other electronic elements for performing the method as described above.

In an example not covered by the claims, there is further provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory <NUM> including instructions. The above instructions may be executed by the processor <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> to complete the above method. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random-Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and optical data storage device and the like.

When the instructions in the storage medium are executed by the processor, the apparatus <NUM> is caused to perform the above method of controlling charge.

Claim 1:
A method of controlling charge, comprising:
determining charge cycle counts of a battery;
obtaining a set charge cut-off current corresponding to the charge cycle counts based on a preset charge strategy;
adjusting a charge cut-off current of the battery according to the set charge cut-off current
corresponding to the charge cycle counts to control a charge volume of the battery; and
characterized by:
after the charge cycle counts reach a first preset threshold, for each increase of M cycles, generating a first prompt, so that a user determines whether to enter a battery charge protection mode based on the first prompt, wherein M is a natural number;
stopping charging the battery after the charge volume of the battery reaches a set charge volume in the battery charge protection mode, wherein the set charge volume is smaller than a full charge volume of the battery; and
after the charge cycle counts reach a second preset threshold, for each increase of Y cycles, generating a second prompt, so that the user determines whether to enter a battery repair charge mode based on the second prompt, wherein Y is a natural number; and
limiting a charge current of the battery to a set charge current in the battery repair charge mode, so that the battery is charged with the set charge current.