Patent ID: 7803481

Claim:
A battery comprising: a positive electrode comprising a current collector and a first active material; a negative electrode comprising a current collector and a second active material; and an auxiliary electrode comprising a current collector, a third active material, and the auxiliary electrode being configured for a selective electrical connection to the positive electrode; and at least one of a switch and a diode configured to implement the selective electrical connection as a function of at least one of the voltage difference between the positive and negative electrodes, the voltage difference between the positive and auxiliary electrodes, and the voltage difference between the negative and auxiliary electrodes; the first active material, the second active material, and the third active material being configured to allow doping and undoping of lithium ions; and the third active material exhibiting charging and discharging capacity below a corrosion potential of the current collector of the negative electrode and above a decomposition potential of the first active material.