Patent ID: 8639954

Claim:
A method for recovering power to a rechargeable battery in a portable electronic device when the battery is in a low state of charge, the battery being of a determinable battery type, the method comprising: providing power from a battery charger to a power management subsystem to power-up the power management subsystem; after power-up of the power management subsystem, retrieving, by the power management subsystem, stored state-of-charge information for the battery; determining, by the power management subsystem, a battery type for the battery based on the retrieved state-of-charge information; determining, by the power management subsystem, a then-current state-of-charge parameter for the battery; comparing, by the power management subsystem, the then-current state-of-charge parameter for the battery to a threshold, wherein the threshold is based on at least the battery type; in the event that the then-current state-of-charge parameter for the battery is less than the threshold, providing power from the battery charger to the battery for use in recharging the battery; and in the event that the then-current state-of-charge parameter for the battery is greater than or equal to the threshold, supplying power from the battery to a processor subsystem that controls general operation of the portable electronic device, the processor subsystem having greater power requirements than the power management subsystem.