Patent ID: 7911531

Claim:
A battery loaded in a camera, comprising: a current detection device; an arithmetic operation device that receives one of a charge current value and a discharge current value from the current detection device at predetermined sampling intervals, calculates a power consumption quantity indicating an extent to which power has been consumed during a sampling interval based upon the current value and calculates a total power consumption quantity by sequentially adding the power consumption quantity consumed during each sampling interval, with the total power consumption quantity indicating an extent to which the power has been consumed since a most recent refresh operation of the battery, where a refresh operation includes a discharging operation for eliminating an effect of a battery capacity becoming lower; a determination device that determines as to whether the battery needs to be refreshed for eliminating the effect of the battery capacity becoming lower, based upon a comparison of the total power consumption quantity calculated at each sampling interval with a predetermined threshold value; a communication device that transmits determination results by the determination device to the camera, and also receives information indicating a completion of a refresh operation for eliminating the effect of the battery capacity becoming lower, after the battery is subjected to the refresh operation; and a control device that resets the total power consumption quantity as the information indicating the completion of the refresh operation for eliminating the effect of the battery capacity becoming lower is received by the communication device.