Battery state indicator on a battery powered device

Abstract

A method is provided for representing battery degradation of a rechargeable battery for use with a battery operated device. The method comprises the following steps. At predefined intervals, the battery degradation of the rechargeable battery is determined. An indicator is selected from one of a plurality of predefined indicators based on the determined battery degradation. The selected indicator is displayed on a screen of a computing device for representing the battery degradation. A computing device configured to implement the method is also described.

1 . A method of representing battery degradation of a rechargeable battery for use with a battery operated device, the method comprising the steps of:
 determining, at predefined intervals, the battery degradation of the rechargeable battery;   selecting an indicator from one of a plurality of predefined indicators based on the determined battery degradation; and   displaying the selected indicator on a screen of a computing device for representing the battery degradation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of determining the amount of battery degradation is performed one or more of the rechargeable battery, the battery operated device, or the computing device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the computing device is the battery operated device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined indicators are different colours; the selected indicator is a selected one of the different colours; and displaying the selected indicator on the screen comprises changing a colour of a portion of the screen to the selected one of the different colours. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising the step of displaying a battery status icon on the screen, the battery status icon representing a remaining charge of the rechargeable battery, wherein the portion of the screen includes a localized region of the battery status icon. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the localized region includes one both of the battery status icon or a background of the battery status icon. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined indicators are different characters; and the selected indicator is a selected one of the different characters. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein different ones of the different characters are represented in different colours. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined indicators are a predefined symbol; and the selected indicator is a selected number of predefined symbol, the number of the selected symbols being based on the determined battery degradation. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein different numbers of the selected symbols are represented in different colours. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  comprising the further step of:
 selecting a descriptive text from a plurality of predefined descriptive text, based on the determined battery degradation; and 
 displaying the descriptive text on the screen. 
 
     
     
         12 . A computing device configured to represent battery degradation of a rechargeable battery for use with a battery operated device, the computing device comprising:
 a screen;   memory for storing computer readable instructions; and   a processor configured to execute the computer readable instruction, thereby implementing the steps of:
 obtaining, at predefined intervals, the battery degradation of the rechargeable battery; 
 selecting an indicator from one of a plurality of predefined indicators based on the determined battery degradation; and 
 displaying the selected indicator on the screen for representing the battery degradation. 
   
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 12  wherein obtaining the battery degradation comprises determining the battery degradation by the computing device or retrieving the battery degradation from one or both of the rechargeable battery or the battery operated device. 
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 13 , wherein the computing device is the battery operated device. 
     
     
         15 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the predefined indicators are different colours; the selected indicator is a selected one of the different colours; and displaying the selected indicator on the screen comprises changing a colour of a portion of the screen to the selected one of the different colours. 
     
     
         16 . The computing device of  claim 15  comprising further instructions for displaying a battery status icon on the screen, the battery status icon representing a remaining charge of the rechargeable battery, wherein the portion of the screen includes a localized region of the battery status icon. 
     
     
         17 . The computing device of  claim 16 , wherein the localized region includes one both of the battery status icon or a background of the battery status icon. 
     
     
         18 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the predefined indicators are different characters; and the selected indicator is a selected one of the different characters. 
     
     
         19 . The computing device of  claim 18 , wherein different ones of the different characters are represented in different colours. 
     
     
         20 . The computing device of  claim 12 , wherein the predefined indicators are a predefined symbol; and the selected indicator is a selected number of predefined symbol, the number of the selected symbols being based on the determined battery degradation. 
     
     
         21 . The computing device of  claim 20 , wherein different numbers of the selected symbols are represented in different colours. 
     
     
         22 . The computing device of  claim 12  comprising the further instructions for:
 selecting a descriptive text from a plurality of predefined descriptive text, based on the determined battery degradation; and 
 displaying the descriptive text on the screen.