Method and apparatus for estimating the service life of a battery

A method of estimating the service life of a battery comprising:

• measuring a temperature of an operating environment of the battery;
• outputting a signal representative of a temperature range in which the operating environment temperature resides;
• and
• estimating the service life of the battery based on the signal representative of the temperature range in which the operating environment temperature resides.

An apparatus adapted to estimate the service life of a battery comprising:

• a temperature measurement circuit adapted to measure a temperature of an operating environment of the battery and to output a signal representative of a temperature range in which the operating environment temperature resides;
• and
• a controller coupled to the temperature measurement circuit and adapted to receive the signal output by the temperature measurement circuit and to estimate the service life of the battery based on the signal output by the temperature measurement circuit, wherein the controller comprises:
• a plurality of counter means, each counter means having a count and a temperature range associated therewith, each counter means for counting a time the battery is operated within the temperature range associated with the counter means;
• and
• estimation means for estimating the service life of the battery based on the count of each counter means and a pro-rate factor for each counter means that depends on the temperature range associated with the counter means.

An apparatus adapted to estimate the service life of a battery comprising:

• a temperature measurement circuit adapted to measure a temperature of an operating environment of the battery and to output a signal representative of a temperature range in which the operating environment temperature resides;
• and
• a controller coupled to the temperature measurement circuit and adapted to receive the signal output by the temperature measurement circuit and to estimate the service life of the battery based on the signal output by the temperature measurement circuit, wherein the controller comprises:
• a plurality of counter means, each counter means having a count and a temperature range associated therewith, each counter means for counting a time the battery is operated within the temperature range associated with the counter means;
• and
• estimation means for estimating the service life of the battery based on the count of each counter means and a pro-rate factor for each counter means that depends on the temperature range associated with the counter means;
• wherein the plurality of counter means comprise:
• a first counter means having a temperature range of less than about 28° C. associated therewith and a pro-rate factor of about 1.0;
• a second counter means having a temperature range of between about 28° C. and about 32° C. associated therewith and a pro-rate factor of about 1.22;
• a third counter means having a temperature range of between about 32° C. and about 36° C. associated therewith and a pro-rate factor of about 1.5;
• and
• a fourth counter means having a temperature range of greater than about 36° C. associated therewith and a pro-rate factor of about 1.83.