Conditioning of a rechargeable battery

Abstract

Methods and devices for the conditioning of a rechargeable battery. The methods include providing a fully charged battery and discharging that battery to a voltage threshold value. The time required to discharge the rechargeable battery to the voltage threshold value is measured and then compared to a reference value. If the discharge time is less than the reference value, the battery is then further discharged. The methods can be applied to rechargeable batteries used in consumer products such as electric shaver and electric toothbrushes. The devices include a rechargeable battery, a second device that detects whether the device is connected to an external energy sources, and an electronic circuit. The electronic circuit discharges the battery by way of a load only if the device is connected to an external energy source. The devices can include appliances such as an electronic shaver or an electronic toothbrush.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.