Field of the Invention
Embodiments presented in this disclosure generally relate to techniques for recharging battery-operated devices, and more specifically, to integrating recharging into the patterns of normal usage of the devices, and to systematic detection and recharging of devices.
Description of the Related Art
Battery-operated devices are ubiquitous in today's technologically-oriented and increasingly mobile society. However, certain characteristics inherent to battery-operated devices can be substantially disruptive to consumers' use and enjoyment of these devices, and at the very least may be annoying to consumers.
Many devices use traditional battery technologies, such as alkaline or zinc-chloride cells that are intended to be discarded after a single use, and are available in well-known standardized sizes, such as “AA,” “AAA,” “C,” and “D.” While fairly easy to obtain batteries in these standard sizes, the batteries must be changed in devices relatively frequently, imposing a cost and a hassle on consumers. Rechargeable batteries, which are typically available in the same standard sizes, can alleviate some of the recurring costs of purchasing new batteries, but can introduce different issues. For instance, unless multiple sets of rechargeable batteries are available, the device will be unusable during the period when the batteries are being recharged, and the device may also lose any information stored in volatile memory. Even rechargeable batteries that are integrated into the devices, which are not designed for frequent removal or replacement, often still make using the device inconvenient during the recharging process, if the device is not entirely unusable.