Battery-powered electronic devices have become a ubiquitous staple of life. Electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, flashlights, keyboards, mice, headphones, and other portable devices are used on a regular basis, and as a result, need to be charged regularly. One attendant result is a demand by users for longer battery life in these devices. Another is the demand by users for a shortened charging time.
But non-optimal charging may lead to a shortened life span for batteries. Typically, charging a battery too fast, or overcharging a battery, may lead to a shorter useful battery lifespan. The effects of overcharging may become more pronounced as the battery ages, or is exposed to increased temperatures. Thus, it may be beneficial to monitor and optimize this charging. Being able to monitor and optimized charging with a reduce amount of circuitry may save resources and reduce power dissipation.
These electronic devices are also becoming smaller. This reduction in form places a premium on space inside these devices. The need to optimally locate and position each component in an electronic device becomes paramount.
In some circumstances, the space inside an electronic device that may be available for a battery is not optimal for a single battery. This may be due to the space available for a battery being non-contiguous. The non-optimization of space inside an electronic device may also be caused by the available space not easily corresponding to the space consumed by a commercially available battery. For these and other reasons, multiple battery cells may be used in an electronic device.
Thus, what is needed are battery systems that may monitor multiple battery cells using a reduced amount of circuitry and that may account for battery cell changes over aging and temperature.