Battery charge reservation for emergency communications

摘要

A wireless communications device and method for establishing a voltage threshold at which to turn off electronics of a wireless communications device includes determining a power threshold level at which a device is to be shut off when a battery of the device reaches or drops below the power threshold level. The determined power threshold level may be offset. The amount of power remaining for the battery in the communications device may be measured. The communication device may be shut off based on the offset power threshold level so as to preserve enough power for an emergency message to be generated and sent in the case of an emergency.

主权项

1. A wireless communications device comprising:
an electronics system configured to provide communications over a communications network; a primary battery configured to power the electronics system during a power-on mode; and a secondary battery configured to power the electronics system, in response to an emergency signal being received while said electronics are in a power-off mode; wherein the electronics system:
uses historical information, about an amount of time a previous battery charge lasted, to determine an estimated amount of time for the primary battery to remain charged;establishes a voltage threshold of the primary battery, based on the historical information, to ensure that the wireless communications device, at the voltage threshold, has sufficient power for an emergency communication;establishes an offset power threshold that is a multiplier of the voltage threshold, the multiplier being greater than 1; anddisplays, on a display, a battery power meter that indicates both the voltage threshold and the offset power threshold.