Battery Management in Rechargeable Wildeye

Note: These features are automated in firmware. This is a description of how a rechargeable Wildeye manages it's power use..

Overview

Rechargeable Wildeye devices (as defined by the product code) have an integrated lithium battery that can be charged from an external power source. The device automatically manages it's own power usage. The main contributors to power usage are upload frequency and logging frequency of sensors that require power to be supplied by the Wildeye through the switched power output.

Transport Mode

When a Wildeye device is in Transport mode, it will consume the lowest possible amount of power. The device will not log and will not upload unless it is activated with a button press or magnet swipe.

Once a Wildeye device has been activated, it will consume power from the internal battery when it takes and logs a measurement from an attached sensor and also when it uploads on the cellular IoT network.

When a sensor is powered through the switched power output, the device stays on for the stabilization time selected in the Input Settings before taking a measurement. The stabilization time will have an impact on how long the device can operate before needing to be charged.

Normal Operation

Once a Wildeye device has been activated, it will consume power from the internal battery when it takes and logs a measurement from an attached sensor and also when it uploads on the cellular IoT network.

When a sensor is powered through the switched power output, the device stays on for the stabilization time selected in the Input Settings before taking a measurement. The stabilization time will have an impact on how long the device can operate before needing to be charged.

Battery Protection Mode

When a Wildeye device detects that the internal lithium battery is getting low it will automatically enter battery protection mode in order to conserve power.

In battery protection mode, the device will continue to log pulse counters, but will not log any sensor that requires the switched power output and it will not upload.

The device will automatically come out of battery protection mode when it is charged above a threshold via the external power source.

The voltage thresholds at which a device enters and exits battery protection mode vary depending on whether it is currently charging. They are detailed in the table below.

LED Feedback

When a Wildeye device is in Battery Protection mode,  the LED's will alternately flash between RED and BLUE if the device is not charging and GREEN and BLUE when the device is charging. These flashing sequences will only be seen when the button is pressed or magnet swiped.

If the device is in battery protection mode and charging, then it will automatically enter normal operation once it has reached a sufficient charge level.

External Battery

If the external power source charging the wildeye device is a battery system, then there are some techniques you can use to manage the load on this battery system.