Intelligent power management for rechargeable batteries

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An electronic device battery pack for a battery requiring cycling to prolong lifetime is divided into at least two parallel cells for which the charging state is automatically maintained.
When external power is available and one or more cells is substantially discharged, the substantially discharged cell(s) are selected one at a time to be fully drained and recharged.
A partially discharged but not substantially discharged cell will be left in that state until use of the electronic device has substantially discharged the cell.
Once a cell has been recharged, the next substantially discharged cell is drained and recharged, and so on until all cells are fully charged.
If the charging of a cell is interrupted by removal of the external power, another cell is utilized to provide power to the electronic device and recharging is resumed once the external power is restored.
A device kept in a charging cradle except when being utilized may thus be used and returned to the charging cradle without adversely impacting battery life.