#Smart timer charger battery charger portable
#Smart timer charger battery charger series

For additional details and background, see the Maxim data sheets and other reference material cited at the end of the article.įast battery charging has several phases, as explained in the text and by the state diagram for a generic charger ( Figure 1). This section describes general charging techniques and limitations for the four common chemistries. The information presented here is intended only as an overview of charging requirements for various cell chemistries. The trade-offs to be made among these chemistries are beyond the scope of this article, but the References section provides access to such information.Ĭaution: consult the battery manufacturer for specific recommendations. Either example can serve as a base for further development of custom charger circuitry.įour rechargeable battery chemistries are in practical use today: nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), gelled lead-acid (PbSO4), and lithium-ion (Li+). The discussion closes with design examples based on two common ♜s: the 8051 and the Microchip PIC.

It addresses system-level trade-offs and firmware design tips, and lists World Wide Web resources available to designers. The following discussion presents an overview of the requirements for charging common battery chemistries with Maxim battery-charger ICs. This article provides the information and background necessary to implement charger systems based on Maxim's wide range of battery-charger ICs for all popular chemistries. This approach achieves low cost in high-volume applications and allows the greatest flexibility in tailoring the charger to a specific application.Īll necessary intelligence once resided in the battery-charger controller IC itself, but now the system designer must implement a charging algorithm and write the associated firmware. Today's battery-charger subsystems regulate charging voltage and current using the intelligence of an external microcontroller (♜), usually available elsewhere in the system. Maxim still manufactures stand-alone charger ICs, but market demand has changed recently. Some of those ICs included considerable intelligence: enough to handle the complex task of fast charging advanced batteries. This development also marks a departure from the self-contained, stand-alone charger ICs of only a few years ago.

#Smart timer charger battery charger portable

Over the past five years, market pressures on portable equipment have transformed the simple battery charger into a sophisticated switch-mode device capable of charging an advanced battery in 30 minutes.

#Smart timer charger battery charger series

This second article of a two-part series explores the system-level issues in applying battery-charger ICs. 27) discussed new developments in stand-alone battery chargers. The previous issue of Maxim's Engineering Journal (Vol.