TI Introduces First Single-Chip Battery Management Device to Protect Power Tools and E-Bikes
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) introduced what it says is the industry’s first single-chip battery protection and cell-balancing solution for Li-Ion and lithium iron phosphate battery packs. The bq77910 battery management and protection device can manage 4- to 10-cell battery packs, and two devices can be stacked to protect 11- to 20-cell packs. The device simplifies battery pack designs for e-bikes, e-scooters, portable gardening tools, power tools and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and can also be used when replacing lead acid batteries.
The bq77910 protects the battery pack by monitoring individual cell voltages and drives two N-channel power MOSFETs to interrupt current flow during fault conditions. Fault detection and recovery criteria for the device are fully programmable in non-volatile memory to suit all types of lithium battery systems.
Key features and benefits of the bq77910 include: individual cell monitoring and balancing with internal FETs maximizes battery pack service life and performance; low quiescent current (50µA typical, 2.5µA in shutdown mode) minimizes battery discharge during storage or idle periods to optimize battery life; programmable (EEPROM) fault detection thresholds and time delays make the bq77910 adaptable to all variations of lithium systems, including LiCoO2 and LiFePO4; and standalone integrated solution does not require an external controller or processor.
The bq77910 is available now in a 38-pin TSSOP package, priced at $2.70 in quantities of 1,000.
