Design applications that support a wide input voltage and battery voltage range
Time:2023-12-01
Views:508
For engineers, designing applications that use rechargeable batteries and provide consumers with an excellent charging experience can be challenging when different projects have different battery charging needs. If a dedicated battery charger is used for each application, it will increase design time as you must redesign, debug, and re evaluate each new circuit.
Imagine, can we minimize development time by selecting battery chargers suitable for various projects? A single battery charger integrated circuit (IC) with a wide input voltage (VIN) and output voltage (VOUT) range allows you to use the same charger in various applications with different input adapters and battery configurations, helping to shorten development time.
In addition to helping shorten design time, using wide VIN and VOUT chargers can also help you explore new technologies such as solar energy and bidirectional charging, thereby optimizing the charging experience for consumers. This article will introduce the advantages of wide VIN and VOUT buck/boost battery chargers.
Using a single battery charger IC to support multiple designs
The design of an electric bicycle battery charging system is an application example that benefits from using the same battery charger IC for different vehicle models, involving a new USB power delivery (PD) standard called Extended Power Range (EPR), with an output power of up to 240W and a VIN of up to 48V. Given higher EPR power and the use of standard USB Type-C ® The convenience of the adapter, designers are seeking to achieve USB PD EPR charging for electric bicycles, which requires integrating the battery charger IC into the electric bicycle battery pack.
But electric bicycle companies have different models, and the battery chemicals and charging voltage are also different. Compared to using one battery charger to charge a 36V battery electric bike and another battery charger to charge a 48V battery electric bike, using the same battery charger for both models is more convenient. Supporting the full voltage range of USB PD EPR adapters also helps to minimize the amount of design changes required between different vehicle models. To achieve universality, the battery charger must have a wide VIN and VOUT range, which are used to support USB PD EPR input and battery voltage ranging from 36V to 48V, respectively.
Bidirectional charging is related to USB PD EPR charging and is a new feature supported by wide VIN and VOUT battery chargers. As shown in Figure 1, when the battery charger is in forward mode, electric bicycle batteries and other batteries can be charged, while in reverse mode, the batteries can be discharged from the same USB Type-C port. This application also has a new feature, which is that in addition to regular operations, it is also a mobile power source that consumers can benefit from. To support the mobile power function, the battery charger needs to have a wide VIN and VOUT range, as well as bidirectional charging function, in order to support various input and output voltage combinations in forward and reverse modes.
Figure 1: Charging an electric bike via USB (top) and charging a personal device via an electric bike (bottom)
Solar charging under different sunshine intensities
Solar panels provide consumers with a way to charge products without a nearby power outlet. It is important to determine the maximum power point (MPP) of the solar panel as its output is used as input for the battery charger (as shown in Figure 2). If the input power of the battery charger is low, the charging current is also low, resulting in longer charging time. The battery charger with Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm will autonomously determine the MPP of the solar panel under different sunlight conditions. The use of a wide VIN and VOUT step-down/step-up battery charger helps support the possible output voltage range of solar panels.
Figure 2: Solar charging block diagram
Mobile power plants will also benefit from chargers with MPPT algorithm. For solar charging applications, designing a charging system using a battery charger with autonomous MPPT algorithm can help fully utilize solar panels to shorten charging time.
Wide VIN and VOUT battery chargers
The BQ25756 step-down/step-up battery charger supports a working voltage of 70V and a charging current of up to 20A at the input and output terminals, and can meet a maximum USB PD EPR power of 240W. In addition to having a wide VIN and VOUT range, BQ25756 is also a bidirectional battery charger that supports charging and discharging from the same USB Type-C port. This device uses advanced MPPT algorithm to achieve solar charging, and can even determine the MPPT of multiple series or parallel solar panels under various sunlight conditions (including partial shading). With a wide VIN and VOUT range, bidirectional charging, and MPPT function, BQ25756 can be used in many designs.
epilogue
The use of chargers with a wide VIN and VOUT range in design can reuse the same circuit in multiple applications, helping to reduce development time for engineers. Assuming you need to design a brand new series of electric tool products, selecting different battery chargers for electric drills, hot air guns, and blowers will increase your workload, as you need to understand the three types of chargers. Compared to using multiple different chargers, using the same charger for these power tools can help shorten understanding and development time.
In addition, wide VIN and VOUT chargers support engineers to adopt new technologies such as USB Type-C ™ Electricity transmission and solar charging. With the help of wide VIN and VOUT chargers with MPPT algorithm such as BQ25756, engineers can design products that can charge solar panels anytime, anywhere while providing consumers with a fast charging experience. Combining BQ25756 with Texas Instruments USB-C PD controller eliminates the hassle of having one adapter only applicable to one device. This combination allows consumers to leverage bidirectional charging capabilities and use a universal USB-C adapter to charge many applications, including electric tools, electric bicycles, and mobile power stations. Wide VIN and VOUT chargers can optimize customer charging experience and shorten development time.
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