Battery Back-Up System Manager offers multimodal operation

Tag : Laptop battery (Li-ion)


MILPITAS, CA - May 28, 2008 - Linear Corporation introduces theLTC4110, an autonomous multi-chemistry, single chip, highefficiency flyback battery charge and discharge manager for server,memory backup, medical equipment, and high reliability systemapplications. The LTC4110 features four operating modes: batterybackup, battery charge, "no-loss" battery calibration and shutdown.Combining all these in a single IC saves significant board areacompared to existing solutions.

The LTC4110 can provide a supply voltage to a system load from amain supply or battery and can also charge a battery, therebyproviding an uninterruptible power source for the system. The IC iscapable of supplying voltages above or below the input supply rail,allowing the designer to optimize the battery configurationindependent of input supply considerations. When the main supply ispresent, the LTC4110's PowerPath(TM) control feature provides powerto the system load and, if needed, preferentially andsimultaneously charges the battery. If the main supply fails, theLTC4110 uses the battery as a power source through low lossswitches to continue providing a supply voltage to power thesystem. The low loss battery calibration mode discharges thebattery (through a high efficiency flyback converter) into thesystem load, thus eliminating wasted heat and energy. Shutdown modedisconnects the battery from the load to preserve capacity. Inaddition it offers the ability to ship the end product with a fullycharged battery with minimal drainage.

The LTC4110 supports multiple battery chemistries: Li-Ion/Polymer,Nickel and lead acid, and is compatible with supercapacitors.Multiple LTC4110s can be combined to form a redundant batterybackup system or increase the number of battery packs to achievelonger backup run times. The IC provides support for both standardand Smart Battery packs. If the optional SMBus/I2C interface isused, the host may access internal status, control the 3 GPIO pinsas desired, and support battery capacity and gas gauge calibrationto verify the battery's ability to support the load. The GPIO pinscan also be configured as status outputs on power up.

Other features of the LTC4110 include programmablecharge/calibration current up to 3A with