Battery charger touts dual input, power path control

Texas Instruments (TI) Inc. has released its family of Li-ion battery chargers that are targeted for space-limited, portable applications with high capacity batteries. The bq24160, bq24161, bq24163 and bq24168 are system power path management devices with dual inputs that are fully isolated from each other and are easily selectable using the I²C interface. The single cell chargers allow operation from either USB port or higher-power input supply, noted TI.

The power path management feature allows the bq2416x to power the system from a high-efficiency DC/DC converter while simultaneously and independently charging the battery. The charger monitors the battery current at all times and reduces the charge current when the system load requires current above the input current limit, stated the company.

According to TI, the device can be used in handheld products, portable media players, and netbook and portable Internet devices. The battery chargers feature switch-mode operation with separate power path control. As such, the device allows a GSM call or instantly starts up a system with a discharged battery or no battery at all.

TI's product claims to be a highly integrated battery N-channel MOSFET controller that touts 20V input rating, with overvoltage protection (OVP) of 6.5V for USB input, and 10.5V for IN input (bq24160/1/3) and 6.5V for IN input (bq24168). The integrated FETs deliver up to 2.5A charge rate, up to 2.5A from IN input (input current limit) and up to 1.5A from USB input (input current limit).

The bq2416x boasts 0.5 percent battery regulation accuracy and 10 percent charge current accuracy. Additionally, the battery chargers are JEITA compatible (bq24160/3/8) and offers thermal regulation protection for output current control. Likewise, the devices offer low battery leakage current, BAT short-circuit protection, soft-start feature to cut inrush current, and thermal shutdown and protection.

The battery chargers come in 2.8 × 2.8mm 49-ball WCSP or 4 × 4mm QFN-24 packages.