Intelligent Battery Charger

Design Review Kevin Happ, Sharat Tiruveedhula TA: Xiangyu Ding September 28, 2010

I. Introduction: Title: Intelligent Battery Charger The consumer electronics we use in our day-to-day lives utilize a wide range of battery types. The average person needs a variety of battery chargers to accommodate their personal needs. Instead of having an individual battery charger for an iPod, car battery, and other common household batteries like NiMH and NiCd, we feel it would be useful to have a single device to charge each battery. The charger will break the charging cycle for each battery into separate stages, in order to ensure that each battery is charged as efficiently as possible. Charge termination technique will be implemented to ensure that the batteries are not supplied with overvoltages and stay within their recommended temperature ranges. Objectives: Project Goals:  Implement AC to DC conversion  Develop constant current and constant voltage sources to supply batteries  Supply batteries with current/voltage very close to the ideal input for each stage  Digital display of analog parameters  Efficiently charge different types of batteries Customer Benefits:  Convenience and portability  Prolong battery life due to intelligent battery charging  User can monitor charging status, i.e. time left until fully-charged and present voltage Features:  Charges lead-acid car battery, Li-ion iPod battery, AAA Ni-Cd, and AA Ni-Mh  Displays status of battery and shuts off automatically when fully charged  Adjusts method of charging, intelligently, based on current state of the battery  Temperature-triggered charge-termination to protect battery

II. Design: 1. Block Diagram

AC-DC Converter

Voltage/Current Regulator

Control Circuit

Battery Charging Circuit

Display

2. Block Descriptions AC-DC Converter: Since the output supply is AC, we need to convert to DC, in order to charge the battery. We use a transformer to step the voltage down from 120V RMS (supplied from the outlet) to a voltage more appropriate for charging our batteries. The lowered voltage is then sent through a full-wave bridge rectifier to create an (albeit poor) DC voltage source. Additional capacitor filtering is performed to smooth the DC signal and give us a source with very small ripple. Voltage/Current Regulator: Regulate the voltage and current depending on the type of battery and stage in the charging process. The constant voltage output is forced by the rating of the zener diode regulator, which follows the AC-DC conversion. For certain stages of the charging processes, the batteries require a constant current, variable voltage source, which is effected through additional circuitry. This additional circuitry is an Op-Amp/BJT feedback controlled current source, with the current level being forced by the value of the sense resistor. Control Circuit: Information is relayed to the PIC, which then outputs signals to the display and battery-charging system. These signals determine which battery should be charged, whether the battery should be charged with constant current or constant voltage, and the level of this current/voltage. Based on the information relayed to the PIC through voltage and temperature measurements, it will determine the state of the battery, which will then be displayed in a user friendly manner to give the user valuable updates on the charging process. Signals will be relayed to terminate the charging process when certain voltage/temperature thresholds are reached.

Battery Charging Circuit: Information will be received from the control circuit that will determine how the battery is charged. Separate circuits will charge each individual battery. Switches will be introduced to ensure that, based on the PIC signals, the correct battery charging circuit is selected and the correct sub-circuits are then selected. This will ensure that only one battery is charged at a time. Display: Digitally displays the voltage across the battery and indicates the time left needed to fully charge the battery. An LED turns on when the battery is fully charged.

III. Schematics and Calculations

Model for 126Vrms to 30Vrms (single-ended secondary) transformer:

, where N1 and N2 are respectively the number of turns on the primary and secondary sides of the transformer. V1 and V2 represent the voltages on the primary and secondary. In the above model, resistors R1, R2, and R3 have no physical equivalent; their sole purpose is to aid in simulating the effects of the transformer in PSpice. The terminals of R3 will, however be connected to the rectifying circuit.

, where L is the inductance of each winding.

Voltage is stepped down from 126 Vrms to ~28 Vrms:

Design for Constant Voltage Source:

Iz : current through zener diode (D6) Vz : current across zener diode (D6). This is a characteristic of the diode that will be matched with the voltage demanded across the battery. C : capacitance of capacitor (C1) Vd = ~0.7 V : Voltage drop across each diode in the bridge rectifier.  : For each half period of the Vsin input, only two of the four diodes will be conducting. Therefore the entire voltage drop across the rectifier will be 2Vd.

: Equation to determine the resistance Rs, based on the target

output voltage for the battery (Vz). We determine the minimum and maximum values for the operating range of the current through the zener diode in order to keep it operating in the linear region and to stop it from dissipating too much power. While the polarities were reversed, the graph below illustrates how Iz,min and Iz,max are found for each zener diode.

 

Constant Current Source Schematic:

Ic = ~ Ie : The current through the emitter and collector are essentially the same while the transistor is conducting.
Vin : Voltage at the positive terminal of the Op-Amp Vsense : Voltage at the negative terminal of the Op-Amp The Op-Amp automatically readjusts via feedback so that Vin = Vsense. If the circuit is supplied with a constant DC voltage for Vin, we can say that , where Rsense is R4 in the above schematic. With a constant Vin, Rsense will obviously be very important in determining the current Ie, and therefore Ic. We will hook up the circuit so that Ic is a constant current supplying the battery.

IV. Charging Algorithms Lead-Acid:

(Buchmann, 2003)

As shown by the above diagram, the Lead-Acid car battery will go through three different charging stages: 1) Constant current @ 0.1 C. We plan to use a C=70 Ah battery, which would equate to a charging rate of I = 7 A. During this stage, the voltage across each cell will steadily rise, until reaching a threshold voltage of 2.4V per cell (14.4 V total). 2) Constant voltage @ 2.4 V. Using the constant voltage power supply, we supply 2.4 V to the battery as the current steady decreases. Eventually the current reaches 3% of the rated current, indicating that the battery is fully charged. 3) Float charge of 2.25 V. The float charge can be applied for an unlimited duration and is used to top off the battery and account for self-discharge. Lithium-ion iPod battery:

(Apple, Inc.) The iPod battery has a nominal voltage of 4.2 V. We will be testing on the 3rd generation nano, which has a capacity of C= 350mAh. Charging stages: 1) If the cell voltage is below 2.8V, the battery is charged at a constant current of 0.1C = 35mA. 2) Once the threshold of 2.8 V per cell has been reached, the current is increased to close to, but not exceeding, 1C = 350mA. 3) Once the 4.2 V per cell threshold has been reached, we switch to a trickle charge at constant V=4.2 V.

NiCd: We will use a C=300mAh battery, most likely a Dantona SS-3P. Ni-Cd batteries are hard to come by and have been discontinued by most major battery manufacturers.

Charging Stages: 1) Charge at a rate of 1C = 300mA 2) Charge at a rate of C/10 = 30mA for a trickle-charge NiMH: We will most likely use a Rayovac NM715 with C=2100mAh. Charging stages: 1) Fast charge at a rate of 1C= 2.1A 2) After reaching V=1.0V, start charging at I=C/10= 0.21A for 30 minutes. 3) Charge at I= 1/300C = 7mA for unlimited duration

V. Performance Requirement  Fully charge the battery without overcharging and come within 0.1 volts of the following voltage limits for each type of battery: Car battery (Lead-Acid) 13.8 14.1V (six cell) iPod battery (Lithium Ion) 3.7 V (single cell) Ni-Mh AA battery 1.4 1.6V [single cell] Ni-Cd AAA battery 1.2V [single cell]  Adjust the method of charging based on the current state of the battery  Display time remaining calculated accurately within 5 minutes  Intelligently charge batteries to for longer-lasting battery life  Keep voltage ripple to less than 6% of nominal voltage for voltage source  Accurately use temperature differentials as a charge termination technique III. Verification 1. Testing Procedures  PSpice simulations: once the input voltage and current are determined, a theoretical ACDC circuit can be designed in PSpice and simulated before purchasing the physical components. It is much quicker to test the circuit on PSpice than testing with real circuit components, and

provides us with an estimation of the values of the individual components.  Test to see how circuits respond to a range of inputs. We will vary the input voltage by a small margin (say that it will be 115 Vrms) to see if the circuit still functions properly.  Battery charge circuit will be assembled and tested. Overcharge prevention capability of the circuit will be checked for proper functionality.  The Control Circuits battery state detection can be verified by using a voltmeter between the input terminals to read the voltage, which will determine whether the battery is dead, fully charged or needs charging.  The quickest charge will not always be the most effective; therefore we should run several tests to see how our battery charging method affects the percentage of charge stored.  We will verify through temperature readings that the batteries remain within their recommended temperature range throughout the charging process. 2. Tolerance Analysis The most important part of our project is the Control Circuit. The Control Circuit will determine what voltage and current should be supplied to the battery charging circuit depending on what the state of the battery is. This is very important because inaccurate detection will lead to inefficient charging or overcharging. To test the functionality of the Control Circuit under extreme conditions, we will test each battery in its fully charged, partially charged (more of a range of possible voltages), and dead batteries. Basically, we will discharge the given batteries to the appropriate levels to see how our Control Circuit interprets the current state of the battery and relays this information to the other sub-components. In particular, we could foresee having problems with the Ni-Cd battery, as NiCd batteries have a fairly constant voltage. This would make it difficult to discern the state of the battery only with the voltage across the battery terminals.

IV. Cost Analysis

LABOR Name Kevin Happ Sharat Tiruveedhula Grand Total PARTS Item Transformers Battery Charger Parts Resistors Zener Diodes General Diodes Lead-Acid Battery AAA NiCd AA NiMH PIC 16F877A LEDs Filter capacitors Op-Amps Npn BJT TOTAL Grand Total = Total Labor + Total Parts = $28,227.66 Quantity 4 N/A N/A N/A N/A 1 4 4 1 5 4 N/A N/A Cost $30 $40.00 $5 $3 $5 $50 $13 $14 $7.66 $10.00 $4 $4 $2 $227.66 Hourly Rate $40.00 $40.00 Multiplier 2.5 2.5 Total Hours 140 140 Labor Total $14,000.00 $14,000.00 $28,000.00

2. Schedule Week 09/27/10 10/04/10 Order Parts Start coding on PIC Optimize design Task Kevin Sharat Kevin Responsibility

Figure out implementation of Sharat temperature/voltage sensing and PIC interface 10/11/10 Construct Voltage Regulator Circuit Construct AC-DC Circuit Construct Control Circuit Construct Battery Charging Circuit 10/18/10 10/25/10 Write code for PIC Test all circuits individually Individual Progress Reports Review/Enhance circuits or fix problems Implement digital display 11/01/10 11/08/10 11/15/10 11/29/10 PCB Prepare for Demo Prepare for Demo, Begin Final Reports Demo Kevin Sharat Kevin Sharat Sharat Kevin Kevin, Sharat Sharat Kevin Sharat Kevin, Sharat Kevin, Sharat Kevin, Sharat

References:
1) I. Buchmann, " Charging nickel-based batteries," 04/2003. http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-11.htm. [Accessed 9/26/2010] 2) http://www.apple.com/batteries/