STMicroelectronics has launched a new battery-condition monitoring IC, STC3100 enabling improved accuracy for ‘fuel-gauge’ indicators showing the operating time remaining. The device is developed for use in products such as mobile handsets, portable navigation devices, digital cameras and personal media players.
According to STMicroelectronics, the new STC3100 battery-monitor IC can be located in the battery pack or in the handheld device, and integrates functions to monitor the battery voltage, current and temperature. It has a built-in Coulomb counter to calculate battery charge, and stores the data at 16-bit resolution for retrieval by the system controller.
STMicroelectronics said that the new IC device accesses through an I2C interface, enabling the controller to create a graphical representation of remaining battery-operating time.
The company said that the new IC device supports extra functionality by providing one external pin for use as a detector input or to drive an LED indicator. Each IC is also pre-programmed with a 64-bit identifier, which enables traceability of individual battery packs or subsystems.
In addition, 32 bytes of accessible RAM allow storage of battery history or application-related information throughout the lifetime of the battery.
