About UsLT Releases 60V Battery Monitor for Multicell Applications
The LTC2944 measures charge, voltage, current and temperature to 1% accuracy
Linear Technology (now part of Analog Devices) has released the LTC2944 multicell battery monitor, which makes direct measurements of 3.6V to 60V battery stacks. Absolutely no level shifting circuitry on the supply and measurement pins is required to interface with multicell voltages, so total current consumption is minimized and measurement accuracy is preserved.
The LTC2944 is a true high voltage battery monitor that measures charge, voltage, current and temperature to 1% accuracy, the essential parameters required to accurately assess battery state of charge (SoC).
The LTC2944 is ideal for multicell applications, including electric vehicles, ebikes/motorcycles/scooters, wheelchairs, golf carts and battery backup systems. Battery current is measured by monitoring the voltage across an external, high side sense resistor and integrating this information to infer charge. A bidirectional analog integrator accommodates either current polarity (battery charge or discharge), and a programmable prescaler supports a wide range of battery capacities. Charge, voltage, current and temperature information are communicated to the host system over an I²C/SMBus-compatible 2-wire interface that is also used to configure the battery monitor. The host can program high and low thresholds for all measured parameters, which if tripped, signal an alert using either the SMBus alert protocol or by setting a register flag.
The LTC2944 is offered in commercial and industrial versions, supporting operating temperature ranges from 0°C to 70°C and –40°C to 85°C, respectively. The LTC2944 is available today in a small RoHS-compliant, 8-pin 3mm x 3mm DFN package.
Features of the LTC2944 include:
- Measures Accumulated Battery Charge & Discharge
- 3.6V to 60V Operating Range for Multicell Applications
- 14-Bit ADC Measures Voltage, Current & Temperature
- 1% Charge, Voltage & Current Accuracy
- ±50mV Sense Voltage Range
- High Side Sense
- Configurable Alert Output/Charge Complete Input
- I²C/SMBus Interface
- Quiescent Current <150µA
For more information on the LTC2944 60V Battery Monitor, visit the Analog Devices website at Linear Technology LTC2944 product page.
The Analog Devices website address is www.analog.com
[Reprinted with kind permission from Linear Technology - Release Date: 30th January, 2017]
