Start • Design Requirements • System Architecture • External Charging Unit • Internal Charging Unit • Charging Coils • Charging Data • Power Up • Sources and PDF

POWER UP

Our portable power supply can provide more than 100 mA of continuous current at 3.3 V to an embedded application with a recharge cycle of 24 h. The inductively charged supply doesn’t require the connection of any leads to enable the charging cycle.

The supply features a pair of ATmega8 microcontrollers together with an LTC1325 battery-management IC to monitor and charge a pair of battery packs for the optimal long-term performance of the supply. The system’s hardware and firmware may be optimized for various battery types, including NiMH, NiCd, and Li-Ion.

Our power supply should prove useful in a wide variety of portable embedded applications, including sensor deployment where power supply lead wires can be problematic (e.g., in specialized industrial and health-care-related environments). Wireless mobile networks of easily rechargeable sensors will simplify process monitoring and problem diagnosis in many walks of life.