New Li-Ion battery-monitoring device offers lowest current consumption without an MCU

LAPIS Semiconductor has development a 10-cell lithium-ion battery monitoring LSI that provides a current consumption of only 25µA (typ.), the lowest in the industry, making it ideal for battery-protection systems in products such as cordless vacuum cleaners, electric tools, and other portable equipment, says the company. The ML5233 also features an industry-low 0.1µA (typ.) current consumption during power down, minimizing the effects on battery capacity - even during long-term storage - and contributing to more eco-friendly products with virtually no loss of charged battery power. In addition, built-in temperature and short-circuit current detection circuits enable detection of not only over-charge/discharge and overcurrent, but also abnormal (high) temperatures during discharge along with battery pack short-circuits - all without an MCU. This decreases footprint by 20% and reduces the number of external components from four to one, leading to smaller battery protection systems and lighter development load. The demand for battery-driven cordless vacuum cleaners and electric tools utilizing secondary lithium-ion batteries is increasing worldwide every year due to their greater convenience and ease-of-use. Reducing weight to improve portability and other design factors are also considered important.