ON Semiconductor heeft vandaag een press release uitgegeven waarin ze de Power management IC aankondigen. Dit handige chippie is ontworpen om het leven van lithium-ion batterijen te verlengen door het individueel aansturen van de verschillende cellen in de batterij. Handig dus voor in de notebook:
San Diego, CA - September 25, 2000 - At the Power 2000 conference today, ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), a leading provider of broadband data and power management solutions for wireless, computing, consumer and automotive applications, unveiled a power management integrated circuit (IC) designed specifically to provide electronic protection for lithium-ion batteries in laptop computer applications.
Designed to be placed into a lithium battery pack, the MC33351A is a monolithic battery protection circuit that maximizes cycle life through useful cell capacity and protects the end user from a catastrophic event resulting from an over-voltage or over-current condition. The MC33351A features a cell-balancing feature that allows it to maintain the highest possible power storage level for the overall pack. This cell-balancing feature overcomes the typical situation where each battery cell has a slightly different rate of charge and discharge leading to an unbalanced situation and a reduction in capacity for the entire pack.
"The consumer demand for smaller, compact, lightweight portable electronic equipment has dramatically increased the requirements of battery performance," commented Larry Hayes, new product launch manager for ON Semiconductor's analog business unit. "Each of the popular battery chemistries today such as lithium-polymer, lithium-ion, and lithium-metal, require electronic protection in order to constrain cell operation to within the manufacturers limits. The MC33351A is designed specifically for placement in the battery pack where it can be continuously powered from three lithium cells. That is what distinguishes it from competitive products."