
DS2714: Quad Loose Cell NiMH Charger
9 of 12
CHARGE TIMER
The Charge Timer monitors the duration of charge in Fast and Top-Off charge phases, and is reset at the
beginning of each phase. The time-out period is set with an external resistor connected from the TMR pin to V
SS
.
Resistors can be selected to support Fast charge time-out periods of 0.5 to 10 hours and Top-off charge time-out
periods of 0.25 to 5 hours. If the timer expires in Fast charge, the timer count is reset and charging proceeds to the
Top-Off charge phase. The Top-Off time-out period is half of the Fast charge time-out period. When the timer
expires in Top-Off, charging proceeds to the Maintenance phase. The programmed charge time approximately
follows the equation:
t = 1.5 * R / 1000 (time in minutes)
SUSPEND
Suspension of charge activity is possible by floating the TMR pin. All CCx outputs become high-Z and the Charge
Timer stops. The state machine and all timers are reset to their Presence Test conditions.
TEMPERATURE
SENSE
Connecting an external 10k
NTC thermistor between THM1 or THM2 (THMx) and VSS, and a 10k
bias resistor
between V
DD
and THMx allows the DS2714 to sense temperature. In order to sense the temperature of the battery
cells, locate the thermistor close to the body of the battery cell. The THM1 thermistor should be placed between
cells 1 and 2, and THM2 thermistor between cells 3 and 4. Alternatively, the thermistors can sense ambient
temperature by locating them away from the cells. THM1 and THM2 can be tied together to sense temperature
using a single thermistor and bias resistor. The temperature qualification function can be defeated by tying THMx
pins to a single resistor divider supplying a voltage between the Thermistor-Min and Thermistor-Max threshold
voltages.
MIN, MAX TEMPERATURE COMPARE
The voltage thresholds of the THMx inputs (VTHM-MIN, VTHM-MAX) are set to allow Fast charging to start if 0 C <
T
A
< 45 C when using the recommended 10k
bias and 10k
thermistor. If Fast charging is in progress, and the
voltage on THMx reaches VTHM-STOP (T
A
> 50 C), Fast charging stops and the maintenance phase begins. In
Pre-charge the device will transition to the Fault state if the voltage on THMx reaches VTHM-STOP.
Table 1. THM1, THM2 Thresholds
TEMPERATURE
THM
THRESHOLD
RATIO
OF VDD
THERMISTOR
RESISTANCE
Semitec
103AT-2
Fenwal
197-103LAG-A01
173-103LAF-301
4C
42C
47C
MIN
MAX
STOP
0.73
0.33
0.29
27.04k
4.925k
4.085k
0C
45C
50C
CELL VOLTAGE MONITORING
Individual cell voltages are monitored for minimum and maximum values, using the V
BAT-LOW
, V
BAT-MAX1
and V
BAT-
MAX2
threshold limits. Upon inserting a cell or power-up with cells inserted, cell voltages must be less than the V
BAT-
MAX1
threshold before charging begins. The V
BAT-LOW
threshold determines whether a Pre-charge cycle should
precede the Fast charge cycle, and when to transition from Pre-charge to Fast charge. Once Fast charging
commences, cell voltages are compared to the V
BAT-MAX2
threshold once every 2 seconds. The comparison occurs
while the charge control pin (CC1-4) controlling current to the cell is active (low). When the charge control pin is
active such that charge is applied to the cell, the cell voltage is referred to as the V
ON
voltage. When the charge
control pin is inactive, the cell voltage is referred to as the V
OFF
voltage. Charging is halted and a Fault condition is
displayed if V
ON
is greater than V
BAT-MAX2
. Charging is also halted and a fault condition is entered if V
OFF
is greater
than V
BAT-MAX1
. While Fast charge is in progress, cell voltage measurements are stored and compared to future
measurements for charge termination and cell test purposes.