Jenkins, JaceElray Kaimana Santiago, Luis Camargo, Jonathan Ciulla

Title:
Dataforth 6-Cell Lithium Polymer Battery Charger

Abstract:
The technological advancements in battery design have necessitated efficient, safe, and reliable battery chargers, particularly in Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery applications. LiPo batteries are inherently hazardous and require precise measurements to verify safe working conditions. Our team’s design was centered around a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller that facilitated the safety requirements by utilizing a custom battery charging algorithm based upon user-defined fault conditions and default current and voltage thresholds. The charging algorithm employed by the MSP430 enabled efficient data processing from a multitude of analog inputs, including individual cell voltages, battery pack temperature, and the current supplied to the battery. With the use of Dataforth Corporation’s industry-leading analog signal conditioning modules, our battery pack temperature measurements are able to achieve greater accuracy. The team’s design procedural fluency aided in our ability to translate concepts into a final product. Through validation and verification testing, the design experienced alterations in both hardware and software due to redundancies. By doing so it lead to achieving an optimized design that provides the user with the utmost safety and reliability while charging a six-cell LiPo battery.

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