Vol. 2, No.

Simple Addition Permits Voltage Control Of DC-DC

Converter’s Output
This article presents apples-to-apples test results for noise densities for
several low-noise discrete, SMT n-JFETs. The tests used the same operating
conditions so that designers can make a fair comparison for their applications.

Simple NiCd Battery Charger Includes Charge

Indication
This circuit uses a microcontroller and simple algorithm managing voltage
regulator ICs and discrete components to control charging of nickel-cadmium
batteries. It provides a steady charging current matched to the battery
capacity while avoiding overcharging; it also includes LEDs that indicate the
status of the charging process to the user.

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ideas
Simple Addition Permits Voltage
Control Of DC-DC Converter’s Output
EUGENE PALATNIK | ITEC ENGINEERING epalatn@itecengineering.com
for design

IN A STANDARD DC-DC converter, a resis- VOut = 3 Vfb – 2 Vr (4)

5 5
tor divider typically defines a fixed out- 92XW ² 9U  9IE ² 9U 
5
put voltage. However, applications like R3 and R4 have the same value, 10
programmable output voltage power Since R1 = 20 kΩ and R2 = 10 kΩ, kΩ, so amplifier U2’s output voltage is:
supplies and motor control circuits Equation 2 can be simplified to:
require dynamic control of the dc-dc Vr = 2 VRef – VC (5)
converter’s output voltage. The circuit VOut – Vr = 3(Vfb – Vr) (3)
described here allows control of the con- where VRef is the reference voltage gen-
verter’s output voltage, VOut, with a con- or: erated by U3 after resistor divider R7/R8.
trol voltage, VC.
In a conventional dc-dc buck con- C5 0.1 μF
2 1 L1
verter, VOut is: VIn VIN BOOT 2.2 μH
8
C2 U1 PH VOut
5 5 10 μF 3 TPS54332
92XW  9IE  6
EN
D1 C6
5 5 22 μF R1
COMP VFB B230-13
4 9 20k
SS PGND
so VOut is fixed by the values of R1 and Vfb
R9
R2 (Fig. 1). 20.5k

The added circuitr y in Figure 2 C4

0.01 μF R2
C3
enables users to control the same dc- 820 pF
10k

dc converter’s output voltage using VC.

In this case, R2 is not connected to the
ground but, rather, to Vr. Equation 1 1. The output voltage in a conventional dc-dc buck converter is fixed and depends on the
then becomes: resistor divider, R1/R2.

2 1
VIn VIN BOOT L1
C2 C5 0.1 μF 2.2 μH
10 μF 8
3 PH VOut R3
EN U1 D1 10k
2. The added cir- TPS54332 B230-13
6 5 C6
cuitry in this ver- COMP VFB
22 μF R1 +5 V R4
sion of the dc-dc 20k 10k
4 9 R5
SS PGND 7 2
51 VC
converter permits 6 –
R9 Vfb +5 V
control of V Out by + 3
20.5k U2 4
varying a control TLC271
R2
–5 V R7 R6
voltage, VC. 10k 2k
C4 10k
C3 Vr VRef
0.01 μF
820 pF

C1 R8
1 μF 3.16k U3
LM4040D25

64 08.08.13 ELECTRONIC DESIGN

 Combining Equation 4 and Equation 5: Finally, C1 lowers U2’s output impedance at high frequencies,
maintaining the stability of U1’s feedback loop.
VOut = 3 Vfb – 4 VRef + 2 V (6) The added circuitry allows users to control the buck con-
verter’s output voltage, VOut, in the range of 0 to 5 V with a con-
To simplify Equation 6, choose components that make: trol voltage, VC, in the range of 0 to 2.5 V. Similar circuitry can
be designed
3 Vfb = 4 VRef (7) EUGENE PALATNIK is for use with a
an electrical engineer and boost convert-
Then Equation 6 becomes: president of ITEC Engineer- er, or any other
ing LLC. He is active in the dc-dc con-
VOut = 2 VC (8) design of electronics for verter, as long
medical, scientific, and as its feedback
The internal voltage reference of U1 is 0.8 V. By choosing R7 industrial applications. voltage pin is
= 10 kΩ and R8 = 3.16 kΩ, VRef = 0.6 V, satisfying Equation 7. accessible.

Simple NiCd Battery Charger

Includes Charge Indication
ABEL RAYNUS | ARMATRON INTERNATIONAL INC. abelr@armatronintl.com

RECHARGEABLE NICKEL-CADMIUM (NICD)
BATTERIES are widely used in consumer
electronics because of their high energy
density, long life, and low self-discharge
rate. Standard NiCd cells can be charged
at different rates: a fast charge with high
current, or overnight with low current.
Regardless of the charge speed, a
steady current should be provided to
+5 V
C1
0.1 μF
1
the battery during charging. Also, more
energy must be supplied to the battery
than its actual capacity to compensate
for energy loss during charging.
However, two problems must be
addressed when designing a charger
for them: how to set the proper charg-
ing-current value, and how to stop the
charging process when the battery is
IC2
LM78L05
1 3
3 LM317 LDO) and resistor R3, where R3
2
1 IC3
LM317
2 because of its very low open-state (con-
full, to avoid overcharging. This simple
and inexpensive charger overcomes
both problems. The cheapest and saf-
est way to charge a NiCd battery is to
charge at 10% of its rated capacity per
hour for 16 hours. The battery pack
used contained two AA-size 1200-mAh
NiCd cells, so the battery should be
charged with 120-mA current.
In the charging circuit of Figure 1, a
constant charge current is generated by
a current regulator comprising IC3 (an
+9 V
Buzzer is 1.25 V/120 mA, about 10 Ω. Switch-
ing MOSFET Q1 (IRF520) was chosen

LED4 2
R3 ductive) impedance of 0.3 Ω.
100% pA5 10
The best charging practice is to use a
LED3
3 120 mA timer to prevent overcharging to con-
75% pA4 IC1 3
Battery + R2 tinue past 16 hours. This approach does
MC68HC908QT1 7
LED2 4 under 200k
50% pA0 charge – 2 Q2 not require an end-of-charge sensor,
pA3 2N3904
LED1 6 2 and it ensures a full charge. The tim-
25% pA1 R1
100k Q1 1 ing function is performed by microcon-
1 IRF520 troller IC1, which also reports the state
8
3 of charge via the LEDs.
Any microcontroller could be used in
1. The constant charging current is produced by an LDO and resistor and gated by Q1, which this project. Here, the inexpensive eight-
in turn is managed by an output of the microcontroller. A quartet of LEDs, also microcon- pin Motorola (Freescale) MC68HC-
troller-driven, indicates charge status to the user. 908QT1 microcontroller was used.

GO
GO TO ELECTRONICDESIGN.COM 65
Ideas for Design

Each charging step is indicated by lighting a correspond- Start

ing LED. The number of steps is determined by the number

of available outputs of the microcontroller, without adding Initialization

any extra components. Since the microcontroller has five Start charge
outputs, one of them is used for charge triggering, and so Main
No
the four can be used for charge indication. To minimize the TOF = 1?
number of components, LEDs with built-in resistors are used Yes
(WP710A10YD5V, www.kingbrightusa.com). Increment counter

To make the process more visual, these LEDs should be Yes

CNT >1/4 MAX_CNT?
located in line with the outline of the battery drawn around No
them, so lighting the LEDs one by one will clearly indicate the Toggle LED1

progress of charging. It is reasonable to choose the time inter-

vals to be equal, with the LEDs indicating 25%, 50%, 75%, and Set LED1 on

100% of battery-charge time. Yes

CNT >1/2 MAX_CNT?
The program starts blinking the corresponding LED at No
the beginning of each time interval and up to the end of each Toggle LED2

interval. After that, it lights the LEDs steady on. When charg-
ing is over, all four LEDs are on, so the user knows the charge Set LED2 on

status at any time. (As an optional feature, a buzzer could be Yes

CNT >3/4MAX_CNT?
added to provide an audio signal when charging is over.) No
The microcontroller program of Figure 2 is straightforward. Toggle LED3

The assembler code listing can be found with the online ver-
sion of this article at http://electronicdesign.com/power/simple- Set LED3 on
nicd-battery-charger-includes-charge-indication. Yes
CNT >MAX_CNT?
The LED blinking period is set at one second. The built-in No
oscillator of the microcontroller generates a frequency of 12.8 Toggle LED4
MHz and provides a one-cycle duration of 312.5 ns. By setting
the timer prescaler to 64 and timer modulo register to 50,000
Set LED4 on
(C350H), the timer overflow (TOF) period is equal to one sec-
Stop charge
ond (0.3125 μs × 64 × 50,000). The program toggles the LED
at each TOF period. End
The overnight “long” charge lasts 16 hours, with counter
constant MAX_CNT calculated as 16 × 60 × 60 = 57,600 2. The flowchart shows the straightforward level-check/step-
(E100H). Any maximum charge time can be set in the same through iteration sequence of the code for driving the charge-indi-
way. Obviously, it’s not convenient to wait for 16 hours to test cation LEDs.
the program, and a period such as 20 minutes, for example,
would be more practical.
For that shorter period, constant MAX_CNT should be set IDEAS FOR DESIGN WANTED
to 20 × 60 = 1200 (04B0H). The duration of each of four time
intervals will then be automatically set by firmware once the Send us your Ideas For Design. We’ll pay you $150 for every Idea For
Design that we publish. In addition, this year’s top design as selected
maximum charge time is entered.
by our readers will earn an additional $500, with two runners up each
This approach is very flexible and can be applied to charge receiving $250. You can submit your Ideas For Design via:
any NiCd battery by choosing resistor R3 accordingly. In addi- t
&NBJM
SJDIBSEHBXFM!QFOUPODPN
tion, nearly any type of microcontroller can be used, because OR BY
the program is simple and uses only standard instructions. t

1PTUBM
NBJM
UP
Ideas For Design
&MFDUSPOJD
%FTJHO
1166 Avenue of the Americas, 10th Floor
ABEL RAYNUS is an engineer with Armatron International New York, NY 10036
Inc., Malden, Mass. Go to www.electronicdesign.com for our submission guidelines.

66 08.08.13 ELECTRONIC DESIGN