DALLAS-Specialty manufacturer Dallas Semiconductor Corp. announced its latest battery-management chip, which significantly reduces the size and cost of battery electronics.
According to the company, the DS2438 Smart Battery Monitor makes battery-management features formerly relegated to high-end systems cost-effective for a variety of portable products. The DS2438 stores battery-specific data and tracks battery parameters, including temperature, voltage, current and remaining charge.
“The design framework is based on the conviction that battery management is most cost-effective when battery pack devices do only those functions that must be done inside the pack, while all other functions are handled by existing system resources,” said Amy Gebrian, product manager for Dallas Semiconductor.
The new battery-management chip uses the company’s 1-Wire network technology enabling the pack-resident chip to communicate with portable products over a single wire. By using the 1-wire network, the battery pack can connect using just three electrical contacts, minimizing connector cost and maximizing reliability, said the company.
