Cell Balancing with BQ7690x Monitors
Cell Balancing with BQ7690x Monitors
Application Note
Cell Balancing With BQ7690x Battery Monitors
Jose Couso
ABSTRACT
The BQ7690x (which includes the BQ76905 and BQ76907) is a highly accurate and low power battery monitor
and protector family with a host-operated cell balancing feature. This document describes how to use the
cell-balancing function, how to increase the balancing current using external circuitry (FETs and BJTs), and
systems considerations for the host-controlled balancing algorithm.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................2
2 Cell Balancing Circuit Considerations..................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Internal Cell-Balancing Circuit Design................................................................................................................................2
2.2 External Cell-Balancing Circuit Design Using N-Channel FETs.........................................................................................4
2.3 External Cell-Balancing Circuit Design Using BJTs........................................................................................................... 5
3 Considerations for a Host-Balancing Algorithm..................................................................................................................7
4 Timing Information................................................................................................................................................................. 9
5 Debugging Common Issues With Cell Balancing..............................................................................................................12
5.1 Using a Resistor Divider as a Cell Simulator................................................................................................................... 12
5.2 Cell Balancing Troubleshooting........................................................................................................................................13
6 Summary............................................................................................................................................................................... 14
7 References............................................................................................................................................................................ 14
List of Figures
Figure 2-1. Application Circuit for Internal Balancing...................................................................................................................3
Figure 2-2. Internal Cell Balancing on Cell 1 (VC1).....................................................................................................................3
Figure 2-3. Balancing Circuit Using External N-channel FETs.................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2-4. BQ76907 Cell Balancing With N-Channel FETs, Cell 7 (VC7) Rbal_voltage Approximately = 3.86V.......................5
Figure 2-5. Balancing Circuit Using External BJTs...................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2-6. BQ76907 Cell Balancing With NPN BJT, Cell 7 (VC7) Rbal_voltage Approximately = 3.68V...................................7
Figure 3-1. Adjacent Cell Balancing, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 2 (VC2) blue...............................................................................8
Figure 3-2. CB ACTIVE CELLs Register..................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 4-1. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x00, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue............................ 10
Figure 4-2. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x01, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue............................ 10
Figure 4-3. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x10, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue............................ 11
Figure 4-4. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x11, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue............................ 11
Figure 4-5. Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x00 And Settings:Cell Balancing:Balancing
Configuration[CBDLY2:0] = 0x07 (64 ms delay), Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue.......................................................12
List of Tables
Table 3-1. Host-Controlled Cell Balancing Subcommand............................................................................................................7
Table 4-1. Cell Balancing Loop Slow-Down Settings...................................................................................................................9
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1 Introduction
Battery cells are typically matched during the manufacturing of battery packs. Over time, an imbalance in the
state of charge may develop between cells and reduce the overall capacity of the pack. Having a battery monitor
with the capability of cell balancing allows longer battery life for the pack.
The BQ7690x supports passive cell balancing by bypassing the current of selected cells during charging or
at rest, using the integrated or external bypass switches. For external bypass switches, the user could select
between FET or BJT transistors. Balancing must be initiated and controlled manually from a host processor.
While balancing is active, there will be a current flowing into the cell input pins. In order to measure accurately,
cell balancing needs to be disabled temporary while measuring the individual cells. Therefore, the timing
for measurement of cell voltages and evaluation of cell voltage protections by the device is modified during
balancing. The internal balancing FETs are disabled temporarily during each ADSCAN while the cell voltages
and shared slot are being measured while cell balancing is active on a cell.
2 Cell Balancing Circuit Considerations
Cell balancing of a particular cell consists of enabling an integrated FET switch across the cell. The balancing
current is determined by value of the input filter resistors selected when using internal balancing. Field
Effect Transitors (FETs) or Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT) can be used to increase the balance current in
applications where the internal balancing current may not be sufficient.
Internal balancing, external balancing with N-channel FETs, and external balancing with BJTs are discussed in
this section. Considerations for power dissipation and timing is also discussed.
2.1 Internal Cell-Balancing Circuit Design
When one of the internal balance FETs is enabled, the internal FET will pull the pins for that cell together
drawing current through the input resistors for that cell. The recommended minimum value of the input filter
resistors when using internal balancing is 20Ω. This value maximizes the balance current while keeping it
well within the absolute maximum cell balancing current over the internal FET RDS(ON) range. The maximum
recommended value for the input filter resistors is 1kΩ.
The typical internal cell balancing resistance (RDS(ON) for the internal FET) is 80Ω. For a typical lithium ion cell
with a full charge voltage of 4.2V, this results in a balancing current of approximately 35mA. This is the DC
current assuming the switch was continuously on; therefore, the average balancing current will be lower. The
duty cycle is determined by a multiple factors which are discussed in more detail in Section 4.
VCELL 4.2
I_Balance = = = 35mA (1)
2 × Rn + RCB 2 × 20 + 80
BQ7690x
Rn + 1 VCn+1
+
Cn+1
Rn
VCn
+
Cn
Rn-1
VCn -1
For many applications, the internal balancing current for the device is sufficient and additional external
components are not required. However, one must consider the power dissipation and the resulting impact on
the device temperature. For example, 35mA into 80Ω results in about 0.098W (almost 100-mW). The junction to
ambient thermal resistance (θ-JA) for the device is 47.2 °C/W. If 5-cells are balancing at the same time, this can
result in a junction temperature rise of approximately 23 °C.
There are different alternatives to mitigate excessive power dissipation. The host can limit the maximum number
of cells allowed to balance simultaneously, refer to How to Limit Maximum Balancing Cells. Another alliterative is
to increase the cell input resistors, in order to reduce the balancing current and improve power dissipation.
Note
In Figure 2-2, the ON time of the duty cycle represents the active measurement time. While the low
cycle represents the cell balancing time.
Care must be taken to select an external FET with a low RDSON defined at low VGS. For example, say the
minimum cell balance voltage is 3.9V. The external FET can have an RDSON defined at or below 3.9V x 100 /
(100 + 100 + 80) = 1.39V.
A Zener diode is needed to protect the external FET gate from pack transients. For example, in the event of a
short across the pack in a 7-cell battery, Cell 7 would have approximately 28V across Rn during the event and
the opposite transient at the release of the short circuit. The gate voltage can be connected through a resistor to
limit the current when the diode conducts. (During normal operation the Zener will not conduct).
For Figure 2-3, the circuit was designed with an Rn of 100Ω and Rgn of 1kΩ. The Rbal resistor is set to 50Ω
for a balance current of approximately 77mA through the external FET at 4V. At this cell voltage, an additional
approximately 15mA of current flows through the internal FET of the device for a total balancing current of close
to 92mA. An N-channel MOSFET was selected with an RDSON defined for low VGS down to 1.4V.
Figure 2-4. BQ76907 Cell Balancing With N-Channel FETs, Cell 7 (VC7) Rbal_voltage Approximately =
3.86V
Note
In Figure 2-4, the ON time of the duty cycle represents the voltage across the Rbal resistor while
balancing cell 7 (VC7). While the low cycle represents the voltage across Rbal resistor when
balancing is OFF.
BQ7690x
Rn + 1 VCn+1
Rbal
+
Rbn+1 Cn+1
Rn
VCn
Rbal
+
Rbn Cn
IB
Dbase
Rn-1
VCn -1
A Zener diode is also used in this circuit to protect from pack transients similar to the FET circuits. A standard
diode is also suitable to use instead of a Zener when using BJTs because it is the forward voltage of the Zener
that protects the transistor. The base-emitter diode (or emitter-base diode for a PNP) will conduct in the reverse
direction which will prevent the Zener from conducting.
Note
The Zener diode might not be needed since the BJT comes with a built-in diode.
In Figure 2-6, the circuit was designed with an Rn of 100Ω and Rgn of 240Ω. The Rbal resistor is set to 50Ω for
a balance current of approximately 74mA through the BJT at 4V. At this cell voltage, an additional approximately
15mA of current flows through the internal FET of the device for a total balancing current of close to 89mA. An
NPN transistor was selected with hFE of 30 at IC = 100 mA.
Figure 2-6. BQ76907 Cell Balancing With NPN BJT, Cell 7 (VC7) Rbal_voltage Approximately = 3.68V
Note
In Figure 2-6, the positive duty cycle represents the voltage across the Rbal resistor while balancing
cell 7 (VC7). While the negative duty cycle represents the voltage across Rbal resistor when balancing
is OFF.
Host-controlled balancing can be controlled using specific subcommands sent by the host, these subcommands
are also accessible in SEALED mode, to avoid the need for the pack to be unsealed in operation in order to
initiate balancing. If host-controlled balancing will not be used, access to these subcommands can be disabled
by setting the Balancing Configuration[CB_NO_CMD] configuration bit. The subcommand used by the host to
control cell balancing is described in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1. Host-Controlled Cell Balancing Subcommand
Subcommand Description
When read, reports a bit mask of which cells are being actively balanced. When written, starts balancing
0x0083 CB_ACTIVE_CELLS()
on the specified cells. Write 0x00 to turn balancing off.
Note
When writing to the host-controlled balancing commands, it is necessary to write the checksum and
length to registers 0x60/0x61 for the values to be written successfully. Refer to the BQ76907 Technical
Reference Manual or BQ7690x Software Development Guide for information on writing the checksum
and length.
Adjacent, as well as non-adjacent cells can be balanced. Balancing is controlled using the 0x0083
CB_ACTIVE_CELLS() subcommand sent by the host. When balancing is initiated using this subcommand, the
device starts a timer and will begin balancing the specified cells for up to 20 seconds. The timer is reset if a new
balancing subcommand is issued. This is included as a precaution, in case the host processor initiated balancing
but then stopped communication with the BQ7690x, so that balancing cannot continue indefinitely. The host can
write 0x00 to the subcommand to disable balancing. When this subcommand is read, it reports a bit mask of
which cells are being actively balanced.
The device will disable balancing if the ADC measurement of a thermistor (if the TS pin is configured
for thermistor measurement) is above Settings:Cell Balancing:Min Temp Threshold (the threshold for
the minimum temperature) or below Settings:Cell Balancing:Max Temp Threshold (the threshold for the
maximum temperature) or the internal die temperature of the device exceeds a programmable threshold set by
Settings:Cell Balancing:Max Internal Temp.
Figure 3-1. Adjacent Cell Balancing, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 2 (VC2) blue.
Note
Note on Adjacent Cell Balancing: Care needs to be taken when using host-controlled balancing to
ensure the power dissipation is at safe levels. Adjacent cell balancing can only be used in special
cases after careful consideration. Care must be taken to not exceed the abs max 50mA cell balancing
current limit or the abs max VC0 input voltage limit.
For instance, you can perform the following sequence to allow for cell 5 and cell 7 for balancing.
1. Write to the 0x0083 CB_ACTIVE_CELLS() followed by the specified cell.
a. W:10 3E 83 00 A0
2. Write the checksum and length.
a. W:10 60 DC 05
3. (Optional) Read after writing to ensure the specified cells are being balanced.
a. R:10 40 2
Note
Writing to RAM registers is explained in the BQ7690x Software Development Guide.
4 Timing Information
Due to the current that flows into the cell input pins on the BQ7690x while balancing is active, cell voltage
measurements cannot be made without disabling balancing temporarily. Therefore, the timing for measurement
of cell voltages and evaluation of cell voltage protections by the device is modified during balancing. While
balancing of any cell is active, the balancing FETs are disabled temporarily during each ADSCAN while
the cell voltages are being measured, as well as during the Shared Slot measurement. In order to meet
the need for regular measurements while cell balancing is underway, the Settings:Configuration:Power
Config[CB_LOOP_SLOW[1:0]] configuration bits modify the cell voltage measurement timing when cell
balancing is active, to increase the average balancing current. This modification involves replacing the
measurements in selected ADSCANs with idle slots of the same width, to allow balancing to remain active
a higher percentage of the time.
Table 4-1. Cell Balancing Loop Slow-Down Settings
CB_LOOP_SLOW_1 CB_LOOP_SLOW_0 Description
0 0 Measurements are skipped in one of every two ADSCANs.
0 1 Measurements are skipped in three of every four ADSCANs.
1 0 Measurements are skipped in seven of every eight ADSCANs.
1 1 Measurements are skipped in 15 of every 16 ADSCANs.
Note
The LOOP_SLOW and CB_LOOP_SLOW settings operate independently. The LOOP_SLOW
setting determines the speed of the regular measurement loop while balancing is not active.
The CB_LOOP_SLOW setting determines the speed of the regular measurement loop only while
balancing is active (the two settings do not combine together during balancing).
Figure 4-1. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x00, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue
Figure 4-2. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x01, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue
Figure 4-3. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x10, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue
Figure 4-4. Internal Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x11, Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue
Note
In the previous four figures, the positive duty cycle represents the active measurement time. While the
negative duty cycle represents the cell balancing time.
At the time cell balancing is disabled (either indefinitely or periodically to allow regular cell voltage
measurements), there will be a voltage transient generated that can affect several nearby cell input pins, due to
the resistor and capacitor network at those pins. If a cell measurement occurs too quickly after cell balancing
has been disabled, the accuracy of the cell voltage measurement can be impacted. In order to address this
potential issue, the device includes a programmable delay implemented each time cell balancing is disabled
before any cell voltage measurements are taken. This delay is set by Settings:Cell Balancing:Balancing
Configuration[CBDLY2:0] from zero to 64 ms. It should be noted that this delay will increase the time between
successive active measurement loops.
Figure 4-5. Cell Balancing With CB_LOOP_SLOW = 0x00 And Settings:Cell Balancing:Balancing
Configuration[CBDLY2:0] = 0x07 (64 ms delay), Cell 1 (VC1) yellow, Cell 3 (VC3) blue
Note
Notice how the active measurement time is increased by approximately 64ms with respect to Figure
4-1. This allows the user to read very accurate voltage measurements values.
6 Summary
The BQ7690x (which includes the BQ76905 and BQ76907) includes a host-operated cell balancing feature,
which allows to extend the battery life of your multi-cell battery pack. Applications needs willl determine the best
alternative to incorporate cell balancing in your system design. This document describe how cell balacing works
on the BQ7690x, how to increase the balancing current by using external FETs, and systems consideration
for the balancing algorithm. In addition, it incorporate tests results using the BQ76907 to showcase the
cell balancing functionality, alongiside common issues and troubleshooting techniques for cell balancing. This
document is a guide on how to use the BQ7690x cell balancing functionality for your application.
7 References
• Texas Instruments, BQ76907 2-s to 7-s High Accuracy Battery Monitor and Protector for Li-Ion, LiPolymer,
and LiFePO4 Battery Packs ), data sheet.
• Texas Instruments, BQ76905 2-s to 5-s High Accuracy Battery Monitor and Protector for Li-Ion, LiPolymer,
and LiFePO4 Battery Packs ), data sheet.
• Texas Instruments, BQ76907, technical reference manual.
• Texas Instruments, BQ76905, technical reference manual.
• Texas Instruments, Battery Management Studio (BQStudio) Software.
• Texas Instruments, BQ7690x Software Development Guide, user's guide.
• Texas Instruments, BQ76907, product page.
• Texas Instruments, BQ76905, product page.
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