Some tips for charging from USB sources (Part 2 of 2)

Understand the subtleties of using the ubiquitous USB port

as a charging and power source
By William Hadden, Battery Charge Management Systems Engineer, Texas Instruments
Weak-Battery Threshold
The USB specification requires that the host be enumerated before current above 2.5 mA is pulled
from the VBUS supply. However, there is a provision in the specification for dead, weak or nobattery cases. It states that, a device with a dead, weak or no battery is allowed to draw up to 100
mA for up to 100 ms sometime after attaching, in order to determine if it will likely be able to
connect. [Reference 3] This may be a problem if the device is unable to power up with 100 mA in
less than 100 ms.
To address this, the USB specification added a specific provision for battery charging. It states, If
a portable device is not able to power up and connect with less than 100 mA, then such a device
with a dead or weak battery is allowed to use the 100 mA from the host to first charge its battery to
its weak battery threshold. Upon reaching its weak battery threshold, the device is immediately
required to power up and connect. [Reference 4]
Above the weak battery threshold, it is assumed that the battery is high enough to supply the host
and, therefore, the host is active. Each application defines its own weak-battery threshold. The
hardware enables for the bq2407x, along with a simple voltage detector, enable the designer to
simply fulfill this requirement. Figure 2 shows a simple solution for the weak-battery threshold case.
R4
1.5 k

R5
1.5 k

IN
C1
1F

GND

CHG

DC+

PGOOD

SYSTEM

OUT
C2
4.7F

VSS

bq24075

HOST
EN2
EN1

TS

SYSOFF
CE

BAT
PACK+

ISET

ILIM

TMR

TEMP

C3
4.7F

100 k
PACK-

R1
46.4 k

R2
1.18 k

100 k

R3
1.13 k

Push/Pull
Voltage
Detector
Enable
TPS3836

Figure 2. Weak battery detection implementation

The voltage detector must be set with the applications weak battery threshold. For example, the
TPS3836 is available with several thresholds. Also, there are voltage detectors available with an
adjustable threshold for the ultimate flexibility. For this application, the important voltage detector
feature is an active low RESET (Low when VIN < VTHRESHOLD) push/pull output so that it can be
isolated from the host outputs. Once the host comes up, it can either disable the voltage detector
or the pullup. The pulldown strength of the host outputs must be stronger than the resistors that
separate the voltage detector output from EN1 and EN2.
Figure 3 shows the implementation waveforms. The weak battery threshold is set to be 3.3 V.
When the 3.5 V battery is plugged in, it is recognized as a good battery and EN1 and EN2 are
pulled high by the TPS3836. After the host is enumerated, the host pulls EN2 low to set the
bq24072 battery charger into USB500 mode. This method assumes that the HOST GPIOs are high
impedance when the HOST is not active.

IIN

VBAT

VEN1

VEN2

EN2 pulled low by host

Figure 3. Example of weak battery implementation

Input Voltage-based Dynamic Power Management (VIN-DPM)

The USB specification states that the output to the device from a low-power port can be as low as
4.4 V under full load after passing through all hubs and cables. Several devices implement input
voltage-based dynamic power management (VIN-DPM). This loop decreases the input current limit
to prevent the input from crashing.
Figure 4 shows the results of overloading the USB port without the VIN-DPM protection. Note that
when the input voltage falls below the power good threshold, the charger turns off. This turns off
the load from the source and allows the input voltage to recover, which turns on the charger. This
on/off pulsing is undesirable.

VIN
UVLO

1V/div

500mA / div

IIN

Figure 4. Input crashing with no VIN-DPM

VIN-DPM prevents pulsing by limiting the input current to prevent the input source from crashing.
Figure 5 shows the results of overloading the USB port when using the bq2407x charger. The VINDPM function kicks in to reduce the input current limit and prevent the source from crashing.

IOUT

200mA/div
Input collapses

VIN
(5V)

Input regulated to VIN-DPM

500mV/div

USB500 Current limit

IIN

200mA/div

Input current limit is

reduced to prevent
crashing the supply

IBAT

200mA/div

4ms/div
Figure 5. Input overload protection using VIN-DPM

Chinese Charger Standard

China created a standard for charger adapters sold in that country, with the purpose of reducing
the number of discarded adapters (caused by the some 100+ million replaced handsets every year
there). This new standard leverages many of the USB requirements and, as such, requires that the
adapter power cord have a standard type-A USB connector to be plugged into an AC adapter or a
standard USB port. The chargers must supply currents between 300 mA and 1.8 A. The nominal

adapter voltage is 5 V +/5%, but chargers must operate from sources less than 6 V. The
downstream circuits must be protected from sources greater than 6 V.
Many battery charger ICs feature function to assist in compliance with the Chinese charger
standard. As the term universal charger suggests, the input to the charger IC must be robust to
handle many different sources and can no longer be designed with a single specific adapter in
mind. These must be able to survive accidental plug-in to higher voltage sources, such as 12 V
auto sources. The wide input-voltage range for devices such as the bq2407x protects downstream
devices for input-transient voltages up to 28 V. This high-input voltage range, and the over-voltage
protection (OVP) function protect the battery charger, as well as the downstream devices, from
incorrect or potentially damaging input sources.
The VIN-DPM feature is also useful in complying with the Chinese-charger standard. The universal
adapters supply between 300 mA and 1.8 A. If the IC is programmed with a 500 mA input current
limit, this will crash a 300 mA adapter, if using a device without the VIN-DPM. The VIN-DPM function
prevents the input from crashing when a weak adapter is connected, but still allows the current
limit to be programmed for a typical adapter to maximize the charge time.
Conclusion
With consumer demands for fewer cords to power and connect their devices, along with the desire
for flexibility to charge from the computer or an AC outlet, many current and future released
handheld devices are required to charge from USB sources as well as AC-wall adapters. As a
result, handhelds must follow USB specifications. These requirements have presented several new
challenges for battery charging.
In this article, we used the bq2407x series of devices to illustrate examples of input current-limit
specifications, quiescent currents, and input-voltage dynamic power management (VIN-DPM) that
simplify battery charger design. Additionally, we examined the impact of the Chinese charger
specification on the charger design. The outlined specifications and features simplify charger
design.
References
[1] USB specification, pg.177
[2] USB-IF test procedure document, Version 1.3
[3] USB battery charging specification, pg. 3
[4] USB battery charging specification, Section 2.2.6
USB Serial Bus Specification 2.0
USB Battery Charging Specification, Revision 1.0
Chinese Charger Standard, ICS 33 120 01
USB Implementers Forum Full and Low Speed Electrical and Interoperability Compliance Test
Procedure, Revision 1.3
About the Author
Will Hadden is a Systems Engineer at Texas Instruments, for the Battery Charge Management
Group within Power Management. He has many years of experience with battery charger and
analog power supply integrated circuits, and can be reached at ti_willhadden@list.ti.com.