The bq77910 battery management and protection device can manage 4- to 10-cell battery packs, and two devices can be stacked to protect 11- to 20-cell packs. It protects the battery pack by monitoring individual cell voltages and drives two N-channel power MOSFETs to interrupt current flow during fault conditions. Fault detection and recovery criteria for the device are fully programmable in non-volatile memory to suit all types of lithium battery systems.

Key features and benefits of the bq77910 include

• Battery management and protection for 4- to 10-cell lithium batteries: Individual cell monitoring and balancing with internal FETs maximizes battery pack service life and performance.

• Low power operation: Low quiescent current (50 uA typical, 2.5 uA in shutdown mode) minimizes battery discharge during storage or idle periods to optimize battery life.

• Supports additional lithium battery chemistries: Programmable (EEPROM) fault detection thresholds and time delays make the bq77910 adaptable to all variations of lithium systems, including LiCoO2 and LiFePO4.

• Standalone integrated solution does not require an external controller or processor.
  

The bq77910 is available in a 38-pin TSSOP package, priced at $2.70 in quantities of 1,000.