Revive your batteries fast using MCP73213 and STM32F101ZG

Charge smarter, and stay active longer

Published Jul 28, 2023

Click board™

MCP73213 click

Dev Board

Fusion for ARM v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F101ZG

Optimize charging processes and ensure safe, efficient, and reliable power delivery while maximizing your battery's lifespan

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

MCP73213 Click is based on the MCP73213, a dual-cell Li-Ion/Li-Polymer battery charge management controller with input overvoltage protection from Microchip. The Click is designed to run on either 3.3V or 5V power supply. It communicates with the target microcontroller over the SPI interface. The Click is designed to charge a dual-cell Li-Ion/Li-Polymer battery. The input voltage needs to be higher than the voltage of a dual-cell Li-Ion/Li-Polymer battery. The MCP73213 is a highly integrated Li-Ion battery

charge management controller. The MCP73213 provides specific charge algorithms for dual-cell Li-Ion/Li-Polymer batteries to achieve optimal capacity and safety in the shortest charging time possible. The absolute maximum voltage, up to 18V, allows the use of MCP73213 in harsh environments, such as low-cost wall warts or voltage spikes from plug/unplug. An internal overvoltage protection (OVP) circuit monitors the input voltage and keeps the charger in shutdown mode when the input supply rises above the

typical 13V OVP threshold. The OVP hysteresis is approximately 150 mV for the MCP73213 device. First, connect the input voltage to the input screw terminal. Then, set the input voltage because it needs to be larger than the voltage of two series-connected batteries for regular charging (which means it needs to be >8V). We can change the charging current through the SPI interface. Now leave the batteries to charge; when they are charged, they will be signalized on the status LED.

Features overview

Development board

Fusion for ARM v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM® Cortex®-M based MCUs regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over WiFi. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, Fusion for ARM v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the Fusion for ARM v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. Fusion for ARM v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M3

MCU Memory (KB)

1024

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

144

RAM (Bytes)

81920

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

RST

SPI Chip Select

PD11

SPI Clock

PA5

SCK

MISO

SPI Data IN

PA7

MOSI

Power Supply

3.3V

Ground

GND

PWM

INT

SCL

SDA

Power Supply

Ground

GND

Take a closer look

Schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Fusion for ARM v8 as your development board.

NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly

In the advanced settings, pay special attention to the Redirect standard output field. By default, it is set to Application output as the method of displaying final results. To show results via a UART terminal, select the “UART” option in that field and click the “SAVE” button. You will be returned to the Compiler field, and now you can move on to the next step by pressing the “NEXT” button.

GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly

SiBRAIN for PIC32MZ1024EFK144 front image hardware assembly

GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly

v8 SiBRAIN Access MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly

NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.

Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.

In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".

The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for MCP73213 Click driver.

Key functions:

mcp73213_set_current_output - Set values for output current function
mcp73213_get_status - Get the status register data function
mcp73213_convert_output - Convert ADC value to volatage

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief Mcp73213 Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application is polymer battery charge management controller.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initialization driver enable's - SPI, also write log.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This is a example which demonstrates the use of MCP73213 Click board.
 * This example sets the resistance to a given value, thus affecting the output current.
 * Controls output current using internal digital potentiometer.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * All data logs write on usb uart changes for every 3 sec.
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "mcp73213.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static mcp73213_t mcp73213;
static log_t logger;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    mcp73213_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );

    //  Click initialization.

    mcp73213_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    MCP73213_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    mcp73213_init( &mcp73213, &cfg );

    log_printf( &logger, "   SPI Driver Init     \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 3000 );
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------- \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "  Set Current Output   \r\n" );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------- \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "   10 kOhm - 130 mA    \r\n" );
    mcp73213_set_current_output( &mcp73213, MCP73213_OUTPUT_130_mA );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------- \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "    5 kOhm - 250 mA    \r\n" );
    mcp73213_set_current_output( &mcp73213, MCP73213_OUTPUT_250_mA );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; )
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END