SLUUCW9 December 2023 BQ76972
Cell offset calibration provides the opportunity for improved accuracy over using the fixed offset adjustment procedure. During field operation, it involves a similar offset adjustment of each cell voltage reading from the device. However, it also requires the measurement of each device on the customer production line.
The customer must prepare a fixture for use on the production line that generates 16 simulated cell voltages at a nominal voltage approximately in the middle of the expected cell voltage range. For example, if LFP cells are to be used over a range from 2.7 V to 3.7 V per cell, a fixture can be prepared which provides an output of 3.2 V per cell. If instead Li-ion cells will be used over a range from 3.0 V to 4.3 V, the fixture can provide outputs of 3.7 V per cell. An example diagram of such a fixture is shown in Figure 4-4.
The differential voltage of each simulated cell output is measured with a precision voltmeter (Vsim1 - Vsim0, Vsim2 - Vsim1, and so on), to know each voltage generated. It is not critical that each output be exactly the target voltage, just that its value is precisely known. If a high quality voltage regulator is used, the fixture outputs should only need to be measured once after it is assembled.
On the production line, the fixture is connected to each PCB after assembly at room temperature, before cells are attached, as shown in Figure 4-5. The BQ76972 is powered, and measurements of each cell voltage are read and stored (Cell 1 Voltage(), Cell 2 Voltage(), and so on). Multiple readings for each cell voltage can be collected and averaged to reduce the effect of noise that may be present on the production line.
The offset for each cell is calculated as follows:
The 16 values of Cell # Offset are unique for each device and are stored in the host processor. During field operation, each reported cell voltage measurement is offset using the stored Cell # Offset values by the host processor:
Alternatively, the customer can collect offset data on a number of devices and analyze the resulting offsets, to determine whether using a fixed set of offsets may still provide sufficient cell measurement accuracy. This would then be equivalent to the Fixed Offset Adjustment described earlier, but instead using a set of fixed offsets obtained from the customer's own boards and design.