I have a project with 4 NiMH AA batteries in a parallel use configuration. As far as I can see, they must be electrically separated for proper charging so I will need to set up a system for separately managing the charging for each battery. I wish to do this powered by a USB bus. I see a lot of choices...
1) is there a reference design or component recommendation for this configuration.
2) Is there a recommended means of using 1 charger IC or is it better perhaps to use 4 separate chips?
3) Also, am I correct in thinking that NiMH should not be charged in parallel?
for example, do any of the USB bus compatible chargers such as bq24072T work with a single NiMH cell? If so, how should it be controlled to be compatible with NiMH chemistry rather than the designated Li-Ion purpose?
Thanks,
Dave