Hi
I would like to ask some questions with battery charger.
Li-ion / Li-ion Polymer
Many chargers TI provided are described as can both charge Li-ion and Li-ion polymer batteries. The essential difference between these two types of batteries is with electrolyte:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_polymer_battery
The primary difference is that the lithium-salt electrolyte is not held in an organic solvent but in a solid polymer composite such as polyethylene oxide or polyacrylonitrile.
Since there is no external signal pins from an ordinary battery (not a "smart battery"), how can the charger determine whether the inserted battery is Li-ion or Li-ion polymer? If the two types of batteries have different charging requirements and prescribed charging order, how can the charger know which charging procedure should it choose?
Sub-types
Within each of the two primary classification of Li-ion battery, there are still many different sub-types differing in anode and cathode material as well as electrolyte:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_polymer_battery
And we clearly see that with different material and construction, even the most primary parameters such as voltage could differ, let alone other secondary parameters and charging procedure specifications.
How does chargers adapt to each of the types since many of these broadly claim applicability over the general term "Li-ion" and/or "Li-pol"?
Zheng
