by Nazzareno (Reno) Rossetti and John Woodward, Maxim Integrated, San Jose, Calif., How2Power Today, Sep 15 2020
Focus:
Supercapacitors require chargers that can handle high current and work smoothly in
constant-current mode during charging and in constant-voltage mode once the final
output voltage is reached. In applications where many supercaps are connected in
series, the chargers must manage high input and output voltage. This article discusses
two use cases for supercapacitors: automatic pallet shuttles in storage facilities and
short-duration backup systems in fail-safe valve actuators, explaining how to
calculate run time. It then introduces a charging circuit based on a stepdown
supercapacitor charger (the MAX17701) which can handle a large range of industrial and
consumer applications. The charger’s key features are discussed and the two use cases
are used to demonstrate its efficiency.
What you’ll learn:
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