Reference Design for 48V Mobility Solution from Renesas Featuring 16-Cell Battery Front End and 32-bit MCU

Published  August 26, 2020   0
ISL94216R 16-cell BFE- Reference Design for 48V Mobility Solution from Renesas

Renesas Electronics has come up with a 48V Mobility Solution to help customers speed up the development process of e-scooters, e-bikes, UPS, and energy storage systems. Featuring the ISL94216 16-cell battery front end (BFE), robust HIP2211 100V MOSFET drivers, and RX23T 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), the modular solution with a built-in floating-point unit (FPU) and six high-performance timers specifically tooled for complex inverter control algorithms.

The 48V mobility combination solution is powered by a 25 Ah Li-ion battery that drives a 1600W inverter to attain speeds up to 5000 rpm. It includes two boards to address the higher battery cell count and power levels that the mobile applications require.

The Battery Front End (BFE) and charger board focus on larger, higher voltage battery packs. The other board which is the motor control and inverter board features synchronized current/voltage measurements and drivers that are pulse width modulated (PWM) to actuate the motor and monitor motor status. The algorithm with the hardware is perfect for driving brushless DC (BLDC) motors. Besides, there are two optional boards available. One is the wireless charging receiver board, and the other is the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE 5.0) control, board.  

The specific features and modular design of the mobility winning combination solution enable the engineers to greatly reduce the man-hours in software/hardware development and debug. Moreover, the highly integrated ISL94216 offers several features that balance and monitor system conditions to improve battery life and safety, independent of the MCU. Additionally, it uses the ISL81601 60V bidirectional 4-switch synchronous buck-boost controller for ultra-fast charging. The controller’s CC/CV charger profile is implemented through the system MCU.

Key Features

BFE and charger board: The ISL94216 16-cell BFE supports up to 200 mA+ external cell balancing key to enable fast recharging and high utilization in large battery packs with hotplug tolerance up to 62V. It provides full high-side, battery protection, and monitoring for 4S to 16S cell battery packs. The RX23T 32-bit MCU with built-in FPU supports full control of the entire system. The ISL28214 op-amps deliver low power consumption and input bias, and the ISL81601 maximizes charging efficiency and uses current sensing and I/O monitoring to adjust input levels. Besides, the ISL84051 multiplexer handles up to eight inputs with low RDSon connectivity and nanosecond switch time

  • Motor control and inverter board: The board supports a 48V battery pack and can reach up 5000 RPM using a 1600-watt inverter powertrain with motor control sensors. It includes a DC/DC converter, ISL28191 op-amp current sensors, ISL80410 LDO regulator, HIP2211 100V half-bridge MOSFET drivers, and MOSFET bank; connects to the BFE and charger board.
  • Optional boards and mobile phone application: BLE control board with RX23W MCU enables secure mobile phone connectivity via BLE for throttle control, battery status, GPS connection, and saved route history; connects to the BFE and charger board. This MCU is specifically chosen from the same RX Family to enable monotonic software design. Wireless charging receiver board features two Renesas wireless receivers used in parallel to boost output as needed; connects to the BFE and charger board. Mobile phone application unlocks scooter, controls ON/OFF the power, and motor start. Mobility solution sends diagnostic and parametric data to mobile phone’s secure BLE channel in 1-second intervals.

The new ISL94216 16-cell BFE is currently available in a 64-lead QFN package from Renesas’ worldwide distributors with a price tag of $2.99 in 1,000-unit quantities.