lithium charger + simultaneous use

[varunperumal]

Hi all,

I am trying to make a project which needs a rechargeable lithium battery. This needs to be charged witha a solar cell/panel. My question is that can the lithium ion cell be in use while it is being charged by the solar panel. I have looked at different charger ic's from microchip, maxim and ti, but they do not seem to have any clear information on whether this can be done. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Varun

 

[Diver300]

You can use a lithium battery while it is being charged. The only problem is that you proably shouldn't charge the battery at more than the 1 hour rate. If your solar panel can supply more than that, then the charging IC will reduce the current to the 1 hour rate. If the load is significant, that will slow the charging down.

If the load is tiny or intermittent, or if the solar panel is small so that it could never charge the battery that fast, there are no difficulties.

 

[varunperumal]

Thank you very much for the reply, the circuit is for a fancy led watch. the watch is activated only when the user touches the dial, so the load is intermittent...but can all of the lithium chargers be used for this purpose or should i look for any special parameter or characteristic?

 

[Diver300]

There is no special characteristic. Any Li-ion charger will do.