The MAX1612/MAX1613 manage the bridge battery (sometimes called a hot-swap or auxiliary battery) in portable systems such as notebook computers. They feature a step-up DC-DC converter that boosts 2-cell or 3-cell bridge-battery voltages up to the same level as the main battery. This voltage boosting technique reduces the number of cells otherwise required for a 6-cell plus diode-OR bridging scheme, reducing overall size and cost. Another key feature is a trickle-charge timer that minimizes battery damage caused by constant charging and eliminates trickle-charge current drain on the main battery once the bridge battery is topped off.
These devices contain a highly flexible collection of independent circuit blocks that can be wired together in an autonomous stand-alone configuration or used in conjunction with a microcontroller. In addition to the boost converter and charge timer, there is a micropower linear regulator (useful for RTC/CMOS backup as well as for powering a microcontroller) and a high-precision low-battery detection comparator.
The two devices differ only in the preset linear-regulator output voltage: +5.0V for the MAX1612 and +3.3V for the MAX1613. Both devices come in a space-saving 16-pin QSOP package.
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