Charger / LiCell (i.MX31)

Overview

Two different types of batteries are available on the Development Board. A battery can be connected to the connector located directly left of the two buttons labeled S305 and S301. The connector itself is labeled X201. Please check for the correct polarity, since it is not protected against reversed polarity. The GND (-) Pin has to be connected to Pin 1, the positive Voltage is connected to Pin 3. Pin 2 is not connected (NC). Please pay attention to the fact, that there are 2 connectors located directly next to each other. The three pin connector to the left, is actually a Jumper (JP200) and needn't be changed. Please make sure you use the three pin connector labeled X201.

Available Unit Tests

Different unit tests are available for the PMIC Battery section. They can be found in the directory /unit_tests/mxc_pmic_testapp. Examplary commands are shown here

/* Test charger management, test should end in PASS */
./pmic_testapp_battery -T0

/* Test the LED */
/* You will see the LED lighting for about 1 second */
mx31# ./pmic_testapp_battery -T2

Charger

The MC13783 companion chip is able to charge a battery. To test this feature, the following commands are useful:

/* Display help information, also shows charging modes */
atlas-charger --help

/* Read battery voltage */
/* While charging, perform multiple reads throughout a minute, to see the battery voltage rising */
atlas-charger -b

/* Charge the attached battery with given current and voltage */
/* Do not use more than 350mA without heatsink */
/* The values for parameter -e are displayed in the help screen */
atlas-charger -e7,3 

/* Disable charging of battery*/
atlas-charger -d

/* Read Backup Batter (LiCell) voltage */
atlas-charger -l

/* Charge the LiCell battery */
atlas-charger -L7

/* Disable charging the LiCell battery */
atlas-charger -D