DESCRIPTION
The DS2438 Smart Battery Monitor provides several functions that are desirable to carry in a battery
pack: a means of tagging a battery pack with a unique serial number, a direct-to-digital temperature
sensor which eliminates the need for thermistors in the battery pack, an A/D converter which measures
the battery voltage and current, an integrated current accumulator which keeps a running total of all
current going into and out of the battery, an elapsed time meter, and 40 bytes of nonvolatile EEPROM
memory for storage of important parameters such as battery chemistry, battery capacity, charging
methodology and assembly date. Information is sent to/from the DS2438 over a 1-Wire interface, so that
only one wire (and ground) needs to be connected from a central microprocessor to a DS2438. This
means that battery packs need only have three output connectors: battery power, ground, and the 1-Wire
interface.
