The Charger Click Board™ is an add-on board that comes integrated with two chips, one is a battery charger controller, and the other one is a battery charge monitor. The smaller chip MCP73831 is a miniature single-cell, advanced linear charge management controller that is commonly used in space-conscious and budgeted applications. This fully integrated Li-ion, Li-polymer charge management controller works with a programmable charge current from 15 mA to 500 mA. The larger chip DS2438 is a smart battery monitor, commonly used in portable computers, cell phones, consumer electronics, handheld instrumentation, etc. The board also features an onboard battery connector to facilitate connection.
The Charger Click Board™ uses the unique 1-Wire interface, which requires only one port pin, for communication with the target microcontroller. The DS2438 has a unique silicon serial number, which allows several units to work on the same 1-Wire bus.
This permits multiple battery packs to be charged or used in the system simultaneously. It is designed to operate using a 5V power supply source.