Energizer PP355 Battery Charger User Manual


 
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ENERGIZERBATTERYMANUFACTURING
VERSION1.2
Section3:ApplicationandDesignConsiderations
Excessive exposure toair canhave an adverseaffect on Zinc Airbattery operation,primarily due to
carbondioxidereactingwiththeelectrolyteintheairelectrode .Thebatterycanalso absorbwateror
dryoutdependingon ambientconditions.Balanci ngtheairrequirementofthebatteryduringdischarge
versus
theneedtominimizeexposureduringrestiscalledairmanagement.Airmanagementmightbe
assimpleasremovingthetabfromthebatteryandinsertingitintoadevice,oritmightincludeasystem
toopen andcontrolair accesstothe batteryasneeded.Airmanagementis
applicationspecific,and
mostdeviceswillrequiresomedegreeofairmanagementtooptimizebatteryperformance.
3.1‐‐AirManagement
Thereareseveraltypesofairmanagement.Thesimplestmeth odofairmanagementis removingthe
tabandputtingthebatteryinthedevice.Thisishowminiaturezincaircellsareusedinhearingaids
sincethe totalbattery lifeis typically expectedto be68 weeks.As
the deviceusage becomesmore
intermittent,othermethodsofairmanagementareneededtodeliveroptimalbatteryperformance.
Throttlingisa techniquetopermanentlyrestrictairaccesstoonlywhatisneededby thebattery ina
specific application.Throttling is most appropriate in devices that require a small portion
of the
maximum current that a batterycan sustain.For example, a device mightrequire 10 mA ofcurrent
comparedtothemaximumof100mAthataPP355cansustain.Thistechniqueworksbestfordevices
thathavealowaveragedrainratewithlittleincreas edpowerneeds.Byrestricting
theairaccesstothe
battery,theperformancelifecanbeextended.
As device use becomes more intermittent and as device power demands increase, valved (open and
shut)airmanagementbecomesmoreappropriate.Valvedsystemsareeithermechanicalorelectronic.
Eachsystemrequiresasealedbatteryorbatterycompartment,into
whichairisintroducedbythevalve
when the device needs power.A seal can be accomplished with common materials such as orings,
gaskets,overmoldedortwopartinjectionmoldedmaterials,orothermethods.Amechanicalsolution
mightbe anON/ OFFslideswitch whichactsas
asimple airvalve.Otherdevicespecificmechanical
actionscouldalsobeusedtoopenandclosetheairaccess.Examplesincludechanging devicesettings,
movingapieceorapartofthedeviceduringuse,pressingabutton,turningadial,ormanipulatinga
threaded component.An electronic valve would
act in a similar fashion, except that the device
electronicswouldopentheairaccess automatically.Avalvecouldbeopenedasafunctionofdevice
state(on=open,off=closed),oritmightbeafunctionoftheinstantaneouspowerneeds ofthedevice.
Inavalved
airmanageme ntsolution,alowlevelofairaccessmightstillbeneededtobeabletoprovide
thequiescent,orbackground,powerrequiredtoactivatetheON/OFFvalve.Figure11showsgenerally
whereeachoftheseairmanagementtechniquesisappropriate.