IEEE Drafts Mobile Computer Battery Standard

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Aiming to create a new standard for next-generation batteries for notebook
and handheld computers that can handle the demands placed on today’s
hardware, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Wednesday issued the first full draft of a new specification.

IEEE P1625, “Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Mobile Computers,”
seeks to take a “systems approach” to improving the reliability of
next-generation Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Ion polymer batteries, in order to
make those batteries more capable of handling the demands of the latest
hardware technologies, like the need for more power and greater energy
density, and the ability to withstand more frequent charge-discharge
cycles. The specification also aims to help the next-generation batteries
tolerate usage styles that can cause higher operating temperatures and
exposure to mechanical shock, vibration and other stresses.

“Other battery standards tend to emphasize the cell or the pack,” said Jeff
Layton, chairman of the IEEE P1625 Working Group. “This will be the first
standard that seeks to improve the experience by addressing the entire
system from individual cells to the overall device. This approach makes a
lot of sense because the interactions between the battery cell, battery
pack, and computer require a close look at the operating envelope for all
elements alone and in concert.”

The IEEE added that the specification seeks to improve battery reliability
by accounting for multi-fault scenarios. The organization said that
involves examining all relevant battery and system design margins in
combination in order to minimize the risks users might face if the battery
failed “under intended use or reasonably foreseeable misuse conditions.”

Layton said IEEE P1625 will be a voluntary standard that specifies the
minimum guidelines for the design, validation, manufacture and testing of
battery cells and packs, as well as the computer itself.

“It will address such areas as qualification, manufacturing process
control, lithium-ion battery chemistries, packaging and end-user
notification,” Layton said.

The IEEE said the draft standard is based on the experience of industry
leaders involved in mobile computer cells, packs and systems. The working
group itself has 18 members, including: Battery-Biz, Compal, Dell,
Dynapack, Fedco Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Inventec, Motorola,
National Semiconductor, Panasonic, Quanta, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, Solectron,
Texas Instruments and Wistron.

The specification’s status as a full draft indicates it has been completed,
and is now circulating among the working group’s member companies for
comment. Once those comments have been incorporated in the draft, the IEEE
said it expects to issue a revised draft for broader industry review in
October. The organization aims to complete the standard in the first half
of 2004.