TCO Devices Protect Higher Current Capacity Li-Ion Batteries
Bourns, Inc. expanded its industry-leading line of miniature resettable thermal cutoff (TCO) devices with a new series that delivers breakthrough current capacity in a miniature TCO device. The new Bourns® Model AC Series builds on the success of the Model AA series launched in January 2017 offering multiple improved features to meet the next-generation protection needs of denser, higher capacity Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) battery cells.
Going beyond the Model AA series four trip temperature options, from 72°C to 85°C, the new Model AC series offers a fifth option of 90°C. The latest option is capable of carrying up to 20A at 60°C, making it the highest current-carrying TCO device Bourns offers.
These new protection devices also deliver extremely low impedance / resistance (2mΩ max.) while helping battery pack designers save valuable design space and weight. To achieve this, the new AC series is 0.12mm thinner and 16 percent lighter than the existing Model AA series.
The lighter, smaller and higher capacity advantages provided by Model AC TCO devices help designers extend Li-ion cell usage beyond the traditional laptop, tablet and smart phone applications to power tools, electric vehicles, e-bikes and grid storage applications.
The Model AC Series from Bourns is available now and is RoHS compliant and halogen free. As a pricing reference, Model AC72ABD is priced at $0.73 each in 3,000 piece quantities.
