FM31L278/L276/L274/L272 - 3V I2C Companion
to be loaded into the timekeeper core. W is used for
writing new time values. Users should be certain not
to load invalid values, such as FFh, to the
timekeeping registers. Updates to the timekeeping
core occur continuously except when locked.
Backup Power
The real-time clock/calendar is intended to be
permanently powered. When the primary system
power fails, the voltage on the V
DD
pin will drop.
When V
DD
is less 2.5V the RTC (and event counters)
will switch to the backup power supply on V
BAK
. The
clock operates at extremely low current in order to
maximize battery or capacitor life. However, one of
the advantages of combining a clock function with
the F-RAM memory is that data is not lost regardless
of the backup power source.
A battery may be inserted into a system board
without any concern for excessive current draw on
the FM31L27x’s V
BAK
pin.
Trickle Charger
To facilitate capacitor backup the V
BAK
pin can
optionally provide a trickle charge current. When the
VBC bit, register 0Bh bit 2, is set to ‘1’, the V
BAK
pin
will source approximately 80 µA until V
BAK
reaches
V
DD
. This charges the capacitor to V
DD
without an
external diode and resistor charger. There is a Fast
Charge mode which is enabled by the FC bit (register
0Bh, bit 5). In this mode the trickle charger current is
set to approximately 1 mA, allowing a large backup
capacitor to charge more quickly.
In the case where no backup supply is used, the V
BAK
pin should be tied to V
SS
. Be sure to turn off the
trickle charger (VBC=0), otherwise charger current
will be shunted to ground from V
DD
.
!
Note: systems using lithium batteries should clear
the VBC bit to 0 to prevent battery charging. The
V
BAK
circuitry includes an internal 1 K
Ω
series
resistor as a safety element. The trickle charger is UL
Recognized.
/OSCEN
32.768 kHz
crystal
Clock
Divider
512 Hz
W
Oscillator
1 Hz
Update
Logic
CF
Years
8 bits
Months
5 bits
Date
6 bits
Days
3 bits
Hours
6 bits
Minutes
7 bits
Seconds
7 bits
User Interface Registers
R
Figure 7. Real-Time Clock Core Block Diagram
Calibration
When the CAL bit in a register 00h is set to 1, the
clock enters calibration mode. In calibration mode,
the CAL/PFO output pin is dedicated to the
calibration function and the power fail output is
temporarily unavailable. Calibration operates by
applying a digital correction to the counter based on
the frequency error. In this mode, the CAL/PFO pin
is driven with a 512 Hz (nominal) square wave. Any
measured deviation from 512 Hz translates into a
timekeeping error. The user converts the measured
error in ppm and writes the appropriate correction
value to the calibration register. The correction
factors are listed in the table below. Positive ppm
errors require a negative adjustment that removes
Rev. 3.0
Feb. 2009
pulses. Negative ppm errors require a positive
correction that adds pulses. Positive ppm adjustments
have the CALS (sign) bit set to 1, where as negative
ppm adjustments have CALS = 0. After calibration,
the clock will have a maximum error of
±
2.17 ppm
or
±
0.09 minutes per month at the calibrated
temperature.
The calibration setting is stored in F-RAM so is not
lost should the backup source fail. It is accessed with
bits CAL.4-0 in register 01h. This value only can be
written when the CAL bit is set to a 1. To exit the
calibration mode, the user must clear the CAL bit to a
0. When the CAL bit is 0, the CAL/PFO pin will
revert to the power fail output function.
Page 7 of 25
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