Power Circuit for Raspberry pi portable

batteriesraspberry pi

I am building a hand held portable raspberry pi. I have just plugging the battery in and using the thing, but I want to make the battery completely part of the unit without the need to unplug it when i am done. so here is what i want to do completely:

  1. Have a switch to be the master on/off switch.
  2. when the unit is plugged in to a dc power source (wall wart), you will have a switch that will let you to select between powering the unit or charge the unit
  3. Have led indicators for charging, unit powered by battery, unit powered by external

here is what i have come up with already

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let me know where i need to go from here

Clarifications:

  1. the 7.4 v battery has a output of 2 A and it has a charging PCB built int the battery (which is why i bought this one)

  2. I have been using the pi with this setup less the switched for about a month no issues. Since i wanted to add in switches and led indicators AND i am just a novice on building circuits, i don't know if what i have the switches right

  3. I am using a variable switching regulator that will work down to 5.5 v and it works perfect with little current usage.

Best Answer

Going with a single cell and a boost regulator will simplify charging by removing the need to balance the cells. Additionally you should consider adding a battery charger chip that allows you to charge from USB or 7-19V power bricks while also powering the system.

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