EP-0250

Description

UPS v6 is the latest evolution of our UPS Plus series, designed to provide enhanced power management and flexibility for Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi devices. Built on the foundation of its predecessor, UPS v6 introduces significant improvements in battery configuration, power path management, and user customization options. The UPS v6 supports up to 4 channels of 8.4V lithium battery groups connected in, parallel allowing users to expand battery capacity for extended runtime. It also accommodates a single battery slot with two 3.7V 18650 lithium batteries connected in series, offering versatile power solutions. The device features intelligent power path management, prioritizing external power when available and seamlessly switching to battery power during outages. Equipped with I2C communication, UPS v6 enables real-time monitoring of battery voltage, temperature, capacity, and device version information. Users can leverage OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrade support to upload custom firmware, ensuring maximum flexibility and control. For DIY enthusiasts, UPS v6 offers programmable LED indicators and a Pikapython interface, allowing users to upload Python scripts for advanced device status monitoring and control. Additional features include auto-restart on power recovery with configurable voltage thresholds, safe shutdown countdown, and protection against low-battery loops. Whether you need reliable backup power, customizable monitoring, or advanced power management, UPS v6 delivers a powerful and versatile solution for your Raspberry Pi or Orange Pi projects.

Features

• Enhanced Compatibility: Fully compatible with Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi series devices.
• Flexible Battery Configuration: Supports up to 4 channels of 8.4V lithium battery groups connected in parallel to increase capacity. Compatible with a single battery slot using two 3.7V 18650 lithium batteries connected in series.
• Advanced Power Path Management: Prioritizes external power supply when available. Seamlessly switches to battery power when external power is disconnected.
• Comprehensive Battery Monitoring: Real-time monitoring of battery voltage, temperature, and capacity via I2C communication, Device version information retrieval.
• OTA (Over-The-Air) Upgrade Support: Allows custom firmware uploads for enhanced flexibility and user control.
• DIY Customization Options:: Programmable LED control for customizable status indicators; Pikapython interface for uploading Python scripts to read and control device status.
• Smart Power Management:Auto-restart on power recovery with configurable voltage thresholds to prevent low-battery loops.
• Safe shutdown countdown functionality.

Specifications

• Device Compatibility: Supports Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi series devices.
• Battery Configuration: Parallel Mode, Up to 4 channels of 8.4V lithium batteries.
• Series Mode: Single battery slot with two 3.7V 18650 lithium batteries.
• Power Management: External power prioritization with automatic failover to battery power.
• Communication Interface: I2C protocol for battery and device status monitoring.
• OTA Upgrade: Custom firmware upload support for user-defined configurations.
• DIY Features: Programmable LED control via user-defined code.
• Pikapython interface for Python script execution.
• Power Recovery Settings: Configurable voltage thresholds for auto-restart.
• Safe shutdown timer to prevent data loss.

How to assemble it?

TBD.

User Manual

• 　Please read the user manual carefully before proceeding.

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This documentation assumes you are using a Raspberry Pi for testing. You can also use Orange Pi devices, but you will need to adjust the I2C controller address based on your specific setup. The default I2C device address for Raspberry Pi is /dev/i2c-1, while Orange Pi may use /dev/i2c-3. Adjust these settings according to your hardware.

The testing environment for this documentation includes:

• Raspberry Pi 5
• 4 battery groups, each consisting of two fully charged 18650 lithium batteries connected in series to provide 8.4V.
• A 100W USB-C PD protocol charger.
• Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit Bookworm, updated to the latest version.

If you are using a different operating system, refer to its specific environment configuration. Note that we currently provide configuration guidance only for Raspberry Pi OS. For other systems, please resolve compatibility issues independently.

Register Summary Table

Address	Name	Width	Access	Description	Default Value
0x00	WHO_AM_I	8	R	Device identification register	0xA6
0x01	version	8	R	Version number	-
0x02	uuid0	32	R	Unique ID (lower 32 bits)	-
0x06	uuid1	32	R	Unique ID (middle 32 bits)	-
0x0A	uuid2	32	R	Unique ID (upper 32 bits)	-
0x0E	output_voltage	16	R	Output voltage (unit: mV, 5V output)	-
0x10	input_voltage	16	R	Input voltage (unit: mV)	-
0x12	battery_voltage	16	R	Battery voltage (unit: mV)	-
0x14	mcu_voltage	16	R	MCU voltage (unit: mV)	-
0x16	output_current	16	R	Output current (unit: mA, 5V output)	-
0x18	input_current	16	R	Input current (unit: mA)	-
0x1A	battery_current	16	R	Battery current (signed, unit: mA)	-
0x1C	temperature	8	R	Temperature (two's complement, unit: °C)	-
0x1D	CR1	8	R/W	Control Register 1	0x01
0x1E	CR2	8	R/W	Control Register 2 (Reserved)	0x00
0x1F	SR1	8	R	Status Register 1	-
0x20	SR2	8	R	Status Register 2	-
0x21	battery_protection_voltage	16	R/W	Battery protection voltage (unit: mV)	7400
0x23	shutdown_countdown	16	R/W	Shutdown countdown (unit: seconds)	-
0x25	auto_start_voltage	16	R/W	Auto-start voltage threshold (unit: mV)	7400
0x27	pika_output_len	16	R/W	Python output buffer content length	-
0x29	ota_request	16	W	Writing to 0xA5A5 will request OTA mode.	-
0x2B	runtime	64	R	Cumulative runtime (unit: microseconds)	-
0x33	charge_detect_interval_s	16	R/W	Charge detection interval (unit: seconds)	-
0x35	led_ctl	8	R/W	LED control register	0x01

Control Register CR1 (Address: 0x1D)

Bit	Name	Access	Description	Default Value
BIT0	auto_start_mode	R/W	Auto-start mode (0=disabled, 1=enabled)	1
BIT1	python_load	R/W	Load Python code (write 1 to begin loading)	0
BIT2	python_exec	R/W	Execute Python code (write 1 to begin execution)	0
BIT3	python_read_return	R/W	Read Python output log (write 1 to begin reading)	0

Status Register SR1 (Address: 0x1F)

Bit	Name	Access	Description	Default Value
BIT0	sw_status	R	5V output status (0=off, 1=on)	-
BIT1	fast	R	Fast charging status (0=12V fast charging, 1=slow charging/no external power)	-
BIT2	charge	R	Charge/discharge status (0=charging, 1=discharging)	-
BIT3	input_low	R	Input voltage low (0=normal, 1=low)	-
BIT4	output_low	R	5V output low (0=normal, 1=low)	-
BIT5	battery_low	R	Battery voltage low (0=normal, 1=low)	-
BIT6	adc_mismatch	R	ADC mismatch (0=normal, 1=INA219 vs MCU sampling difference exceeded)	-
BIT7	battery_fail	R	Battery failure (0=normal, 1=failure)	-

Status Register SR2 (Address: 0x20)

Bit	Name	Access	Description	Default Value
BIT0	python_exec_toobig	R	Python code too large (0=normal, 1=code exceeds limit)	-

LED Control Register (Address: 0x35)

Bit	Name	Access	Description	Default Value
BIT0	i2c_ack	R/W	LED on during I2C communication	1
BIT1	bat_charge	R/W	LED on during battery charging	0
BIT2	bat_discharge	R/W	LED on during battery discharging	0
BIT3	fault_report	R/W	LED on when fault detected	0
BIT4	ok_report	R/W	LED on during normal operation	0

Special Notes

• Data Format:

  Voltage/current values are unsigned integers
  battery_current is signed (two's complement format)
  temperature is signed 8-bit integer (two's complement), range: -40°C to +85°C

• Reserved Bits:

  All reserved bits default to 0
  Write operations to reserved bits are ignored (recommended to maintain default values)

• The register definitions in the bootloader state are not fully compatible.