Project Requirements: device with bluetooth-transmission and recharging capabilities. Ultimately, the electronics will be housed an enclosure, but need to determine how I can connect and orient these beforehand. Size is also a factor so the smaller, the better.
Parts in Possesion: Arduino Nano 33 BLE (and Sense Rev2) w/ headers, 500 and 800mAh LiPo Battery Packs, and Adafruit MicroUSB or USB-C LiPo chargers. Also have soldering equipment and a few other tools to use as needed.
QUESTION: Is there a way I can sufficiently connect these so that the battery can power the Arduino while also having the recharging component attached (active or not), similar to how a smartphone operates. I want my project to have an area where it can simply be plugged in and recharged as any electronic would.
If not, is there a component or module that I am missing that I could add, ways I could rewire the parts, etc. so that the internal system can run independently inside of the enclosure with only the need to power on/off and recharge (think smartphone again).
Disclaimer: I am a novice with near to no experience with Arduino's, electrical components, circuitry, etc. So please bear with my ignorance as all that I've learned so far has originated from some research and no practical background or knowledge.
This is currently not practical or safe. There are no charging modules on the hobby market that allow use of apparatus while charging, as you have come to expect with things like cell phones.
LiPo batteries are particularly dangerous, and always present fire hazards if not treated professionally, with great care.
Thanks, I do understand and have researched the danger associated with LiPo batteries but this was the most practical battery for my application. Li-Ion was also looked at, but size is a factor and so these were the only sources of power that fell within my size constraints; unless you are aware of any other batteries that could power the Arduino with a similar size
Thanks for the recommendation! I also found this which is useful since my project will require data collection from the IMU onboard the Nano 33. So this ESP32C3 is something I can add to my current setup to allow for the powering of the Arduino and the recharging of the battery? Or is this a separate microcontroller that can be both powered and charged without rewiring/reconnecting anything, as I mentioned?
No, sorry if it came off that way. I don’t plan to use it while it’s charging.
The system will ideally be enclosed with a recharging port. So I want to be able to recharge it, and then go back to using it without having to open the enclosure to reconnect or rewire anything. That way I can have the all components enclosed without worrying about having to open it up.
I'm not sure a single battery will power either of your Arduinos. Both of them have buck converters to take the voltage at Vin down to the 3.3V needed for the processor. But those converters require some headroom to work properly, and I suspect they are intended to work with 5V at Vin, not typical battery voltage, which is nominally 3.7V. Perhaps the Nano BLE 33 and Sense Rev 2 experts here can comment on that.
To be honest, I had never heard of Seeed Studio's products and thought Arduino was my best bet, especially with all the documentation and help they have for programming and setting it up.
However, I found this and this on their website which seems to be far cheaper while also serving the same purpose. Just want to ensure that either of those has the recharging functionality of the ESP32C3 that you recommended
It appears the two batteries you linked to are intended for quadcopters. I can't tell for sure, but I think that means they don't have any protection circuit built in. I think all of the Adafruit and Seeed chargers expect the battery to have its own protection. So that may be a problem. You need something to prevent the battery from over-discharge since that can damage the battery.
