Multi-functional portable power charger

• US 10,141,755 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bollinger Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Halo International Sezc Ltd. (Evercel, Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Garold C., Weinstein, Nathan Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nha
• Application Number:
  US15/201,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20170012448A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 with safety or protection devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00304 Overcurrent protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00308 Overvoltage protection
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0031 using battery or load disconnect circuits H02J9/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A portable charger capable of jump starting a 12 V car battery includes a charger battery, a jump start circuit operatively electrically connected with the charger battery and with an ignition power outlet, and a microcontroller for coordinating safety functions to establish or interrupt the operative electrical connection of the jump start circuit with the ignition power outlet. The ignition power outlet comprises a positive power socket, a negative power socket, a positive sensing socket and a negative sensing socket. The sensing sockets are electrically isolated from the power sockets, and the microcontroller senses voltage across the sensing sockets and is configured to interrupt the operative electrical connection of the jump start circuit to the ignition power outlet until proper voltage is sensed across the sensing sockets.

Claims

1. A battery jump start clamp comprising:

an upper handle that has distal and proximal ends;

a lower handle that has distal and proximal ends, and is pivotally connected to the upper handle between the distal and proximal ends;

a first conductive jaw at the distal end of one of the upper handle and the lower handle;

a power cable that extends from the first conductive jaw along the one of the upper handle and the lower handle on which said first conductive jaw is disposed;

a second jaw at the distal end of the other of the upper handle and the lower handle opposite from the first conductive jaw;

a power wire operatively electrically connecting the second jaw to the first conductive jaw;

a sensing contact at the distal end of one of the upper handle and the lower handle;

a sensing wire that extends from the sensing contact along the one of the upper handle and the lower handle on which said sensing contact is disposed,

wherein the sensing contact is electrically isolated from the first conductive jaw.

2. The jump start clamp according to claim 1 wherein the sensing contact is disposed within the conductive jaw.

3. The jump start clamp according to claim 2 wherein the sensing contact is electrically isolated from the conductive jaw by an insulative insert disposed between the sensing contact and the conductive jaw.

4. The jump start clamp according to claim 3, wherein the sensing contact is spring biased toward the other of the upper handle or the lower handle, with the spring disposed between the insulative insert and the conductive jaw.

5. The jump start clamp according to claim 1 wherein the conductive jaw is an upper jaw attached to the distal end of the upper handle, further comprising a lower jaw attached to the distal end of the lower handle and a power wire operatively electrically connecting the lower jaw to the upper jaw.

6. A battery jump start cable comprising:

a positive power cable and a negative power cable electrically isolated from each other;

a positive sensing cable and a negative sensing cable electrically isolated from each other and from the power cables;

a positive jump start clamp that has a conductive jaw operatively electrically connected with the positive power cable and a conductive sensing contact operatively electrically connected with the positive sensing cable, the sensing contact being electrically isolated from the jaw;

a negative jump start clamp that has a conductive jaw operatively electrically connected with the negative power cable and a conductive sensing contact operatively electrically connected with the negative sensing cable, the sensing contact being electrically isolated from the jaw;

a positive power plug and a negative power plug operatively electrically connected with the respective positive and negative power cables; and

a positive sensing plug and a negative sensing plug operatively electrically connected with the respective positive and negative sensing cables,

wherein the power plugs and the sensing plugs are arranged in a common gang plug.

7. The jump start cable according to claim 6 wherein the sensing contacts are disposed within the respective conductive jaws.

8. The jump start cable according to claim 7 wherein the sensing contacts are electrically isolated from the conductive jaws by insulative inserts disposed between the sensing contacts and the jaws.

9. The jump start cable according to claim 8 further comprising springs mounted between the insulative inserts and the conductive jaws.

10. The jump start cable according to claim 6 wherein the common gang plug is a modified EC5 connector.

11. The jump start cable according to claim 6 wherein the common gang plug has the positive and negative power plugs of different shapes.

12. The jump start cable according to claim 6 wherein the common gang plug has the power plugs and the sensing plugs arranged to enforce polarity of the common gang plug.