Portable Battery Booster

• US 20170149262A1
• Filed: 12/16/2016
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Schumacher Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Schumacher Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Durando, Ronald A., Allen, Fred, Simon, Steve, Ergul, Necdet
• Application Number:
  US15/381,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20170149262A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/20 characterised by converters located in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4264 with capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/30 Batteries in portable systems, e.g. mobile phone, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/202 Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/122 Provisions for temporary connection of DC sources of essentially the same voltage, e.g. jumpstart cables
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2207/20 Charging or discharging characterised by the power electronics converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0042 characterised by the mechanical construction
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• 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: H02J 7/345 using capacitors as storage or buffering devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/04 in which the distribution system is disconnected from the normal source and connected to a standby source
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

A portable battery booster for providing a compact, light, and energy efficient battery to jump start a vehicle. The portable battery booster generally includes a housing, a battery means adapted to be received by the housing, a pair of cable means, each of the cable means having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end electrically connected to the battery means and the distal end detachably connected to a discharged battery of the vehicle. The battery is generally comprised of one or more batteries having the type of primary lithium-metal, rechargeable lithium-ion, and/or lithium-polymer and more specifically preferably comprised of lithium iron phosphate for fast charging, small size, and high performance. The battery may also be connected to one or more supercapacitors, an internal CPU, DC/DC converter, etc. to increase performance. The cable means includes jaws that detachably connect to the housing in a flush and sleek manner.

Claims

1. A portable battery booster for boosting a discharged battery of a motor vehicle, the portable battery booster comprising:

a compact housing defining a chamber having a recharge port positioned thereon;

a lithium battery positioned within said chamber;

a DC/DC converter to receive a DC current from a power source and to provide a first charging current to said lithium battery;

a supercapacitor positioned within said chamber, wherein said lithium battery is configured to provide a second charging current to said supercapacitor; and

a processor positioned within said chamber to selectively provide a starter current from said supercapacitor to the discharged battery via a pair of cables.

2. The portable battery booster of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of cables comprises a proximal end and a distal end having a clamp to detachably couple to a terminal of said discharged battery.

3. The portable battery booster of claim 2, wherein said clamp comprises a plastic injection molded structure and metal clamping teeth.

4. The portable battery booster of claim 3, wherein said clamp detachably connects to said compact housing when not in use.

5. The portable battery booster of claim 1, wherein said lithium battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery or a lithium-polymer battery.

6. The portable battery booster of claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to selectively provide the first charging current to said lithium battery.

7. The portable battery booster of claim 1, wherein said compact housing is a generally rectangular shape.

8. The portable battery booster of claim 1, further comprising a low voltage circuit to detect a low voltage condition for said lithium battery, wherein said processor does not provide the starter current to the discharged battery via the pair of cables when said low voltage circuit detects a low voltage condition.

9. The portable battery booster of claim 1, further comprising a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor does not provide the starter current to the discharged battery via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition.

10. A portable battery booster for boosting a discharged battery of a motor vehicle, the portable battery booster comprising:

a compact housing defining a chamber having a recharge port positioned thereon;

a lithium battery positioned within said chamber;

a supercapacitor positioned within said chamber;

a DC/DC converter to receive a DC current from a power source and to provide a first charging current to said lithium battery; and

a processor positioned within said chamber to selectively provide a starter current from said lithium battery or said supercapacitor to the discharged battery via a pair of cables.

13. The portable battery booster of claim 10, wherein each of said pair of cables comprises a proximal end and a distal end having a clamp to detachably couple to a terminal of said discharged battery.

14. The portable battery booster of claim 13, wherein said clamp comprises a plastic injection molded structure and metal clamping teeth.

15. The portable battery booster of claim 14, wherein said clamp detachably connects to said compact housing when not in use.

16. The portable battery booster of claim 10, wherein said lithium battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery or a lithium-polymer battery.

17. The portable battery booster of claim 10, wherein said processor is configured to selectively provide the first charging current to said lithium battery.

19. The portable battery booster of claim 10, wherein said compact housing is a generally rectangular shape having a length, a depth, and a width, wherein each of said length, said depth, and said width are less than or equal to 6 inches.

20. The portable battery booster of claim 10, further comprising a low voltage circuit to detect a low voltage condition for said lithium battery, wherein said processor does not provide the starter current to the discharged battery via the pair of cables when said low voltage circuit detects a low voltage condition.

21. The portable battery booster of claim 10, further comprising a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor does not provide the starter current to the discharged battery via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition.

11. The portable battery booster of claim 11, wherein said lithium battery is configured to provide a second charging current to said supercapacitor.

12. The portable battery booster of claim 11, wherein said processor is configured to provide the starter current from said supercapacitor to the discharged battery via the pair of cables.

18. The portable battery booster of claim 11, wherein said processor is configured to selectively provide the second charging current to said supercapacitor.

22. A portable battery booster for boosting a discharged battery of a motor vehicle, the portable battery booster comprising:

a compact housing defining a chamber having a recharge port positioned thereon;

a battery positioned within said chamber;

a DC/DC converter to receive a DC current from a power source and to provide a first charging current to said battery;

a supercapacitor positioned within said chamber and coupled to said battery, wherein said battery is configured to provide a second charging current to said supercapacitor;

a processor positioned within said chamber to selectively provide a starter current from said supercapacitor to the discharged battery via a pair of cables; and

a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor prohibits supply of the starter current to the discharged battery via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition.