Portable Battery Booster

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.

1 . A portable battery booster for boosting a motor vehicle having a starter battery, the portable battery booster comprising:
 a housing;   a lithium battery positioned within said housing to provide a first starter current to the motor vehicle via a pair of cables, wherein each of said cables is configured to detachably connect to the motor vehicle via a clamp;   a supercapacitor positioned within said housing to provide a second starter current to the motor vehicle via the pair of cables;   a DC/DC converter to receive a current from a power source and to provide a charging current to said lithium battery or said supercapacitor;   a processor positioned within said housing to selectively control transfer of the first starter current or the second starter current to said motor vehicle; and   a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor is configured to prohibit flow of the starter current to said motor vehicle via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition.   
     
     
         2 . The portable battery booster of  claim 1 , wherein the DC/DC converter is configured to draw a battery current from the starter battery and to provide a charging current to said supercapacitor using said battery current. 
     
     
         3 . A portable battery booster for boosting a motor vehicle having a starter battery, the portable battery booster comprising:
 a housing;   a lithium battery positioned within said housing to provide a starter current to the motor vehicle via a pair of cables, wherein each of said cables is configured to detachably connect to the motor vehicle;   a processor to selectively control transfer of the starter current from said lithium battery to said motor vehicle via the pair of cables; and   circuitry to prevent current from flowing from the motor vehicle, through the pair of cables, and into the lithium battery.   
     
     
         4 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , wherein the housing includes a recharge port for charging the lithium battery, the port being electrically connected to the lithium battery. 
     
     
         5 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , wherein the lithium battery is a lithium-metal battery, a lithium-ion battery, or a lithium-polymer battery. 
     
     
         6 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , wherein the lithium battery is a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery. 
     
     
         7 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , wherein said housing includes a recharge port to electrically charge said lithium battery. 
     
     
         8 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , further comprising a low voltage circuit to detect a low voltage condition for said lithium battery, wherein said processor is configured to prohibit flow of current from said lithium battery to the motor vehicle via the pair of cables when said low voltage circuit detects a low voltage condition. 
     
     
         9 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , further comprising a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor is configured to prohibit flow of current from said lithium battery to the motor vehicle via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition. 
     
     
         10 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , wherein the lithium battery comprises a plurality of battery cells, each of said plurality of battery cells having a nominal voltage between 3 and 4 volts. 
     
     
         11 . The portable battery booster of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of battery cells consists of three of four battery cells. 
     
     
         12 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , further comprising a supercapacitor electrically coupled to said lithium battery, wherein said processor is configured to control discharge of said supercapacitor to said motor vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . The portable battery booster of  claim 12 , wherein said lithium battery is configured to provide a charging current to said supercapacitor. 
     
     
         14 . The portable battery booster of  claim 12 , further comprising an ignition detection circuit to detect an ignition condition via said pair of cables, wherein the processor is configured to discharge said supercapacitor to said motor vehicle via the pair of cables when said ignition detection circuit detects an ignition condition. 
     
     
         15 . The portable battery booster of  claim 12 , further comprising a DC/DC converter electrically connected to the motor vehicle and to said supercapacitor, wherein the DC/DC converter is configured to draw a battery current from the starter battery and to provide a charging current to said supercapacitor using said battery current. 
     
     
         16 . The portable battery booster of  claim 15 , wherein the starter battery is a depleted battery. 
     
     
         17 . The portable battery booster of  claim 3 , further comprising a battery diagnostics circuit to detect a battery diagnostic condition of said starter battery via said pair of cables, wherein the processor is configured to control current flow via the pair of cables based at least in part on said battery diagnostic condition. 
     
     
         18 . A compact portable battery booster for boosting a motor vehicle having a starter battery, the portable battery booster comprising:
 a housing;   a supercapacitor positioned within said housing to provide a starter current to the motor vehicle via a pair of cables, wherein each of said cables is configured to detachably connect to the motor vehicle;   a DC/DC converter to draw battery current from the starter battery, wherein the DC/DC converter converts the battery current into a charging current to charge said supercapacitor; and   a processor positioned within said housing to selectively control transfer of the starter current from said supercapacitor to said motor vehicle.   
     
     
         19 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , further comprising an ignition detection circuit to detect an ignition condition via said pair of cables, wherein the processor is configured to discharge said supercapacitor to said motor vehicle via the pair of cables when said ignition detection circuit detects an ignition condition. 
     
     
         20 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , further comprising a battery to provide a charging current to charge said supercapacitor, wherein the battery is electrically coupled to said supercapacitor via the DC/DC converter. 
     
     
         21 . The portable battery booster of  claim 20 , wherein the battery is a lithium battery. 
     
     
         22 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , wherein the housing includes a recharge port to receive a charging current to charge said supercapacitor, wherein the recharge port is electrically coupled to said supercapacitor via the DC/DC converter. 
     
     
         23 . The portable battery booster of  claim 21 , wherein the housing includes a recharge port to receive a charging current to charge said lithium battery, wherein the recharge port is electrically coupled to said lithium battery via the DC/DC converter. 
     
     
         24 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , further comprising a shorted load circuit to detect a shorted load condition across said pair of cables, wherein said processor is configured to prohibit flow of the starter current via the pair of cables when said shorted load circuit detects a shorted load condition. 
     
     
         25 . The portable battery booster of  claim 21 , wherein said lithium battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery or a lithium-polymer battery. 
     
     
         26 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , further comprising a low voltage circuit to detect a low voltage condition for said lithium battery, wherein said processor is configured to prohibit flow of the starter current via the pair of cables when said low voltage circuit detects a low voltage condition. 
     
     
         27 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , further comprising a battery diagnostics circuit to detect a battery diagnostic condition of said starter battery via said pair of cables, wherein the processor is configured to control current flow via the pair of cables based at least in part on said battery diagnostic condition. 
     
     
         28 . The portable battery booster of  claim 18 , wherein the starter battery is a depleted battery.