Isolated energy source for engine start applications

Abstract

The presently disclosed embodiments relate generally to an isolated power source system for engine equipped machinery vehicles, boats, airplanes, generators, etc., isolated from the electrical system of the engine, a dedicated power source is electrically connected to the power supply terminal of the engine starter's solenoid, to exclusively provide cranking current to the electric motor of engine starter when the coils of the solenoid are energized; and a charging circuit used to selectively connect the isolated power source to the electrical system of the engine or other power supply.

Description

[0001] ISOLATED ENEGY SOURCE FOR ENGINE START APPLICATIONS

[0002] Cross reference to related applications

[0003] This application is a Non-Provisional Application of US Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 436,629, entitled "Isolated Energy Source for Engine Start Applications," filed Jan. 02, 2023, therefore, this application claims the priority of above said Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 436,629.

[0004] Abstract

[0005] The presently disclosed embodiments relate generally to an isolated power source system for engine equipped machinery, vehicles, boats, airplanes, generators, etc., isolated from the electrical system of the engine, a dedicated power source is electrically connected to the power supply terminal of the engine starter's solenoid, to exclusively provide cranking current to the electric motor of engine starter when the coils of the solenoid are energized; and a charging circuit used to selectively connect the isolated power source to the electrical system of the engine or other power supply.

[0006] Field of the Invention

[0007] The present description is generally related to an isolated power source capable of providing cranking energy for engine starting application on motor vehicles, boats, airplanes, generators, etc., more specifically, relates to an engine starter electrical system that has at least two energy sources, still more specifically, an isolated power source system and its operation.

[0008] Background of the Invention

[0009] The background description herein is intended to provide a background of the context of the disclosure, aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

[0010] It is publicly known that in most conventional vehicles and machinery engines, airplanes, boats, generators, one or more 12-volt batteries, typically Pb-acid batteries are utilized by the 14 volts or 28 volts architecture. The single battery system not only provides electrical power to electrical appliances, but also supplies high cranking current to power up the electric motor of the starter at engine starts; some commercial vehicles such as heavy trucks, may use a 24 volt system; but on some heavy duty vehicles, especially in North America, an isolated dual 12 volt lead-acid battery system is more popular, with a vehicle electrical system battery bank to power the electrical appliances of the vehicle when the engine is off, and another starter battery bank, isolated from the electrical system batteries, is specifically reserved to crank the engine at startups, and both battery packs are then charged by an alternator while the motor vehicle is up and running.

[0011] The disadvantage of these conventional lead-acid battery system is that repeated high rate starting currents discharge and deep cycling can seriously reduce the service life of the batteries, at vehicle start-ups, especially diesel engine / generator, the peak start-up current may require hundreds of amperes, or even thousands of amperes under extreme conditions, which adversely affects the capacity and life of the batteries, when the required current output to crank the engine cannot be met due to the deterioration of performance, the batteries are no longer regarded useful and need to be replaced, even though they actually can still be useful in lower current applications.

[0012] In view of the large amount of batteries in use and the quantity of wasted batteries need to be changed each year, which are costly to replace, causes a significant environmental impact from the manufacturing and disposal of.

[0013] On the other hand, under low-temperatures, lead-acid batteries have poor current output performance, even cannot start the engine under extreme cold conditions, once failed to start the engine and were depleted, which may be costly to equipment users, especially to commercial vehicle operators.

[0014] There are numerous patents covering the use of multiple power sources for vehicle engine starting applications, mostly relate to an extra power source from the system battery and rest of the vehicle electrical circuit, and the methods of assisting the system battery of the vehicle for improved engine starting performance and reliability. Like U.S. Patent. No. 9,666,379 B2, entitled "Nickel Supercapacitor Engine Starting Module", granted to Saft America, filed on Mar.13, 2015; U.S. Patent. No. 9,816,475 Bl, entitled “System and Method for Maximizing Short-Term Energy Storage in a Supercapacitor Array for Engine Start Applications”, granted to Cooper Technologies Company, filed on May 11, 2016 and U.S. Patent. No. 10,023,065 B2, entitled “ Electrical System Enhancer", granted to Smart Start Technology PTY, Ltd., filed on Nov. 25, 2014.

[0015] The above mentioned inventions and other references provided different engine starting methods, such as including an extra power source as an assisting power source in engine start-ups, said power source is generally isolated by relays from being drained or discharged when the engine is standby or not running; and to assist vehicle battery to start an engine, so to partially avoid the intense current discharge from the battery that is otherwise necessary in engine start-ups.

[0016] A disadvantage of above arrangements is that some inventions need sophisticated measures to control the charging and discharging procedure of the isolated power source, it is not practical to implement on existing vehicles or equipment; and in some inventions, although the required high current to crank an engine is mostly provided by the said isolated power source, original batteries are still used as supplemental power and discharge high current in engine starts.

[0017] To address the above disadvantages and shortcomings in prior arts, it is the objects of the presently disclosed embodiments to provide a much simpler configuration for an improved power source system for better power management with easy implementation.

[0018] The above discussion of the prior arts is not an admission that any information discussed therein is citable prior art or part of the common general knowledge of persons skilled in the art, and further advantageous embodiments of the invention are evident from the dependent claims.

[0019] Summary of the Invention

[0020] It should be understood that the summary provided here is to briefly describe concepts of present invention, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached thereto, the beneficial objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method and a system as described herein.

[0021] Although the exemplary embodiments of the power systems and methods described herein in this disclosure will primarily be implemented in a vehicular context, but they are not limited to vehicular applications, the concepts provided herein may also be implemented with or within starting systems on boats> airplanes> generators, or other systems with battery and starter systems.

[0022] Compared with the prior arts, the present invention provides an improved isolated power source system and engine start method to solve deficiencies of the prior arts. Most vehicles, generators, airplane, boats usually are equipped a battery and starter system for engine starts, a solenoid (or may be contactors, magnetic switches in other systems or applications) is generally utilized to control the high current supply from the battery to the electric motor of the starter, the solenoid usually includes a power supply terminal B, which is permanently connected to the battery; a power output terminal M, which is directly electrically connected to the electric motor of the engine starter; and a coil control terminal S, which is connected to a starter magnetic switch or the ignition switch on most conventional vehicles, so there are usually at least two cables connected to the positive terminal (usually a post) of the battery, one cable is connected to the system node to provide DC current supply to vehicle consumers, and another cable is directly connected to the power supply terminal B of the solenoid of the engine starter, when the coils of the solenoid are energized by signal sent to the S terminal from the ignition switch or starter magnetic switch, high current is drawn from the battery to the electric motor M of the starter to crank the engine.

[0023] One preferred embodiment of the present invention disclosed here employs an independent power source, isolated from the original vehicle battery, to be connected to the power supply terminal B of the solenoid of the starter of the vehicle to provide high current output to crank the engine at engine starts, so when the coils of the starter solenoid are energized, cranking current to the electric motor M of the engine starter is exclusively provided by energy stored in the isolated power source, completely save the original vehicle battery from high current discharging. The above said isolated power source is selectively electrically connected to the existing battery or electrical system of the vehicle in parallel upon engine starting by a charging circuit, so the engine driven alternator will provide current to the electrical appliances of the vehicle, and to charge the battery and the isolated power source.

[0024] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said isolated power source may comprise a plurality of energy cells, include, but are not limited to any rechargeable batteries like lead-based batteries, nickel-based batteries, lithium-based batteries, such as lead acid battery, gel cell, AGM, Nickel Metal Hydride, lithium ion battery cells, lithium titanate battery cells, capacitors, super capacitor cells, or any other material or device capable of storing energy.

[0025] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said energy cells of isolated power source may be configured in series, in parallel, or in any matrix combination connected in series and in parallel for different operational voltages and ampere ratings in accordance with the engine parameters, such as 6 volt systems, 12 volt systems, 24 volt systems, 36 volt systems, 48 volt systems, and other operating system voltages, and the specific quantity of energy cells, or other components described in the systems herein is for illustrative purposes only.

[0026] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said charging circuit of the isolated power source may comprise a normal open switching device, recharging of the isolated power source is controlled by the activation of said switching device. Said switching device may include, but not limited to any of the following controllable electronic switches, like contactor, relay, magnetic switch, solid state switch, magnetic latch switch, MOSFET, transistor, however, depending on the field of application, any electrically activated switching device with various circuit configurations are possible, as long as it can be activated by an electrical signal.

[0027] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said charging circuit may also include a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converter, so said isolated power source may be charged to a different voltage different from the power source.

[0028] According to some embodiments of the present invention, above said switching device and / or DC / DC converter of the charging circuit may include a control end, so the charging process of the isolated power source may be turned on or off by a signal sent to the control end.

[0029] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said control end of the switching device or DC / DC converter may be connected to a power supply line or control wire of the fuel pump or fuel pump relay of the vehicle, preferably with a timer relay, so the switching device will be closed and to be opened by said device's running status, and the charging circuit may be activated after the engine is on and running, or be deactivated when the engine is off.

[0030] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said control end of the switching device or DC / DC converter may be connected to a relay or switching device, which may be turned on or off by change of status of one or more variable parameters of the vehicle, such as a pressure switch, vacuum pressure switch, a reed switch, a magnetic switch, etc. The switching device is to be closed when engine is on, and to be opened when engine is off, so said control end of the charging circuit may be activated on or off by the parameter variables of the vehicle, such parameter variables includes, but not limited to engine oil pressure, vacuum pressure, magnetic strength, etc.

[0031] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, said control end of the switching device or DC / DC converter may be connected to an independent control unit or controller, said controller may further includes at least one sensor for monitoring one or more vehicle operating parameters, includes, but not limited to sound, vibration, oil pressure, vacuum pressure, rpm, voltage, charging current of electrical system, etc., said sensor is connected to a device or part of the vehicle to detect the above said vehicle operating parameters, so by determining when the one or more operating parameters meet one or more predefined values indicative of engine running status, said controller may be configured to detect the on / off status of the engine for selective actuation of the switching device, when the one or more monitored vehicle operating parameters is greater than or equal to the one or more predefined values, indicating the engine is running, said switching device is closed and thereby allowing the alternator to recharge both power sources, so to independently and operatively control the isolated power source for selective and respective connection / isolation to / from the electrical system or vehicle battery; so the controller ensures to turn the switching device open again when the engine is shut off, the isolated power source may remain sufficiently charged and maintain its relatively higher voltage once isolated from the electrical system.

[0032] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the charging circuit of the isolated power source may further comprise a manual switch, said manual switch may be used to directly control the switching device or dc-dc converter.

[0033] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the engine cranking current is exclusively provided by the isolated power source, there is no more high current output required for the vehicle battery at engine starts, even with smaller battery, the engine can still be successfully started; so the isolated power source may be encapsulated in single housing or enclosure with a smaller battery to form a hybrid power system for replacement of existing vehicles batteries. For example, the above said hybrid power system may comprise an isolated power source and a battery, such as a combination a super capacitor pack and a chemical storage battery enclosed in a housing, there are at least two positive terminals(posts) on the out surface of the housing, each connected to the positive end of the super capacitor pack and the battery respectively, the positive terminal of the battery may be connected to the electrical circuit of the vehicle, generally supplies power to electrical loads while the positive terminal of the super capacitor pack, is to be connected to the power supply terminal of engine starter's solenoid, so to provide brief high current each time the solenoid is activated by the ignition switch of the vehicle.

[0034] And it should also be noted that, in some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, to be easily retro-fitted to the existing vehicle system without sophisticated modification, the physical dimensions of the housing or enclosure of the above said power systems may be designed to be smaller, conform to or approximately conform to existing standards dimensions of conventional battery types, particularly in length, width, and height, and the configuration of the terminals may also be approximately the same locations of conventional battery.

[0035] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said isolated power source or hybrid power source may further comprise one or a plurality of sensors and display devices, said display is operatively to display the information collected by said sensor, such as voltage level, state of charge or energy storage level of said power source.

[0036] According to some embodiments of the invention, the charging circuit may also comprise a current limiting device, like resistors, fuses, resettable fuses, circuit breakers, etc.

[0037] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said isolated power or hybrid power source may further comprise an overcharge protection and charging balance circuit, each individual cell of isolated power source is separately controllably chargeable by said balancing circuit.

[0038] The present disclosure basically changed the standard of wasted batteries on vehicles engine driven machineries, and essentially eliminating the pollution caused by wasted Pb-acid batteries, currently, when a battery can no longer provide enough current to crank the starter motor, it is usually regarded useless and needs to be changed; in the present disclosure, however, those previously considered useless batteries will still be useful for extended periods of time as long as the batteries can provide enough current to activate the coils of the solenoid or the magnetic switch of the starter at engine starts, since there are no more high current output applications, the standard for wasted batteries has changed from not being able to provide hundreds of amperes required to successfully crank the engine to not being able to provide enough ampere to activate the solenoid or the magnetic switch of the engine starter, the current required to activate the solenoid is just a fraction of the current required to successfully crank the engine.

[0039] Another advantage of the present invention is that the starting performance of the vehicle may be considerably improved, once the engine is shut off, the power source system will be isolated. Since there is no more load on it, the sufficiently charged power source may maintain its relatively high voltage, higher voltage will ensure better re-starting performance of the vehicle.

[0040] Still another advantage of the present invention is that the isolated power source or hybrid power system allows the use of the different types of power sources based on their applications, such as deep cycle batteries to power vehicle consumers, and other kinds of power source like lithium ion batteries, super capacitor cells, etc. for different applications, so the engine starting performance will be greatly improved and service life of power sources will be considerably extended, which may be highly valuable to special equipment used under extreme conditions, like heavy equipment, machinery, military vehicles, etc.

[0041] For example, lithium titanate battery cells usually have a life cycle tens of time of over conventional Pb-acid batteries, and output performance will not deteriorate even under temperature as low as minus 40 Celsius degree; and another example, super capacitors may hold a charge better, have a cycle life about a millions times, provide a quicker charge and discharge time, and have more efficient charge acceptance than a comparable battery, when utilized in the embodiments discussed above, the power system may provide superb starting performance at cold-start application, especially under extremely low temperatures.

[0042] Further, by stabilizing the electrical system voltage level during engine starts and absorbing voltage transients, degradation of electrical components due to operation of electrical loads may be improved, thereby enhancing the overall vehicle performance.

[0043] Still a further advantage of the present invention is that the sizes and weight of the batteries can be greatly reduced and the size of the alternator can also optionally be reduced by applying a higher voltage across the starter motor, which is particularly valuable for applications wherein weight is critical to operating cost and performances, like aircrafts.

[0044] In certain embodiments, the charging circuit of the power system may comprise a DC-DC converter, so the two power sources may be of different voltages, for example, the first power source may be 12 volts, and the second power sources may be 24 volts, so the engine may use a 24 volts starter motor on a 12 volts engine and alternator system, which may be especially desirable for some applications, which may use lighter motor, light wires and cables, which reduces the weight and size constraints imposed by many conventional vehicle battery and electrical systems.

[0045] Still a further advantage of the present invention is that integration of embodiments of the invention in existing engine starting systems can be made without major modification, as in the following exemplary embodiments of the invention, only minimal electrical wiring changes are imposed on conventional systems, just need to re-connect a cable.

[0046] The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used as terms of description and not of limitation. There is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

[0047] The foregoing above objectives, technical effects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more readily understood / apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with the accompanying drawings.

[0048] It should be understood that the summary provided here is to briefly describe concepts of present invention, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached thereto, the beneficial objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method and a system as described herein.

[0049] Brief Description of the Drawings With reference to the annexed drawings, the preferred embodiments of the invention are herein described by way of example only, embodiments of the present invention, further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent and be better understood to those skilled in the art, however, it is noted that the particulars shown are for illustrative purposes only, not by way of limitation.

[0050] In the following detailed description, like reference numerals and characters may be used to designate identical, corresponding, or similar components in differing drawing figures. Furthermore, example sizes / models / values / ranges may be given. In circuit diagrams well-known power and ground connections, and similar well-known elements, may be omitted for the sake of simplicity of illustration.

[0051] In the drawings:

[0052] Fig.l is a schematic diagram of an isolated energy storage system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, which may be selectively electrically coupled to another energy source by a switching device, each energy source includes at least one output positive terminal respectively.

[0053] Fig. 2 is a schematic view system of an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system, illustrating an embodiment comprised of multiple energy cells within a housing including at least two positive terminals, a negative terminal, and a charging circuit between the two positive terminals and is located outside of the housing of the power source.

[0054] Fig. 3 and Fig 4 Illustrate an embodiment of an isolated energy source system integrated with an existing start system of a vehicle system, it depicts the installation of the isolated power source on a vehicle system and connection method, the switching device is between the two positive terminals and is located outside of the housing of the power sources.

[0055] Fig. 5 is a schematic view system of an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system, illustrating an embodiment comprised of multiple energy cells within a housing including at least two positive terminals, one negative terminal, and the charging circuit is between the two positive terminals and is located inside of the housing of the power source.

[0056] Fig. 6 illustrating an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system integrated with the original battery of the vehicle, illustrating the charging circuit of an embodiment is within a housing having at least one negative terminal and two positive terminals on the housing.

[0057] Fig. 7 Illustrates an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system integrated with a smaller battery.

[0058] Fig. 8 illustrating an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system integrated with a battery for a vehicle system, an embodiment comprised of a plurality of super capacitor cells within a housing having at least one negative terminal and two positive terminals, and a battery. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system integrated with a battery for a vehicle within a single housing, illustrating an embodiment comprised of two power sources within a housing having at least one negative terminal and two positive terminals.

[0059] FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary hybrid power source integrated into a closed single housing, illustrating a dual power supply system including at least one negative terminal and two positive terminals disposed on a standard battery size housing that encloses a chemical battery pack and a super capacitor pack in accordance with an embodiment;

[0060] Fig. 11 is a schematic view system diagram illustrating an embodiment of an isolated energy storage system integrated into an existing truck start system with dual battery system.

[0061] Fig. 12 Illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary hybrid power source, which includes at least one negative terminal, two output positive terminals, an indicator, a display, and a manual control in accordance with an embodiment.

[0062] Fig. 13 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, comprise an indicator, an energy meter display, and a manual control integrated into a closed single housing and remotely connected to an exemplary power source.

[0063] In the figures:

[0064] 1. Positive charging terminal of isolated energy source 6;

[0065] 2. Positive output terminal of isolated energy source 6;

[0066] 3. Negative terminal of isolated energy source 6;

[0067] 4. Positive output terminal of isolated energy source 16;

[0068] 5. Negative end of battery pack of energy source 6;

[0069] 6. Isolated energy source 6;

[0070] 8. Switching device of charging circuit;

[0071] 9. Another power source 9;

[0072] 12. Housing of isolated power source 6;

[0073] 13. Indicator;

[0074] 15. Positive end of battery pack of energy source 6;

[0075] 16. Isolated energy source 16;

[0076] 17. Energy level display

[0077] 18. Control line of switching device 8;

[0078] 19. Manual control;

[0079] 20. Remote control box;

[0080] 22. Positive output terminal of power source 9;

[0081] 23. Negative terminal of energy source 9;

[0082] 33. Negative terminal of hybrid energy source;

[0083] 43. Negative terminal of isolated energy source 16; Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0084] The foregoing above objectives, technical effects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more readily understood / apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with the accompanying drawings.

[0085] The foregoing functions and advantages, as well as other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be illustrated and described in detail herein below, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0086] The following implementations of preferred embodiments will be described in detail to assist those skilled in the art to practice exemplary embodiments, and it is to be understood that various changes, modification, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and / or systems embodiments may be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of embodiments described, other embodiments may be derived from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, so it should be appreciated that principles of the invention shall applicable to all embodiments that fall within the protection scope of the following claims of the present invention.

[0087] The present invention provides an isolated power source system and engine start methods to solve deficiencies of the prior arts. The embodiments of the systems and methods for managing the isolated power system described herein may be mainly implemented in a vehicular context, but they are not limited to applications on vehicles, the embodiments herein can also be implemented to other applications, such as starting systems on boats> airplanes> generators or other engine systems.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 1, an independent energy source 6 may be utilized to selectively electrically coupled to another energy source 9 by a switching device 8, specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, a super capacitor pack 6 and a battery 9, each includes a positive terminal 2 and 22, the negative ends 3 and 23 of the two energy sources may be connected together to form a negative terminal 33, and the two energy sources 9 and 6 may be electrically coupled in parallel by a switching device 8 connected to a charging terminal 1 of energy source 6. It should be noted that the super capacitor pack 6 and the battery 9 illustrated in Figi are for illustrative purpose only, they may be any of various energy storage devices or batteries, such as lead-acid batteries, lithium ion batteries, or super capacitors, etc.

[0089] Also as shown in FIG. 2, a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described, which depicts a structure of an isolated power system, said isolated power source 6 comprise of a battery pack and a charging circuit, said battery pack 6 may comprise one or a plurality of energy cells connected to each other in serial configuration within a housing 12, said energy system includes at least one positive output terminal 2, which may be directly electrically connected to the positive end 15 of the battery pack; Unlike US Patent No. 10,023,065 B2, entitled "Electrical System Enhancer" to Ricky Zhong Huang, Jing K. Tan, filed on Nov.25, 2014, which provides an array of ultra-capacitors to enhance the performance of a vehicle electrical system by connecting said array of ultra-capacitors with the vehicle system battery in parallel through a switch, while in the present disclosure, above said positive output terminal 2 is to be connected to a load, such as to the power supply terminal B of the solenoid of an engine starter, so to exclusively provide current to the starter motor M at engine starts; said energy system 6 also includes at least one negative terminal 3, which is directly electrically connected to the negative end 5 of the battery pack.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described, which depicts a structure of an isolated power system 6 is connected to an existing vehicle battery system in parallel through a switching device 8, said isolated power source comprise of a power pack 6 and a charging circuit, said energy system 6 includes at least one charging terminal 1 and one positive output terminal 2, said positive output terminal 2 is to be connected to an output post, which supplies power to the power supply terminal B of the solenoid of an engine starter, so to exclusively provide current to the starter motor M at engine starts; said energy system 6 also includes at least one negative terminal 3, which may grounded to the vehicle frame or be electrically connected to the negative terminal 23 of the original battery 9.

[0091] Above said charging circuit of power source 6 may comprise at least one switching devices 8 such as a relay, a contactor, a switching device, a DC-DC converter, or any combination of similar devices connected to such as power source 9, the battery of the engine through charging terminal 1, said one or more devices 8 may be configured to normally isolate the said power pack 6 from another power source 9, and be triggered on and off by a signal sent to the control end or control line 18 of the switching device 8 in response to various conditions of the engine system, so said charging circuit can be turned closed after the engine is up and running, and turned open when engine is off.

[0092] As the space is usually very limited in the engine bay of a vehicle, the switching device 8 of the charging circuit may be located between the positive post 22 of the original battery 9 and the output post of the isolated power source 6, as illustrated in FIG.3 and FIG.4, and power source 6 may be located at other available spot in the engine bay of the vehicle. As the Fig. 2 illustrates, an isolated energy source 6, comprises four Li-ion battery cells, in the embodiment, the Li-ion batteries are 38120 cells, so the battery pack 6 is quite small in size, only about 4cm in width, 15cm in height and 16cm in length, so it will be easy to be fixed to a spot close to vehicle's existing battery 9. And the voltage of each Li-ion battery cell is about 3.3V, so the serially connected battery pack may provide a nominal voltage about 13.2V, and 14.8V when fully charged, it will provide adequate current to successfully crank small and mid-size engines under normal temperature. Another exemplary embodiment may consists of six 3 an / h LTO battery, six cells of LTO batteries is even smaller in size, but the battery pack has a very high CCA, around 500An, which is high enough to successfully crank a 3.0 liter engine under normal conditions.

[0093] With one end of the switching device 8 is connected to the positive terminal 22 of the original battery 9 through positive charging terminal 1, and another end of the switching device 8 is connected to energy system 6, the switching device 8 of the charging circuit may be located outside of the housing 12 of the power pack, the flexibility of the configuration of the isolated power system 6 makes it easer to find a spot to install on a vehicle.

[0094] Yet in some embodiments, said charging circuit may also be located within the housing of the power source 6, as illustrated in Fig.5, for example, with one end of the switching device 8 connected to the power pack 6 and another end of the switching device 8 to be connected to another power source through charging terminal 1. As shown in FIG. 5, at least two positive terminals 1 and 2 and at least one negative terminal 3 are provided on an outer surface of the housing 12 of the energy system 6, and said three terminals are on the upper surface of housing 12, however, the number, configuration and the positions of the terminals are non-limiting, the terminals may be placed, for example, in top, front, side or any side of the housing 12, and the housing 12 may also be susceptible to a variety of implementation-specific variations in size, shape, and placement.

[0095] Further, above said switching device 8 of the charging circuit may not necessarily implemented by one or more relays or contactors, but may also be implemented by any other types of controllable electronic switching devices such as actuating coils, solid state relays, magnetic switches, solid state switches, magnetic latch switches, MOSFET, transistors, diodes, FETs, DC to DC converters, etc., depending on the field of application, any electrically activated switching device or alternatively similar devices with various circuit configurations are possible, as long as it can be activated by an electrical signal.

[0096] So, when the positive charging terminal 1 of the power pack 6 is connected to a power source, such as the vehicle's battery 9, the isolated power pack 6 will be selectively electrically connect to the vehicle's battery 9 in parallel by the activation of said switching device 8.

[0097] Suppose a passenger vehicle's battery 9 is too weak to start the engine, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, typically, as depicted in Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, an isolated power source 6 is installed on the passenger vehicle, just reconnect the cable of the power supply terminal B of the solenoid (relay, contactor, magnetic switch, or other switching devices by other names in other applications) of engine starter from the positive terminal 22 of original battery 9 to the positive output terminal 2 of said power source 6, connect the positive charging terminal 1 of said power source 6 to the positive terminal 22 of the existing battery 9 or the electrical system of a vehicle with a cable, and the negative terminal 3 is connected to the negative terminal 23 of the original battery 9 or is grounded to the frame of the vehicle.

[0098] It should be noted that the li-on battery and Pb-acid battery in the above exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative, integration of at least two independent power sources and taking advantage of the characteristics of various battery technologies for better performance with respective applications may provide a variety of advantages over existing systems according to various exemplary embodiments as depicted in Fig. 6 through Fig. 8.

[0099] With the above configuration of previously described embodiments, since there is no more high current output required for the system battery 9, the system battery 9 will last considerably longer in life cycles than before, so it may not only be possible to eliminate most pollution caused by wasted Pb-acid batteries, smaller and lighter batteries may also provide adequate power to the electrical loads of a vehicle, so it may be desirable to incorporate a smaller, lighter battery 9 with the isolated energy source 6, such as a 20 an / h Pb-acid battery, for example, as illustrated in Fig.7 and Fig.8, to form a combination of a Li-ion battery with a smaller Pb-acid battery pack, such combination may not only take much smaller size and dimensions of a conventional Pb-acid battery, significant performance improvements in engine starting and enhanced vehicle electrical system with greater overall reliability can also be achieved, and outperformance the conventional Pb-acid battery in other aspects, such as light in weight, very high peak output current, extremely long life cycles, etc.

[0100] For example, in certain embodiments, like a combination of a Pb-acid battery 9 and a super capacitor pack 6, the current to crank the engine at start-ups is provided by the super capacitor pack 6, superb starting performance can be achieved even under extremely cold conditions; In other embodiments, like a combination of a lithium titanate battery (LTO) pack and a super capacitor pack, overall output performance reliability can still be achieved even at temperatures as low as minus 40 degree Fahrenheit where conventional lead acid batteries may fail to function properly, which will be especially valuable for application under conditions like heavy equipment, military vehicles in extremely cold environments.

[0101] In certain embodiments, as illustrated ted in Fig. 8, like a combination of a lithium battery and a super capacitor pack, which may each comprise four 8 an / h lithium battery and six 3000 farad super capacitor cells in an embodiment, the total weight of the two energy system is about 5 kg, while the weight of a 53 an / h conventional Pb-acid battery is about 15 kg, the light weight of the hybrid power system may be especially valuable for weight sensitive applications, for example, in aero planes. And since there is no more need to charge the heavy bulky battery, the alternator can also be changed to smaller and lighter ones.

[0102] In certain embodiments, like a combination of a super capacitor pack and a battery, when electrically coupled to the electrical system when switching device 8 activated, the super capacitor pack may be able to compensate and absorb the voltage transients generated during the adjustment of electrical loads across the system, for example, when a major load on the vehicle is turned on, a voltage drop will usually happen, the super capacitor pack may then be quickly discharged to compensate for the voltage drop, and when a major appliance is turned off, a voltage spike may be also experienced, the excessive voltage may also be absorbed by the super capacitor pack, so not only stability of engine starting can be improved, performance of major electrical appliances and overall vehicle performance may also be achieved.

[0103] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a combination of said isolated power source and another power source may also be enclosed in a half closed, or further be packed into a fully closed enclosure or housing, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 9, it may comprise a first power source 9 and second power source 6, such as a combination of a Pb-acid battery and a Li-ion battery, a Pb-acid battery and a super capacitor (ultra-capacitor) pack, a Li-ion battery pack and a super capacitor (ultra-capacitor) pack, or any chemical storage battery and a super capacitor pack, referring to FIG. 9 and FIG 10, which schematically show a hybrid power system are encapsulated into a single housing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For convenient replacement of conventional storage battery, a hybrid power system may be easily retro-fitted to the electrical system of an existing vehicle without sophisticated modification on existing vehicles.

[0104] Different from US Patent No. 9,300,018 B2, granted to "Energy Source System Having Multiple Energy Storage Devices", filed on Mar.16, 2012, to Thomas M. Watson, Junwei Jiang, Perry M. Wyatt, which comprises two or more energy sources, but utilized two switching devices to selectively control the energy sources to connect and disconnect to a load; and has only one output terminal on the housing and while in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention depicted in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, the hybrid power system also comprises at least two energy sources 9 and 6, more specifically, for example, a combination of a chemical storage battery 9 and a super capacitor pack 6 within a housing, however, on the housing of the hybrid power system comprises at least 2 positive output terminals 2 and 22, the positive end of said battery 9 is coupled to the terminal 22 located on the housing, which is to be electrically connected to the vehicle's electrical system to provide power to electrical loads of the vehicle; while another power source, the super capacitor pack 6, is isolated from the chemical storage battery 9 by switching device 8 of the charging circuit, the positive end of the super capacitor pack 6 is coupled to another positive terminals 2 on the housing, which is to be connected to another load, such as the power supply terminal B of engine starter's solenoid of the engine, so to provide brief and high current bursts to the starter motor M each time the solenoid is activated by the ignition switch of the vehicle; and both the negative terminals 23 and 3 of the battery 9 and the super capacitor pack 6 are connected to a negative terminal 33 located on the housing, which is grounded to the frame of the vehicle; and a charging circuit, comprising a switching device 8, is located between the two positive ends or the two positive terminals 2 and 22 of the above two power sources 9 and 6, within or outside of the housing, isolates the above two power sources.

[0105] As Fig.10 illustrates, In the above embodiments, the hybrid energy source comprises a Li-ion battery 9 and a super capacitor pack 6, said Li-ion battery 9 may comprise four cells connected in series, the voltage of each Li-ion battery cell is about 3.3V, so the li-on battery may provide a nominal voltage about 13.2V; said super capacitor pack 6 may comprise six super capacitor cells connected in series, the voltage of each super capacitor cell is about 2.7V, so the rated voltage of the super capacitor pack is about 16.2 volts. With the above-described configuration, pairing of the two energy sources may provide the high-density power storage of Li-ion batteries with the high power output of super capacitors to different applications, the operation of present Embodiment is fundamentally similar to the operation of previous discussed embodiments.

[0106] In the case of heavy duty trucks with dual battery systems, according to another embodiment of the present invention, as depicted in Fig. 11, suppose the performance of the starter battery bank on a dual battery system of a truck is becoming deteriorated, the three 12 V starting batteries of the bank need to be changed, so an isolated power source may be installed on the truck, in this case, two of the three batteries may be changed to two super capacitor packs 6, 16 connected in parallel, just reconnect the cable of the power supply terminal B of the cranking motor M solenoid of engine starter from the positive terminal 22 of original battery 9 to the positive output terminals 2 and 4 of said two super capacitor packs 6 and 16, reconnect the positive terminals 2 and 4 to the positive terminal 22 of the battery 9 via the charging circuit, which includes a switching device 8. And the negative terminals 3 and 43 of said two super capacitor packs 6 and 16 are connected to the negative terminal 23 of the original battery bank 9 or is grounded to the frame of the vehicle, the present embodiment is different from US patent No. 2011 / 0012423 Al, entitled " Motor Vehicle Having Plural Battery Banks", granted to Nicholas A. Gollmer, Charles E. Howard, in which a first bank of batteries, isolated from the second bank, is used to provide current to the critical appliances of the truck and to exclusively crank the starter motor at engine start-ups; while in the present embodiment, the one old battery 9 of the bank, isolated from the two super capacitor packs 6 and 16, may still be used to power the critical appliances of the vehicle like engine control module (ECM), automatic transmission control module, and other electronic circuits like ignition circuit, etc. of the truck, while the two super capacitor packs 6 and 16 are to provide high and brief current to the electric starter motor M of the engine. In some embodiments, each super capacitor pack may comprise six super capacitor cells connected in parallel, so two packs of super capacitor cells may produce as high as 4,000 amperes at engine starts, which is high enough to successfully start most truck engines even under extremely cold conditions.

[0107] In the above depicted exemplary embodiments of the present invention, only a few number of battery types, such as Pb-acid battery, Li-ion battery, super capacitor pack or a combination of two above said energy sources have been described for exemplary purposes, however It should be noted that the types of batteries and the specific quantity of energy cells, or other components described in the systems herein are merely for illustrative purposes, in alternate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, above said power sources may comprise one or a plurality of any type of energy cells, include, but are not limited to any rechargeable batteries such as Pb-acid battery, lithium ion battery cells, gel cell, Nickel Metal Hydride, nickel zinc cell, AGM, lithium titanate battery cells(LTO), LFP, LNM, NMC, NCA, LCO, capacitors, super capacitor cells, etc., any of a wide variety of other battery types and chemistries or any other material or device capable of storing energy may be adapted for use or use in providing a better, stronger, smaller and / or lighter electrical power supply for a wide variety of applications and various combinations of batteries, and It should also be noted that the particular battery, super capacitors and any included circuitry may be of any desired type, rating, size and so forth, such as those described above. Accordingly, all such variations should be intended to be within the scope of this disclosure.

[0108] Further, according to another non-limiting embodiment of the application, the energy sources of the above said power systems comprise a plurality of energy cells arranged in series, however, said energy cells may be configured in series, in parallel, or in any matrix combination connected in series and in parallel for different operational voltages and ampere ratings, more specifically, such as 6 volt systems, 12 volt systems, 24 volt systems, 36 volt systems, 48 volt systems, and other operating voltages to fit a wide variety of applications and to suit a wide variety of voltage requirements. Operations and the methods of charging the above said power source in accordance with the present disclosure will be described below, with the above configuration of described non-limiting embodiments, according to the present disclosure, during normal operation of the vehicle: wherein, prior to the initiation of a starting operation, wherein, before the ignition of the vehicle is turned to start position and engine is not started up, the normal open switching device

[0109] 8 of the charging circuit is open, so to keep the isolated power source, the power pack 6 in this case, isolated from the vehicle battery 9 and electrical circuit.

[0110] Said switching device 8 of the charging circuit of said power systems 6 is operatively connectable to a power supply (the existing battery 9) or / and to an electrical system as described herein, which may be activated / deactivated upon engine starting, so recharging of the isolated power source 6 will be achieved by activation / deactivation of the switching device 8, so the engine driven alternator will provide current to the electrical appliances of the engine system, to charge the system battery 9 and to charge the isolated power source 6 when the switching device 8 is closed.

[0111] When the ignition switch is turned on, for example, by turning the ignition key to start position, the coils of the cranking motor solenoid are energized, the isolated power pack 6 works in conjunction with the original battery 9 to start an engine of a vehicle, as the positive terminal 22 of the original battery 9 are only connected to the electrical system, vehicle appliances are powered only by vehicle battery 9; or in the case of a truck system, the two power packs 6 and 16 are isolated, the battery 9 will provide power to critical electrical system such as ECM, ignition, and transmission control of the vehicle, cranking current to the electric starter motor M of the engine starter is exclusively provided by energy stored in the isolated power source 6 or power source 6 and 16 in case of trucks, there will no more high current output required for the battery

[0112] 9 at engine starts, so even with an insufficiently charged battery or considerably smaller battery, the engine can still be successfully started;

[0113] Different from PCT / US Patent No.2006 / 016913, WO 2006 / 116774, entitle "Hybrid Battery" to Idaho Research Fundation. Inc., in which when vehicle's ignition key S2 is turned, the battery is connected to a converter which is to charge the isolated ultra capacitor by a closed relay SI, while in the present embodiments, the isolated power pack 6 is still electrically isolated from the battery 9 by the switching device 8, so when the starter solenoid coils are energized by ignition signal, the electric motor M of the engine starter will be exclusively supplied with brief and high current from the isolated power pack 6 , so the engine is started by the electric starter motor M using the power exclusively provided by the power pack 6, therefore, at engine starts, vehicle battery 9 only provides current to the electrical system of the vehicle; in the case of truck illustrated in Fig. 11, vehicle battery 9 only provides current to the critical appliances like engine ECM, ignition, and transmission computer, not the electric motor M of the starter.

[0114] After the vehicle is started, the engine is up and running, and the alternator of the vehicle is powering up to supply direct current to the electrical system and all electrical power consumers of the vehicle at 12 to 14 volts, and to charge the vehicle battery 9, recharging of the isolated power source 6, such as the above said battery pack and super capacitor packs in above described embodiments may be achieved through the closed charging circuit, which is, after activation of switching device 8 when the control line 18 receives a signal from various parts, switches or controllers, which are operable to isolate above said power pack 6 from the original battery 9 when the engine is turned off, and to selectively electrically connect the power pack 6 in parallel with battery 9 after the engine is up and running, so both the power pack 6 and the battery 9 will be charged by the alternator of the vehicle.

[0115] On some vehicles, the alternator is connected to the same cable connecting the starter solenoid power supply with the isolated power pack 6, so when engine is up and running, the alternator will charge the isolated power pack 6 first, and to supply direct current to the electrical system and all electrical power consumers of the vehicle after activation of switching device 8, and both the power pack 6 and the battery 9 will still be charged by the alternator of the vehicle.

[0116] Once the engine is shut off, above said various parts, switches stop working, or the controllers detects a vehicle operating parameter below a pre-defined value, determining that the engine has shut off, the signal sent to the control line 18 is cut off, switching device 8 thereby opens again to ensure the power pack 6 will isolate from the vehicle battery 9 and electrical system, since there is no more load on it, the sufficiently charged isolated power pack 6 will remain and maintain its relatively higher voltage, just a little bit lower than the output voltage of the alternator, for example, around 13V-15V, so the voltage of the power pack 6 is higher than the voltage of the battery 9, which is , usually around 12V.

[0117] In the case of different voltage systems, such as 24 Volts in some engine systems, operation of said switching device 8 and its control line 18 of the charging circuit is basically similar to the previously descripted embodiments.

[0118] In the case of above said hybrid power system, operation of said switching device 8 and its control line 18 of the charging circuit is basically similar to the previously descripted embodiments.

[0119] As a result, the relatively high voltage of the isolated power pack 6 will ensure the starting performance of the vehicle is improved, and since vehicle battery 9 is prevented from discharging high current, thereby a weak vehicle battery 9 will still be useful for extended time.

[0120] The present invention further provides various methods of controlling the charging circuit of the energy system, charging of the isolated power pack 6 may be controlled by activation / deactivation the switching device 8 or dc-dc converter, ideally, activation / deactivation of the above said switching device 8 may be connected to a dedicated control line or control wire from engine control system, so the charging circuit is on when the engine is up and running and is off when the engine is shut, but it is not realistic to modify the engine control system of existing vehicles. So more practically, in some embodiments, above said switching device 8 or dc-dc converter of the charging circuit may comprise a control line 18 connected to the control end of said switching device 8, different from U.S. Patent No. 9,816,475 Bl, entitled : "System and Method for Maximizing Short-Term Energy Storage a Supercapacitor Array for Engine Start Applications", filed on May 11, 2016, which utilized a DC-DC converter and a control module to charge the super capacitor array prior engine starts with complicated configurations, further different from PCT / US Patent No. 006 / 016913, WO 2006 / 116774, entitle "Hybrid Battery" to Idaho Research Fundation. Inc., in which recharging of the ultracapacitor requires a converter, a controller and conditional circuit, and control signal is based on the voltage level of the ultracapacitor, recharging of the energy systems of the present disclosure is much simpler and straight forward: the activation / deactivation of the charging circuit may be controlled by a signal sent to the control line 18 in response to input from an existing vehicle part, a switching device, or from an independent controller:

[0121] 1. According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, said control line 18 of the switching device 8 or DC / DC converter of the charging circuit may be connected to a power supply line or control wire of any device or part of the vehicle, as long as said device is up and running after the engine is started, and is off after the engine is shut, so said switching device 8 or DC / DC converter is triggered open or close by said device's running status, so said charging circuit will be closed and to be opened by the status of the vehicle's engine.

[0122] For example, in an embodiment, said control line 18 of the switching device 8 of the charging circuit may be connected to a DC supply line, control wire of the fuel pump or fuel pump relay of the vehicle, preferably with a timer relay, so only after ignition key is turned on and engine is up for over a predefined time, the switching device 8 will be activated to close the charging circuit, and be deactivated when the engine is shut.

[0123] 2. According to some embodiments of the present invention, said control line 18 of the switching device 8 or DC-DC converter of the charging circuit may be connected to a switching device, said switching device may be turned on or off by change of status of one or more parameter variables of the vehicle.

[0124] For example, in some embodiments, said control line 18 of the switching device 8 of the charging circuit may be connected to a switch, such as a pressure switch, a vacuum pressure switch, a reed switch( a magnetic switch) , etc., which may be turned on by engine oil pressure, vacuum pressure of air intake, magnetic strength generated by running vehicle device, etc., so said switching device is to be closed when engine is on, and to be opened when engine is off, so said switching device 8 may be activated on or off by the parameter variables of the vehicle, such parameter variables includes, but not limited to the above said parameter engine oil pressure, vacuum pressure, magnetic strength, etc.

[0125] 3. According to some embodiments of the present invention, said control line 18 of the switching device 8 or DC-DC converter of the charging circuit may also be connected to an independent control unit or controller, said controller may be packaged in or out of the enclosure of the energy source, and may further includes at least one or more sensing devices configured to detect one or more vehicle operating parameters, includes, but not limited to sound, vibration, oil pressure, vacuum pressure, rpm, voltage, charging current of electrical system, etc., said sensing devices may be positioned on, within, proximate to, or even external to the vehicle parts to detect the above said vehicle operating parameters during operation of the vehicle, said controller may be programmable by a user to set and / or customize the system with various parameters or values, and each of the parameters change detected by one or more of sensing devices may be compared to a preset value by the controller, so by determining when the one or more detected vehicle operating parameters is equal to or greater than the one or more predefined predetermined threshold values indicative of engine's running status, said controller may be configured independently and operatively actuate / de-actuate the switching device 8 and / or the DC-DC converter, so to independently and operatively control the isolated power source 6 for selective and respective connection / isolation to / from battery 9 or the electrical system, thereby allowing the vehicle alternator to recharge both power sources 9 and 6, and to turn the switching device 8 open again when the engine is shut off, so the isolated power source may remain sufficiently charged and maintain its relatively higher voltage.

[0126] So when one or more monitored operating parameters such as air pressure, oil pressure, vibration levels, voltages, or other ones is below a pre-determined threshold value, which indicating engine is off; said controller keeps charging circuit open, and when the monitored operating parameters is equals or above a pre-determined threshold value, thereby indicating the engine is up and running, said controller closes said switching device 8 so to activate the charging circuit.

[0127] In some embodiments, for example, the controller may comprise a vacuum pressure sensor configured to detect the vacuum pressure at the air intake of the engine, supposed a pre-determined value is set to -5 kpa, when the engine is shut, the detected vacuum pressure at the air intake is around zero, thereby indicating the engine is off, thereby the controller keeps said switching device 8 open so to isolated the two energy sources; after the engine is started up and running, the detected vacuum pressure at the air intake will be much higher than -5 kpa, indicating the engine is up, so the controller will activate said switching device 8 so to connect the two energy sources into parallel.

[0128] It will be appreciated that the above embodiments are only examples of various methods that may affect or embody the functions of a control device that may activate a switching device such as a solenoid, a relay, a contactor or any similar device, and said device or controller may represent generally any component or combination of components that may control operation of said switching device 8 of the charging circuit, the device or controller may be any device or controller that may keep the switching device 8 open when the engine is turned off, so to isolate the power pack 6; and may close the switching device 8 when one or more vehicle operating parameters satisfied preset thresholds, indicating the engine is running, so the power pack 6 can to be connected to a power supply to be charged. The controller may be configured to maintain the switching device in the closed state for a predetermined period of time.

[0129] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said charging circuit may also include a DC-DC converter, since when fully charged, the voltage of above said energy sources may usually be different than the output voltage of the alternator of the vehicle, so the charging circuit may further comprise a DC-DC converter, so the energy sources may be charged to a voltage level different than the voltage of a power supply to keep each energy cell of the power sources fully charged; or the DC-DC converter may even be configured to charge the isolated energy source to other voltage ratings, such as to charge to 24 volt, 36 volt on a 12 volt alternator system. And said switching device 8 or DC-DC converter of said charging circuit may comprise a control end or a control line 18 so said switching device 8 or DC-DC converter may be activated / deactivated by a signal sent to the control line 18.

[0130] According to some embodiments of the invention, it should be noted that the charging circuit may also further comprise various components, devices or circuits for controlling the charging of the energy cells of the above said power systems, such as devices for current limiting, overcharge protection and charge balancing, like resistors, fuses, resettable fuses, circuit breakers, etc., it is especially preferable when the power sources comprise a plurality of super capacitor cells because of the low resistance of super capacitors, high charging current from another power source to the capacitor pack may damage, or even cause fire if the rate of charge is not regulated, the charge rate of the charging circuit into said power systems may be controlled by variable current limiting or resistance devices capable of limiting or regulating the level of current flow to charge the energy source, such as charge-rate-controlling resistors, diodes, DC-DC converters.

[0131] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said isolated power source may further comprise charging balance circuits, said circuit may be configured to balance the charging of each individual energy cell and the overall voltage to protect the voltage balance of each energy cell, so to avoid some energy cells being charged to a higher or lower voltage than other ones to expand the service life of the energy source.

[0132] In some embodiments, the charging circuit of the above said power systems may also optionally include an indicator 13, as illustrated in Fig. 10, Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, which may be a light, an LED, a signal, etc. to display the operational status of charging circuit, such as the on or off status of the switching device 8 and the power source is being recharged.

[0133] According to some embodiments of the present invention, said power source may further comprise one or more sensors and a display devices 17, said display device 17 is electrically connected to the isolated power source, such as a super capacitor pack 6, and is operatively to display the information collected by said sensor, such as voltage level, state of charge or energy storage level of said power source.

[0134] And optionally, a second voltmeter for measuring the level of available electrical power from the system battery 9 may also be included, so to indicate the power levels of the super capacitor pack 6 and battery 9 respectively to the operator, so the operator may be made aware of the power levels of both power sources as illustrated in Fig. 8, Fig, 10 and Fig. 12.

[0135] Additionally, the charging circuit of the power system may also further optionally include devices monitoring other parameters like temperature, current, etc.

[0136] Although the present description will always refer to the switching device 8 of the charging circuit being controlled automatically according to some embodiments of the present invention, furthermore, said charging circuit may further comprise a manual or bypass switch 19 to activate / deactivate the switching device 8, as illustrated in FIG. 18, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. Obviously, In the embodiments, the manual or bypass switch 19 is generally opened during normal operation of the vehicle, said manual switch 19 may be directly activated by an operator to turn an key, to push a button or via an electronic controller, if activated, the isolated power pack 6 will be connected with vehicle battery 9 in parallel, said manual switch 19 may be used as a safety device so to reduce or eliminate the likelihood that the voltage of any of the power system is drained too low to start the engine of the vehicle.

[0137] In some embodiments, as illustrated in Fig. 13, said manual switch 19 may be configured on a separate enclosure, or a remote control box 20, optionally with switching device 8 status indicator 13 and / or energy level displays 17, said enclosure 20 may be installed to a place close to the operator, such as close to, or on the dashboard of the vehicle for easy access to the operator, and remotely connected to the energy system, so when in case any of the energy sources is discharged below a certain voltage, the vehicle operator can control the switching device 8 from the dashboard of the vehicle to connect the two energy sources 6 and 9 in parallel.

[0138] It should also be noted that in certain implementations, according to the above embodiments of the present invention, a combination of the two energy sources discussed in the present disclosure may be physically packaged separately, in an half closed housing, or in a fully closed enclosure and be installed in the location of conventional batteries without major modification or complicated wiring. And the housing or enclosure of a combination of the two energy sources, and charging circuit discussed may be of the same sizes or smaller than the conventional Pb-acid or other battery types. Further, the housing of the power systems may deviate from conventional battery physical in dimensions for easier installation.

[0139] It should be noted although that the configurations, arrangements or methods of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are primarily described in the context of a vehicular starting system, which may be utilized in motor vehicles like passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, the concepts provided herein may also apply to any other type of vehicles and in a wide variety of applications, with or within which an energy storage system is implemented such as, for example, boats, generators, agricultural machineries, industrial vehicles, airplane's, or any other systems.

[0140] The present disclosure relates to an isolated power system, its applications, and methods of controlling the charging of said power source, for this disclosure, some embodiments of the present invention has been shown and described in detail with reference to the foregoing exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that the illustrated embodiments are only exemplary, although not explicitly illustrated, it is considered that various parameters and configurations disclosed are as illustrative only, and the subject matter described in the above embodiments are not intended to limit to the exact construction and operation shown and described, various omissions, modifications, substitutions, and changes may be made in various exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present inventions, such as factors like types of energy sources, quantities, capacity, size, rated voltages, shapes and physical configurations of the energy cells, and enclosure dimensions, configurations for the electrical system, terminal types and configurations, can be modified and / or adapted according to various applications.

[0141] So accordingly, all such modification, alteration, substitution, and improvement in various other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims and which are intended to be and are covered by both the disclosure and the appended claims, it is intended that the scope of the present teachings should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in the specification and the attached drawings.

[0142] In the description of the present invention, It should be understood by those of skill in the art that unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, all technical and / or scientific terms used in the description are intended to describe certain features of the embodiments only, and shall by no means be restrictive, and the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be limiting.

[0143] Accordingly, the terms and expressions have been employed in the foregoing specification such as "comprising" or "including" should be interpreted with same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains, the terms "coupled," "connected," and the like as used herein are to be construed broadly, meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection can be mechanically or electrically connected; the terms "energy source", "power source", "power pack", "energy system", "energy cell" , "power cells", "energy packs", etc., and other terms such as electrochemical cells, batteries, capacitors, super capacitors, ultra-capacitors and the like may be used inter changeable, and expressions in a singular form include a meaning in both singular and plural form.

[0144] There is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An isolated hybrid energy source system for engine start applications, comprising:A hybrid energy source, said energy source incorporates at least two isolated energy sources in a half closed or a fully closed housing, at least two positive output terminals and one negative terminal are located on the outer surface of the housing of the energy system, each positive output terminal is connected to the positive end of the at least two energy sources respectively; one output terminal is connected to the power supply terminal of the solenoid of a engine starter, and the negative ends of said two power sources are connected to the at least one negative terminal on the outer surface of the housing;A charging circuit, comprising at least one normal open switching device, is configured to selectively electrically connect the two power sources in parallel when closed, and isolates said two power sources when is open; said switching device further comprises a control end being connected to trigger signal; andMeans of controlling said switching device comprising the control end of the switching device being connected to a trigger signal, include:Being connected to a power supply line or relay of a device of the engine which is on when engine is running and is off when engine is shut, preferably with a timer relay, orBeing connected to a switching device, said switching device is generally opened and closed in response to one or more engine's operating parameters, preferably with a timer relay, orBeing connected to a programmable controller located within or out of the housing of said hybrid energy source, the activation and deactivation of the charging circuit may be triggered on and off respectively by a signal sent to the control end, said controller may selectively storing at least one predetermined value programmable by a user, wherein said controller further comprises at least one parameter sensor, said sensor is configured to monitor one or more engine operating parameters, said operating parameter sensor of the controller may include:A pressure sensor is configured to monitor the pressure level of air intake; orA pressure sensor is configured to monitor the pressure level engine oil; orA vibration sensor is configured to detect the vibration of the engine or other parts; orA voltage sensor is configured to monitor the voltage of the electrical circuit of the system;Any other sensor to be configured to detect the operating parameter of the vehicle.Wherein before the engine is started, said electronic controller opens said switching device of said charging circuit when said level of operating parameters is lower than a predetermined level, indicating the engine is shut; said electronic controller closes the switching device when said level of one or more monitored operating parameters equals or is higher than a predetermined level, indicating the engine is running.

2. An isolated hybrid energy source system for engine start applications as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:Said energy source including at least two isolated energy sources enclosed in at least two enclosures respectively, the first energy source includes at least one positive output terminal, one negative terminal and one positive charging terminal on the outer surface of the enclosure, the output terminal is connected to the power supply terminal of the solenoid of a engine starter;Said charging circuit, comprising at least one normal open switching device, located within or out of the enclosure of the energy source, one end of said charging circuit is connected to the positive charging terminal of the first energy source and another end connected to the positive terminal of another energy source, said switching device further comprises a control end being connected to trigger signal; andMeans of controlling said switching device, which are similar to those as set forth in claim 1.

3. An isolated energy source, comprising:An energy source, comprising at least one positive output terminal, one positive charging terminal and at least one negative terminal; the positive output terminal is connected to the power supply terminal of the solenoid of a engine starter;A charging circuit, comprising at least one normal open switching device configured to selectively electrically connect and disconnect the charging terminal of said power source to another energy source; said switching device further comprises a control end for external trigger signal and the means for triggering the switching device with said external trigger signal, the activation and deactivation of the charging circuit may be triggered on and off respectively by a signal sent to the control end during normal operation of the engine; andMeans of controlling said switching device, which are similar to those as set forth in claim 1.

4. The energy systems according claim 1, claim 2, wherein the energy sources may comprise more than one of a plurality of serially connected energy storage cells, comprising combinations of various battery types like Pb-acid battery, lithium ion battery cells, lithium titanate battery cells (LTO), capacitors, super capacitor (ultra capacitor) cells, and may be configured in serial or in parallel to meet any voltage and current requirement.

5. The energy systems according claim 3, the energy sources may comprise more than one of a plurality of serially connected energy storage cells, comprising various battery types like Pb-acid battery, lithium ion battery cells, lithium titanate battery cells (LTO), capacitors, super capacitor (ultra capacitor) cells, and may be configured in serial or in parallel to meet any voltage and current requirement.

6. The energy systems of claim 1, 2 and 3, said housing or enclosure of the energy systems may be smaller or proximately conform with conventional standard batteries in shapes and sizes for easy replacement in vehicles, automobiles, boats, airplanes, generators, etc.

7. The energy system according to claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the charging circuit may comprise a DC-DC converter, said DC-DC converter may be configured to convert the voltage of an energy source to different voltages to another energy sources.

8. The energy systems according claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the charging circuit comprising at least one normal open switching device and / or a dc-dc converter, one end of said switching device or dc-dc converter is connected to the positive charging terminal of one energy source and another end connected to another energy source.

9. The energy system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, wherein said means for controlling the said charging circuit comprising the control end of the switching device or DC-DC converter being connected to an on-board computer such as a control module or other engine control system of an engine.

10. The energy system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, further comprising at least one sensor for measuring the level of available electrical power from said isolated energy source, and optionally a second power source sensor for measuring the level of available electrical power from said another energy source, and a display for indicating information collected by said at least one sensor.

11. The power systems of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, wherein the charging circuit further comprising at least one manual control or switch, said manual control or switch is configured independently and operatively to activate and deactivate the charging circuit.

12. The energy source system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, further including an indicator to display the operational status of charging circuit.

13. The energy source system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, further including a remote enclosure for housing said display, and / or said manual switch, and / or indicator, said enclosure being locatable for easy access of the operator.

14. The energy source system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, said charging circuit further comprising a circuit breaker or a fuse in the charging circuit.

15. The energy source system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, said charging circuit further comprising a current limiting device like a resistor connected within the circuit.

16. The energy source system of claim 1, claim 2 and claim 3, said power system further comprising over charge protection and charging balancing circuits when charging the energy cells.

Images