Design and Implementation of a Backup Laptop Power Bank

Abstract

Power bank is any portable device design for charging electronic device like mobile phones or tablet computers while on the move. Boost converter also known as a step-up converter (SC) is a circuitry design aimed at stepping-up of applied DC input. SC is mostly used in applications where a higher voltage level is required, such as in solar panels and LED lightening. For instance, powering a 12-volt LED lamp using a 3.7-volt lithium ion battery. A power bank integrated with boost converter was designed and implemented with the aim of being used as an alternative means of powering a laptop. The power bank output was designed to be variable such that it can power variety of laptops irrespective of its input supply, a feature not available in the commercial power banks. The internal storage battery of the system used is lithium ion of potential difference (PD) 9.6 volt, while the output PD is targeted at the range of  9.6 to 20 volt. The storage battery and the boost converter circuit were to be protected by deep discharge and reverse polarity protection circuit. Moreover, the protection circuit can be bypassed while operating the system directly from solar panel. Prior to construction, Proteus software was used for design and simulation. The construction materials were obtained locally. Several laptops were used to test the system, and it was discovered to be functioning well.