Sunday, 31 July 2016

[TECH DISCUSSION] Is it possible to have a Dash Charge power bank?

So I'm in my junior year of electrical engineering and seeing the incredible things done with smartphones is something I really would like to be a part of one day. I wanted to discuss, considering the limits of current technology, if it would be possible to create a safe Dash Charging power bank for this device? For those who don't know how dash charging works I'll post a few links and my understanding of how it works and if I'm wrong at any point feel free to correct me.

Dash Charging - The Technology
The way dash charging works, as I understand it, is that the USB-C cable wires are made wider in diameter to accommodate a larger amount of current being passed through to the battery. The charger plugged into the wall takes on the burden of the extra voltage pushing the current through the wire and keeping it away from the phone's internal battery (which is brilliant). That means that the charger takes on the extra heat which isn't a problem because passive components are often more tolerant of heat than batteries are.
Links:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/How-i...Plus-3_id82646
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinio...arge-oneplus-3

The Issues
A dash power bank could be charged up exactly like the phone; with the dash charger it could fill extremely fast. However, using the battery pack to charge the phone means that the internal Li-Ion batteries of that charger will be taking on the extra heat from within the case which could:
a) shorten the power bank's life span
b) Possibly lead to unsafe power banks if it got too hot

I also see there being limitations with the power bank's ability to maintain a full speed charge similar to wall charging along with what types of batteries would be needed to provide the power output similar to the dash charger.

The Solutions
So in my limited knowledge I think that the biggest enemy here is heat generated in the power bank. I feel like the rest could be overcome with a fairly large bank of 18650 batteries. It is possible to have a passive cooling system built into the power bank for heat dissipation but that might make the battery bank difficult for users to hold on their Pokemon Go outings. Also, reducing Dash Charging specifications just a little, decreasing the speed at which it could charge the device, would alleviate some of the concern. So while you might not get 60% in 30 minutes from the wall, perhaps aiming for 45-50% charge in that amount of time would increase the power bank lifespan and total amount of charges.

What do you all think? I'll readily admit I don't understand completely how current battery bank internals work to limit over-current and over-voltage scenarios as I've never taken one apart. If anyone wants to educate me and say whether they think Dash Charging is possible I'd love to hear about it. This is the kind of stuff I imagine the OnePlus engineers are sitting around working on every week.

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