1
\$\begingroup\$

I have a custom made 5s power bank (30 x 18650 cells) and I want to make a power supply to charge my laptop using this power bank. It's not a big deal to make a 5V charger because I just have to hard wire a 5V step down regulator and it will work, but what about higher voltages?

Of course, I can use a standard AC power supply and connect it using a car power inverter, but efficiency in this case will be quite low. I tried to find such power supply/controller on aliexpress or ebay, but it looks like only 5V versions are available. What is the best/easiest way to do it?

Thank you!

|improve this question
\$\endgroup\$
  • \$\begingroup\$ boost converters work the same as bucks, what the question? \$\endgroup\$ – dandavis Sep 11 '18 at 21:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ but what about higher voltages? is a bit ambiguous. Please ask more direct questions. Forget Ebay, they are a parts broker, not a supplier. Use the search terms "buck regulator" and "boost regulator" and you will find plenty of vendors. \$\endgroup\$ – Sparky256 Sep 11 '18 at 22:05
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Which "Power Delivery over Type-C design" guidances did you digest before asking this question? \$\endgroup\$ – Ale..chenski Sep 11 '18 at 22:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Sparky256 i mean pd over usb-c \$\endgroup\$ – Tutankhamen Sep 11 '18 at 23:31
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ How is this a shopping question? If you read into it it doesn't look like a shopping question to me. "What is the best way to do it?" and the question about step down regulators doesn't look like shopping \$\endgroup\$ – Voltage Spike Feb 21 at 17:08
1
\$\begingroup\$

I am aware of two such devices.

  1. ChargerLAB POWER-Z DC to USB PD Converter Board JGL-DCPD review at https://kknews.cc/digital/e8mezky.html

  2. Magicfox PD180. It takes a 12-28V DC via 5.5 * 2.5/2.1mm barrel (or USB C PD 100W) and provides two USB C ports and an USB A port. A review http://bbs.chongdiantou.com/thread-57387-1-1.html here and the same is https://kknews.cc/zh-tw/digital/rorpmmv.html here as well.

Google Translate helps in translating the Chinese reviews. The first one seems to be available from an Asian reseller in English, shipping worldwide (Google is your friend). The second is on jd.com but there are various Chinese shopping proxies to help.

|improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
  • \$\begingroup\$ This is exactly what I need! \$\endgroup\$ – Tutankhamen Feb 18 at 21:19
2
\$\begingroup\$

Form the set of keywords "USB", "type-C", "power supply" "up to 20V 5A" and the literal question,

I want to make a power supply to charge my laptop using this power bank. It's not a big deal to make a 5V charger ...[snip], but what about higher voltages?

it is obvious the that the question is about implementation of Power Delivery protocol over Type-C CC lines and design of power supply (controllable DC-DC converter) with variable output in accord with Power Delivery handshake protocol.

Answer: there are several semiconductor companies who offer a portfolio of ICs and design guidances on how to build a PD over Type-C.

One is Texas Instruments, see their presentation on USB Developer Days 2017.

The other is ST Micro, see their guide.

Cypress Semiconductors offers a portfolio of reference designs as well.

This is from just the first page of Google search. There are several other companies like Maxim, Fairchild, NXP, ON Semi, Renesas/NEC, Rohm, and maybe many more Chinese sources with similar products.

|improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
  • \$\begingroup\$ thank you for you answer, I tried to google it and I have some understanding how pd over usb-c works, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel, i.e. I expected there should be ootb solutions. I found several such devices, but they're not power enough. \$\endgroup\$ – Tutankhamen Sep 11 '18 at 23:29
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ @Tutankhamen, what do you mean "not power enough"? One standard design approach is to have several DC-DC converters, at least two, one for +5Vsafe default, and the other one for the profile you plan to offer (like 20V 5A), and then program your PD receiver in accord with your profile. When the profile is accepted by device, you just switch to +20V using a good switch. But you have to make the power option by yourself, so there is no such thing as "not power enough", it is up to you, and 20V5A unit is certainly doable. \$\endgroup\$ – Ale..chenski Sep 11 '18 at 23:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes, 20V 5A is exactly what I need, I said I found several ootb devices which provides maximum 3Amps. Like this one amazon.com/BiXPower-Type-Power-Converter-Delivery/dp/B07BC5TWJB and it's not enough for me \$\endgroup\$ – Tutankhamen Sep 12 '18 at 1:28
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ @Tutankhamen, then I misunderstood you, I thought you want to make your own Type-C Power delivery supply, not to buy one. \$\endgroup\$ – Ale..chenski Sep 12 '18 at 1:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ actually, I wanted to buy one, but if it's impossible, then try build it. May be it is a good idea to try to build one. Thank you for your answer though. \$\endgroup\$ – Tutankhamen Sep 12 '18 at 1:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.