We came up with a revolutionary design for our prototype. Previously the plan was to drive a gear system using the downward motion of a foot, which would then drive a generator. The problem was that the energy input was at irregular intervals and thus the generator would spin and then stop and then spin again; this is not a very efficient way of transferring energy as it results in heavy losses. To solve this problem, we devised a way of covering the intermittent energy into a steady one through the use of springs within the gear train.
The spring system creates a lag in the transmission of energy by holding some of the rotational motion and delivering it to the next gear slowly but steadily.
This week, we also started working on the Creo design for the gear system. Part of it is shown below. One mistake in this design in that the edges are sharp and thus can break more easily. The rest of the gears in the design will be changed accordingly.
Lastly, the electrical design team finalized the electrical components required in our project. We plan to purchase a voltage booster that provides a steady output of 5V and 500mA, which is the specifications required for charging a mobile phone. Secondly, we will use the generator we got from reverse engineering a rechargeable crank torch.
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