ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Power Bank (Solarkin)

Statement of Purpose

It is essentially a power cell that is charged through renewable methods. Our Power Bank aka Solarkin can charge itself through solar energy by using miniature solar panels. In addition to that it can convert the users kinetic energy into electrical energy with the help of a dynamo. The potential use for Solarkin would be for the vast quantities of electrical devices that people now possess.  One might run out of charge and traditional portable batteries are not an option then with the application of Solarkin (and a little walking and busking in the sun) one can charge their device. This project addresses the day to day problem that all of us face which a dead phone. Our goal is to get rid of that problem. 

Background Research

The motive for our project stems from the problem we face so often, a dead phone. At the end of the day we do not want to rely on a power source to charge our device but do it ourselves through more unconventional methods. Thus freeing ourselves from one of the biggest shackles of college life. We've seen a group from fall 2020 semester has also worked on a charging system using the mechanical energy from a bike. The essential mechanism, such as the BMS and "filtering circuit", may be similar for our flywheel aspect. However, since our project puts emphasis on portability, our final product will be much smaller in size.

Block Diagram / Flow Chart

System Overview

There are two sources of electricity for our product: flywheel and solar panels. The electrical energy provided from these sources will be converted to constant voltage through the boost converter. The DC current will charge the battery, which can be connected to devices later.

Parts

Some parts are subject to be changed as the project is proceeded.

Possible Challenges

1)Finding the appropriate battery that supports both solar and kinetic energy as a power source.

2)Converting kinetic to electrical energy then converting that alternating current to direct current.

3)Keeping the size of our device small enough so that users can easily carry it with them.

Our process is recorded in https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZydD6jsAFWVk9T8mISjvwggvJOdmO4J_Rqdzt5JuSoA/edit?usp=sharing

References

[1]W. Storr, "Switch Mode Power Supply", Basic Electronics Tutorials, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html.