Eco Factor: Concept charger converts motion into electricity.
Designed by industrial designer Bridgette Crozier, the Wheel Powered Charger tries to make the travel experience simplified and less wasteful- including time, energy, and physical waste reduction. The wheel powered generator is the main of three innovative features. The other two are a garment bag that zips sideways around the carry-on in order to eliminate having any checked items and a table surface that rises off the top of the carry-on luggage for eating, working, or to avoid sitting during down-time.
The Wheel Powered Generator, which is the soul of the concept, is meant to be able to charge small devices such as phones, MP3 players, and camera batteries in relatively the same walking time it would take to sit by an outlet. This is intended to be not just convenient but also to encourage exercise during travel downtime.
The system is equipped with an on/off button on the interface to avoid added resistance when in a real rush, as well as a back-up wall outlet cord for instances in which the traveler does not have the opportunity to walk a long time for electricity, but needs the battery for charging the devices later on.
The backup cord is in a small compartment in the lower half of the device, with a small hinged door that is flush with the body. The USB port is for charging those devices that can be charged with USB, such as certain MP3 players and adapters, and also provides the opportunity to charge two devices at the same time. In the lower left corner of the interface is an indicator of battery life. The generator battery and interface is locked flush with the body of the carry-on, and pulled out to a 45 degree angle when in use.
Mechanically, the energy is generated at the wheels by small gears that transfer motion to a copper coil with spinning magnets, and this energy travels through an internal cable in the hard polypropylene back of the luggage and up into the upper casing. There it travels through a DC converter and into the lithium ion battery.
Thanks: [Bridgette Crozier]
