Eco Factor: Kinetic energy harnesser to charge a hiker’s electronic gear.
Maintaining juice in the batteries of your portable electronic gear when you’re out for a hiking trip seems impossible. With people getting more and more dependent on the small gadgets they have, renewable energy seems to be the only possible solution to keep them charged always. Solar and wind energy do offer a prospect but with them being undependable sources of energy hiker’s don’t really use them. Industrial designer Kyle Toole has designed a way hikers can charge their gadgets with a more dependable source of renewable energy – muscle power.
Kyle’s renewable energy generating system, Etive, was designed after taking their needs into consideration. The device is designed to harvest the vibrating shock forces which are concentrated at the knee during the heel strike phase of walking. The device embodies the concept of a linear inertial generator that employs Faraday’s law of induction.
A high grade neodymium magnet (NdFeB) is suspended within a magnetic field that is produced by two repelling magnets at the opposing ends of the generator module. When the generator module is subjected to a shock force the NdFeB magnet ‘bounces’ within a tube. A current is induced within a compact coil of cooper wire positioned around the tube, thus creating electrical energy. The concept and all the incorporated components are designed to be robust.
The current prototype can recharge a 1500mAh NiMH battery in approximately 9 hours, which is comparable to portable solar chargers, and mains AA battery chargers. This power output is achieved by stacking four generator modules. A single generator module produces 3.8V (peak AC).
Further development will enable the product to recharge a 2000mAh lithium-Ion battery in approximately 5 hours. This is enough to fully recharge two mobile phones or an I-pod. The device comes with multiple connector heads enabling compatibly with the majority of portable electronic devices.
Thanks: [Kyle Toole]
