Charging AA Batteries With Pedal Power Created by: Aaron Oro, Chuck Allen, Jamie Young, Jeff Sarsona
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Table of Contents Abstract (Aaron Oro)................................................................................................................. Executive Summary (Aaron Oro) ............................................................................................. I. Introduction (Chuck Allen) A. The Need for Sustainable, Green Energy.................................................................. B. Probable Solutions..................................................................................................... C. Bicycle and Pedal Power........................................................................................... D. Problem Statement.................................................................................................... II. ChargeCycle Market A. The Use of Bicycles (Chuck Allen)........................................................................... B. Examining Third World Countries: India and China (Chuck Allen)......................... C. Examining First World Countries: Western Europe (Jeff Sarsona).......................... D. Competitors and Stationary Bicycle Generators (Aaron Oro)................................ III. Design Thinking A. Information on Bicycles in Target Areas (Jeff Sarsona)........................................ B. Objective Tree (Jeff Sarsona)................................................................................. C. Using the Existing Motion from Pedaling (Jeff Sarsona)....................................... D. The ChargeCycle Design (Aaron Oro)................................................................... E. Morph Chart (Jeff Sarsona)..................................................................................... IV. Prototype #1 (Aaron Oro) A. Design for Prototype #1.......................................................................................... B. Prototype #1 Process............................................................................................... C. Prototype #1 Results and Pictures........................................................................... D. Cost Estimate.......................................................................................................... V. Second Generation Product (Jamie Young) A. First Iteration Problems............................................................................................ B. Ideal Product Design............................................................................................... C. Cost Estimate............................................................................................................ D. Ideal Product Design Depictions………………………………………………... E. Production Schedule.................................................................................................. F. Future Iterations........................................................................................................ VI. Implementation of Product A. Target Areas: India and China (Aaron Oro)........................................................... B. Relationship with NGO’s (Jamie Young)................................................................ C. Relationships with Governments (Jamie Young).................................................... D. Relationships with (part-providing companies) (Aaron Oro)................................. E. Recycling of Batteries (Jamie Young and Aaron Oro)………………….……….. F. Business Model (Jeff Sarsona)................................................................................ G. Into the Future (Jamie Young)................................................................................. Editor: Jamie Young 2
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Abstract Our group's goal is to provide clean, green energy to communities without electricity or a consistent source of light. Today a lot of citizens in second and third world countries live without a cheap and easily accessible source of electricity. ChargeCycle will attempt to provide for this need using bicycles and pedal power. Although products currently exist and provide electricity through the harnessing of the rotational energy of the wheel, our group has recognized some flaws in these designs and has attempted to provide a product that provides a more efficient and effective method. Our product will harness the energy generated by a bicycle rider to charge AA batteries or power a USB hub. The design will be elegant, compact and effective, providing the user a method for charging AA batteries or any other device utilizing a USB port using clean, renewable energy.
Executive Summary ChargeCycle is designed to deliver clean, green energy to users through harnessing pedal power on a bicycle. Sustainable, reusable energy is essential in areas that don’t have easy access to electricity. In these areas, the quality of life and even an individual’s health can be positively impacted by the introduction of electricity. In addition, in more developed regions of the world, the need for an easily accessible, cheap and convenient energy source is pressing. Bicycles are a common mode of transportation around the world and in areas like India and China, bicycles serve as one of the main forms of transportation. In examining how to provide for these needs, ChargeCycle recognized two methods, depending on the target need. Today, a ubiquitous method for storing and using electricity is AA batteries. AA rechargeable batteries have a variety of uses such as powering a flashlight, a phone, or a small stove top. These AA batteries are also rechargeable, allowing for a user to recharge the cells after expending all the energy. In terms of providing clean energy for more advanced technologies like a phone, the common charging medium today for advanced technologies is a USB port. USB therefore serves a common function and allows different imports. Our group did extensive research into existing products and although ChargeCycle would be at the forefront for an electrical charger for a mobile bicycle, some products do exist. Our group recognized some flaws in these designs however and our design is based on fixing these problems while also providing a superior method for harnessing pedal power. At it’s core, our design is based on a system of gears that directly access the rotational motion created by a user pedaling the bicycle. A larger, main gear is connected to the space in between 3
the main bicycle frame and the left pedal crank shaft. After collecting data from bicycles around the campus of Stanford University, our group determined that this space is typically the same for almost 80% of the bicycles. The larger, main gear is connected to a smaller gear higher up the bicycle frame using a everyday bicycle chain. The smaller gear has a metal axle running through the center and therefore, as the larger, main gear spins, the axle will spin. This metal axle is then connected to a planetary gear system which increases the spinning speed of the axle by a factor of 25:1. The output of the planetary gear system is connected to a simple DC generator. Simple electrical wiring connects to the generator to a USB port. This USB port then allows a user to charge a simple device like a AA battery charger, or a more complicated technology like an iPhone. In examining how to access our desired product areas, our group recognized the ability to partner with governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, ChargeCycle could partner with part providers such as Duracell to provide a cheaper product to the consumer. The future of clean, green energy is immense and ChargeCycle would like to contribute a product that is both easy to use, effective, and durable.
I. Introduction A.
The Need for Sustainable, Green Energy
As of 2012, 1.6 billion people in the world did not have access to electricity, which is about 20% of the entire population. Meanwhile, in America, access to electricity is virtually everywhere. While it is important in today’s cramped, polluted, and modern society to find sustainable energy sources, it is equally important to help bring energy to developing countries. The lack of readily available electricity in a sustainable and clean form is a problem from which many developing countries suffer, this directly affecting the living conditions of the people in those countries. Our goal is to fill this need in order to augment the quality of life of these people. A lack of readily available electricity is a growing problem that developed countries continually dedicate time and effort to remedy. Most third world countries, as well as those countries with large expanses of underdeveloped rural land, experience this pressing problem. It is known as domestic energy poverty, this referring to when a household cannot afford or access basic energy needs to sustain their daily lives. The basic energy needs of a given household change depending on the country, but generally include cooking, lighting, and heating or cooling. These functions are essential to daily life, and being able to use electricity instead of current fueling methods would increase both safety and efficiency. Currently, many households suffering from energy poverty use fuel methods that are detrimental to both their health and that of the environment, 4
this often taking the form of burning biomass such as wood, pellets, charcoal, or crop waste. According to Rice University’s Institute for Public Policy: “The health consequences of using biomass in an unsustainable way are staggering. According to the World Health Organization, exposure to indoor air pollution is responsible for the nearly two million excess deaths, primarily women and children, from cancer, respiratory infections and lung diseases and for four percent of the global burden of disease. In relative terms, deaths related to biomass pollution kill more people than malaria (1.2 million) and tuberculosis (1.6 million) each year around the world.” These staggering statistics alone should be enough to justify the need for clean energy sources for daily activities. In addition to providing health benefits, clean energy can make possible the use of a number of tools that would make people’s lives easier, this being especially prudent in terms of flashlights and lanterns. In rural areas, where lighting is limited to daylight and burning biomasses described above, it is impractical to have ample lighting after sundown. Being able to travel in any form without having to burn some kind of biomass would be an element that would make people’s lives easier. Being able to light up a room or a house without burning fossil fuels or biomass would not only be efficient, but also it would allow for people to do more with their time, whether that in terms of education, work of some kind, or even family time. Quite simply, the benefits to having an electrical light source are huge. Another tool that many people could have access to in countries such as, say, India, are cell phones. Cell phones are incredibly important in today’s world: not only have they shrunk the distance between people, but also they allow for instant information sharing and social connection. Whether it is communicating with family members or friends, cell phones are hugely important technology that can truly increase the quality of life of people in all domains. But, without being able to charge cell phone by having an electrical outlet in the house or at work, there is no way to take advantage of this powerful modern tool. Instead of trying to provide every house with access to electricity through an outlet, why not have an easy and transportable way of making that energy available? Furthermore, the majority of cell phones on the market, whether they are smart phones or a generic flip phone, use some form of USB connection to charge. Providing a USB connection that is transportable and strong enough to charge a cell phone would lift a burden off of many people who struggle to maintain a steady form of communication with the people important to them. For example, in rural areas such as in Senegal where it is impossible to charge a phone 5
every day in a village without electricity, some people will charge a fee to ride a bike to another village with electricity in order to charge one’s people’s phones. This is impractical, and would be unnecessary if people had a portable way of charging their cell phones. However, aside from providing these complex tasks, there is a simple necessity for electricity in these rural and underdeveloped areas. In assessing this problem, the idea of AA batteries was intriguing as they can be used to fulfill almost all of the basic energy needs described previously. In terms of lighting, the majority of flashlights and electrical lamps require the use of AA batteries. In terms of cooking, appliances that are powered by AA batteries allow for stovetop cooking, this doubling as a means of water purification. As well, heating appliances can also be powered through rechargeable batteries. As can be seen, this ubiquitous function of AA batteries could serve to provide huge gains in well being to those people without access to clean electricity. B.
Probable Solutions
When brainstorming different ways to provide sustainable energy in the form of a battery recharger or USB connection, our main idea was to capitalize on something already readily available and used in countries that lack these types of power sources. Instead of creating a whole new device that had to be transported everywhere, we decided that integrating a charging mechanism into something that people already had would allow for more accessibility and practicality. First, we discussed the idea of using hats. Hats are something that are useful in countries with greater than average temperatures, and climates that require some kind of facial protection. Our idea was to harness the power of solar energy and combine it with a clothing item that was (in our minds) widely worn and used. So, we thought that, by putting solar panels on top of hats and connecting them to a USB port or battery charger, we could provide clean energy for a large number of people. We soon realized that this was a bad idea. First, solar cells, in the function we desired, do not generate enough electricity to efficiently charge a couple of AA batteries, much less a USBpowered device. Second, the design was flawed in that people would have to find a way to attach the panels to their hats. Third, this solution would not really require any kind of innovation or design - it would just be sticking solar panels on top of hats. Another solution we discussed was using the kinetic energy of a soccer ball to power an internal magnet generator. This generator would make use of the rotational momentum and kinetic 6
energy of the ball to spin a magnet within a coil of wires, this producing a magnetic field that would transmit voltage through the wires. Since soccer is the most played sport on the planet, and fits into the daily lives of so many people who lack access to proper electricity, this solution would be much more widely used and accepted than a hat with solar cells. But, we quickly realized that the technical aspects of the product would require extensive electrical and Nano-technological knowledge and tools. Also, a team at Harvard University has already developed a ball that functions in the same way. So, instead of trying to use our limited means to improve on an existing design, we decided to opt for something else that still made use of rotational motion as the mechanism for an electricity-generating device. C.
Bicycles and Pedal Power
In our initial brainstorming process, we continued to think about items that were used in everyday life by a large number of people. Such an object should be universal enough for widespread implementation and should be suitable to allow for electricity generation. In addition, the object would have to be something that people took with them everywhere. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that bicycles fit this mold perfectly. Bicycles are widely used across the world. In first world countries, they are more widely used for recreation than transportation but in countries that are developing or that contain large rural areas, they are used almost primarily as a means of transportation. Given the universal use of bicycles, we decided that they would be the ideal objects to base our design on. By taking advantage of the mechanical energy produced by the rotational motion of the pedals, we would use a generator to provide electricity that could then be used to recharge AA batteries or power a USB port. D.
Problem Statement
Our group's goal is to provide clean, green energy to communities without electricity or a consistent source of light. Today a lot of 2nd and 3rd world countries are without a cheap and easily accessible source of electricity. In examining how to provide for this need, we could take two approaches: (1) introduce a new product or service and hope that it succeeds in front of a new audience or (2) innovate on an existing technology or service, reducing the need for product education. The latter option appears more practical and feasible to achieve. In examining areas of need, our group recognized a need in India and China for electricity. We also recognized another consistency in these areas, the prevalence of bicycles. Bicycles serve as a main method of
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transportation in these countries. For example, over 60% of India’s population already owns a bicycle. Therefore, our group will attempt to create a product that can be attached to a bicycle and can generate enough electricity to charge two AA batteries and possibly even a USB port (by harnessing the mechanical energy of pedaling). This generation would occur during transit, providing an effective and accessible method to produce electricity for needy communities.
II. ChargeCycle Market A.
The Use of Bicycles
In general, bicycles are one of the most widely used forms of transportation and recreation in the world, with over 1 billion used worldwide. According to a website called Worldometers, which tracks the number of bikes produced annually in real time, there were over 29,000,000 bikes produced worldwide as of March 18th. As well, in the last century, bicycle production has increased at a greater rate than automobiles (as shown by the graph below, taken from the WorldWatch Institute), showing increased demand and use. Seeing as the use of bicycles worldwide, both as means of transportation and recreation, continues to grow, there is definitely a market for an attachable energy generator. Compared to, say, the market for hats worldwide, the market for bicycles and attachments to bicycles (such as our product) is constantly growing. B.
Examining Third World Countries: India and China
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The nature of India and China as large-scale bicycle consumers provides a huge possible market for an electricity-generating bicycle attachment. In the rural areas of these countries, basic electricity is lacking, creating a need for basic methods of recharging batteries. This could be provided through the use of simple rechargeable batteries as the ubiquitous nature of these batteries could provide energy for almost any daily activity. As well, in terms of cell phones, even where there is cell phone coverage there may not be a way to effectively charge phones. This could be accounted for by including a USB port in the generator design, this allowing for clean and easy charging. This is especially true of urban areas as, although there is not really a market for basic electricity such as rechargeable batteries, there is absolutely a market for portable cell phone charging. But, since the need for people in rural areas to have access to basic energy needs is more pressing and important for society, we will focus on the market for rechargeable battery packs in rural areas. In India, many people still depend on burning biomass fuels for heat and light. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 836 million people in India rely on this unhealthy and inefficient method for creating energy. Similarly, in rural China, 80% of the population uses biomass fuels to fulfill their basic energy needs. The clear need for sustainable, clean energy in these areas is obvious. In addition, there is widespread use of bicycles in these areas. In China, although the use of automobiles has increased, the rural population continues to depend on bicycles as a mode of transportation. This trend is true of India as well and 30-50% of the population use bicycles, largely for work-related activities and transportation. The sheer number of bikes used in these countries combined with the glaring lack of access to electronics creates a market for our product and creates the perfect environment for tangible successes if our product were to be implemented. C.
Examining First World Countries: Western Europe
Markets for our product also exist outside of developing countries. To be specific, we want to identify and target urban areas with high bicycle usage and strong support for alternative transportation, in terms of both culture and infrastructure. For example, here in the US there are significant urban populations for which the cycling culture has grown to become an integral part of the community: cities like Portland (OR), Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, and Denver all have incorporated cycling into their way life and each of these cities consistently ranks in the top US cities for bicycle-friendliness according to Bicycle Magazine. This information equates to market potential for a product that makes use of cycling for charging a cell phone battery. The combination of a developed urban environment with people, who are both avid users of bicycles and willing to pay for products like ours, makes for a prime target in terms of marketing our product. However, the strategy of such a scenario would be slightly 9
different in that the selling point of our product would no longer be its affordability and ability to suit a rugged environment, but rather its utility. Picture someone who regularly makes a lengthy commute to and from work, and how valuable that time spent cycling back and forth; now imagine how useful they would find a device that could charge their phone while they made this trip. Even better than these American cycling havens, there are entire countries that support cycling culture in Europe. In particular, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands are all in the top 10 countries with most bicycles per capita, according to an article from the website Top10Hell. In these countries, the bicycle is one of the main methods of transportation, and, therefore, each country provides an entire population of potential customers. The most important factor in these areas is the fact that these people live in a developed society where the standard of living is high and the availability of electricity is abundant. This distinguishes these regions from those in rural India and China, wherein our product serves to aid the lives of people by supplying them with electricity that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. Nonetheless, both areas are viable market opportunities for which our product could achieve successful use due to the high prevalence and usage of bicycles relative to other areas. D.
Competitors and Stationary Bicycle Generators
In examining the relationship between bicycles and devices that produce clean, green energy, our group discovered several existing products. The majority of bicycle generators today are stationary bicycle generators. Stationary bicycles have been a common medium for exercise for the past couple decades and engineers have been able to harness the power generated by riding a bicycle to produce electricity. Today, three companies (Windstream, Convergence Tech and Magnificent Revolution) are at the forefront of stationary bike generator production. All three companies use a similar design with similar technologies. The typical design includes a backwheel stand that elevates the bicycle and causes the back wheel to come in contact with a smaller wheel that is hooked up to a “bicycle dynamo� and a large battery (see image below). Typically, stationary bike generator setups cost around $500. This cost includes the back wheel supports, bicycle dynamo, and battery pack. However, stationary bicycle generators have inefficient electrical methods as a significant amount of energy is lost to friction between the bicycle wheel and the bicycle dynamo. In
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addition, heat energy is lost during the electrical conversion to the main battery pack. Most importantly, a stationary bicycle generator is stationary and does not allow for the user to produce electricity while traveling or going from place to place. These design flaws were readily considered by our group in trying to determine the design of our product. Recently, a few companies have produced bicycle generators that can be used while biking. For example, both Bike2Power and Nokia have come out with similar models relying on a bicycle dynamo whose axle rubs and spins with the rotation of the front wheel. Both devices enable the user to charge his or her cell phone. Bike2Power’s product (“SpinPOWER I4) is priced at $79.95 and Nokia’s product is priced at around $60.00 (although Nokia’s product is not marketed and sold regularly anymore). However, our group noticed a couple problems with the design: (1) the rubbing of the dynamo against the wheel causes a lot of friction (which could, among other problems, wear out the tire); (2) the rubbing of the dynamo against the wheel is an unnecessary loss of energy to heat; (3) the rubbing of the dynamo against the wheel restricts the movement of the bicycle because the dynamo acts as a sort of brake; and (4) The prices are very high and the products therefore serve a limited, first world market. Another bicycle generator with a different design that can be used while biking is the ECOXPOWER pedal-powered headlight and smart phone charger. The product uses the rotation of the spokes of the bicycle to generate electricity and charge the user’s smart phone. Because of the more advanced technology, the product is priced nationwide at $99.99. Although ECOXPOWER is a well-designed product, there are several flaws: (1) the price is heavy and not easily affordable; and (2) because of the technology that the product employs, the durability of the device is questionable. Producing a cheaper, more durable product that is just as efficient could allow a bicycle generator that can be used while biking to reach a wider market. The flaws in these respective, existing designs were readily considered by our group in trying to determine the design of our product.
III. Design Thinking A.
Information on Bicycles in Target Area
Our design is built around the fact that our product is geared toward developing countries, specifically China and India. In fact, China and India are the top two countries in the world for bicycle production, according to Worldometers. Based on this information, our team decided that
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the availability of scrap bicycles and bicycle parts in our target areas could serve to benefit our product. We brainstormed ideas of making our product of simple mechanical parts that can be found on scrap bikes or in simple hardware stores, that way if the user needs to replace a broken part of our product, they don’t have to order in the part - they would be able to find a replacement one themselves from a scrap bike. Additionally, the fact that our target areas are the leading manufacturers of bicycles is significant in the sense that bicycles here in the US will, for the most part, be the same as bicycles in China and India; Worldometers states that 86% of bicycles sold in the US are imports from China. This makes the design process much less complicated because it reduces the necessity to get specifications for bicycles common to each of our target areas.
B.
Objective Tree
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The Objective Tree helps clarify the goals and objectives of the design by creating a visual representation that indicates the priority of certain objectives over others. For our product, we decided that the four key elements of our design are for it to be durable, to be universal, to have solid performance, and to be cheap. These were chosen specifically as a result of our target areas; in the impoverished regions of China and India, it is important for the product to be both cheap and durable so that as many people as possible can afford them as possible our product can withstand extreme conditions and have a long product life. The product must also be universal because the bicycles that our target users will have at their disposal will undeniably vary in size and shape. We also place priority on the performance of the product, because there is only so
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much power that a bicycle generator can produce, so we aim to achieve that power level of performance with consistency. C.
Using the Existing Motion from Pedaling
Having examined and discussed our market at length, we developed some ideas regarding the design of our product. We wanted to make use of the pre-existing motion of the bicycle, so we looked at specific areas of the bike - the wheels and the pedals - trying to find a way of tapping into the rotational motion. Certain features of general bike designs played a significant role in our design process. Namely, in analyzing the dimensions and specifications of common bicycles on the Stanford University campus, we isolated one area of the bicycle that would allow utilization of the pedaling motion to supply power to a generator. As shown above in Figure 1, A is an ideal location for placing a custom gear, which could transfer power to the generator via chain or belt. However, in sticking with our initial plan of marketing the product to developing countries, we would need to make the gear fit as many bikes as possible, aiming for a universally-fitting sprocket that can be attached and detached as needed. In order to get a better idea of the feasibility of a universally fitting, removable gear, we gathered data from the bicycles on the Stanford University campus. In a sample of 99 bicycles, we found that the circumference of A varied marginally. The chart below shows the distribution of circumferences in our sample. With over 50% having a circumference of 2 â…› inch, and another 40% only varying by +/- 1/16 inch, we concluded that a universally fitting gear is in fact feasible. Also, for the gear to be
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removable, we envisioned a gear that could split in half, with a hinge on one end to allow opening and closing, although a more realistic approach requiring less custom machining would be to use something along the lines of a hose clamp like the image below. In this case, the outer rim would not be smooth, but instead would have teeth to which a chain could attach. D.
The ChargeCycle Design
Based on the observed flaws with existing designs (reference “Competitors and Stationary Bicycle Generators), ChargeCycle’s design will: (1) allow the user to generate electricity while traveling on his or her bicycle; (2) eliminate inefficient energy production (i.e. excessive energy lost to friction and heat); (3) be cost effective in order to access a wide market; and (4) be durable in order to also be more cost effective and user friendly. The first iteration of the design depends on a system of gears, powered by the rotation of the bicycle pedal shafts. Based on the data that our group collected (reference “Using the Existing Motion from Pedaling”), we determined that the circumference of the crankshaft pedal is typically about 2 1/16 inch, +/- 1/16 inch. Therefore, our design relies on a large, main removable gear with a circular, hollow center, this being the same circumference as the crankshaft pedal. The main gear has a latch, allowing it to be removable, and a tightening mechanism, allowing the gear to tightly fit on the crankshaft. The main gear is attached to a smaller gear higher up on the frame through a bicycle chain. As the main gear spins, the smaller gear spins at an even faster rate. The smaller gear is mounted to a small axle. Therefore, as the smaller gear spins, the axle will spin at the same rate. The axle is mounted to the bicycle frame by a special mounting part, this most likely coming in the form of a plastic block with a drilled hole of diameter necessary to securely fit the axle and some form of clamp so as to allow secure attachment to the bike frame. The axle connected to the small gear is connected to a DC generator. Therefore, as an individual pedals the bicycle, the generator will spin, producing electricity. In determining what this produced electricity could be used for, our group considered two options depending on the amount of energy produced: (1) AA battery charger or (2) a USB docking platform. AA batteries are used ubiquitously and provide a source of energy to perform basic functions like providing light, or more complex ones like powering a cell phone. Therefore, ChargeCycle could provide a device that could allow needing individuals in India and China to recharge AA batteries while traveling on their bicycles. The battery charging pack could have two or four battery hubs, depending on the desired amount of batteries the user would like to charge. In order 15
to charge the batteries effectively, the generator would need to produce 4-6 Volts consistently without load. Today, USB ports have become a more common mode of both charging and connecting devices. For example, Apple’s iPhone uses a USB plug-in method to connect to an outlet. With this in mind, ChargeCycle could provide a device that could allow individuals in a wider, more developed market (such as Western Europe and the United States) to plug-in and charge their iPhone or USB device. In order to provide ample power to the USB, the generator would need to produce 8-10 Volts consistently. As well, this would make charging AA batteries easy as well, assuming that a battery charger with a USB input plug were provided. The design is therefore multi-faceted and has the ability to extend past the original concept of providing electricity for third world countries. Depending on the market and the amount of energy produced, the application of the design could be different. It will be vital therefore to have interchangeable charging parts in order to allow for the main, energy producing mechanism to remain the same.
E.
Morph Chart
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The morphological chart was developed by our team in order to identify the various options available for us to achieve the objectives we set out to meet. Each feature or function of our product proved to have multiple design solutions. In an effort to reduce the design space of our product during the process of designing our first prototype, we narrowed down the various means to the four most plausible and represented our new design space in the form of a morph chart. The distinct set of choices that provides the most complete solution given the set of constraints imposed by our market, clients, and users, will be the most effective design for our product. Keeping in mind the difficulty of producing a working product on the first prototyping attempt, we made our primary design choices with functionality at the core of our efforts.
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IV. First Iteration Prototype A. Design for Prototype #1
Figure A: Sketch of our original prototype design In designing Prototype #1, our group’s main goal was to produce a “proof of concept” prototype. A proof of concept idea is common in first generation designs of a product. In terms of our design and product, a “proof of concept” would serve to demonstrate that our pedal power
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mechanism could not only produce electricity, but also enough electricity to charge AA batteries or power a USB hub. Before beginning to build our design, our group first hand drew our basic design for Prototype #1 (Figure A) and then proceeded to create a couple of CAD drawings (Figure B).
Figure B: CAD drawings of Prototype #1
Because our design relies on specialized parts that are not currently in production, our group had to creatively find substitutes that served the relatively same function. Most of our parts came from stripping parts off of old and abandoned bicycles and hardware stores such as Home Depot. For example, instead of having our ideal main gear be adjustable, removable and fit perfectly to the circumference of the bike pedal crank shaft, our group used a scrap pedal crank shaft from an old bicycle and put it on the other side of the bicycle (see prototype drawing).
The scraped gears were connected with an everyday bicycle chain and the second gear’s location on the
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Full Bridge Rectifier
In addition, instead of having a small gear higher up the bicycle connected perfectly to an axle, which perfectly spins a generator, our group stripped a small gear off the chain adjuster of a bike and drilled grooves into middle. We then found a metal axle from Home Depot that screwed on to this gap and bolted the gear into place with a couple of washers. For the purpose of Prototype #1, our group drilled a hole through the bike, which allowed the axle to rotate almost perfectly as the system of gears spun. Bolts protected the axle from moving horizontally.
bicycle frame was measured based on the chains length. As the user pedaled, the axle going through the bike frame spun. The metal axle was then connected to a 25:1 planetary gear system using a brass hose barb-plumbing piece. The metal axle was screwed into the larger end of the hose barb and then the axle of the planetary gear system was fitted and cemented into the smaller end using metal-to-metal epoxy. The DC generator was then connected to the planetary gear system; therefore, as the metal axle makes one revolution, the DC generator axle makes 25 revolutions, greatly increasing electrical output. Both the planetary gear system and the DC generator are held firmly in place using a metal triangle frame. One end of the triangle frame is bolted into the bicycle frame and the other extends out from the bicycle and holds both the gear system and the DC generator. The generator is hooked up to the battery charging pack through a series of wires. In order to consistently isolate a positive and negative charge, the generator was connected to a series of four diodes. These diodes form a full bridge rectifier, which outputs one wire that has a distinct positive charge and one that has a distinct negative charge.
Two wires are outputted from the switch mode power supply and go through a series of four resistors. These resistors trick the iPhone into thinking that the USB connection is with that of a computer or normal charging device. The USB output enables the user to plug in a variety of devices, including an AA battery pack and iPhone USB charger. B.
Prototype #1 Process
In general, prototype #1 was a process of immense trial and error. Initially, our group had to learn about bicycle parts and tools to efficiently and effectively manipulate a bicycle. We were able to acquire the necessary tools to build the prototype from a group member’s nearby house
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Switch Mode Power Resistors connected to Supply USB ports
These two wires are then connected to a small switch mode power supply (model LM2596), which produces a consistent, desired output voltage. In our case, this consistent output voltage is 5 Volts, the amount of energy required to power a USB hub.
and invested hours of time and energy attempting to build the prototype. Below was our basic build outline from the one of the prototyping sessions. Most of our work was based on fixing and working around the problems we encountered while building. For example, during one of our prototyping sessions, we accidentally stripped the inside of one of the bicycle crankshafts while removing it from the bicycle. This forced us to find another bicycle crankshaft that was a different size than the previous. Little errors such as this greatly extended the prototyping time based on the specific nature of our design and parts.
C.
Prototype #1 Results and Pictures
After hours of prototyping and fiddling with the design, our group produced tangible results. Our group was not only able to produce a tangible product, but also adhered to our hand drawn and CAD drawing design. Below are a series of pictures of Prototype #1 with commentary.
--The Second Gear-The second gear is approximately 5 cm in diameter and is connected to the main metal axle by drilling grooves through its hollow center.
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--The Spinning Mechanism-The illustration to the left shows the general design for the spinning mechanism. The main pedal crankshaft gear and second gear are connected through an ordinary bicycle chain. The second gear is held in place through a series of nuts and bolts.
--The Mount and Generator-This picture illustrates not only the series of nuts and bolts that keep the main axle from not moving horizontally, but also the basic concept for the generator mount and how the hose barb is connected to the generator.
D.
Cost Estimate
Tools Needed (One Time Purchases) • •
Specialized Bike pedal-gear removal tool (Purchased $13.99) Specialized chain length adjustment tool (Purchased $11.99)
• •
3/8 in. Internal Thread Tool (Purchased $9.99) Electric drill with 3/8 metal drill bit (Retail $29.99)*
• •
Adjustable Wrench (Retail $6.00)* Adjustable Socket Wrench (Retail $20.00)*
• •
Allen Wrench Set (Retail $4.99)* Hammer (Retail $15.00)*
• • •
Metal C-Clamp (Retail $5.00)* Pliers (Retail $10.00)* Metal Bonding Epoxy (Purchase $4.99)
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*indicates that the tool was not bough but already owned Total (one time cost): $131.94 Building Materials •
1 3/8 in. Metal Rod-Length 1ft (Purchased $5.96)
• •
2 3/8 in. hex nuts (Purchased $0.12/each) 1 3/8 in. lock nuts (Purchased $0.20/each)
• •
1 1/8 x ¼ in. brass barb (Purchased $4.05) 1 Single Gear-Pedal System (Retail $25.00)*
• • •
1 3/2 in. spinning gear (Retail $9.99)* 1 DC Generator (Purchased $11.99) 2 Adjustable Clamp (Purchased $0.79)
• •
2 3/8 in. Metal Screws (Purchased $0.15/each) 1 1:25 Planetary Gear System (Purchased $9.99)
• •
1 ft. electrical wiring (Purchased $1.11) 1 Circuit system including USB Port (retail ~$4.99)
• •
1 AA battery Charger (Retail $19.99) 2 Rechargeable AA Batteries (Included with AA Battery Charger, Individually Retail $13.99/4-pack) 1 Metal Triangular Frame (Purchased $5.49)
•
* Indicates that the part was harvested from broken-down bikes Total (per individual product): $100.88 Note: None of these prices include tax, and most of the prices are based on the purchased and retail price of items at Home Depot This is a bit worrying as the cost of both the tools needed to produce the prototype and the prototype itself is very high. However, these prices are based upon retail and estimated prices and, when these parts are bought in bulk directly from the supplier, we expect the price to decrease greatly. Combined with these, we estimate that fewer tools and fewer parts will be needed for the ideal product design, this also decreasing both the one time and individual costs.
V. Second Generation Product 23
A.
First Iteration Problems
Although our first iteration prototype achieved its desired function, the production of ample amount of electricity to charge two AA batteries, it suffered from a number of design flaws. Most of these flaws stemmed from the nature of this prototype as “proof of concept� as well as the fact that we were disadvantaged in terms of specialized parts. Nonetheless, such flaws must be fixed if our design is to become an implementable product, and therefore the acknowledgement of these shortcomings is all too necessary. The obvious problem with our design is the necessity to drill into the frame of the bike in order to mount the axle. This in itself would prevent the implementation of this first iteration, as such drilling is unfeasible. Not only would this irreversibly degrade the structure of the bike frame, but also such drilling would be very hard to implement and is very inexact (it took us numerous tries to drill a usable hole). In the future, this dilemma would be bypassed by using a special mounting part, this most likely coming in the form of a plastic block with a drilled hole of diameter necessary to securely fit the axle and some form of clamp so as to allow secure attachment to the bike frame. In the same vein, another major problem with the initial design lies in its specificity. More simply, this first prototype was thrown together with scrap parts that are not necessarily meant to work together, this making the design individually specific and effectively preventing the interchange of parts without some form of major adjustment. This problem is particularly exposed in the chain mechanism, this comprised by the large gear attached to the pedal, the smaller gear attached to the axle and the chain itself. In terms of this mechanism, the chain length is specifically tailored based upon the size of these two gears and, as the chain is only adjustable by increments of about 1 in., the system is very fragile. Trying to get gears that would allow for a perfect chain fit was one of the hardest obstacles we faced and our finished first iteration prototype still struggles with the chain falling off the gears. To fix this problem in the future, various measures must be taken. First, the chain length should be shortened as much as possible. The long chain used presently presents the problem of increased interference with the user and bike function as well as an increased propensity to become detached from the gear system and/or tangle with exterior objects. Second, the large gear attached to the pedal should be modified. The first iteration prototype utilizes a gear pedal system salvaged from another bike, however this system will not be used in the future. Not only are these gear-pedal systems variable in both diameter and means of connection to the bike, but also they require a specialized tool to attach and therefore would require installation by a
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knowledgeable worker. To fix this problem, a new gear would be created that would be attachable and detachable from the bike without a specialized tool. This would most likely take the form of a hinge-able gear with gear teeth symmetric to those of a normal bike gear. As well, the inner diameter would house some form of a clamp that can be tightened to fit around the crankshaft axle of the bike. This would allow for easy installation and permit future iterations of our product to be attachable and detachable. Third and finally, this new large gear as well as the smaller gear will have a specific and fixed diameter and the chain a fixed length so as to make sure chain fits perfectly around the gears and will not fall off. As well, in terms of the gears, both gears should have a protective border on both sides of the gear teeth far enough apart to allow the chain to fit into the gear teeth, this further avoiding chain failure. The adjustable clamp housing the axle described above would also be of use in this situation as it could be attached at a point on the bike frame optimal for connection of the chain to the two gears. Another global problem we faced was generation of ample electricity. Attachment of the generator directly to the axle generated a mere 0.7 V while pedaling, this nowhere near the needed 4-5V to charge AA batteries. This problem was fixed with the addition of a further gear system, this in the form of a purchased planetary gear set with possible gear ratios of 4:1, 16:1, 25:1, 80:1, 100:1, 400:1. After attaching the gear set, we were able to, with a 100:1 gear ratio, boost our voltage to a max of 22.0V and, with a 25:1 gear ratio, to a max of 11.0 V. However, this gear set was designed for a gear reduction (as in 100 rpm is supposed to be reduced to 1 rpm via a gear ratio of 100:1) and we needed a gear enhancement. This necessitated attachment of the designed output to the axle and the designed input to the generator, this action causing various problems. Based on the nature of our prototype as a combination of incompatible parts, we faced a huge problem in attaching the designed output, a grooved metal axle of diameter 3/16 in , to the spinning axle, a 3/16 in. brass input. Although this connection seems compatible, the torque generated by the gear set axle in turn the planetary gear set as well as the grooves of the designed output axle caused the connection to fail. The failure of this connection causes the generator axle to stop spinning even when the main axle spins, this meaning no electricity is generated. To fix this problem, we attempted to use super glue and later metal epoxy to try and secure the connection. Both worked temporarily, the epoxy being the most effective, but eventually failed. In the future, we would again rely on the ordering of specialized parts. More specifically, we would order a metal part attachable to the axle on one side and the screw able onto the designed output axle of the planetary gear set on the other side. Past these main problems, we faced various other smaller dilemmas, particularly in hooking up the electronics and trying to get parts not designed to be compatible to work together. However, these minor problems did not greatly threaten the function of the design and therefore will not be discussed. 25
B.
Ideal Product Design
Various aspects of our ideal product design were discussed in the last section, however our desired design was not completely extrapolated. Such a design would be hinged around a couple main factors: Functionality, Durability, and Detachability. In terms of functionality, a complete design overview must be given. Our ideal design would again hinge around a chain-gear mechanism that would spin an axle and in turn spin a generator. In terms of the chain-gear mechanism, it will again be comprised of a chain connecting a large gear attached to the crankshaft axle and a smaller gear connected to the main axle. As described in the last section, the larger gear (Figures A and B) will be modified so that it is attachable to the pedal axle via an adjustable clamp on the inner diameter (Figure D). This gear will also be hinge-able, with the hinge mechanism taking the form of a small metal hinge with two cylindrical protrusions that fits into two circular holes on the other side of the gear (Figure C). The smaller gear will also be modified to be of diameter 1 in. with screw able grooves on an inner diameter ⅜ in. (Figure E). Both gears will have bike gear teeth around its circumference so as to be compatible with a bike chain. As well, both gears will have a thin metal border on either side of the gear teeth so as to stop the chain from falling off or dysfunctioning in some other way This border will be of a width necessary to allow a bike chain to fit securely around the gear teeth of the gears (note: this border is not depicted in the sketches). The chain itself will be vastly shortened for reasons described earlier, and the chain and the gears will be of dimensions so as to insure a tight fit of the chain, this also stopping the chain from falling off or else dysfunction. This perfect fit will also be aided through the use of a plastic clamp that houses the axle (Figure F). This specialized part will be detachable and adjustable and therefore will allow a perfect fit of the chain around the gear system (as it can be moved up or down the bike frame). As described, this specialized part will have a drilled hole compatible to house the axle, a smooth metal cylinder of diameter ⅜ in (Figure G). On either extreme of the axle will be ½ in. of screw-able grooves. In order keep the axle securely attached to this plastic clamp but still allow rotation, two grooves of depth 1/16 in. and width ⅛ in. will be sheared into the axle 1½ in. apart. These grooves will be in symmetry with two projections on the top of the inner diameter of the plastic clamp. These projections will also be 1½ apart and of depth 1/16 in. and width ⅛ in., allowing them to fit perfectly into the grooves sheared into the axle. Screwed on the chain side of the axle will be the smaller metal gear of the chain gear mechanism. This will be further secured by placing a 3/8 in. hex nut on either side of the gear and then tightening. This gear will be in a location on the axle so when connected via the chain the larger gear connected to the crankshaft axle the chain will be completely straight. 26
On the other side of the axle will be screwed a specialized steel reducer with a grooved inner diameter of ⅜ in. on the input (side connected the axle) and a grooved inner diameter of 1/16 in. on the output (Figure H). Attached to this side of the specialized steel reducer will be a planetary gear set of gear ratio 1:100 (Figure K). This gear set will come from an ordered set or will be derived from a specialized design. Connected to this output of this gear set will be a generator with an axle of diameter 1/16 in. In order to hold both the generator and the system of planetary gears, a metal rod will be attached to the plastic clamp holding the axle that will underlie the generator side of the system and secure, via clamps, both the generator and the planetary gear set. Connected to this generator will be a system of circuits similar to that used in our first prototype and described in the section “Design for Prototype 1�. The output of this system will be a USB port, this serving as the means of charging. This will be preferred to a battery charger as it allows for both the charging of batteries, via a USB capable battery charger provided, as well as phones and any instruments using a USB cord for charging. Surrounding all parts from the end of the generator will be a box, and only a USB port will be external and visible. As mentioned before, a separate, USB capable battery charger will be provided along with 4 rechargeable AA batteries so as to maintain the functionality of our original objective, the charging of AA batteries. Functionality is invariably tied to durability and, with our desired target area and use, will be, if not the most, one of the most important aspects of our final product. Our product will have to withstand variable climates as well as both developed and undeveloped civil infrastructure. Our product will be based around its continued function over time and therefore must be as durable as possible. To achieve this objective, the materials out of which the individual parts are derived will be chosen based equally upon functionality and durability. For instance, metal will be favored over plastic and the most durable metals will be chosen depending on the function of the part (i.e. the reducer connected to the planetary gear system will need to be of a metal suitable to withstand torque). Combined with this, an outer plastic sheathing (~1/4 in. thick) will cover the whole system so as to protect the product from the elements as well as reduce infiltration of factors such as dirt, dust and water that might hinder the function of the system. This outer will be attached to the system via the use of screws (connecting to the plastic clamp housing the axle) and clamps (connecting to the bike frame as well as the generator). This plastic outer sheathing will not affect the function of the system, and will be easily attachable and detachable so as to have clear access to the system for maintenance or in the situation that problems arise.
27
Electronics will be housed in a separate, stronger plastic box that is completely closed off to the elements (Figure J). The only output on this box will be a USB port with a protective, overlapping flap, this serving as the output of electricity. Again, this box will be attachable to the bike frame via a clamp located on its bottom face. Further precaution will be taken by wrapping all electronics in a layer of electrical tape. It is imperative that this box be impenetrable and resistant to any sort of intrusion or damage as the electronics are the most fragile part of the bike. A final point key to our ideal design, and particularly its future implementation, is its ability to be both easily attachable and detachable. In order to achieve this, we have implemented the use of various parts already described, particularly the large gear attached to the pedal, the plastic piece housing the axle and the box housing electronics. These are the only three points of connection to the bike and, as all are detachable themselves (via the use of clamps), the system as a whole will be easily attachable and detachable. This detachability is key to our ideal design, as it will reaffirm the basis of our product as a reusable bike generator easily installed.
C.
Ideal Product Design Depictions
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Figure A: Hinge-able pedal gear
Figure B: Un-hinged pedal gear
Figure C: Hinge mechanism of pedal gear
29
Figure D: Clamp mechanism of pedal gear
Figure E: Metal gear attached to the main axle
30
Figure F: Specialized plastic part clamp-able to bike frame that houses the main axle
Figure G: Main Axle
Figure H: Steel reducer
31
Figure I: Depiction illustrating the axle system, this including the 1 in. metal gear, the specialized plastic piece clamp-able to the bike, the steel reducer, the planetary gear set and the generator
Figure K: Planetary gear set (ratio 1:25)
Figure J: Plastic box housing electronics 32
D.
Cost Estimate
Tools Needed (One Time Purchases) • •
Specialized chain length adjustment tool (Purchased $11.99) Adjustable Wrench (Retail $6.00) Total (one time cost): $17.99
Building Materials •
1 3/8 in. Metal Rod-Length ($5.96)
• •
2 3/8 in. hex nuts ($0.12/each) 1 3/8 in. lock nuts ($0.20/each)
• •
1 1/8 x ¼ in. screw-able Reducer (Estimated $5.00) 1 Single Gear-Pedal hinge-able System (Estimated $25.00)
• • •
1 1 in. metal gear (Estimated $9.99) 1 DC Generator ($11.99) 2 Adjustable Clamp ($0.79)
• •
1 1:25 Planetary Gear System (Purchased $9.99) 1 ft. electrical wiring ($1.11)
• •
1 Circuit system including USB Port (Estimated ~$4.99) 1 AA USB battery Charger (Estimated $9.99)
• •
2 Rechargeable AA Batteries (Estimated $9.99) 1 Specialized Plastic Clamping tool housing axle (Estimated $5.99)
• •
1 Plastic Box with USB Port (Estimated $2.99) 1 Plastic Outer Sheathing (Estimated $2.99) Total (per individual product): $117.59
This is a bit worrying as, in terms of production, this is simply too high. However, this number is also based upon estimates and retail prices from stores like Home Depot. When buying in bulk from the actual supplier, we expect a lot of the prices, specifically for expensive items such as electronics and gears, to decrease greatly. As well, these prices do not include possible discounts in price via agreements or sponsorships by the part providing companies, this to be discussed later. All in all, we expect the final cost estimate after all the factors are taken into account to be somewhere in the range of $30.00 - $50.00.
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E.
Production Schedule
* For easier understanding, the starting date will be January 1st, 2014, and prototype 1 will represent our current prototype and will assumed to be complete and functional. -January 1st –January 21st •
Sketching and design of Prototype 2. This prototype should be the basis for the final product.
This includes hand drawn sketches as well as a 3D Rendering As well, specialized parts will be determined and sketched. An inventory of all parts and tools needed for the production of the prototype will be formulated (*Assume that we have a basis bike to base our design around) • • •
-January 21st – February 12th • Ordering and shipping of specialized parts • Purchase and gathering of all other parts/tools inventoried • Premature assembly of parts when possible (*Assume that enough parts will be gathered for the production of 20 products) -February 12th- March 12th • Complete assembly of prototypes • •
After this phase, we will have 20 fully functional prototypes This stage includes mechanical and electrical testing for function.
•
All prototypes should be attachable to bikes and should produce 12V of electricity, this powering a functional USB port
-March 12th- April 12th • •
This will serve as the testing phase. 4 prototypes will be attached to the founders bikes to find strengths and weakness
•
The other 16 will be given to acquaintances that are predetermined based on their unique use of bikes. We will attempt to test our product in as many different situations and environments as possible.
•
Upon the end of the testing phase, A survey will be given to the testers that measures the strengths and weaknesses of the product (i.e. suggestions) followed by interviews with the individual testers in which they share there experience (Testers will be compensated if needed) 34
-April 12th- April 26th •
This period is marked by taking into account the testing of our prototype. We will then change our design to fix problems and maximize strengths.
•
We will remake sketches and 3D drawings, and will determine any further parts that are needed to add to the prototype.
-April 26th- May 26th •
We will order any further parts deemed to be necessary and modify our existing prototypes accordingly.
•
At the end of this period, the prototypes should again be fully functional both mechanically and electronically and be ready to be tested.
-May 26th- June 10th • This will be another period of testing, and the 20 modified prototypes will be redistributed to 20 new participants. Again we will attempt to test our product in as many environments, situations as possible, this including unique personal uses of bikes (i.e. everybody rides there bike in different ways) • Upon the end of the testing phase, A survey will be given to the testers that measures the strengths and weaknesses of the product (i.e. suggestions) followed by interviews with the individual testers in which they share there experience (Testers will be compensated if needed) -June 10th- June 24th •
This period is marked by taking into account the testing of our prototype. We will then change our design to fix problems and maximize strengths.
•
We will remake sketches and 3D drawings, and will determine any further parts that are needed for our product
-June 24th-July 17th • •
This period will be marked by the assembly of parts needed for the final product. Ordering and shipping of specialized parts
• Purchase and gathering of all other parts/tools inventoried • Premature assembly of parts when possible (*Assume that enough parts will be gathered for the production of 50 products)
35
-July 17th- August 17th • •
Complete assembly of final products After this phase, we will have 50 fully functional products
• •
This stage includes mechanical and electrical testing for function. All prototypes should be attachable to bikes and should produce 12V of electricity, this powering a functional USB port
•
These final products will include changes adopted as a result of both testing periods.
-August 17th- Onward
F.
•
After 50 final products have been produced, we will reach out to NGO’s and other organizations to try to get our product to our target consumer.
•
This period will simply be the actual implementation of the product, this including shipping our product to target areas and clients
•
As well, testing will be contained as surely more problems will arise that need to be fixed
•
Eventually, new designs will be produced and hopefully the production of our product will grow and we can begin large-scale production and implementation.
•
It seems to me that this product will have multiple design changes and versions after the implementation of this initial product.
Future Iterations
As our product is implemented in field use, product dilemmas and design flaws will undoubtedly arise. This will lead to the need for the fixing and improvement of our product, and therefore new iterations of our product will need to be produced. In general, these iterations will fix simple things based upon problems with our original product, however major design changes might need to be made. One such movement could a change in where we harness the movement of the bike, namely from the bike pedal to the bike wheel. This could occur as the wheel constantly spins whereas the pedal only spins when the rider is pedaling, however such a change will only be made if necessary. Other than this, changes will be made to aid and support a couple of main attributes, namely durability, safety and size (smaller being desired over larger).
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VI. Implementation of the Product A.
Target Areas: India and China
As discussed in earlier sections, the existing use of bicycles as a main source of transportation in India and China provides a usable market for our product. In analyzing how to best reach our target market, our group realized that it would be best not to sell directly to the consumers (in our case these would be the people in China and India). Rather, ChargeCycle will aim to use a “middleman” such as the Indian or Chinese government or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work in these locations. We will take this approach for a couple of reasons: (1) NGOs and governments already provide the infrastructure to get a product to a consumer and (2) it would be much easier to implement and spread a product through an established NGO or government action. B.
Relationship with NGO’s
It is estimated that for every 400 people in India, there exists 1 NGO operating in the country. Therefore, using NGOs specifically providing humanitarian services would be a powerful method for reaching a large amount of people. As well, NGO’s have access to the “in the field information” we need to efficiently implement our product and therefore could aid us is trying to get the charger to the places and people that need it the most. From a business standpoint, two approaches could be taken. (1) We could actually sell our product to the NGO’s who would then in turn sell the product to the consumer, ideally for a reduced cost. Although this method would be effective in getting the product to the consumer, the nature of the transactions would lead to increased prices (as the NGO’s would control the base price) for the consumer and therefore this approach would not be preferable. (2) We could sell directly to the consumers via the use of NGO’s. This would involve cutting a deal with said NGO’s in which we provide some kind of service or monetary reimbursement in exchange for them working in the field to get our product to our target consumers. This would allow us to actually set the price level of the product, reducing the monetary burden of the consumer. This approach seems preferable to the previous as, although the monetary burden placed upon our actual company would increase, we could get our product to our desired consumers easily and quickly. As well, based on the nature of NGO’s, the cost to actually attain the help of these organizations would be less than say using a capitalist company (perhaps in a perfect world this cost may be nothing, but that might be a little naive). C.
Relationship with Governments
Along a similar vein as working with NGOs, working directly with a government would allow an existing medium for getting a product into the hands of a consumer. However, typically NGOs already have existing relationships with governments in the areas they are working and therefore 37
ChargeCycle would have to establish a strong working and business relationship with respective governments, this taking a little more work. However, if we were to work directly with a government, our coverage and implementation power would probably exceed that of working with an NGO. As well, based on this preexisting connection between NGO’s and Government Agencies, it is not unforeseeable that both parties could be used simultaneously. Another major point that needs to be made in terms of government involvement is the possibility for monetary reimbursement. More simply, if governments were involved and they deemed our product to be useful and needed, there is the possibility that they might partially finance our production or subsidize our sale. Again, this could come in two forms. (1) We could sell our product to the government of the country we are targeting, who would then provide both transport of our product to our target consumer and subsidization of the cost. (2) We could agree to a deal with the government in which they subsidize the production of our charger and then aid in the transport of our product to our targeted consumer, this reduced production cost allowing us to reduce the selling price of our product. D.
Relationship with (part-providing) Companies
In order to reduce the cost of our product, ChargeCycle could attempt to partner with several companies to get cheaper parts for manufacturing and therefore produce a cheaper product. In examining the most expensive aspects of the design, the rechargeable batteries and electronic pieces were the most expensive. Partnering with a company such as Duracell to get cheaper AA rechargeable batteries could be a useful way to not only gain valuable market attention but also provide a cheaper product. In return, ChargeCycle would display a small Duracell logo on the product so Duracell could receive a good public image in the humanitarian side of their company. Combined with this, we could appeal to other large companies and organizations, such as those involved in energy or electricity, for funding or subsidization. Again, we would play upon the humanitarian side and pitch the investment as a furthering of global access to clean energy, this strengthening the public images of said companies. E.
Recycling of Batteries
Based on the nature of batteries, the rechargeable batteries supplied with the product will eventually lose their ability to hold power and recharge and will therefore become useless. As batteries are highly corrosive, the decay of these unusable batteries will serve as a danger to both personal and environmental health and safety. For these reasons, ChargeCycle has a responsibility to effectively deal with this possible threat and safely dispose of the unusable batteries. In order to achieve this goal, we will work with NGO’s to set up various locations in urban and rural areas where unusable batteries can be exchanged for new rechargeable batteries.
38
These unusable batteries will then be grouped together and disposed properly. Such locations, specifically in rural areas, could be placed near markets or integral stores so as to afford easy access to the consumer and increase the probability of recycling. Finally, in order to further encourage proper disposal, incentives will be given to the consumer to bring their unusable batteries to these places by giving them a discount on the purchase of new rechargeable batteries (or some other service). F.
Business Model
Our team wants to take advantage of the distinguishing factor between our two main markets, one of which is in rural regions of China and India while the other is the United States and Europe. The distinguishing factor between these areas is the standard of living of the users, and thus their respective ability to pay for a product like ours. For example, within the past ten years, China has launched two programs for providing electricity to rural areas. The China Township Electrification Program launched in 2001, successfully providing electricity to 1,000 townships throughout the country. More recently, the China Village Electrification Program aimed to provide electricity for over 3.5 million households among 10,000 villages, all by 2010. India, too, shows a need for electricity in rural areas, with over 400 million people without access to electricity, according to Wikipedia’s page on “Rural Electrification.� Our idea is to take on a for-profit approach in the capitalism-based economies of the first-world countries in Europe and in the US. This would allow us to take the profits from customers that are more than able to afford our product, and use them in subsidizing the cost for customers in target areas of China and India. With our initial goal being to take on a humanitarian approach to the problem of lack of clean energy in rural areas of developing countries, we see fit to capitalize on the first world markets in Europe and the US that also have use for our product, solely as a means of accomplishing our initial goal, providing clean energy to the third world G.
Into the Future
The future has a place for clean and green energy and producing devices that can provide for the needs of individuals in both third and first world countries will be essential. Tailoring a product to the needs of specific region is vital for gaining traction in a target market. Therefore, evolving the ChargeCycle design to incorporate a USB hub to power a cell phone or more advanced technology could be imperative to the development of the product. As well, this would allow further movement into the third world as the demand for clean energy and the convenience of the USB charger would undoubtedly drive demand. Obviously, initial implementation will give rise to new dilemmas and design faults, which will necessitate the continual improvement of our
39
product. Design can never truly be finished, and therefore, based upon the necessities of our customers and the faults of our product, we must continually alter our design and implement new and better iterations. However, hopefully our product will be effective in providing clean electricity to needy areas as well as a convenient service to industrialized places. If so, the sky's the limit for our bicycle charger and not only could we take a chunk out of the energy needs of the third world but also we could increase publicity and demand for the use of clean, renewable energy.
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