The Cal poly Humboldt ENGR 205 design class collaborated with CCAT (Campus Center for Appropriate Technology) in spring semester 2024 to create a wireless charging station for CCAT as the client with ENGR 205 team Fig-Newton consisting of William Monohan, Aidan Barrett-Wells, Elijah Ramirez and Nicolas Myles Peinemann. The team work together with materials provided by CCAT and the fabrication ENGR 123 class's workspace and materials to create a outdoor wireless phone charging station. CCAT and their volunteers that work on cite will use this station to quickly and easily charge there mobile devices.
Background[edit | edit source]
In spring 2024 CCAT which exist on Cal poly Humboldt campus by the BBS building, commissioned Engineering 205 to create a new wireless solar powered charging station to replace the previous charging station that was stolen, using CCAT's pre existing solar panels. This is to allow CCAT personal and volunteer Friday members at CCAT to quickly, easily and cleanly charge their phones while working on Campus.
Problem statement[edit | edit source]
The objective of this project is to make use of the pre existing unused solar panels at CCAT to create a long lasting clean energy wireless charging station that will let CCAT members and volunteers charge their phones while on cite.
Criteria[edit | edit source]
| Criteria | Description | Weight (1-10) |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | Reduce the chances of damage or injury from any part of the project while using it as intended. | 9 |
| Functionality | Should charge as many phones as are needed with the most efficient use of energy possible. | 8 |
| Ease of Use | Should be intuitively useable to everyone without instruction and easily reapirable. | 8 |
| Longevity | The station, panels, and wall should last and be able to stand up to rain or other expected damage | 7 |
| Low Embodied Energy | Should prioritize materials and processes with minimal environmental impact | 6 |
| Theft Resistance | Reduce the chance of any part being stolen | 6 |
| Aethetics | Should be visually appealing and match the existing enviorment | 5 |
| Cost | Should be kept low with reuse of available materials | 4 |
Prototyping[edit | edit source]
The prototype went through multiple iterations through sketches and mock-ups in AutoCAD before the physical prototype was built. Only one physical prototype was needed, as the client approved the prototype with one small change to the orientation of the roof. All prototypes were constructed with the notion that the main part of the station would be made out of wood. Additionally, the client had the base of a tetherball pole on-site, so most iterations of the prototype, as well as the final design, include this as the main support structure. The original sketch prototype had three drawers and stood atop two supports made out of tetherball pole bases. These bases are metal poles sticking out of a tire filled with concrete. The second iteration had a single swinging door with a latch and sat atop one support made out of a tetherball pole base. This iteration included a separate construction to house some of the more expensive electrical components of the station for the sake of security. This idea was scrapped in favor of placing all of the electrical components within the box, as this was ultimately deemed safer and more secure. The physical prototype combined ideas from both of the previous prototypes, featuring two swing doors with a latch between them, doorknobs, and an internal pull-out drawer where the charging pads sit. This too would be shown to sit atop the tetherball base on-site.
- Sample gallery
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Final product[edit | edit source]
The final product of the wooden box with a metal roof. It uses cedar planks and plywood to withstand the rain, as well as insulation to stop water from getting in. It includes two charging plates with three chargers each of six phones which can charge at once. It sits on a large heavy base in order to prevent theft by making it impractical to move. The metal roof protects the box for direct rain as well as water that flows from the panels to the wall to the box.
Construction[edit | edit source]
1. The Frame[edit | edit source]
Cut two 11.5"h x 15"L and one 11.5"h x 13.5"L planks of wood, either using cedar or plywood. Attach the two long pieces at opposite sides of the shorter wall with right angle braces and screws. Then make two 15" by 15" pieces of wood for the floor and roof of the box. These pieces are make of two rectangular pieces each which are joined together with wood glue, as well as mending braces on the floor for reinforcement. Attach these pieces to the walls with screws.
2. The Doors[edit | edit source]
Cut two 11.5"h x 6.75"w pieces for the doors. Attach them to the side walls with two hinges so that the doors can swing. Sand doors where they make contact with each other so that they can close cleanly. Then attach the doorknobs and clasp to the outside of the door with screws and weather strips to the inside of the door with glue.
3. The Roof[edit | edit source]
Cut three long rectangular pieces for the frame of the roof, assemble into two U shapes. Then attach the metal sheets for the shingling with nails. The roof pieces are nailed onto two trapezoidal supports which are attached to the box. The front support is screwed to the roof of the box from the inside, the screws are driven deep enough that they don't block the door. The back support is glued to the box since a screw would need to be inserted at a difficult angle in order to get past the back wall. The pieces have two cuts with different slants in order to match the slants of the roof.
4. The Interior[edit | edit source]
Cut two 6"L x 1"W pieces of wood and screw them to the side wall of the station about half way up. Then make two 13.25"L x 6"W boards for the shelves the phone chargers sit on. Place one on top of the pieces of wood and place the other on the floor of the box. The battery and inverter sit behind the shelves so that when the shelf is removed the electronics can be accessed.
5. The Base[edit | edit source]
The base of the box is a tetherball pole which has been cut to be about three and half feet long not including the ten inch tire. Tire is connected to the box by a circular flange which is screwed onto the box. The thin end of the flange is inserted into the hollow interior of the pole and then secured with Steelstik. A hole is drilled into the bottom of the box which goes into the inside of the flange. The cables are run though this hole and then the pole itself until they exit from a hole at the bottom just above the ground. Finally, the concrete base is buried more then a foot deep so that a few inches of dirt cover the top of it.
6. The Electronics[edit | edit source]
The power from the panels flows to a charge controller which regulates the power to the battery. The battery stores and transfers power to the inverter which converts it into AC power for the phone chargers. Finally, the chargers transfer power to the phones. The battery, inverter and chargers all sit inside the box.
Bill of materials[edit | edit source]
Description of costs, donations, the fact that this is just proposed, etc. For a simple cost table, see Help:Table examples#Cost Table and Template:Bill of materials for two nice formats.
| Item | Amount | Cost per unit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Things — Get at the thing store | 3 | USD 5.75 | USD 17.25 |
| Another thing — 3' x 2', yellow | 1 | USD 150.00 | USD 150.00 |
| Grand total | USD 167.25EUR 143.84 <br />GBP 122.09 <br />CAD 207.39 <br />MXN 3,487.16 <br />INR 12,518.66 <br /> | ||
Operation[edit | edit source]
This is how to operate. It should have a brief introduction. You might want to show images or videos with step-by-step instructions when needed.
Remove the alligator clips from the red and black wires that attach to the solar panels by using the wire cutter
Strip about 3/8 inch of insulation off the solar panel wires by using the 10 or 12-gauge wire stripper (whichever fits better)
Maintenance[edit | edit source]
Introduce this maintenance section. Help ask the questions:
- Are there any needed actions for maintenance?
- How often?
- Who should perform maintenance?
Maintenance schedule[edit | edit source]
This is when to maintain what. Please keep the format the same as it populates the kiosk in CCAT.
- Daily
- Unlock charging station as needed.
- Relock charging station after all phones are removed.
- Weekly
- Unlock and open charging station on Fridays for volunteer usage.
- Relock after volunteers have left on Fridays.
- Monthly
- Check for minor damage
- Cleaning the station
- Yearly
- Test the effectiveness of the electronics
- Every 5-10 years
- Replace solar panels as needed, expected remaining life span in 20 years.
- Replace parts as they break.
- Check weather damage after 5 years.
- Rebury base if dug up by rain drilling over time.
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
Testing results[edit | edit source]
Describe the testing results.
Discussion[edit | edit source]
Discuss the testing results.
Lessons learned[edit | edit source]
Discuss lessons were learned during this project and what you would do different next time.
Next steps[edit | edit source]
Discuss any next steps for the project as it goes on into the future.
Troubleshooting[edit | edit source]
This is only how to troubleshoot basic operation. For complex issues, the solution might just say something like contact ________. It should be a table in this format:
| Problem | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Example issue | Example solution or suggestion |
| Does not turn on | Make sure it is plugged in |
| Another issue | Etc. |
Team[edit | edit source]
Introduce team and semester in the following format:
- Lonny Grafman
- Emilio Velis
- One bullet for each team member.
References[edit | edit source]