If you recall, in the last update I mentioned offhand an idea to integrate an induction coil and charging circuit into the adjustable phone dock mounted to my bike's handlebars. Well I got the spare Qi charging mat in the mail today, and wasted no time prying it open:
I was expecting a more rectangular induction coil as I've seen many devices like this use. No big deal though, the question becomes how to mount the coil and PCB (printed circuit board) in an unobtrusive way. Here was my first attempt:
...But then, if I mount the coil like this, where does the PCB go? I can't just leave it hanging off one side. That would look janky and ugly as hell, I wouldn't stand for it. Surely there has to be a better solution than this. Here's what I came up with:
After peeling away the foam backing from the coil, there was room under the phone for both the induction coil and the PCB. I had to mount the PCB way to one side so the micro USB port is clear of the edge of the phone, since most micro USB plugs are pretty fat to make them easy to grip.
This was my solution for mounting the indicator light. It's not perfect but I can see it fine, which will help me diagnose problems if anything ever goes wrong with this setup. Tired, satisfied and with dried superglue on my fingertips, I took it out for a test ride.
Obviously since my phone is my only camera, I can't take a picture of it in the dock, but it fits. Barely. There is just exactly enough clearance left that the phone, sitting on top of the charging coil and PCB, still fits when the corners of the dock are drawn inward by the securing mechanism.
Do you see those two cables going into the body of the bike? One of them is the USB cable from the finished inductive charging dock. Right now it just goes to a 4 cell 18650 power bank snugly tucked inside the bike's body. That's not an ideal solution obviously, I have to laboriously open up the bike to swap in a charged power bank when it runs out.
The long term solution will be to buy or build a passthru circuit that goes between the battery and motor controller, which leeches 5 volts 2 amps from it solely to power the phone charging dock. Alternatively I could mount a 7 watt solar panel to a pannier above the rear wheel and use that to power it. Thoughts?
Honestly you might not think it's great but it works , that's what actually matters , who cares what people think about it because this is the first time I've seen someone do so much for their bike , you could do on a long ride and still have a charged phone , who can beat that ? Just be careful with it @alexbeyman I think you should just leave it how it is instead of trying to change something again. Try this out for a bit and see how you feel
This bike just gets better and better, lol. I think your long term solution involving leeching would probably work much better overall, but using a charged power bank for now in the meantime works so I wouldn't sweat it for the near future.
Nice! I would probably go with the solar panel if I were you :]
Now I can see where you take all your creativity. you should make a fancy prototype so people dont think its a bomb :) .
Thus one could make a long round trip
This looks really well done. I think overtime you will see what works and what doesn't.
Good luck for u...
I can't pass along any advice about improving the bike, but I just want to encourage to keep pressing one. This is a cool project!
@alexbeyman,
Actually this is the 1st time I have seen that item! Thanks for that and where could I buy 1?
Cheers~
You can't, I built it. Nobody manufactures these yet to my knowledge.
Maybe it's time to start a company to manufacture these!
I wouldn't know where to begin.
very good. To implement and look at the results. Great contribution of idea
Pretty cool
Good post! I'm going to follow you to see more post like this and for support us!
Upvoted. I'll be resteeming this now :)
It will fall of easily
I love your post because is interesting! Big like for you!
woo that's so innovate and creative mind of your's
So creative & awesome , thank you so much for sharing
You need to add a graphene capacitor, make your own capacitors!! That Bike's gonna weight like 3 times more than a usual bike at the current rate.
Very interesting I will learn it. I will take advantage of the majors that I take the electro prodi electronika. To create this tool.
I love this Steemit bike series , waiting for test drive video :)
I encourage more people like you here, always looking for innovations in doing things, thinking out of the box. I am more encouraged now to most of my own ideas here, may you find me in my first post regarding alternative energy, the backyard experimenter's way of course haha.
I am now your follower, good post indeed.
Glad to hear it. Don't be shy with your ideas, remember that America is the country which made the inventor of the Pet Rock a millionaire. You only have to do better than that. :)
Haha I sure will do, but my main aim is to just share things that I can really see as "very rare". Why very rare? I think it is because in the experimenters' forums, the approach is unique since individualized and more practical, unlike the science books and engineering textbooks we all are being mind-controlled into.
So much to share, so much excitement, hopefully there is more time and space to improve here, ALL OF US TOGETHER!!!
Thank you for this nice reply, this is very encouraging. I had posted my first post just hours ago here:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@lightingmacsteem/lighting-for-everyone-the-steemit-way
Be encouraged as well my friend.........