The Powers of Induction
Overview
The goal of our project is to create a wireless phone charging pad capable of charging compatible smart phones or devices with wireless adapters. Our charging pad will be able to operate both in a tightly coupled, inductive scheme and in a loosely coupled resonant scheme so that Unlike many charging stations on the market, our charging pad will be portable, so it could be used in situations where finding an outlet is difficult (such as in class). Thus, the charging station will house a lithium ion battery so that a phone can be charged whether or not the charging stand is plugged into an outlet.
Blake Bordelon and Elizabeth Onder
Objectives
The objective of this project is to create a working wireless phone charger as described above. We additionally aim to include capacitors in our transmission circuit in order to make the charging apparatus operate at resonance. By operating at resonance, power can be transferred from the charging stand to a phone with minimal losses complex impedance. The inclusion of microcontrollers in a control feedback loop will allow for We also aim to create a usable phone case that can make an iPhone compatible with the pad.
Challenges
In order to accomplish the above stated goals, we must learn:
- How to use PSpice or some other circuit simulation software to create a schematic of our design and simulate its behavior under different parameters.
- How to use SolidWorks or equivalent 3D design software to design our iPad case and the body of the charging stand.
- How to configure the internal battery within the charging stand so that it can both be charged by an exterior wall outlet and can provide power to the transmitting coil.
- How to program microcontrollers
- About basic manufacturing standards for phones (specifically the iPhone) and other components that will be included in our design.
In addition, we will encounter the following challenges:
- To ensure user safety, we will need to figure out how to regulate temperature of the charging stand with our microcontrollers.