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Background

The Engineers:

• Joel Bisson
• Aaron Gallo

Our goal is to harness human kinetic energy through common gym equipment and convert it with two separate devices into useful applications. One machine will convert to mechanical energy to power devices such as blenders, ice cream makers, or food processors. Our human powered electric generator will be used to charge a battery which in turn will charge small electronic devices such as cell phones, iPods, cameras, or laptops.

The project is an assignment for ENGR 305 (Appropriate Technology) at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. We will be in collaboration with The Humboldt Bay Center for Sustainable Living who operates the new Humboldt Bay Eco-Hostel located in Manila, CA.

The plan is to have the both pieces of equipement operational by the end of the semester so that it can be a useful and educational part of the Eco-Hostel. We hope to emphasize that energy is not cheap and that it takes work to make electricity used to power even the smallest electronic devices in our lives.

Literature Review

This is a review of the literature acquired in the beginning stages of our research on Human powered devices and a means to build them.

Human Power Basics

With the utilization of mechanical/electrical devices, human energy can be transferred from the body into almost any small or moderate sized household device. With human power, small kitchen appliances such as blenders, food processors, and juicers are simple and effective for construction, but are not limited to just those ideas. Lawnmowers, sewing machines, and even electricity generation are all possible destinations of the energy that is generated by humans. . ^[1]

Construction Concerns

A limited knowledge of electricity generation and mechanical construction is our main obstacle. We plan to build of other past accomplishments, learning from their experiences and adding our own to the base of knowledge. Research into basic wiring and electricity will be vital for a successful project.^[2] . ^[3]Other construction concerns involve the design. We want to harness the maximum potential a person can produce. By evaluating arm and hand vs. leg and foot devices we can narrow our design possibilities.^[4] Another concern will be in the cost and time to complete the project.

Types of Devices

Most devices are foot pedaled rotary mechanisms, either attached directly to a mechanical device or connected to an electrical generator, which will then operate an electrical motor, or charge a battery bank.

Mechanical Devices

The energy harnessed can be maintained as mechanical energy. This type of device uses belts, chains, or shafts to carry the energy and pulleys or gears can change speed, magnitude, and direction of a force. ^[5][6] Mechanical force can be applied using a hand crack with such devices as; pencil sharpener, juicer, drill, or ice cream maker. Pedal power have been applied to such devices as blenders^[7], pumps, saws, sewing machines, even a dentist's drill.^[8]

Electrical Devices

The device could also incorporate a generator and create electricity. The generated electricity can be used immediately to power TVs,^[9]or stored to power other devices at another time.^[10][11] Bart Orlando built the Human Energy Converter or HEC which connected 14 pedal powered bikes to a battery and generated just over a kilo-Watt to power sound stages at festivals.^[12]The power stored can be used to charge small portable electronic devices such as MP3 players, cameras, cell phones, and laptops.^[13][14]In a much larger project, human power was used to generate enough power for an entire facility like the one in Hong Kong ^[15], This is a spectacular design with an outstanding budget, one that we can learn from, but not duplicate.

Designing interpretive materials

According to Sean Armstrong, Director of the the Humboldt Bay Center for Sustainable Living, interpretive materials for the human powered gym should include a way of measuring the amount of energy created and stored in our electrical generating device. The energy created should be compared to energy usage for other common devices such as a computer, light bulb, or hair dryer.

Costs

Our proposed budget will itemize the cost to construct two separate devices. The first is the mechanical device and the second is electrical. At the moment this is a preliminary report. We need more time to find primary components to finish the design and final budget.

Pedal powered Multifunction Kitchen Wizard from Outerspace

This mechanical device will use a stationary exercise bike and flexible drive shaft to transfer power from the rider to mechanical devices such as an ice-cream maker, blender, food processor, etc. Our goal is to make it versatile in that you can hook up different tools to it to do work.

Quantity	Material	Source	Cost ($)	Total ($)
1	Exercise Bicycle	Thrift Store	50.00	50.00
1	Friction Wheel	Skate Shop	10.00	10.00
1	Set of 8 Axle Bearings	Skate Shop	20.00	20.00
1	Mounting Hardware	Hardware Store	20.00	20.00
1	Framing Material for Friction Wheel and Appliance Mount	Hardware Store	40.00	40.00
1	Analog Speedometer	online	15.00	15.00
1	Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker	Online	42.95	42.95
1	Dico 541-41540 Pro Flex 40-Inch Shaft 1/4 Drive	Online	40.46	40.46
3	Shipping and Handling	Carrier	12.00	36.00
Total Cost				$274.41

Humboldt Bay Treadmill-a-Volt

This device will convert kinetic energy into electrical to charge a battery good for charging small electronic devices. The generator was graciously donated by Lonny Grafman. In addition a special thanks to Eco-Groovy Abundance for providing a great deal on the treadmill.

Quantity	Material	Source	Cost ($)	Total ($)
1	Nordic Trak Walk-Fit 5000 Treadmill	Eco-Groovy Abundance	30.00	30.00
1	Deep Cycle Battery	Sears	135.00	135.00
1	Plastic Electrical Housing Box	Hardware Store	10.00	10.00
1	Plexiglass Window	Hardware Store	5.00	5.00
1	Pulley Wheel Belt	Auto Parts Store	10.00	10.00
1	MORNINGSTAR SUNKEEPER CHARGE CONTROLLER	Online	64.11	64.11
1	Blocking Diode	Online	30.00	30.00
1	Power Meter	Online	20.00	20.00
1	Terminal Block	Online	5.00	5.00
1	Wiring Components	Online	15.00	15.00
1	Inverter	Online	60.00	60.00
6	Shipping and Handling Fees	Carrier	15.00	90.00
Total Cost				$384.11

Criteria

To help us with the difficult task of making important decisions with our project we have developed a list of criteria that we and our client feel are important. Each criteria has its constraints and a given weight of importance ( 1 being the least important and 10 being the most). The following is for both devices.

Criteria	Constraint	Weight
Size	Each device should fit within a 3' x 4' area	3
Functionality	Device should be be useful to hostel guests, accommodating all ages	10
Educational	Hostel guests should experience some educational value	6
Maintainability	Device should not require technical maintenance	6
Aesthetic	Device should look fun and inviting	7
Noise	Operation should not be intolerable to Hostel guests	3
Structural Integrity	2-3 years of operation should be expected	8
Time to construct	Devices should be fully constructed and operating with 1 semester	9
Number of devices	Devices built should meet all criteria	1
Versatility	Should be able to provide power to multiple smaller devices	5
Cost	Both devices should not exceed $400	7

Evolution

Follow the steps in construction of each device with this pictorial sequence of events. Click on the image to find out more details.(Currently not functioning)

• 

  Basic Treadmill with non-functional display console. Overall structurally sound and in decent condition.

• File:.jpg

  Image to Come

References