Pedal to charge your cell phone

birbal · **Posted:** Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:12 pm

A 19-yr-old engineering student designs a bicycle that can charge any mobile phone after cycling for a few hours.

A third year engineering student from Dombivli (Mumbai, India) has developed a bicycle that when pedalled produces electricty and charge mobile phones of any brand. The design received the KDMC mayor’s award on Friday.

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Bhaskar with his cycle

Fascinated by the two-seater cycle driven by Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Shaan, an inspired Bhaskar Ajgaonkar, 19, set about designing one. He was in Class VII then. His father Vijay Ajgaonkar, an electronic engineer, encouraged him to make one. Bhaskar’s skills have brought him three national awards and several state awards. He has more than 25 innovative cycle designs to his credit.

His latest innovation: a bicycle with mobile charging facility took two years and less than a thousand rupees to make. Bhaskar describes his device, “The circuit is so flexible that you can connect a cell phone of any brand for charging. The electricity generated through a dynamo is regulated through circuit. Therefore your riding speed will not affect the current flow.”

Bhaskar had won a national award for presenting a prototype of this bicycle at a seminar conducted for Alternative Energy Sources at VPM Polytechnic in Thane in 2005. He took his project further by designing the micro-dynamo with the help of industry experts.

By December this year, he hopes to complete the prototype of a talking cycle, which will have photo censors fixed on it. “The bicycle will warn cyclists about potholes ahead and will say sorry if it misses one. One day I want to come up with a flying bicycle based on the airplane model created by the Wright Brothers,” said the budding innovator.

Bhaskar’s father is undergoing medication for cancer, but that has not dimmed Bhaskar’s zest or deterred him from pursuing his dream. His father continues to provide him all the support. Ajgaonkar said, “Two years ago people laughed at Bhaskar when he talked about a bicycle with a mobile charger, but today, we are having the last laugh. We believe he will make our nation proud one day.”

Pundalik Mhatre, KDMC Mayor said, “We all face power crisis these days and in such situations we need to encourageexperiments like Bhaskar’s.”

How is the cellphone charged?
An extra chain is attached to the rear wheel, which is connected to a micro-dynamo (a unit generating electricity) attached to cycle’s carrier. As you pedal the cycle, the dynamo rotates to generate electricity. The electricity is then passed towards the circuit fixed on the bell attached to handle. The circuit also has a LED, which confirms reception of electricity. A cable coming out from circuit has plug, which can be connected to a cellphone to charge it. A chain is connected to the micro dynamo and cycle’s gear box. As you pedal the cycle forward, the chain rotates the gear box.

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