Blow-Powered LED Flashlight

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Description

Summary A mechanically powered flashlight is a flashlight that is powered by electricity generated by the muscle power of the user, so it does not need replacement of batteries, or recharging from an electrical source. There are several types which use different operating mechanisms. They use different motions to generate the required power; such as squeezing a handle, winding a crank, or shaking the flashlight itself. These flashlights can also be distinguished by the technique used to store the energy: a spring, a flywheel, a battery or a capacitor. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_powered_flashlight) Now, I made a blow-powered LED flashlight. To turn on a flashlight, you just blow (to force air out through your mouth) it. The only bad thing is that if you use it too much, you will be dizzy ( just like blowing a balloon too much). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scr3MMhLoF0 Instructions This flashlight is composed of three parts.

Generator I got an idea from a brushless dc motor(http://www.westknoxrc.com/index.php/topic,625.0.html?PHPSESSID=cfd709fd8ae2b01adc0d97942767ef77). It is really simple. you need some coils(0.2mm magnetic wire) and two magnets(15mm diameter 4mm thickness).

Vertical Axis Blow Turbine It consists of 5 blades. The shape of blades is an arc with 72 degrees( 5 equal parts of a circle). Each blade is made by rotating 35 degrees in the center of this arc. To blow the flashlight, it has a mouthpiece like the wind instrument.

LED Flashlight To light up an LED you need DC 3 volts. So I use "Bridge rectifier" ( for conversion of an AC input into a DC output) and " Joule thief" (for boosting voltage of a low voltage device:http://rimstar.org/sdenergy/joule_thief.htm) circuits.

How it works When you strongly blow it through the mouthpiece, the vertical axis turbine and the magnets of the generator are rotating together. The shafts of the turbine and generator are directly connected. Then the coils of the generator makes AC(alternating current). The bridge rectifier circuit convert an AC input to a DC output. But the voltage generated by blowing is about DC 0.5~1 volts. To light up an LED you need about DC 3 volts. For boosting voltage, I use Joule thief circuit. Finally LED is lighted. A supercap is used instead of a recharger. Non-3d-printed parts Some coils : 0.2mm magnetic wire(10~20m long) 2 magnets : 15mm diameter and 4mm thickness Bridge rectifier : 4 diodes and 1 supercap. Joule thief : 1k Ohm registor, 1 npn transistor, 1 Ferrite toroid core, 1 LED, some wires.

Design Files

File Size

whistle_lower.stl
775 KB
led_reflector.stl
317 KB
mouthpiece.stl
516 KB
wind_turbine_cap.stl
443 KB
led_supporter.stl
426 KB
led_body.stl
332 KB
whistle_upper.stl
641 KB
generator_shaft1.stl
329 KB
wind_turbine.stl
993 KB
generator_case.stl
473 KB
magnet_container.stl
704 KB
coil_frame1.stl
598 KB
coil_frame2.stl
704 KB
generator_shaft2.stl
181 KB
base_plate.stl
513 KB

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