Invention
Description
Logan
High School Artificial Limb Charging System
The invention our team will design and build is
an improved charging and use management system to supply electricity to an
electric vacuum pump in an artificial lower leg. This will greatly
improve an amputee’s freedom by extending the time he/she can use the limb
without being restricted to plugging it into a wall socket to recharge. Our
invention will have an energy harvesting module that converts the kinetic
energy produced in a walking motion into sustainable energy using piezoelectric
or electro mechanical technologies. The harvesting module will connect to an energy
storage unit which is comprised of a battery and sensors to store and monitor
the energy generated while in use. The energy storage unit connects to the management
block which interfaces with the existing electric vacuum pump to accommodate
voltage differences and implement special charging cycles. The management block
will use a Raspberry Pi to connect wirelessly (Bluetooth or WiFi) to a mobile
device so the user can monitor and manage the system.
