Portable Solar Panel Charging Station

A Senior Project

presented to

the Faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science

by

Jordan Bonner

June 2012

© 2012 Jordan Bonner

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page

Acknowledgements…..……………………………………………………………………………5

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………6

I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………7

II. Background……………………………………………………………………………8

III. Requirements and Specifications……………………………………………………...9

IV. Design………………………………………………………………………………..10

V. Construction………………………………………………………………………….20

VI. Testing………………………………………………………………………………..24

VII. Conclusions and Recommendations…………………………………………………31

VIII. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………....32

Appendices

A. Parts List, Cost, and Time Schedule Allocation …...………………………………………..33

B. Analysis of Senior Project Design……………………………………………………….36

2|Page
 List of Figures and Tables
Figure Page

Figure 1: Block Diagram………………………………………………………………….………9

Figure 2: Schematic …...……………………………………………………………..….………10

Figure 1: 12V to 5V Buck Converter ……………………………………………………….……..11

Figure 4: Temperature Sensor…………………………………………………………….……..12

Figure 5: Voltage Sensor……………………………………………………………….………..12

Figure 6: Temperature vs. Resistance Characteristics of the NTSD1XH103FPB40

Thermistor……..…………………………………………………………………….…..….……13

Figure 7: Overvoltage Protection Circuit………………..…………………………...….….……14

Figure 8: NAND Gate……………………………………………………………………………14

Figure 9: Under Voltage Protection Circuit………………………………..…………………….17

Figure 10: 2.5V to 5V Boost Converter ..……………………………………..……..….….……18

Figure 11: MOSFET Switches Controlled by U6.1.……………..……………………...….……18

Figure 12: 2.5V to 12V Boost Converter ..………………………………………………………19

Figure 13: Prototype of Circuit ….………………………………………………………………20

Figure 14: PCB Design ….………………………………………………………………………21

Figure 15: Assembled Printed Circuit Board…………………………………………………….22

Figure 16: Finished Assembly of the Charger…………………………………………………...23

Figure 17: Testing the Completed Circuit……………………………………………………….27

Figure 18: Open circuit voltage of the Solar Cell when shaded ...………………………………29

Figure 19: Short circuit current of the solar cell when shade……………………………………29

Figure 20: Power produced from the solar cell when shaded ………………...…………………30

Figure 25: Testing the Completed Circuit……………………………………………………….21

Table 1: Schmitt Trigger Thresholds…………………………………………………………….24

3|Page
Table 2: Switching Converter Regulation……………………………………………………….25

Table 3: PCB Threshold Voltage for Schmitt Trigger…………………………………………..26

Table 4: Line and Load Regulation for Switching Regulators on the PCB…………………….27

Table 5: Voltage and Current Characteristics of the Solar Panel …..……………………...……28

Table 6: Bill of Materials ...……………………………………………………………..………33

Table 7: Bill of Materials for Analysis…………………………………………………………..36

4|Page
 Acknowledgements

Professor Samuel Agbo for providing me with my idea for senior project and providing me with
help along the way.

Professor John Pan for instructing IME 458 and helping utilize the course to construct a surface
mounted printed circuit board for my project.

Cisco Systems, Inc. for paying for the cost to fabricate my final PCB.

5|Page
 Abstract

The portable solar powered charging station uses a solar powered mat that can be folded for

portability. The device has the ability to charge small electronics during both day and night.

When sunlight is available, the charger charges two C batteries in series and at the same time it

charges any electronic device that can be connected via USB or cigarette lighter. At night the

charger will charge the same electronic devices from the onboard batteries. The charging station

must be able to interface with electronic devices using USB and a car cigarette lighter to charge

the device’s battery.

6|Page
 Introduction

The idea for a device that will charge portable consumer electronics came from Professor Samuel

Agbo. The cause of this idea was due from the need for a well-built device to charge electronics

in a reasonable amount of time. The initial thought for the senior project was to take a solar

power mat that rolls up like a map or blueprints and the charging portion of the electronics would

be stored in the middle of the rolled up cylinder. However, to keep the price of the project

relatively low, a six watt panel took the place that folds over four times to a compact size. The

charge management portion of the device now contains an attachment that disconnects from the

solar panel itself.

7|Page
 Background

There is no shortage in solar powered chargers on the market today that are very cheap.

However, these devices are either very low-powered, inefficient, or do not have the ability to

charge devices at night. An example one of these devices is Solar Portable Battery Pack with

Flashlight and Lantern by XTG Technology. The product is ultra-portable (fits in the palm of the

hand), weighs 0.5 pounds, and includes an onboard battery. However, the battery holds only

1800mAh and the solar panel only outputs around 2.5 watts. The goal for this design is to create

a charger that will include batteries that hold a greater charge and uses a solar panel with

increased output power. The goal needs reach these qualitative goals without sacrificing much on

the side of portability and cost. However, this project is constrained to the solar panels on the

market today, and therefore, the majority of the cost will be due to the solar panel as the price

dramatically increases with output power.

8|Page
 Requirements

The following requirements were set in order to set a goal and a focus to help form the basis of
the project.

Portable Charging Station must fulfill the following requirements:

● Charging station must be reasonably portable when folded to allow travelers, hikers, etc.

the ability to keep electronics fully charged on-the-go.

● Charges two C batteries when left in sunlight.

● Protects the battery from overcharging. When NiMH batteries are fully charged most of

energy being transferred to the battery turns into heat, and will reduce the lifetime of the

battery. A circuit will then be needed to detect temperature, voltage, or both in order to

protect the battery.

● Protects the battery from over discharging. If the batteries are left to over-discharge, then

the battery will eventually reverse its polarity causing irreversible damage. Therefore, a

circuit will be needed to detect the voltage of the battery and disconnect itself before this

damage happens.

● Follows USB specifications to charge devices.

● Follows cigarette lighter specifications to charge devices.

● Circuit must be able to charge both batteries and electronics devices concurrently in

sunlight, and must be able to charge these same devices at night with onboard batteries.

9|Page
 Design

The diagram in figure 1 shows the initial block diagram used in the proposal for the senior

project.

Figure 2: Block Diagram

The second block, “Overcharging Protection Circuit,” will detect both the temperature and the

voltage of the battery and will change the charging rate from full speed to a trickle charge at a

rate of C/40, where C is the total charge of the battery, to keep the charge of the battery

maintained. In block four, “Over Discharging Protection Circuit,” it will detect the voltage of the

battery and will stop the battery from discharging when the charge of the battery is too low. The

next two parallel blocks are used to interface with an electronic device using USB and a cigarette

lighter, which regulates the voltage at 5 Volts and 12 Volts, respectively.

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 Figure 3: Schematic

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Prototype Design

Figure 4: 12V to 5V Buck Converter

Figure 3 shows the portion of the circuit used to charge 2 NiMH C batteries. The voltage source

labeled J1 represents the 15V unregulated DC output of the solar cell. The output of the solar

panel uses a buck converter to change the voltage from the solar panel to a regulated 5V supply

using Linear’s LT1376. The output of the boost converter is taken at node 2 of L1.

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Figure 5: Temperature Sensor
In figure 4, the comparator, U2.1, uses a thermistor to gauge the temperature on the NiMH

batteries. The nominal value at room temperature of the thermistor is 10k Ω as shown in figure 6.

When the temperature of the battery rises, the

resistance of the thermistor will drop below 5k Ω at

45 °C, which will lower the output of the comparator

to approximately 0V. J1 represents the junction where

thermistor from Murata Electronics with part number:

NTSD1XH103FPB40 will be attached. The LM393 is

used for U2.1, U2.2, and U6.1.

U2.2 uses the offset inverting Schmitt trigger

topology and the voltage of the battery to determine if

the battery needs charging. The battery will charge

until it reaches 3.1V and will not charge again until

Figure 6: Voltage Sensor
the voltage of the battery drops below 2.5V. The voltage of 3.1V is

greater than the voltage when the battery is fully charged. However, due to the internal resistance

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of the battery and a charge rate of approximately 500mA, U2.2 sees a voltage of 3.1V at full

charge.

Figure 7: Temperature vs. Resistance Characteristics of the NTSD1XH103FPB40 Thermistor

After voltage levels were chosen for the Schmitt trigger, the resistor values were calculated. The

calculations for the resistors came from the EE 409 book, Design with Operational Amplifiers

and Analog Integrated Circuits by Sergio Franco using the following equations:

with VCC = 5V, VTL = 2.5V, VTH = 3.1V. Therefore, R1 = R7 = 19.6K Ω, R2 = R6 = 17.4K Ω, R3

= R8 = 49.9K Ω, and R5 = 510 Ω, since R8 needs to be much greater than R5.

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 BJT Charge Switch

Battery

Figure 7: Overvoltage Protection Circuit

The transistors, Q2 through Q6 in figure 8, form a

TTL NAND gate used from the topology learned

from the EE 307 book, Introduction to Digital

Microelectronic Circuits, by K Gopal Gopalan. The

NAND gate in figure 8 is used with LTspice for

circuit simulation. During prototyping, the

integrated circuit, SN74HC00N took the place of

Figure 8: NAND Gate
discrete BJTs as shown in figure 7. The NAND gate

checks the state of both the voltage sensor and temperature sensor. When both the temperature

and voltage are at acceptable levels, the sensors output a high logic level. During this state, the

output of the NAND gate drops low to approximately 0V, and all of the base current from Q1

flows through the NAND gate Q5. This produces the following base current:
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The gain, hFE, of the BJT, ZTX955, based on the datasheet is approximately 200. This provides a

charge current that is approximately 450mA. When either of the sensors is at an unacceptable

level, the sensor with bad input raises a flag that is represented by a low logic level on its output.

This causes the output of the NAND gate to rise to a high level and all of the base current flows

through R3, R9, and R10. This produces the following base current:

This base current creates a charge current of approximately 30mA. The full charge of the C

batteries used is 2.5Ah. This creates a trickle charge of C/80.

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 .

Figure 9: Under Voltage Protection

The last comparator, U6.1, shown in figure 9 on the previous page, checks the voltage of the battery to

determine if the battery has enough charge left to charge an electronic load. Whenever the battery drops

below the 2.2V, which is maintained by the 2.2V zener diode, it will send a flag to U7 and U9. On the

schematic in figure 2, it shows U6.1 is powered by the 12V regulated output of U8.

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Figure 10: 2.5V to 5V Boost Converter

When the voltage of the battery is

greater than 2.2V, the output of U6.1 in

figure 11 drops to a low voltage to turn

on the PMOS switch, U7, to allow a

device to be charged though USB,

shown if figure 11. A similar circuit

controlled by U6.1 will control when

the cigarette lighter will be able to

charge. As before, when the voltage of

the battery is greater than 2.2V, the

Figure 11: MOSFET Switches Controlled by U6.1 output of U6.1 will drop to a low voltage allowing

the PMOS, U9, to turn on and allow current to flow to the cigarette lighter. Since cigarette

lighters use a constant 12V DC supply to charge devices, Maxim’s MAX642 boost converter

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converts the 2.5V from the battery to a regulated 12V supply. The switching regulator that does

this is shown below in figure 12.

Figure 12: 2.5V to 12V Boost Converter

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 Construction
Construction for the prototype of the portable solar powered charger was made on a

prototyping board. The first portion of the project built was the temperature sensor and the

voltage sensor using two comparators. The next addition included adding on the TTL NAND

gate and the transistor that controls current flow to the battery. Once the charge management

circuit for the NiMH batteries was completed, a buck converter to convert the input source of the

solar panel to 5V was constructed. After this was successfully completed, the first phase of the

circuit was completed which charges two C batteries. Afterwards, the boost converters to convert

from 2.5V to 5V and 12V were added to be used for the USB and cigarette lighter attachments.

Then the comparator, U6.1, was added to control when the USB and cigarette lighter can charge

an external load. Dual inline packaging was chosen for all the ICs for ease of use except for the

LT1376 chip where a small outline package was the only package available to order.

Figure 13: Prototype of Circuit

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 Design and construction for the final circuit took place in IME 458, Microelectronics

Packaging. Diptrace software was used to draw the schematic and layout the components of the

circuit board. Figure 14 shows the layout used for the charging circuit. Afterwards, the gerber

file was sent off by Professor Pan to a professional PCB fabricator, and they built and

manufactured the board.

Figure 14: PCB Design

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 Once the circuit board arrived from the manufacturer, the board was inspected for breaks in the

copper traces and short circuit connections between two adjacent traces. The same gerber file was also

sent to Pololu Robotics and Electronics to order a stencil. The stencil was used to add solder paste only to

the surface mount pads. The stencil was cut to the width and length of the PCB and taped to prevent the

stencil from moving. A glob of lead-free solder was set onto the stencil and a squeegee used to spread the

paste to the holes on the stencil. Afterwards, surface mount components ordered from Digikey were

placed by hand and were held down by the surface tension brought by the solder paste. The PCB was then

placed through a reflow oven in order to melt the solder to make a solid connection between the

components and the board itself. The assembled printed circuit board is shown below.

Figure 15: Assembled Printed Circuit Board

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 The project enclosure for the printed circuit board was purchased from Jameco. The board was

mounted inside the enclosure and holes were drilled into the side of the boxed enclosure to allow for the

external connections of the solar panel, USB, and cigarette lighter shown in the next figure. Lastly, hook-

and-loop fasteners were added to the bottom of the enclosure and to the folded up solar panel.

Figure 16: Finished Assembly of the Charger

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 Testing

Prototype

Testing the project involved breaking down the circuit into sections. Testing followed the

same order as construction was completed. The first section of testing involved checking to see if

the temperature sensor performed as expected. Testing the temperature sensor could not be

performed in a temperature controlled environment. However, a potentiometer replaced the

thermistor in order to confirm the output of the sensor changed states when the resistance passed

the 5KΩ threshold, and this in fact checked out with no troubles.

The next task involved testing the performance of the offset inverting Schmitt trigger.

Again the Schmitt trigger checks the voltage of the battery and will only let the battery charge if

it is below a certain point. Testing the Schmitt trigger found the following threshold voltages in

table 1.

Table 1: Schmitt Trigger Thresholds

Design Voltage(V) Voltage(V)

VTL 2.1 2.6
VTH 3.4 3.03

This data conveys the battery will always charge when the voltage is below 2.6V, and

will continue to charge until the voltage is 3.03V. This causes the output of the Schmitt trigger to

change states which in turn, shuts off the BJT, Q5 of figure 8, to prevent any base current to flow

through the transistor. The Schmitt trigger will remain in the no-charge state until the voltage

drops below 2.6V, which turns back to the charge state.

Following completion of the two sensors, the next step involves testing the two sensors

together by adding the TTL NAND gate. The NAND gate checks that both the temperature

24 | P a g e
sensor and the voltage sensor are both in the charge state. While testing, it was confirmed that

the NAND gate reads the states correctly and outputted the correct voltage. When both the

sensors are in the charge state, the output of the NAND gate drops to a voltage close to 0V,

which allows all of the base current from the Q1 to drain through the transistor. This creates a

charge current close to 500mA. Once either of the sensor sends a flag to the NAND gate, the

NAND gate shuts off Q5 of figure 8 and all of the base current should be directed through the

R3, R9, and R10 resistor branch, which then creates a charge current approximately equal to

C/80.

This last section ends the front end of the project. The back end involves manipulating

the voltage to charge a phone using USB or cigarette lighter. This section involves testing the 5V

boost converter, LT1302, and 12V boost converter, MAX642. To test the switching converters,

the line regulation and load regulation needs to be measured. Full load for the both converters is

500mA, and the nominal input voltage for both is 2.4V. The equation for line regulation is:

The equation for load regulation is:

Table 2: Switching Converter Regulation

Line Regulation Load Regulation

LT1302 0% 4.4%
MAX642 0% 46.6%
LT1376 1.2% .8%

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The last part to test is to confirm that U6.1 only allows the NiMH battery to charge a phone at an

acceptable voltage. The voltage at which charging occurs is when the voltage is greater than

2.2V.

Printed Circuit Board

Testing the printed circuit board followed most of the same procedures as testing the

prototyped board. The major difference on testing the PCB is the inability to disconnect and

isolate sections of the circuit from each other. The temperature sensor of the project performed as

expected; however, the voltage sensor needed to be calibrated. The lower threshold voltage on

the sensor was found to be below 2.4V, preventing the batteries from charging when it is not

fully discharged. Using LTspice, R7 was changed from 19.6KΩ to 23.2kΩ and R8 was changed

from 49.9kΩ to 80.6kΩ, creating the following threshold voltages for the sensor:

Table 3: PCB Threshold Voltage for Schmitt Trigger

Design Voltage(V) Prototype Voltage(V) PCB Voltage(V)

VTL 2.1 2.6 2.53
VTH 3.4 3.03 3.1

The switching regulators were tested after the sensors were confirmed to be working. Both the

LT1302 buck converter and the LT1376 boost converter were found to output a correct 5V

output. The output voltage while testing the MAX642 boost converter was found to output a

voltage of 6.4V at full load. This voltage is approximately the same found in the prototype board,

meaning the problem was unsuccessfully fixed when designing the chip for the PCB. Table 4

shows the load regulation for the final circuit.

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 Table 4: Line and Load Regulation for Switching Regulators on the PCB

Line Regulation Load Regulation

LT1302 0% 3.4%
MAX642 0% 46.6%
LT1376 1.2% .8%

For testing purposes, R9 was temporarily changed from 2kΩ to 5.1kΩ to examine the

characteristics of the charging BJT, Q1. With R9 at 5.1kΩ, the full charge current sent to the

battery is 300mA. To find the DC gain of Q1, the following equations were used:

The rest of the final circuit used the same testing procedure as the prototyped board, and the

other portions of the circuit performed in the same way as the prototype.

Figure 17: Testing the Completed Circuit

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Solar Cell Characteristics
The data collected below in table 5 determined the voltage and current characteristics of

the solar panel purchased for the project. The open circuit voltage was first measured by not

shading the solar panel, then shading 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, and so on until the entire panel was entirely

shaded. The same procedure was used to determine the current when the panel is shorted through

a multimeter. After finding both the voltages and the currents, the values were multiplied

together to determine the power the panel is able to deliver. When testing the solar panel, solar

radiation when testing the panel was at 900W/m2 according to sloweather.com.

Table 5: Voltage and Current Characteristics of the Solar Panel

Percent Shaded Voltage(V) Current(mA) Power(W)

0% 14.91 420 6.262
12.50% 14.91 310 4.622
25% 14.91 57 0.850
37.50% 14.91 33 0.492
50% 14.91 25 0.373
62.50% 13.65 22 0.300
75% 14.2 18 0.256
87.50% 12.6 14 0.176
100% 9.6 9 0.086

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 16

14

12
Open Circuit Voltage(V)

10

0
0% 13% 25% 38% 50% 63% 75% 88% 100%
Percent Shaded

Figure 18: Open circuit voltage of the Solar Cell when shaded

450

400

350
Short Circuit Current(mA)

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
0% 13% 25% 38% 50% 63% 75% 88% 100%
Percent Shaded

Figure 19: Short circuit current of the solar cell when shaded

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 7

5
Power Produced(W)

0
0% 13% 25% 38% 50% 63% 75% 88% 100%
Percent Shaded

Figure 20: Power produced from the solar cell when shaded

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 Conclusion and Recommendations

After looking back, reviewing the requirements and comparing the finished product to the

requirements, the project was able to fulfill all of the requirements. One area that barely passed

was having the cigarette lighter attachment meeting the specification to charge electronics. The

output of the lighter needs to regulate the output voltage needed for charging to be at 12V.

However, the MAX642 did not have the correct inductor placed or the integrated circuit had poor

load regulation, causing the output of cigarette lighter to be between 6-7V when charging. To

overcome this challenge, different topologies or different boost converters need to be explored to

find the regulator for this application; preferably, an ideal converter would have a MOSFET

switch integrated into the chip instead of requiring an external MOSFET for the switch.

Another design consideration that needs to be looked is choosing a portable solar panel

that fits this charger better. The solar panel chosen for this project was Sunforce 22005 12-Volt

MotoMaster Eliminator Folding Solar Panel. The panel supplied more power than what this

project required. To charge a cell phone at 5V and 500mA, only 2.5W is needed. A solar panel

that supplies 3W should be adequate, and the Sunforce supplied approximately 6-7 watts in full

sunlight. Therefore, a 3W panel would not only work, but would be lighter, have more

portability, and cost cheaper for anyone needing a solar panel to charge their equipment.

The last thing this project needs to be a well-rounded product is a good casing to mount

the circuit board, cigarette lighter, and battery to protect the project from damage from outdoor

activity and to make it less troublesome to haul around. It would also include indicator LED to

display ON/OFF status and charge status.

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 Bibliography

"Batteries." Which Online. 5 July 2004. Web. Jan. 2012.

<http://homepages.which.net/~paul.hills/Batteries/BatteriesBody.html>.

"Current Weather Conditions." SLOweather.com. Web. 8 Apr. 2012. <http://wx.sloweather.com/>.

Franco, Sergio. Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits. 3rd ed. McGraw-
Hill, 2001.

Fried, Limor. "Minty Boost." Lady Ada. 17 May 2011. Web. Jan. 2012.
<http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/icharge.html>.

Gopalan, K. Introduction To Digital Microelectronic Circuits. Richard D. Irwin, 1996.

Hayles, Peter. "Intelligent NiCd/NiMH Battery Charger." Electronics & Computing Home Page. 7 Dec.
2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/hayles/>.

Kidder, Chad. "The Dirty Truth About USB Device Charging." Things Learned Along the Way. Curious
System Solutions, 18 Aug. 2010. Web. Feb. 2012. <http://blog.curioussystem.com/2010/08/the-
dirty-truth-about-usb-device-charging/>.

"Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)." Energizer. Web. Jan. 2012.

<http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/nickelmetalhydride_appman.pdf>.

Sabharwal, Sagar, and Tom Poonsopin. "Solar Powered Backpack." Digital Commons @ Cal Poly.
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, June 2011. Web. Feb. 2012.
<http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/eesp/95/>.

Shannon, Trevor J. "Solar Charger Build." Trevor's Home Page. Web. Jan. 2012.
<http://www.trevorshp.com/creations/solarcharger.htm>.

Sherman, Len. "Charging Batteries Using USB Power." Maxim. 24 June 2004. Web. Winter 2012.
<http://www.maxim-ic.com/app-notes/index.mvp/id/3241>.

Vorkoetter, Stefan. "Build a USB Powered AA NiMH and NiCd Battery Charger."Stefanv.com. Web. Jan.
2012. <http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/usb_charger.html>.

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 Appendices
Parts List, Cost, and Time Schedule Allocation
Table 6: Bill of Materials

Item Quantity Reference Description Part # Package Cost($)

1 5 R1, R2 Resistor 3.9K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50

±5%
2 10 R3 Resistor 5.1K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
3 10 R4, R14 Resistor 1K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
4 10 R5 Resistor 510 Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
5 5 R6 Resistor 17.4K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±1%
6 5 R7 Resistor 19.6K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±1%
7 10 R8, R15, Resistor 49.9K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
R16 ±1%
8 10 R9 Resistor 2K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
9 5 R10 Resistor 20KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
10 5 R11 Resistor 3.3KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
11 5 R12 Resistor 51KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
12 5 R13 Resistor 39KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
13 5 R17, R18 Resistor 75KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
14 3 C2 Capacitor 3.3nF, 250V, 1206 0.84
Ceramic
15 2 C3 Capacitor 47uF, 16V, Radial 1.04
Aluminum
16 2 C4 Capacitor 100uF, 6.3V, 1411 1.82
Tantalum
17 2 C6, C8 Capacitor 220uF, 6.3V, 1411 3.60
Tantalum
18 2 C9 Capacitor 100uF, 16V, Radial 1.10
Aluminum
19 4 C10 Capacitor 100pF, 630V, 1206 .96
Ceramic
20 10 C1, C5, Capacitor 0.1uF, 50V, 1206 1.01
C7, C11 Ceramic
21 6 D1, D2, Diode SS14-E3/61T DO- 2.94
D3, D4, 214AC
D5

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 22 5 L1, L2 Inductor NR6028T220M 6.00mm x 1.70
6.00mm x
2.80mm
23 2 L3 Inductor NR6028T100M 6.00mm x 0.68
6.00mm x
2.80mm
24 2 Q1 PNP BJT DPLS350EDICT TO-261-4 1.08
25 4 Q2 N-type 2N7002K-T1-E3 TO-236-3, 1.52
MOSFET SC-59,
SOT-23-3
26 2 Q3 N-type SI2304BDS-T1- TO-236-3, 1.16
MOSFET E3 SC-59,
SOT-23-3
27 1 U1 5V Buck LT1376CS8-5 8-SOP 6.78
Converter
28 5 U2, U6 Comparator LM393M 8-SOP 2.00
29 3 U4 TTL NAND SN74HC00NSR 14-SOP 1.29
Gate
30 1 U5 5V Boost LT1302CS8-5 8-SOP 6.41
Converter
31 4 U7, U9 P-type FDS9431A 8-SOP 2.60
MOSFET
32 1 U8 12V Boost MAX642XCSA 8-SOP 6.99
Converter
33 2 USB1 USB 896-43-004-00- Irregular 3.34
Receptacle 000000
34 1 N/A Project H2852-R 7.50
Enclosure
35 1 N/A Cigarette ZA2060 3.23
Socket
36 1 N/A Solar Panel B000C1Z2LY 95.00

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 Figure 21: Time Schedule Allocation

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 Analysis of Senior Project Design
Project Title: Portable Solar Powered Charging Station
Student’s Name: Jordan Bonner
Advisor’s Name: Samuel Agbo

Summary of Functional Requirements

● Charging station must be reasonably portable when folded to allow travelers, hikers, etc.

the ability to keep electronics fully charged on-the-go.

● Charges two C batteries when left in sunlight.

● Protects the battery from overcharging. When NiMH batteries are fully charged most of

energy being transferred to the battery turns into heat, and will reduce the lifetime of the

battery. A circuit will then be needed to detect temperature, voltage, or both in order to

protect the battery.

● Protects the battery from over discharging. If the batteries are left to over-discharge, then

the battery will eventually reverse its polarity causing irreversible damage. Therefore, a

circuit will be needed to detect the voltage of the battery and disconnect itself before this

damage happens.

● Follows USB specifications to charge devices.

● Follows cigarette lighter specifications to charge devices.

● Circuit must be able to charge both batteries and electronics devices concurrently in

sunlight, and must be able to charge these same devices at night with onboard batteries.

Primary Constraints
The first constraint encountered was choosing a pre-existing solar panel on the market today.

There are only so many panels to choose from and the panel needed to fit portability, cost, and

power requirements. The solar panel that was chosen ending up having a power rating that was

more than what was needed and the price was on the steep side costing from between $90-100.

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But in the end, the solar panel folded into a compact size for the needed portability. One other

constraint encountered was finding a project enclosure that fits the circuit and battery and an

enclosure that was not any bigger than needed. The enclosure chosen for the charger fit the

circuit well in the width and length dimensions, but the box was about ½” to ¾” too tall which

decreases the portability of the project.

Economic
Examining the economic impacts of my project on the manufacturing side, the assembly of the

circuit will be the simplest and will have an automatic process. The printed circuit board will be

manufactured by a professional company and sent back to be assembled. Since the circuit is

mostly surface mounted components, a pick and place machine and reflow oven will be used to

automate the process of placing components on the PCB. As is, the only manual process and the

process that will take the most human capital will be the wiring the external components and

machining the holes in the project enclosure. If this project were to be mass produced, a custom

plastic mold will be used to reduce the human capital to wiring and placing the external

components. The price of the project if produced in mass quantities would drastically reduce; the

only component keeping the price of the product up is the cost of the solar panel. If this project

was marketed, the best way to sell the device would be to sell the project with only the charging

portion and leave the customer to choose a solar panel of their liking. The cost to manufacture

one charging station is located in the table below.

Table 7: Bill of Materials for Analysis

Item Quantity Reference Description Part # Package Cost($)

1 5 R1, R2 Resistor 3.9K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50

±5%
2 10 R3 Resistor 5.1K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
3 10 R4, R14 Resistor 1K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%

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 4 10 R5 Resistor 510 Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
5 5 R6 Resistor 17.4K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±1%
6 5 R7 Resistor 19.6K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±1%
7 10 R8, R15, Resistor 49.9K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
R16 ±1%
8 10 R9 Resistor 2K Ω, 1/4W, 1206 1.00
±5%
9 5 R10 Resistor 20KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
10 5 R11 Resistor 3.3KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
11 5 R12 Resistor 51KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
12 5 R13 Resistor 39KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
13 5 R17, R18 Resistor 75KΩ, 1/4W, 1206 0.50
±5%
14 3 C2 Capacitor 3.3nF, 250V, 1206 0.84
Ceramic
15 2 C3 Capacitor 47uF, 16V, Radial 1.04
Aluminum
16 2 C4 Capacitor 100uF, 6.3V, 1411 1.82
Tantalum
17 2 C6, C8 Capacitor 220uF, 6.3V, 1411 3.60
Tantalum
18 2 C9 Capacitor 100uF, 16V, Radial 1.10
Aluminum
19 4 C10 Capacitor 100pF, 630V, 1206 .96
Ceramic
20 10 C1, C5, Capacitor 0.1uF, 50V, 1206 1.01
C7, C11 Ceramic
21 6 D1, D2, Diode SS14-E3/61T DO- 2.94
D3, D4, 214AC
D5
22 5 L1, L2 Inductor NR6028T220M 6.00mm x 1.70
6.00mm x
2.80mm
23 2 L3 Inductor NR6028T100M 6.00mm x 0.68
6.00mm x
2.80mm
24 2 Q1 PNP BJT DPLS350EDICT TO-261-4 1.08
25 4 Q2 N-type 2N7002K-T1-E3 TO-236-3, 1.52
MOSFET SC-59,
SOT-23-3
26 2 Q3 N-type SI2304BDS-T1- TO-236-3, 1.16
MOSFET E3 SC-59,
SOT-23-3

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 27 1 U1 5V Buck LT1376CS8-5 8-SOP 6.78
Converter
28 5 U2, U6 Comparator LM393M 8-SOP 2.00
29 3 U4 TTL NAND SN74HC00NSR 14-SOP 1.29
Gate
30 1 U5 5V Boost LT1302CS8-5 8-SOP 6.41
Converter
31 4 U7, U9 P-type FDS9431A 8-SOP 2.60
MOSFET
32 1 U8 12V Boost MAX642XCSA 8-SOP 6.99
Converter
33 2 USB1 USB 896-43-004-00- Irregular 3.34
Receptacle 000000
34 1 N/A Project H2852-R 7.50
Enclosure
35 1 N/A Cigarette ZA2060 3.23
Socket
36 1 N/A Solar Panel B000C1Z2LY 95.00
Total 162.85

In the table above, multiple components were purchased for the resistors and capacitors, but due

to the how inexpensive those components were the price does not affect the total price much.

Thanks to Cisco Systems, the PCB did not have to be purchased, but if the price was included in

the total, the total price to make the project is approximately $200. If the price of the solar panel

is subtracted, then the project will cost approximately $100. Lastly, if it was mass produced, the

project would definitely drop below $50 for each one produced.

If manufactured on a commercial basis and each product cost $100 to make, the sell price

would be approximately $150. At this price, only outdoor enthusiasts would purchase this device

and this would drastically cut down the number of customers who would purchase the device. A

conservative estimate of 5,000 units could be sold each year, creating revenue of $750,000 and a

profit of $250,000 not including the price of labor. However, if produced at this quantity, the

price of each unit could be as low as $30/unit and could be sold at $50/unit. This could

potentially open the market to 20,000 customers a year, creating revenue of $1 million and a

profit of $400,000 not including the price of labor.

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Environmental
Overall, this project has a net positive effect on the environment, as it promotes the use of clean

and renewable energy. All solder joints used lead-free solder to reduce the toxicity of the circuit

whenever it is disposed of. The least environmentally friendly component in charger is the

NiMH batteries, but they are indeed less toxic than its counterpart, Ni-Cd batteries.

Manufacturability

Most of the circuit can be manufactured fairly easily. The components can be placed in an

automatic process that involves adding solder paste, using a pick-and-place machine, and

running the PCB through a reflow oven. A plastic mold can be easily manufactured if produced

in high quantities. The only bottleneck in the manufacturing process will manually placing the

PCB, batteries, wires, and cigarette lighter socket to the plastic mold.

Sustainability

The portable solar panel charger can easily sustain itself. Once purchased, the product will be

ready to use out of the box. No maintenance will be required until after many uses whenever the

NiMH batteries are past their lifetime and need to be replaced. A design to make the project

more sustainable will be to change from NiMH batteries to lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion

batteries have more charge cycles, thus having a greater lifetime. Changing to lithium ion

batteries is also expected to increase performance of the charger due to the fact that the batteries

hold more charge and have a higher voltage of 3.7V, which will help the performance of the 12V

boost converter.

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Ethical

No ethical implications are expected as the device cannot be misused and as long as the device is

manufactured in a factory where humans are not exploited

Health and Safety

Considering all solder used in soldering the components was lead-free solder, it is a big step to

ensure the project is safe to use and handle. All voltages on board the circuit are relativity low so

the chance of shock is minimal to any user. Fire resistant material is used for the printed circuit

board to prevent any fires an overheated component can cause. Overall, the charger should be

safe to use and no written warning should be necessary before using.

Social and Political

The primary use for this project is that it will be used as a back-up power source to charge cell

phones, cameras, etc. for when people are travelling. Therefore, this project will primarily affect

those who use it. The only way this will affect the users is if they are in an emergency with a

dead cell phone and they need a power source to power their phone to be able to make a phone

call and the charger has failed. However, it will more likely benefit people in that situation and

people will be able to use the device as a power source to be able to make a phone call if that

issue were to ever occur. The project has the potential to help developing countries with limited

power sources, where people in these nations can use it to charge a cell phone or any other

devices they are able to get a hold of that uses USB or cigarette lighter to charge.

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Development

Thanks to the course IME 458, I was able to use that class to help me understand the design

process of what it would take to manufacture my project in mass quantities. I was able to learn

how stencil machines, pick-and-place machines, and reflow ovens work to automate

manufacturing printed circuit boards. Also, I picked up how a hot air gun is used to do solder

rework on components. It is a handy device to remove small components such as resistors from a

circuit board when mounted on the surface.

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