Chargeable Backpack

I'm Christopher Hall, from Independence High School, San Jose, CA. Since going back to school, my laptop has often run out of power. While this isn't a problem during class, it is quite annoying after classes since our school has no outdoor outlets, meaning if your laptop or Chromebook dies, it stays dead. So, I thought that a backpack that is also a chargeable power pack would be very useful when going back to school.

Common questions:

Q: How much would it cost?

A: The chargeable backpack (meaning the whole model) would cost around $40-$45, which is about the price of a higher-end backpack and definitely cheaper than some of the hundred dollar pc power banks for sale. So, it'd be a pretty good deal considering it could keep your electronics charged.

Q: Is the battery a fixed item?

A: Yes, the battery would be a fixed item.

Q: Why charge your backpack instead of bringing a power bank?

A: For one, power banks that have 3-prong outlets are often $80+ while this backpack would only be slightly more than half that. Moreover, power banks are easy to forget at home or in a class, while the battery is fixed in the backpack so you won't ever forget the battery and be unable to charge your Chromebook or device.

Q: Who is this bag targeted to?

A: This bag was designed with students in mind. After all, they tend to have more budget restrictions and would need a cheaper alternative to an expensive pc power bank. They're also the ones who would stay at school until their parents are available to pick them up and would thus need access to portable power to charge their school laptops, do homework, etc.

Q: How heavy would the bag be? How much can it hold?

A: The whole model would weigh around 3-5 pounds. It can hold up to roughly 25 liters, which is enough to hold plenty of notebooks, textbooks, and other school supplies.

* To model it: Autodesk Fusion 360 - I used the educational license since I'm a student.

* If you actually want to assemble it, see "closing notes"

Since it still needs to be a backpack, I started by modeling the bag itself first.

To create the bag outline, I created a 12 by 14.5 rectangle, removed the top side of the rectangle, then made a 3-point arc that added 2.5 inches to the height. In total, it's a 12-inch wide and 18-inch tall backpack

After extruding the bag outline 9 inches, I created a sketch using some splines. I then mirrored the splines to create the symmetrical straps. Lastly, I extruded the straps 0.5 inches.

I filleted the bag's back corners with a 1-inch radius fillet.

I created a sketch and, using splines, created an outline that I thought the bag should follow. I then extruded in cut mode to create the rounded bag.

The straps before were just blocks attached to the bag. So, I used another sketch and an extrude cut to separate the straps from the bag, making the model look more realistic.

The whole premise behind this bag was the battery, so I started it by switching off the bag's visibility, making a 10 inch by 14.25 inch battery and making it 0.5 inches deep.

Since I want to be able to use the battery to charge both a laptop, which would require a 120 volt 3-plug outlet, and a phone, which would require a 5-volt usb outlet, I need to wire the battery to an adapter. I didn't actually create the electrical component for an adapter; instead, I just created a black box adjacent to the battery that I called the adapter.

With that, I was ready to turn the bag's visibility on again and make the outlets. I made a sketch and then extruded the outlets so that they would meet the adapter.

I created two zippers by creating two planes at an angle, making rectangles on them, and then extruding the rectangles to get the zippers.

Finally, since the battery needs to be charged too, I created an input plug (the circular hole) that would charge the bag's battery every night.

We now have a chargeable bag model.

Closing Notes:

While it's not 3D printable since it has electrical components that aren't accurate (the "adapter" box is just a box), it's a good model of what a chargeable bag could look like.