Go Green With Smart Mate

Get yourself closer to the nature with this smart mate.This bicycle is great for evening fun rides or camping with your friends. This cycle can meet the basic needs while riding on it.Here are the features of this mate:

Dual seats

Automatic Friction powered Brake Lights

Automatic solar powered indicator lights

Wind powered Dark activated Safety LED

Automatic infra-red activated mini horn

Most of the materials can be found at home or workshop.Here is the list of materials required for making this.

Starting with the dual seats

Zip lock ties

aluminium wire

Spare bicycle seat

Next moving on to solar powered

12v 3watt solar panel

6v lead acid battery

0.1micro farad Capacitor

10micro farad Capacitor

5K linear potentiometer

240 Ohm resistor

LM317 voltage regulator IC

Automatic indicators

6 x Cool white 5mm LED's

9'' perforated metal strip

Self centering switch

metal U shaped clamp

Automatic Infra-red horn

100ohm resistor

10k resistor

10k linear potentiometer

IR LED

photo diode(IR receiver)

IC lm358

1K resistor

330ohm resistor x 2

Red LED

3v buzzer

2N2222 NPN Transistor

Brake Lights

16 x Red color

Push to on switch

Plastic L bracket

4'' x 3'' Plastic Box

perforated PCB board (3.5" x 2.5'')

3v to 5v DC motor

small 2'' plastic/sponge wheel

Zip lock ties

Motor clamps

Wind powered Dark activated Safety Light

Photo resistor

2n3904 NPN transistor

100K resistor

330 ohm resistor

1 watt power led

3 volts DC motor

mini plastic toy fan (3" to 4'')

Miscellaneous

Zip lock ties

Super Glue

Hot glue

Double sided adhesive tape

Insulated copper/ aluminium Wire (10 meters)

Tools

Needle nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

Electric drill

Various size Drill bits

Soldering kit

Here is the schematic representation of various devices placed on this bike. This is just a pictorial representation, the actual design may be a little different.

Fixing an additional seat at the back of the carrier is quite simple but one must make it sturdy and tighten it completely with aluminium wire and zip locks. Zip locks are only used to make the seat tight while the real strength lies with the aluminium wire. This secondary seat is mainly for kids to ride on. To fix the seat to the back carrier, cut a piece of aluminium wire about a feet and wind it tightly to metal wire of the seat leaving about another half to wind with the carrier. Do the same with both the sides (left and right of the carrier and the seat). I suggest using aluminium wire over metal as it wont rust or corrode. To do this step either use needle nose pliers or nose pliers or you may use both of them. After tightening them with wire, tie a few sturdy zip locks the same way as the wire. Here you go! A nice little seat is ready to use!

The working behind this is the push to on switch! The switch is either mounted on one of the handle or brake. In the above photo, the switch is mounted on the handle of the bike. So,when the brake is applied,it pushes the switch thus,activating it. In turn it activates the red LED array mounted at the back. To mount the switch, holes should be drilled on the plastic L bracket according to the switch going to be mounted on. Before mounting the switch, make sure to solder wires for it. Mounting can be done by using rubber bands and Zip lock ties.

(Complete circuit diagram on Step 5,'Friction Powered')

Construct 4 x 4 LED lights on perforated PCB and solder on sufficient length of wire. You can refer to the circuit diagram in the above photo. After making the array, place it in a transparent plastic box for protection and drill a hole on the plastic box to mount it on the cycle. You can use a 4mm screw to fix it onto the bike.

Speed can generate electricity! Here is a small 3 v Dc motor clamped to the bike with zip lock ties. A small sponge wheel is attached to the shaft. Make sure that the wheel slightly touches the wheel's rim.

Now mounting the solar panel is also easy. But is becomes easiest with zip locks! Zip lock ties are the best to tie anything. Choose a convenient place to mount the solar panel, especially between both the handles. Make sure that the panel has an aluminium frame around it so that holes can be drilled. One hole at the center of the frame on the either sides is made to zip lock it to the front carrier. Make sure to have soldered enough length of wire on the tabs of the panel.

Complete circuit diagram on Step 7 and step 8

Smart, smart! presenting the automatic indicators! A combination of electronic and mechanical work! The main component of the mechanical work is the self centering switch. First the switch should be mounted on a metal U shaped clamp. I have used a plastic block between the switch and the clamp to achieve some height and reach the hepta-nut where the axle rotates. Here is how it works: The hepta-nut has seven surfaces.Only one surface is used for the mechanism. When the handle is perpendicular to the bicycle, the stick of the switch stays centered. But when the handle is deflected, say right, the stick slides over the nut's surface and deflects left. Thus completing the circuit and switching on the right indicator. When the handle of the bike is brought perpendicular to the bike, the stick of the switch slides back and returns to it original position,thus turning off the indicator. Same mechanism is applied on the other side.

Now coming back to electronic part, 3 number of LED's are glued to the either sides of the perforated metal strip. So total 6 number of LED's are glued using super CA glue. Please refer the circuit diagram for more details on connections of wire etc. You may use red color LED's but here I have used white and color taped it. Always use hot glue to water proof any component. Using one of the holes at the center, screw the indicator device to the bike.

You can take a look at the photos where the handle is turned left and left light glows!Vice versa

Starting with the mudguard, make it in the shape of a teardrop and bend it according to the wheel in such a way that there is a little clearance between both of these. Tighten this mudguard with the screw of the front carrier of the bike. Make sure it fits snug and doesn't move. Cover the whole structure with colored packing tape. At the bottom of the structure, attach a circular metal piece. Here, I have used an old wrist watch dial. Now make the IR object sensor by referring to the circuit given above. After making the circuit, mount it on metal piece by using double sided adhesive tape. Use a good quality tape like the 3M which is water proof and you can also hot glue every component to make it water proof. Make the circuit according to diagram. The small black block with metal legs is called an 'IC',integrated circuit. This small thing is a collection of many circuits under one platform. Resistor's lower the voltage and current flow while the capacitors store electrostatic current. Transistors are used to amplify and switch electronic signals.

The IR LED transmits the signals, while the receiver only receives if the signals are reflected back to it. So,when an object is brought closer, it horns automatically.

Take a piece of circular aluminium plate, about 2 inch diameter and drill holes to mount the dc motor on it. Also drill a few more to tie it with Zip Locks. Mount the plate on a place where it is easily accessible to the wind using zip lock ties and mount the dc motor using screws of diameter 2 mm. After mounting both, slip in a small plastic fan onto the motor's shaft.

(Complete circuit on Step 10,'Dark activated LED')

Do you know that LED's are ruling over CFL? These emit equal amount of lumens as the CFL and lasts several times longer than fluorescent bulbs. Power LED's need proper heat sinking to avoid overheating. Here the circuit for dark detecting is easy. The main Sensor which detects light is the photo-resistor.Make the circuit and place it in a place where light is accessible for the sensor to detect. Here I have used Double sided adhesive tape to mount both of them, the circuit as well as the LED with heat sink. Screws can also be used.

That is it! Enjoy your ride with your favourite Mate!