Solar Panel and Phone Mount Integration
By Malak Alamad (Design and Manufacturing) | Fall 2017 | Sojourner Team
Introduction:
Part of the requirement for the design of the Sojourner is to have a phone and solar mount. We thought of many different designs before we finalized the way it would look. Our final product was chosen based on it being lightweight and efficient.
Discussion:
The solar and phone mount was designed in a way to easily hold both the phone and solar panels, but it was also designed to be lightweight. The top of the mount will hold the solar panels. They will lie horizontally next to each other. There is a depression in the bottom of the board to allow for the wiring to run through without interference. The solar panels will be linked in parallel and attached to a micro USB cable to charge the battery. It will be stored near the phone and taken out when necessary. There is also a small circular hole for easy access between the solar panels and the battery. The inner slot of the mount will hold the phone. The phone we will be using is the iPhone 7, because it is the most lightweight out of all the phones in the group. The dimensions of the phone mount are optimized for the iPhone 7. The phone mount won’t completely cover the iPhone. It will be protruding enough for the periscope to be attached to the camera for a video feed. the phone mount will attach to the chassis via three screw mounts. there will be two on the side and one on the back. An image of the solar and phone mount is shown below, along with photos of its dimensions.
Conclusion:
The solar mount will be used to hold the solar panels to power the battery and the phone mount will hold the phone with the periscope attachment to allow for a video feed through the Arxterra app.