The Comfortable Distance

 

BKJ, Bike Sketch (2014)

This project is my second project for the Design And Engineering course. The purpose of this project was to design a bike to fit a certain user’s needs. At the very start of this project we got a persona sheet which explained the user’s needs, how far this person travels, and where they live in Chicago. We learned about many types of bikes like electric, cargo, Divvy, etc. and also how all of those bikes work and what's unique about them. I was personally proud of our initial design because I feel that we took everything into consideration when designing for Travis and I feel that we really fit his needs. The purpose of this assignment was to design a bike for a persona that was assigned to us. The assigned persona came with needs that you had to meet and certain obstacles your persona had to overcome. Then we had to take all that into consideration and design a bike for that persona.

When we first started designing our bike we looked up parts on the internet but then we learned that we don't have to do something that has already been done. We also learned that it doesn’t really matter how the frame is set up as long as it still has the components to make up a bike. Another important thing I learned is that handlebars can make the bike more aerodynamic. An example would be the drop down handlebars which would make you sit in a crouching position and make you more aerodynamic. When designing the bike for our assigned person we had to make the bike fast, comfortable, and stable for the ride. My partner interviewed Anne and she said “I need to be able to ride fast, comfortable, and stable when I’m riding.” which is basically exactly what our persona needed. Our targeted user is a 17 year old high school student named Travis. Travis lives on the third story in the South Side of Chicago. His day includes carrying a bike up and down three flights of stairs and traveling 10 miles to school and back on a bike. With that being said we knew that he had to have a bike that was fast, aerodynamic, and light.

The bike that we came up with is great because it is ultra light which makes it easy to carry. That is important because our persona lives on the 3rd floor and has to carry his bike down the stairs every day. Our bike is also extremely easy to lock because it has a retractable lock that is built into the frame. The lock is five feet long so it is easy to wrap around the whole bike so people can't even steal individual parts. Our bike has built in shocks under the seat and by the front to make the ride even more comfortable. Another reason the ride is comfortable is because we added a memory foam seat that is still slim enough to be aerodynamic.

Our bike holds some unique benefits. Our bike is a road bike with shocks, a storage compartment, and a built-in, retractable lock. The shocks combined with the road bike type frame induce a very comfortable ride while keeping it aerodynamic. The carbon frame and wheels make it extremely light and easy to carry up and down three flights of stairs at the end of a long ride. The retractable lock makes it extremely easy to lock up anywhere. For more comfort we added a bag to the frame that is slim but can still hold everything our persona needs for school. Travis should believe in this design because it is made to be easy to carry up and down three flights of stairs, is aerodynamic to fly against the wind, and is easy to lock up when he gets to school. The road bike type frame allows him to travel at high speeds. On top of all that he doesn't have to carry a book bag on his back anymore, he can just store it in the compartment attached to the frame.

We did run into some obstacles while designing the bike such as, we had to make the bike light and fast. To fix the speed part we wanted to make the bike electric but when we were on FE we learned that electric bikes are very heavy so we quickly ruled that out. Another thing that made the process harder is that we wanted to add drop down handles. However, one of the considerations was that the bike had to be comfortable and those type of handlebars force you to sit in a crouching position, which is not very comfortable at all.The estimated time that it would take our persona to get to school from his house is about 56 minutes to an hour. Travis is travelling 10 mph 4.47 meters per second. The Comfortable Distance Tire’s diameter is 31 inches. The circumference is 97.34 inches around. The Comfortable Distance’s wheel will rotate 6501.46 times from Travis’s house to his school.

 

BKJ, Bike Terrain (2014)

The Revolutionary Cultivator



 This project is for my Math and Science class named Design and Engineering. The purpose of this project was to redesign a tool to make it more fit for the elderly to use. the reason we targeted the elderly as the user is because we learned that companies usually do not make products with the elderly in mind. We learned a lot about different tools for gardening and other tasks and also their use. I also learned that carbon fiber is commonly used in tools now-a-days because it is lighter than wood but it has more recoil when you strike a hard object. I am proud of our tool because we put a lot of thought and effort into designing the tool and I feel we also explained it very well

 

BKJ Cultivator (2014) 

The purpose of this assignment is to design a tool that would be easier for old people to use. Our users are old people and what makes them unique is that it’s harder for them to do tasks that may seem simple to us.

 We learned about the different purposes of different tools. For instance, a carbon fiber shaft may be more lightweight than a wooden or a metal shaft, but it also creates more impact shock on the hands. They also told us that the size of the handle can make a difference because some people cannot bend down without pain so the longer handle will make the job easier. Also the longer handle will make it easier to cover larger areas.

When we were at Home Depot we learned that most tools are not that sharp because some people will run their fingers across the blade and cut themselves by accident. When we did our interview HP's mom said "Hand cultivators need to be sharp so they can dig through clay soil or hard compacted soil." After evaluating both points we decided to add little rubber guards that you put on after each use and take off when in use to give the user protection from our sharp blade.

 Some things that we learned about hand cultivators are that the hand cultivator doesn't always have a short handle. It also doesn't always have a wedge on the back of it. The hand cultivator is sometimes pushed like a lawnmower.

Our tool is a multi-purpose hand cultivator that can not only stir up dirt, but it can also take out rocks and weeds from the soil. It does this by using its two different blades on the top to stir up the dirt. The flat side is used to break up the dirt into big pieces and the prongs on the other side are used to break up the dirt into smaller pieces. The claw at the top is used to pick up rocks using a rope at the handle that the user pulls. Weeds can also be hacked apart and then pulled out using the flat wedge on the tool.

Our new tool makes the task at hand so much easier for everyone because not only do we have add-ons but we also improved the parts that were already there. We added serrated edges to the prongs to cut up weeds and also to break down hard dirt into smaller pieces. We also made the flat side have a sharper end which allows us to cut into the dirt better with less force. Then we decided to add a claw on top of the tool to remove unwanted objects out of your garden such as rocks, glass, feces, etc. We also added it to transport dirt from one plot in your garden to another with less work and also less tools. It uses a wedge to get into the dirt so that it can be stirred up so that oxygen can get into it. It also uses wedges to get out weeds and rocks from the soil. A wedge is a triangular shaped object the goes from small to large and is used to insert itself into objects. In conclusion, our tool is better, stronger, lighter, and has more uses than most hand cultivators. At first we sketched up the design with ash wood for the handle but then realized that with all the add-ons it was going to be too heavy for an old person to use so we decided to use carbon fiber because we learned from the people at Home Depot that carbon fiber is way lighter and easier to use

BKJ Storyboard (2014)

 In the first slide it shows a picture of a person grabbing the tool for a garage. the second slide depicts a person using the serrated edges on the prongs of the tool to rip out weeds from the ground. In the third picture it shows a person picking up feces with the claw on top of our tool by pulling the rope which closes the claw allowing him to move it. In the fourth box it show the person using the flat side of the tool to loosen up the dirt to get air into the soil

 

BKJ Storyboard (2014)

 

The fifth slide show a person washing off the tool by running it under a sink with good water pressure. Last but not least the person is seen handing up the tool at the end of use.

BKJ Forces (2014)

In the picture above it shows the way the force is going by using and we decided that since you swing downward then all the force will be facing down