Turn a Book Into a Wireless Charger

This instructable shows you how to embed a wireless charger (aka Qi charger) in a book.

Why a book you ask? Because it's so much more appealing on your desk than these cheap looking plastic chargers. :P

Beware: This instructable inflicts some serious damage to a book. I calmed my conscience by arguing that the book would have been thrown away, so I put it to some new use.

Materials and Tools

You won't need a lot of materials or any special tools.

- A book. Any design you like. However it should be big enough for your phone or tablet to lie on and thick enough to carry the charger coil and pcb and optionally the USB plug.
- A wireless charger, these are also known as Qi chargers. I took apart a cheap charger I had lying around, removing the coil and pcb. If this is not for you, you can get the coil and pcb without any casing online.
- A sharp cutter knife, eg. an x-acto or similar
- Paper glue
- A small brush for applying the glue

Plan Ahead

Decide where to place the coil and the pcb. The coil is usually centered under your phone or tablet, so you probably wouldn't want to place it to close to the edges. The book I used for this build was rather small so I decided to put the coil in the very center.
The pcb can be placed anywhere nearby. You can place it near an edge with the USB jack being accessible from the outside. I opted for embedding the USB plug into the book along with the pcb as I plan to use it on my desk having it plugged in all the time anyway.

Make Some Space

For maximum power transmission you want as little space as possible between the coil and your phone. For that reason start cutting the pages from the top.
I left a couple of pages untouched to have the option of sealing the coil and pcb. This is up to you.

Start by cutting the circle for the coil. I used a spray can which happened to be slightly bigger than the coil as a guide for the blade. Use a sharp blade and go slowly. Every so often check if you have removed enough pages.

Repeat the same procedure to create some space for the pcb. I cut the cavity for the USB plug in a separate step which is not necessary I guess. However the plug is much thicker than the pcb and goes down to the back cover of the book I used.

Note: If you have access to a lasercutter you could cut the cavities with it!

Glue

Apply some liquid glue on the edges you cut in the previous step. This is to give the interior a more box-like structure to place the coil and pcb into. I used a small brush to apply a thin layer of glue which worked pretty good. There is special glue out there which is used in book making. I had just some normal glue at hand, ehm, borrowed from my daughter's school bag.
To prevent the pages to get wobbly, place some clear wrap on it and something flat and heavy on top. Let it dry for a couple of hours or overnight.

Enjoy a Good Book ;)

Insert the electronics, plug it in and close the cover. If you plan to use it mostly on your desk I don't think it's necessary to fixate the electronics. Place your mobile or tablet on it and watch with awe.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea or whatever your favourite beverage is and enjoy your new book. ;)

Improvements

For a portable version it would be possible to embed a powerbank into the book. The book would obviously need to be bigger. If you were to carry it around a lot, it is probably a good idea to use a hardcover book and somehow fixate the electronics.

Do you have other ideas? Drop a comment! :)