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  • Thread starter I_Have_No_F*****_Idea
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I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
I haven't a clue what to look at so i would like to ask for some advice as
to the Simplest way I can do this or what it is i should be looking at....



I would like to construct a very simple on/off electrical switch that is
activated by a secondary momentary on switch...

If it isn't clear then maybe this will help if you understand what i am
going to use it and how....I am tring to construct a LED display for inside
my house that shows the state of my automated roller door ... the 3 states
being all the way down, midway, all the way up.

states 1 and 2 are easy that is all the way down and all the way up. But the
midway point is proving challenging as i would like to activate the LED
circuit (very simple on/off electrical switch ) via a reed switch (secondary
momentary on switch)... so as the door goes up the LED comes on and stays on
until the door comes down and turns it of....

Any thoughts?

thanks
 
R

R. Steve Walz

Jan 1, 1970
0
I_Have_No_F*****_Idea said:
I haven't a clue what to look at so i would like to ask for some advice as
to the Simplest way I can do this or what it is i should be looking at....

I would like to construct a very simple on/off electrical switch that is
activated by a secondary momentary on switch...

If it isn't clear then maybe this will help if you understand what i am
going to use it and how....I am tring to construct a LED display for inside
my house that shows the state of my automated roller door ... the 3 states
being all the way down, midway, all the way up.

states 1 and 2 are easy that is all the way down and all the way up. But the
midway point is proving challenging as i would like to activate the LED
circuit (very simple on/off electrical switch ) via a reed switch (secondary
momentary on switch)... so as the door goes up the LED comes on and stays on
until the door comes down and turns it of....

Any thoughts?

thanks
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I_Have_No_F*****_Idea said:
I haven't a clue what to look at so i would like to ask for some advice as
to the Simplest way I can do this or what it is i should be looking at....



I would like to construct a very simple on/off electrical switch that is
activated by a secondary momentary on switch...

If it isn't clear then maybe this will help if you understand what i am
going to use it and how....I am tring to construct a LED display for inside
my house that shows the state of my automated roller door ... the 3 states
being all the way down, midway, all the way up.

states 1 and 2 are easy that is all the way down and all the way up. But the
midway point is proving challenging as i would like to activate the LED
circuit (very simple on/off electrical switch ) via a reed switch (secondary
momentary on switch)... so as the door goes up the LED comes on and stays on
until the door comes down and turns it of....

Any thoughts?

thanks

Just use the limit switches. When the top limit switch is active (I
don't know if they're NO or NC), it's up. When the bottom switch
is active, it's down. When neither is active, it's in the middle
somewhere.

Hope This Helps!
Rich
 
T

The Raymond Family

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm not sure I understand completely. When you say "midway" don't you mean
not down AND not up. You have a switch that indicates when the door is all
the way down. Another switch indicates all the way up. These two conditions
are required for an automatic door opener, and are included in the
controller box. They are simple leaf switches with adjustable mechanical
setpoints.

So, you have two of the three states. The third state is 'midway', which is
simply NOT UP AND NOT DOW>

Am I missing something?
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks Rich for the imput...

my wife said "what do you want one in the middle for anyway? If you are
having difficulties with that one then why are you making it difficult for
yourself?" My reply: " I want to see if I can do it. I want to learn more
about electronics. And yes I'm a big kid who wants to play."


:)
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanx The raymond family

You are right regarding the limit switches in the merlin door opener, but I
am not confident enough to play around in the guts of the controller unit
for fear of destroying something, so i have tried to set this up completely
separate from the merlin door opener.

The reed switches would be placed on the roller door track, one at the
bottom, one at the midway point and the third one at the top.

the 3 LED represnetation would be: none on =door completely closed, one
light= door partially open, 2 lights= door half open, 3 lights= door
completely open.

As i have said the top and the bottom isn't the problem, I have them working
it is the midway point so forget about the bottom and top.

At the midway point the reed switch is activated momentarily; as the magnet
passes on the roller door ; so this then would turn on a separate ciruit
with the LED..... then when the door closes it is reverse it would turn the
circuit (LED indicating the midway point) off...???

I hope that is clearer then mud... I'm sorry but i really am a rank beginner
when it comes to electronics so i don't know the jargon/ expressions to
explain this simplier...

thanks for the imput....
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I_Have_No_F*****_Idea said:
Thanks Rich for the imput...

my wife said "what do you want one in the middle for anyway? If you are
having difficulties with that one then why are you making it difficult for
yourself?" My reply: " I want to see if I can do it. I want to learn more
about electronics. And yes I'm a big kid who wants to play."


:)

Look up "and gate" on http://www.google.com and see how many different
ways you can make an and gate. Or an or, nand, or nor. And if you
really want to get funky, build a few exclusive ors and an adder,
then it's only a few gazillion iterations from there to supercomputer!

Cheers!
Rich
 
G

Gene

Jan 1, 1970
0
Maybe an idea like I used for something similar to what you are trying to
do. I mounted one micro switch at top of the track. This controls the full
open light when the door is all the was to it's limits buy depressing the
switch lever. For the position of 1/2 open I used a mercury bulb switch
that I mounted on a tilt platform that is activated by a small nub I mounted
on the moving door. When the door goes up the nub tilts the mercury bulb
switch on and when it goes down the nub catches the platform and returns it
to the rest position. So my setup is just mostly mechanical with 2 lights
showing for full open, 1 for partially open (1/2), and 0 for closed. In my
new house I have a TV camera pointing at the front door, driveway and garage
door so I can monitor those area's. Hope this give you some idea's to solve
your problem.
 
T

The Raymond Family

Jan 1, 1970
0
Good suggestion. Another, simpler idea is to mount a magnet strip along the
length of the door that you want the midway switch activated. You can buy
3/4" wide magnet strip with adhesive backing.
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
Gene thanks mate.... worst case scenario i will use a mechanical solution...
but i prefer the non contact solution so far at the bottom and top using the
reed switches and as for the middle it may be the solution i need so will
keep trying to work out the problem using the reed switch/non-contact but
your idea sounds feasible... ;-)

thnx
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
the Raymond Family...

thanks mate... but the roller door in my version of the design has the
magnet physically mounted on the bottom of the roller door, then this magnet
activates the reed switches mounted at the points described
earlier(bottom,midway,top) mounted on the roller door track ( as you
described puting the magnet at the activation point), so that as i have said
isn't the problem it has been the electronic switch that allows a on/off
result from the midway switch....

thnx mate
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
I_Have_No_F*****_Idea said:
thanks mate... but the roller door in my version of the design has the
magnet physically mounted on the bottom of the roller door, then this magnet
activates the reed switches mounted at the points described
earlier(bottom,midway,top) mounted on the roller door track ( as you
described puting the magnet at the activation point), so that as i have said
isn't the problem it has been the electronic switch that allows a on/off
result from the midway switch....

thnx mate
Not only do you not need a third switch, but the scenario you describe
won't give you the indications you're after. When the door is closed,
the down limit switch is actuated (NO or NC remains to be seen - do you
know how to operate a voltmeter?) and your "CLOSED" LED is lit. As soon
as it starts up, the down switch deactivates, the CLOSED LED goes off,
and you have no lights for awhile - then the magnet passes the "mid"
switch, and the "IN THE MIDDLE" LED lights briefly, and goes out as
the door continues to open. At the top, the top limit switch actuates,
and the "OPEN" light comes on.

You don't need to add ANYTHING - the switches are already there - all
you have to do is determine what signal is at them, to decide how
to condition them properly to drive your logic. There are 4 states:
UP, DOWN, MOVING, and BROKEN. To get a reasonable "in transit" signal,
you'd have to line the whole edge of the door with magnets, or do
some sophisticated "is it moving?" - type detection, but that sounds
a little on the advanced side.

Good Luck!
Rich
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
hi rich

with the help of everybody and and a close friend i have struck a solution
that allows everything that i wanted to achieve... thanks again... if anyone
is interested then i 'll post it on a web page and send the link for it
here???


regards and thanks again grrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
I

I_Have_No_F*****_Idea

Jan 1, 1970
0
John fields

Mate i was getting to the point that i diddn't think i was writing clearly
enough, but you just proved to me that i was explaining clearly as what you
describe about the top and the bottom switch is exactly what i am doing with
the reed switches. As for the middle you say about "then use a retriggerable
one-shot to debounce the middle switch and then use the output of the
one-shot to toggle a "D" type flip-flop. " Pardon my ignorance but I have
no idea what you are talking about suffice to say that I am using google to
research those topics. If youwould send the schmatic you spoke about i would
love to learn from it and probably would change my design to your idea.

Mate thanks again.
Grant
 
J

~^Johnny^~

Jan 1, 1970
0

Bull & Gate
Bull & Gate Venue, London
www.bullandgate.co.uk/ - 2k - Cached - Similar pages

History of Bull and Gate
... The Bull and Gate has come on a bit over the years since the
days when Neil Young
used to ride in on his horse and entertain the locals in the front
bar with a ...
www.bullandgate.co.uk/history.htm - 9k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.bullandgate.co.uk ]
--
-john


~~~~~~~~
"The first step in intelligent tinkering is to
save all the parts." - Aldo Leopold
~~~~~~~~
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
John fields

Mate i was getting to the point that i diddn't think i was writing clearly
enough, but you just proved to me that i was explaining clearly as what you
describe about the top and the bottom switch is exactly what i am doing with
the reed switches. As for the middle you say about "then use a retriggerable
one-shot to debounce the middle switch and then use the output of the
one-shot to toggle a "D" type flip-flop. " Pardon my ignorance but I have
no idea what you are talking about suffice to say that I am using google to
research those topics. If youwould send the schmatic you spoke about i would
love to learn from it and probably would change my design to your idea.
 
A

alec_traun

Jan 1, 1970
0
There is a much simpler way to this. If I understand the problem you
would like to have three indicaters - UP MIDWAY DOWN - for your door.
You already have the UP and DOWN and just need some way of indicating
that the door is somewhere inbetween. Simple connect the ouptuts from
your UP and DOWN switches to a 2-input NOR GATE and the output of the
gate to the MIDWAY indicator.


UP --------------- Up LED
| __
=)__)o----- Midway LED
|
DOWN -------------- Down LED

Hope this helps
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
There is a much simpler way to this. If I understand the problem you
would like to have three indicaters - UP MIDWAY DOWN - for your door.
You already have the UP and DOWN and just need some way of indicating
that the door is somewhere inbetween. Simple connect the ouptuts from
your UP and DOWN switches to a 2-input NOR GATE and the output of the
gate to the MIDWAY indicator.


UP --------------- Up LED
| __
=)__)o----- Midway LED
|
DOWN -------------- Down LED

---
I think you must have misunderstood the OP's requirements:


"The reed switches would be placed on the roller door track, one at the
bottom, one at the midway point and the third one at the top.

the 3 LED represnetation would be: none on =door completely closed, one
light= door partially open, 2 lights= door half open, 3 lights= door
completely open.

As i have said the top and the bottom isn't the problem, I have them
working it is the midway point so forget about the bottom and top.

At the midway point the reed switch is activated momentarily; as the
magnet passes on the roller door ; so this then would turn on a separate
ciruit with the LED..... then when the door closes it is reverse it
would turn the circuit (LED indicating the midway point) off...???"


Clearly this is what he's looking for:

DOOR DIRECTION BOTLED MIDLED TOPLED

FULLY CLOSED OFF OFF OFF

OPENING, < HALFWAY OPEN ON OFF OFF

OPENING, AT MIDPOINT ON ON OFF

FULLY OPEN ON ON ON

CLOSING, < HALFWAY CLOSED ON ON OFF

CLOSING, AT MIDPOINT ON OFF OFF

FULLY CLOSED OFF OFF OFF


and, clearly, your circuit won't satisfy those criteria.
 
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