A USER PROGRAMMABLE BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

Rechargeable batteries are found in almost every battery powered application. Be it portable,

stationary or motive applications, these batteries go hand in hand with battery charging

systems. With energy harvesting being targeted in this day and age, high energy density and

longer lasting batteries with efficient charging systems are being developed by companies

and original equipment manufacturers. Whatever the application may be, rechargeable

batteries, which deliver power to a load or system, have to be replenished or recharged once

their energy is depleted. Battery charging systems must perform this replenishment by using

very fast and efficient methods to extend battery life and to increase periods between charges.

In this regard, they have to be versatile, efficient and user programmable to increase their

applications in numerous battery powered systems. This is to reduce the cost of using

different battery chargers for different types of battery powered applications and also to

provide the convenience of rare battery replacement and extend the periods between charges.

This thesis proposes a user programmable charging system that can charge a Lithium ion

battery from three different input sources, i.e. a wall outlet, a universal serial bus (USB) and

an energy harvesting system. The proposed charging system consists of three main building

blocks, i.e. a pulse charger, a step down DC to DC converter and a switching network

system, to extend the number of applications it can be used for. The switching network

system is to allow charging of a battery via an energy harvesting system, while the step down

converter is used to provide an initial supply voltage to kick start the energy harvesting

system. The pulse charger enables the battery to be charged from a wall outlet or a USB

network. It can also be reconfigured to charge a Nickel Metal

Hydride battery. The final design is implemented on an IBM 0.18µm process. Experimental

results verify the concept of the proposed charging system. The pulse charger is able to be
 reconfigured as a trickle charger and a constant current charger to charge a Li-ion battery and

a Nickel Metal Hydride battery, respectively. The step down converter has a maximum

efficiency of 90% at an input voltage of 3V and the charging of the battery via an energy

harvesting system is also verified.

WIRELESS DOT MATRIX DISPLAY

ABSTRACT

This project will have to consider low power consumption as a criteria. It has to
be such that the power it consumes will be very minimal. Hence proper
components will have to be selected to ensure this. Also, component count will
have to be low. Accuracy of the system is also petinent so as to ensure that
values used for calculations and analysis are very very correct. The project is to
be constructed in modular form so as to enhance ease of assemblying, troble
shooting or mass production. Every part should be detachable in other to
achieve modularity. The block diagram of the system will be modelled after the
different parts making up the system. These different parts are the different
modules in the system. The block diagram will comprise of the power supply
module, the sensor module, the motor control module and the microcontroller
module.
 Power supply: 9volts battery with 7805 as a voltage regulator. AC power was
also be used where necessary.
 Microcontroller: PIC 16F877A
 Buttons: SPST (Single-Pole Single-Throw) switches with 100KΩ resistor to
ensure minimal current flow to the ground when the button is pressed.
 Infra red transmitter and receiver
 Button cells: to provide continues power to the system in case of power failure

WIRELESS GADGET/ SWITCH CONTROL

ABSTRACT

Every embedded system will comprise of the hardware and software part. This
project will achieve its mandate using the following hardware as such; a
microcontroller for the processing of information, LCD to display information
to the user, GSM modem to send and receive SMS, relays for switching power
to the device/gadget, power supply for every circuit component, a comparator
for feedback monitoring, serial communication chip to be alongside the
microcontroller to generate appropriate voltage for the serial port, buttons for
human interaction etc. At the heart of the system is a PIC16F877A
microcontroller which will have a firmware (software) running on it. There will
be four devices/gadgets to be controlled and monitored. The microcontroller
will switch on/off each of these devices/gadgets using a relay and a transistor. A
comparator will then be used alongside the transistor to ensure switching
actually took place. The signal from the comparator is sent to the
microcontroller for monitoring. When a user presses a button, the
microcontroller puts on the busy LED, switches on the socket and monitors the
comparator to get feedback information. It then sends an SMS to the
programmed phone number and updates the status of the switches (sockets) on
the LCD. The LCD interface makes things interactive and then the busy LED
goes off. When a user sends SMS, the GSM modem receives the SMS and
notifies the microcontroller, through the MAX232 serial communication IC,
that an SMS is available. The microcontroller then issues appropriate AT
command to read the SMS. Since the SMS is assumed to be user commands and
instructions to obey, it interprets the SMS and carries out the action of
switching on/off the appropriate socket as indicated in the command and then
sends an SMS back to the programmed phone number telling it the status of
sockets as well as putting this information on the LCD.