| Last time we looked at my electric relay solution to a problem presented by a 120 volt alternating current (VAC) drive motor operating within an x-ray film processing machine. Now let’s see what happens when we press the button to set the microprocessor into operation.
Figure 1Figure 1 shows that when the button is depressed, the computer program contained within the microprocessor chip goes into action, signaling the start of the control initiative. 5 volts direct current (VDC) is supplied to Output Lead 2, and FET 2 (Field Effect Transistor 2) becomes activated, which allows electric current from the 12 VDC supply to course into the 12 VDC electric relay, through the relay’s wire coil, then conclude its travel into electrical ground. The electric relay components, including a wire coil, steel armature, spring, and normally open (N.O.) contact, are shown within a blue box in our illustration. Current flow is represented by red lines. The control initiative passes from the microprocessor to FET 2, and then to the 12 VDC electric relay, just as the Olympic Torch is relayed through a system of runners. We learned in one of my previous articles on industrial control that when an electric relay coil is energized, electromagnetic attraction pulls its steel armature towards the wire coil and the N.O. electrical contact. In Figure 1 this attraction is represented by a blue arrow. With the N.O. contact closed the drive motor is connected to the 120 VAC input, and the motor is activated.
Figure 2
Figure 2 shows what happens after the button is depressed. The computer program is activated, directing the microprocessor chip to keep 5 VDC on Output Lead 2 and FET 2 while the prerequisite 40 minutes elapses. Thus the relay remains energized and the motor remains on during this time.
Figure 3
In Figure 3, at the end of the 40 minute countdown, the computer program applies 0 VDC to Output Lead 2. FET 2 then turns off the current flow to the relay and it begins to de-energize, causing the spring to pull the steel armature away from the N.O. contact and the 120 VAC power supply to be interrupted. The motor is deactivated. At the same time, the computer program applies 5 VDC to Output Lead 1 and FET 1 for 2 seconds. FET 1 turns on the flow of current through the buzzer, causing it to sound off and signal that the x-ray film processing machine is ready for use. Next time we’ll look at how transistors are used to regulate voltage within direct current power supplies like the one shown in Figure 3 above. ____________________________________________ |
Posts Tagged ‘MOSFET’
Transistors – Digital Control Interface, Part III
Sunday, July 1st, 2012| When I was in engineering school in the mid 1970s microprocessor chips were still a fairly new concept. Scientific calculators were the size of a brick back then, and they weighed almost as much, and there were no personal computers.
I remember doing homework on the UNIVAC 1108 mainframe computer at school. To program it I had to sit at a monster of a keypunching machine for which I punched an endless array of holes into paper cards. These holes acted as the programming logic to instruct the computer what functions to perform. The 1108 computer’s mainframe was so huge it was housed in an adjoining room the size of a house. Since the 1980s advances in microprocessor technology have increased computing power and dramatically reduced the size of components, making things like laptops, smart phones, and sophisticated electronic products possible. Last time we began looking at my design solution for the control of a machine which developed medical x-ray film and made use of a microprocessor chip to automate its operation. A field effect transistor (FET) acts as a digital control interface between its 5 volt direct current (VDC) microprocessor and a 12 VDC buzzer. Figure 1 shows what happens when someone presses the button to put everything into action and the microprocessor starts timing. Figure 1
With the button depressed the chip senses 5 VDC from the power supply on its input lead. This in turn signals the computer program to turn the product on. The program then begins counting down the minutes, all the while maintaining a 0 voltage output from the chip’s output lead. With no voltage present on its G lead, the FET does not permit electrical current to flow from the 12 VDC supply, through the buzzer, through D and S, and down to electrical ground. The buzzer remains silent.
Figure 2Figure 2 shows what happens when the program begins its 40-minute warming sequence. The chip raises the output lead voltage to 5 VDC and applies it to G, then the FET permits electric current to flow through it to ground from the 12 VDC supply and the buzzer. Now supplied with power, the buzzer sounds. Then, per programming instructions, after 2 seconds the program shuts off the voltage in the chip’s output lead, current is cut off, and the buzzer goes silent. Next time we’ll see how an FET can be used as an interface between a microprocessor and another higher powered device, that of a 120 VAC motor that’s used to move x-ray film through a series of processes within the developer.
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Transistors
Sunday, June 10th, 2012| Back in the 60s my dad spent about $25 to buy a small transistor radio. That was a lot of money in those days, but well worth it. The new transistor technology allowed for a much less cumbersome radio to be produced. No more lugging around big radios armed with heavy vacuum tubes. In the years that followed the word transistor became a household word. They were employed in a variety of ways within televisions and other electronic devices, increasing both their reliability and functionality.
So what is a transistor and what does it do? It’s an electronic component, developed in the late 1940s. The first transistor was about as big as a softball and crudely made. As such, it was too impractical for commercial use. Then in the l950s technological advancements made commercial production of smaller, high-quality transistors possible. Transistors enjoyed widespread introduction to the consuming mainstream in the l960s, and since then they’ve been made in many different types, shapes, and sizes. Some are shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1
A commonly used type of transistor is called a field effect transistor, or FET, one of which is shown in Figure 2. The FET has three metal leads which allow it to be connected into electrical circuits. These leads are referred to as the drain (D), the source (S), and the gate (G).
Figure 2
FET’s control the flow of current within an electronic circuit. A good way to understand what they do is to consider the analogy of water flowing through a faucet.
Figure 3
Figure 3 shows a faucet, complete with valve and handle. With the valve closed the flow of water is completely shut off. If the valve is opened partway by rotation of the handle, a trickle of water emerges. The more the handle is turned and valve is opened, the greater the flow of water. The FET shown in Figure 4 operates a lot like a faucet, but with regard to electrical current. Figure 4
The FET controls the flow of current flowing through its D and S leads, but it does not employ a valve or handle to do it. Rather, flow rate is controlled by application of a small amount of voltage to the G lead. The voltage’s influence on the G lead influences the FET to permit current to flow in through the D lead, then out through the S lead. The amount of voltage applied to the G lead is directly related to how much current will be allowed to flow. In this example the D lead on the FET is connected to a 10 volt direct current (VDC) power supply. The S lead is connected to a flashlight bulb which is connected to electrical ground. If you will remember from previous blogs, electric current naturally wants to flow from the supply source to ground, much like water wants to naturally flow downhill. If the bulb was connected directly to the 10 VDC power supply, current would flow through unimpeded and the bulb would light. However, in Figure 4 the FET acts as a regulating device. It’s connected between the 10 VDC power supply and the bulb. When no voltage is applied to the G lead the FET acts like a closed valve and current is unable to flow. Without current we, of course, have no light. When a low amount of voltage, say one volt, is applied to the G lead, the FET acts like a partially opened valve. It permits a trickle of current to flow from the 10 VDC supply to the bulb, and the bulb glows dimly. As voltage to G increases the FET valve opens further, permitting more current to flow. The bulb glows with increasing brightness. When the voltage applied to G increases to the point the FET valve is opened fully, in our example that is 2 volts, full current is allowed to flow from the 10 VDC supply to the bulb. The bulb glows brightly. Generally speaking, the voltage required to be applied to G for control of current flow through an FET depends on overall design and the particular application within an electrical circuit. FETs are often used within electronic devices to turn things on and off, with no other function in between. Next time we’ll look at some example circuits to see how it’s done. ____________________________________________ |
