Power failure alarm

Sometimes there is need of devices which should intimate us when power goes off, so that we could switch off our devices if they are battery operated or they are getting power from some other limited source [such as for computer using UPS(uninterrupted power supply)]. This project can solve our purpose and can intimate us if power supply fails. This circuit has a 555 timer at its heart and following components that aid its working: 1. 2. 3. 4. 1N4148 Diodes Resistors in the range of Kilo and Mega Ohms. Capacitors at the range of Micro Farads and Nano Farads. A 9volt battery taking care of the power supply of the circuit.

Working:
The circuit of this project uses a 555 in astable mode producing a frequency of about hertz, by using resistors of 100k as R1, 1M? as R2 and capacitor C1 of 1 micro farad. What makes this circuit different is the diodes connected at pin7 and pin2 from voltage supply. When supply is present at these diodes they become forward biased and supply some extra voltage at pin7 and pin2 and consequently circuit does not work. Pin 7 and pin 2 work only when voltage at them is two- third and onethird of Vcc (here 9Volts) respectively & do not work even at high voltage or low voltage. This concept is used in this circuit. When power supply fails to arrive at these diodes pin7 and pin2 functions normally circuit works and sounds buzzer. Even when power supply fails diodes have some work to do; they become reverse biased and does not allow current to flow in direction of power supply.

555 is a very commonly used IC for generating accurate timing pulses. It is an 8pin timer IC and has mainly two modes of operation: monostable and astable. In monostable mode time delay of the pulses can be precisely controlled by an external resistor and a capacitor whereas in astable mode the frequency & duty cycle are controlled by two external resistors and a capacitor. 555 is very commonly used for generating time delays and pulses.
Pin Diagram:

Pin Description:

Pin No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Function Ground (0V) Voltage below 1/3 Vcc to trigger the pulse Pulsating output Active low; interrupts the timing interval at Output Provides access to the internal voltage divider; default 2/3 Vcc The pulse ends when the voltage is greater than Control Open collector output; to discharge the capacitor Supply voltage; 5V (4.5V - 16 V)

Name Ground Trigger Output Reset Control Voltage Threshold Discharge Vcc

The piezo buzzer produces sound based on reverse of the piezoelectric effect. The generation of pressure variation or strain by the application of electric potential across a piezoelectric material is the underlying principle. These buzzers can be used alert a user of an event corresponding to a switching action, counter signal or sensor input. They are also used in alarm circuits.

The buzzer produces a same noisy sound irrespective of the voltage variation applied to it. It consists of piezo crystals between two conductors. When a potential is applied across these crystals, they push on one conductor and pull on the other. This, push and pull action, results in a sound wave. Most buzzers produce sound in the range of 2 to 4 kHz. The Red lead is connected to the Input and the Black lead is connected to Ground. Click to read more about internal structure and working of a piezo buzzer.
Pin Diagram:

20339 reads

1N4148 is a high speed switching diode. The switching diodes are designed such that their reverse recovery time is very small compared to ordinary diodes. The typical switching time is 4 nsec. It comes in hermetically sealed leaded glass package. The PIV rating is 100V. The maximum repetitive peak forward current is 450 mA. Other high speed switching diode is 1N4448.

Pin Diagram:

Whats is a resistance? The property of a substance, which oppses the flow of an electric current through it is called a resistance. Its is measured in ohms and is represented by letter R. Each resistor has two main characteristics. 1) Its resistance value in ohms and 2) its power dissipating capacity in watts Resistors are employed for many purposes such as electric heaters,telephone equipments, electric and electronic circuit elements and in current limiting devices. As resistors are used in wide applications

there values like power rating,R value, tolerance etc vary. Resistors of resistance value ranging from .1ohms to many mega ohms are manufatured. Acceptable tolerance levels range from +/- 20% to as low as +/-.001%. The power rating may be as low as 1/10 watts and can be in several hundred watts. These all vary in range and type of application a particular resistor is used. Classification of Resistors: From operating conditions point of view, resistors can be classified into two. 1) Fixed resistors

2) Adjustable/ variable resistors

1) Fixed resistors are further classified into: a) Carbon composition type resistors b) Metalized type resistors c) Wire wound type resistors a) Carbon composition type resistors: This is the most common type of low wattage resistor. The resistive material is of carbon-clay composition and the leads are made of tinned copper. These resistors are cheap and reliable and stability is high. b)Wire wound resistors: These resistors are a length of wire wound an insulating cylindrical core. Usually wires of material such as constantan (60% copper and 40% nickel) and manganin which have high resistivities and low temperature coefficients are employed. The completed wire wound resistor is coated with an insulating material such as baked enamel. c) Metalized resistors It is constructed using film deposition techniques of depositing a thick film of resistive material onto an insulating substrate.Only approximate values of resistance can be had by this method. 2) Variable resistors For circuits requiring a resistance that can be adjusted while it remains connected in the circuit(for eg: volume control on radio), variable resistors are required. They usually have 3 lead two fixed and one movable.

Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors the transformer's coils or "windings". Transformer is used here to step down the supply voltage to a level suitable for the low voltage components. The transformer used here is a 230/(12V-0-12V) step down transformer.

Regulator Section

A voltage regulator is an electrical regulator designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level. IC 7809 is used here. It is a 9V regulator. It regulates the rectified 12V to 9V. This 9V is supplied to the whole circuit.

Opto Coupler

An Opto coupler is used to transmit either analog or digital information from one voltage potential to another while maintaining isolation of potentials. It is used for low voltages. MCT2E is the opto coupler used here. MCT2E is NPN silicon planar phototransistor optically coupled to a gallium arsenide infrared emitting diode. It is used to trigger the monostable multivibrator(IC3).

Opto Isolator

An Opto isolator is used to transmit either analog or digital information from one voltage potential to another while maintaining isolation of the potentials. Its operating voltage is higher than that of an Opto coupler. Here, MOC3021 is used as opto isolator. It is used to drive the Triac BT136.

Triac BT 136

A TRIAC, or TRIode for Alternating Current is an electronic component approximately equivalent to two silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs/thyristors) joined in inverse parallel (paralleled but with the polarity reversed) and with their gates connected together. The formal name for a TRIAC is bidirectional triode thyristor. This results in a bidirectional electronic switch which can conduct current in either direction when it is triggered (turned on) and thus doesn't have any polarity. It can be triggered by either a positive or a negative voltage being applied to its gate electrode (with respect to A1, otherwise known as MT1). Once triggered, the device continues to conduct until the current through it drops below a certain threshold value, the holding current, such as at the end of a half-cycle of alternating current (AC) mains power. In addition, applying a trigger pulse at a controllable point in an AC cycle allows one to control the percentage of current that flows through the TRIAC to the load (phase control). The triac used here is BT136. It is thyristor with a firing angle nearly 45o. A snubber circuit consisting of a resistor and capacitor is used to control the firing angle of Triac. This firing angle determines the speed of the fan.

WORKING OF THE CIRCUIT The 230 V from AC mains is stepped down to 12V and Regulated by IC7809, capacitor and Diodes to 9V. This filtered 9V is used for providing supply to the entire circuit. Any button of remote control can be used to control the speed of the fan. The remote control produces infrared rays which is received by the TSOP infrared receives module. The TSOP used here is TSOP 1738. It is capable for receiving signals up to 38 KHZ. The infrared rays are received by the TSOP sensor and its output is given as a trigger to the first monostable multivibrator NE 555 through a LED and Resistor R4. This NE555 which is wired as Monostable multivibrator is used to delay the clock to decade counter CD 4017. We can directly give the output of TSOP to decade counter, but while doing so all the small pulse or noises may also act as clock to counter and counter starts counting. The decade counter has ten outputs from Q0 to Q9. But here we are using only Q0 to Q4. Q5 is not used and Q6 is used to reset the counter. The output of decade counter is taken through Resistors R5 to R9. The resistor R5 to R9 and capacitor C5 controls the pulse width which is actually determining the speed of the fan. If the Q0 output is high the capacitor C5 is charged through R5, if Q1 is high capacitor C5 is charged through R6 and so on, thereby controlling the speed of the fan accordingly. Here we are controlling the speed of the fan in five levels that is why we are taking five outputs (A0 to Q4).

Another NE 555 is used here which is also wired as monostable multivibrator. This monostable multivibrator is triggered by pulses from opto coupler MCT2E. It is wired as Zero crossing detector. The output from decade counter is given to NE555 and this is given to the transistor BC548. It is given to the Opto isolator MOC 3021. It is used for driving the Triac BT136. Triac is a type of thyristor. Here the resistor R13 (470hm) and capacitor C7 (0.01F) combination is used as snubber network for the Triac.

The Resistors R5 to R9 and capacitor C5 are used to control the pulse width. When Q0 output is high the pulse width is maximum, when Q1 output is high pulse width is decreased slightly. As the pulse width decreases firing angle of the triac increases and speed of the fan also increases. By using remote control we are actually controlling pulse width, which in turn varies the firing angle of triac, and there by varying the speed of the fan.

COMPONENTS LIST 1. IR Receiver Module - TSOP 1738 2. IC NE555 3. Opto Coupler - IC MCT2E 4. Opto Isolator - IC MOC 3021 5. Voltage Regulator - IC 7809 6. Decade Counter - IC CD4017 7. Transformer 230/(12V -0-12V) 8. Light Emitting Diode 9. Diodes - IN4148, IN 4007 10. Transistor - BC548 11. Triac - BT136 12. Resistors - 1K, 100K, 330, 47K , 33K, 27K, 20K, 12K, 3.3K, 470 , 5.6 K, 10 K, 47 13. Capacitors 0.01 F /400V, 4.7 F /16V, 10 F /16V, 1 F /16V, 0.22F, 470 /50V 14. Zener Diode - 5.1V