Acknowledgement

**********

As it is said a single flower doesnt make a garland.

This thought hold true for this project. I would like to thank my teachers who have always
supported me throughout, and have given me the extra motivation to succeed during difficult
times. I would like to thank the members of the Traffic light team. I have thoroughly enjoyed
working with my team as it has given me the opportunity to gain valuable work experience
and gain some practical skills which complement my college studies.
I would like to specially thank our supervisor, Mr Taher and Mr Abubacker for all his time,
invaluable advice and encouragement throughout the project.

**************

09003 Faisal Chowdhury

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2

DISCUSSION

CHAPTER 3

RESULT AND CONCLUSION

CHAPTER 4

RECOMMENDATION

CHAPTER 5

REFRENCES

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1. Introduction

Traffic Light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, are
signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other
locations to control competing flows of traffic. Traffic lights have been installed in
most cities around the world. They assign the right of way to road users by the use of
lights in standard colors (Red - Amber - Green), using a universal color code (and a
precise sequence, for those who are color blind). Traditionally, incandescent and
halogen bulbs were used. Because of the low efficiency of light output and
a single point of failure (filament burnout) municipalities are increasing
retrofitting traffic signals with LED arrays that consume less power, have
increased light output, last significantly longer, and in the event of an
individual LED failure, still operates albeit with a reduced light output. With

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the use of optics, the light pattern of an LED array can be comparable with
the pattern of an incandescent or halogon bulb.

Typically traffic lights consist of a set of three colored lights: red, amber and green. In a
typical cycle,

Illumination of the green light allows traffic to proceed in the direction denoted,

Illumination of the amber light denoting if safe to, prepare to stop short of the
intersection, and

Illumination of the red signal prohibits any traffic from proceeding.

***************

09003 Faisal Chowdhury

Discussion

This project operates red, amber and green LEDs in the correct sequence for a single traffic
light. The time taken for the complete red - red & amber - green amber sequence can be
varied from about 7s to about 2 minutes by adjusting the 1M preset. Yellow LED is used
instead of amber. The 555 astable circuit provides clock pulses for the 4017 counter which
has ten outputs (Q0 to Q9). Each output becomes high in turn as the clock pulses are
received. Appropriate outputs are combined with diodes to supply the amber and green LEDs.
The red LED is connected to the 10 output which is high for the first 5 counts (Q0-Q4 high),
this saves using 5 diodes for red and simplifies the circuit.

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Parts Used
resistors: 470 3, 22k, 100k 555 timer IC, such as NE555
capacitors: 0.1F, 1F 16V radial, 10F 16V radial 4017 counter IC
diodes: 1N4148 6 DIL sockets: 8-pin, 16-pin
LEDs: red, amber (or yellow), green on/off switch
1M preset, horizontal battery clip for 9V PP3
stripboard: 20 rows 21 holes

Circuit diagram

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Stripboard Layout and LED connections

Soldering precaution taken

Components

Pictures

Reminders and
Warnings

IC Holders
(DIL sockets)

Connect the correct way

round by making sure the
notch is at the correct end.
Do NOT put the ICs (chips)
in yet.

Resistors

No special precautions are

needed with resistors.

Small value
capacitors
(usually less
than 1F)

Electrolytic
capacitors
(1F and

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may be connected either

way round.

Connect the correct way

round. They will be marked

greater)

with a + or - near one lead.

Diodes

Connected the correct

way round.

Connected the correct

way round.
The diagram may be
labelled a or + for anode
and k or - for cathode; yes,
it really is k, not c, for
cathode! The cathode is the
short lead and there may be
a slight flat on the body of
round LEDs.

LEDs

Wire Links
between points
on the circuit
board.

Use single core wire, this is

one solid wire which is
plastic-coated.
single core wire

Battery clips,
buzzers and
other parts with
their own wires

If there is no danger of
touching other parts you can
use tinned copper wire, this
has no plastic coating and
looks just like solder but it is
stiffer.

Connected the correct

way round.

Connected the correct

way round.
Many ICs are static
sensitive.
10

ICs (chips)

Details of the components used -:

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Carefully inserted ICs in

their holders: make sure all
the pins are lined up with
the socket then push down
firmly with your thumb.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Function -LEDs emit light when an electric current passes
through them. LEDs have a + for anode and k or - for
cathode .The cathode is the short lead and there may be a slight flat on the
body of round LEDs. Inside the LED the cathode is the larger electrode. LEDs
can be damaged by heat when soldering, but the risk is small unless you are very slow.
Special precautions are needed for soldering most LEDs.
Testing an LED
LED cannot be directly connected to a battery or power supply
it will be destroyed because too much current will pass through and burn
it out. LEDs must have a resistor in series to limit the current to a safe
value, for quick testing purposes a 1k
if your supply voltage is 12V or less.

Presets
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resistor is suitable for most LEDs

These are miniature versions of the standard variable resistor. They are designed to be
mounted directly onto the circuit board and adjusted only when the circuit
is built. For example to set the frequency of an alarm tone or the sensitivity of
a light-sensitive circuit. A small screwdriver or similar tool is required to
adjust presets. Presets are much cheaper than standard variable resistors so
they are sometimes used in projects where a standard variable resistor would Preset Symbol
normally be used. Multiturn presets are used where very precise adjustments
must be made. The screw must be turned many times (10+) to move the slider from one end
of the track to the other, giving very fine control.

Preset

Presets

(open style)

(closed style)

Multiturn preset

555/556 Astable
An astable circuit produces a 'square wave;

555 astable output, a square wave

(Tm and Ts may be different)

this is a digital waveform with sharp transitions

555 astable circuit
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between low (0V) and high (+Vs). The durations of the low and high states may be different.
The circuit is called an astable because it is not stable in any state: the output is continually
changing between 'low' and 'high'.
The time period (T) of the square wave is the time for one complete cycle, but it is usually
better to consider frequency (f) which is the number of cycles per second.
4017 decade counter (1-of-10)

The count advances as the clock input becomes high (on the rising-edge). Each output Q0-Q9
goes high in turn as counting advances. Some
functions (such as flash sequences) outputs may be
combined using diodes. The reset input should be low
(0V) for normal operation (counting 0-9). When high
it resets the count to zero (Q0 high). It can be done
manually with a switch between reset and +Vs and a

10k resistor between reset and 0V. Counting to less than 9 is achieved by connecting the
relevant output (Q0-Q9) to reset, for example to count 0,1,2,3

connect Q4 to reset. The disable input should be low (0V) for normal operation. When high it
disables counting so that clock pulses are ignored and the count is kept constant. The 10

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output is high for counts 0-4 and low for 5-9, so it provides an output at 1/10 of the clock
frequency. It is used to drive the clock input of another 4017 (to count the tens).
Diodes

Circuit symbol:
Function-Diodes allow electricity to flow in only
one direction. The arrow of the circuit symbol
shows the direction in which the current can flow.
Diodes are the electrical version of a valve and
early diodes were called valves.
Forward Voltage Drop- Electricity uses up a little
energy pushing its way through the diode, rather
like a person pushing through a door with a spring. This means that there is a small voltage
across a conducting diode, it is called the forward voltage drop and is about 0.7V for all
normal diodes which are made from silicon. The forward voltage drop of a diode is almost
constant whatever the current passing through the diode so they have a very steep
characteristic
Rectifier diodes (large current)
Rectifier diodes are used in power supplies to convert alternating current (AC) to direct
current (DC), a process called rectification. They are also used elsewhere in circuits where a
large current must pass through the diode.

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All rectifier diodes are made from silicon and therefore have a forward voltage drop of 0.7V.
The table shows maximum current and maximum reverse voltage for some popular rectifier
diodes. The 1N4001 is suitable for most low voltage circuits with a current of less than 1A.

Reverse Voltage
When a reverse voltage is applied a perfect diode does not conduct, but all real diodes leak a
very tiny current of a few A or less. This can be ignored in most circuits because it will be
very much smaller than the current flowing in the forward direction. However, all diodes
have a maximum reverse voltage (usually 50V or more) and if this is exceeded the diode will
fail and pass a large current in the reverse direction, this is called breakdown.
Ordinary diodes can be split into two types: Signal diodes which pass small currents of
100mA or less and Rectifier diodes which can pass large currents. In addition there are LEDs
(which have their own page) and Zener diodes (at the bottom of this page).
Protection diodes for relays-Signal diodes are also used to protect transistors and ICs from
the brief high voltage produced when a relay coil is
switched off. The diagram shows how a protection
diode is connected 'backwards' across the relay coil.
Current flowing through a relay coil creates a
magnetic field which collapses suddenly when the
current is switched off. The sudden collapse of the magnetic field induces a brief high voltage
across the relay coil which is very likely to damage transistors and ICs. The protection diode
allows the induced voltage to drive a brief current through the coil (and diode) so the

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magnetic field dies away quickly rather than instantly. This prevents the induced voltage
becoming high enough to cause damage to transistors and ICs.

Capacitors

Examples:

Circuit symbol:

Function - Capacitors store electric charge. They are used with resistors in timing circuits
because it takes time for a capacitor to fill with charge. They are used to smooth varying DC
supplies by acting as a reservoir of charge. They are also used in filter circuits because
capacitors easily pass AC (changing) signals but they block DC (constant) signals.
Capacitance
This is a measure of a capacitor's ability to store charge. A large capacitance means that more
charge can be stored. Capacitance is measured in farads, symbol F. However 1F is very large,
so prefixes are used to show the smaller values.

Three prefixes (multipliers) are used, (micro), n (nano) and p (pico):

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means 10-6 (millionth), so 1000000F = 1F

n means 10-9 (thousand-millionth), so 1000nF = 1F

p means 10-12 (million-millionth), so 1000pF = 1nF

Resistors
Function
Resistors restrict the flow of electric current, for example a resistor is placed in series with a
light-emitting diode (LED) to limit the current passing through the LED.
Connecting and soldering
Resistors may be connected either way round. They are not damaged by heat when soldering.
Resistor values - the resistor color code
Resistance is measured in ohms, the symbol for ohm is an omega .
1 is quite small so resistor values are often given in k and M .
1 k = 1000
1 M = 1000000 .
Resistor values are normally shown using coloured bands.
Each colour represents a number as shown in the table.
Most resistors have 4 bands:

The Resistor
Colour Code
Colour Number
Black

Brown

Red

Orange

Yellow

The first band gives the first digit.

The second band gives the second digit.

Green

Blue

The third band indicates the number of zeros.

Violet

The fourth band is used to shows the tolerance (precision) of the

resistor.

Grey

White

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IC
Integrated Circuits are usually called ICs or chips. They are complex circuits which have
been etched onto tiny chips of semiconductor (silicon). The chip is packaged in a plastic
holder with pins spaced on a 0.1" (2.54mm) grid which will fit the holes on stripboard and
breadboards. Very fine wires inside the package link the chip to the pins.
Pin numbers
The pins are numbered anti-clockwise around the IC
(chip) starting near the notch or dot. The diagram shows
the numbering for 8-pin and 14-pin ICs, but the principle is the same for all sizes.

IC holders (DIL sockets)

ICs (chips) are easily damaged by heat when soldering and their short pins cannot
be protected with a heat sink. Instead we use an IC holder, strictly called a DIL
socket (DIL = Dual In-Line), which can be safely soldered onto the circuit board. The IC is
pushed into the holder when all soldering is complete.
IC holders are only needed when soldering so they are not used on breadboards.
Commercially produced circuit boards often have ICs soldered directly to the board without
an IC holder, usually this is done by a machine which is able to work very quickly. Please

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don't attempt to do this yourself because you are likely to destroy the IC and it will be
difficult to remove without damage by de-soldering.

Removing an IC from its holder

If you need to remove an IC it can be gently prised out of the holder with a small flat-blade
screwdriver. Carefully lever up each end by inserting the screwdriver blade between the IC
and its holder and gently twisting the screwdriver. Take care to start lifting at both ends
before you attempt to remove the IC, otherwise you will bend and possibly break the pins.

Using diodes to combine outputs

The outputs of ICs must never be directly connected together.
However, diodes can be used to combine two or more digital
(high/low) outputs from an IC such as a counter. This can be a
useful way of producing simple logic functions without using
logic gates!

The diagram shows two ways of combining outputs using

diodes. The diodes must be capable of passing the output
current. 1N4148 signal diodes are suitable for low current devices such as LEDs.
For example the outputs Q0 - Q9 of a 4017 1-of-10 counter go high in turn. Using diodes to
combine the 2nd (Q1) and 4th (Q3) outputs as shown in the bottom diagram will make the

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LED flash twice followed by a longer gap. The diodes are performing the function of an
OR gate.

Building of the body of traffic signal

Two juice boxes were taken and cut accordingly
Reinforced with tape
Place was made for the circuit to fit in
A4 paper was used for covering the box
3 holes were made for the LEDs to be seen

09003 Faisal Chowdhury

Conclusion and results and recommendation

The circuit for a typical traffic light was constructed in a circuit board. The working of the
related components was studied in detail.

All Traffic signals in future possibly will harness the solar energy since it LEDs
need less power.

09003 Faisal Chowdhury

Refrences

"The man who gave us traffic lights". BBC. 2009-07-16.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/07/16/john_peake_knight
_traffic_lights_feature.shtml

http://www.freewebs.com/trafficlightsignals2/euroheads.htm

"Traffic Signals". Institute of Transportation Engineers. September 2007

09003 Faisal Chowdhury