Hi guys! Nice place you got here I found this place while trying to find a site which might be able to help with a small crisis I have with low power components. It seems I can't find any circuit online which seems to help sufficiently and all I have is a basic idea of what will work. Well it's time to tell the story so you'll understand my problem.
I am sooooo sorry this is long.
After weeks working on a very special kind of small robot, I began to aproach completion until I made a few discoveries. The robot has enough room for a single (Not a typo>>>) AAAA Battery. The battery produces 1.5V and powers a small toy motor which drives wheels. The trouble is the robot staggers when fully powered up on a new battery. I can't make the robot any bigger without spending alot of money and its just way cheaper to boost the voltage .2 to .8 volts so the motor is slightly overpowered. Any obstruction will cause the motor to stall. There is no way I can add a higher voltage cell and the only ones available are too weak to power the motor or simply will not fit. I need a DC to DC converter which can run off as low as 1V and boost the voltage just enough without being too inefficient. I'm aiming for 90% efficiency. The battery has limited life so any power lossess should be avoided whenever possible. I have considered a IC known as SP6648 or SP6661. Both boost voltages a little as .5 volts but can't output less than 2.5 volts which is a problem since adding voltage regulators do waste energy as well. Also I can't find those inverters without having to make a company and buying something like 1000pieces or so... Not very practical when all I need is 1 or 2. I saw a converter which is 97% efficient but requires too much voltage and boosts it way too high. I refuse to strap a battery to the outside since it makes the robot look sloppy. This is the most important issue I have with my robot. Any help will be treasured dearly. Thanks
The second issue is alot easier (I think) but is still a tricky one since the circuit needs to consume no more than a few microamps so it could run off a 3V button cell for a year or more. The robot has a small switch which needs to trigger a circuit which drives the motor. Whenever the button is pressed the motor does not respond. It is only when the button is released is when the circuit responds and tells the motor to turn on or off. the first on/OFF cycle results in the circuit turning on the motor indefinitely. the next on/OFF cycle results in the circuit shutting off the motor indefinitely. The circuit needs to handle about 100mA of switching current. Also there can be no significant voltage lossess or inefficiencies since the battery again has a limited life. I have considered using logic gate circuits or even a modified timer circuit but I have the issue of draining the button cells too fast. Its possible to have the circuit shut down when no signal is detected after a duration but still needs to power a switching mosfet so that the motor remains on or off after the button is released. Another mountain I need to climb before I can hope to finish my robot. Thanks.
I am sooooo sorry this is long.
After weeks working on a very special kind of small robot, I began to aproach completion until I made a few discoveries. The robot has enough room for a single (Not a typo>>>) AAAA Battery. The battery produces 1.5V and powers a small toy motor which drives wheels. The trouble is the robot staggers when fully powered up on a new battery. I can't make the robot any bigger without spending alot of money and its just way cheaper to boost the voltage .2 to .8 volts so the motor is slightly overpowered. Any obstruction will cause the motor to stall. There is no way I can add a higher voltage cell and the only ones available are too weak to power the motor or simply will not fit. I need a DC to DC converter which can run off as low as 1V and boost the voltage just enough without being too inefficient. I'm aiming for 90% efficiency. The battery has limited life so any power lossess should be avoided whenever possible. I have considered a IC known as SP6648 or SP6661. Both boost voltages a little as .5 volts but can't output less than 2.5 volts which is a problem since adding voltage regulators do waste energy as well. Also I can't find those inverters without having to make a company and buying something like 1000pieces or so... Not very practical when all I need is 1 or 2. I saw a converter which is 97% efficient but requires too much voltage and boosts it way too high. I refuse to strap a battery to the outside since it makes the robot look sloppy. This is the most important issue I have with my robot. Any help will be treasured dearly. Thanks
The second issue is alot easier (I think) but is still a tricky one since the circuit needs to consume no more than a few microamps so it could run off a 3V button cell for a year or more. The robot has a small switch which needs to trigger a circuit which drives the motor. Whenever the button is pressed the motor does not respond. It is only when the button is released is when the circuit responds and tells the motor to turn on or off. the first on/OFF cycle results in the circuit turning on the motor indefinitely. the next on/OFF cycle results in the circuit shutting off the motor indefinitely. The circuit needs to handle about 100mA of switching current. Also there can be no significant voltage lossess or inefficiencies since the battery again has a limited life. I have considered using logic gate circuits or even a modified timer circuit but I have the issue of draining the button cells too fast. Its possible to have the circuit shut down when no signal is detected after a duration but still needs to power a switching mosfet so that the motor remains on or off after the button is released. Another mountain I need to climb before I can hope to finish my robot. Thanks.