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Mini Project Report

“ELECTRONIC CANDLES”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the award of degree of

Bachelor of Technology

In

Electronics and Communication

Guide Submitted by

Prof. Piyush Chanana Suraj Singh (1051152807)

Priya Mittal (0981152807)

Sumit Dalal (0031152807)

Sunny Yadav(0071152807)

BHARTIYA VIDHYAPEETH’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

A-4, PASCHIM VIHAR, ROHTAK ROAD, NEW DELHI- 110063

AFFILIATED TO

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, DELHI-1100006


CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation/project report (course code- 28 ) entitled ‘ELECTRONIC

CANDLES’ done by Mr. Suraj Singh(1051152807) , Ms. Priya Mittal (0981157308), Mr. Sumit

Dalal (0031152807), Mr. Sunny Yadav (0071157308) an authentic work carried out by them at

BVCOE under my guidance. The matter embodied in this project work has not been submitted

earlier for the award of any degree or diploma to the best of my knowledge and belief.

DATE: 18th March 2010 Signature of the guide

Name of the guide : Mr. Piyush Chanana

Desigination : Professor, BVCOE


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Anuradha Basu, HOD of ECE Department for
having permitted us to carry out this project work.

We wish to express our deep sense of gratitude to our project guide Mr. Piyush Chanana
for providing us his valuable guidance and kind support towards the fulfillment of the
project.

Finally, yet importantly, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our beloved
parents for their blessings, our friends/classmates for their help and wishes for the
successful completion of this project.

ABSTRACT
In this project our main aim was to study the complete working of “Circuit Maker” and
then how to design a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).Here we have designed a PCB for
“Electronic candles”. For this first we understood the various integral parts of the circuit
i.e. 555 Timer IC, SCR1(c106),serial in/parallel out shift register and power supply.
After studying all these parts our objective was to obtain a circuit which will produce a
randomly flickering light effect in an electric bulb. During this we also studied the
various characteristics of SCR1(c106) and 555 timer.

Contents
S.No. Page no.

1. Introduction 1-3

2. Hardware Description

2.1) Regulated DC Power Supply 4-5

2.2) 555-Timer IC 5-10

2.3) Serial IN Parallel Out Shift Register 11-12

2.4) Logic Gates 13-14

2.5) Silicon Controlled Rectifier 14-17

2.6) Electric Bulb 17

3. Design and Implementation 18-20

4. Component Requirements 21

5. Conclusion 22

6. Future Scope 23

7. Bibliography 24

List of Figure
S no. Name of the diagram Page no.
1. Block diagram of design 2

2. Circuit diagram of Regulated DC power supply 4

3. Pin diagram of 555-timer 5

4. Schematic of a 555 timer in monostable mode 7

5. 555 Astable circuit 8

6. 555 timer configuration in astable mode 9

7. Connection diagram of 74LS164IC 11

8. Logic diagram of 74LS164IC 11

9. Schematic diagram of NAND gate 13

10. Schematic diagram of Ex-NOR gate 14

11. Figures of SCR 14

12. SCR connection diagram 15

13. Volt-Ampere characteristics curve of an SCR 16


14. Circuit diagram of electric candle 18

INTRODUCTION

This project work is an attempt to design electronic candle that can produce the effect of
candle light in a normal electric bulb. A candle light as we all know , resembles a
randomly flickering light. These aren't the only electric candles, but they are easily
among the best - behaving incredibly like a real candle. The LED bulbs flicker more
realistically than most other flameless candles, just like a real flame. One of the biggest
advantages of these lights is the quality of the flicker. Generally, flickering LED candles
have a randomized flickering program me "cycle", that repeats itself. Lengthen this cycle
(which requires more memory in the electronics), and the candle can be made to be more
realistic. So the objective of this project activity is to produce a randomly flickering light
effect in an electric bulb.

To achieve this, the entire circuit can be divided into three parts. The first part comprises
IC1 (555), IC2 (74LS164), IC3 (74LS86), IC4 (74LS00) and the associated components.
These generate a randomly changing pulse.

The second part of the circuit consists of SCR1 (C106), an electric bulb connected
between anode of SCR1 and mains live wire and gate trigger circuit components.
It is basically half-wave AC power being supplied to the bulb.
The third part is power supply to generate regulated 5V DC from 230V AC for random
signal generator. It comprises a step down transformer(X1), full-wave rectifier (diodes
D3 and D4), filter capacitor (C9), followed by a regulator (IC5).

The figure below shows the block diagram of the design.

POWER CLOCK SERIAL TO PATTERN


SUPPLY GENERATOR PARALLEL GENERATOR
CONVERTER

OUTPUT DEVICE INTERFACE

Block diagram of design

Figure 1

It consists of following blocks:

Power supply: It is a reference to a source of electrical power. A device or system


that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads. It
may include a power distribution system as well as primary or secondary sources of
energy

Clock generator : It is a circuit that produces a timing signal known as a clock signal
and for use in synchronizing a circuit's operation. The signal can range from a simple
symmetrical square wave to more complex arrangements. The basic parts that all clock
generators share are a resonant circuit and an amplifier

Serial to Parallel Converter: It is a 8 – bit Serial in / Parallel out shift register which
has gated serial inputs and an asynchronous clear. It operates on frequency 36MHz clock
frequency typically.

Pattern generator: It generates the different patterns to trigger the circuit.

Interface : It act as an interface between pattern generator and device.

Device: A device may be a computer device or electronic equipment. It can be


computer hardware, peripheral or electronic equipment, integrated circuit
Output: Output can refer to output can refer to or an observable output such as
amplification of an analog signal.
.

HARDWARE DESCRIPTION

To design electronic candle the following components have been used:

1. Regulated DC Power supply

2. 555-Timer IC

3. Serial in/ parallel out shift register

4. Gates

5. Silicon Controlled Rectifier(SCR1(C106))

6. Electric Bulb

This section gives brief description of each of the components.

Component 1: Regulated DC Power supply

It comprises a step down transformer, full wave rectifier, filter capacitor, followed by a
regulator
Circuit Diagram of Regulated DC power supply

Figure 2

The regulated DC output is very smooth with no ripple. It is suitable for all electronic
circuits

Transformer: Transformers convert AC electricity from one voltage to another with


little loss of power. Transformers work only with AC and this is one of the reasons why
mains electricity is AC.

Rectifier: There are several ways of connecting diodes to make a rectifier to convert AC
to DC. The bridge rectifier is the most important and it produces full-wave varying DC.
A full-wave rectifier can also be made from just two diodes if a centre-tap transformer is
used, but this method is rarely used now that diodes are cheaper.

Smoothing : Smoothing is performed by a large value electrolytic capacitor connected


across the DC supply to act as a reservoir, supplying current to the output when the
varying DC voltage from the rectifier is falling.

Regulator: Voltage regulator ICs are available with fixed (typically 5, 12 and 15V) or
variable output voltages. They are also rated by the maximum current they can pass.
Negative voltage regulators are available, mainly for use in dual supplies. Most
regulators include some automatic protection from excessive current

Component 2: 555-Timer IC
The 555 Timer IC is an integrated circuit (chip) implementing a variety of timer and
multivibrator applications. Depending on the manufacturer, the standard 555 package includes
over 20 transistors, 2 diodes and 15 resistors on a silicon chip installed in an 8-pin mini dual-in-
line package (DIP-8).

Pin Diagram of 555-Timer

Figure 3

The connection of the pins are as follows:

Nr. Name Purpose

1 GND Ground, low level (0 V)

2 TRIG A short pulse high-to-low on the trigger starts the timer

3 OUT During a timing interval, the output stays at +VCC

A timing interval can be interrupted by applying a reset pulse to low


4 RESET
(0 V)

5 CTRL Control voltage allows access to the internal voltage divider


(2/3 VCC)

The threshold at which the interval ends (it ends if the voltage at
6 THR
THR is at least 2/3 VCC)

Connected to a capacitor whose discharge time will influence the


7 DIS
timing interval

8 V+,VCC The positive supply voltage which must be between 3 and 15 V

Table 1

The 555 has three operating modes:

Monostable mode: In the monostable mode, the 555 timer acts as a “one-shot”
pulse generator. The pulse begins when the 555 timer receives a trigger signal. The
width of the pulse is determined by the time constant of an RC network, which consists
of a capacitor(C) and a resistor(R). The pulse ends when the charge on the C equals 2/3
of the supply voltage. The pulse width can be lengthened or shortened to the need of the
specific application by adjusting the values of R and C.

Schematic of a 555 in monostable mode

Figure 4
The pulse width of time t, which is the time it takes to charge C to 2/3 of the supply
voltage, is given by

where t is in seconds, R is in ohms and C is in farads.

Applications include timers, missing pulse detection, bounce free switches, touch
switches, frequency divider, capacitance measurement, pulse-width modulation (PWM)
etc
Astable mode - In this mode , the '555 timer ' puts out a continuous stream of
rectangular pulses having a specified frequency. Resistor R1 is connected between
VCC and the discharge pin (pin 7) and another resistor (R2) is connected between the
discharge pin (pin 7), and the trigger (pin 2) and threshold (pin 6) pins that share a
common node. Hence the capacitor is charged through R1 and R2, and discharged only
through R2, since pin 7 has low impedance to ground during output low intervals of the
cycle, therefore discharging the capacitor.

555 Astable Circuit

Figure 5

In the astable mode, the frequency of the pulse stream depends on the values of R1,
R2 and C:

The high time from each pulse is given by


and the low time from each pulse is given by

where R1 and R2 are the values of the resistors in ohms and C is the value of the
capacitor in farads.

Applications include LED and lamp flashers, pulse generation, logic clocks, tone
generation, security alarms, pulse position modulation ,etc.

Bistable mode or Schmitt trigger: The Bistable Circuit toggles between the states.
Triggering one input sets the output to the low state, while triggering another input sets
the output to the high state. The name "bistable" means "two stable states".It can
operate as a flip-flop, if the DIS pin is not connected and no capacitor is used. Uses
include bounce free latched switches, etc.

In designing of electronic candle, the clock signal is generated by using the 555 timer in
Astable mode. The detailed description of it is given below:

This is the free running mode and the trigger is tied to the threshold pin. It is a timing
circuit whose 'low' and 'high' states are both unstable. As such, the output of an
Astable multivibrator toggles between 'low' and 'high' continuously, in effect generating
a train of pulses. This circuit is therefore also known as a 'pulse generator' circuit.
555 timer configuration in astable mode
Figure 6

In this circuit, capacitor C1 charges through R1 and R2, eventually building up


enough voltage to trigger an internal comparator to toggle the output flip-flop. Once
toggled, the flip-flop discharges C1 through R2 into pin 7, which is the discharge
pin. When C1's voltage becomes low enough, another internal comparator is
triggered to toggle the output flip-flop. This once again allows C1 to charge up
through R1 and R2 and the cycle starts all over again.

C1's charge-up time t1 is given by: t1 = 0.693(R1+R2)C1. C1's discharge time t2 is


given by: t2 = 0.693(R2)C1. Thus, the total period of one cycle is t1+t2 = 0.693
C1(R1+2R2).

The frequency f of the output wave is the reciprocal of this period, and is therefore
given by:

The HIGH and LOW times of each pulse can be calculated from:

HIGH Time = 0.69 (R1 + R2) × C

LOW Time = 0.69 (R2 × C)

The duty cycle of the waveform, usually expressed as a percentage, is given by:

where f is in Hz if R1 and R2 are in mega ohms and C1 is in microfarads.

Valuable features:

• Free running modes, 50% duty cycle

• Good astable frequency stability 2% @100kHz,0.5%


Component 3: Serial in Parallel out shift register (74LS164)

Connection Diagram of 74LS164 IC


Figure 7

Logic Diagram of 74LS164 IC

Figure 8

This 8-bit parallel-out serial shift register features AND -gated serial (A and B) inputs
and an asynchronous clear (CLR) input. The gated serial inputs permit control over
incoming data because a low at either input inhibits entry of the new data and resets the
first flip-flop to the low level at the next clock pulse. A high-level input enables the
other input, which determines the state of the first flip-flop. Data at the serial inputs can
be changed while the clock is high or low,
provided that the minimum setup-time requirements are met. Clocking occurs on the
low-to-high-level transition of the clock (CLK) input. All inputs are diode clamped to
minimize transmission-line effects.
The SN74ALS164A is characterized for operation from 0°C to 70°C.
FUNCTION TABLE

INPUTS OUTPUTS

CLR’ CLK A B QA QB QH
L X X X L L L
H L X X QAD QB0 QH0
H Up H H H QAn QGn
H Up L X L QAn QGn
H Up X L L QAn QGn
Table 2

QA0, QB0, QH0 = the level of QA, QB, or QH, respectively,


before the indicated steady-state input conditions were
established.
H = high level (steady state), L = low level (steady state)
X = irrelevant (any input, including transitions)
Up = transition from low to high level
QAn, QGn= the level of QA or QG before the most recent
↑ transition of the clock; indicates a 1-bit shift.

FEATURES

• Typical shift frequency of 35MHz

• Asynchronous master reset

• Gated serial data input

• Fully synchronous data transfer

Component 4: Logic Gates

The hardware implementation of the electronic candle uses the following gates:

1. NAND Gate : The NAND gate is a digital logic gate that behaves in a manner
that corresponds to the truth table given below
INPUT OUTPUT
A B A NAND B

0 0 1

0 1 1

1 0 1

1 1 0

Truth Table Schematic Diagram of NAND GATE

Table 3 Figure 9

A LOW output results only if both the inputs to the gate are HIGH. If one or both inputs
are LOW, a HIGH output results. The NAND gate is a universal gate in the sense that
any Boolean function can be implemented by NAND gates.

Exclusive-NOR GATE : The XNOR gate is a digital logic gate whose function is the
inverse of the exclusive OR (XOR) gate. The two-input version implements logical
equality,behaving according to the truth table to next page
INPUT OUTPUT
A B A XNOR B
0 0 1
0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 1

Truth Table Schematic Diagram of Ex-NOR GATE

Table 4 Figure 10

A HIGH output (1) results if both of the inputs to the gate are the same. If one but not
both inputs are HIGH (1), a LOW output (0) results.

Component 5: SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (C106)

Shockley diodes are curious devices, but rather limited in application. Their usefulness
may be expanded, however, by equipping them with another means of latching. In doing
so, each becomes true amplifying devices (if only in an on/off mode), and we refer to
these as silicon-controlled rectifiers, or SCRs.
The progression from Shockley diode to SCR is achieved with one small addition,
actually nothing more than a third wire connection to the existing PNPN structure:
(Figure below)

Figure 11
The SCR has become the workhorse of the industrial control industry. Its evolution over
the years has yielded a device that is less expensive, more reliable, and smaller in size
than ever before. Typical applications include : DC motor control, generator field
regulation,Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) DC Bus voltage control, Solid State
Relaysand lighting system control.

SCR Connection Diagram


Figure 12

The SCR is a three-lead device with an anode and a cathode (as with a standard diode)
plus a third control lead or gate. As the name implies, it is a rectifier which can be
controlled - or more correctly - one that can be triggered to the “ON” state by applying a
small positive voltage ( VTM ) to the gate lead. Once gated ON, the trigger signal may
be removed and the SCR will remain conducting as long as current flows through the
device.

If an SCR's gate is left floating (disconnected), it behaves exactly as a Shockley diode. It


may be latched by break over voltage or by exceeding the critical rate of voltage rise
between anode and cathode, just as with the Shockley diode. Dropout is accomplished
by reducing current until one or both internal transistors fall into cutoff mode, also like
the Shockley diode. However, because the gate terminal connects directly to the
base of the lower transistor, it may be used as an alternative means to latch the SCR. By
applying a small voltage between gate and cathode, the lower transistor will be
forced on by the resulting base current, which will cause the upper transistor to conduct,
which then supplies the lower transistor's base with current so that it no longer needs to
be activated by a gate voltage. The necessary gate current to initiate latch-up, of course,
will be much lower than the current through the SCR from cathode to anode, so the SCR
does achieve a measure of amplification.
This method of securing SCR conduction is called triggering, and it is by far the most
common way that SCRs are latched in actual practice. In fact, SCRs are usually chosen
so that their breakover voltage is far beyond the greatest voltage expected to be
experienced from the power source, so that it can be turned on only by an intentional
voltage pulse applied to the gate.

It should be mentioned that SCRs may sometimes be turned off by directly shorting their
gate and cathode terminals together, or by "reverse-triggering" the gate with a negative
voltage (in reference to the cathode), so that the lower transistor is forced into cutoff. I
say this is "sometimes" possible because it involves shunting all of the upper transistor's
collector current past the lower transistor's base. This current may be substantial, making
triggered shut-off of an SCR difficult at best. A variation of the SCR, called a Gate-
Turn-Off thyristor, or GTO, makes this task easier. But even with a GTO, the gate
current required to turn it off may be as much as 20% of the anode (load) current!

Volt-Ampere Characteristics

Figure One below illustrates the volt-ampere characteristics curve of an SCR.

Volt-ampere characteristics curve of an SCR.


Figure13

The vertical axis + I represents the device current, and the horizontal axis +V is the
voltage applied across the device anode to cathode. The parameter
It defines the RMS forward current that the SCR can carry in the ON state, while VR
defines the amount of voltage the unit can block in the OFF state.
Biasing

The application of an external voltage to a semiconductor is referred to as a bias.

Forward Bias Operation


A forward bias, shown below as +V, will result when a positive potential is applied to
the anode and negative to the cathode .Even after the application of a forward bias, the
device remains non-conducting until the positive gate trigger voltage is applied.
After the device is triggered ON it reverts to a low impedance state and current flows
through the unit. The unit will remain conducting after the gate voltage has been
removed. In the ON state (represented by +I), the current must be limited by the load, or
damage to the SCR will result.

Reverse Bias Operation


The reverse bias condition is represented by -V. A reverse bias exists when the potential
applied across the SCR results in the cathode being more positive than the anode. In this
condition the SCR is non-conducting and the application of a trigger voltage will have
no effect on the device. In the reverse bias mode, the knee of the curve is known as the
Peak Inverse Voltage PIV (or Peak Reverse Voltage - PRV) and this value cannot be
exceeded or the device will break-down and be destroyed. A good Rule-of -Thumb is to
select a device with a PIV of at least three times the RMS value of the applied voltage.

Component 6: Electric Bulb

The electric bulb, is a source of electric light that works by connecting the circuit part to
it and produce a randomly flickering light effect in it.
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

The given figure shows the circuit diagram of Electronic Candle

Circuit
diagram of
electronic
candle

Figure 14

The above
given circuit
diagram is a
simple circuit
that can
produce the
effect of
candle light
in a normal
electric
bulb .To
achieve this ,
the entire circuit diagram is divide into three parts:

The first part is the power supply to generate regulated 5V DC from 230V AC for
random signal generator. It comprises a step down transformer(X1), full-wave rectifier
(diodes D3 and D4), filter capacitor (C9), followed by a regulator (IC5).

The second part comprises of IC1(555), IC2 (74LS164), IC3 (74LS86), IC4 (74LS00)
and the associated components. These generate a randomly changing pulse.
The third part of the circuit consists of SCR1 (C106), an electric bulb connected between
anode of SCR1 and mains live wire and gate trigger circuit components. It is basically
half-wave AC power being supplied to the bulb

The functioning of the system is as follows:

The first part of the circuit will provide a regulated voltage to the external circuit which
may also I am required in any part of the external circuit or the whole external circuit
.The best part is that you can also use it to convert AC voltage to DC and then regulate it
,simply You need a transformer to make the AC main drop down to a safe value i.e. 12-
15 volts and then us a rectifier to convert AC into DC.
This circuit can give +5V output at about 150mA current, but it can be increased to 1 A
when good cooling is added to 7805 regulator chip. The circuit has over overload and
terminal protection. The capacitors must have enough high voltage rating to safely
handle the input voltage feed to circuit.
If you need other voltages than +5V, you can modify the circuit by replacing the 7805
chips with another regulator with different output voltage from regulator 78xx chip
family. The last numbers in the chip code tells the output voltage.
In the second part ,The random signal generator of the circuit is built around an 8-Bit
serial in/parallel out shift register (IC2). Different outputs of the shift register IC pass
through a set of logic gates(N1 through N5) and final output appearing at pin 6 of gate
N5 is fed back to the inputs of pins 1and 2 of IC2. The clock signal appears at pin 8 of
IC2, which is clocked by an astable multivibrator configured around timer(IC1). The
clock frequency can be set using preset VR1 and VR2. it can be set around 100Hz to
provide better flickering effect in the bulb.
The random signal generated from the above triggers the gate of SCR1. The electric bulb
gets AC power only for the period which SCR1 is fired.

SCR1 is fired only during the positive half cycles. Conduction of SCR1 depends upon
the gate triggering pin3 of IC2, which is random. Thus, we see a flickering effect in the
light output.

Assemble the circuit on a general purpose PCB and enclose it in a suitable case. Fix bulb
and neon bulb on the front side of the cabinet. Also, connect a power cable for giving
AC mains supply to the circuit for operation. The circuit is ready to use. Since the circuit
uses 230V AC, care must be taken to avoid electric shock.
Components Requirements

• 555 timer IC

• Serial in /parallel out shift register IC- 74LS164

• NAND Gate IC- 74LS00


• XNOR Gate IC- 74LS86

• Variable Resistors (100KΩ)

• Capacitors(100µF,10µF,1000µF,0.1µF)

• Resistors ( 10kΩ,100kΩ,180Ω)

• Step down transformer(230v AC primary to7.5v-0-7.5v, 250mA secondary


transformer)

• Regulator IC-7805

• SCR1(C106) thyristor

• Diodes(1N4148,1N4001,1N4007)

• Bulb(60W,230v)

• Neon Bulb

• Connecting Wires

• Power Supply

CONCLUSION
The system has been designed on PCB that uses various components in its designation.
It has been designed and studied in detail by implementing it. The hardware of this
project is designed to the stage of random signal generation successfully and rest of the
portion can not design due to unavailability of components. We have also studied the
CIRCUIT MAKER software during this project. Circuit maker is a schematic design,
simulation and PCB design tool and the major portion of the project has been simulated
on it. In future the same will be ported onto a small size PCB.

FUTURE SCOPE
Standard wax candles used for decoration and mood lighting produce an open flame and
high temperatures. This is unsuitable for many applications where accidents are likely,
especially around children and pets.In many situations use of candles and other open
flames may be prohibited by local fire and building regulations. It is possible to
realistically simulate these lighting effects electrically. In these situations Electronic
candles can be very useful.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Kennedy George, “ Digital Electronics ”, 4th edition, Tata Mc-Graw Hill


Publication Company
2.Wolfgang wieske, “Application of Thyristor”, Bpb publication

3.Taub Herbert, Schilling Donald, “Digital integrated Electronics” , International


edition-1974, Tata Mc-Graw Hill Publication Company

4.www.ieee.org

5.www.electronicsforu.com

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