MAIN SOURCES

1. SOLAR PANEL

6V, 1W

2. RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

component

Before test in the software, must identified the component that used in this project.

1. voltage regulator

The LM317 is a linear voltage regulator used in DC to DC converter applications. The overall function of the LM317 is similar to that of the LM78xx series regulators. Whereas the 7805 series of regulators have fixed output voltages (ex. 7805 has 5V output), the LM317 can be adjusted to any voltage 

2. diode

A diode allows electricity to flow in one direction only and blocks the flow in the opposite direction. They may be regarded as one-way valves and they are used in various circuits, usually as a form of protection. 

3. resistor

Resistors are the most commonly used component in electronics and their purpose is to create specified values of  current and voltage in a circuit.

4. variable resistor

A variable resistor informally a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.

5. capacitor

Capacitors are components that are used to store an electrical charge and are used in timer circuits.  Sometimes capacitors are used to smooth a current in a circuit as they can prevent false triggering of other components such as relays. When power is supplied to a circuit that includes a capacitor - the capacitor charges up. When power is turned off the capacitor discharges its electrical charge slowly.

6. transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal. 

7. relay

A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal (with complete electrical isolation between control and controlled circuits), or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal.

8. microcontoller: pic16877a

PICs are popular with both industrial developers and hobbyists alike due to their low cost, wide availability, large user base, extensive collection of application notes, availability of low cost or free development tools, and serial programming (and re-programming with flash memory) capability. They are also commonly used in educational programming as they often come with the easy to use 'pic logicator' software.

9. LED

LED just act as signal to show the current are flow in the circuit.

circuit

for this charger, there has 3 divide of circuit
 1. controller charging
 2. voltage sensor
 3. pic & relay

software that using for this project

Protues Software

The software that used in this project is Proteus VSM. This software that animated components and microprocessor models to facilitate co-simulation of complete microcontroller based design. The most important using the Proteus VSM is its ability to simulate the interaction between software running on a microcontroller and any analog or digital electronics connected to it. Furthermore, we need to convert the energy into electricity to charge the battery by using the voltage comparator. Besides that, in this software it has many components compare to other software. 

MPLAB IDE

Then, others software that use in this project is MPLAB Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It is an integrated toolset for the development of embedded applications employing Microchip’s PIC and dsPIC microcontroller. It is serves as a single, unified graphical user interface for additional Microchip and third party software and hardware development tools.

For our project, we use PIC16F877A as our microcontroller. In this coding, we use C compiler. In this software, it suitable because C compiler is included into MPLAB IDE functions. Furthermore, before run the project, we must download the coding into microcontroller. By using this software, we can create the program, enter and assemble, then download the program. After that, run the program and simulate it.  

design of charger

example of circuit

The circuit uses a 12 volt solar panel and a variable voltage regulator IC LM 317. The solar panel consists of solar cells each rated at 1.2 volts. 12 volt DC is available from the panel to charge the battery. Charging current passes through D1 to the voltage regulator IC LM 317. By adjusting its Adjust pin, output voltage and current can be regulated.

VR is placed between the adjust pin and ground to provide an output voltage of 9 volts to the battery. Resistor R3 Restrict the charging current and diode D2 prevents discharge of current from the battery. Transistor T1 and Zener diode ZD act as a cut off switch when the battery is full. Normally T1 is off and battery gets charging current.

When the terminal voltage of the battery rises above 6.8 volts, Zener conducts and provides base current to T1. It then turns on grounding the output of LM 317 to stop charging.

block diagram

Solar panel	·         Output: 5.5V/40mA. Received energy from sunlight and can produce electricity from a range of frequency light.
Voltage comparator (LM339)	·         Convert analog signal to digital signal as convert from the energy to electricity. Because solar panel voltage is lower than battery voltage, simple boost converter will be sufficient. It is also to compare two analog signals and produce a one bit digital signal.
Battery	·         1000 - 1300 mA-hrs. Battery charger used to put energy into a secondary cell or rechargeable battery by forcing an electric current through it.
Voltage/Current sense circuit	·         Sense circuit measures panel and battery voltage and current. Accurate measurement is required for microcontroller (PIC16877A) tracking
Load control and monitoring	·         Overload protection. It also disconnects the load if the battery is depleted
System power supply	·         Regulated 3.3V power supply. Most of the system components are powered by 3.3V
PIC16877A, microcontroller	·         Microcontroller that implements MPPT algorithm, controls voltage comparator and displays system information at LCD.
LCD, System information display	·         Shows current system state on the LCD display. Solar panel power, level of battery charge, load power and other information.

solar panel

A solar panel is a packaged connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Photovoltaic solar panels are sensitive and will produce an electric current when exposed to almost any sunlight. Even on overcast days when there is very little direct sunlight the charger often picks up enough diffuse light to produce a charge. The intensity of the current produced by the battery charger can be maximized by optimizing the tilt angle of the panel in relation to the sun.

Briefing fyp

31 July 2012 : 1st briefing

• student must find supervisor and title project. briefly explain about fyp.

13 september 2012 : 2nd briefing

• briefly explain the submission date, date of presentation, the proposal detail. and chap1,2 and 3 of report.

shock !

lately, i'm shock when online my account Facebook. i found picture of charger using solar energy. the name of the product is  XDModo Solar Window Charger – Charging Made Easy On Glass Windows. its too awesome for me. The charger of iPhone using solar energy too fast in market. now, when i do research, the apple product too fast to reach technologies market.

awesome right?

Week 4&5

Advantage of Alternative Charger using Solar Energy

• able to store electricity for a few days.
• can save money
• Invest in a solar battery charger not have to pay any bills and neither to pay maintenance costs.
• save environment

Week 2 & 3

Objective of this Alternative Charger by using Solar Energy.

• To design the charger with environmentally friendly materials and powered by renewable energy sources
• To avoid overcharging of cell phone battery.
• To maximize the battery performance. Therefore, it could be discharged and recharged completely
• To design a simple and smart photovoltaic charger.

week 1

Alternative Charger by using Solar Energy.

Nowadays, i think the important thing for human are phone. So, its hard for people who like travelling or have to work outdoor to charge their phone.Solar Chargers are a great way to keep most small electronics devices charged while out and about. Solar chargers don’t just generate power from the sun, they also store that energy in their internal batteries so you can top your phone up where ever and whenever you need to.  Its also can save the environment.