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LED Bar - HardHat concept

McGizmo

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May 1, 2002
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Hi guys,

While in a holding pattern on flashlight builds, I finally got the motivation together to build out a concept. Actually there are a number of unrelated ideas and elements I wanted to visit and I was able to consolidate a number of them in a single, albeit goofy, conglomeration. :)

The ideas and elements to test and evaluate:
  • half round acrylic bar for optic
  • prototype "3 speed" buck converter for Makita Battery
  • viability of an aluminum hardhat as the heat sink for headlamp
  • adjacent mounting of linear array of LED's to minimize multi shadows
  • integration of switch in Makita Dock
  • FLIR evaluation of heat source and its spread in thin and remote sink surface
  • FLIR evaluation of thermally isolated converter
LavaMan.jpg


LavaMan-SideView.jpg


LED-Array.jpg


Circuit.jpg


Hat-Underside.jpg


HardHat-45minFLIR.jpg


More details, HERE.

Now in terms of conclusions, I knew the Makita battery and dock would be ungainly in both weight and exaggerated by its location on the hardhat. Beyond that though, the exercise was quite satisfactory and kind of exciting in terms of some ideas it presents.

I anticipate that there would be a good market and utility from LED based arrays mounted in hard hats and helmets used in industry as well as transportation. The aluminum is an obvious thermal solution but I would expect other solutions could be found with partial integration of either metal or thermally conductive plastics or laminates in a hat or helmet construction. The electronics and battery supply can either be on board or remote, depending on the application and needs.

Ultimately though, the key is in the beam and its distribution. On this note, the proverbial beam shot:

BeamOnWall.jpg


As it turns out, this prototype provided an almost ideal flood of good color rendering light which essentially covers the field of view to the hard hat wearer with little wasted light beyond the field of view. I think there is some real and exciting potential for us modders in using the simple half round acrylic rod stock for optics in head lamps as well as bike and other transportation type head lights. The acrylic is easy to work with and shape and then polish. You can even allow for focal adjustment of the bar in moving it into and away from the linear array of LED's. The Nichia 083's lend themselves well to such an optic because they have no raised dome and you can seat the optic down on top of them. The Osram Dragons without domes are also quite friendly to this. For LED's that do have domes, you may want to go with larger 1/2 round bar to capture and bend more of the light output.

My only regret in retrospect is not having done this "experiment" prior to building a LED cluster for my Vespa Scooter.
 

Carpe Diem

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Nice concept.

And who, BTW, is the person modelling the hardhat in the the last picture?

:)
 

Kiessling

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Nov 26, 2002
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Old World
Somehow the beamshot has something creepy to it :D

Nice idea !

Now build that into a small lantern-like light and I am all over it. Aluminium helmets aren't so en vogue here in the old world these days :)

I can see some flat flashlight with a string of those LEDs next to and not in front of the batteries ...

bernie


P.S.: thanx for sharing !!
 

BigHonu

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Honolulu, HI
NICE!

How do you switch speeds?

How big is the array and housing? 2.5 x .75 inches?

The beam pattern looks to have a decent horizontal cutoff, while retaining good vertical coverage. Might eliminate the need for a wide-angle pivot for the housing.

That face on the rock still gives me the heebie jeebies!
 

McGizmo

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Carpe,
Low budget self portrait but I figured the silhouette shot wouldn't cause too many lost meals. :nana:

Bernie, yeah, I visualize a deck of cards package with the bar on one edge and pair of cells parallel and behind the bar. Of course a visor clip on one side.

TB,
:nana:

BigHonu,
I have a couple 3 speed protos from friends in Japan. They cycle through the levels by virtue of a very short off period bracked by on periods of any duration on either side. That is to say you can turn the light on for the briefest of flashes or for hours and it comes on in the last level selected. If you find you are not at the level you want, turn the light off and quickly back on to advance to the next level. The light cycles through low, med and high and then back to low again. The UI is quite simple and straight forward, in my estimation. One of the things that held me back from building this thing was the concern that I should have the bar on a piviot or rotational mount. This adds complexity and reduces the thermal connectivity to the hat. I guessed at what I wanted in terms of down bias and my guess worked out quite well.
 

darkzero

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LOL, I like that rock too that the hat is sitting on, looks like a chubby asian dude!
 

TranquillityBase

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Jun 12, 2005
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That module would be kickarse for MTN biking...

Monster flood for picking out those nasty rocks and roots:thumbsup:
 

FrogmanM

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Carpe,
Bernie, yeah, I visualize a deck of cards package with the bar on one edge and pair of cells parallel and behind the bar. Of course a visor clip on one side.

If it's Ti I'm there! MO waiting to be sent McG!:bow:

Mayo
 

BigHonu

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Don,

UI sounds straight forward and simple. Perfect for a constant-on application.

I am really liking the form and implementation of the acrylic bar!

Since the converter is cylindrical, I'm guessing you start with 1" bar stock and mount it in one end, along with a McClicky. Have the array setup like shown in the middle. At the other end, there is a deep reccess milled in to accomodate a reflector and another LED for some throw.

The converter can control the array for a low-flood and medium-flood, then kick in the reflectored LED for some throw. Since the array and the single LED are not on at the same time, the tints don't have to match, but just need to be close.

Just need to figure out where to put the batteries......
 

precisionworks

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Apr 19, 2007
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Benton Illinois
aluminum hardhat as the heat sink for headlamp
Now that's what I'm talking about ... no wimpy little quarter sized piece of Al or brass:D

I have a Milwaukee V28 battery that needs a nice home ... any way to make a driver that takes 28v & runs the 083's in regulation? Runtimes would be nearly forever:thumbsup:
 

Art Vandelay

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That looks very cool. The beam shot is amazing. Any chance of a bicycle helmet version? A bike helmet could probably have less aluminum because of the wind.
 

precisionworks

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Since we're throwing out ideas (which may be worth exactly what they cost ... nothing) it would seem easy enough to integrate a multi-level driver. Make the light bar part of a head lamp, wear the battery on a belt clip, and have color correct, adjustable output ... pretty awesome.
 

Illum

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That looks very cool. The beam shot is amazing. Any chance of a bicycle helmet version? A bike helmet could probably have less aluminum because of the wind.

greater surface area would be better if cycling though, more area to dissipate heat

Don, whats the weight on this thing? is it balanced? the battery pack looks awfully heavy:candle:
 

starfiretoo

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Interesting concepts. How's the balance with the battery pack in the back? Would be a novel way to carry just an extra battery pack.
 

McGizmo

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.....
Don, whats the weight on this thing? is it balanced? the battery pack looks awfully heavy:candle:

The whole rig weighs 2 lb & 2 ounces. The battery alone is 13 oz.
For just walking around, the balance is manageable but I would not want to make quick head movements as the inertia of the battery and its distance from your head give it a chance to wag the dog as it were. If I had a viable 3 speed boost converter, I would have been inclined to have mounted a 2x123 battery pak with tail switch on one side of the hard hat for powering the light bar and a 2x123 flashlight on the other side of the hat for balance and the added benefit of a collimated beam source in addition to the flood. This string of 4 Nichias is akin to a Luxeon 5 watt in terms of power consumption on high.

As compiled, this hard hat was more of a test bed for a number of items and ideas as opposed to something designed for optimal fit and function. I have no doubts that this thing will see some modifications and changes. I don't know it it is a "Bozo NoNo" to wire two 9V batteries in series but I would think that a bank of 4 or 6ea. 9V batteries wired for 18V out would run the light bar and converter for a reasonable time and the batteries could reside around the perimeter of the hat in some form or fashion.
 

Illum

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its a very nice addition to have while your riding on your titanium shovel:whistle:

I can see it already, Nichia CRI on all sides of a round hat [the kind German army had back in WWI], modded with a "chasing LED" control board and walking around in the dark with it on.

"UFO identified in Hawaii" :nana:
 
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