Introducing the MagnetoDrive with SmartDial

wquiles

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This is a project that started as an idea back in 2007-2008, but back then I still did not know enough machining nor I had done my own PWB boards/firmware, so the idea grew slowly in the back of my mind, as I did not know yet how the heck I was going to pull this off.

My intention is to come up with a heavy duty diving light, that also works great as a heavy duty flashlight around the home/office/car/etc. - basically a diving-rated, heavy duty light that you can always reach for, when you need a little, or a lot of light. But I also wanted a new way to use the light - a new user interface. So like any complex project, I divided the project into two "parts" - the dive-rated host, and the new user interface.

Since designing the new dive-rated host is relatively easier, I started design on the new user interface first. The original inspiration for the new user interface came up from using other multi-level LED lights over the last 5-6 years. Some of these offered 2, or 3, or 6 levels, some 16 levels, but I did not completely like the user interface in these for several reasons:
- You could not have very small steps for the very low end, and at the same time still have enough steps to cover the mid and full brightness levels.
- Even if you had enough steps, you were always forced to go through the full arc of motion or many button press/push cycles to go from lowest level to high - it was relatively slow to reach max. brightness from the OFF/LOW level.
- Few of these were dive-rated, due to using a push button.

I also wanted a new interface that did not require the user to have to learn/memorize/remember a particular sequence/etc.. Something intuitive, without SOS, blinking lights, zombie-killing mode, etc. Just a smooth transition between really low, and really high, in an intuitive and easy to use package. My idea is that you could hand my light to any person, and without having to read a manual, that person would be able to use/operate the light. Since nothing like what I wanted existed, I have to come up with my own design, and learn new skills in order to do it all on my own, so of course it has taken a while (literally a couple of years).

My new user interface that I came up with (actually "Patent Pending") is based on a custom designed, microprocessor controller board (called "MagnetoDrive"), which when used with an LED driver allows for 255 steps of brightness. This controller has an user interface that allows the user to get "all" of those steps - this interface running in the MagnetoDrive I call the "SmartDial". So the MagnetoDrive is the "board" or the brains, and the "user interface" is called SmartDial.

My MagnetoDrive with SmartDial (MD-SD) translates the movement of the selector dial into a variable brightness output, with the main characteristic being that the steps are selected based on the speed at which the user is moving the freely-moving selector dial. So except for the physical stops at both ends of the arc (OFF and 100% ON), there are "no" physical steps, no detents of any kind in the control dial - the dial moves 100% smoothly and freely from one end to the other.

How it works:
- Move the control dial slowly, and you get very small steps, but of course the max. brightness can't be achieved since the range of motion is limited to the low brightness levels.
- Move the control dial at a normal speed, and moving through the range of motion goes through min to max brightness, but the steps are of course bigger.
- Move the control dial at a very fast speed, and the max. brightness is achieved almost instantly - this is like the turbo mode. Just a very quick "flick" of the dial gets you to max. brightness level.
- Since the control is continuous, you can start slow, then move fast, or any mix – it all happens automatically.

Here are some videos I took tonight:
MagnetoDrive - moving of the control dial slowly

MagnetoDrive - moving of the control dial at normal speed

MagnetoDrive - moving the control dial very fast – a "flick" to achieve max brightness - "turbo" mode!


I have a lot of the design for the new host completed, but I needed a platform to test and fine tune the new user interface provided by the MS-SD. I tried to use existing flashlight parts to create the "mule", and I settled on a "D" size Mag type of host (using only the tailcap and the head) as an ideal place to start. Although the diving light that I want to create will be smaller, this mule now has a fully working MD-SD:

DSCF6100.JPG



In the next post I will describe the steps/work towards making this mule, which has been a great vehicle to further testing the design - remember that a design might look perfect on paper or in my mind, but nothing beats having a real, physical working unit!. I also needed a fully working unit before I could submit the Patent paperwork (done already), so the mule has been great to have. I am currently working on a second prototype unit, which will be closer to the dive-rated flashlight that I have in mind, so I will update this thread as I make more progress on it.

I also forgot to add that the MD controller incorporates automatic thermal control (lowers brightness to protect the host from over-heating), as well as low-battery monitoring in two stages:
- automatically lower output level as the battery has 5-10% energy left
- shutdown to prevent over-discharge of cells

I hope you will find this interesting - please let me know your thoughts on how this MS-SD looks to you :)


Edit: April 9th 2012:

Complete, fully working 2nd prototype for the MagnetoDrive (I have to re-do the tailcap - it might be functional, but does not quite look like it belongs there!):
DSCF8093.JPG



2nd prototype turned ON, sitting on a table, showing the visual effect of the lightweight bezel (in these two pictures you can really see the neutral tint in these 3x XP-G LEDs):
DSCF8095.JPG



Will


PS In my rush to post this last night, I neglected to say thanks to Barry Milton (and the rest of the great guys in the machining sub-forum) and George Scolaro (TaskLED) for their help and mentoring these last several years, and for their help/advice in this project :bow:
 
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wquiles

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To make my mule, I started with my spade drill, as I need to make the "pill" that will house the MagnetoDrive (MD) controller:
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Then round the edges, do the internal boring, etc.:
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I then need to mark the hole where I want to have the programming port:
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Finished pill:
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I then created the positive contact disk, and spacer disk:
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I got the positive contact ready:
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And here I am test fitting the pieces:
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I cut and re-threaded the D host to the right size:
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I then threaded the other end:
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This is how it looked:
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I knew that I was getting this groove pretty deep, but as I keep making light passes, I had a minor mishap:
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Some machining humor:
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So, I had to start all over, but since the D host is not thick enough, I had to truly start from scratch:
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First the head end (I still want to try to use a stock D head):
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I had to make a new pill, also from scratch, as well as all of the other pieces:
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This time I went with a finer thread:
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A new dial ring:
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A new programming hole:
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I then trim and treaded the tailcap side:
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So here I had the basic mule done:
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But the lines on the head were not "right", so I decided to try something new for me:
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It came out pretty good:
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For this mule, I also wanted to try an "F" size LiFEPO4 cell, which of course has a very flat discharge rate, but it required a battery spacer:
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For this build I used a "C" OEM spring, which gave me a slightly shorter host length:
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And here is the completed mule in the middle. The top is one of my own custom 1xD's, and in the bottom is a stock 2D Mag:
DSCF6123.JPG




I will post additional photos later as I get more work done in this project ;)

Will
 
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mvyrmnd

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I love the interface. Like a magnetic ring that we already know on steroids.

How do you deal with stopping accidental adjustments to the brightness?
 

Norm

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I love the interface. Like a magnetic ring that we already know on steroids.

How do you deal with stopping accidental adjustments to the brightness?

Simon from the description bumping the control ring would only generate a small change in brightness.

Norm
 

Th232

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Ingenious!

I'm also interested in mvyrmnd's question, while I'd say a small bump shouldn't cause much of a change, if I'm reading this right a small sudden bump would cause more of a change than a softer/slower bump over the same distance. How much of a difference would it make?
 

saabluster

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Congratulations on finally bringing this to fruition Will. I know you have been working hard on it for some time. I know you do what you do out of love for the hobby but I sure hope you get compensated in some manner for all your hard work. I need to come over there and give your light a try.:)
 

wquiles

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Thank you guys :eek:


How do you deal with stopping accidental adjustments to the brightness?
Two ways:
- Passive: the dial is not "exposed" - it sits slightly below the outer surface of the outer rings, so the dial is not the first thing that would touch when the light is put down, and,
- Actively: the pressure on the dial is user adjustable so that you can control how easy (or not) the dial can move/rotate, and if you make it "tight" enough, you can basically lock the dial anywhere in its arc of rotation (of course including the OFF position, which is a very handy feature by itself). So you can get to the brightness level that you want, fine-tune it up/down a little, and then tighten the dial to make it stay in position, until you need to change it again.


I'm also interested in mvyrmnd's question, while I'd say a small bump shouldn't cause much of a change, if I'm reading this right a small sudden bump would cause more of a change than a softer/slower bump over the same distance.
Exactly. It is not the small or large change in rotation by itself, but the speed at which it happens, which determines how fast (or slow) the brightness changes. I know it sounds complicated in "words", but it is very intuitive once you play with it - I have handed out to a few folks (including my neighbor) and they quickly "get it" :D


Congratulations on finally bringing this to fruition Will. I know you have been working hard on it for some time. I know you do what you do out of love for the hobby but I sure hope you get compensated in some manner for all your hard work. I need to come over there and give your light a try.:)
We are almost ready for another get-together here in the Dallas area, so that would be a great opportunity for you and other local flashaholics to try the new interface in person and for me to get feedback on how well/or not it works for you guys :D

Will
 
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mvyrmnd

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Thank you guys :eek:



Two ways:
- Passive: the dial is not "exposed" - it sits slightly below the outer surface of the outer rings, so the dial is not the first thing that would touch when the light is put down, and,
- Actively: the pressure on the dial is user adjustable so that you can control how easy (or not) the dial can move/rotate, and if you make it "tight" enough, you can basically lock the dial anywhere in its arc of rotation (of course including the OFF position, which is a very handy feature by itself). So you can get to the brightness level that you want, fine-tune it up/down a little, and then tighten the dial to make it stay in position, until you need to change it again.

Ahh,

Very cool :)

I'm jealous of the guys who'll get to play with this. Stranded all the way on the other side of the pacific, I'll have to wait for a production model :( (and save up the cash for it)
 
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wquiles

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Ahh,

Very cool :)

I'm jealous of the guys who'll get to play with this. Stranded all the way on the other side of the pacific, I'll have to wait for a production model :( (and save up the cash for it)

I will do my best to keep this thread up to date as I make more progress past the prototype stage.

I also have code in the micro-controller to incorporate automatic thermal control (lowers brightness to protect the host from over-heating), as well as low-battery monitoring in two stages:
- automatically lower output level as the battery has 5-10% energy left
- shutdown to prevent over-discharge of cells

Will
 

georges80

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Nice job Will, great attention to detail as always!

For thermal monitoring, given necessary location of the control board (as part of the hall 'ring') having a spare pin for an external thermistor might not be a bad idea - or was that the plan already? In the flex driver I don't have spare pins so the thermal monitoring is performed by the internal uC temperature sensor - so my scheme only works if the driver is near the LED(s)/load.

For an external thermistor you would have a voltage divider and to minimize power when 'off', you could feed the VCC side of the thermistor divider from the same logic output that you use to power the hall sensor ring. That way when 'off' you would set the output pin to low and cut power to the hall ring and also the thermistor divider.

Can't remember which avr you ended up using, but I assume at least the tiny84 that you started with, so hopefully you had a few spare pins to play with.

AND, where are the pictures of the electronic guts??? All I see if metal/delrin shavings - this isn't the machining subforum ya know! :twak:

Very *Refreshing* to see a thread in the subforum that doesn't yet again involve 'modifying' a light to use a DX drop-in :eeew:

cheers,
george.
 

wquiles

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Thank you George :D

For thermal monitoring, the MD board is housed in the same "pill" as the driver, which is also the heatsink, so I will be using the built-in temperature probe inside the micro-controller that I am using (Tiny84).

I will try to have more pictures next time ;)

Will
 

wquiles

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How much amperage can the control circuit handle? or is it purely an input to another driver board?

Excellent question. The MD board is the control, or brain only - it either uses direct drive (say with a MOSFET for the PWM switching), or it can control an LED driver. As such, the amperage is controlled by the external components/LED driver. I designed the system this way (modular) to allow for more flexibility in regards to the LED(s) that can be powered. The MD board has a built-in voltage regulator and it is designed to work from a single LiIon cell (of LiFEPO4, like the "F" size cell I am using in my mule), to about 25 volts or so, so it should work well in a wide range of applications.

Will
 

jabe1

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Excellent!
I can't wait to see the finished product.
It sounds like anyone familiar with an Ipod control will be able to use this to it's fullest extent immediately.
 

mvyrmnd

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It sounds like anyone familiar with an Ipod control will be able to use this to it's fullest extent immediately.

YES! I knew this seemed familiar somehow.

The iPod was a revolution in digital interfaces. I hope for wquiles this will revolutionise flashlights in the same way and he makes lots of money licensing his patent :)
 

wquiles

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Excellent!
I can't wait to see the finished product.
It sounds like anyone familiar with an Ipod control will be able to use this to it's fullest extent immediately.

You know, the SD (SmartDial) is indeed using a similar concept, where you can go slow to find what you want, and fast to skip over the "stuff" you don't need/want - of course I am not searching for songs/files/folders :D

I also think that some digital car stereos have used a similar speed-sensitive volume control. But so far no-one had applied this concept to illumination devices - that was the crux of my invention, and that is why I decided to pursue the patent.

Will
 
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