Switching device

Can you help me?

I am constructing a new type of children's toy and need some help.

I have four switches situated in a circle each located at a cardinal point. A rotating arm spins in the centre. When the arm rotates to become situated in front of a switch, I require the switch to be turned on, then as the arm passes to be turned off. The rotating arm will spin at fluctuating revolutions. The end of the arm and the switch are very close to each other, separated by only a small fraction of an inch (1/16th +/-).

I really do not want a mechanical solution, basically because of friction. I considered some sort of triggering device like infrared or laser, if that would be possible, but of course the action must not interfere with any of the other three switches.

Can anyone can offer me a solution - a circuit, or whatever? I would be so extremely grateful.

Last point, I am not electronically trained or efficient and am barely able to solder two wires together.

Thank you very much

John Simpson

_________________________________ The way to enlightenment is with a torch!

Reply to
John Simpson
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Look up photo transistors and LEDs. It would seem using those two components you could accomplish what you want.

Reply to
user

A magnetic reed switch is actuated when a small magnet is placed nearby. Inexpensive and easy to use.

About soldering: I once knocked a soldering iron off the table and (instinctively) caught it on its way to the floor. Hot end, of course!

Be careful.

Roby

Reply to
Roby

Reminds me of doing something similar!

--=20 cupra (remove nospam please to mail)

Reply to
cupra

You're awful close to describing a distributor for an internal combustion engine. Those are still mechanical though as far as I know.

Dean

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

Roby gave you a great answer. I'll elaborate a little. Imagine a clock face with your switches at 12, 3, 6 and 9.

To implement using reed switches, you would glue a reed behind the clock face at 12, 3, 4 and 9. You would glue a small bar magnet on the big hand. When the big hand was over one of those numbers, the switch would close (turn on) and when the hand moved away the reed would open (turn off). Each reed is a small glass tube about the diameter of a #4 screw and about 1 inch long, with a wire sticking out each end.

With the child's toy, the rotating lever could be made with plastic, with the magnet molded inside the plastic. You would need to experiment in the prototype with the magnet and the switch positioning to get whatever effect you are after. The distance between the magnet and the switch, and the angle between them, affects the length of time the switch will be on.

Reply to
ehsjr

Ouch!!!

Reply to
indago

Reply to
Travis Hayes

I would suggest that you look at reflective opto couplers. This is a small block with both the TXLED and RX diode in the one package. Four pins only. Pass a current through the LED, everytime somthing passes over the sensor, the reflected IR will cause a current to flow in the RX diode.

Best regards, Mark Empson

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Reply to
Mark Empson

Reed switches are extremely reliable. I think what you mean by robust is that they won't stand up to direct hammer blows - or the kind of abuse a child might deliver to a toy by dropping it, kicking it - whatever. I would agree. However, in a production toy, the reed would have to be encapsulated in the toy. You can't have accessible parts, or parts that can fall out, that are small enough for a child to ingest. So the issue of a child applying direct abuse to the reed doesn't exist.

Reply to
ehsjr

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