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Use of Infrared Detectors Basics

This document discusses the basics of infrared detectors and how they can be used to detect surfaces and follow lines. It provides details on infrared emitters, phototransistors, and reflectance sensors. It also includes diagrams of example circuits and explains how changing resistance levels in the phototransistor in response to light allow the circuits to detect light and dark surfaces. The document discusses using proportional, integral and differential filters in the control system to process sensor input and generate motor commands to allow line following robots to track lines using infrared detectors.

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143 views8 pages

Use of Infrared Detectors Basics

This document discusses the basics of infrared detectors and how they can be used to detect surfaces and follow lines. It provides details on infrared emitters, phototransistors, and reflectance sensors. It also includes diagrams of example circuits and explains how changing resistance levels in the phototransistor in response to light allow the circuits to detect light and dark surfaces. The document discusses using proportional, integral and differential filters in the control system to process sensor input and generate motor commands to allow line following robots to track lines using infrared detectors.

Uploaded by

Girish_Giriyap_3305
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Use of Infrared Detectors Basics

IR emitter and IR phototransistor


An infrared emitter is an LED made from gallium arsenide, which emits near-infrared
energy at about 880nm.
The infrared phototransistor acts as a transistor with the base voltage determined by the
amount of light hitting the transistor.
Hence it acts as a variable current source. Greater amount of IR light cause greater
currents to flow through the collector-emitter leads.
As shown in the diagram below, the phototransistor is wired in a similar configuration to
the voltage divider.
The variable current traveling through the resistor causes a voltage drop in the pull-up
resistor.
This voltage is measured as the output of the device
Photo

IR reflectance sensors contain a matched infrared transmitter and infrared receiver pair.
These devices work by measuring the amount of light that is reflected into the receiver.
Because the receiver also responds to ambient light, the device works best when well
shielded from abient light,
and when the distance between the sensor and the reflective surface is small(less than
5mm).
IR reflectance sensors are often used to detect white and black surfaces. White surfaces
generally reflect well,
while black surfaces reflect poorly. One of such applications is the line follower of a robot.

How Infrared Trans Rex detectors work ?


Schematic Diagram for a Single Pair of Infrared Transmitter and Receiver

Theory of Sensor Circuit

To get a good voltage swing , the value of R1 must be carefully chosen. If Rsensor = a when
no light falls on it and Rsensor = b when light falls on it. The difference in the two
potentials is:
Vcc * { a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1) }
Relative voltage swing = Actual Voltage Swing / Vcc
= Vcc * { a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1) } / Vcc
= a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1)

The resistance of the sensor decreases when IR light falls on it. A good sensor will have
near zero resistance
in presence of light and a very large resistance in absence of light. We have used this
property of the sensor to form a potential divider. The potential at point ‘2’ is Rsensor /
(Rsensor + R1). Again, a good sensor circuit should give maximum change in potential at
point ‘2’ for no-light and bright-light conditions. This is especially important if you plan to
use an ADC in place of the comparator

To get a good voltage swing , the value of R1 must be carefully chosen. If Rsensor = a when
no light falls on it and Rsensor = b when light falls on it. The difference in the two
potentials is:
Vcc * { a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1) }

Relative voltage swing = Actual Voltage Swing / Vcc


= Vcc * { a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1) } / Vcc
= a/(a+R1) - b/(b+R1)

Description of operation of a typical circuit


If the emitter and detector (aka phototransistor) are not blocked, then the output on pin 2
of the 74LS14 will be high (apx. 5 Volts).
When they are blocked, then the output will be low (apx. 0 Volts). The 74LS14 is a Schmitt
triggered hex inverter.
A Schmitt trigger is a signal conditioner. It ensures that above a threshold value, we will
always get "clean" HIGH and LOW signals.
Not Blocked Case: Pin 2 High Current from Vcc flows through the detector. The current
continues to flow through the base of Q2.
Current from Vcc also flows through R2, and Q2's Drain and Emitter to ground.
As a result of this current path, there will be no current flowing through Q1's base.
The signal at U1's pin 1 will be low, and so pin 2 will be high. Blocked Case: Pin 2 Low
Current "stops" at the detector.
Q2's base is not turned on. The current is re-routed passing through R2 and into the base
of Q1.
This allows current to flow from Q1's detector and exiting out Q1's emitter. Pin 1 is thus
high and pin 2 will be low.
To detect a line to be followed, we are using two or more number of poto-reflectors.
Its output current that proportional to reflection rate of the floor is converted to voltage
with a resister and tested it if the line is detected or not.
However the threshold voltage cannot be fixed to any level because optical current by
ambent light is added to the output current.
Most photo-detecting modules are using modurated light to avoid interference by the
ambient light.
The detected signal is filtered with a band pass filter and disused signals are filtered out.
Therefore only the modurated signal from the light emitter can be detected.
Of course the detector must not be saturated by ambient light, this is effective when the
detector is working in linear region.

The line position is compeared to the center value to be tracked, the position error is
processed with Proportional/Integral/Diffence filters
to generate steering command. The line folloing robot tracks the line in PID control that
the most popular argolithm for servo control.
The proportional term is the commom process in the servo system. It is only a gain
amplifire without time dependent process.
The differencial term is applied in order to improve the responce to disturbance, and it also
compensate phase lag at the controled object.
The D term will be required in most case to stabilize tracking motion. The I term that
boosts DC gain is applied in order to remove left offset error,
however, it often decrease servo stability due to its phase lag.
When any line sensing error has occured for a time due to getting out of line or end of line,
the motors are stopped and
the microcontroller enters sleep state of zero power consumption.
Typical Examples of infrared Transmitter and Receiver installation

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