New project idea...need suggestions

cbmeeks

Last night, I got up at 4:00 am to give my one year old son his pacifier because he woke up crying.

99.99999% of the time, I remember to put his rail back up on his bed so that he can't fall out. Last night, I forgot.

THANK GOODNESS, he slept the rest of the night but he could have woke up, walked out of his room (the door was closed this time) and fallen down our stairs...I get sick to my stomache thinking about it.

ANYWAY, being a person that is always trying to think of something neat to do, I get the idea of making a baby bed alarm.

It would work like this:

Option 1
======

If the time is between 8:30 PM and 6:00 AM (his bedtime) and the gate is down for more than 1 minute, sound the alarm.

Option 2
======

If the gate is down regardless of what time it is for more than 1 minute, sound the alarm.


Now, the alarm could be a loud buzzer/beeper but it could wake the baby....
Maybe the alarm could send something wirelessly to our bedroom to sound a buzzer? (less chance of waking baby but more complicated)



Here are some questions:

1) What do you recommend for the detection? Like maybe some type of proximity device that could detect the two objects were more than 1 inch away? I could put them both on the top of the rail so that when it is down, it is seperated.

2) Any info on wireless transmitters?

3) Any info on detecting low battery like in smoke detectors? (I could just light a LED all the time but that would drain it faster.

4) Any suggestions on "baby-proofing" it so that my He-Man son doesn't pull it off?

Any ideas are welcome. I believe I can handle the programming if I can find the parts.

Thanks!

************************ EDIT:

One idea I just had would be to have RA.0 output to RB.0. A simple loop that could go through a wire. When the bed is down, the wire is removed. If RB.0 does NOT receive any input, then sound the alarm on RC.0???

Couldn't be that easy could it??

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Post Edited (cbmeeks) : 8/23/2005 4:54:29 PM GMT

Paul Baker

cbmeeks said...
Option 1
======

If the time is between 8:30 PM and 6:00 AM (his bedtime) and the gate is down for more than 1 minute, sound the alarm.

Option 2
======

If the gate is down regardless of what time it is for more than 1 minute, sound the alarm.

Here are some questions:

1) What do you recommend for the detection? Like maybe some type of proximity device that could detect the two objects were more than 1 inch away? I could put them both on the top of the rail so that when it is down, it is seperated.

2) Any info on wireless transmitters?

3) Any info on detecting low battery like in smoke detectors? (I could just light a LED all the time but that would drain it faster.

4) Any suggestions on "baby-proofing" it so that my He-Man son doesn't pull it off?

Either option is feasible, the first would require an external timerkeeper chip, but no big deal. For a sensor, I would use a slotted·optical sensor switch, recess it into the bar on the crib and have a tab which fits in the slot on the gate. This recessed mounting should help tamper proof it. I'll leave wireless transmission to others since I don't have much practical working experience with them. There are battery monitor chips which can handle detection of low batteries. Perhaps you can have an LED indicator in the baby's room that would be visable to you, but not to the baby so you can see the gate isn't secured. The LED would be a backup for the buzzer system in your room since it only provides feedback if you are in the room (and awake).

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nick bernard

great project! the first question that poppe in my head was do you have a baby monitor? If so you could place a small peizo buzzer near the monitor. Otherwise check out some of parallax's wireless solutions http://www.parallax.com/html_pages/products/communication/rf_modules.asp.
an x-10 solution may also be to your liking
http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=27940

let us know how it turns out

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sometimes never is better than sometimes.

cbmeeks

Yeah, I do have a baby monitor. I was kinda hoping for something that would buzz in our bedroom and not his. That way, he would have less chance of waking up before I could get there.

But, I am a light sleeper so maybe a buzzer would work.

Thanks for the links!

cbmeeks

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DaveG

You might take a look at the US Patent & Trademark Office web page.
I found a patent on a similar concept. It might give you a few ideas.

Patent #6710717 Crib Gate Position Indicator
1. Goto www.uspto.gov/index.html
2. Click Search(patents)
3. Click Patent Number Search
4. Type in 6710717
6. Click Images to see full patent(19 pages)

Dave G

Beau Schwabe

Nick asked ...
"do you have a baby monitor?"

Do you know the Frequency of your baby monitor?
·
If there is a problem... i.e. Gate is Down· ...you could transmit a "burst" tone that would temporarily "JAM"
the·regular full duty·transmitter monitor at a frequency dependent on·the "burst" tone of your choice.
·
On the receiver end you should be able to hear the·"burst" tone when there is a problem.
·
·


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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

Ken Gracey

cbmeeks:

You will need to finish this project before the baby grows beyond the crib. That can happen really fast, especially when I envision how long some of my simple projects take me to finish. As for the sensor, you could also look at hall effect/magnets, reed switch/magnet, Ping))) ultrasonic (and put the whole sensor across the room from the crib to answer your question #4 about "he-man" baby). Your point about moving the control system away from the crib is certainly valid, so I'd look at using a Ping. If you put electronics next to the crib you could sew them into a baby-proof fabric enclosure.

Both of my little kids frequently carry broken BS2s and SX-Keys in their pockets. Every once in a while they scream when they get poked by one of the I/O pins.

Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.

John Couture

Ken,

Is the broken BS2 and SX-Keys in the kids' pockets part of the "product durability" testing in your "product development" cycle?

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John J. Couture

San Diego Miramar College

kjennejohn

Jeez, it's like listening to a bunch of scientisits discussing a replacement for gravity!!

Go to Radio Shack. Get their wireless door alarm. Install the door monitor high on the child's door, out of his reach. Install the alarm receiver unit in your bedroom. Test the setup once a month. Change the batteries when the clocks get reset for the solstice, like with smoke alarms. Maybe get a second monitor and rig it to the bed gate. The door unit is your backup. While you're at it, install more units at critical doors and windows. Get a better monitor that tells you which unit is sounding an alarm. Buy rechargeable batteries and an an intelligent battery charger as a set, $45 to $140 on Ebay all day.

However, it won't be as much FUN as "rolling your own"!

kenjj

ERM

Whatever project you choose to do, try mounting a magnetic switch, like you would have on windows for your house alarm, and mount them to the bottom of the gate. The bottom of the gate when raised is still below the baby's mattress. You can also mount the circuitry in a box to the bottom of the mattress to the springs. Just a thought.