introduction
The goal of this project was to create a circuit for a printer that would determine when a jam exists and stop the printer motor when said jam occurs. The inputs were 3 sensors that could tell if something was in front of them. The outputs were the jam alarm and the printer motor. The object was to create a circuit that when two or more adjacent sensors detected something in front of them, the printer motor stops and the jam alarm turns on. The printer had to then be manually reset only after the jam was fixed.
day 1
How did you create a truth table? What were your inputs and outputs? What theorems of Boolean Algebra did you apply?
I created the truth table by analyzing the problem at hand and determining the situations where the AOI circuit would need to have a high output. This was where two or more of the motion sensors determined something in front of them. I therefore made the motion sensors the inputs (A, B, and C) and labeled the output as J, which would go into the clock of the flip flop. For the Boolean Algebra, I used Theorem number 8 (X + 'X = 1), theorem 2 (X * 1 = X), and the consensus theorem. Throughout the process, I included the distributive and associative properties as well.
I created the truth table by analyzing the problem at hand and determining the situations where the AOI circuit would need to have a high output. This was where two or more of the motion sensors determined something in front of them. I therefore made the motion sensors the inputs (A, B, and C) and labeled the output as J, which would go into the clock of the flip flop. For the Boolean Algebra, I used Theorem number 8 (X + 'X = 1), theorem 2 (X * 1 = X), and the consensus theorem. Throughout the process, I included the distributive and associative properties as well.
day 2
Creating the circuit in Multisim overall was not terribly difficult for me since we had done a similar circuit previously in class. However, it was a bit of a challenge working with the flip-flop since it is such a new idea. That being said, though troubleshooting in class, I was able to create a functioning circuit. The purpose of the resistors is to ensure that none of the chips or LEDs would be burnt or overloaded with current (basically to limit the current passing through). The combinational logic circuit determines when there is a "jam" so that the motor knows when to stop. The inverter branching off of the AOI circuit going into the reset ensures that the system will not clear while there is still a jam. The probe coming from Q represents the jam alarm, and the probe coming from 'Q represents the motor. When there is a jam, the jam alarm must turn on and the motor must turn off to prevent damaging the printer or anything of that nature.
day 3
In order to determine how many chips were required for the TInkercad implementation, I first determined how many of each gate were present. In the circuit, there are 3 AND gates, 1 OR gate, and 1 inverter gate. Therefore, there are 3 AOI chips required. In the Tinkercad circuit, I used a different flop flop than in my Multisim circuit, therefore an extra inverter gate was required, but this doesn't impact the number of chips required. In addition to the 3 AOI chips, the TInkercad circuit also required 1 flip flop chip and 1 motor driver chip. The purpose of a motor driver is to take the incoming current and voltage from the circuit and optimize it so that the motor will run. Motors require a certain level of current and voltage, therefore the driver is necessary to make these changes. We made the driver work by connecting the ground and heat sink pins to the ground, by connecting power to the necessary pins, and by connecting the old breadboard to the new breadboard with the motor. The "input" pin of the motor driver was connected to the inverted Q from the flip flop in order to tell the motor when and when not to run. Also, the ground and power from the original breadboard were connected to the smaller one.
conclusion
The process I took to build the Paper Jam circuit was creating it in Multisim (modeling it after the previously built circuit), working out the kinks with the tips given by our teacher, and finalizing it to make sure it worked. I then incorporated it into the Tinkercad circuit. Overall, I do think that I am improving when it comes to my skills with Tinkercad. I was able to work through the problems I ran into by myself, even though I was given a few general tips. I am proud of myself for not relying on Ms. Zienty to have to walk me through making the circuit step by step, which I think is a huge checkpoint for me. With this project, I have learned how to use a flip flop chip on a breadboard and how to work the inputs, I have learned how to use a motor driver and run a motor with it, and I have learned how to use an AOI circuit as an input for a flip flop circuit.