Introduction
In this lesson, we will learn to use a relay. It is one of the commonly used components in automatic control system. When the voltage, current, temperature, pressure, etc., reaches, exceeds or is lower than the predetermined value, the relay will connect or interrupt the circuit, to control and protect the equipment.
Newly Added Components
Principle
Relay
As we may know, relay is a device which is used to provide connection between two or more points or devices in response to the input signal applied. In other words, relays provide isolation between the controller and the device as devices may work on AC as well as on DC. However, they receive signals from a microcontroller which works on DC hence requiring a relay to bridge the gap. Relay is extremely useful when you need to control a large amount of current or voltage with small electrical signal.
There are 5 parts in every relay:
1. Electromagnet – It consists of an iron core wounded by coil of wires. When electricity is passed through, it becomes magnetic. Therefore, it is called electromagnet.
2. Armature – The movable magnetic strip is known as armature. When current flows through them, the coil is energized thus producing a magnetic field which is used to make or break the normally open (N/O) or normally close (N/C) points. And the armature can be moved with direct current (DC) as well as alternating current (AC).
3. Spring– When no currents flow through the coil on the electromagnet, the spring pulls the armature away so the circuit cannot be completed.
4. Set of electrical contacts– There are two contact points:
． Normally open – connected when the relay is activated, and disconnected when it is inactive.
． Normally close – not connected when the relay is activated, and connected when it is inactive.
5. Molded frame – Relays are covered with plastic for protection.
Working of Relay
The working principle of relay is simple. When power is supplied to the relay, currents start flowing through the control coil; as a result, the electromagnet starts energizing. Then the armature is attracted to the coil, pulling down the moving contact together thus connecting with the normally open contacts. So the circuit with the load is energized. Then breaking the circuit would a similar case, as the moving contact will be pulled up to the normally closed contacts under the force of the spring. In this way, the switching on and off of the relay can control the state of a load circuit.
Transistor
Transistor is a semiconductor device that controls current by current. It functions by amplifying weak signal to larger amplitude signal and is also used for non-contact switch. A transistor is a three-layer structure composed of P-type and N-type semiconductors. They form the three regions internally. The thinner in the middle is the base region; the other two are both N-type or P-type ones – the smaller region with intense majority carriers is the emitter region, while the other one is the collector region. This composition enables the transistor to be an amplifier.
From these three regions, three poles are generated respectively, which are base (b), emitter (e), and collector (c). They form two P-N junctions, namely, the emitter junction and collection junction. The direction of the arrow in the transistor circuit symbol indicates that of the emitter junction. Based on the semiconductor type, transistors can be divided into two groups, the NPN and PNP ones. From the abbreviation, we can tell that the former is made of two N-type semiconductors and one P-type and that the latter is the opposite. See the figure below.
When a High level signal goes through an NPN transistor, it is energized. But a PNP one needs a Low level signal to manage it. Both types of transistor are frequently used for contactless switches, just like in this experiment.
Diode1N4007
1N4007 is a semiconductor device for converting alternating current into direct current. By using the one-way conductivity of the diode, alternating current with alternating directions can be converted into a single-direction pulse direct current.
With a positive large current, 1N4007 has a low voltage drop (representative value 0.7 V ) called as forward conduction state. If the opposite voltage is applied, the potential barrier is increased to withstand a high reverse voltage or to flow through a very small reverse current (called reverse leakage current) called as a reverse blocking state. Thus, the rectifier diode has a significant one-way conductivity. In this lesson, we apply this characteristic of diode.
Schematic Diagram
When a high level signal is given to Pin 11, the transistor is energized, thus making the coil of the relay conductive. Then its normally open contact is closed, and the LED will light up. When Pin 11 is given a Low level, the LED will stay dim. In this experiment, we apply Freewheeling Diode that connects to both ends of the relay coil in parallel to prevent relay from breakdown or burnout caused by induced voltage.
Build the Circuit
- For C Language Users
Command
1.Go to the folder of the code.
cd /home/pi/electronic-kit/for-raspberry-pi/c/Lesson_8_Relay
2. Compile the code.
gcc 8_Relay.c -lwiringPi
3. Run the executable file.
sudo ./a.out
Now, the LED will blink, you can hear a tick-tock caused by breaking the normally close contact and closing the normally open one.
Code
1.#include <wiringPi.h>
2.#include <stdio.h>
3.
4.#define RelayPin 0
5.
6.int main(void){
7. if(wiringPiSetup() == -1){ //when initialize wiring failed, print message to screen
8. printf("setup wiringPi failed !");
9. return 1;
10. }
11.
12. pinMode(RelayPin, OUTPUT);
13.
14. while(1){
15. // Tick
16. printf("......Relay Open \n");
17. digitalWrite(RelayPin, LOW);
18. delay(1000);
19. // Tock
20. printf("Relay Close......\n");
21. digitalWrite(RelayPin, HIGH);
22. delay(1000);
23. }
24. return 0;
25.} CodeExplanation
| 17. digitalWrite(RelayPin, LOW); |
Set the I/O port RelayPin as LOW (0V), so the transistor is not energized and the coil is not powered. There is no electromagnetic force, so the relay opens and the LED remains off.
| 21. digitalWrite(RelayPin, HIGH); |
Set the I/O port as HIGH (5V) to energize the transistor. The coil of the relay is powered and generate electromagnetic force, and the relay closes. Then you can see the LED is lit.
- For Python Language Users
Command
1.Go to the folder of the code.
cd /home/pi/electronic-kit/for-raspberry-pi/python
2. Run the code.
sudo python3 8_Relay.py
Now, the LED is blinking, you can hear a tick-tock caused by breaking the normally closed contact and closing the normally open one.
Code
1.import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
2.import time
3.
4.relayPin = 17
5.
6.# Define a setup function for some setup
7.def setup():
8. GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
9. GPIO.setup(relayPin, GPIO.OUT, initial=GPIO.LOW)
10.
11.# Define a main function for main process
12.def main():
13. while True:
14. print ('...Relay open')
15. # Tick
16. GPIO.output(relayPin, GPIO.LOW)
17. time.sleep(1)
18. print ('Relay close...')
19. # Tock
20. GPIO.output(relayPin, GPIO.HIGH)
21. time.sleep(1)
22.
23.def destroy():
24. # Turn off LED
25. GPIO.output(relayPin, GPIO.LOW)
26. # Release resource
27. GPIO.cleanup()
28.
29.# If run this script directly, do:
30.if __name__ == '__main__':
31. setup()
32. try:
33. main()
34. # When 'Ctrl+C' is pressed, the child program
35. # destroy() will be executed.
36. except KeyboardInterrupt:
37. destroy() CodeExplanation
| 9. GPIO.setup(relayPin, GPIO.OUT, initial=GPIO.LOW) |
Initialize pins. And the output pin of relay is set to output mode and default low level.
| 17. time.sleep(1) |
Wait for 1 second. Change the switching frequency of the relay by changing this parameter.
Note: Relay is a kind of metal dome formed in mechanical structure. So its lifespan will be shortened under high-frequency using.
| 16. GPIO.output(relayPin, GPIO.LOW) |
Set the I/O port as low level (0V), thus the transistor is not energized and the coil is not powered. There is no electromagnetic force, so the relay opens and the LED remains off.
| 20. GPIO.output(relayPin, GPIO.HIGH) |
Set the I/O port as high level (5V) to energize the transistor. The coil of the relay is powered and generate electromagnetic force, and the relay closes. Then you can see the LED is lit.