Product idea or project idea

Ideas and questions about MintyBoost kits

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cyborg5
 
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Product idea or project idea

Post by cyborg5 »

I've got an idea for a gadget but I don't really have the experience or technical skills to create it. It's related to providing power to USB gadgets so I thought I would post in the MintyBoost forum since this is most likely to be where charging experts would be available.

I have the problem that certain of my Arduino projects (most of those that deal with IR transmitters) momentarily require more power than is available on a USB port. But when the device is not actually in use, it requires considerably less. What I want to make is a LiPo supplement battery for my gadgets. It would provide the extra current above and beyond my PCs or laptop's USB port when the device was active. But it would then charge the battery when the device was sitting idle.

I know that there are USB chargers that would provide one amp or more of power but I need to maintain the serial connection to my computer. I could connect the battery like a MintyBoost in parallel with the USB power but I don't think that that would maintain the charge on the LiPo batteries.

Basically I want a battery that I can to a USB on a PC or laptop that will pass through the serial data to an Arduino and it will supplement the power. Basically it will be a battery-powered voltage buffer.

I could use an Arduino Uno with an external 9 V power supply connected to the barrel jack but on other types of Arduino such as micro, trinket, gemma etc. it's a little more complicated. I want just one box with the battery in it. You connect one end to the USB of any Arduino and the other end to a USB port on a PC or laptop. You get all the power you need and maintain serial communication.

If this isn't a full-blown Adafruit product perhaps someone who is knowledgeable in the area of charging could create a project for the learning system using Adafruit parts.

By the way there is an IndiGoGo project called Pinochio that is an Arduino compatible controller, RF module, and battery pack all rolled into one. They have started shipping finally but I've not yet received my units. I'm pretty sure that they are going to work the way I want to. But I would like to have that ability on other Arduino platforms.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Product idea or project idea

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

You can put a higher-power supply on the Arduino barrel jack. If you use a 9V supply, it will be safe to have both USB and the supply connected simultaneously. The Arduino will automatically use the barrel-jack power supply instead of USB power.

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cyborg5
 
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Re: Product idea or project idea

Post by cyborg5 »

I'm aware that I can use a 9 V supply on the barrel jack. I mentioned that in my original post. I still would like to have some sort of a self charging battery supplement. By the way can you put 5 V in the barrel jack of an Arduino? Or does it have to be more than five so that it can be regulated down?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Product idea or project idea

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

cyborg5 wrote:By the way can you put 5 V in the barrel jack of an Arduino? Or does it have to be more than five so that it can be regulated down?
You need higher. I think the regulator eats about 1.3V. Practically, a 7V supply is minimum, but we recommend a 9V.
Note that a 7V supply can cause problems for the voltage detection circuitry if the arduino is also connected to USB power

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