The design of a wireless batteryless biflash installation with high power LEDs

J. Cappelle; W. De Geest; P. Hanselaer

doi:10.1117/12.882964

Translator Disclaimer

20 April 2011 The design of a wireless batteryless biflash installation with high power LEDs

J. Cappelle, W. De Geest, P. Hanselaer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8065, SPIE Eco-Photonics 2011: Sustainable Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering Workforce Education for a Green Future; 80651G (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.882964
Event: SPIE Eco-Photonics, 2011, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Adding flashlights at crosswalks may make these weak traffic points safer. Unfortunately plugging in traffic lights into the electrical grid is expensive and complex. This paper reports about the energetic, the electronic and the optical design and building of a wireless and batteryless biflash installation in the framework of a flemish SME supporting program. The energy is supplied by a small solar panel and is buffered by supercapacitors instead of batteries. This has the advantage of being maintenance free: the number of charge-discharge cycles is almost unlimited because there is no chemical reaction involved in the storage mechanism. On the other hand the limited energy storage capacity of supercapacitors requires a new approach for the system design. Based on the EN-12352 standard for warning light devices, all design choices were filled in to be as energy efficient as possible. The duty cycle and the light output of the high power led flashlights are minimized. The components for the electronic circuits for the led driver, the control and the RF communication are selected based on their energy consumption and power management techniques are implemented. A lot of energy is saved by making the biflash system active. The leds are only flashing on demand or at preprogrammed moments. A biflash installation is typically installed at both sides of a crosswalk. A call at one of the sides should result in flashing at both sides. To maintain the drag and drop principle, a wireless RF communication system is designed.

Citation Download Citation

J. Cappelle, W. De Geest, and P. Hanselaer "The design of a wireless batteryless biflash installation with high power LEDs", Proc. SPIE 8065, SPIE Eco-Photonics 2011: Sustainable Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering Workforce Education for a Green Future, 80651G (20 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.882964

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE