The Molex headers PWR1 and PWR2 mate with Molex connector plugs (manufacturer part no. 0050841020) with 0.84" female pins.

Instructions

1. Connect the voltage source to the PWR1 Molex header. This can be a solar panel or a new 12V battery bank, for example. The square on the diagrams indicate the location of the Molex pin for the positive connection. The ground pin in the Molex connector is nearer to the rear end of the board and is indicated by a black filled circle on the diagram.
2. Connect an equal voltage source to the PWR2 Molex header. This is the backup battery or other power source. Use the polarity marked on the diagram. As before, the square on the diagram indicates the location of the positive Molex pin.
3. Connect the load to the terminal J1 at the front of the board and secure its leads with the screws on top of the terminal block. You can also solder leads from the load to the set of pads labeled D2. The side marked A in either output port is the positive connection and the side marked K is the negative connection. In the case of Light Emitting Devices (LEDs) the A connection is the Anode and the K connection is the Cathode. Depending upon which port you use for connecting the load, the other port can be used to connect something parallel to the load. For example, a parallel limiting diode can be connected to the circuit with the J1 terminal if a laser is soldered to the D2 pads; or another complete circuit can be connected at either the J1 port or D2 port if so desired.
4. There are pads at the rear (where the Molex connectors are) near the sides of the board. These provide an auxiliary output from the power integrator and can be used to daisy-chain several of these boards, or to power additional circuits. The output pad on the same side as the PWR1 Molex connector is the auxiliary output power positive connection. The output pad on the same side as to the PWR2 Molex connector is the auxiliary output ground connection.

PRODUCT OPERATION

The 100MV model is a current sharing design that expects equal voltages to be connected to PWR1 and PWR2. When the voltage difference between PWR1 and PWR2 rises above 100MV the highest voltage source it is gated to the output of the power integrator and the lower voltage is disconnected from the load. The highest voltage stays on the output until the voltage difference between PWR1 and PWR2 falls below 100mV at which point current from both PWR1 and PWR2 is gated to the output. The circuit returns to current sharing mode. When the voltages are equal half the current to the load is supplied by PWR1 and half is supplied by PWR2.

The load connects, at J1 or at D2, to a pulsed driver that provides a periodic waveform. The pulse has a 0.01% duty cycle and nearly the same voltage magnitude as the voltage that is output from the power integrator. If the load is not connected, at J1 nor at D2, the DC voltage output of the power integrator will be floating at the A terminal and a very low voltage pulse will be occurring at the K terminal. The pulsed driver is then in open circuit operation.

A RENEWABLE ENERGY APPLICATION

It is recommended to connect PWR1 and PWR2 to a new bank of 12 V batteries or directly to solar panels that operate at a nominal voltage of 15V. Both of these types of sources charge to the needed 12V but the batteries might quit doing so after a while. Automatic switching between battery power and solar power can be obtained if solar panels are connected to one MOLEX connector and a battery bank is connected to the other.

Single-Ended Operation

The POWIM-PD can operate with a single ended supply by connecting a source to PWR1 or PWR2 and leaving other input open. The open input remains always disconnected from the output. A voltage with a magnitude falling in the range spanning from 20V down to 3.6V, when connected to PWR1 or PWR2, will appear at the output of the Power Integrating Module (POWIM-), but the Pulsed Driver (PD) stops pulsing when the POWIM- output is down to around 5V. The output of the PD is temperature dependent and is thus uncertain below this critical voltage level. The absolute maximum input to the POWIM- is 20V and 15A.

The POWIM-PD was designed in 2009 by Benjamin Bacon at Plane Space Design.

Plane Space Design

139 McIntyre St.

Savannah, GA 31415.

Web-Site www.planespacedesign.com