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Door Knob Touch Alarm

Group
BSEE III- 3
October 4, 2014

ABSTRACT
This research focuses on detection of unauthorized access to residential and commercial buildings
when the residents are far away from the access gate of the house. The system is a simple and
reliable touch activated security and uses sensor technology to revolutionize the standards of
living. Due to its simple electronic components nature, it is more adaptable and cost-effective. The
system is divided into three units; the power supply unit which employs the use of both DC battery
and mains supply to ensure constant power supply to the circuit, the trigger unit which is
responsible for activating the alarm unit and designed to have much time and period and moderate
sensitivity in order to reduce the rate of false alarm, and the alarm amplitude unit which main
function is to produce amplitude alarm sound when triggered by the trigger unit with the aim of
producing a large audible sound that can alert the entire neighborhood or scare an intruder away.
The design of the system was achieved by considering some factors such as economy, availability of
components and research materials, efficiency, compatibility and portability and also durability in
the design process. The performance of the system after test met design specifications. This system
works on the principle of touch sensor. The general operation of the system and performance is
dependent on the presence of an intruder entering through the door and touching any part of the
door. The overall system was constructed and tested and it work perfectly.

I. INTRODUCTION
Insecurity and crime constitute are some of the major problems facing our immediate society today.
People live with fear of being attacked by burglars, vandals and thieves. Despite all the effort,
resources and time that has been devoted to the development of tools that will reduce crime rates
and make the world a safer place to live, these problems are still on the increase. These gave rise to
the need for an increasing development in the technology of alarm systems which utilizes various
principles such as CCTV cameras, infrared motion detection, light (photo) sensitive electronic
devices and so on. Even with the introduction of these alarm systems which have reduced greatly
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the level of insecurity, there is still a problem of false alarm which needs to be minimized. In order
to effectively reduce the level of insecurity and avoid false alarms which can create unnecessary
unrest, we could develop a touch activated security system through the use of electrical circuits.
Electrical circuits serves as pathways for electrical current to flow; this includes the combination of
components such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes. These discrete
components can furthermore be constructed by connecting individual pieces of wire, but today it is
much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic techniques on a laminated
substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the components to these interconnections to
create a finished circuit.
This system if properly designed will provide security and ensure alarms are activated only when
an unauthorized person try to gain access to the protected area or device by touching the entrance
or any other part of the device.

II. OBJECTIVE
The research aims to:
To apply the lessons learned in studying Electrical Circuits and Devices
To ensure familiarization with basic electrical components
To create a functionally working device which eases and helps human activity


III. POINT OF RESEARCH
With the advancement in science and technology, these crude methods of generating alarm were
replaced by electronic alarm systems. These electronic alarm systems operate without any human
effort. Once it senses a particular signal, it gives an indication in form of loud sound or noise
depending on its design
However, industries based on security service equipment provision have being coming up with
different designs so as to keep burglars and vandals away from public areas not made for them.
Today we have the new generation of electronic alarm system which comes in various levels of
complexities and sophistication. With the recent increase in crime rates, it has become important to
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protect our buildings and properties with adequate safety devices. The cost of these safety devices
depend on the equipment technology and the application requirement. These safety devices are
called the modern electronic alarm system. Some of the modern alarm systems commonly used
these days is burglar alarms, duress alarms, industrial alarms, speed limit alarms, and anti-theft car
alarms which works particularly with sensors.
The increasing developments in science and technology have given rise to a tremendous
improvement in the technology of alarm sensors. These sensors act as inputs which triggers the
alarm. The alarm sensor technology employed in this system is the capacitance sensor. The sensors
wire is usually attached to metallic door handles, metallic, and protectors etc. It normally require
touch or close proximity and subsequent alteration of capacitance to trigger the alarm. This sensor
type adopted in this system helps in the reduction of false triggering of alarms and the detection of
intruders is not in any way affected by weather condition, radio frequency or electromagnetic
disturbance.

III. SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
This section will discuss the design and procedure and the basic components used for this work.
III - A. TECHNICAL INFORMATION
A. Resistor Resistors are passive circuit elements that oppose the flow current through them
thereby producing a voltage drop. In this project circuit, they were used in limiting the
current to the base of the transistors, with the capacitor to form the monostable
multivibrator delay network. They were also used to create voltage drop at the collector of
the transistors. The ability of the resistor to oppose the flow of current through it is known
as its resistance. The resistance (R) is given by

. Where V is the applied voltage across

the resistor and I is the current flowing through it. Resistor are basically divided into two
main types namely; the fixed and the variable resistors. The fixed resistors have fixed
resistance value set by the manufacturer and cannot be altered, while the variable resistors
have resistance which can be varied between two maximum and minimum ranges. For the
purpose of the project only the fixed resistors were used.

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B. Capacitor - Capacitors are components that are used to store an electrical charge and are
used in timer circuits. A capacitor may be used with a resistor to produce a timer.
Sometimes capacitors are used to smooth a current in a circuit as they can prevent false
triggering of other components such as relays. When power is supplied to a circuit that
includes a capacitor - the capacitor charges up. When power is turned off the capacitor
discharges its electrical charge slowly.

C. Diode - Capacitors are components that are used to store an electrical charge and are used
in timer circuits. A capacitor may be used with a resistor to produce a timer. Sometimes
capacitors are used to smooth a current in a circuit as they can prevent false triggering of
other components such as relays. When power is supplied to a circuit that includes a
capacitor - the capacitor charges up. When power is turned off the capacitor discharges its
electrical charge slowly.
D. Transistor - The term transistor refers to a wide variety of gain- producing from silicon (or
possibly, germanium) but there their similarity ends. There are two forms of transistors.
a) The bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
b) The field-effect transistor (FET)

The BJTs were used for the purpose of this project. The BJT is a gain producing device. That
is it has the ability to control one flow of current based on the value of another
(independent) flow.
The BJT is a three terminal device (three leads). The BJT can have two paths for current
flow. Initially, the BJT does not appear to provide gain or controls just two paths for current
flow. But the special arrangement of impurities applied to the silicon inside the device
allows the BJT to provide control of one flow based on the value of the other. The BJT leads
are labeled the base B, the emitter E, the collector C.
There are two types of BJT. They are:
1. NPN
2. PNP
These notations relate to two distinct arrangement of the doped silicon inside the device.
The NPN has a P-type material sandwiched between two N-type materials. While in the
PNP, it has an N-type material sandwiched between two P-type materials. The BJT is
polarity sensitive. To produce any conduction, the proper polarity of a source must be
connected to the correct leads of the device. This is called transistor biasing.
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The NPN and PNP marking assist in co-coordinating the proper polarity to connect to
produce a forward conduction
E. Integrated Circuit Integrated circuits (ICs) also called silicon chips or microchips. Basic
555 timer circuits ranging to complex PIC Microcontroller circuits and computer processors
(CPUs) are based on the use of integrated circuits. A typical integrated circuit package is
very small. It would easily fit on the end of a finger. A 555 timer only has 8 pins, four on
each side. However, even the larger 19 pin ICs are small enough to fit very easily in the palm
of the hand, if not on the end of a fingertip.
F. Transducer A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to
another. Common examples include microphones, loudspeakers, thermometers, position
and pressure sensors, and antenna. Although not generally thought of as transducers,
photocells, LEDs (light-emitting diodes), and even common light bulbs are transducers.

G. LED - Light emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit
easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't have a
filament that will burn out, and they don't get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by
the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last just as long as a
standard transistor. The lifespan of an LED surpasses the short life of an incandescent bulb
by thousands of hours. Tiny LEDs are already replacing the tubes that light up LCD HDTVs
to make dramatically thinner televisions.

H. PCB - A printed circuit board (PCB) mechanically supports and electrically connects
electronic components using conductive tracks, pads and other features etched from copper
laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. PCBs can be single sided (one copper layer),
double sided or multi-layered. Conductors are then connected with plated through holes
called vias. Printed circuit boards are used in all but the simplest electronic products.

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III - B. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Operation:
Q1 and L1 and its incorporating component from an RF which oscillator which generates an
oscillation at a fixed frequency which shifts when the sensor is touched. The human touch
introduces a capacitive interaction to the reactance of the coil, L1. The signal is amplified by Q2
which is then fed to the detector stage through the buffer amp, IC 1/1, IC , IC 1/3, configured as a
comparator, comprise the detector stage. LED1 lights up to indicate the presence of the signal of the
output of IC which is passed on the IC 1/3 then fed to the oscillator circuit. IC which produce
an audio signal which is then amplified by Q3. The amplified output is finally fed to the speaker. The
length of the signal is determined by the time constant R8 and C5. VR1 allows the adjustment for
the sensors sensitivity.
Assembly:
Insert and solder all components carefully following the parts placement guide on the PCB starting
from the smallest ones on to the next larger and so on. Carefully observed proper placements of
parts especially the polarized ones. Cut all excess leads neatly to avoid possible shorts that could
cause failure on your work. Make use of the IC socket to avoid possible damage to the IC. Mount the
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IC after all the rest of components have been soldered. Connect a loop wire of around 1 foot long. #
22 un-insulated stranded wire to the sensor terminal. This will serve as a strap for hanging the
gadget on the door knob. Finally connect the speaker.
Testing:
Apply power to the assembly with a 9-volt battery. LED1 should light momentarily then goes off.
Sound must be emitted simultaneously as LED1 lights up and prolongs it sound up to a certain
period set by the RC time constant.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

REFERENCES
Vishay Semiconductors. (n.d.). Datasheet: 1N4148 Diode. Retrieved from:
http://www.vishay.com/docs/81857/1n4148.pdf
Zungeru, Admu M., et. al. (n.d). A Simple and Reliable Touch Sensitive Security System.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technology, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo, Nigeria.



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APENDICES

Quantity Part Designator Notes Type
1 LM324 32V, 50mA, 1130mW Integrated Circuit
2 C9081 NPN, 0.1A, 5V, 0.5W
Transistor
1 C945
NPN, 0.15A, 5V, 0.2W
C1815/ C1740
3 1N4148 Diode
2 22/16
C
a
p
a
c
i
t
o
r

1 1/50 Electrolytic
1 332
Ceramic/ Mylar
1 680
1 103
1 331
1 33K (O-O-G)
Ilang watts?
R
e
s
i
s
t
o
r

1 330K (O-O-Y-G)
1 470K (Y-V-Y-G
2 660
1 100K (Br-B-Y-G)
1 82K (G-R-O-G)
1 3K
1 300K
1 3M
1 1.5K
1 1K
1 10K
1 10K Trimmer Resistor
1 Coil 24 turns Coil
1 SPK Piezoelectric Transducer
1 IC Socket 14 Pins IC
1 PCB
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1 LED
Table I Door Knob Touch Alarm Components

Item Quantity Price






Table II Project Cost