I.

INTRODUCTION

A circuited switch, which operates with sound of clapping hands or something similar; i.e. the
switch comes to 'on' position when clapped once or twice, and to'off' position when again
clapped once or twice (depends on circuit design) A clap -switch circuit is a sound sensitive
circuit. . The operation of the circuit is simple. Clap and the lamp turns on. Clap again and it
turns off. The condenser microphone picks up the sound of your claps, coughs, and the sound
of that book knocked off the table. It produces a small electrical signal which is amplified by
the succeeding transistor stage. Two transistors cross connected as a bistable multivibrator
change state at each signal. One of these transistors drives a heavier transistor which controls a
lamp. This circuit can switch on and off a light, a fan or a radio etc by the sound of a clap. This
working of this circuit is based on amplifying nature of the transistor, switching nature of
transistor, relay as an electronic switch . The LED on-time can be varied by changing the value
of the capacitor (100mF). When capacitor value is changed from 100 mF to 10mF, the LED
ontime is decreased. Your clap should be loud, you can blow air from your mouth on the electric
condenser to turn on the LED. Clap switch block diagram shown in figure 1.

Fig. 1: Clap switch block diagram .

An audio power amplifier is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power audio signals
(signals composed primarily of frequencies between 20 - 20 000 Hz, the human range of
hearing) to a level suitable for driving loudspeakers.
A flip-flop or latch is a circuit that has two stable states and can be used to store state
+information. A flip-flop is a bistable multivibrator. Flip-flops and latches are used as data
storage elements. Such data storage can be used for storage of state, and such a circuit is
described as sequential logic. When used in a finite-state machine, the output and next state
depend not only on its current input, but also on its current state (and hence, previous inputs). It
can also be used for counting of pulses, and for synchronizing variably-timed input signals to
some reference timing signal.

A bistable circuit has two stable states. The output of a bistable can be either logic1 or logic
0, according to signals received at the inputs. One of the simplest bistable circuits consists of
two NAND gates.

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1.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
This objective of the project is to design a clap activated switch device that will serve well in
different phonocontrolled applications, providing inexpensive key and at the same time free
from false triggering. This involves the design of various stages consisting of the pickup
transducer, low frequency, audio low power and low noise amplifier, timer, bistable
multivibrator and switches. It also consists of special network components to prevent false
triggering and ensure desired performance objectives. A decade counter IC serves the bistable
function instead of flip-flop.

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2. METHODOLOGY:
2.1 PROBLEM DEFINITION:
Our objective is to develop a switch which will recognize two intense sounds within a interval
of 3 seconds.

2.2 PLANNING AND APPROACH:

First we take a condenser microphone that senses the sound of the clapping. Next is the
amplifying stage that will amplify the sound received from the microphone. Two ICs have been
used. The first one senses the first clap and the output of which gives power to the second IC.
The second IC is activated by the second clapping sound and its output is fed to the relay which
switches on the load when output from the second IC is received

PLANNING:

Fig.2: Block diagram

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APPROACH:
• The condenser microphone will capture the sound and convert it into an electric signal.
• Hand claps are typically within the 2200 to 2800 hertz range.
• The 2nd stage amplifier will enlarge the signal which will help the 1st 555 timer to recognize
the 1st clap.
• Now, if a 2nd clap is recognized by the 2nd 555 timer within an interval of 3 secs. Then the
switch will trigger the device and move to ON state.
• The decade counter is there to check if the two claps are generated within 3 seconds

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2.2.1 PROJECT DESIGN:
Input Stage :

Fig. 3: Condenser Microphone (Transducer)

The sound of your claps is picked up using a condenser microphone. This microphone has a
stage of amplification built in. The power for this built in amplifier is supplied by connecting a
resistor to a positive source of voltage, and the changes in current get reflected as changes in
voltage across this resistor according to the familiar relation V = I*R. A larger resistor will give
you a larger voltage, but then, the current into the device gets reduced which brings down the
gain. The value of 5600 ohms (usually abbreviated to 5.6K, and written down in schematics as
5K6) seems to work all right.

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Amplifier Stage:
A transistor stage, biased near cut-off amplifies the signal from the microphone. The output of
the microphone is coupled to the base of the transistor using an electrolytic capacitor (note:
using a better capacitor here will not work). The first time the microphone output goes positive,
however, (because somebody clapped) this change gets coupled to the base entirely due to the
action of the capacitor. This causes the current through the transistor to increase, and this
increase in current causes the voltage at the collector, which was sitting near the supply voltage,
to fall to nearly zero. This is not a high fidelity audio amplifier. Its function is to produce no
output for small sounds and large output for (slightly) bigger sounds, so the customary biasing
network can be omitted.

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BISTABLE
In bistable mode, the 555 timer acts as a basic flip-flop. The trigger and reset inputs (pins 2and
4 respectively on a 555) are held high via Pull-up resistors while the threshold input (pin6) is
simply grounded. Thus configured, pulling the trigger momentarily to ground acts as a 'set' and
transitions the output pin (pin 3) to Vcc (high state). Pulling the reset input to ground acts as a
'reset' and transitions the output pin to ground (low state). No capacitors are required in a bistable
configuration. Pin 5 (control) is connected to ground via a small-value capacitor (usually 0.01
to 0.1 uF); pin 7 (discharge) is left floating.

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Decade Counter (CD4017IC):
4017 IC is a common useful digital IC. [ From input pin (14 nodes)]. This is called divided
by10 counter because it produces one tenth of square wave frequency provided from input
pin(pin 14) to output pin (on pin 12).Counter circuit is a digital circuit. Generally, counter is the
circuit that counts the number of the square wave entered to the circuit. In CD 4017 IC means the
symbol of the company that produces the IC. There are IC, with other letters, this IC is called 4017 IC
is the form of 14 pin DIP which includes 16 pins. Block diagram of IC pin and the application of IC are
shown in Figure (a) and (b) respectively. The function of each pin is shown in the following:

Fig. 4: Pinout Diagram of CD4017 IC

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INPUT PINS
CLK-clock input (pin 14) Pin 14 is input which is connected with the square wave. If 10V is
supplied to IC, the frequency of the input square wave must be below 5MHz. Similarly, the
supplied voltage is5V, the frequency of the input square wave must be below 2.5 MHz.
En- clock Enable input (pin13) Pin 13 is grounded to alternate the high-state of the output pin
(Qo - Q9) of 4017 ICregularly. If pin 13 is connected to positive supply, the counter will stop.
R- Reset input (pin 15) Pin 15 is grounded to alternate the high-state of the output pin (Qo -
Q9). In practice, pin15 is connected to the positive supply and time directly reconnected to the
ground to reset it.
VDD, VSS Supply pins (pin 16 and pin 18) Pin 16 is connected to the positive supply and
illustrated with VDD. Pin18 is the pin to be connected to the ground is described with VSS.
OUTPUT PINS
Q0 – Q9 The output pins are from Q0 to Q9. When the square wave is supplied to input pin 14,
each pin from Q0 to Q9 changes to high state in its every positive going edge. Only one of the
10 output pins is in high-state and other 9 output pins are all low-sate.CO- Carry Out CO is also
output pin. But, the frequency of square wave from output pin is one tenth of the frequency
supplied from pin 14.

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CD 4017 IC Specification
Supplied voltage 3V–15V
Max: out current 10mA Max
Power absorbed by each pin 100 Mw
4017 IC can work very well with supplied voltage 3V to 5V. Although the maximum supplied
voltage is 15V, practically only 12V usually used.
The counting action of the 4017 can be understood from the graph below:

Fig. 5: Timing Diagram

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Transistor BC 548/549:
As a representative of the large family of bipolar transistors the BC548 provides a "steppingoff
point" to the use of more esoteric, higher voltage, current or frequency devices forbeginners.If
theTO-92package is held in front of one's face with the flat side facing towardyou and the leads
downward, (see picture) the order of the leads, from left to right is collector, base, emitter.
The BC548/549 transistor is an NPN Epitaxial Silicon Transistor. The BC547transistor is a
general-purpose transistor in a small plastic package. It is used in generalpurpose switching and
amplification BC548/BC549 series 45 V, 100 mA NPN general-purpose transistors.
The BC548/549 transistor is an NPN bipolar transistor, in which the letters "N" and "P" refer to
the majority charge carriers inside the different regions of the transistor. Most bipolar transistors
used today are NPN, because electron mobility is higher than hole mobility in semiconductors,
allowing greater currents and faster operation. NPN transistors consist of a layer of P-doped
semiconductor (the "base") between two N-doped layers. A small current entering the base in common-
emitter mode is amplified in the collector output. In other terms, an NPN transistor is "on" when its base
is pulled high relative to the emitter. The arrow in the NPN transistor symbol is on the emitter leg and
points in the direction of the conventional current flow when the device is in forward active mode. An
NPN transistor can be considered as two diodes with a shared anode region. In typical operation, the
emitter base junction is forward biased and the base collector junction is reverse biased. In an NPN
transistor, for example, when a positive voltage is applied to the base emitter junction, the equilibrium
between thermally generated carriers and the repelling electric field of the depletion region becomes
unbalanced, allowing thermally excited electrons to inject into the base region. These electrons wander
(or "diffuse") through the base from the region of high concentration near the emitter towards the region
of low concentration near the collector. The electrons in the base are called minority carriers because the
base is doped p-type which would make holes the majority carrier in the base.

Fig. 6: NPN trans

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2.2.2 A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPONENT USED:
• Condensor Microphone
Condensor microphone gets their name from the ‘capacitor’ inside that converts acoustic
energy into an electrical signal. A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor
that converts sound into an electrical signal. The condenser microphone, invented at Bell Labs
in 1916 by E. C. Wente is also called a capacitor microphone or electrostatic microphone. Here,
the diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor, and the vibrations produce changes in the distance
between the plates. The voltage maintained across the capacitor plates changes with the
vibrations in the air, according to the capacitance equation (C = Q / V), where Q = charge in
coulombs, C = capacitance in farads and V = potential difference in volts. The capacitance of
the plates is inversely proportional to the distance between them for a parallel-plate capacitor.
• Resistor (R)
A resistor is a passive two terminal electrical component that implements electric resistance as
a circuit element . A component is used for its resistance. In the past, most resistors were
manufactured from carbon composition, a baked mixture of graphite and clay. These have been
almost completely superseded by carbon or metal film resistor. Wire-wound resistors are used
for comparatively low values of resistance where precise value is important, or for high
dissipation. They are unsuitable for RF use because of their reactance.

Fig. 7: Resistive Network

• Capacitor (C)
Capacitor, device for storing electric energy, consisting of two conductors in close proximity
and insulated from each other. A passive circuit component is a capacitance. A capacitor is
formed from a pair of conducting surfaces separated by a layer of insulator. A capacitor made
from a pair of parallel conducting plates of area S separated by a distance d, with the gap
between the plates filled by a dielectric of relative permittivity E, will have a capacitance C
given by

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 Fig 8: Capacitive Network

• RELAY
A relay is an electrical operated switch. It consist of a set of input terminals for a single or
multiple control signals, and a set of operating contact terminal. Relays are one of the oldest,
simplest, and yet, easiest and most useful devices. Before the advent of the mass produced
transistor, computers were made from either relays or vacuum tubes, or both. A relay, quite
simply, is a small machine consisting of an electromagnet (coil), a switch, and a spring. The
spring holds the switch in one position, until a current is passed through the coil. The coil
generates a magnetic field which moves the switch. It's that simple. You can use a very small
amount of current to activate a relay, and the switch can often handle a lot of current. The relay
we are going to look at is the Bosch 5 pin relay. Bosch is a German manufacturing conglomerate
(who also happen to own Bosch Telekom and Blaupunkt), but they are not the only
manufacturer of this relay. There are several other companies such as Siemens (stop laughing)
and Potter & Brumfield. The Bosch 5 pin relay is the most widely used and versatile relay, and
it can handle up to 30 amps, which is more than suitable for most applications.

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 Fig9 : Pinout of Relay

Looking at the diagram to the right, we see the pin out of the relay. Note that each pin is
numbered, 85, 86, 87, 87a, and 30. The 30 pin is set perpendicular to the other pins to let you
know where each pin is at (although, most relays are labeled at the bottom). 85 and86 are the
coil pins. Normally, it doesn't matter which way you pass the current, because if you hook it up
backwards, the coil will still activate the relay. However, relays sometimes have an odd
tendency to turn themselves back on briefly. To counter this, a diode (a one way switch) is
placed between 85 and 86.This is referred to as a tamping diode.
A diode wall have a very high resistance in one direction, and a very low resistance in the
opposite direction. When a tamping diode is used, it is important that you hook the coil up
according to polarity. If a tamping diode is used, and you hook it up backwards, you will
essentially be shorting a wire out, which sucks, because you can and will burn something up.
30, 87, and 87a are the other three pins. 87 and 87a are the two contacts to which 30 will
connect. If the coil is not activated, 30 will always be connected to 87a. Think of that pin as"87,
always connected". When current is applied to the coil, 30 is connected to 87. 87 and87a are
never connected to each other. Here, polarity does not ever matter. You can connect30 up to
positive or negative, and that is what you will get out of 87 or 87a. As you can see, the coil is
in no way connected to the switch part of the relay. This can allow you to completely isolate
one circuit from another. You can even use a separate power supply to control the relay.

Fig.10: Diagram of relay

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• Diode (D)
Diode can be made of either two of semiconductor materials, silicon and germanium. Power diodes
are usually constructed using silicon and germanium. Silicon diode can operate at higher current
and at higher junction temperature, and they have greater reverse resistance. The structure of a
semiconductor diode and it symbol are shown in Figure. The diode has two terminals, an anode, A
terminal ( P junction ) and a cathode K terminal ( N junction ). When the anode voltage is more
positive than the cathode, the diode is said to be forward biased and it conducts current readily with
a relatively low voltage drop. When the cathode voltage is more positive than the anode, the diode
is said to be reverse biased, and it blocks current flow. The arrow on the diode symbol shows the
direction of convection current flow when the diode conducts.

Fig. 11: Symbol of a Diode

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• Bipolar Junction Transistor
A multi electrode semiconductor device in which the current flowing between two specified
electrons is controlled or modulated by the voltage applied at third (control) electrodes. The term
transistor was originally derived from the phase transfer resistor, as the resistance of the output
electrode was controlled by the input circuit. Transistors fall into two major classes: the bipolar
junction transistor (BJT) and the field-effect transistor (FET).We used bipolar junction transistor
(BJT).Bipolar junction transistor consists of (a) pnp transistor and (b) npn transistor.
(a) pnp transistor
.

Fig. 12: pnp transistor circuit symbol

In a pnp transistor, a thin layer of n-type semiconductor is sandwiched between two layers of p-
type semiconductor
(b) npn

Fig. 13: npn transistor circuit symbol

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• Resistor (10k)
If you had a 10k ohm resistor , you would have 6/10,000 amperes of current flowing in the circuit . A 10k
ohm resister has 4 colours bands : brown , black , orange and gold for 5% tolerance respectively. If 10k
resistor is attached to a 10v power supply there will be a current of 1 mA flowing through it. Either way a
resistor is usually employed in dropping a voltage or producing a potential divider action . It might also used
to limit current flow. Very useful simple devices.

• Resistor (1K)
A resistor (1k) is reduces (or resists ) to flow of current . So , a 1k Ohm resistor has a value of 1000
Ohm and the number we will code is 1000. 1k resistor colours are : brown, black, red .

• Resistors (22k)
Resistor (22k) Ohm 2W is high quality Carbon Film Resistor (CFR) with +5% tolerance and Tin
Plated Copper Leads .22k Ohm resistor colour code is : Red , Red , Orange , Golden. Its resistance
is 22k Ohm , Power factor is 2 Watts , Approximate Maximum Current is 9.54 mA.

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• Resistors (470 R)
470 Ohm 1W is high quality Carbon Film Resistor (CFR) with +5% Tolerance and Tin Plated
Copper Leads . 470 Ohm resistor colour code :Yellow , Violet , Brown , Golden . Power Factor is
1 Watt . Approximate maximum current : 46.13 mA

RED LED ( LIGHT EMITTING DIODE )

If a 9 volt 100 Ohms relay is connected to the points marked (A and B) , the relay will also energize
and the load ( bulb or electrical equipments ) will be switched on. In the next clap , output pin 2
becomes low and relay and white LED will switched off . LED 1 (RED LED ) indicates the OFF
position .

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• GREEN LED ( LIGHT EMITTING DIODE)
The condenser microphone converts sound to an analog voltage . A particular LED turns on when
the voltage drop across it is zero . For example , a high pulse from Arduino’s D9 will turn on the
transistor resulting in the green LED turning on

• VARIABLE RESISTOR (1K)

The variable resistors are used for variating voltage as per the need in a circuit . the outer two pins
are connected to Vcc and 0V , and center pin outputs a variable voltage between 0v and Vcc as the
rotary is rotated .The variable resister are widely used in electric circuits to adjust the value of
current or voltage . Variable resistor allow you to adjust the value of voltage by changing the
resistance and keeping current constant.

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• 9-Volt Battery
The 9 volt battery, is common size of battery that was introduced for early transistor radios . It has
a rectangular prism for early prism shape with rounded edges and a polarised snap connector at the
top.

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3. CIRCUIT OPERATION:
The clap sound sensed by condenser microphone is amplified by transistor T1. The amplified
signal provides negative pulse to pin 2 of IC1 and IC2, triggering both the ICs. IC1, commonly
used as a timer, is wired here as a monostable multivibrator. Triggering of IC1 causes pin 3 to go
high and it remains high for a certain time period depending on the selected values of R7 and C3.
This ‘on’ time (T) of IC1 can be calculated using the following relationship: T=1.1R7.C3 Seconds
where R7 is in ohms and C3 in microfarads. On first clap, output pin 3 of IC1 goes high and
remains in this standby position for the preset time. Also, LED1 glows for this period. The output
of IC1 provides supply voltage to IC2 at its pins 8 and 4.Now IC2 is ready to receive the triggering
signal. Resistor R10 and capacitor C7 connected to pin 4 of IC2 prevent false triggering when
IC1 provides the supply voltage to IC2 at first clap.
On second clap, a negative pulse triggers IC2 and its output pin 3 goes high for a time period
depending on R9 and C5.This provides a positive pulse at clock pin 14 of decade counter IC 4017
(IC3). Decade counter IC3 is wired here as a bistable. Each pulse applied at clock pin 14 changes
the output state at pin 2 (Q1) of IC3 because Q2 is connected to reset pin 15. The high output at
pin 2 drives transistor T2 and also energises relay RL1. LED2 indicates activation of relay RL1
and on/off status of the appliance. A free-wheeling diode (D1) prevents damage of T2 when relay
de-energises.

Fig. 14: Circuit diagram of project

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4. CONCLUSION
Assemble the circuit on a general-purpose PCB and enclose it in a suitable box. This circuit is
very useful in field of electronic circuits. By using some modification it area of application can
be extended in various fields. It can be used to raised alarm in security system with a noise, and
also used at the place where silence needed.

This project gives us a great deal of knowledge about the 555 timer chips, working of clocks
and the relay. This type of device provides us with the working of NE555 timer chips and the
relay. The relay is a type of switch which provides a conducting path only when current flows
it. In this project as soon as the 2nd timer triggers the relay a conducting path is established
between terminals of the load and hence the device is turned on. The time interval between the
claps is judged with the time constant established with the RC configuration which is
T=1.1R7*C3.

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5. ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION

Advantages

. Energy efficient
. Less Cost
. Circuit is Reliable
. High Accuracy
. Man power is not required

Applications

. The major advantage of a clap switch is that you can turn something (e.g a lamp) on and off
from any location in the room (e.g while lying in bed) simply by clapping your hands.

The primary application involves an elderly or mobility- impaired person. A clap switch is
generally used for a light, television, radio or similar electronic device that the person will want
to turn on/off from bed.

The major disadvantage is that it is generally cumbersome to have to clap one’s hands to turn
something on or off and it is generally seen as simpler for most use cases to use a traditional
light switch.

There is a further scope of work on this project. This circuit can be made more accurate and
more sensible to suit the practical use in our daily lives.

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6. FUTURE SCOPE
No filter has been used here so the switch will respond to more or less every two sounds similar
to clapping that comes with a gap of in between 3 seconds. But if a simple bandpass filter is used
then this problem could be avoided. The frequency range of hand clapping is in between 2200
and 2800 Hertz.

Here the signal from the condenser mic is beta times amplified by the amplifier stage. To add
more sensitivity to the switch, the amplification factor may be increased .

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 REFERENCES:
Web Help:

www.efy.com www.electronics.com www.eeweb.com

Unconventional Uses for IC Timers” Jim Wyland and Eugene Hnatek, Electronic Design, June 7, 1973,
pp. 88-90.

DC-to-DC Converter Uses the IC Timer”, Robert Soloman and Robert

Broadway, EDN, September 5, 1973, pp. 87-91.

Books:

[1] Robert L. Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky, Electronics devices and circuit theory, ninth edition.

[2] Millman and Halkias, Electronics devices and circuit theory.

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