a
Reducing the Average Power Consumption of Accelerometers
by Charles Kitchin, Mike Shuster and Bob Briano
AN-378
APPLICATION NOTE
ONE TECHNOLOGY WAY
•
P.O. BOX 9106
•
NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS 02062-9106
•
617/329-4700
The use of a simple power cycling circuit provides a dra-
matic reduction in the average current consumption of
the ADXL50 and ADXL05 devices. In low bandwidth
applications such as shipping recorders, a simple, low
cost circuit can provide substantial power reduction. If a
microprocessor is available, only the circuit of Figure 1
is needed; the microprocessor supplies a TTL clock
pulse to gate buffer transistor Q2, which c ycles the supply
voltage on and off. Figures 2 through 4 show typical
wave forms of the accelerometer being operated with a
10% duty cycle: 1 ms on, 9 ms off. This reduces the aver-
age current consumption of the accelerometer from 10
mA to 1 mA, providing a power reduction of 90%.
The lower trace of Figures 2 and 3 is the output voltage
appearing at V PR (Pin 8). The lower trace of Figure 4 is
the buffer output (Pin 9) with the buffer operating at
unity gain. A 0.01 µF capacitor was connected across
the feedback resistor of the buffer to improve its
transient characteristics. The optimum value for this
capacitor will change with buffer gain and the cycling
pulse rate. The µP should sample acceleration during
the interval between the time the 0
g
level has stabilized
(approximately 400 µs using a 0.022 µF demod cap) and
the end of the pulse duration. For the example shown in
Figures 2 through 4, this is between 400 µs and 1 ms
after Q2 receives a logic “low” from the µP.
R3R1
V
OUT
FROM
Q1 OR µP
10kΩQ1
2N3906
0.1µF
BUFFER
+5V
ADXL05
OR
ADXL50
V
PR
V
IN–
V
OUT
C
F
10kΩQ2
2N2222
100kΩ
8 910
1
5
COM
Figure 2. Top Trace: Voltage at Pin 1
Bottom Trace: Output at V
PR
10
0%
200µs
2V
1V
100
90
Figure 3. Top Trace: Voltage at Pin 1
Bottom Trace: Output at V
PR
R3R1
VOUT
FROM
Q1 OR µP
10kΩQ1
2N3906
0.1µF
BUFFER
+5V
ADXL05
OR
ADXL50
VPR VIN– VOUT
CF
10kΩQ2
2N2222
100kΩ
8 910
1
5
COM
Figure 1. Basic Power Cycling Circuit
–2–
E1894a–9–3/95
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
10
0%
200µs
2V
500mV
100
90
Figure 4. Top Trace: Voltage at Pin 1
Bottom Trace: Buffer Output
with R1 = R3 = 100 k
Ω
, CF = 0.01
µ
F
The measurement bandwidth of a power-cycled circuit
will be set by the clock pulse rate and duty cycle. In this
example, 1 sample can be taken every 10 ms which is 100
samples per second or 100 Hz. As defined by the “Nyquist
criteria,” the best case measurement bandwidth is FS/2 or
half the clock frequency. Therefore, 50 Hz signals can be
processed if adequate digital filtering is provided. Higher
measurement bandwidths can be achieved by reducing
the size of the demodulation capacitor below 0.022 µF and
increasing the pulse frequency.
Figure 5 is a low cost timer circuit for applications not
using a µP. The timer frequency can be changed by using
different values for capacitors C1 and C2. The duty cycle is
set by trim potentiometer R2b. Transistor Q1 inverts the
output pulse of the 555 timer so that the duty cycle is
correct when the pulse is reinverted again by buffer
transistor, Q2. The timer/inverter circuit adds about 700 µA
to the total supply current.
TO Q2
0.1µF
+5V
1
3
C1
0.1µF C2
0.022µF
R2a
30kΩ
R2b
100kΩ2, 6
4, 8
7
R1
10kΩ
LOW POWER
CMOS TIMER
L555
XR-L555
ICM-7555
IN4148
IN4148
Figure 5. Timer/Inverter Circuit Duty Cycle Range 1:4 to 1:13
