Phone Timeout Jail
Intro: Phone Timeout Jail
Have you ever been distracted by your phone? Do you have friends that use their phones to much? Have you ever told your kids to put their phones away at the table? Well I am here to solve your problems. My name is Lee Sipes and I am a Senior in Highschool who feels people are too caught up in their phones now a days. Welcome to the “Phone Timeout Jail” ladies and gentlemen.
This is a 3-D printed prison like box ran off of arduino, to set a designated time lock, and once the time is up the prison will unlock and your friends or family can have their phones back. In this instructable you will learn how to use arduino as well as make a 3-D print of your own special "Prison" and phone-stand. Let’s get started!
STEP 1: Materials
1) 1 Arduino nano $22
2) 1 5v solenoid $7
3) 1 4 digit 7 segment display $2
4) 1 logic level mosfet $1
5) 1 diode $3
6) 8 330ohms resistors $3
7) 2 270ohms resistors $1.50
8) 1 100ohms resistors $1.00
9) 2 push-buttons $4
10) electrical wire (varies)
11) 1-2 Bread boards / circuit boards (depends on preference and experience) $10
12) Batteries + connection to arduino $5
13) 3-D Printer (optional)
Total Budget of Project: appoximately $65.00
STEP 2: Solder Needed Materials / Wires + Construct Circuit
Throughout the circuit, there are points where you need to solder wires together, and depending on how well the solder is, may depend on how strong your circuit is. This is a view of the top of the base, where the Arduino is facing upwards, and the display is facing downwards. Feel free to add a couple components that I did not add, such as buzzer for when the time ends, a switch, ticking noises, etc.
STEP 3: The Coding
The coding was used through C++
There are 5 classes used within in this program:
Timer : handles the timer mechanism. Uses the internal clock of the arduino to keep track of the elapsing time.
Lock : deals with the solenoid by controlling the transistor. Can be either open or closed.
Button : state can be interrogated ; either held, pushed or released.
Display : controls the segment display. Used through its show() method which accepts any int between [0, 9999].
PinRegistry : where all the pin numbers are declared.
Coding Link: https://github.com/17lsipes/PhoneTimeoutJail
STEP 4: The 3-D Print
There so many different ways you can sculpt the box of your "Prison". While I used the school's 3-D printer, you could also just used an ordinary box. It can be any shape you want and hold other devices if you would like. I used a 3 piece design, allowing me to access the circuit and wiring with ease and a removable phone stand for more use.
STEP 5: The Lock
I used a solenoid to act as a form of a deadbolt action lock, and when triggered will release the cage. I printed my cage 100% customizable to all the sizing of the solenoid arm and height and what not. I wanted to use hinges on the back of the prison and base of prison, but I ended up not with enough room.
Now your, or others phone will no longer become distracting due to this phone prison.
Thank You and Good Luck!
Lee Sipes
2 Comments
IvanoffGD 6 years ago
mrsmerwin 7 years ago
Every high school needs one of these--maybe a multi-cell version.