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2.1.5 Tilt Switch

Introduction

This is a ball tilt-switch with a metal ball inside. It is used to detect inclinations of a small angle.

Required Components

In this project, we need the following components.

../_images/2.1.5_tilt_switch_list.png

It’s definitely convenient to buy a whole kit, here’s the link:

Name

ITEMS IN THIS KIT

LINK

Raphael Kit

337

Raphael Kit

You can also buy them separately from the links below.

COMPONENT INTRODUCTION

PURCHASE LINK

GPIO Extension Board

BUY

Breadboard

BUY

Jumper Wires

BUY

Resistor

BUY

LED

BUY

Tilt Switch

-

Schematic Diagram

../_images/2.1.5_tilt_switch_schematic_1.png ../_images/2.1.5_tilt_switch_schematic_2.png

Experimental Procedures

Step 1: Build the circuit.

../_images/2.1.5_tilt_switch_circuit.png

Step 2: Change directory.

cd ~/raphael-kit/python-pi5

Step 3: Run.

sudo python3 2.1.5_Tilt_zero.py

Place the tilt vertically, and the green LED will turns on. If you tilt it, “Tilt!” will be printed on the screen and the red LED will turns on. Place it vertically again, and the green LED will lights on.

Code

Note

You can Modify/Reset/Copy/Run/Stop the code below. But before that, you need to go to source code path like raphael-kit/python-pi5. After modifying the code, you can run it directly to see the effect.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
from gpiozero import LED, Button

# Initialize the Button for the tilt sensor and LEDs using GPIO Zero
TiltPin = Button(17, pull_up=False)  # Tilt sensor connected to GPIO pin 17, pull-up resistor disabled
green_led = LED(27)  # Green LED connected to GPIO pin 27
red_led = LED(22)   # Red LED connected to GPIO pin 22

def detect():
    """
    Detect the tilt sensor state and control the LEDs.
    Turns on the red LED and turns off the green LED when tilted.
    Turns off the red LED and turns on the green LED when not tilted.
    """
    if TiltPin.is_pressed:  # Check if the sensor is tilted
        print('    *************')
        print('    *   Tilt!   *')
        print('    *************')
        red_led.on()   # Turn on red LED
        green_led.off()  # Turn off green LED
    else:  # If the sensor is not tilted
        red_led.off()  # Turn off red LED
        green_led.on()  # Turn on green LED

try:
    while True:
        # Continuously check the tilt sensor state and update LEDs
        TiltPin.when_pressed = detect
        TiltPin.when_released = detect

except KeyboardInterrupt:
    # Handle KeyboardInterrupt (Ctrl+C) to exit the loop gracefully
    pass

Code Explanation

  1. This line sets the script to run with Python 3 and imports LED and Button from gpiozero for controlling GPIO devices.

    #!/usr/bin/env python3
    from gpiozero import LED, Button
    
  2. Initializes the tilt sensor connected to GPIO pin 17 (with pull-up resistor disabled) and two LEDs connected to GPIO pins 27 and 22.

    # Initialize the Button for the tilt sensor and LEDs using GPIO Zero
    TiltPin = Button(17, pull_up=False)  # Tilt sensor connected to GPIO pin 17, pull-up resistor disabled
    green_led = LED(27)  # Green LED connected to GPIO pin 27
    red_led = LED(22)   # Red LED connected to GPIO pin 22
    
  3. Defines the detect function, which checks the state of the tilt sensor. If tilted, it turns on the red LED and off the green LED. If not tilted, it does the opposite.

    def detect():
        """
        Detect the tilt sensor state and control the LEDs.
        Turns on the red LED and turns off the green LED when tilted.
        Turns off the red LED and turns on the green LED when not tilted.
        """
        if TiltPin.is_pressed:  # Check if the sensor is tilted
            print('    *************')
            print('    *   Tilt!   *')
            print('    *************')
            red_led.on()   # Turn on red LED
            green_led.off()  # Turn off green LED
        else:  # If the sensor is not tilted
            red_led.off()  # Turn off red LED
            green_led.on()  # Turn on green LED
    
  4. The main loop assigns the detect function to both when_pressed and when_released events of the tilt sensor. The try-except block handles a KeyboardInterrupt for graceful termination.

    try:
        while True:
            # Continuously check the tilt sensor state and update LEDs
            TiltPin.when_pressed = detect
            TiltPin.when_released = detect
    
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        # Handle KeyboardInterrupt (Ctrl+C) to exit the loop gracefully
        pass