I'm looking to add a power control switch to a Teensy 3.1 card.
Here's my thinking - Vbat and VUSB feed thru low Vf diodes to the FET source; either LiPo battery, or USB if connected. http://www.diodes.com/datasheets/ds30492.pdf
When the gate is pulled low by the switch, the processor wakes up and it then holds the gate low to stay awake via the N-channel FET. The N-channel keeps the pullup voltage off the processor pin when there's no power on Vreg-in. It's gate is pulled low to keep from floating and turning on unintentionally.
This makes sense, yes?
I should probably have cap C2 below the P-channel instead of above it, next to pin 8.
You might want to ask this over at PJRC (Teensy) Forum, which is Paul Stoffregen's (designer of the Teensy) forum, where he is more likely to notice it.
Why? Is not specifically a Teensy problem, just where I happen to be adding it.
The concept could be used with Arduino too. Just imagine the processor above as any 8 MHz arduino, which will run happily at 8 MHz from ~2.7V and above.
Need a circuit that can turn off power after some inactivity time, or perhaps a low battery, vs a non-mechanical (slide, toggle) switch that the uC cannot possibly move.
Pololu has a little board, I cannot determine the chip used, I think this covers the practical part of it tho.
I haven't checked your schematic, but this definitively makes sense. It's been done before, for sure. I intend on using it in a future project actually, though I'll be trying to do high-side.
I know of a guy on endless-sphere.com who has powered some MCU projects where a momentary on button gives power to the unit before it then powers a mosfet to sustain energy.
I don't think you need to mess with the switch turning the mosfet on. Just have the switch give power to your microcontroller, and deal with the fet during the microcontroller setup.
Kinnishian:
I haven't checked your schematic, but this definitively makes sense. It's been done before, for sure. I intend on using it in a future project actually, though I'll be trying to do high-side.
I know of a guy on endless-sphere.com who has powered some MCU projects where a momentary on button gives power to the unit before it then powers a mosfet to sustain energy.
I don't think you need to mess with the switch turning the mosfet on. Just have the switch give power to your microcontroller, and deal with the fet during the microcontroller setup.
So something like the old seal-in circuits used by relays and PLCs?
I think a momentary switch on the high side in parallel with a P-channel FET with the gate pulled to VCC with a resistor, connected to a uC pin is what he's talking about. Press the momentary, and it provides power to the uC, which pulls the P-FET's gate low. When you want to kill the power, HIGH-Z the pin or push it HIGH.
I'd test it, but my breadboard is already occupied with my current project.
Special? They're just low voltage schottky diodes.
"with the gate pulled to VCC with a resistor, "
"it provides power to the uC, which pulls the P-FET's gate low."
That violates the requirement to keep IO pins <= VCC +0.5V tho.
Need the transistor between IO and P-FET gate so that a gate pulled high does not leak current into the pin and "phantom power" the chip.
Making the pin High-Z should let the N-FET gate pull down keep the power off.
I'm working 2 designs at once (with 3 others pending!), think I'll dig up some FETs and try this before I get too far on this board's layout & routing.
Design-wise, I think I'm on the right track tho.
If you have some to test with that's great, I just meant they were not regular diodes.
i.e. I have a rack of components and low voltage Schottky diodes are not in my stock
Hi, I'd build your circuit if I was you Crossroads.
See how it goes, I'd say that switch on will be fine.
Its making sure that switch off is glitch free to ensure a clean off, that needs to be tested in prototype.
