Parking sensor circuit

  • Share

Description.

This simple circuit can be used as an aid for sensing the distance between the rear bumper of the car and any obstacle behind the car. The distance can be understood from the combination of the LEDs (D5 to D7) glowing. At 25cm D7 will glow, at 20 cm D7&D6 will glow and at 5cm D7, D6 and D5 will glow. When the obstacle is beyond 25 cm none of the above LEDs will glow.

Two ICs are used in the circuit. The IC1 (NE555) is wired as an astable multivibrator for driving the IR Diode D1 to emit IR pulses. The operating frequency of the transmitter is set to be 120Hz.The IR pulses transmitted by D1 will be reflected by the obstacle and received by the D2 (IR photo diode).The received signal will be amplified by IC2a.The peak of the amplified signal will be detected by the diode D4 and capacitor C4.R5 and R6 compensates the forward voltage drop of D4.The output voltage of the peak detector will be proportional to the distance between car’s bumper and obstacle. The output of peak detector is given to the inputs of the other three comparators IC2b,IC2c and IC2d inside the IC2(LM324).The comparators switch the status LEDs according to the input voltage their inverting inputs and reference voltages at their non inverting inputs. Resistances R7 to R10 are used to set the reference voltages for the comparators.

Circuit diagram with Parts list.

parking-_sensor-_receiver-_circuit.JPG

parking-sensor-_transmitter.JPG


Notes.

  • Assemble the circuit on a good quality PCB or common board.
  • The D1 & D2 must be mounted close (~2cm) to each other, looking in same direction.
  • The D1 can be a general purpose IR LED.
  • The D2 can be general purpose IR photo diode with sun filter.
  • The transmitter as well as receiver can be powered from the car battery.
  • For proper working of the circuit, some trial and error is needed with the position of D1 and D2 on the dash board.
  • All capacitors must be rated 25V.
  • The ICs must be mounted on holders.
Custom Search

Leave a Reply

57 Responses to “Parking sensor circuit”

  • Edgardo says:

    Hi Seetharaman,
    How can I determine the exact distance of the sensor,meaning; from the dashboard to the rear bumper and to any obstacle at the rear of the car.
    From the sensor at the dashboard, and to the rear bumper of the car, how many centimeters total all in all?
    Thanks .

  • jason says:

    oic thanx seetharaman!

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Jason you need not be very specific about the frequency as this project only senses the level of IR signal received. Not compatible with Ultrasonic sensors you require modifications in both transmitter and receiver circuit.

  • jason says:

    can the diode replace with a ultrasonic sensor?

  • jason says:

    hi i m using this circuit as my school project but i cant get a 40khz pulse from the 555 timer n i change twice the 55 ic d still i dont get a stable 40khz pulse may i noe y?

  • chirag says:

    hey this project required any programming part….,& please give me component list of this project please it’s urgent for me please……….

  • Elsie says:

    Sir,could you please send me also the block diagrams and all details of these project,appreciably with an audio buzzer instead of LED?
    Thank you so much!

  • Lesman says:

    Everyone wants the audio version of the circuit. The mods needed are very simple. The buzzer can be driven from the 3 lm324 outputs as long as the buzzer current needs are not greater than the output of the lm324. Care must be taken not to over tax the output. Use different resistor sizes to change the ma of current to the buzzer. It will progressively get louder if you start with larger values and decrease the values as you go. Use Ohms law for resistor values. If needed, a transistor hooked from the output can drive larger milliamps to the buzzer. Some buzzers even have two inputs that can be driven. One that pulses and one that is steady. You could increase the sound then pulse when maximum range is reached. A little research and creativity will make the circuit do wonders. Good luck.

  • sir im nteristed about the circuit.can you send me similar this circuit to monitor the level of a mini dam or reservoir 30 meters high. equevalent to 30, LED monitor

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Testpen Mount the electronics in the car, place both the sensors as per notes.
    The D1 & D2 must be mounted close (~2cm) to each other, looking in same direction.
    The D1 can be a general purpose IR LED.
    The D2 can be general purpose IR photo diode with sun filter.
    The circuit will definitely work.

  • Testpen says:

    Hi! I had try your diagram but still don’t know how to get the true operation. Can you show me how to arrange the D1&D2? Can i use ultrasonic transducer?

  • rolpaul says:

    sir,could you please send the details,block diagrams and all details of the sensor,appreciably with an audio buzzer instead of LED s,

    Read more: http://www.circuitstoday.com/parking-sensor-circuit#ixzz1ND31hvIX
    Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

  • ashish says:

    this site is very good in others comparision but please help me i nee a circuit of wirless rc car with forward and backward 100feet rc range and high speed operated with 9vlt battery if you can do this i will say you excellent tag that circui in your website thankyou

  • kyriakos triantafyllidis says:

    Dear Sir,
    Please send the shematic of the PARKING SSENSOR CIRCUIT
    with an audio buzzer instead of LEDS.
    Thanks in advance
    Kriakos from Athens

  • Zack says:

    can somebody plz send me the pcb layout of this project. my email fidz_ebai@yahoo.com.my

  • JJenko says:

    Hi. I would too like to have a full copy of this article.
    i need a parts list too if u have one.
    thanks.
    email> lovro.jenko@gmail.com
    have a nice day=> from Slovenia

  • leonard sheka says:

    please I need an advice for this project

  • nithin says:

    sir,could you please send the details,block diagrams and all details of the sensor,appreciably with an audio buzzer instead of LED s,

  • nanda says:

    thankyou for this project

  • rohini parui says:

    want 2 knw the details of the circuit…why the value of the resistance is so chosen,capacitor etc

  • tejas patel says:

    please give me small sensor circuit

  • SHUBHAM says:

    it so tough for me as a student. . . . . do u have a simple circuit for the same. . . . .

  • christoffer says:

    sir admin..can i also have a full copy of this article..
    its my project for may last subject..and i can’t finish it.
    i can’t make it work.i’m confuse about the parts..like the sun filter,and photo diode..here’s my e-mail add. x0xo_x0xo@yahoo.com

    -thank you so much sir admin.

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Monica it may cost you around INR300/- in India.

  • monika says:

    i have to make project on this topic…….
    plz tell me about how much cost its make……..plz rply as soon as possible

  • Badeekh says:

    Hi JoySankar, i have transferred energy using laser beam in one of my project, even we could communicate through it, i will search if i still had its diagram,
    anywaz if u r intrstd cntct me Badeekh@yahoo.com

  • Badeekh says:

    hey Peter Davidson, i got ur conserning one, reversing parking buzzer, but problem is that i cudnnt adjust its sensitivity, anyhow u can make it ur self, cntct at Badeekh@yahoo.com
    Admin
    i got the sheild from a scrap vcd… thx:-)

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Patience Karemera hope you are enjoying by assembling and using it successfully. try whenever possible the circuits appearing in Circuitstoday, they are all tested circuits you will find them useful and also will give immense happiness by the results after assembling them.

  • Patience KAREMERA says:

    This circuit is interested because it have been appreciated by every one who has seen it AND i am happy to know it.

  • ALOY says:

    how long the way of transmitter can transmit???

  • wexiang says:

    hey, can anyone send the pcb layout of this project to me too? my email is wexiang88@hotmail.com. And by the way, can 7-segment replaced the LED( output )? hopefully i can get the answer asap =x

  • mwadime says:

    can somebody plz send me the pcb layout of this project. my email kmbeke@gmail.com

  • Peter Cash says:

    Hi has anyone designed a parking sensor for smalls cars(toys)? I needed for my demonstration at school.

  • mwadime kevin says:

    hi, iam doing this project for my final year, could you plz send me the block diagram and any material concerning this project, i will be so grateful. my email is kmbeke@gmail.com

  • MODEE says:

    i am a student of EEE. pls describe the photo diode and the sun filter. pls i was choked up at that stage. and how does the transmiter work.

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Koech please send your email id for the full article.

  • could you please send me the following about aparking sensor:
    circuit schematics
    block diagram
    component specifications
    i will be very gratful as i require the same for my final year project

  • rajat says:

    plz show full description and detail of every component

  • Smady says:

    Can any1 pls design the same having an automatic braking system if d car reaches a specific distance near to d object????

  • dedi says:

    thanks for your great articles. i will learn it

  • seetharaman says:

    Hi Richa in my openion you cannot use a capacitor with lower voltage ones, rated voltage is good. higher voltage capacitors can be used sucessfully, but on the long run they may get dried up earlier than the rated ones.

  • Richa says:

    we dont have the exact rated components like v capacitors are rated 63V.please reply me in my mail adress.

  • Joysankar Bhattacharjee says:

    I am student of B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering student.We are making a project on Wireless Energy Tranfer. So if it possible on your part to provide us some information along with the circuit diagrams,please help us in making our project.Thanks

  • excellent write-up i would like to learn much more.|interesting, I am going to try this out and report back.

  • twits4twats says:

    Any updates on the buzzer version of this?
    Has anyone done it? I’m interested..

    All

    In case anybody missed it, this circuit activates LED’s instead of the customary audio buzzer that one is used to hearing in cars. And normally the closer you get to the obstacle the more persistant the buzzer becomes. This circuit activates an LED and then the longer the obstacle is present depends on when the 2nd LED swithes on and then the 3rd. Allthough this circuit will work I don’t think it is pratical for when somebody is reversing and looking into their mirrors. It needs conversion to audio.

  • ChrisM says:

    Any updates on the buzzer version of this?
    Has anyone done it? I’m interested..

  • kartheek says:

    can u give still more explanetion on this parking circuit sensor plzz.how can we check the output after assembling the circuit.

  • I am saurabhagrawal syudent of B.tech of electronics and communication.we are making a project on car parking sensor so please help us to making it………….thanks

  • admin says:

    At the moment I am not designing PCBs for readers. But I am seriously thinking on it.
    You can easily design PCbs by yourself using softwares like PCB123, Eagle PCB etc.

  • admin says:

    miniature sun filter sheets are available in the market. You can use a dark cellophane paper or a piece of X ray film for the purpose.
    The best source to get a sun filter is your old VCR with remote. Most probably there will be a filter covering its IR sensor.

  • tushar says:

    as a sun filter can i use red cellophane paper

  • tushar says:

    can anyone please design the pcb if this circuit? i cant get over the connections my email is tushar0110@yahoo.co.in

  • tushar says:

    can anyone please design the pcb if this circuit? i cant get over the connections

  • c says:

    can i use phototransistor instaed of photodiode

  • jojo says:

    @ Sydney Airport Parking

    Thanks for notifying about the situations in Australia!

  • Peter Davidson says:

    could you design a reversing Parking sensor circuit with a buzzer/alrm whennear object. it is for a school project i have to do for very soon.

    thanks

  • Parking is a problem at airports and in Australia the airports are owned by the Airport Corporation. They effectively have a monopoly on parking at the airport. What some enterprising individuals have done is sell parking spaces close to the airport and offer a free shuttle service to the terminal. This can be very cost effective and is really taking off in Australia.

Copyright © 2007 - 2011 Circuitstoday.com