Motor-Bed

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  • chris_j_hunter
    Automated Home Legend
    • Dec 2007
    • 1713

    Motor-Bed

    in the spirit of connecting whatever can be into the HA system, for better synergy, and maybe more, has anyone done a motorised bed yet, by any chance - the sort where the head & foot can be raised & lowered, using electric motors ...

    we were looking at one yesterday, with two motors & a seven-pin connector ...

    what would the seven pins be for ?

    up & down for each motor, plus common, would be just five ...

    end-stops would presumably be handled within the motor-housing, or ...

    hmm, anyone dissected one, or seen a circuit diagram ?
    Our self-build - going further with HA...
  • toscal
    Moderator
    • Oct 2005
    • 2061

    #2
    What about power.


    1-+ve
    2-up m1
    3- down m1
    4- common
    5-down m2
    6-up m2
    7- -ve
    IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
    Renovation Spain Blog

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    • chris_j_hunter
      Automated Home Legend
      • Dec 2007
      • 1713

      #3
      thanks - is that a guess, or ... (?)

      having separate power lines would be superfluous, surely, or ... (?)
      Our self-build - going further with HA...

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      • chris_j_hunter
        Automated Home Legend
        • Dec 2007
        • 1713

        #4
        PS: looking more closely, there are two connectors into the dual motor unit - a three-pin for power (23V), and the seven-pin for the remote (with up & down buttons for each motor, and two more for both together) ...

        so no need for power, per-se, amongst the seven-pins ...

        maybe it's one pin per button plus common, but why - when the together buttons could just be connected across the other pairs ?
        Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 14 March 2012, 02:49 PM.
        Our self-build - going further with HA...

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        • toscal
          Moderator
          • Oct 2005
          • 2061

          #5
          I know for swing gate motors, each motor has its own connector so there are 3 pins for each motor.
          For gate motors there is a power in which is 2 pins the +ve and -ve just gets reversed when the motor turns in the opposite direction. The third pin is normally ground. So was basing my assumption on this.
          Its probably as you say just one pin per button plus a common.
          I suppose you can't get any more info from the manufacturer.
          The only experience I have of these type of beds is that I spent a week lying on one in hospital.
          IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
          Renovation Spain Blog

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          • chris_j_hunter
            Automated Home Legend
            • Dec 2007
            • 1713

            #6
            yep, sounds plausible - maybe it allows for some sort of compatibility across a range of models ...

            'once stayed in an hotel in Sweden, that had one - great for reading in-bed, preparing for meetings, etc ...

            MIL also had one, but never took to it, 'though logically, as she got frailer, it could have helped a lot ...

            the remote that came with it was part of the problem - a fiddle to use & too often falling on the floor or otherwise being out of reach, despite being attached by cable ... hence idea of linking to HA & doing something better
            Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 14 March 2012, 03:03 PM.
            Our self-build - going further with HA...

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            • toscal
              Moderator
              • Oct 2005
              • 2061

              #7
              I do remember reading somewhere where a guy hacked a remote for is hifi and connected it to his stargate home automation controller.
              Basically each button on the remote was connected to a relay.
              So I guess it would be possible to get say a spare remote and hack it.
              IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
              Renovation Spain Blog

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              • chris_j_hunter
                Automated Home Legend
                • Dec 2007
                • 1713

                #8
                hmm, we might do something like that ...

                ie: how complex can the handset be ?

                so, why not just cut it off & wire the cable to some buttons more conveniently arranged ...

                or intercept the cable part-way & have both, in-parallel ...

                or relays, instead of buttons, controlled by the HA system, for smarter button responses ...
                Our self-build - going further with HA...

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                • chris_j_hunter
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 1713

                  #9
                  just to add - today, we took the remote keypad apart & had a look at how it's wired ...

                  cable goes between it and the motor unit - and its eight wires are red, black, yellow, blue, white, green, brown, purple ...

                  all seven pins are used, and each of the six buttons makes four contacts ...

                  the six being foot-end up & down, head-end up & down, and both-ends up & down ...

                  two of the four contacts duplicate the other two, so there are really just two ...

                  first of which does the same for every button - ie: connects the red wire to battery +ve ...

                  second of which, in the case of five of the buttons, connects the purple wire to one of the others - ie: to yellow, blue, white, green, or brown ...

                  and in the case of the sixth, connects purple via two diodes to green & to brown ...

                  black being connected to battery negative, and not to any button ...

                  in other words, four of the buttons, head-end & foot-end up & down, and the both-ends down button, connect purple to a colour (yellow, blue, white, green, brown) ...

                  but the both-ends up button does something different - connects purple to green via a diode, and to brown via another diode ...

                  very odd !

                  no idea how things are arranged at the other end of the cable - presumably there's some sort of interface & controller, along with the two motors ...

                  caution - the circuit board is two-layered, and well-lacquered, so needed lights back & front and a magnifying glass to see what's what ...
                  Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 23 March 2012, 09:08 AM.
                  Our self-build - going further with HA...

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                  • chris_j_hunter
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Dec 2007
                    • 1713

                    #10
                    PS: can't say we understand the circuit board - or that the interpretation is 100% reliable ... will have another look, when get a moment ....

                    but, the arrangements for the top four buttons seem simple enough - the ones for foot-end up & down, and for head-end up & down - and they do all that would be needed, plus there are through-soldered connections between the two sides of the 'board, to which we could solder some Cat-5 wires, to parallel the four with some relays ...

                    that way, our interpretation & understanding wouldn't have to be 100% ...

                    but it would mean doing without the remotes - ie: removing their circuit boards & putting them in a box somewhere ...

                    then, add some push-buttons in the edge of the bed-side table (say), and some position-sensors - reed relays, or perhaps a Sharp ranger - onto the bed-frame, and Cortex could do what it can ...

                    then, no problems with finding & dropping the remote, and brief-push buttons for all-flat & favourite positions become possible ...
                    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 23 March 2012, 09:34 AM.
                    Our self-build - going further with HA...

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