Portable Night Light

myminifactory

This project came from a real need for a soft night light in our bathroom that wouldn't blind us or our newborn when turned on. It had to be easy to turn on and off since there was no power outlet nearby, making it necessary to be battery-powered. However, finding such a device was surprisingly challenging; most options available were either expensive, ugly, or hard to find. When I saw Joe/3D Maker Noob's Design Competition that combined electronics with 3D printing, I decided to take on the challenge and create my own solution. As inspiration for this project, I drew from an idea I had a couple of years ago - a cluster of small light-domes (about 3-4 cm in diameter) that were portable, inductively charged, and perfect for mood lighting on summer nights or romantic evenings. Since I never found a practical way to make these domes easy to charge or affordable to create multiple units, I set the following requirements: * Easy to turn on and off * Not too bright * Not too dim * Portable * Inductive charging The lamp consists of five main components: 1. Dome/Lamp Shade: This is where the magic happens. 2. Dome-Lid: This part houses most of the functionality, including the Qi receiver for inductive charging. 3. Base: This holds a large battery that wirelessly charges the dome. 4. Base-Lid: This is where I mounted an Adafruit Qi Transmitter to charge the base unit. 5. Base-rubber ring (to keep the base from sliding around): Simple, yet effective. To deliver power wirelessly, I used a disassembled small power bank for the base and an Adafruit Trinket M0 as the brain of the operation. The lamp-shade simply connects to the Dome-Lid and dimms the light of the Neopixel Ring. To add an extra layer of functionality, I added a small "switch" made from copper-tape on the turn-ring of the Base-Lid. To connect the copper-tape, I wrapped it around the edges of one of the holes in the inside ring of the Dome-Lid and soldered wires to the Trinket V+ and Pin 4. This way, the dome can be turned into positions where it's either connected (off) or disconnected (on). The code tells the Trinket to light up when not connected and turn off when connected. The outcome was better than I anticipated. I expected a light for occasional use, but now I use it all the time. It's much more pleasant, and you won't get blinded when turning on the light in a pitch-black room. I've even ordered more Warm White Neopixel rings to create more Light Orbs! My girlfriend and I both need extras to place at our bed, though slightly dimmer. So, all in all, this turned out to be one of my best projects yet! A huge success! Future upgrades: * I'd probably switch the Trinket to an ATTiny85 for a more low-power model. * I'm considering a better way to charge the base unit. * I'm not too happy with the base design. Though simple and functional, I'd like something sleeker. Other notes: * The Trinket is not ideal for this functionality, but it works extremely well for our intended use, so I'm pretty happy with the result! * I've made a few different lampshades in various sizes and shapes, though for now, the Dome is the only one shared, as the others don't allow for light to shine through properly, and I haven't had time to edit them yet. * If you'd like a different kind of lampshade, feel free to ask, and I'll see what I can do!