New Power Controller from JK microsystems

DAVIS, CA - June 6th, 2003

The new PowerNut simplifies the design of power sensitive applications by controlling the input power to a single board computer or other device.

The PowerNut provides developers with voltage regulation, power on/off time scheduling and voltage monitoring features on a platform smaller than a credit card.

This new accessory can control supply voltage from sources such as solar panels or batteries to downstream devices at up to 1 Amp. The PowerNut can provide either regulated 5V DC using its onboard 7-30V DC regulator or it can furnish power directly from the source (5-30V DC) to downstream devices. By sending commands to the PowerNut, the main controller has the ability to monitor the input voltage and turn off power to itself (or another device) for a specified period of time.

Additionally, the PowerNut can also be used as a "smart" solid-state relay to control power to subsystems that do not contain the primary system controller. Using an ultra-low quiescent current regulator and a low-power PIC processor, the PowerNut never sleeps and its clocked serial port can be used to wake up downstream devices. The PIC's built-in analog to digital converter can also be used for low battery detection.

A typical application would be a remote, power sensitive, system that is required to perform a periodic task. Sending commands to the PowerNut, the primary controller can power down for period of time, and then automatically wake up. This allows any single-board controller, regardless of its power management capabilities, to be used.

For $39 in single quantity, the PowerNut enables JK microsystems' line of cost-effective, embedded x86 single board computers to be utilized in many applications with tight power budgets.