Week 7 Update

Goals completed:

• Assembled main window frame
• Finalized method of LED lighting

This week we completed the main assembly of the window frame. We screwed the four siding pieces together at the corners after fitting the diffusing plate securely inside its housing.

Front View of Window Assembly

A problem that we ran into while screwing the wooden pieces together was that there was a gap that would form in between the pieces even with a clamp holding them together. This formation of a gap was due to the wooden 2x4s being warped, twisted, and not perfectly square. To fix this, we intend to add caulk in between the gaps and edges to seal the inside and assure that no light escapes without going through the light diffusing panel.

The corners of our window need to be caulked.

In terms of lighting, this week we solved our last difficulties with the choice between side lighting and backlighting. Dr. Ellis provided us with a sheet of highly reflective material which will be affixed to the backboard of the window. In this setup, with the LEDs mounted to the inside siding of the frame, the lights project along the inside of the window and are diffused outward. Any loss of intensity from the sideways angle is made up for by the light reflected by the back sheet. This method proves very effective at lighting the window both brightly and evenly.

The reflective sheet. 

On the software side, there is not much to discuss. We have already addressed the main design challenges (interfacing with the LEDs and the RTC) and are just in the stage of finishing up small pieces and debugging the code.

Next steps:

• Finish main frame
• Mount back panel and electronics
• Keep coding