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Issue 38
March 20, 2012
Joe Keating
Ininite Power Solutions
Electrical Engineering Community
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
Joe Keating
Ininite Power Solutions
Interview with Joe Keating - Senior Director of Applications Engineering
10
Self-Powered Maintenance-Free
Sensor Node for Smart Phones
BY
JOE KEATING
Infinite Power Solutions Targets Bluetooth Smart Devices Using THINERGY MECs.
12
Featured Products
Timing the Communication Channels
14
of an Encoder to a Brushless Motor
BY
JIM MILLER
WITH QUANTUM DEVICES, INC.
Timing is everything--from a car engine to an optical encoder.
17
The Aquarius MRE System: A Marine
Renewable Energy Solution for
Modern Ships
BY
GREG ATKINSON
WITH ECO MARINE POWER
How past and present energy technologies are integrated for a “greener” power solution.
21
RTZ - Return to Zero Comic
3
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INTERVIEW
Joe
Keating
Ininite Power Solutions
How did you get into electrical engineering and
when did you start?
I graduated with a degree in Electrical and Computer
Engineering in 1992 and have been working in and
around the field of electronics ever since.
Joe Keating - Senior Director of Applications Engineering
Can you tell us about your work experience
before becoming a Senior Director of
Applications Engineering at Ininite Power
Solutions?
I have a diverse background in consumer, industrial and
commercial product development. I have also spent
quite a bit of my career working on battery development,
battery applications, and testing.
Who has inluenced you the most throughout
your career?
I have benefited from many mentors throughout my
career. They have mostly been peers who have exhibited
talents and interest in their respective fields, leading them
to produce successful designs, products and solutions.
By working with them and observing their design and
development methods, I have been able to build core
design and development skills that have been valuable
across a range of different markets and industries. I
have also benefitted from many opportunities to work
4
EE
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Electrical Engineering Community
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INTERVIEW
in fields that are well outside of the
traditional electronics designer’s
duties, such as manufacturing
management, quality systems
development, and direct sales and
marketing activities.
and testing time required when
developing a battery-powered
system for a product. Batteries, in my
experience, are akin to living things
and have many caveats and quirks
that require careful consideration
before being included in a design.
A good rule of thumb, especially
when working with a rechargeable
battery, is to get in touch with the
technical support team of the
selected battery manufacturer as
early as possible in the design
process. This can eliminate several
board spins and will help to get your
product out in time.
prototype HEV being tested by one
of the “big three” in Detroit back in
the 90s. We were doing acceleration
runs to test the peak power output of
the combined system. As the battery
engineer, I was asked to participate
in the testing. The test vehicle
was based on a mini-van. The two
primary engineers were in the front
seats with full crash harnesses. The
components for the HEV took up the
passenger area, so I was sitting on
a foam block between the two front
seats, holding a laptop that was
collecting data from the test runs.
We were zipping up and down an
access road behind the engineering
facility that was also used by trucks
to bring in inventory to a nearby
Home Depot. We were focused on
the laptop screen when I looked
up and saw the word “PETERBILT”
coming straight at me. Fortunately,
the engineer driving the van had
pretty good reflexes and swerved
out of the way of the oncoming
tractor trailer in time to keep me
from becoming a hood ornament.
What are your favorite
hardware tools that you use?
I always start with a trusty Fluke
meter, preferably a model 87 or
newer. Microchip and TI, among
others, have traditionally produced
excellent low-cost embedded
development tools that include
circuit emulation, which I think is
critical in any efficient embedded
system development flow. Any
ICE tool is usually a great thing to
have. Also, an oscilloscope, power
supply, soldering iron and a link to
the Digi-Key site are all essential
tools.
What has been your favorite
project so far?
I developed a multichannel battery
cycle testing system for an extremely
high-power lead acid battery that
we were bringing to market. We
produced a cell that could be built
into a 1kg battery pack that could
fit in your hand and was capable of
cold starting a Corvette. The testing
system required development
from the board level through to the
company-wide network in order to
provide real time testing data to our
R&D and manufacturing teams.
How about your favorite
software tools?
I’m a huge fan of Altium. We
converted to their tools last year and
haven’t looked back. For a small to
mid-sized electronics design and
development firm, it’s my top pick
for PCB schematic capture and
layout. I also always have a copy of
5SPICE ready to go.
How do you provide
application support and
development for new,
innovative, thin ilm Lithium
battery technology?
As I noted above, we try to get the
applications team involved at the
beginning of the engagement with
every customer. Batteries are a
technical sale and require close and
thorough support in order to make
sure that the product is successful.
Because we have been working
in this space for many years, our
applications engineers have many
tricks and design insights available
to ensure that the electronics or
application requirements are
served by the proper battery and
Do you have any noteworthy
engineering experiences?
I have a few patents and have
been asked to present at various
conferences and panels. I’ve been
fortunate to have participated in an
IPO event for a start-up company in
which I was the fourth employee.
What is on your bookshelf?
The Art of Electronics
by Horowitz
and Hill,
Modular Series on Solid
State Devices
, Volumes 1-4,
RF Design Guide
by Vizmuller,
Numerical Methods for Engineers
by Chapra and Canale, and a
plethora of battery books.
Do you have any experiential
stories you would like to
share?
I did have a close call when working
on a hybrid battery I designed for a
Do you have any tricks up
your sleeve?
Don’t underestimate the design
5
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