Automated Drapery Assistant
Curtain Bot
The Curtain Bot is a prototype designed to automate the expansion and retraction of curtains within a smart home system. It’s a compact motorized device that is easy to install and the ability to auto-adjust to accommodate various curtain rod dimensions.
Engineering Design/Personal project
(Mechanical design, Electronics & Programming)
Mechanical
Enclosure Casing - Lower Casing
The casing contains all electronics, with consideration of space arrangement, wiring, assembly and tension to curtain rod.
Inner Side
Outter Side
Isometric View
Space left for zip ties that fix the DC motor
Back view with zip ties
Zip ties fix DC motor
L-shape slot for hooks
Curtain rod in contact with wheel and rollers
Tension ‘spring’ to exert right amount of tension to the curtain rod
Front view of the spring
Normal Deformed
Deformed
when
pressed
Wide surface so bigger contact area for DC motor
These spring exerts slight force so motor has enough friction to move along curtain rod.
Space left for wiring from the other half casing
Sunken space left for wires from
both holes in upper casing
Enclosure Casing - Upper Casing
Inner Side
Outter Side
Space for DC motor wheel
Enough clearance for motor
Empty space
Cored out space for lighter weight
Cutouts for limit switches
for both left and right sides
Holes for wires to go from outer face to inner side
Wires from the front panel
... to the inner casing
The switch part has tunnels on both lower corners for wires to pass through and go inside of the casing
Big gap for all wires to pass through
... from both casing & reduce weight
Extrusion part to assemble both cases
Pressure fit to assemble upper & lower casing
Space for control panel
Cutout space to fit breadboard
Hooks
The hooks fit inside the lower casing and has rollers for smoother contact with curtain rod.
To move easily on the curtain rod, the top uses rollers to reduce friction, while the bottom, requiring grip, has a taped wheel.
The circuit essentially uses a DC motor with limit switches for stopping when at the end, a user panel to open/close the curtain, and a switch to turn it on/off.
Electronics
The coding was in Particle Photon’s web IDE, and the core of the code was to determine the condition for the device to go left or right based on button pressed.
Programming
This video showcases the initial model of the Curtain Bot. Since then, I've redesigned and updated the mechanical structure, transitioning from the original laser-cut casing to the refined 3D-printed prototype described above.