Hello all. CyberchuckTX here. I’ve posted a project called “InkyPhat Badge” which borrows heavily from existing materials (acknowledged throughout the project descriptions).
I have the gorgeous PiBow case from Pimoroni but would like to do a COMPLETE project by having a wearable badge around my neck. What’s missing is a battery and off/on switch.
I want to design / find a case that has the switch and battery built-in. Has anyone done this yet?
Please join my project & contribute if you’re interested.
Something close to what I would like is the "PiZero timelapse camera project
But with the InkyPhat display instead of the camera.
Yes, I saw the pHAT-badge, but according to the website (when I last looked awhile back) it was indicated as “Out of Stock, don’t know when it will be available again” so I gave up on it.
Beside, this does NOT accomodate a BATTERY. I am looking to make this is nice sealed environment and having a battery dangling down (or a USB cord handing on the badge) doesn’t seem very aesthetic.
I just asked on the of-off SHIM how it works with the Inky pHAT … I’d like to see other angles on the pictures to understand how the SHIM works. Given thethe pHAT appears to connect to ALL GPIO pins I don’t understand how the shim works “in the middle”.
Thanks for responding. Go ahead & respond on this thread or join my project & post in the discussions there.
I wrote some code in Python that will change the image on the inkyPHAT approximately every minute, and I’m to the point now where I’m trying to figure out how to wire in the two switches I’ll need (one to shut down the Pi and the second to cut power altogether so the battery can be removed and recharged).
I don’t really understand all the ins-and-outs of wiring up the switches (what pins to use on the GPIO, or how to “ground” the LiPo); this stuff feels a lot harder than it seems when you look things up and people have a tendency to talk to you like you already understand some of the lingo. :)
I’m happy to share my code if it will help your project (it’s really short).
I know what I want the case to look like, but I’ve never done any 3D design, so I get to learn how to do that too. :)
I admit, my particular implementation of this concept has a unique form-factor because of the actual name-tag I use at work; however I can see a more conventional form-factor as well – one that’s about the size of the Pi Zero but deep enough to house the battery.
I did choose that battery specifically though to be about the same size as the Pi Zero board itself; it’s a 3.7v 1200mAh LiPo.
What would be truly lovely is if Pimoroni would design and build a ZeroLiPo that has charging capability built in. The shim is so much easier (and less expensive) to add into a project than the equivalent from Adafruit.
And it really sucks that the On/Off shim uses one of the same GPIO pins as the inkyPHAT does – it’s like they never envisioned people wanting to stack a few shims behind an inky… :) LOL.
Wonderful! I was tripping over myself to do some sort of fancy case; putting the pieces on an existing badge as a base is a GREAT idea!
I can do some simple 3D design stuff. If you’re interested, try out TinkerCAD from Autodesk ( https://www.tinkercad.com/ ). You can sign up for free and it runs in most browsers. There are also some really excellent tutorials and a huge community of users.
Once you do a design you can export to STL (3D print format) and print to your heart’s content.
I’m going to take a stab at a case around the badge this week if I can …
Wow! Thanks! I’m very flattered you like my idea/application so much. For me, it’s driven more out of the limitations of what I have to wear at work than anything else.
As far as dimensions, the badge itself is 2.75" x 4". I was thinking of a two-piece case; one to frame the actually inkyPHAT on the front, and then on the back, something to encase the Pi and the battery; but it also needs somewhere to put two switches (the momentary to shut it down, and the switch to cut power altogether) – or maybe not. Maybe it just needs to be able to come off easily to then reach the switches and unplug the battery from the ZeroLiPo for charging.
