Unknown Component Identification

Question

I've opened up a head torch I've been playing with and it has an IC that's doing some PWM control, but I haven't seen anything like it before (or maybe I have and I'm just being daft!). 
 The output is pulled high by an external resistor, on the press of a button the output is pulled to ground, on a second click of the button it sets off a PWM mode with 50% duty cycle, then on a final push it returns to being pulled high. I don't think I've seen a 5 pin device with different output states on the same trigger input before. 
 Pinout: 
 
 Pin 1 +ve 
 Pin 2 NC 
 Pin 3 Trigger 
 Pin 4 gnd 
 Pin 6 Output 
 
 Has anyone seen anything like this on their travels? I'll appreciate any input as I'm drawing a blank!

Simon Barker · Accepted Answer

It will be a specialised LED torch chip. Manufactured in large quantities, but only of interest to torch manufacturers, so not advertised on the open market.

mapj1 · Answer

Seconded - not seen that one exactly. 
 Maybe not in this case (as I have just tried and drawn a blank) but maybe useful info for you anyway, I have had luck in the past with websites like https://www.lcsc.com/ for getting data-sheets(usually in Chinese of course) - there are a number of Chinese chip makers that have no chip sales outside China, although products containing their devices keep turning up commonly here. The data-sheets usually have enough schematic and google translate can be pressed into service to create some understanding. 
 The volume pricing is an eye-opener to western eyes. There are a great many 'low value' things. like LED torches, Li-ion cell charge balancers and so on where there are no western equivalents, as the business model does not work at those prices. 
 It is likely that makers like Shenzen Fumen and similar are in effect subsidised by State education programmes and so on to encourage the development of an indigenous chip manufacturing capability. 
 Mike

mapj1 · Answer

I reckon the silicon is a close relative, maybe made under licence by another fab. Mike.

Andy Millar · Answer

Even then, it is possible to manufacture electronic systems in the far east (or even eastern Europe) much more cheaply than in the UK and, with enough diligence, retain the health and safety and regulation requirements. I spent several years in the early 2010s working to save a UK manufacturing site, that was part of a multinational, from closure; we couldn't argue with our HQ on H&S or quality grounds as they very thoroughly policed their "low cost country" manufacture (had to - our end customers heavily audited us on this stuff, plus we were making safety critical systems). The only way we could keep the manufacture of standard electronic products on the UK site was to heavily automate it, so again theoretically those jobs were lost anyway. What we did was to ramp up engineering and production of custom and semi-custom systems because those we could show real value in UK manufacture (for UK applications). So we managed not lose any jobs, but there was some serious re-skilling needed. 
 What was interesting was that we did show that with enough automation it was economically viable to manufacture electronics in the UK, simplistically the site and energy etc overhead costs in the UK about balanced the transport and general handling costs from overseas. But the actual number of people employed in that area became pretty minute. 
 It's the conundrum - if you manufacture in the UK either you have to drive wages down, or drive prices up to cover the wages which drives the earning power of wages down, or automate so only a few people are actually making any money out of it, or...? Nobel Prize in Economics for anyone who comes up with a better answer to that one. I'm just very very glad that my career in electronics design and manufacturing (which is what most of it was until recently) was in industries where customisation was the norm so we could show added value which people were able to justify paying for. 
 Andy

Unknown Component Identification

Join us to get the best from IET EngX.

Community Rules & Guidelines