Noob here.

I want to design a control circuit that will turn on four 12 volt bulbs lets say. The circuit is controlled by a single momentary switch (On-OFF-ON). One press of the switch up, turns on bulb 1. Press it up again, now bulbs 1 and 2 are on. Press up again, bulbs 1,2 & 3 are on. You get the idea. Once all 4 are on, pressing up does nothing.

Pressing down on the switch will turn off bulbs one at a time. Once all are off, pressing down does nothing.

Can this be done with 12 volt automotive style relays, or latching relays, diodes, etc ? What would the schematic look like? Is this even possible?

I know this would be easy for an arduino or such design but I would like to keep it old school if possible.

 

Welcome to AAC!

You could use a 4 bit shift register (e.g. CD4015) and use the momentary switch to clock 1's into the register. You need to debounce the switch and use BJTs or MOSFETs to switch the bulbs low side.

EDIT: missed the part about shifting the other direction. You need to use a bidirectional shift register for that. Let me look up a part number. MC14194

 

Extremely difficult with just relays. Can be done with a shift register as above.
Needs a bit of extra logic to generate the clock and direction signals and de-bounce the switch.
Rough circuit attached.

 

Nice Marley, I was going to post something similar but using a reset set FF and a 555 to delay the register clock...but I like yours better.

(probably needed some inverters as well, but never got that far)

 

Here's an easier to read schematic:

I didn't include caps for debouncing the switch.

The datasheet specifies a minimum setup time on S1/S0 of 75ns before the clock. Without IC1D, there's no delay and the shift direction could be wrong on direction changes.

I didn't know what the lamp current would be, so I used a MOSFET that can be a power type.

 

I didn't have any trouble reading Marley's schematic.

 

I didn't have any trouble reading Marley's schematic.

I'm not a fan of that disjointed (netlist) style... Don't care for colored schematics either.

 

I also like the use of the RC network in Marley's design to provide both the de-bounce and the clock delay.

The 60ns propagation delay on the 4011 might not be long enough for the clock delay.

The RC network can be adjusted.

 

The 60ns propagation delay on the 4011 might not be long enough for the clock delay.

If you think about it, it's not likely to be a problem because the shift register isn't clocked until the switch returns to the off position. That's going to take milliseconds.

 

Won't the post #5 circuit just be shifting zeroes?
How will it cope with both the lights on sequence and the lights off sequence as specified by the OP?

 

If you think about it, it's not likely to be a problem because the shift register isn't clocked until the switch returns to the off position. That's going to take milliseconds.

Yes, I overlooked that IC1D will invert.

 

Won't the post #5 circuit just be shifting zeroes?
How will it cope with both the lights on sequence and the lights off sequence as specified by the OP?

Right shifts in 1's via DSR and left shifts in 0's via DSL.

 

I'm curious Dennis, why did you choose to tie the reset line and the DSR to positive thru a resistor?

 

I'm curious Dennis, why did you choose to tie the reset line and the DSR to positive thru a resistor?

It allows the shift register to be reset by pulling that pin LOW. OP could also use a capacitor to ground to implement a power on reset.

 

Noob here.

I want to design a control circuit that will turn on four 12 volt bulbs lets say. The circuit is controlled by a single momentary switch (On-OFF-ON). One press of the switch up, turns on bulb 1. Press it up again, now bulbs 1 and 2 are on. Press up again, bulbs 1,2 & 3 are on. You get the idea. Once all 4 are on, pressing up does nothing.

Pressing down on the switch will turn off bulbs one at a time. Once all are off, pressing down does nothing.

Can this be done with 12 volt automotive style relays, or latching relays, diodes, etc ? What would the schematic look like? Is this even possible?

I know this would be easy for an arduino or such design but I would like to keep it old school if possible.

Here is a version using standard non-polar 12v relays.

 

Now there is a schematic I can't read.

 

Now there is a schematic I can't read.

Use the Pop-Out button.