A New Method for Surprise Box Quantity Determination Based on Comparer

To address the limitation of traditional surprise boxes that only support single or fixed quantity customization, this paper proposed a new method: utilizing comparators to detect cascaded quantities for specific customization. This innovative approach aims to simplify the customization process of surprise boxes while avoiding the complexity of using micro-controllers for quantity determination. A dual comparator is employed to compare the results that are greater or smaller than the set quantity. Then the output of the dual comparator is connected to an AND gate circuit, triggering the hidden function of the central surprise box when the AND gate generates high levels. The system design involves setting the number of surprise boxes and connecting upper and lower limit comparators to the current surprise box connection signal. By selecting the size of the cascade resistor, the number of surprise boxes can be determined. This paper provides step-by-step instructions for calculating the cascade resistor. Furthermore, the proposed method’s reliability in determining the number of surprise boxes is demonstrated by setting the number of secondary surprise boxes to seven and four, with the allowed resistance error 6.4% and 11%, respectively. The results indicate that a higher number of connected surprise boxes leads to a smaller range of cascaded resistors and higher accuracy requirements. Through these case studies, it has been verified that the design using dual comparators can achieve the desired quantity detection, and the detection circuit exhibits a high degree of redundancy in resistance value error, resulting in increased reliability of the detection results.