UPC EETAC Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications Systems and in Network Engineering EEL

 

1-digit BCD adder with LCD (design phase #2)

P11

1-digit BCD adder with LCD display

(Under revision)

1. Specifications

Implement the second design phase of the application Adder_BCD_1digit. The idea is to enhance the circuit replacing the 7-segment displays by an LCD display to show operands and results.

Entity name: Adder_BCD_1digit_LCD. Use the PIC18F4520 microcontroller chip.

Symbol

Fig 1. Symbol of the device to be designed.

 

2. Planning

Ideas and discussion.

planning ideas

Fig. 2. Planning ideas.

A) Planning hardware

A good idea is to connect inputs and outputs in free pins of PICDEM2 Plus prototyping board. In such board LCD display is connected to microcontroller's PORTD. 

LCD wiring

Fig. 3. Connecting 7 wires for the LCD interface and another one (RD7) for switching ON/OFF its power supply.

A) Planning software

Software modifications indicated in the main loop.

Software modifications

Fig. 4. Software modifications.

 

Represent the RAM variables required in this application. What is var_LCD_flag? Why we need such indicator?

 

Symbol Fig. 5. New RAM variables.

 

Symbol

Fig. 6. Hardware-software diagram.

 

Explain the new ideas in init_system(). Where the LCD is configured?

Explain how the flowchart of read_inputs() is modified.

Explain how the flowchart of write_outputs() is modified.

write_outputs

Fig. 7. Activate var_LCD_flag when new operands are polled.

 

Organise a MPLABX - XC8 IDE project targetting a PIC18F4520 at location:

C:/CSD/P11/Adder_BCD_1digit_LCD/(files)

 

3. Development  -  4. Testing  interactively

A) Developing hardware

Proteus hardware circuit Adder_BCD_1digit_LCD.pdsprj.

 

Fig. 8. Circuit captured in Proteus.

 

B) Developing software

C source code Adder_BCD_1digit_LCD.c.

 

Fig. 9. Using LCD functions for writing ASCII messages.

 

C) Step-by-step testing

Run the Proteus simulator. Do it in step by step mode while watching variables and placing break points, specially for following var_LCD_flag.

Circuit operating

Fig. 10.  The circuit in "run" mode while monitoring the variables in the "watch" window.

 

NOTE: This is yet another version of the same project where dynamic data is ajusted to 2 bytes (plus the end of string code  '\0' null terminator). It shows how to represent dynamic numerical data, in this case an int result  (Var_Decimal) from an arithmetic operation to a char string (Var_Decimal_ASCII[16] or Var_Decimal_ASCII[3]) sized for LCD. Similar formatting (sprintf()) is required for representing double int or float variable types.

 

5. Report

 

6. Prototyping

Use training boards such  PICDEM2 or EXPLORER 8.