Freescale Semiconductor Document Number: AN3414

Rev. 1, 03/2007
Application Note

Toaster Oven Control System

Using MC9S08QD2
by: Samuel Quiroz Corkidi
RTAC Americas

1 Introduction Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Traditionally, electric toaster ovens have implemented 2 Design Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 System Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
temperature control using discrete components, 3 Modes of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
including solenoids, thermostats, and thermal fuses. 4 Hardware Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Some of these components may be expensive and 4.1 User Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5 Development Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
unreliable. These components can be replaced by an 6 Software Implementation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
embedded control system. By using the appropriate 6.1 On-off Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
7 Execution Flow and System States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
control method and components, system costs can be 7.1 Benefits of the Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
reduced and performance increased. Embedded systems 8 Testing and Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
allow you to add new functions without replacing the 9 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
whole system, which reduces weight and space
requirements and eases component replacements.
This document helps users convert a discrete control
system to an embedded system. Using a domestic toaster
oven as an example, it also demonstrates that an on-off
control system can be implemented on a low-end 8-bit
MCU. This embedded control system is based on the
low-cost, high-performance MC9S08QD2, a member of
the HCS08 family of 8-bit microcontroller units
(MCUs). Two potentiometers give you control of oven
temperature and toasting time. By pressing a push
button, you can start or stop the device. This design also
uses a low-cost temperature sensor that provides a more
accurate on-off feedback control system.

© Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., 2007. All rights reserved.

Design Requirements

2 Design Requirements
2.1 System Overview
The user can specify the temperature, toasting time, and start or stop the heating process at any time. An
indicator light informs the user the device is heating, while a sound generated by the device indicates the
process is complete.
To provide feedback to the control system, the system has a temperature sensor. Due to the voltage
operation difference between the heating element and the MCU, there is a coupling stage (capable of
managing standard domestic line voltage levels) to switch the heating device on and off.

3 Modes of Operation
This system is intended to work in two modes. The first mode is toaster mode, in which the user specifies
the desired temperature and the desired heat time. After this time has elapsed, the toaster turns off
automatically and informs the user by making a beep sound. The user may also stop the device at any time
by pressing the pushbutton.
The second mode is oven mode, which is entered when the user turns off the time knob. In this mode, the
user doesn’t specify a cooking time, but only the desired temperature. Therefore, the oven heats to the
desired temperature until the user turns it off. Figure 1 shows the user inputs.

Heating level

Low High

Toast time
Toast mode
1 min

Oven mode 10 min

Start / Stop

Figure 1. User Inputs

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 Hardware Implementation

4 Hardware Implementation
4.1 User Inputs
The time and heat potentiometers are read by the on-chip analog-to-digital converter on the MC9S08QD2.
The pushbutton is connected to a general input with the internal pull-up resistor enabled.

4.1.1 Temperature Sensor

There are several kinds of temperature sensors of varying price, sensitivity, temperature range, and size.
Because high temperature sensors are generally more expensive, this design uses a LM35 low-cost linear
temperature sensor.
The LM35 series is a precision integrated-circuit temperature sensor with an output voltage linearly
proportional to the celsius (centigrade) temperature. The LM35 does not require any external calibration
or trimming to provide typical accuracies of ±3/4°C over full -55° to +150°C temperature range. The
LM35 is rated to operate over a -55° to +150°C temperature range. The voltage output of the sensor is
directly proportional to the temperature (10 mV/°C) and is read by one of the ADC inputs.
Because this sensor doesn’t support high temperatures inside the toaster oven, it cannot be placed inside
the oven. It can, however, be placed near a hot surface of the device where you can guarantee the maximum
temperature supported by the sensor is not exceeded.

4.1.2 Status Indicators

An LED and a speaker connected to the microcontroller show the status of the toaster oven. A
general-purpose NPN bipolar junction transistor drives the necessary current to the LED and the speaker.
Because the MC9S08QD2 is limited to eight pins, the LED and speaker output share a common pin. This
is not a problem because the LED works with direct current and the speaker works with alternating current.
To turn on/off the LED, the program sets the pin at the desired level because this does not generate any
sound on the speaker. To generate a sound, it toggles the output to create an audible signal on the speaker.
When the speaker is generating sound, the LED flashes at the sound frequency.
The LED/speaker is connected to PTA4, but this pin shares the background BKGD/MS function used to
enter active background mode. A jumper or a switch is used to select PTAD4 or BKGD/MS.
Active background mode is entered when the BKGD/MS pin is low at the rising edge of reset. After
entering active background mode, the CPU is held in a suspended state while it waits for serial background
commands instead of executing instructions from the application program.
When the pin function selected is PTAD4, a pull-up resistor is used to avoid entering active background
mode after a power-on-reset (POR).

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Freescale Semiconductor 3
Development Tools

4.1.3 Output Stage

The heating element (usually a resistor load) operates with domestic line voltage levels (110/220 VAC).
This means you must use some sort of external devices to switch the heater on and off. Use an
electromechanical relay capable of managing the desired heater current or an opto-isolator to drive a
TRIAC to switch the heating device.
Coupling and power stages should be used to manage domestic line voltages. You are responsible for
selecting a device that suits your needs.

4.1.4 Electrical Schematic

Figure 2 shows the electrical schematic used on the design.
VDD = 5 VDC
AC line voltage

VDD
MC9S08QD2 Heating
Coupling Power device
VDD PTA3 Stage Stage (Resistive
Time ADC0 PTA4 load)
10 kΩ VDD
ADC1 ADC2
PTA5 VSS

Heat
10kΩ 5 VDC
VDD

150 Ω 150 Ω
Temperature VDD
Sensor
(LM35) Speaker
Start/Stop

10 kΩ

10 kΩ

BKGD/MS
Figure 2. Electrical Schematic

5 Development Tools
The programming language used for this application is C. This application was developed using
CodeWarrior 5.1 with the MC9S08QD2/4 patch properly installed.

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 Software Implementation

6 Software Implementation
6.1 On-off Control
On-off control is the simplest kind of control and is used in almost all domestic electric toaster ovens.
When the temperature of the oven is lower than the desired temperature, the heater is turned on. After the
oven’s temperature has reached the desired temperature, the heater is turned off. The heater cannot vary
the heat intensity; it only turns the oven on or off (Figure 3).
This kind of control system presents a problem of temperature oscillating around the set-point. The turn-on
temperature differs slightly from the turn-off temperature. This difference is called hysteresis and prevents
the oven from switching rapidly and unnecessarily when the temperature is near the set-point.
On-off control can be used for non-critical applications, when a slight variation in the output is acceptable.
Control systems like this are cheap, effective and can represent a good design choice.
Temperature

Hysteresis

Desired
temperature

Heater Heater Heater Heater Heater Heater

on off on off on off

Heating Time
timeout

Figure 3. On-off System Behavior

7 Execution Flow and System States

The operation of the system can be described with a simple state machine. As shown on Figure 4, after
startup, you can divide the operation of the device into three main states.

Button pressed
Startup IDLE Button ON or END
Initialize Wait for Heat at Time out Turn off
MCU button to desired heater and
be pressed temperature beep

Figure 4. State Machine

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Execution Flow and System States

The MCU must be configured at startup before entering the main loop. This includes initializing
configuration registers, system clock, ADC, and general-purpose inputs/outputs (GPIOs). After startup,
the application enters an infinite loop that executes the state machine.
The idle state waits for the button to be pressed to change to the on state so the toaster oven can start
heating. In the on state, the system reads the user inputs to select the proper operation mode (oven or
toaster) and starts heating until the desired temperature is reached. The on-off control algorithm is
performed during this state. The flow diagram for the on state is shown in Figure 5. The machine only
changes to end state when a timeout occurs or a button is pressed.
System states are separated into functions. During the application’s main loop, the state machine calls the
function depending on the actual state. The program also checks if an RTI overflow has occurred or if a
button is pressed at that moment. No interrupts are used in the program. Because this is a non-critical
system, a polling method is used instead.
The start/stop button is read in at least two states; therefore, you need a method to determine if the button
was pressed to avoid changing the state repeatedly. To avoid this problem,the software uses flags
(variables) instead of reading the actual push button status. After the button has been pressed, a flag is set
to alert you of this. When you release the button, the previous flag is cleared. To enhance this functionality,
the program uses a debounce timer to avoid triggering false mechanical rebounds from the push button.
The real time interrupt (RTI) of the MC9S08QD2 is used as a time base. It is configured to overflow every
1.024 seconds. In this way, the program knows that one second has elapsed and checks if the desired time
has elapsed.

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 Execution Flow and System States

Previous State

Read and store value of desired heating time

This section excecutes only
. idle.
when the previous state was

No Is heating Yes
time equal
to 0?

Start RTI timer Set Oven mode

Turn on LED

Read and store value of desired temperature

Read actual temperature

Is actual
temperature
No Yes
greater than or
-
equal to turn-off
value?

Is actual
No temperature less Yes
- Turn off heater
than turn-on
value?

Turn on heater

No Button Yes
was
pressed?

Yes Is OVEN Change to state END

No
mode to turn off heater and
set? beep

End
No Has timer reach Yes
desired value?

Figure 5. ON State Flow Diagram

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Freescale Semiconductor 7
Execution Flow and System States

Figure 6 shows the flow diagram of the END state in which the heater is turned off. A 2 kHz sound is then
generated by the speaker output pin. The timer/pulse-width modulator of the MC9S08QD2 generates the
audible tone, and the RTI counts the duration of the sound.

Previous State

Turn off heater

Configure timer to generate 2 kHz tone (interrupt every 250 μs)

Configure RTI to interrupt every 1.024 seconds

Set SoundDuration
Start timer and start RTI

Timer
No overflow Yes
has
occurred?
Toggle Speaker pin

RTI
overflow Yes
has
occurred?
No
Decrease SoundDuration

No Sound Yes
Duration equals
0?

Disable Timer and RTI

Change to State Idle

End

Figure 6. END State Flow Diagram

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 Testing and Validation

7.1 Benefits of the Solution

There are many advantages to using an embedded control system over older control system methods.
Analog control systems can be difficult and costly to modify or update after they are designed and finished.
Some of the elements in the system must be replaced to change the system behavior.
However, embedded control systems can be easily updated or modified by changing some lines of code.
Many pieces of software (such as functions) can be reused on different systems, reducing development
cost and time.
With new digital technologies, software samples and development tools, designers can quickly build up
embedded solutions and replace discrete control systems with embedded control systems.

8 Testing and Validation

The system was tested by placing the sensor near the bottom of an ordinary toaster oven. On the initial
tests, when the temperature approached the set-point, the heater was switching on and off repeatedly
because the turn-on and turn-off thresholds were too close to each other. This was fixed by specifying a
wider hysteresis gap.

9 Conclusion
This application note shows designers interested but not familiarized with digital embedded systems how
to implement a simple on-off control system with a low-end 8-bit microcontroller. It serves as a basic guide
that can be easily modified and enhanced to suit designer and user needs. This solution, however, does not
represent a fully-validated end user product, but it should serve more as a primer for those interested in
embedded systems and their many advantages.

10 References
• Barr, Michael. Closed-Loop Control Embedded Systems Programming, August 2002 , pp. 55-56.
• D.H. Williams, Charles. Types of Feedback Control.
• LM35 Precision Centigrade Temperature Sensors data sheet.
• Ochoa Alfredo, Lara Alex & Gonzalez Gabriel. High Resolution Digital Dimmer. AND8011.

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Document Number: AN3414

Rev. 1
03/2007