Embedded Diploma: Prepared by Sameh Afifi

EMBEDDED DIPLOMA
PREPARED BY SAMEH AFIFI 1

Liquid crystal display, or LCD is a very commonly used device in electronics projects to display
data and interact with users.
LCDs contain characteristics, when electric current is applied to back ground. Liquid crystals do
not emit light by them selves' special crystals, which change their optical them, this makes them
visible, on a contrast like LEDs.
Therefore you need light to see them, usually the surrounding light is enough to read the
display, yet in case of dark environments it is hard to read the display.
Most LCDs therefore contain an optional backlight, to produce sufficient contrast, which makes
reading easy in dark environment

There are two basic types of LCDs available, Character LCDs and Graphic LCDs:
1. Character LCD
2. Graphical LCD

Character LCDs are manufactured by a number of manufacturers, in various sizes.
The characteristics of LCD are defined by the number of text lines it has, and the number of
characters per line.
 Thus a 20 x 4 character LCD would have four lines of text data, having 20 characters per line.
 6 x 2 is the most convenient size and most commonly used in electronics projects.

The character LCDs, contain onboard controller, with a connector to communicate with the
parent microcontroller.
There are usually 14 pins for communication and two pins for a backlight LED, if that is there.
Thus a total of 16 pin connector is usually required.

LCD can work in 2 modes
◦ 4bit mode: only four data pin are connected to microcontroller
◦ 8bit mode: the whole 8 data pin connected to microcontroller
This is a good reference for LCD : https://www.8051projects.net/lcd-interfacing/lcd-4-bit.php
Also you can read this article about LCD: https://goo.gl/YwQ9lG

We are going to learn how to use LCD in 4-bit mode.
There are many reasons why sometime we prefer to use LCD in 4-bit mode instead of 8-bit.
One basic reason is lesser number of pins are needed to interface LCD.
In 4-bit mode the data is sent in nibbles, first we send the higher nibble and then the lower
nibble.

There is two mode for configuration :
◦ Data mode: to display data on LCD
◦ Command mode: to shift data, set a specific location, clear screen …etc

Below is a brief list of useful commands which are used frequently while working on the LCD.

0x80: to start writing from 1st line first place so 0x81 writing on 2nd place until 0x8f
0xc0: to start writing from 2nd line first place so 0xC1 writing on 2nd place until 0xcf
0x01: to clear the display
0x0E: to turn on the cursor
0x0C: to turn off the cursor

To enable the 4-bit mode of LCD, we need to follow special sequence of initialization that tells the LCD
controller that user has selected 4-bit mode of operation. Following is the reset sequence of LCD.
1. Configure all required pins connected to lcd as output (D7,D6,D5,D4, EN,RS,RW)

2. Put RW = 0 as we need to write only on LCD
3. Send the first init value (0x2) to start config i`n 4bit mode
4. Send the first init value (0x28) to work at 4bit mode
5. Send the first init value (0x01) to clear LCD
6. Send the first init value (0x0c) to turn cursor off
7. Send the first init value (0x06) to make curser increment to right
8. Send the first init value (0x80) Set the curser at the beginning of LCD display
9. Wait 20 mille second.

To write a command for example 0x28
follow the below steps:
1. Put RS = 0 to write command
2. Put highest nibble of 0x28 on d7 d6 d5 d4 (2);
3. set En = 1 then wait 1 mille second, set En = 0, then wait 1 mille second.
4. Put lowest nibble of 0x28 on d7 d6 d5 d4 (8);
5. set En = 1 then wait 1 mille second, set En = 0, then wait 1 mille second.

To write a data for example number 12
follow the below steps:
1. Put RS = 1 to write data
2. Convert 12 to ascii code “the result is 2 ascii number represent 12 which is 49 and 50”
3. Follow the same steps in the previous slide from number 2
Note:
You now have 2 number 1 and 2 which are 49 and 50 then send both of them

There are many methods depending on how you connect your keypad with your controller, but
the basic logic is same.
A common technique: Set the columns as I/p and we drive the rows making them o/p, this
whole procedure of reading the keyboard is called scanning.

In order to detect which key is pressed from the matrix:
◦ we make row lines low one by one and read the columns. Lets say we first make Row1 low,
◦ then read the columns. If any of the key in row1 is pressed will make the corresponding column as low.
◦ If second key is pressed in Row1, then column2 will give low. So we come to know that key 2 of Row1 is
pressed. This is how scanning is done.

1. Configure 4 pin as input and make them pulled up, 2. Configure 4 pin as output
2. send 1110 to the 4 output pin and start to scan/check the value of the 4 input pin
3. if one of the 4 input pin is zero this mean you pressed on a keypad button, return the value of
this pressed button
4. repeat step 3 and 4 but change the output to be 1101, 1011, 0111 and so on….

◦ Consists of seven LEDs (hence its name) arranged in a rectangular fashion as shown.
◦ Each of the seven LEDs is called a segment because when illuminated the segment forms part
of a numerical digit (both Decimal and Hex) to be displayed.
◦ An additional 8th LED is sometimes used within the same package thus allowing the
indication of a decimal point (DP).

◦ The displays common pin is generally used to identify which type of 7-segment
display it is.
◦ As each LED has two connecting pins, one called the “Anode” and the other called
the “Cathode”, there are therefore two types of
◦ LED 7-segment display called:
◦ Common Cathode (CC)
◦ Common Anode(CA).

Multiplexing
◦ Often we need to use two, three or more Seven Segment Displays and that too using only
a single MCU, but one problem that we face is the lack of I/O pins in the MCU, as one
Seven Segment Display would take 8 pins, and so three Seven Segment Displays would
take 24 pins.
◦ We mean by multiplexing of seven-segment display is that we will be using only 7 output
ports to give the display on all of the SSDs
So what is the solution?
◦ One possibility is that we use a bigger MCU with more I/O pins.
◦ Another much better and recommended solution to this problem is to multiplex the Seven
Segment Displays

1. Configure the 4 pins of the IC and En1,En2 as output.
2. To display a number on the first seven segment put En1 = 1, En2 = 0 and put the number
on the 4 pins
3. To display a number on the second seven segment put En2 = 1, En1 = 0 and put the
number on the 4 pins
4. To display a two digits number put the first digit on the 4 pin then En1=1, En2=0, wait 1 ms,
then put second digit on the 4 pins and En1=0, En2=1 then wait 1ms and put this steps in a
loop to be repeated.

Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Same7Afifi
linkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameh-afifi-8389173a/
Phone: 01127346781
Work phone: 224135537

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EMBEDDED DIPLOMA

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◦ 8bit mode: the whole 8 data pin connected to microcontroller

This is a good reference for LCD : https://www.8051projects.net/lcd-interfacing/lcd-4-bit.php

Also you can read this article about LCD: https://goo.gl/YwQ9lG

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0x01: to clear the display

0x0E: to turn on the cursor

0x0C: to turn off the cursor

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1. Configure all required pins connected to lcd as output (D7,D6,D5,D4, EN,RS,RW)

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2. Put highest nibble of 0x28 on d7 d6 d5 d4 (2);

4. Put lowest nibble of 0x28 on d7 d6 d5 d4 (8);

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3. Follow the same steps in the previous slide from number 2

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Work phone: 224135537

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