The PIC18 Microcontroller

Chapter 6

Parallel Ports

No.6-1
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Introduction

- Embedded products are designed to allow the user to provide input and receive

results.
- The speed and characteristics of I/O devices are quite different from the CPU.
- Peripheral chips are used to resolve the difference between the I/O devices and
the CPU.
- The major function of the interface chip is to synchronize the data transfer
between the CPU and I/O devices.
- Resistors may be needed to limit the current flow, whereas buffer chips may be
needed to increase the current flow required by the I/O devices.
- An interface chip consists of control registers, data registers, status registers,
data direction register, and control circuitry.

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- Control registers allow the user to set up operation parameters.

- Data registers holds the data to be output or received.
- Status register records the status of the I/O operation.
- Data direction register allows the user to set the direction of data
transfer.
- To input, the processor reads data from the data register.
- To output, the processor writes data into the data register.
- The interconnection between the microprocessor, interface chips, and
I/O devices are shown in Figure 7.1.

No.6-3
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Address from to
Decoder input output
device I/O pins device

CE CE
Interface Interface
chip 1 chip 1

Microprocessor

Data Bus

Figure 7.1 Interface chip, I/O devices, and microprocessor

- The address decoder in Figure 7.1 allows one and only one interface chip to exchange
data with the microprocessor at a time.
- Data transfer can be proceeded in parallel or bit by bit (serial method).
- Serial method is meant to be used with slower I/O devices
- Parallel method is meant to be used with high-speed devices.
- This chapter focuses on parallel I/O.

No.6-4
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I/O Addressing

- The processor needs to access the registers of the interface chip to perform

the I/O operation.

- An address is needed to select the register inside the interface chip and
instructions need to be executed to carry out the appropriate operations.
- Two issues arise here:

1. Address space sharing

2. Instruction set and addressing modes sharing

No.6-5
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I/O Synchronization
- The role of the interface chip is shown in Figure 7.2.
- For input, the CPU needs to make sure it reads when the data is valid and reads only
once.
- For output, the CPU needs to make sure that the output device is ready to accept new
data.
- There are two aspects in the I/O synchronization: the synchronization between the
CPU and interface chip and the synchronization between the interface chip and the I/O
device.

handshake or
Control signals strobe signal I/O device
Microprocessor Interface chip electronics
(such as R/W or
interrupt)
Data Bus

Data Bus Data Bus

Figure 7.2 The role of an interface chip

No.6-6
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Synchronization between the CPU and the Interface Chip

1. Polling method. Use a flag bit to indicate the readiness of I/O operation.

2. Interrupt-driven method. Use the interrupt signal to inform the CPU that new data
is available or output device is ready for more data.

None of the PIC18 I/O ports support either method directly.

No.6-7
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Synchronizing the Interface Chip with I/O Devices

1. No method
- Input: The interface returns the current value of the input pins.
- Output: The interface drives the data written by the CPU directly on output pins.

2. Strobe method
- A strobe signal is used to synchronize data transfer.
- Input: The input device places data on input pins, wait until data is stable, and then
asserts the strobe signal to inform the interface chip to latch the data.
- Output: The interface chip drives data to be output on the output pins, wait until
data is stable, and then asserts the strobe signal to inform the output device
to latch the data.
- PIC18 does not support this method.

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3. Handshake method
- Two handshake signals are used to synchronize the data transfer between the
interface chip and I/O device. H1 is driven by interface chip and H2 is driven
by I/O device.
- There are two versions of handshaking: pulse mode and interlock mode.
- Handshaking signals transactions for input and output are shown in Figure 7.3
and 7.4, respectively.

No.6-9
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H1

Data Valid Data

H2

(a) Interlocked

H1

Data Valid Data

H2

(b) Pulse mode

Figure 7.3 Input Handshakes

No.6-10
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H1

Data Valid Data

H2
(a) Interlocked

H1

Data Valid Data

H2
(b) Pulse Mode
Figure 7.4 Output Handshaking

No.6-11
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Overview of the PIC18 Parallel I/O Ports

- I/O pins are often grouped into ports.

- A port consists of up to 8 pins, a data direction register (TRISx), a latch

register (LATx) , and a data register (PORTx); where, x = A…H, J, K.

- Data to be output is written into the latch, which in turn drives the output

pins.

- A PIC18 may have as many as 10 I/O ports.

- An I/O port is often multiplexed with one or more peripheral functions.

- When a peripheral function is enabled, the I/O pins cannot be used for

general-purpose I/O.

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- Devices with 18 pins and 20 pins have two I/O ports: A and B.

- Devices with 28 pins have three I/O ports: A, B, and C.

- Devices with 40 pins (DIP package) and 44 pins (PLCC package) have five

parallel ports: A, B, C, D, and E.

- Devices with 64 pins (TQFP package) and 68 pins (PLCC package) have seven

ports: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

- Most 80-pin (TQFP package) and 84-pin devices (PLCC package) have nine

ports but some 84-pin devices (e.g., PIC18F858 in PLCC package) have 10 ports.

- The number of pins available in each port is shown in Table 7.1.

No.6-13
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Table 7.1 Number of pins available in each paralle port

Port Name No. of Pins Pin Name
A 7 RA6..RA0
B 8 RB7..RB0
C 8 RC7..RC0
D 8 RD7..RD0
E 8 RE7..RE0
F 8 RF7..RF0
G 5 RG4..RG0
H 8 RH7..RH0
J* 8 RJ7..RJ0
K 4 RK3..RK0
Note. The Port J of the PIC18C858 has only four pins
Port K is available in PIC18F858 only.

No.6-14
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Reading and Writing the I/O Ports

- Data direction needs to be set before the I/O operation.

- To configure an I/O pin for input, set the associated bit in the TRIS register to 1.
- To configure an I/O pin for output, set the associated bit in the TRIS register to 0.

Example 7.1 Write an instruction sequence to output the hex value 0x33 to port D.
Solution:
The port D should be configured for output before data is written to it.

clrf TRISD,A ; configure port D for output

movlw 0x33
movwf PORTD,A

Example 7.2 Write an instruction sequence to read the current value of port D into
WREG.
Solution:
setf TRISD,A ; configure port D for input
movf PORTD,W,A ; read port D pin value into WREG

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- Part of an I/O port pins can be configured for input whereas others are configured for
output.

Example 7.3 Configure the upper four pins of port D for input and the lower four pins
for output.
Solution:

movlw 0xF0
movwf TRISD,A

No.6-16
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Interfacing with LEDs 5V

- Several interfacing methods are 300~500 

Output Pin
possible.
- Method (a, b) is used to drive (a) low voltage on output pin lights LED

Output Pin
LED directly.
300~500 

- Method (c) provides

some protection to the
microcontroller. (b) high voltage on output pin lights LED

5V

Output Pin
300~500 

(c) high voltage on output pin lights LED

Figure 7.15 PIC18 output port pin driving an LED

No.6-17
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Interfacing with Seven-Segment Displays

- Used to display a few decimal digits.
- A buffer chip is often used to provide enough current to drive the displays.
- A one-display circuit is shown in Figure 7.16.
- Multiple-digit displays can be achieved by using time-multiplexing technique shown
in Figure 7.17.
- To display a decimal digit, appropriate pattern must be output to port D in Figure
7.16 and 7.17. These patterns are shown in Table 7.2.
PIC18
300  each
a
RD6 a
RD5 b f
c b
RD4
74HC244

g
RD3 d
RD2 e e c
RD1 f
RD0 g
d
common cathode

Figure 7.16 Driving a single seven-segment display

No.6-18
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#5 #4 #0
300  a a . . . a
. b . b . . . b
. .
300  . .
g g
74HC244 . . . g
RD6 RD5 RD0 common common common
cathode cathode cathode
R
RB5 2N2222

IMAX = 70 mA
R 2N2222
RB4 .
PIC18 MCU .
. R
RB0 2N2222

Figure 7.17 Port B and Port D together drive six seven-segment displays

No.6-19
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Table 7.2 Decimal to seven-segment decoder

Decimal Segments Corresponding

digit a b c d e f g Hex Number
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0x7E
1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0x30
2 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0x6D
3 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0x79
4 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0x33
5 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0x5B
6 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0x5F
7 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0x70
8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0x7F
9 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0x7B

The display a decimal digit on display i, perform the following operations:

1. Configure both port B and port D for output

2. Drive RBi pin to high
3. Drive other port B pins to low
4. Output the hex value corresponding to the specified decimal digit to port D

No.6-20
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Example 7.4 Write an instruction sequence to display 5 on the seven-segment display #4

in Figure 7.17.
Solution:
In assembly,
clrf TRISB,A ; configure port B for output
clrf TRISD,A ; configure port D for output
movlw 0x5B ; output the segment pattern of 5
movwf PORTD ; “
movlw 0x10 ; enable display #4 to light
movwf PORTB ; “

In C language,

TRISB = 0x00;
TRISD = 0x00;
PORTD = 0x5B;
PORTB = 0x10;

No.6-21
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How to display multiple digit in Figure 7.17?

- Light each digit in turn briefly (say, 1 ms a time) and then turned off.
- When one display is lighted, all other displays are turned off.
- Because of the persistence of vision, all displays will appear lighted simultaneously.

Example 7.5 Write a program to display 654321 on the six seven-segment displays in
Figure 7.17 assuming that the PIC18 is running with a 32-MHz crystal oscillator.
Solution: The values to be output to port B and port D are listed in Table 7.5.

Table 7.3 Table of display patterns for Example 7.5

Seven-segment Displayed
Port D Port B
display BCD digit
#5 6 0x5F 0x20
#4 5 0x5B 0x10
#3 4 0x33 0x08
#2 3 0x79 0x04
#1 2 0x6D 0x02
#0 1 0x30 0x01

No.6-22
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

#include <p18F8680.inc>
radix dec
dup_nop macro kk ; this macro will duplicate the “nop” instruction
variable i ; kk times
i=0 ; need to be at a separate line
while i < kk
nop
i += 1 ; need to be at separate line
endw
endm
lp_cnt set 0x00 ; use data memory 0 as loop count
lp_cnt1 set 0x01 ; another loop count
org 0x00
goto start
org 0x08
retfie
org 0x18
retfie
start clrf TRISB,A ; configure Port B for output
clrf TRISD,A ; configure Port D for output
forever movlw 0x06 ; there are six digits to be displayed
movwf lp_cnt ; "

No.6-23
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movlw upper disp_tab

movwf TBLPTRU,A ; "
movlw high disp_tab ; "
movwf TBLPTRH,A ; "
movlw low disp_tab ; "
movwf TBLPTRL,A ; "
loop tblrd*+
movff TABLAT,PORTD ; output the seven-segment pattern
tblrd*+
movff TABLAT,PORTB ; turn on one display
call wait_ms ; wait for half a millisecond
decfsz lp_cnt,F,A ; decrement the loop count
goto loop ; read the next pattern
goto forever ; go to the start of the pattern table
end

No.6-24
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#include <delays.h>
#include <p18F8680.h>
char display[6][2] = {{0x5F,0x20},{0x5BD,0x10},{0x33,0x08},{0x79,0x04},
{0x6D,0x02}, {0x30,0x01}};
void main ()
{
int i;
TRISB = 0x00; /* configure Port B for output */
TRISD = 0x00; /* configure Port D for output */
while (1) {
for (i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
PORTD = display[i][0]; /* output display pattern */
PORTB = display[i][1]; /* turn on one display */
Delay1KTCYx(8); /* wait for 1 ms */
}
}
}

No.6-26
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Using the LCD kits with the HD44780 LCD Controller

- Can control the display of up to 80 characters in an LCD kit.

- Block diagram of the HD44780 is shown in Figure 7.20.
- A standard connector for the HD44780-based connection method is shown in Table
7.5.

DB7 COM 16
LCDP (FRD7069)
DB0

E CONTROLLER SEG 40
LSI SEG 160
R/W
HD44780
RS
VEE
VCC 4
SEGMENT DRIVER x 4
VSS

Figure 7.20 Block diagram of the DMC-20434 LCD kit

No.6-27
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Table 7.4 Pin assignment for displays with less than 80 characters
Pin No. symbol I/O Function
1 VSS - Power supply (GND)
2 VCC - Power supply (+5V)
3 VEE - Contrast adjust
4 RS I 0 = instruction input, 1 = data input
5 R/W I 0 = write to LCD, 1 = read from LCD
6 E I enable signal
7 DB0 I/O data bus line 0
8 DB1 I/O data bus line 1
9 DB2 I/O data bus line 2
10 DB3 I/O data bus line 3
11 DB4 I/O data bus line 4
12 DB5 I/O data bus line 5
13 DB6 I/O data bus line 6
14 DB7 I/O data bus line 7

- The DB7..DB0 pins are used to exchange data with the microcontroller.
- The R/W pin determines the data transfer direction.
- The E pin enables the data exchange with the LCD kit.
- The HD44780 has an instruction register and a data register.
- The RS signal selects the instruction register when it is low and selects the data
register when it is 1.
- The VEE signal is used to adjust the brightness of the LCD and is often connected to
a potentiometer.

No.6-28
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The HD44780 Controller

- The HD44780 can be configured to control 1-line, 2-line, and 4-line displays.
- The HD44780 controller has character generator ROM that can generate 208 5  8 dot
characters and 32 5  10 dot characters.
- Character generator RAM is available for defining 8 5  8 character patterns and 4
5  10 character patterns.
- A set of instructions (Table 7.6) is available for users to configure the LCD operations.
- The HD44780 controller has display data memory (DDRAM) to store the display
data.
- The address of a display data memory location determines where the next character
will appear on the LCD screen.
- The mapping from display data memory to the LCD screen position is not sequential
and is shown in Table 7.8a, 7.8b, and 7.8c.
Table 7.8a DDRAM address usage for a 1-line LCD
Visible
Display size character positions DDRAM addresses
1*8 00..07 0x00..0x07
1 * 16 00..15 0x00..0x0F
1 * 20 00..19 0x00..0x13
1 * 24 00..23 0x00..0x17
1 * 32 00..31 0x00..0x1F
1 * 40 00..39 0x00..0x27

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Table 7.8b DDRAM address usage for a 2-line LCD

Visible
Display size character positions DDRAM addresses
2 * 16 00..15 0x00..0x0F + 0x40..0x4F
2 * 20 00..19 0x00..0x13 + 0x40..0x53
2 * 24 00..23 0x00..0x17 + 0x40..0x57
2 * 32 00..31 0x00..0x1F + 0x40..0x5F
2 * 40 00..39 0x00..0x27 + 0x40..0x67

Table 7.8c DDRAM address usage for a 4-line LCD

Visible
Display size character positions DDRAM addresses
4 * 16 00..15 0x00..0x0F + 0x40..0x4F + 0x14..0x23 + 0x54..0x63
4 * 20 00..19 0x00..0x13 + 0x40..0x53 + 0x14..0x27 + 0x54..0x67
4 * 40 00..39 on 1st controller 0x00..0x27 + 0x40..0x67 on 1st controller and
and 00..39 on 2nd 0x00..0x27 + 0x40..0x67 on 2nd controller
controller

No.6-30
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Table 7.6 HD44780 instruction set

Code Execution
Instruction Description
RS R/W B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 time
Clear display 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Clears display and returns cursor to the 1.64 ms
home position (address 0).
Cursor home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * Returns cursor to home position (address 0). 1.64 ms
Also returns display being shifted to the
original position. DDRAM contents remain
unchanged.
Entry mode set 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 I/D S Set cursor move direction (I/D), specifies to 40 s
shift the display (S). These operations are
performed during data read/write.
Display on/off 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 D C B Sets on/off of all display (D), cursor on/off 40 s
control (C) and blink of cursor position character
(B).
Cursor /display 0 0 0 0 0 1 S/C R/L * * Sets cursor-move or display-(S/C), shift 40 s
shift direction (R/L). DDRAM contents remains
unchanged.
Function set 0 0 0 0 1 DL N F * * Sets interface data length (DL), number of 40 s
display line (N) and character font (F).
Set CGRAM 0 0 0 1 CGRAM address Sets the CGRAM address. CGRAM data is 40 s
address sent and received after this setting.
Set DDRAM 0 0 1 DDRAM address Sets the DDRAM address. DDRAM data is 40 s
address sent and received after this setting.
Read busy flag 0 1 BF CGRAM/DDRAM Reads busy flag (BF) indicating internal 0 s
and address operation is being performed and reads
address
counter CGRAM or DDRAM address counter
contents (depending on previous
instruction).
Write to CGRAM 1 0 write data Writes data to CGRAM or DDRAM. 40 s
or DDRAM
Read from 1 1 read data Reads data from CGRAM or DDRAM. 40 s
CGRAM or
DDRAM

No.6-31
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Table 7.7 LCD instruction bit names

Bit name Settings
I/D 0 = decrement cursor position. 1 = increment cursor position
S 0 = no display shift. 1 = display shift
D 0 = display off 1 = display on
C 0 = cursor off 1 = cursor on
B 0 = cursor blink off 1 = cursor blink on
S/C 0 = move cursor 1 = shift display
R/L 0 = shift left 1 = shift right
DL 0 = 4-bit interface 1 = 8-bit interface
N 0 = 1/8 or 1/11 duty (1 line) 1 = 1/16 duty (2 lines)
F 0 = 5x7 dots 1 = 5 x 10 dots
BF 0 = can accept instruction 1 = internal operation in progress

The IR Register
- The microcontroller writes command (or instruction) into this register to configure
the LCD operation parameters.
- The LCD instruction set is listed in Table 7.6.

No.6-32
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The DR Register
- The data to be written into the DDRAM or CGRAM is written into this register.
- To read data from DDRAM or CGRAM, the microcontroller reads from this register.

Address Counter (AC)

- This 7-bit address counter keeps track of the address of the next DDRAM or CGRAM
location to be accessed.
- The selection of DDRAM or CGRAM is determined by the instruction.
- The content of this register is incremented after the access to DDRAM or CGRAM.
- The register selection is shown in Table 7.9.

Table 7.9 Register selection

RS R/W Operation

0 0 IR write as an internal operation (display clear, etc)

0 1 Read busy flag (DB7) and address counter (DB0 to DB6)
1 0 DR write as an internal operation (DR to DDRAM or CGRAM)
1 1 DR read as an internal operation (DDRAM or CGRAM to DR)

No.6-33
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HD44780 Commands

1. Clear display (0x01). This command clears the LCD screen, sets the address
counter to 0, sets the cursor to the upper left corner of the LCD screen, and also sets
the I/D bit to 1 in entry mode.

2. Return Home (0x02). Sets DDRAM address 0 into address counter, move cursor to
the upper left corner of the display but does not change the contents of the DDRAM.

3. Entry Mode Set. The I/D bit of this command controls the incrementing or
decrementing of the DDRAM address. The display will shift if the S bit is 1 when the
DDRAM is being written into.

4. Display On/Off Control. This command can turn on the display (D = 1), turn on the
cursor (C = 1), and turn on the cursor blinking (B = 1).

5. Cursor or Display Shift. This command determines to shift the cursor (S/C = 0 bit)
or display (S/C bit = 1) to the right (R/L bit = 1) or to the left (R/L bit = 0).

No.6-34
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6. Function Set. This command allows the user to set the interface data length, select
the number of lines, and the font size:
DL bit. When set to 1, data is exchanged in 8-bit length. Otherwise, data is exchanged
in 4-bit length.
N bit. When set to 1, two-line display is selected. Otherwise, 1-line display is
selected.
F bit. When set to 0, the 5  7 font is selected. Otherwise, 5  10 font is selected.

7. Set CGRAM Address. This command contains the CGRAM address to be set into
the address counter.

8. Set DDRAM Address. This command allows to set the DDRAM address into the
address counter.

9. Read Busy Flag and Address. This instruction reads the busy flag (BF) and the
address counter. The BF flag indicates whether the LCD controller is still executing
the previously received command.

No.6-35
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Interfacing the HD44780 with the PIC18

- There are two methods to interface the LCD kit to the PIC18.
- The first method is treating the LCD kit as an I/O device. One of the available
I/O port is used to connect to the DB7…DB0 pins. Other port pins are used to connect
to the R/W, E, and S inputs of the LCD kit and generate the required timing sequence
on these three pins.
- The second method is to treat the LCD kit as a memory device and use the address
decoder to generate a select signal to select the LCD kit. This method allows the user
to use the table read and table write instructions to access the LCD kit.
- The second method cannot be used by those PIC18 members that do not support the
external memory.
- Only the first method will be used to interface the LCD kit with the PIC18 in this text.
- The circuit for the first approach is shown in Figure 7.21.

No.6-36
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

HD44780-based LCD
PIC18 MCU Module

5V
RH7 E
RH6 R/W VCC
RH5 RS 5V

VEE
RE7...RE0 DB7..DB0

GND

Figure 7.21a LCD interface example (8-bit bus)

No.6-37
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

HD44780-based LCD
PIC18 MCU Module

5V
RH7 RS
RH6 R/W VCC
RH5 E 5V

VEE
RE7...RE4 DB7..DB4

GND

Figure 7.21b LCD interface example (4-bit bus)

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Timing Consideration for the LCD

- Certain timing parameters must be satisfied in order to successfully access the LCD.
- The read and write timing diagrams are shown in Figure 7.22 and 7.23.
- The HD44780 can operate at either 1 MHz or 2 MHz. The values of timing parameters
for 2-MHz operation are shown in Table 7.12.

RS

tAS tAH

R/W
PWEH tEf

E
tEr tDDR tDHR
DB0-DB7 Valid data
tCYCLE

Figure 7.22 HD44780 LCD controller read timing diagram

No.6-39
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

RS

tAS tAH

R/W
PWEH tEf

E
tEr tDSW
tH
DB0-DB7 Valid data
tCYCLE

Figure 7.23 HD44780 LCD controller write timing diagram

Table 7.12 HD44780 bus timing parameters (2 MHz operation)

Symbol Meaning Min Typ Max. Unit
tCYCLE Enable cycle time 500 - - ns
PWEH Enable pulse width (high level) 230 - - ns
tEr, tEf Enable rise and decay time - - 20 ns
tAS Address setup time, RS, R/W, E 40 - - ns
tDDR Data delay time - - 160 ns
tDSW Data setup time 80 - - ns
tH Data hold time (write) 10 - - ns
tDHR Data hold time (read) 5 - - ns
tAH Address hold time 10 - - ns

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LCD Programming

To display messages on the LCD, the following subroutines are needed:

1. LCD_rdy: make sure the LCD is not busy with internal operation

2. init_lcd: configure the LCD operation parameters

3. LCD_cmd: send a command to the LCD

4. send2LCD: generate a timing sequence to output the contents of WREG to the LCD

5. LCD_putc: output the character in WREG to the LCD

6. LCD_putstr: output the string in program memory pointed to by TBLPTR to the LCD

7. LCD_putsr: output the string in data memory pointed to by FSR0 to the LCD

8. get_DDRAM_addr: reads the current DDRAM address and returns it in PRODL.

No.6-41
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The following signals are defined to simplify the access of signals for the SSE8680 and
SSE8720 demo boards:

LCD_DATA equ PORTE ; LCD data bus

#define LCD_D_DIR TRISE,A ; LCD data port direction
#define LCD_E PORTH,7,A ; LCD E clock
#define LCD_E_DIR TRISH,7,A ; LCD E clock direction
#define LCD_RW PORTH,6,A ; LCD read/write line
#define LCD_RW_DIR TRISH,6,A ; LCD R/W pin direction
#define LCD_RS PORTH,5,A ; LCD register select line
#define LCD_RS_DIR TRISH,5,A ; LCD RS signal direction
#define lcd_cport PORTH,A

No.6-42
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Procedure for Writing a Byte into the IR register

Step 1
Pull the RS and the E signals to low.

Step 2
Pull the R/W signal to low.

Step 3
Pull the E signal to high.

Step 4
Output data to the output port attached to the LCD data bus. (Need to configure port E
for output).

Step 5
Pull the E signal to low.

No.6-43
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Procedure for Reading a Byte from the IR register

Step 1
Pull the RS and the E signals to low.

Step 2
Pull the R/W signal to high.

Step 3
Pull the E signal to high.

Step 4
Read the value of the LCD data bus. (need to configure port E for input)

Step 5
Pull the E signal to low.

No.6-44
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Procedure for Writing a Byte into the LCD data register

Step 1
Pull the RS signal to high and pull the E signals to low.

Step 2
Pull the R/W signal to low.

Step 3
Pull the E signal to high.

Step 4
Output data to the I/O port attached to the LCD data bus.

Step 5
Pull the E signal to low.

No.6-45
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

; The following subroutines are written to work for fOSC up to 32 MHz.

LCD_rdy setf LCD_D_DIR ; configure LCD data port for input

bcf LCD_RS ; select IR register
bsf LCD_RW ; setup to read busy flag
bsf LCD_E ; pull LCD E-line to high
nop ; small delay
movf LCD_DATA,W,A ; read busy flag and DDRAM address
nop ; small delay to lengthen E pulse
bcf LCD_E ; pull LCD E-line to low
btfsc WREG,7,A ; is busy flag (BF) cleared
goto LCD_rdy
clrf LCD_D_DIR ; configure data pins for output
return

No.6-46
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

LCD_cmd pushr WREG ; save WREG in the stack

call LCD_rdy ; wait until LCD is ready
bcf LCD_RS ; select IR register
bcf LCD_RW ; Set write mode
bsf LCD_E ; Setup to clock data
popr WREG ; restore WREG
movwf LCD_DATA,A ; send out the command in WREG
nop ; small delay to lengthen E pulse
bcf LCD_E
return

A common LCD configuration for a 2x20 LCD is as follows:

• Set the LCD to 2-line display

• Turn on display, cursor, and blinking
• Shift cursor right
• Clear the display and return the cursor to home position

No.6-47
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

LCD_init clrf LCD_ctl_port ; make sure the LCD control port is low
bcf LCD_E_DIR ; configure control lines
bcf LCD_RW_DIR ; directions to output
bcf LCD_RS_DIR ; "
movlw 0x3C ; configure display to 2 x 20
call LCD_cmd ; send command to LCD
movlw 0x0F ; turn on display and cursor
call LCD_cmd ; "
movlw 0x14 ; shift cursor right
call LCD_cmd ; "
movlw 0x01 ; clear cursor and return to home position
call LCD_cmd ; "
return

No.6-48
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

get_DDRAM_addr
setf LCD_D_DIR ; configure LCD data port for input
bcf LCD_RS ; select IR register
bsf LCD_RW ; setup to read busy flag
bsf LCD_E ; pull LCD E-line to high
nop ; add a small delay
movf LCD_DATA,W ; read busy flag and DDRAM address
nop ; small delay to length E pulse
bcf LCD_E ; pull LCD E-line to low
movwf PRODL,A
return

send2LCD ; this subroutine writes WREG to LCD

bsf LCD_RS ; select DR register
bcf LCD_RW ; Set write mode
bsf LCD_E ; Setup to clock data
nop
movwf LCD_DATA,A ; write into LCD DR
nop ; a short delay
bcf LCD_E
return

No.6-49
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Output a Character to a 2x20 or a 4x20 LCD

- One needs to check if the address counter points to the end of a row.
- To find out if the address counter is at the end of a row, one needs to read the
DDRAM address.
- The character that is output to the end of a row cannot be displayed and must be
resent to the beginning of the next row.

LCD_putc pushr WREG ; save WREG

call LCD_rdy ; wait until LCD is not busy
popr WREG ; restore data in WREG
call send2LCD ; write WREG content to LCD
pushr WREG ; save WREG data
call get_DDRAM_addr ; get the DDRAM address in PRODL
movlw 0x13
cpfseq PRODL,A
goto chk_0x53
; reach the end of first line
movlw 0xC0
call LCD_cmd ; set DDRAM address to 0x40
call LCD_rdy
popr WREG
call send2LCD ; re-output the same character
return
No.6-50
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

chk_0x53 movlw 0x53

cpfseq PRODL,A
goto chk_0x27
; reach the end of the second line
movlw 0x94 ; set DDRAM address to 0x14 (start of
call LCD_cmd ; 3rd row)
call LCD_rdy
popr WREG
call send2LCD
return
; reach the end of the third line
chk_0x27 movlw 0x27
cpfseq PRODL,A
return
movlw 0xD4 ; set DDRAM address to 0x54 (start of
call LCD_cmd ; 4th row)
call LCD_rdy
popr WREG
call send2LCD
return

No.6-51
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

; output a string (pointed to by TBLPTR) in program memory to the LCD

LCD_putstr tblrd*+ ; read a character into TABLAT
movf TABLAT,W,A ; copy to WREG
tstfsz WREG,A ; test WREG and skip if zero
goto send_it
return
send_it call LCD_putc
goto LCD_putstr

; output a string (pointed to by FSR0) in data memory to the LCD

LCD_putsr movf POSTINC0,W ; read a byte to WREG
tstfsz WREG,A ; test WREG and skip if zero
goto send_it
return
send_it call LCD_putc
goto LCD_putsr

No.6-52
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

In C language,

#define LCD_DATA PORTE

#define LCD_D_DIR TRISE
#define LCD_RS PORTHbits.RH5
#define LCD_RS_DIR TRISHbits.TRISH5
#define LCD_RW PORTHbits.RH6
#define LCD_RW_DIR TRISHbits.TRISH6
#define LCD_E PORTHbits.RH7
#define LCD_E_DIR TRISHbits.TRISH7
/* These are function prototype definitions */
void LCD_rdy(void);
void LCD_cmd(char cx);
void LCD_init(void);
char get_DDRAM_addr(void);
void LCD_putc (char dx);
void LCD_putstr(rom char *ptr);
void LCD_putsr(char *ptr);
void send2LCD(char xy);

No.6-53
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/******************************************************************/
/* the following function waits until the LCD is not busy. */
/******************************************************************/
void LCD_rdy(void)
{
char test;
LCD_D_DIR = 0xFF; /* configure LCD data bus for input */
test = 0x80;
while (test) {
LCD_RS = 0; /* select IR register */
LCD_RW = 1; /* Set read mode */
LCD_E = 1; /* Setup to clock data */
test = LCD_DATA;
Nop();
LCD_E = 0; /* complete a read cycle */
test &= 0x80; /* check bit 7 */
}
LCD_D_DIR = 0x00; /* configure LCD data bus for output */
}

No.6-54
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/******************************************************************/
/* The following function sends a command to the LCD. */
/******************************************************************/
void LCD_cmd(char cx)
{
LCD_rdy(); /* wait until LCD is ready */
LCD_RS = 0; /* select IR register */
LCD_RW = 0; /* Set write mode */
LCD_E = 1; /* Setup to clock data */
Nop();
LCD_DATA = cx; /* send out the command */
Nop(); /* small delay to lengthen E pulse */
LCD_E = 0; /* complete an external write cycle */
}

No.6-55
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/*******************************************************************/
/* The following function initializes the LCD kit properly. */
/*******************************************************************/
void LCD_init(void)
{
PORTH = 0; /* make sure LCD control port is low */
LCD_E_DIR = 0; /* configure LCD control port for output */
LCD_RS_DIR = 0; /* “ */
LCD_RW_DIR = 0; /* “ */
LCD_cmd(0x3C); /* configure display to 2 rows */
LCD_cmd(0x0F); /* turn on display, cursor, and blinking */
LCD_cmd(0x14); /* shift cursor right */
LCD_cmd(0x01); /* clear display and move cursor to home */
}

No.6-56
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/*******************************************************************/
/* The following function obtains the LCD cursor address. */
/*******************************************************************/
char get_DDRAM_addr (void)
{
char temp;
LCD_D_DIR = 0xFF; /* configure LCD data port for input */
LCD_RS = 0; /* select IR register */
LCD_RW = 1; /* setup to read busy flag */
LCD_E = 1; /* pull LCD E-line to high */
Nop(); /* small delay */
temp = LCD_DATA & 0x7F; /* read DDRAM address */
Nop(); /* small delay to length E pulse */
LCD_E = 0; /* pull LCD E-line to low */
return temp;
}

No.6-57
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/*********************************************************************/
/* The following function sends a character to the LCD kit. */
/*********************************************************************/
void LCD_putc (char dx)
{
char addr;
LCD_rdy(); /* wait until LCD internal operation is complete */
send2LCD(dx);
LCD_rdy(); /* wait until LCD internal operation is complete */
addr = get_DDRAM_addr();
if (addr == 0x13) {
LCD_cmd(0xC0); /* set address to 0x40 (1st column of the 2nd row) */
LCD_rdy();
send2LCD(dx);
}
else if(addr == 0x53) {
LCD_cmd(0x94); /* set address to 0x14 (1st column of the 3rd row) */
LCD_rdy();
send2LCD(dx);
}

No.6-58
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

else if(addr == 0x27){

LCD_cmd(0xD4); /* set address to 0x54 (1st column of the 4th row) */
LCD_rdy();
send2LCD(dx);
}
}

/**************************************************************/
/* The following function outputs a string to the LCD. */
/**************************************************************/
void LCD_putstr(rom char *ptr)
{
while (*ptr) {
LCD_putc (*ptr);
ptr++;
}
}

No.6-59
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

/**************************************************************/
/* The following function outputs a string to the LCD. */
/**************************************************************/
void LCD_putsr(char *ptr)
{
while (*ptr) {
LCD_putc (*ptr);
ptr++;
}
}
/****************************************************************/
/* The following function writes a character to the LCD. */
/****************************************************************/
void send2LCD(char xy)
{
LCD_RS = 1;
LCD_RW = 0;
LCD_E = 1;
LCD_DATA = xy;
Nop();
Nop();
LCD_E = 0;
}
No.6-60
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Interfacing with DIP Switches

5V

SW DIP-8 PIC18F8680
RF0
RF1
RF2
RF3
RF4
RF5
RF6
RF7

Figure 7.24b Connecting a set of eight DIP switches to port F of the PIC18F8680

Reading a byte from the DIP switches to WREG

movlw 0xFF ; configure port F for input

movwf TRISF ; “
movf PORTF,W ; read portF

No.6-61
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Interfacing with Keypad

Types of Key Switches

1. Membrane: A plastic or rubber membrane presses one conductor onto another.

This type of switches can be made very small.

2. Capacitive: Two parallel plates. Pressing the plates changes the distance between

the plates and changes the capacitance.

No.6-62
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

3. Hall effect: The motion of the magnetic flux lines of a permanent magnet perpendicular

to a crystal is detected as voltage appearing between the two faces of the crystal

4. Mechanical: Two metal contacts are brought together to complete an electrical circuit

No.6-63
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Mechanical Keypads and Keyboard

- Low cost and strength of construction

- Most popular

- Pressing the key switch generates a series of pulses instead of a single clean

output

- Human being cannot press and release the key switch 20 ms

- A debouncing process is required for correct operation

No.6-64
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Keypad Input Program Consists of Three Parts

1. Keypad scanning
2. Key switch debouncing
3. Table lookup

Keypad Scanning

- Performed to detect which key is being pressed

- Performed row by row and column by column
- The rows and columns of a keypad are simply conductors
- A simple keypad is shown in Figure 7.26b.
- The row to be scanned is pulled to low. Other rows are pulled high.
- When a key is pressed, the corresponding row and column are shorted together and is
detected low.
- The diodes in Figure 7.26b provides protection of accidental simultaneous press of
multiple keys.

No.6-65
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

PIC18 MCU

RJ7
RJ6
RJ5
RJ4
RJ3 3 7 B F
RJ2 2 6 A E
RJ1 1 5 9 D
RJ0 0 4 8 C
4.7K 5V

Figure 7.26b Sixteen-key keypad connected to PIC18 (used

in all SSE demo boards)

No.6-66
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Keypad Debouncing

- When a key is pressed, the voltage of the key switch falls and rises a few times within
a period of about 5 ms as a contact bounces.
- A debouncer will recognize that the switch is closed after the voltage is low for about
10 ms and will recognize that the switch is open after the voltage is high for about 10
ms.
- Both hardware and software debouncing solutions are available.
- The simplest and most popular software solution is wait-and-see. The program
simply waits for 10 ms after detecting a key switch is closed and re-examines the
same key.
- Three hardware debouncing techniques are shown in Figure 7.27.

ASCII Code Lookup

- The keypad input subroutine returns the ASCII code to the caller.
- This step can be embedded in the debouncing procedure.

No.6-67
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

VDD
Set
R Q Q

Reset Rese Set

R t
(a) Set-reset latch

VDD
R

4050 Vout

(b) CMOS gate debouncer

VDD

R
H
Vout
Threshold level
C
L
Switch closed
(c) Integrating RC circuit debouncer

Figure 7.27 Hardware debouncing techniques

No.6-68
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Example 7.10 Write a program to perform keypad scanning, debouncing, and returns
the ASCII code of the pressed key to the caller.
Solution:
The instruction sequence for the first row is as follows:
keypad_dir equ TRISJ ; keypad direction control register
keypad equ PORTJ ; keypad port

get_key movlw 0x0F ; configure the upper four pins of keypad

movwf keypad_dir,A ; port for output, others for input
movlw 0xF0 ; set all keypad rows to high
iorwf keypad,F ; “
scan_r0 movlw 0xEF
andwf keypad,F,A ; prepare to scan row 0 (driven by RB4)
scan_k0 btfss keypad,0,A ; check key 0
goto db_key0
scan_k1 btfss keypad,1,A ; check key 1
goto db_key1
scan_k2 btfss keypad,2,A ; check key 2
goto db_key2
scan_k3 btfss keypad,3,A ; check key 3
goto db_key3
…

No.6-69
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

db_key0 call wait10ms ; wait for 10 ms

btfsc keypad,0,A ; is key 0 still closed?
goto scan_k1 ; key 0 not pressed, check key 1
movlw 0x30
return
db_key1 call wait10ms
btfsc keypad,1,A ; is key 1 still closed?
goto scan_k2
movlw 0x31
return
db_key2 call wait10ms
btfsc keypad,2,A ; is key 2 still closed?
goto scan_k3
movlw 0x32
return
db_key3 call wait10ms
btfsc keypad,3,A
goto scan_r1
movlw 0x33
return
…

No.6-70
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

; *******************************************************************
; This subroutine creates a 10 ms delay using timer 0 with fOSC = 32 MHz.
; *******************************************************************
wait10ms bcf INTCON,INT0IE,A ; disable TMR0 interrupt
bcf INTCON,INT0IF,A ; clear TMR0IF flag
movlw 0x03 ; configure TMR0 with 1:16 prescaler
movwf T0CON,A ; configure TMR0
movlw 0x3C
movwf TMR0H,A
movlw 0xBB
movwf TMR0L,A ; load (50000 - 12) into TMR0
bsf T0CON,TMR0ON,A ; enable TMR0
dlyloop btfss INTCON,INT0IF,A ; is 10 ms over yet?
goto dlyloop
return
end

The C language version is in the following slides:

No.6-71
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

#include <p18F8680.h>
#define keypad_dir TRISJ
#define keypad PORTJ
void wait_10ms(void);
…
unsigned char get_key (void)
{
keypad_dir = 0x0F; /* configure RJ7..RJ4 for output */
keypad |= 0xF0; /* RJ3..RJ0 for input */
while (1) {
keypad &= 0xEF; /* set RJ4 to low to scan the first row */
if (!(keypadbits.RB0)) {
wait_10ms( );
if (!(keypadbits.RB0))
return 0x30; /* return the ASCII code of 0 */
}
if (!(keypadbits.RB1)) {
wait_10ms( );
if (!(keypadbits.RB1))
return 0x31; /* return the ASCII code of 1 */
…
}

No.6-72
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

The MAX5102 DAC

- Dual-channel, 8-bit DAC made by Maxim

- Block diagram and pin assignment are shown in Figure 7.28 and 7.29.

VDD 1 16 OUTA
input -
REF 2 15 OUTB D7 DAC A OUTA
latch A +
.
SHDN 3 14 GND
.
input -
WR 4 MAXIM 13 A0 D0 OUTB
DAC B +
MAX5102 latch B
D7 5 12 D0
D6 6 11 D1
Control
D5 7 10 D2 A0
logic
D4 8 9 D3 MAX5102

WR REF SHDN
Figure 7.28 MAX5102 Pin configuration Figure 7.29 MAX5102 Pin configuration

No.6-73
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Pin Functions

• OUTA, OUTB: analog voltage output.

• D7..D0: data inputs. Digital code to be converted is sent to MX5102 over these eight pins.
• REF: Reference voltage input. This signal controls the magnitude of OUTA and OUTB.
• WR: Write. When this signal is low, new digital code can be written into the MAX5102.
• A0: DAC address select bit. DAC address select bit. Channel A is selected when A0 = 0.
• VDD: Positive supply voltage. The range of VDD is from 5V to 15V.
• GND: Ground.
• SHDN: Shutdown. When set to high, this signal shuts down the chip to save power.

Voltage Output

VOUT = (NB  VREF)  256

where, NB is the digital input to be converted

VREF is the reference voltage

No.6-74
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Functioning of the MAX5102 DAC

- To write new data to be converted, the WR input must be low.

- Data input is latched on the rising edge of the WR signal.
- After WR goes high, the data input can change without affecting VOUT.
- Circuit connection with the PIC18 is shown in Figure 7.31.

5V
PIC18 MAX5102
VDD 0.1F
RD7..RD0 D7..D0 REF

OUTA
RB1 WR
OUTB

RB0 A0 SHDN
GND

Figure 7.30 Circuit connection between the MAX5102 and PIC18

No.6-75
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Example 7.11 Write a program to generate a 1KHz square wave from OUTA pin
assuming the instruction cycle time is 200 ns (correspond to 20 MHz crystal oscillator).
Solution: The procedure is as follows:
Step 1
Configure the pins RD7..RD0, RB1..RB0 for output.
Step 2
Clear the RB0 pin to low to select OUTA channel.
Step 3
Pull the RB1 pin to low.
Step 4
Output 255 to Port D.
Step 5
Pull the RB1 pin to high.
Step 6
Wait for 0.5 ms.
Step 7
Pull the RB1 pin to low.
Step 8
Output 0 to Port D.
Step 9
Pull the RB1 pin to high.

No.6-76
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

Step 10
Wait for 0.5 ms.
Step 11
Go to Step 3.

The C program to generate the waveform is as follows:

#define DAC_data PORTD /* DAC data port */
#define DAC_dat_dir TRISD /* DAC data bus direction register */
#define DAC_ctl_dir TRISB /* DAC control pins direction */
#define DAC_WR PORTBbits.RB1 /* DAC write control pin */
#define DAC_A0 PORTBbits.RB0 /* DAC A0 pin */
#define output 0x00
#define high 1
#define low 0
void main (void)
{
DAC_dat_dir = output; /* configure DAC data bus direction to output */
DAC_ctl_dir &= 0xFC; /* configure WR & A0 pins for output */
DAC_A0 = 0; /* select OUTA channel */

No.6-77
 The PIC18 Microcontroller

while (1) {
DAC_WR = low;
DAC_data = 255; /* output a high voltage */
DAC_WR = high;
Delay100TCYx(25); /* wait for 0.5 ms */
DAC_WR = low;
DAC_data = 0; /* output a low voltage */
DAC_WR = high;
Delay100TCYx(25); /* wait for 0.5 ms */
}
}

No.6-78