LCD and Keyboard
Sepehr Naimi
www.NicerLand.com
About LCD
Sometimes the embedded system needs to
inform the user of something. There are
different ways to inform the user, such as
LEDs, 7segments and LCDs.
LCD is one of the most powerful ways; as
you can display different texts and icons
on it.
Topics:
LCD pin out
LCD internal components
How to use LCD
Busy
LCD commands
Changing fonts (case study)
additional references
LCD internal components
DDRAM (Data Display RAM)
CGRAM (Character Generator CGRAM
RAM) 40H
41H
Cursor (Address Counter) 42H
Data Register
Data Register
...
Command Register
7EH
7FH
Command Register
DDRAM
Cursor 80H
81H
82H
...
FEH
FFH
DDRAM (Data Display RAM)
DDRAM (Data Display RAM)
It is a 128x8 RAM (128 bytes of RAM)
Contains the data that should be displayed on the LCD.
If we write the ASCII code of a character into the RAM the
character will be displayed on the LCD.
CGRAM (Character Generator RAM)
It is a 64x8 RAM (64 bytes of RAM).
The fonts of characters 00H to 07H are stored in the RAM.
We can change the fonts of the 8 characters by writing
into the RAM.
Cursor (Address Counter)
Cursor is a register which points to a location of DDRAM or
CGRAM.
DDRAM (Data Display RAM)
Data Register
It is an 8 bit register.
When we write a byte of data into the data register, the
data will be written where the cursor points to.
For example, if we write a byte of data into the data
register while the cursor points to location 80H of DDRAM,
the contents of location 80H will be changed to the data,
we have written into the data register.
Command Register
We can command the LCD by writing into the command
register.
For example, we can ask the LCD, to set cursor location, or
clean the screen, by writing into the command Register.
Writing to Data Register (Example)
CGRAM
40H
41H Data Register
42H
...
50H
7EH
7FH
Command Register
DDRAM
Cursor 80H
81H
82H
...
P
FEH
FFH
LCD commands
We mentioned earlier that we can order the LCD by
sending command codes to the command register.
Some of the command codes are listed in the following
table.
Code Instruction Code Instruction
(Hex) (Hex)
1 Clear display screen 2 Return home
10 Shift cursor position to left 14 Shift cursor position to right
18 Shift display left 1C Shift display right
4 After displaying a character on 6 After displaying a character on the
the LCD, shift cursor to left LCD, shift cursor to right
80-FF Set cursor position 40- Set CG RAM address
7F
8 Display off, cursor off A Display off, cursor on
C Display on, cursor off E Display on, cursor on
F Display on, cursor blinking 38 Initializing to 2 lines & 5x7 font
Clear Display Screen
If we write 01H into the command register,
LCD clears the display, and sets the cursor
address to 0.
Display and Cursor
Display on cursor blinking (0FH) Display on cursor on (0EH)
Hello world ! Hello world !
Display on cursor off (0CH) Display off cursor off (0AH)
Hello world !
Return home
If we write 02H into the command register,
LCD sets the cursor address to 0. It also
returns display to original position if being
shifted.
Set cursor position (Set DDRAM address)
We mentioned earlier that each location of the DDRAM, retains the
character that should be displayed in a location of LCD.
The following figures, represent that if you want to display a character in
each of the rooms of the LCD, you should write into which location of the
DDRAM. (The numbers are in hex.)
To move the cursor to any location of the DDRAM, write the address of
that location into the command register.
1 2 3 … 18 19 20
Line 1 80 81 82 … 91 92 93
1 2 3 … 18 19 20
20x1 LCD
Line 1 80 81 82 … 91 92 93
Line 2 C0 C1 C2 … D1 D2 D3 1 2 3 … 18 19 20
Line 3 94 95 96 … A5 A6 A7 Line 1 80 81 82 … 91 92 93
Line 4 D4 D5 D6 … E5 E6 E7 Line 2 C0 C1 C2 … D1 D2 D3
20x4 LCD 20x2 LCD
1 2 3 … 38 39 40
1 2 3 … 14 15 16
Line 1 80 81 82 … A5 A6 A7 Line 1 80 81 82 … 8D 8E 8F
Line 2 C0 C1 C2 … E5 E6 E7 Line 2 C0 C1 C2 … CD CE CF
40x2 LCD
16x2 LCD
Set cursor position (example)
We want to display a character in line 4 column 1
of a 20x4 LCD. What should we write to the
command register to move the cursor to?
Solution:
We should move cursor to address D4H of the DDRAM. So, we
should write D4H, into the command register.
1 2 3 … 18 19 20
Line 1 80 81 82 … 91 92 93
Line 2 C0 C1 C2 … D1 D2 D3
Line 3 94 95 96 … A5 A6 A7
Line 4 D4 D5 D6 … E5 E6 E7
Decrease and increase Cursor
If you write a byte of data into the data register,
the data will be written where the cursor points
to, and cursor will be incremented, by default.
If you want to make the LCD, to decrement the cursor,
you should write 4H into the command register.
If you want to make the LCD, to reactivate the default
(shift cursor to right) you should write 6H into the
command register.
Hello Hello
Increment cursor Decrement cursor
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
In this section, you learn the functionalities of the LCD pins.
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
+
- +5
VSS and VCC: These pins provide the energy to the LCD.
We must connect them to +5V.
LCD pins
Hello world !
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
+
- +5
VEE: We control the contrast of the LCD by giving a
voltage between 0V and +5V to the pin.
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
D0 to D7: LCD sends and receives data, through the 8
pins.
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
R/W (Read/Write):
When we want to send (write) data to the LCD, we
make the pin, low.
When we want to receive (read) data from the LCD,
we set the pin to high.
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
E (Enable): We activate the pin when we want to send
or receive data from the LCD.
When we want to send data to the LCD, we make the RW pin,
low; and supply the data to data pins (D0 to D7); and then
E
apply a high to low pulse to the Enable pin.
When we want to receive data from the LCD, we make the RW
E pin, high; and then apply a low to high pulse to the Enable pin.
LCD supplies data to the data pins (D0 to D7).
LCD pins
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
RS (Register select): There are two
registers with names of command Data Register
register and data register in the LCD.
If RS = 1, whenever we send data to the
LCD, the data will be located in the data
register.
If RS = 0, whenever we send data to the
RS 01
Command Register
LCD, the data will be located in the
command register
LCD Programming
Initialization
We must initialize the LCD before we use it.
To initialize an LCD, for 5×7 matrix and 8-bit operation, 0x38,
0x0E, and 0x01 are send to the command register.
Sending commands to the LCD
Make pins RS and R/W = 0
Put the command number on the data pins (D0–D7)
Send a high-to-low pulse to the E pin to enable the internal latch
of the LCD (wait about 100us after each command)
Sending data to the LCD
make pins RS = 1 and R/W = 0.
put the data on the data pins (D0–D7)
send a high-to-low pulse to the E pin (wait about 100us)
An example
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 E RW VEEVCCVSS
RS
Write a program that displays ‘H’ on the LCD.
LCD Programming in 4-bit mode
To save pins of the AVR, we can use 4-bit operating
mode.
The initialization of 4-bit mode is somehow different:
In 4-bit mode, we initialize the LCD with the series 33, 32, and
28 in hex.
This represents nibbles 3, 3, 3, and 2, which tells the LCD to go into
4-bit mode. The value $28 initializes the display for 5 × 7 matrix
and 4-bit operation
Sending commands and data to the LCD
Sending data and commands to the LCD is like the 8-bit mode
but we should only use D4 – D7
First we should send the high nibble to D4-D7, then, to send the
low nibble, swap the low nibble with the high nibble, and send it
to D4-D7
Changing fonts (Changing CGRAM)
Each character LCD has a CGRAM
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
(Character generator RAM). It stores the
40
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 41
fonts of the first 8 characters (character
Character 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 42
0H to character 7H). So, you can change
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 43
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
the font of the 8 characters and define
44
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 45
new characters, by writing into the 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 46
CGRAM. Each byte of the CGRAM stores
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 48
a row of a font. The fonts are stored 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 49
respectively, in the CGRAM. For
Character 1
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 4A
example, if you change the content of 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4B
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 4C
first byte of the CGRAM (whose address 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
4D
is 40H), you have changed the highest 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
4E
row of character 0H.
4F
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
:
Attention: in an LCD with 5x7 font, each
CGRAM (Its first 16 bytes) :
font has actually 8 rows. The 8th row is
put aside for the cursor. You would
better not set the bits of the 8th row.
Changing fonts
To change a row of a font, you should follow
the following direction:
1. Set the cursor position to point to the location of
the CGRAM that you want to change.
2. Change the font of the selected row, by writing into
data register.
Attention: LCD has only one cursor. When you
want to change the CGRAM you make it point
to CGRAM and when you want to display
something on the screen you make it point to
a location of DDRAM. So, when you finished
changing the fonts don’t forget to set the
cursor position, so that, it points to DDRAM.
Setting CGRAM address
To make the cursor point to any location of
CGRAM, or DDRAM, simply write the
address of the location into the command
register.
Setting CGRAM address (Example)
We want to change the font of the 4th row of character
01H. What should we write to the command register to
make the cursor point to the relevant address.
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 40
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 41
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 42
Character 0
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 43
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 44
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 45
46
Solution: 0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
47
As you can see in the figure, the address of the 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
48
4th row of character 01H is 4BH. So, we should 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
49
Character 1
write 4BH into the command register.
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 4A
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4B
0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 4C
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4D
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4E
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4F
:
CGRAM (Its first 16 bytes)
:
Keyboard
Bounce
A key press may be considered as more than
one click
AVR
VPB1
VCC
PB1
Time
Debouncing (The correct way of reading keys)
do{
while((PINB&1) == 0);
delay_ms (20);
}while((PINB&1) == 0);
do{
while((PINB&1) == 1);
delay_ms (20);
}while((PINB&1) == 1);
A++;
Using Keyboard
If we connect PB.0
AVR
each key to a
PB.1
PB.2 PC.0
pin of the AVR, PB.3 PC.1
we waste many PB.4 PC.2
pins. So we use PB.5 PC.3
scanning as
PC.4
PB.6
shown in the
PC.5
PB.7
PC.6
next slide PC.7
Keyboard
VCC
1 2 3
D3
4 5 6
D2
7 8 9
D1
Cancel 0 OK
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Creating a Matrix keyboard
VCC
D3
INPUT
D2
D1
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
OUTPUT
Connecting to AVR
VCC
D3
AVR
PB5
PB4 D2
PB3
PB2
PB1
PB0 D1
PD7
PD6
PC0 PD5
PC1 PD4 D0
PC2 PD3
PC3 PD2
PC4 PD1
PC5 PD0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Keyboard Programming
Writing programs for Matrix Keyboard
Key press detection
Aim: detecting if any of the keys is pressed
Key identification (scanning the keyboard)
Aim: identifying that which of the keys is pressed
Press detection (is any of the keys pressed)
VCC
D3
PORTC
D2
D1
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
PORTB
Key identification
VCC
D3
VCC
D2
VCC
D1
VCC
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Key identification
VCC
VCC
D3
D2
VCC
D1
VCC
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Key identification
VCC
VCC
D3
VCC
D2
D1
VCC
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Key identification
VCC
VCC
D3
VCC
D2
VCC
D1
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Example
Write a function, that
waits for a key to be
pressed and then
returns the code of 1 2 3
the pressed key. D3
4 5 6
D2
7 8 9
D1
Cancel 0 OK
D0
D3 D2 D1 D0
Solution
Start
Ground next row
Ground all rows
Read all columns Read all columns
Read all columns
No Any key down? Key press in No
No this row
All keys open?
Yes Yes
Yes Find which key
Wait for de-bounce
is pressed
Read all columns
Get code
from table
No
Any key down?
Return
Yes
