With this library, you can easily control the 5641AS to display some number, display a countdown, count from 0 to 100..etc.
The library is inspired by the Test library (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Hacking/Libraries), the ShiftRegister 75HC595 library (https://github.com/Simsso/ShiftRegister74HC595/) and this video showing how the 5641AS works (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4CjNPsPrnQ).
Here is an ascii art representing the 5641AS:
D1 a f D2 D3 b
/ / / / / /
/ / / / / /
,.............................@.............................#............................/,............................@
,. @ # /, @
,. Digit 1 @ Digit 2 # Digit 3 /, Digit 4 @
,. @ # /, @
,. -@@@@@@@@@@@@. @ -@@@@@@@@@@@@. # -@@@@@@@@@@@@. /, -@@@@@@@@@@@@. @
,. *@, a #@@. @ &@@ @@@ # @@% @@( /, ,@@* (@@. @
,. &@@ @@@ b @ @@% @@( # *@@* (@@. /, #@@ &@@ @
,. f @@% @@( @ *@@* (@@. # #@@ &@@ /, @@& @@% @
,. *@@* (@@ @ %@@ @@@ # @@& @@% /, .@@* *@@, @
,. *@@@@@@@@@* @ *@@@@@@@@@* # *@@@@@@@@@* /, *@@@@@@@@@* @
,. @@&,. g .,@@# @ @@&,. .,@@# # @@&,. .,@@# /, @@&,. .,@@# @
,. @@* *@@, @ #@@ &@@ # @@@ @@% /, @@( ,@@* @
,. e #@@ &@@ c @ @@@ @@% # @@( ,@@* /, /@@. #@@ @
,. @@& @@% @ .@@# ,@@* # /@@. #@@ /, @@@ @@& @
,. .@@# *@@* @ /@@. #@@ # @@@ @@& /, @@% .@@/ @
,. ;@@@@@@@@@@; .@@& @ ;@@@@@@@@@@; .@@& # ;@@@@@@@@@@; .@@& /, ;@@@@@@@@@@; .@@& @
,. d dot @ # /, @
,. @ # /, @
,,............................@.............................%............................/,............................@
/ / / / / /
/ / / / / /
e d dot c g D4Taking a look at the first digit, it has the letters asociated with the segments. Each letter represents one segment. In order to make numbers, you need to figure out letter by letter if they are on or off. In the case of the 0 symbol:
| Segment | On or off? |
|---|---|
| a | On |
| b | On |
| c | On |
| d | On |
| e | On |
| f | On |
| g | Off |
| dot | Off |
Each of these letters is represented by a pin (pin a, pin b, pin c, pin c,...), as shown in the diagram above.
Then, what does D1, D2, D3 and D4 mean? Those are what I call, the 'digit control' pins. When you are outputting 1s and 0s to the segment pins (a,b,c,d,...), those pins determinate what digit will shine. D1 is for Digit1, D2 is for Digit 2, D3 is for digit 3 and D4 is for digit 4.
As there are no Vcc (5V or 3.3V, for example) nor ground pins, the mechanism behind is easy to decipher: those 'digit control' pins that are low will be the ground, and the segment pins will be the Vcc.
Finally, the last part. How do we show different numbers for each digit? Well, with this system, we can only display 1 different number at a time, but we can display it for a very short time and go on to the next one. Similarly to how video works, if a light has a high frequency of on/off cycle, we can only see it as "on". So, we will cycle through each digit, displaying it, then putting all pins to 0 and then going to the next digit.
As this code needs to cycle between digits at a very fast pace:
- There are no exact counters for displaying seconds. My implementation has reference parameters, based on the time it took my arduino-compatible board (elegoo Uno R3) to finish displaying a 50sec countdown, but they are not exact. The reasons for this are simple:
- There are no time clock modules connected (so we have a rough estimate based on the board delay function and the ALU frequency clock)
- Although we can use the delayMicroseconds, we don't know how long does it take (exactly) the arduino board to compute each instruction in the code, and each function (https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/what-happens-when-you-call-a-function-3ef37f891175).
- It is difficult to execute code at the same time that a number is being displayed. This is because in the arudino board there is 1 proccessor, so there can only be 1 thing executing at a time. This means that if you want to do something while the 5641AS is displaying someting, you will have to implement your own cycle function, and balance the load between each iteration of the loop, in order to not cause delay in the numbers being displayed.
- Download the zip
- Add the library to your Arduino IDE (Program, Add library, Add .ZIP library)
- Add
#include <Simple5641AS.h>to the first lines of your code - Instanciate the display, like this (the numbers represent the pins on your arduino board):
// segmentPins[] = { a, b, c, d, e, f, g, dot };
const uint8_t segmentPins[] = { 4, 6, 3, 10, 9, 2, 5, 13 };
// digitSelectionPins[] = { D1, D2, D3, D4 };
const uint8_t digitSelectionPins[] = { 12, 11, 8, 7 };
Simple5641AS component( segmentPins, digitSelectionPins );- Call the method you want on your code, for example:
// countDown() + zeroAnimation() example
Serial.println("countDown() + zeroAnimation() example");
component.countDown(5);
component.zeroAnimation();
delay(1000); // constructor
Simple5641AS(const uint8_t * segmentPins, const uint8_t * digitSelectionPins);
// digit selection functions
void selectAllDigits();
void selectDigit(int digit);
// clean function
void clean();
// brief display functions
void shortDisplayNumber(int n);
void shortDisplayNumber(int n, boolean dot);
void shortDisplayCode(uint8_t code);
// cycle functions
void cycle(long digitDisplayTime, int number, int dot);
void customDisplayCycle(long digitDisplayTime, uint8_t codes[4]);
// countDown functions
void countDown(long digitDisplayTime, long cycles, long cycleDelay, int dot, int from, int to);
void countDown(long digitDisplayTime, long cycles, long cycleDelay, int dot, int from);
void countDown(int from);
void countDown(float from);
void slowCountDown(int from);
void slowCountDown(float from);
// countUp functions
void countUp(long digitDisplayTime, long cycles, long cycleDelay, int dot, int from, int to);
void countUp(long digitDisplayTime, long cycles, long cycleDelay, int dot, int to);
void countUp(int to);
void countUp(float to);
void slowCountUp(int to);
void slowCountUp(float to);
// zeroAnimation functions
void zeroAnimation(long cycleDelay, long cycles);
void zeroAnimation();
// displayNumber functions
void displayNumber(long cycles, long cycleDelay, long digitDisplayTime, int number, int dot);
void displayNumber(int seconds, int number, int dot);
void displayNumber(int seconds, int number);
void displayNumber(int seconds, float number);
// displayCode fucntions
void displayCode(long cycles, long cycleDelay, long digitDisplayTime, uint8_t codes[4], int dot);
void displayCode(int seconds, uint8_t codes[4], int dot);
// visual explanation of how it works
void visualExplanation();