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Seven-Segment Displays: FIGURE 1. Standard Form and Notations of A Seven-Segment Display

Seven-segment displays use seven independently controlled segments arranged in a specific pattern to display numeric and some alphabetic characters. They are commonly used in devices like digital watches and calculators. Each segment is labeled a-g and can be activated individually or in combination to display the desired character. To properly drive a liquid crystal display (LCD), a symmetrical square wave is needed to switch the voltage applied to each segment between positive and negative values at a rapid rate to avoid damaging the LCD without a DC component. This is typically done using an EX-OR gate connected to generate the proper waveforms.

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52 views

Seven-Segment Displays: FIGURE 1. Standard Form and Notations of A Seven-Segment Display

Seven-segment displays use seven independently controlled segments arranged in a specific pattern to display numeric and some alphabetic characters. They are commonly used in devices like digital watches and calculators. Each segment is labeled a-g and can be activated individually or in combination to display the desired character. To properly drive a liquid crystal display (LCD), a symmetrical square wave is needed to switch the voltage applied to each segment between positive and negative values at a rapid rate to avoid damaging the LCD without a DC component. This is typically done using an EX-OR gate connected to generate the proper waveforms.

Uploaded by

jenifer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SEVEN-SEGMENT DISPLAYS

A very common requirement in modern electronics is that of displaying alphanumeric characters.


Digital watches, pocket calculators, and digital multimeters and frequency meters are all
examples of devices that use such displays. The best known type of alphanumeric indicator is the
seven-segment display, which comprises seven independently-accessible photoelectric segments
(such as LEDs or LCDs, or gas-discharge or fluorescent elements, etc.) arranged in the form
shown in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1. Standard form and notations of a seven-segment display.

The segments are conventionally notated from a to g in the manner shown in the diagram, and it
is possible to make them display any number (numeral) from 0 to 9 or alphabetic character from
A to F (in a mixture of upper and lower case letters) by activating these segments in various
combinations, as shown in the truth table in Figure 2.
FIGURE 2. Truth table for a seven-segment display.

FIGURE 9. Method of driving a liquid-crystal display (LCD).

In the Figure 9 LCD-driving circuit, the display’s common BP (back-plane) terminal and the
IC’s phase input terminals must be driven by a symmetrical squarewave (typically 30Hz to
200Hz) that switches fully between the two supply rail voltages (0V and V+), as shown. The full
explanation for this is a little complicated, as follows.
To drive an LCD segment, the driving voltage must be applied between the segment and BP
terminals. When the voltage is zero, the segment is effectively invisible. When the drive voltage
has a significant positive or negative value, however, the segment becomes effectively visible,
but if the drive voltage is sustained for more than a few hundred milliseconds, the segment may
become permanently visible and be of no further value.

The way around this problem is — in principle — to drive the segment on via a perfectly
symmetrical squarewave that switches alternately between identical positive and negative
voltages, and thus has zero DC components and will not damage the LCD segment even if
sustained permanently. In practice, this type of waveform is actually generated with the aid of an
EX-OR True/Complement generator, connected as shown in Figure 10(a).

Figure 10(b) shows the circuit waveforms that occur when the ‘a’ segment is turned on, with the
‘a’ segment and BP driven by anti-phase squarewaves. Thus, in part A of the waveform, the
segment is 10V positive to BP, and in part B, it is 10V negative to BP, so the LCD is effectively
driven by a squarewave with a peak-to-peak value of 20V, but with zero DC value. This form of
drive is generally known as a voltage-doubling ‘bridge drive’ system. In practice, many LCD-
driving ICs (such as the 4543B) incorporate this type of drive system in the form of a seven-
section EX-OR gate array interposed in series with the segment output pins, with access to its
common line via a single PHASE terminal.

Note that any active-high seven-segment LED-driving decoder IC can be used to drive a seven-
segment LCD display by interposing a bridge-driven seven-section EX-OR array between its
segment output pins and the segment pins of the LCD display, as shown in Figure 11, in which a
74LS48 TTL IC is used in this specific way.

FIGURE 11. Basic way of using an active-high LED-driving decoder IC (such as the 74LS48
TTL type) to drive a seven-segment LCD via a bridge-driven seven-section EX-OR array.

zIn the Figure 9 LCD-driving circuit, the display’s common BP (back-plane) terminal and the
IC’s phase input terminals must be driven by a symmetrical squarewave (typically 30Hz to
200Hz) that switches fully between the two supply rail voltages (0V and V+), as shown. The full
explanation for this is a little complicated, as follows.

To drive an LCD segment, the driving voltage must be applied between the segment and BP
terminals. When the voltage is zero, the segment is effectively invisible. When the drive voltage
has a significant positive or negative value, however, the segment becomes effectively visible,
but if the drive voltage is sustained for more than a few hundred milliseconds, the segment may
become permanently visible and be of no further value.
The way around this problem is — in principle — to drive the segment on via a perfectly
symmetrical squarewave that switches alternately between identical positive and negative
voltages, and thus has zero DC components and will not damage the LCD segment even if
sustained permanently. In practice, this type of waveform is actually generated with the aid of an
EX-OR True/Complement generator, connected as shown in Figure 10(a).

FIGURE 10. Basic LCD segment-drive circuit (a), and voltage-doubling ‘bridge-driven’
segment waveforms (b).

In Figure 10(a), the basic segment ‘a’ input drive (which is active-high) is connected to one
input of the EX-OR element, and the other EX-OR input terminal (which is notated PHASE) is
driven by a symmetrical squarewave that switches fully between the circuit’s supply rail voltages
(shown as 0V and +10V) and is also applied to the LCD display’s BP pin.

When the segment ‘a’ input drive is low, the EX-OR element gives a non-inverted (in-phase) ‘a’
output when the squarewave is at logic-0, and an inverted (anti-phase) ‘a’ output when the
squarewave is at logic-1, and thus produces zero voltage difference between the ‘a’ segment and
BP points under both these conditions. The segment is thus turned off under these conditions.

When the segment ‘a’ input drive is high, the EX-OR element gives the same phase action as just
described, but in this case, the ‘a’ OUT pin is high and BP is low when the squarewave is at
logic-0, and ‘a’ OUT is low and BP is high when the squarewave is at logic-1. The segment is
thus turned on under these conditions.

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