Intermediate
30 min

Manage multiple functions with our 2x2 keyboard based on 74HC32 and PIC18F25K42

Master your controls: 4 buttons, 1 solution

2x2 Key Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

2x2 Key Click

Dev Board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F25K42

Our purpose is to maximize functionality while minimizing complexity with our 4-in-1 button integration

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

2x2 Key Click is based on the 2x2 button keyboard with debounce circuit, composed of the 74HC32, a quad 2-input OR gate from Nexperia, and the SN74HC14, a Hex Schmitt-Trigger inverter from Texas Instruments. In electronics, two metal components bounce or create multiple signals when they are in contact with each other — like when you push a button — before they reach a stable state. You want a single contact to be recorded, but the microcontroller records this as if you pressed the button many times. So debouncing is, as the name states, the removal of bounces or spikes of low and high voltages.

Graphically speaking, you want a clean line, not spikes. A debounce circuit makes sure that there are no voltage changes on the output. Thanks to it, one button press is recorded as such. All four Schmitt-trigger outputs are connected to the logic OR gate 74HC32 input pins, whose output is directly connected to the INT pin on mikroBUS. This pin is used to signalize an interrupt to the MCU any time a button is pressed. This way, the MCU software can be implemented as a simple polling routine without any delays programmed in the code (like it would be necessary if there weren’t a hardware debouncing circuit present).

Thanks to the INT pin, you can easily program a common interrupt service routine to detect when a button is pressed (the state of the button changes from low to high logic level). This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

2x2 Key Click top side image
2x2 Key Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

EasyPIC v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports many high pin count 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, EasyPIC v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the EasyPIC v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module, which offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment, the board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB DEVICE, and CAN are also included, including the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, two display options (graphical and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from the smallest PIC MCU devices with only eight up to forty pins. EasyPIC v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

EasyPIC v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

28

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

T1 Button Status
RA3
AN
T2 Button Status
RA0
RST
T3 Button Status
RA5
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
T4 Button Status
RC1
PWM
Interrupt
RB1
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
2

Take a closer look

Schematic

2x2 Key Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly
Rotary B 2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 28 hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 28pin-DIP - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via UART Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "FLASH" button initiates the build process, and programs it on the created setup.

2. After the programming is completed, click on the Tools icon in the upper-right panel, and select the UART Terminal.

3. After opening the UART Terminal tab, first check the baud rate setting in the Options menu (default is 115200). If this parameter is correct, activate the terminal by clicking the "CONNECT" button.

4. Now terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.

UART_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for 2x2 Key Click driver.

Key functions:

  • c2x2key_t1_state - This function gets state of AN pin

  • c2x2key_t2_state - This function gets state of RST pin

  • c2x2key_t3_state - This function gets state of CS pin

  • c2x2key_t4_state - This function gets state of PWM pin

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief 2x2 key Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * 2x2 Key click has a 4 button keypad and allows multiple key presses.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Application Init performs Logger and Click initialization.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This example code demonstrates the usage of 2X2 Key Click board.
 * Detects whether any of the keys is pressed where results are being sent 
 * to the UART terminal where you can track changes.
 * 
 * \author Mihajlo Djordjevic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "c2x2key.h"

uint8_t t1_state     = 0;
uint8_t t1_state_old = 1;
uint8_t t2_state     = 0;
uint8_t t2_state_old = 1;
uint8_t t3_state     = 0;
uint8_t t3_state_old = 1;
uint8_t t4_state     = 0;
uint8_t t4_state_old = 1;

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static c2x2key_t c2x2key;
static log_t logger;

// ------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS


// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    c2x2key_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_printf( &logger, "-- Application  Init --\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    //  Click initialization.

    c2x2key_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    C2X2KEY_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    c2x2key_init( &c2x2key, &cfg );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "     2X2 key Click     \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "    System is ready    \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
   t1_state = c2x2key_t1_state( &c2x2key );
   
   if ( ( t1_state == 1 ) && ( t1_state_old == 0 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "     Key 1 pressed     \r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        t1_state_old = 1;
    }
    
    if ( ( t1_state == 0 ) && ( t1_state_old == 1 ) )
    {
        t1_state_old = 0;
    }
    
    t2_state = c2x2key_t2_state( &c2x2key );
   
   if ( ( t2_state == 1 ) && ( t2_state_old == 0 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "     Key 2 pressed     \r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        t2_state_old = 1;
    }
    
    if ( ( t2_state == 0 ) && ( t2_state_old == 1 ) )
    {
        t2_state_old = 0;
    }
    
    t3_state = c2x2key_t3_state( &c2x2key );
   
   if ( ( t3_state == 1 ) && ( t3_state_old == 0 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "     Key 3 pressed     \r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        t3_state_old = 1;
    }
    
    if ( ( t3_state == 0 ) && ( t3_state_old == 1 ) )
    {
        t3_state_old = 0;
    }
    
    t4_state = c2x2key_t4_state( &c2x2key );
   
   if ( ( t4_state == 1 ) && ( t4_state_old == 0 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "     Key 4 pressed     \r\n" );
        log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
        t4_state_old = 1;
    }
    
    if ( ( t4_state == 0 ) && ( t4_state_old == 1 ) )
    {
        t4_state_old = 0;
    }
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; )
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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