Beginner
10 min

Attain reliable tilt detection for various applications requiring awareness of a device's orientation with the RB-231X2 and STM32F031K6

Tilt switch based on a rolling ball mechanism for detecting changes in tilt angle (up to 10°)

Tilt 4 Click with Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Published Oct 01, 2024

Click board™

Tilt 4 Click

Dev Board

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F031K6

Trigger actions in response to tilting, such as powering down devices when left inactive or activating alarms in security systems

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Tilt 4 Click is based on the RB-231X2, a rolling ball tilt switch from C&K Switches (Littelfuse) specially designed for safety control. This switch features a compact, shielded design that allows an angle of detection up to 10°. The conductive ball inside the tube moves to generate the signal and contact. The RB-231X2 offers an impressive operating life of 100,000 cycles, with key specifications including a single-pole single-throw (SPST) contact arrangement, a sensor angle range from 0˚ to 10˚, and dimensions of 9.7 mm in height, 16.6 mm in length, and 5.0 mm in width. It is ideal for movement detection, safety devices, white goods,

and consumer electronic applications. Tilt 4 Click interfaces with the MCU using only two pins: INT and LED pins of the mikroBUS™ socket. The INT pin is an interrupt signal, immediately alerting the MCU upon detecting a tilt event, ensuring prompt response and processing. Meanwhile, the LED pin controls the TILT red LED, which provides a clear visual indication whenever a tilt is detected. This dual-pin configuration simplifies the connection process and enhances the efficiency and reliability of tilt detection and indication. The INT pin's role in delivering real-time interrupt signals is crucial for applications requiring immediate action, while the

LED pin's control over the TILT red LED ensures that the status of the tilt detection is always visible, making it easier to monitor and debug. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCC 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.

Tilt 4 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU board provides an affordable and flexible platform for experimenting with STM32 microcontrollers in 32-pin packages. Featuring Arduino™ Nano connectivity, it allows easy expansion with specialized shields, while being mbed-enabled for seamless integration with online resources. The

board includes an on-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer, supporting USB reenumeration with three interfaces: Virtual Com port, mass storage, and debug port. It offers a flexible power supply through either USB VBUS or an external source. Additionally, it includes three LEDs (LD1 for USB communication, LD2 for power,

and LD3 as a user LED) and a reset push button. The STM32 Nucleo-32 board is supported by various Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as IAR™, Keil®, and GCC-based IDEs like AC6 SW4STM32, making it a versatile tool for developers.

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M0

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

32

RAM (Bytes)

4096

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Nucleo-32 is the perfect way to expand your development board's functionalities with STM32 Nucleo-32 pinout. The Click Shield for Nucleo-32 provides two mikroBUS™ sockets to add any functionality from our ever-growing range of Click boards™. We are fully stocked with everything, from sensors and WiFi transceivers to motor control and audio amplifiers. The Click Shield for Nucleo-32 is compatible with the STM32 Nucleo-32 board, providing an affordable and flexible way for users to try out new ideas and quickly create prototypes with any STM32 microcontrollers, choosing from the various combinations of performance, power consumption, and features. The STM32 Nucleo-32 boards do not require any separate probe as they integrate the ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer and come with the STM32 comprehensive software HAL library and various packaged software examples. This development platform provides users with an effortless and common way to combine the STM32 Nucleo-32 footprint compatible board with their favorite Click boards™ in their upcoming projects.

Click Shield for Nucleo-32 accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
ID COMM
PA4
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Tilt LED Control
PA8
PWM
Tilt Interrupt
PA12
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

Tilt 4 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Nucleo-144 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU as your development board.

Click Shield for Nucleo-144 front image hardware assembly
Nucleo 144 with STM32L4A6ZG MCU front image hardware assembly
2x4 RGB Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Nucleo-32 with STM32 MCU MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Clicker 4 for STM32F4 HA MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

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

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Tilt 4 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • tilt4_read_int_state - This function reads the state of the interrupt pin of Tilt 4 Click.

  • tilt4_set_led_state - This function sets the LED pin on the selected level level of Tilt 4 Click.

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 main.c
 * @brief Tilt 4 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Tilt 4 click board.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and USB UART logger.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * As soon as the tilt switch state changes, it displays a corresponding message on the USB UART.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "tilt4.h"

static tilt4_t tilt4;   /**< Tilt 4 Click driver object. */
static log_t logger;    /**< Logger object. */

static uint8_t tilt4_switch_state = TILT4_SWITCH_OFF;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    tilt4_cfg_t tilt4_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * 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_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    tilt4_cfg_setup( &tilt4_cfg );
    TILT4_MAP_MIKROBUS( tilt4_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN == tilt4_init( &tilt4, &tilt4_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    uint8_t state = tilt4_read_int_state ( &tilt4 );
    if ( tilt4_switch_state != state )
    {
        tilt4_switch_state = state;
        
        if ( TILT4_SWITCH_ON == tilt4_switch_state )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, " Tilt switch ON!\r\n\n" );
            tilt4_set_led_state( &tilt4, TILT4_PIN_STATE_HIGH );
        }
        else
        {
            log_printf( &logger, " Tilt switch OFF!\r\n\n" );
            tilt4_set_led_state( &tilt4, TILT4_PIN_STATE_LOW );
        }
        Delay_ms ( 500 );
    }
    
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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