Intermediate
30 min

Optimize efficiency through digital VCP monitoring based on the INA260 and STM32F031K6

Your digital guide to current and power excellence!

VCP Monitor Click with Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Published Oct 01, 2024

Click board™

VCP Monitor Click

Dev. board

Nucleo 32 with STM32F031K6 MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F031K6

From real-time diagnostics to performance optimization, the possibilities are endless

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

VCP Monitor Click is based on the INA260, a power monitor solution from Texas Instruments, which includes precision measurement of current, voltage, and power with low drift. The current-sensing resistor is designed as a 4-wire connected resistor that enables accurate measurements through a force-sense connection. The INA260 is internally calibrated to ensure the current-sensing resistor and amplifier are precisely matched. The INA260 device performs two measurements on the power supply bus. The current measurement on the LOAD connector is internally calculated by measuring the voltage developed across a known internal shunt resistor. The feature is a physical shunt resistance that can withstand current levels higher than the continuous handling limit of 15A without sustaining damage to the current-sensing resistor or the current-sensing amplifier if the excursions are brief. The voltage measurement on

the SUPPLY connector is calculated by measuring the voltage from the external VBUS pin to the ground. The voltage monitored ranges from 0V to 36V. The INA260 device performs two measurements on the power supply bus. The current measurement on the LOAD connector is internally calculated by measuring the voltage developed across a known internal shunt resistor, and the voltage measurement on the SUPPLY connector is calculated by measuring the voltage from the external VBUS pin to the ground. The VCP Monitor click is compatible with the I2C communication protocol. The INA260 has two slave address selection pins, A0 and A1. For I2C slave address selection, the VCP Monitor click has two cross-shape jumpers, first for set pin A0 and second for set A1 pin. One cross-shape jumper has four positions for the select address pins, which can be selected with an SMD 0 ohm resistor; the

address pin can be connected to GND, VS, SCL, or SDA pins. The VCP Monitor Clicks with the two separate jumpers on the Click board™ user can set the desired address. The INA260AIPWR provides the opportunity of the 16 possible different I2C addresses. The INA260AIPWR is supported with an ALERT pin connected to the INT pin on mikroBUS™ to interrupt the ongoing MCU routine in case of the alert condition. INT pin can be programmed to respond to a user-defined event or a conversion-ready notification. 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.

VCP Monitor Click hardware overview image
VCP Monitor Click Current Warning 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
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Interrupt
PA12
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PB6
SCL
I2C Data
PB7
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

VCP Monitor 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
Stepper 22 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Stepper 22 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Nucleo-32 with STM32 MCU Access 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
STM32 M4 Clicker HA MCU/Select 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

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for VCP Monitor Click driver.

Key functions:

  • vcpmonitor_get_current - This function reads current data in mA

  • vcpmonitor_get_power - This function reads power data in mW

  • vcpmonitor_get_voltage - This function reads voltage data in mV.

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief VCPmonitor Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * The VCP Monitor Click is add-on board power monitor system. This Click board is 
 * based on precision digital current and power monitor with low-drift, integrated 
 * precision shunt resistor. 
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initiaizes the driver, and checks the communication by reading the device and manufacture IDs.
 * After that, performs the device default configuration.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Displays the voltage, current, and power measured by the sensor on the USB UART every 2 seconds.
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "vcpmonitor.h"

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

static vcpmonitor_t vcpmonitor;
static log_t logger;
static uint16_t manufacture_id;
static uint16_t did_id;

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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    vcpmonitor_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_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );
    
    vcpmonitor_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    VCPMONITOR_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    vcpmonitor_init( &vcpmonitor, &cfg );
    
    if ( VCPMONITOR_OK == vcpmonitor_get_id_value( &vcpmonitor, &manufacture_id, &did_id ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, ">> Manufacture ID: 0x%.4X\r\n", manufacture_id );
        log_printf( &logger, ">> Device ID: 0x%.4X\r\n", did_id );
    }
    else
    {
        log_error( &logger, " WRONG ID READ! " );
        log_printf( &logger, "Please restart your system.\r\n" );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    vcpmonitor_default_cfg(&vcpmonitor );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    float current_data;
    float voltage_data;
    float power_data;
    
    current_data = vcpmonitor_get_current( &vcpmonitor );
    log_printf( &logger, ">> Current : %.2f mA\r\n", current_data );
     
    voltage_data = vcpmonitor_get_voltage( &vcpmonitor );
    log_printf( &logger, ">> Voltage : %.2f mV\r\n", voltage_data );
    
    power_data = vcpmonitor_get_power( &vcpmonitor );
    log_printf( &logger, ">> Power : %.2f mW\r\n", power_data );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "-------------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

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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