5.10 ShiftOut(Segment Display)

Previously, we used the shiftout() function to light up eight LEDs; here we use it to display 0-9 on the 7-aegment Display.

The 7-segment Display is essentially a device packaged by 8 LEDs, of which 7 strip-shaped LEDs form an “8” shape, and there is a slightly smaller dotted LED as a decimal point. These LEDs are marked as a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and dp. They have their own anode pins and share cathodes. Their pin locations are shown in the figure below.

../_images/segment_cathode.png

Required Components

In this project, we need the following components.

It’s definitely convenient to buy a whole kit, here’s the link:

Name

ITEMS IN THIS KIT

LINK

3 in 1 Starter Kit

380+

3 in 1 Starter Kit

You can also buy them separately from the links below.

COMPONENT INTRODUCTION

PURCHASE LINK

SunFounder R3 Board

BUY

Breadboard

BUY

Jumper Wires

BUY

Resistor

BUY

7-segment Display

BUY

74HC595

BUY

Schematic

../_images/circuit_6.5_segment.png

Wiring

Wiring

74HC595

LED Segment Display

Q0

a

Q1

b

Q2

c

Q3

d

Q4

e

Q5

f

Q6

g

Q7

dp
../_images/segment_bb.jpg

Code

Note

  • Open the 5.10.shiftout_segment.ino file under the path of 3in1-kit\basic_project\5.10.shiftout_segment.

  • Or copy this code into Arduino IDE.

  • Or upload the code through the Arduino Web Editor.

After the code is uploaded successfully, you will be able to see the LED Segment Display display 0~9 in sequence.

How it works?

shiftOut() will make 74HC595 output 8 digital signals. It outputs the last bit of the binary number to Q0, and the output of the first bit to Q7. In other words, writing the binary number “00000001” will make Q0 output high level and Q1~Q7 output low level.

Suppose that the 7-segment Display display the number “2”, we need to write a high level for a, b, d, e and g, and write a low level for c, f and dp. That is, the binary number ” 01011011” needs to be written. For readability, we will use hexadecimal notation as “0x5b”.

../_images/7_segment2.png

Similarly, we can also make the 7-Segment Display display other numbers in the same way. The following table shows the codes corresponding to these numbers.

Glyph Code

Numbers

Binary Code

Hex Code

0

00111111

0x3f

1

00000110

0x06

2

01011011

0x5b

3

01001111

0x4f

4

01100110

0x66

5

01101101

0x6d

6

01111101

0x7d

7

00000111

0x07

8

01111111

0x7f

9

01101111

0x6f

Write these codes into shiftOut() to make the LED Segment Display display the corresponding numbers.