4.1.7 Counting Device¶

Introduction¶

Here we will make a number-displaying counter system, consisting of a PIR sensor and a 4-digit segment display. When the PIR detects that someone is passing by, the number on the 4-digit segment display will add 1. You can use this counter to count the number of people walking through the passageway.

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
Raphael Kit	337	Raphael Kit

You can also buy them separately from the links below.

COMPONENT INTRODUCTION	PURCHASE LINK
GPIO Extension Board	BUY
Breadboard	BUY
Jumper Wires	BUY
Resistor	BUY
4-Digit 7-Segment Display	-
74HC595	BUY
PIR Motion Sensor Module	-

Schematic Diagram¶

T-Board Name	physical	wiringPi	BCM
GPIO17	Pin 11	0	17
GPIO27	Pin 13	2	27
GPIO22	Pin 15	3	22
SPIMOSI	Pin 19	12	10
GPIO18	Pin 12	1	18
GPIO23	Pin 16	4	23
GPIO24	Pin 18	5	24
GPIO26	Pin 37	25	26

Experimental Procedures¶

Step 1: Build the circuit.

Step 2: Go to the folder of the code.

cd ~/raphael-kit/python/

Step 3: Run the executable file.

sudo python3 4.1.7_CountingDevice.py

After the code runs, when the PIR detects that someone is passing by, the number on the 4-digit segment display will add 1.

There are two potentiometers on the PIR module: one is to adjust sensitivity and the other is to adjust the detection distance. To make the PIR module work better, you You need to turn both of them counterclockwise to the end.

Code

Note

You can Modify/Reset/Copy/Run/Stop the code below. But before that, you need to go to source code path like raphael-kit/python. After modifying the code, you can run it directly to see the effect.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
import time

sensorPin = 26

SDI = 24
RCLK = 23
SRCLK = 18

placePin = (10, 22, 27, 17)
number = (0xc0, 0xf9, 0xa4, 0xb0, 0x99, 0x92, 0x82, 0xf8, 0x80, 0x90)

counter = 0

def clearDisplay():
    for i in range(8):
        GPIO.output(SDI, 1)
        GPIO.output(SRCLK, GPIO.HIGH)
        GPIO.output(SRCLK, GPIO.LOW)
    GPIO.output(RCLK, GPIO.HIGH)
    GPIO.output(RCLK, GPIO.LOW)

def hc595_shift(data):
    for i in range(8):
        GPIO.output(SDI, 0x80 & (data << i))
        GPIO.output(SRCLK, GPIO.HIGH)
        GPIO.output(SRCLK, GPIO.LOW)
    GPIO.output(RCLK, GPIO.HIGH)
    GPIO.output(RCLK, GPIO.LOW)

def pickDigit(digit):
    for i in placePin:
        GPIO.output(i,GPIO.LOW)
    GPIO.output(placePin[digit], GPIO.HIGH)

def display():
    global counter
    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(0)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 10])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(1)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 100//10])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(2)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 1000//100])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(3)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 10000//1000])

def loop():
    global counter
    currentState = 0
    lastState = 0
    while True:
        display()
        currentState=GPIO.input(sensorPin)
        if (currentState == 0) and (lastState == 1):
            counter +=1
        lastState=currentState

def setup():
    GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
    GPIO.setup(SDI, GPIO.OUT)
    GPIO.setup(RCLK, GPIO.OUT)
    GPIO.setup(SRCLK, GPIO.OUT)
    for i in placePin:
        GPIO.setup(i, GPIO.OUT)
    GPIO.setup(sensorPin, GPIO.IN)

def destroy():   # When "Ctrl+C" is pressed, the function is executed.
    GPIO.cleanup()

if __name__ == '__main__':  # Program starting from here
    setup()
    try:
        loop()
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        destroy()

Code Explanation

Based on 1.1.5 4-Digit 7-Segment Display, this project adds PIR module to change the automatic counting into count detecting. When the PIR detects that someone is passing by, the number on the 4-digit segment display will add 1.

def display():
    global counter
    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(0)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 10])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(1)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 100//10])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(2)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 1000//100])

    clearDisplay()
    pickDigit(3)
    hc595_shift(number[counter % 10000//1000])

First, start the fourth segment display, write the single-digit number. Then start the third segment display, and type in the tens digit; after that, start the second and the first segment display respectively, and write the hundreds and thousands digits respectively. Because the refreshing speed is very fast, we see a complete four-digit display.

def loop():
global counter
    currentState = 0
    lastState = 0
    while True:
        display()
        currentState=GPIO.input(sensorPin)
        if (currentState == 0) and (lastState == 1):
            counter +=1
        lastState=currentState

This is the main function: display the number on the 4-digit segment display and read the PIR value. When the PIR detects that someone is passing by, the number on the 4-digit segment display will add 1.