1. Study about embedded components such as sensors and actuators.

Sensor: A sensor is an object whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment,
and then provide a corresponding output. A sensor is a type of transducer; sensors may provide
various types of output, but typically use electrical or optical signals. For example, a
thermocouple generates a known voltage (the output) in response to its temperature (the
environment).
• A Sensor is used for taking Input
• It is a transducer that converts energy from one form to another for any
measurement or control purpose
Ex. A Temperature sensor

Actuator: An actuator is a component of machines that is responsible for moving or controlling

a mechanism or system. An actuator requires a control signal and source of energy. The control
signal is relatively low energy and may be electric voltage or current, pneumatic or hydraulic
pressure, or even human power
Actuator is used for output. It is a transducer that may be either mechanical or electrical which
converts signals to corresponding physical actions.

I/O subsystem: The I/O sub system of the embedded system facilitates the interaction of
embedded system with the external world

LED (Light Emitting Diode):

LED is an important output device for visual indication in any embedded system.LED used as
an indicator for the status of various signals or situations. LED is a p-n junction diode and
contains a CATHODE and ANODE. For functioning the anode is connected to +ve end of power
supply and cathode is connected to –ve end of power supply. The maximum current flowing
through the LED is limited by connecting a RESISTOR in series between the power supply and
LED as shown in the figure below

There are two ways to interface an LED to a microprocessor/microcontroller:

The Anode of LED is connected to the port pin and cathode to Ground : In this approach
the port pin sources the current to the LED when it is at logic high(i.e. 1).

The Cathode of LED is connected to the port pin and Anode to Vcc : Here the port pin sinks
the current and the LED is turned ON when the port pin is at Logic low (i.e. 0)
 Segment LED display:
• It is the most basic electronic display device that can display digits from 0-9.
• They find wide application in devices that display numeric information like digital
clocks,radio, microwave ovens, electronic meters etc.
• The most common configuration has an array of eight LEDs arranged in a special
pattern to display these digits.
• They are laid out as a squared-off figure ‘8’. Every LED is assigned a name from 'a' to
'h'and is identified by its name.
• Seven LEDs 'a' to 'g' are used to display the numerals while eighth LED 'h' is used
to display the dot/decimal.
A seven segment is generally available in ten pin package. While eight pins correspond to the
eight LEDs, the remaining two pins (at middle) are common and internally shorted. These
segments come in two configurations, namely, Common cathode (CC) and Common anode (CA).
In CC configuration, the negative terminals of all LEDs are connected to the common pins. The
common is connected to ground and a particular LED glows when its corresponding pin is given
high. In CA arrangement, the common pin is given a high logic and the LED pins are given low
to display a number.
Pin diagram:

For common cathode configurations, the anode of each LED segment is connected to the port pins
of
the port to which the display is interfaced. The anode of the common anode LED display is connected
to the SV supply voltage through a current limiting resistor and the cathodé of each LED segment is
connected to the respective port pin lines. For an LED segment to lit in the Common anode LED
configuration, the port pin to which the cathode of the LED segment is connected should be at logic
0.
7 – segment LED display is popular choice for low cost embedded applications like, public
telephone call monitoring devices, point of scale terminals, etc..

Optocoupler: Optocoupler is , also called photocoupler, or optical isolator, is a component that

transfers electrical signals between two isolated circuits by using light. Optocoupler prevent high
voltages from affecting the system receiving the signal. Commercially available opto- isolators
 withstand input-to-output voltages up to 10 kV and voltage transients with speeds up to 10 kV/μs.
An optocoupler consists of an LED and a phototransistor in the same opaque package.

when an electrical current is applied to the LED, infrared light is produced and passes through the
material inside the optoisolator. The beam travels across a transparent gap and is picked up by the
receiver, which converts the modulated light or IR back into an electrical signal. In the absence of
light, the input and output circuits are electrically isolated from each other.

Optocoupler is available as ICs from different semiconductor manufacturers. The MCT2M IC from
Fairchild semiconductor is an example for optocoupler IC.

STEPPER MOTOR
A stepper motor 1s an electro-mechanical device which generates discrete displacement (motion) in
response, to de electrical signals. It differs from the normal de motor in its operation. The de motor
produces continuous rotation on applying de voltage whereas a stepper motor produces discrete
rotation in response to the de voltage applied to it. Stepper motors are widely used in industrial
embedded applications, consumer electronic products and robotics control systems. The feed
mechanism of a printer/fax makes use of stepper motors for its functioning.

Based on the coil winding arrangements, a two-phase stepper motor is classified into two. They are:

1. Unipolar
2. Bipolar

1. Unipolar
A unipolar stepper motor contains two windings per phase. The direction of rotation (clockwise
or anticlockwise) of a stepper motor is controlled by changing the direction of current flow.
Current in one direction flows through one coil and in the opposite direction flows through the
other coil. It is easy to shift the direction of rotation by just switching the terminals to which the
coils are connected.
 Figure 2.18 illustrates the working of a two-phase unipolar stepper motor.

The coils are represented as A, B, C and D. Coils A and C carry current in opposite directions for
phase 1 (only one of them will be carrying current one at a time)

2.Bipolar:
A bipolar stepper motor contains single winding per phase.For reversing the motor rotation the
current flow through the winding is reversed dynamically. It requires complex circuitry for current
flow reversal. The stator winding details for a two phase unipolar stepper motor is shown in Fig 2.19

The stepping of stepper motor can be implemented in different ways by changing the sequence of
activation of the stator windings. The different stepping modes supported by stepper motor are
explained below.

Full Step.
In the full step mode both the phases are energised simultaneously. The coils A, B, C and D
are energised in the following order:

STEP COIL COIL COIL COIL D

A B C
1 H H L L
2 L H H L
3 L L H H
 4 H L L H
It should be noted that out of the two windings, only one winding of a phase is energized at a time

Wave Step
In the wave step mode only one phase is energized at a time and each coils of the phase is energized
alternatively .The coils A,B,C and D are energized in the following order

STEP COIL COIL COIL COIL D

A B C
1 H H L L
2 L H L L
3 L L H L
4 L L L H
Half Step
It uses the combination of wave & full step.It has the highest torque and stability. The coil
energizing sequence for half step is given below

STEP COIL COIL COIL COIL D

A B C
1 H L L L
2 L H L L
3 L H L L
4 L H H L
5 L L H L
6 L L H H
7 L L L H
8 H L L H
The rotation of the stepper motor can be reversed by reversing the order in which the coil is
energized ,Two-phase unipolar stepper motors are the popular choice for embedded applications.
The current requirement for stepper motor is little high and hence the port pins of a
microcontroller/processor may not be able to drive them directly. Also the supply voltage required
to operate stepper motor varies normally in the range SV o 24 V. Depending on the current and
voltage requirements, special driving circuits are required to interface the stepper motor with
microcontroller/processors. Commercial off-the-shelf stepper motor driver ICs are available in the
market and they can be directly interfaced to the microcontroller port. ULN2803 is an octal
peripheral driver array available from ON semiconductors and ST microelectronics for driving a
SV stepper motor. Simple driving circuit can also be built using transistors.
The following circuit diagram (Fig 2.20 ) illustrates the interfacing of a stepper motor through
driver circuit connected to the port pins of a microcontroller/processor.
 Fig 2.20 Interfacing of a Stepper Motor

Push Button
Push Button Switch It is an input device. Push button switch comes in two configurations,
namely “Push to Make’ and ‘Push to Break’. In the ‘Push to Make’ configuration, the switch is
normally in the open state and it makes a circuit contact when it is pushed or pressed. In the ‘Push to
Break’ con-figuration, the switch is normally in the closed state and it breaks the circuit contact when
it is pushed or pressed. The push button stays in the ‘closed’ (For Push to Make type) or ‘open’ (For
Push to Breaktype) state as long as it is kept in the pushed state and it breaks/makes the circuit
connection when it is released. Push button is used for generating a mo-mentary pulse. In embedded
application push button is generally used as reset and start switch and pulse |generator. The Push button
is normally connected to the port pin of the host processor/controller. Depend- port pin Port pin,on the
way in which the push button interfaced to the controller, it can generate either a ‘HIGH’ pulse or
‘LOW’ pulse. Figure 2.23 illustrates how the pushbutton can be used for generating “LOW” and
‘HIGH’pulses.

Fig 2.23 PushButton LOW and HIGH pulse