Connecting an 8051 to a 2x16 LCD

April 2010

José Da Silva Borges 050503227

Patrício Lima Ferreira 060503038
Abstract

The goal of this work is program an 8051 microcontroller and connects it to and LCD
display then controls it by a PC with serial port interface. The work is divided by the
following topics:

 Initially is shown the schematic of the circuit configuration.

 Then is presented the commands which are sent to the LCD display.

 And then is presented the flow chart of developed program.

 By some simulation is shown some figures with the respective functionalities.

 Is finished with some conclusions.

Connecting an 8051 to a 2x16 LCD 2

 Schematic of the circuit configuration

On the figure bellow is shown the schematic of the circuit that is composed by a 8051
microcontroller, a MAX232 that connects to the serial port, and the LCD display.

Fig. 1 Schematic of the complete circuit.

Interruptions

The microcontroller is set with 2 interruption, the Serial Port interrupt that make
interface with a PC and Timer 0 interrupt that is used to count time to shift the LCD.

Configuration

The serial port is set with 19200 bit/s of baud rate, choosing SMOD = 1 and TH1= 253
that give:

𝐾 ∗ 𝐹𝑜𝑠𝑐
𝐵𝑎𝑢𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
32 ∗ 12 ∗ 256 − 𝑇𝐻1

𝐾 = 2 , 𝐹𝑜𝑠𝑐 = 11.0592, 𝑇𝐻1 = 253

2 ∗ 11.0592
𝐵𝑎𝑢𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
32 ∗ 12 ∗ 256 − 253

𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 19200

Connecting an 8051 to a 2x16 LCD 3

LCD Commands
The LCD display is controlled by the microcontroller that is controlled by the PC,
which sends command thought the serial ports.

This works present the follow commands:

 Clear the screen of the LCD display, and also the Data RAM memory. This
command is made by pressing 0 on the PC keyboard.
 Write on line 1 or line 2 by pressing 1 or 2 respectively on the PC keyboard.
 Rotate the display continuously from right to left of the first and the second line.
This command is made by pressing enter key.
 Turn on and turn off the display without clearing the memory. This command is
mad by pressing 3 on the PC keyboard.

Flow Chart
The figure bellow shows the flow chart that specifies the action sequence of serial
interrupt routine.

Fig. 2 Flow chart of the serial interrupt routine.

Connecting an 8051 to a 2x16 LCD 4

Simulation
The figures bellow represents a simulation made on the software ISIS.

Writing on line 1: Writing on line 2:

Fig. 3 By a Virtual Terminal it sends the command to the LCD

Was presented in this work an 8051 microcontroller/LCD display interfacing, controlled by a PC

through the serial port.

Six commands was implemented and tested, Write on line1, write on line 2, shift left, clear the display,
turn on and turn off.

The circuit was tested with virtual simulation on the ISIS software and then on the laboratory using real
components.

Bibliography
 Rickey’s World of Microcontrollers and Microprocessors: LCD interfacing with
Microcontrollers

http://www.8051projects.net/lcd-interfacing/introduction.php

 Hantronix Inc.: Displaying Characters on an LCD Character Module

http://www.hantronix.com/down/char-mod.pdf
 ISIS Sofware: Demo version
http://www.labcenter.co.uk/download/prodemo_autodl_general.cfm

Connecting an 8051 to a 2x16 LCD 5