Lab 4 Rev. 2.

4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

4
Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

4.1 Objectives:

Microprocessors can monitor the outside world using input ports. They can also control it
using output ports. Tiva performs I/O using 6 ports.
Computer keyboards are typically wired as rows and columns of individual key
switches. This switch matrix is then scanned to determine if a key is pressed, and if so,
which one. The I/O capability of Tiva can be used to do this scanning. In this lab, you
will learn,

• How to perform simple parallel input and output transfers using GPIO ports.

• How to use polling to do data transfers.

• How to interface the keypad with Tiva.

• How to scan the keypad and detect that a key has been pressed.

• How to de-bounce the keypad using software.

4.2 Related material to read:

• Text, Chapter 14, pages 293-312.

• TM4C123GH6PM Microcontroller Data Sheet, Chapter 10 (subset), pages 649-

663.

• TIVA TM4C123G LaunchPad User Guide, Chapter 2, pages 7-12.

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

Parallel I/O using Tiva:

Tiva has four 8-bit I/O ports (A-D), one 6-bit I/O port (E), and one 5-bit I/O port (F). The
microcontroller uses its address, data, and control buses to control I/O hardware as if it
were memory. Controlling I/O this way is called memory mapped I/O. Each port has an
address. To output data through that port, after you configure the port, a STRB instruction
to its data address, sends data to the port. To input data from a port, you do the same
thing but use a LDRB instruction. One caveat: although all the ports are accessed through
8-bit registers, not all ports have all 8 bits available for use. If you look at the user's
guides for your Texas Instruments Tiva board, you will see the ports and connections
available for you to use.
The pin connections for all I/O ports are labeled in Figure 4.6 below (which is
also located in your user guide that came with your board). The pin names are also
labeled on the board next to the pins. Port E is a multi-purpose 6-bit input / output port at
address 0x4002.4000 and port B is a general-purpose 8-bit input / output port at address
0x4000.5000. These ports are programmable so that some of the bits can be used for
parallel input and some for parallel output. This is done by storing a value in an 8-bit
register called the direction register. The direction register for all ports is named
GPIODIR, and is addressed like memory at address 0x0400 past (offset) the base address.
Each port has a set of configuration registers following the base address that specify how
the port should function. (The GPIODIR register is one of them) Each of the
configuration ports have the same general name, but refer only to the ports in which they
follow. For instance, port B at address 0x4000.5000 has a GPIODIR register at
0x4000.5400 (0x0400 past the base address). Port E at address 0x4002.4000 also has a
GPIODIR register; however, it is at address 0x4002.4400. This is also 0x0400 past the
base address, but at a different location in memory. Figure 4.1a shows the base address
for each of the ports on Tiva. Figure 4.1b shows the offsets and addresses of the most
commonly used configuration registers. Can you see the pattern? Nearly all features of
Tiva follow this format where there is a base address for the feature, and each
configuration register is located at some offset from that address. This is very useful to
understand. A complete list of the configuration registers can be found in the Tiva
microcontroller datasheet on page 660.

Figure 4.1a: GPIO Base Addresses

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

Figure 4.1b: Commonly used GPIO configuration addresses and offsets.

The GPIODIR register can be read like memory, but writing to it connects internal
hardware in a particular configuration. The bits in the GPIODIR correspond bit by bit
with the pins of the associated port. When a bit in GPIODIR is 0, the corresponding pin
in the port is programmed as an input pin. A '1' in the GPIODIR corresponds to
programming that pin as an output in that port.

Figure 4.2: General-Purpose Input / Output Direction (GPIODIR)

The GPIOAFSEL stands for Alternate Function SELect. Each pin on each I/O port can be
configured to be a port for a different peripheral found on Tiva. We will see more of this
later. To use the port as a simple on/off switch controlled by the DATA register, AFSEL
needs to be disabled (set to zero).

Figure 4.3: General-Purpose Input / Output Alternate Function Select (GPIOAFSEL)

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

GPIODEN is the Digital ENable register. Tiva has the capability to output an analog
signal, however, most of our labs will be digital, so we will enable (set) these bits.

Figure 4.4: General-Purpose Input / Output Digital Enable (GPIODEN)

Finally, to use any GPIO port, we must turn that peripheral on. By default Tiva turns off
all of its features in order to save power. You must start them in software, usually through
an initialization routine, before you configure them. To “power up” a GPIO port we start
the clock that controls the GPIO port we want to use. To do this we must use the System
Control portion of Tiva. Specifically, the Run Clock Gate Control register for GPIO
(RCGCGPIO) at address 0x400F.E608. Bits 5:0 are associated with each of the ports
available (F-A). Setting a bit to 1 starts the clock (turns on) that associated port. (Note
that the base address for System Control is 0x400F.E000, and the RCGCGPIO register is
offset by 0x608).

Figure 4.5: General-Purpose Input / Output Run Mode Clock Gating Control
(RCGCGPIO)

The following code shows the EQU directives you would use to configure port E
for digital input, bits 7-3 of port B for inputs, and bits 2-0 of port B as outputs.
1 GPIO_PORTB_DATA EQU 0x400053FC ;Port B data address
2 GPIO_PORTB_DIR EQU 0x40005400
3 GPIO_PORTB_AFSEL EQU 0x40005420

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

4 GPIO_PORTB_DEN EQU 0x4000551C

5 IOB EQU 0x07
6 GPIO_PORTE_DATA EQU 0x400243FC ;Port E data address
7 GPIO_PORTE_DIR EQU 0x40024400
8 GPIO_PORTE_AFSEL EQU 0x40024420
9 GPIO_PORTE_DEN EQU 0x4002451C
10 IOE EQU 0x00
11 SYSCTL_RCGCGPIO EQU 0x400FE608
12
13 AREA |.text|, READONLY, CODE, ALIGN=2
14 THUMB
15 EXPORT __main
16
17 __main LDR R1, =SYSCTL_RCGCGPIO
18 LDR R0, [R1]
19 ORR R0, R0, #0x12
20 STR R0, [R1]
21 NOP
22 NOP
23 NOP
24
25 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTB_DIR
26 LDR R0, [R1]
27 BIC R0, #0xFF
28 ORR R0, #IOB
29 STR R0, [R1]
30 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTB_AFSEL
31 LDR R0, [R1]
32 BIC R0, #0xFF
33 STR R0, [R1]
34 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTB_DEN
35 LDR R0, [R1]
36 ORR R0, #0xFF
37 STR R0, [R1]
38
39 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTE_DIR
40 LDR R0, [R1]
41 ORR R0, #IOE
42 STR R0, [R1]
43 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTE_AFSEL
44 LDR R0, [R1]
45 BIC R0, #0xFF
46 STR R0, [R1]
47 LDR R1, =GPIO_PORTE_DEN
48 LDR R0, [R1]
49 ORR R0, #0xFF
50 STR R0, [R1]

Lines 1 – 11 just equate the port and configuration register addresses to a name that is
easier to remember than an address. Line 5 equates the Input vs. Output pattern for port
B, 0x07 to ‘IOB’ and line 10 equates that pattern for port E, 0x00, to ‘IOE’. Making these
constant definitions at the beginning of the program makes it easier to change the I/O
pattern later. Lines 17 – 20 start the clock for both ports B, E. Lines 21 -23 do nothing

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

except allow the GPIO clock to stabilize. Lines 25 – 37 configure port B, and lines 39 –
50 configure port E.

Figure 4.6: Tiva I/O Pin-out Specification

External hardware interface with Tiva:

Because of the parallel I/O capability of Tiva, it can control the outside world by
connecting it to external hardware. Simple and common external hardware devices are
push button switches, DIP switches, light emitting diodes (LEDs), keypads, seven
segment displays, transducers, control valves, etc. In this lab, we will discuss the
interface of DIP switches, LEDs and keypads. In a future lab, we will consider the
interface of the seven-segment displays when we design a digital voltmeter.

Figure 4.7 shows one way to connect DIP switches to the Tiva input port. These DIP
switches provide 8 individual switches. When any of these switches is in the open
position, logic ‘1’ is provided to the corresponding input port pin by the corresponding
pull up resistor. When the switch is in the close position, the input to the corresponding
input port pin is grounded through the switch and thus provides logic ‘0’. The resistor
limits the current flow when the switch is closed. For the input pins, the pull-up resistor
can be programmed using PUR register (more details later in the) or it can be connected
externally. In the actual switches, the switch has a tendency to bounce, i.e. the contact
in the switch closes and opens the circuit quickly (milliseconds) before settling as

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

closed. To de-bounce a switch using software, after the first switch contact is read, you
need to introduce a software delay of 100 msec. During this short delay, switch
bouncing is effectively locked out. This is relative simple to do by writing a short delay
subroutine (which we did in Lab 3) that you call after seeing a switched input state
change.

Figure 4.7: Connection of DIP switches to input ports.

Figure 4.8 shows how to connect the light emitting diodes (LEDs) to the Tiva output
ports. When logic low is presented on the output port pin, current flows from the power
supply (3.3V) through the current limiting resistor R and the LED to the output pin. The
LED then illuminates. However, when logic high is present on the output port pin, there
is not a sufficient potential difference between the logic high and the supply voltage to
satisfy the forward voltage drop requirement of the LED, and hence the LED does not
illuminate. Your lab instructor may allow you to omit the inverters, as Tiva is capable of
supplying enough current to light the LEDs by itself. However if you do omit the
inverters, the “logic” will invert, and a logic low will light the LEDs.

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

CAUTION: Never, ever, omit the resistors!

Figure 4.8: Connection of LED’s to output ports.

Most keyboards use a number of individual switches arranged in a matrix of columns and
rows. This reduces the number of I/O lines needed to interface with the keyboard. A
keyboard of 64 keys could be arranged in an 8-by-8 matrix, so that only 16 I/O lines are
required instead of 64. Software is used to scan the keyboard to detect a depressed switch
and determine which key is pressed. In this lab, we will interface and write the software
to scan a 4-by-4 keypad. Figure 14-8 in the text shows the direct connections for sixteen-
key keypad, but you will design your own keypad to get a better understanding of its
internal circuit.
The keypad circuit is shown in Figure 4.9. The rows are connected to the outputs
and the columns are connected to the inputs of the microprocessor. You will use Port B
for the rows (you will have to configure it as an output port) and Port E for the columns
(you will have to configure it as an input port). Internal pull-up resistors on Port E are
added by setting the appropriate bits in the PUR register (offset 0x0510). The scanning
program outputs 0's to the rows and tests all four-column inputs in a continuous loop.
From the circuit, you can see that these inputs will all be high until a switch is closed.
You will write a subroutine for scanning this keypad circuit. The flowchart for
this subroutine is shown in Figure 4.11. The subroutine will output '0's to all four-row
bits, and then it will read the column bits in a continuous loop until one of them goes low.
When one input goes low, the subroutine will scan the keypad by outputting a
zero to the first row and ones to the other rows. Each column will then be checked, from
left to right, for a low signal. If a low signal is not detected, a zero is output to the next
row, and ones to the other rows, the columns are checked again. This continues until the
pressed key is found. A counter is used to keep track of which switch is being checked.

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

When one of these switches closes, again mechanical bouncing occurs, causing
the switch to open and close rapidly several times. The scanning subroutine is so fast,
that it can scan the whole keypad before the switch even gets done bouncing, missing
the closed switch. A delay in the subroutine gives the switch time to stop bouncing. You
can use the delay subroutine from Lab 5 to provide the delay time of 100 msec. Have
your scan program call the 'DELAY' subroutine after a key is pressed.

Figure 4.9: Connection of keypad switches or DIP switches to simulate Keypad circuit

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

Figure 4.10 below shows the connections for the keypad you will use in the lab. It shows
the relationship between the 16 keys in the diagram, with the 8 terminal pins on
connector, labeled 1-8. This diagram provides sufficient information to create a
relationship between the keypad numbers and the port labels in Figure 4.9 above:

Pin 1 = Port ___ Pin 5 = Port ___

Pin 2 = Port ___ Pin 6 = Port ___
Pin 3 = Port ___ Pin 7 = Port ___
Pin 4 = Port ___ Pin 8 = Port ___

Figure 4.10: 4X4 SimplyTronics Flexible Keypad Connections

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

Start

Output 0 to all rows

Read Column bits

No Any column
low?

Yes
Call DELAY subroutine

Key Number = 0
Row Pointer = 0
Column Pointer = 0

Output 0 to row @ Row Pointer

Read Column Pointer*

Save
Is column @ Yes
the Key
Column Pointer Number
No
Increment Column Pointer and Key Number Return

No Was last
column

Yes
Increment Row Pointer

No
Was last row
checked?

Yes

Figure 4.11: Flow chart for keypad SCAN subroutine.

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

4.2 Procedure:

Before you come to the lab, write the flow charts for the following procedures and
solve for the values of Vout and current through the resistor in the circuit in Figure
4.13 for closed and open switch. Include in your project folder the Startup.s file located
on the lab web page under Software Downloads. Port symbol definitions which you will
need for this lab are on pp. 4-5 above; you may cut and then paste them in your main
program.

1. Configure the port E lines as all inputs and connect them to six DIP switches as
shown in Figure 4.7. Configure the port B lines as all outputs and connect the lower
six bits to six LEDs in the manner shown in Figure 4.8. Have the lab TA check your
circuit before you turn the power ON. It would be a good idea to build this circuit
before you come to the lab. Write a program to continuously read the switches
connected to port E and output the status to the LED's connected to port B. Show the
TA when this works.
2. Connect the SimplyTronics membrane keypad to your development board as shown
in Figure 4.9. Write a program to scan this keypad (as described in the previous
section). Include a subroutine to wait until the key is released before another key is
read, as you do not want to read the key that is depressed more than once. The
flowchart for this subroutine is included in Figure 4.11. Call the subroutines SCAN
and NEXTKEY with the main program. Download the program on the board and
display the key pressed on the terminal window. You don’t need to use the keypad
until you have your program setup. Ask your T.A. for a keypad when you are ready
to start testing.

4.3 Questions:

1. Is the polling method to input data efficient? Is that important here?

2. In the keypad circuit, what will happen if your de-bounce delay is too short? What
will happen if it is too long?
3. What key is read if you depress switches 8 and C at the same time? What if you
depress A and C at the same time? What about 8 and 6? Explain why this behavior is
predictable

4.4 Lab report:

For the lab write up, include

1. Flowcharts and programs that you wrote before the lab.
2. A copy of your working .s files.
3. A brief discussion of the objectives of the lab and procedures performed in the lab.
4. Answers to any questions in the discussion, procedure, or question sections of the lab.

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Lab 4 Rev. 2.4 Parallel I/O and Keyboard Scanning

Start NEXTKEY

Call Read
SCAN column bits

Display key
depressed

Yes Is key still

pressed?
Call
NEXTKEY

No

Return
Main program

NEXTKEY subroutine

Figure 4.12: Main program and NEXTKEY subroutine for Keypad scanning.

Figure 4.13: Prelab circuit (Vin=3.3V).

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