What Is a 7 Segment Display?
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A seven-segment display (SSD) is an electronic display device for displaying decimal numerals (numbers) that is an alternative to the more complex dot matrix and OLED displays.
Seven-segment displays are widely used in digital clocks, electronic meters and other electronic devices for displaying numerical information.
The seven-segment display is split into 8 elements, each element is a section of the digit, and the eighth section is the decimal point, these elements/sections are commonly labelled A-G going clockwise around each section of the digit, ending with the 'G' section in the middle, and the decimal point labelled as 'DP' to the side, this labeling pattern can also converted into decimal numbers, 1-8.
Seven-segment displays may use liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) for each segment or other light generating or controlling techniques. The 7 Segment Single and 7 Segment Quad Flowcode components use LED displays and the 'Display Type' property is set to 'Cathode' by default, this property can be changed to 'Anode' manually.
The LED colour may be changed in Flowcode using the 'LED Color' property, you may also change the 'Bezel Color' property to change the colour of the base/background of the component, these properties may be changed during simulation if you wish to do so.
There are two versions of this component readily available in Flowcode, the 7 Segment Single which is a single digit accompanied by a decimal point or a 7 Segment Quad Display, which is a set of 4 displays, which works more efficiently as it takes less pins to connect than 4 separate 7 Segment Single Display components and it is easier to program and incorporate into your program and system.
In Flowcode all of the 8 segments/elements (including the decimal point) of the display - as well as the 'Common' pin(s) which, on the 7 Segment Quad Display control each section - all need to be connected in order to function properly, the default connections for the component are as follows:
| 7 Segment Single Display | 7 Segment Quad Display | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pin/Property | Connection | Pin/Property | Connection |
| pin0 | $PORTB.0 | Pin0 | $PORTB.0 |
| pin1 | $PORTB.1 | Pin1 | $PORTB.1 |
| pin2 | $PORTB.2 | Pin2 | $PORTB.2 |
| pin3 | $PORTB.3 | Pin3 | $PORTB.3 |
| pin4 | $PORTB.4 | Pin4 | $PORTB.4 |
| pin5 | $PORTB.5 | Pin5 | $PORTB.5 |
| pin6 | $PORTB.6 | Pin6 | $PORTB.6 |
| pin7 | $PORTB.7 | Pin7 | $PORTB.7 |
| common | $PORTA.0 | Common Pin 0 | $PORTA.0 |
| Common Pin 1 | $PORTA.1 | ||
| Common Pin 2 | $PORTA.2 | ||
| Common Pin 3 | $PORTA.3 | ||
