Click Counter!

Click Counter!

Our project, Click Counter!, will incorporate the use of a seven-segment display and tilt switch to display the number of times that the device is tilted away from the horizontal with a button press to reset the count!

Display

Seven-segment displays are commonly used in electronic devices like timers, calculators, and digital clocks to display numbers, letters and even characters in a digital system. The seven segment display is a led array that can allow us to display letters or numbers from 0 to 9. The seven segments are labeled A-G, and flipping certain segments will aid in forming visible numbers. Displays can be helpful in visually depicting something that is occurring within our circuit. The ability to visualize electronic data as human readable information is a significant feature in electronic systems.

Tilt Switch & Button

A tilt switch is a type of switch that switches at a certain angle as compared to the horizon (similar to the old mercury switch). It is in fact an inclinometer with a switching output. Since gravity serves as a reference maximum. mounting freedom is achieved. A tilt switch will be used to increment the numbers by 1 each time the breadboard is tilted from the horizontal and a 10ms debouncing delay will prevent the display from incrementing multiple numbers at a time. The numbers will reset to 0 after 9 or can be reset to 0 anytime with the click of the button. The button will register a click when the amount of necessary pressure to actuate it is applied, upon which time the button will allow electricity to flow throw the circuit and register a "pushed" state to the microcontroller.

Design Process

Our client originally requested a device that could count machine uses up to 9 to prevent their employees from allowing the machine to overheat from greater than 9 uses in between servicing. We brainstormed as a team and produced Click Counter! V1.0. Click Counter! V1.0 used a button press to increment a counter from 0 to 9 that would be displayed on a seven-segment display. This would allow the employees to track the machine uses and pause for servicing when the machine reached 9 uses. However, halfway through the design process, the client requested the use of an additional component: the tilt switch. With this request in mind, we went on to develop our flagship device: Click Counter! V2.0. This design increments the display number by 1 each time the device is tilted in order to record the number of times the machine is used. Once the number reaches nine, the company knows to retire the machine for servicing. At the end of the day, the display is able to be reset back to 0 for the next use or can be reset to 0 anytime by clicking the button.

How does it work?

The hardware components of the Click Counter! can be found in the SideKick Basic Kit and Texas Instruments Launchpad.

Full documentation of the software (in C programming language) is attached to this project.

Here's a video of the Clicker Counter! V2.0 in action: