Microcontrollers

How a Microcontroller can be used in a Temperature Measurement System

The figure below illustrates the key elements of a temperature measurement system employing a MC68HC11 microcontroller.

The temperature sensor provides a voltage proportional to the temperature; an example of such a sensor is LM25 (a temperature sensor that can be used with an analogue to digital converter like ADC0804 to give a digital output suitable for a microprocessor).

The output from the temperature sensor is connected to an ADC input line of the microcontroller. The microcontroller is programmed to convert the temperature into a binary-coded decimal (BCD) output which can be used to switch on elements of a two-digit, seven-element display. But, since the temperature may be fluctuating it is essential to use a storage register which can hold data (temporarily) long enough for the display to be read. The storage register, such as 74HCT273, is an octal D-type flip-flop which is reset on the next positive-going edge of the clock input from the microcontroller.

Related articles:

Share
John Mulindi

John Mulindi has a background in a technical field and he writes on topics ranging from automation, computer systems, embedded systems, mechatronics to measurement and control.

View Comments

Recent Posts

Rigid-Flex PCBs: Enhancing Durability and Flexibility in Electronic Devices

The world of electronics is constantly evolving, allowing designers and manufacturers to push the boundaries…

2 months ago

Key Features of PIC16X84 Family of Microcontrollers

PIC microcontrollers are fabricated by Microchip Technology. PIC16C84 and PIC16F84 are the two microcontrollers in…

9 months ago

ADD Instruction in Intel 8051 (MCS-51) Microcontroller

The ADD instruction tells the microcontroller’s CPU to add the source byte to register A…

9 months ago

Main Features of Intel 8086 Microprocessor

8-bit microprocessors are limited in their speed (the number of instructions that can be executed…

9 months ago

Basic Features of 68HC11 Family of Microcontrollers

The 68HC11 (also abbreviated as 6811 or HC11) is an 8-bit microcontroller that was introduced…

9 months ago

Process Synchronization using Semaphores

Mutual exclusion typically imposes some conditions on access to a given resource by two or…

9 months ago