7-segment display

PARTS AND MATERIALS

 4511 BCD-to-7seg latch/decoder/driver (Radio Shack catalog # 900-4437)
 Common-cathode 7-segment LED display (Radio Shack catalog # 276-075)
 Eight-position DIP switch (Radio Shack catalog # 275-1301)
 Four 10 kΩ resistors
 Seven 470 Ω resistors
 One 6 volt battery
Caution! The 4511 IC is CMOS, and therefore sensitive to static electricity!

CROSS-REFERENCES
Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 4, chapter 9: "Combinational Logic Functions"

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 How to use the 4511 7-segment decoder/display driver IC
 Gain familiarity with the BCD code
 How to use 7-segment LED assemblies to create decimal digit displays
 How to identify and use both "active-low" and "active-high" logic inputs

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

ILLUSTRATION

INSTRUCTIONS
This experiment is more of an introduction to the 4511 decoder/display driver IC than it is a lesson in
how to "build up" a digital function from lower-level components. Since 7-segment displays are very
common components of digital devices, it is good to be familiar with the "driving" circuits behind
them, and the 4511 is a good example of a typical driver IC.
Its operating principle is to input a four-bit BCD (Binary-Coded Decimal) value, and energize the
proper output lines to form the corresponding decimal digit on the 7-segment LED display. The BCD
inputs are designated A, B, C, and D in order from least-significant to most-significant. Outputs are
labeled a, b, c, d, e, f, and g, each letter corresponding to a standardized segment designation for 7-
segment displays. Of course, since each LED segment requires its own dropping resistor, we must use
seven 470 Ω resistors placed in series between the 4511's output terminals and the corresponding
terminals of the display unit.
Most 7-segment displays also provide for a decimal point (sometimes two!), a separate LED and
terminal designated for its operation. All LEDs inside the display unit are made common to each other
on one side, either cathode or anode. The 4511 display driver IC requires a common-cathode 7-segment
display unit, and so that is what is used here.
After building the circuit and applying power, operate the four switches in a binary counting sequence
(0000 to 1111), noting the 7-segment display. A 0000 input should result in a decimal "0" display, a
0001 input should result in a decimal "1" display, and so on through 1001 (decimal "9"). What happens
for the binary numbers 1010 (10) through 1111 (15)? Read the datasheet on the 4511 IC and see what
the manufacturer specifies for operation above an input value of 9. In the BCD code, there is no real
meaning for 1010, 1011, 1100, 1101, 1110, or 1111. These are binary values beyond the range of a
single decimal digit, and so have no function in a BCD system. The 4511 IC is built to recognize this,
and output (or not output!) accordingly.
Three inputs on the 4511 chip have been permanently connected to either Vdd or ground: the "Lamp
Test," "Blanking Input," and "Latch Enable." To learn what these inputs do, remove the short jumpers
connecting them to either power supply rail (one at a time!), and replace the short jumper with a longer
one that can reach the other power supply rail. For example, remove the short jumper connecting the
"Latch Enable" input (pin #5) to ground, and replace it with a long jumper wire that can reach all the
way to the Vdd power supply rail. Experiment with making this input "high" and "low," observing the
results on the 7-segment display as you alter the BCD code with the four input switches. After you've
learned what the input's function is, connect it to the power supply rail enabling normal operation, and
proceed to experiment with the next input (either "Lamp Test" or "Blanking Input").
Once again, the manufacturer's datasheet will be informative as to the purpose of each of these three
inputs. Note that the "Lamp Test" (LT) and "Blanking Input" (BI) input labels are written with boolean
complementation bars over the abbreviations. Bar symbols designate these inputs as active-low,
meaning that you must make each one "low" in order to invoke its particular function. Making an
active-low input "high" places that particular input into a "passive" state where its function will not be
invoked. Conversely, the "Latch Enable" (LE) input has no complementation bar written over its
abbreviation, and correspondingly it is shown connected to ground ("low") in the schematic so as to not
invoke that function. The "Latch Enable" input is an active-high input, which means it must be made
"high" (connected to Vdd) in order to invoke its function.