ORGANIZATION OF MICROCONTROLLER

A simple microcontroller is as shown in figure. It consists of a processor core, serial I/O

port, parallel I/O port, counter / timer, and memory (RAM & ROM). If the internal
memory is not sufficient, there will be a provision to use external memory.
Parallel I/O ports are used to perform parallel communication (between
peripherals and processor core).
Serial I/O ports are basically used to perform serial communication
because all the devices may not be parallel compatible.
Timers are used to generate timing signals at appropriate time intervals
and to count the number of pulses coming on input line if required.
Internal memory is used to store program and data.

EMBEDDED PROCESSOR:

Application specific microcontroller can be called

embedded controllers or embedded processor. The block diagram of embedded processor

is shown in figure

Usually embedded system includes some Analog devices. To communicate with such
devices analog to digital and digital to analog converters are incorporated on chip.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS:

By using some few embedded controllers, a system can be

developed to perform a given task, and then such system is called embedded system.
Examples of embedded systems are Digital camera, microwave oven, ATM, etc.

DIGITAL CAMERA In a digital camera, an array of optical sensor is used to capture

images. Since the charge is an analog quantity, it is converted into digital format using
analog to digital (A / D) converters. The digitized image is now considered as a 2-d
matrix having m x n pixels and each pixel is given a decimal or hex decimal equivalent
number. The processor processes the digitized image data to generate images represented
in standard formats suitable for use in computers, printers, and display devices. Some of

the processing tasks done on an image are: contrast stretching, brightness modification,
smoothing (low pass filtering), sharpening (high pass filtering) etc. The processed images
are stored in a image storage device. A higher resolution image takes more memory space
simply because the numbers of pixels are more. Also, an uncompressed image takes more
space in memory than a compressed image. The image is displayed on a liquid crystal
display (LCD) screen in the camera. A standard interface provides a mechanism for
transferring images to a computer or a printer. This may be serial or parallel interface or a
connector for a standard bus such as PCI or USB. There are other electromechanical parts
such as switches to be operated by the user, motor to rotate the camera for focusing
purpose etc. The system controller must be capable of generating signals to coordinate
and control all such activities.

MICROWAVE OVEN This appliance is based on a magnetron unit, which generates

microwaves used to heat food in a confined space. Using the power levels and the heating
time a parameters, user can have many options for cooking different dishes.

The specification for an oven may include the following options:

Manual selection of power level and cooking time.
Manually selected sequence of different cooking steps.
When the user specifies the type of food (for example, vegetable, or meat) and the
weight of the food, automatic selection of cooking steps.
Appropriate time and power level computation by the controller when type of
food and weight of the food is specified by user.
The oven includes an output display that can show:
Time of they day.
Decrementing clock timer when cooking (showing actual cooking time)
Information messages to the user.

The oven should produce an audio alert signal when the cooking operation is completed.
The oven should have an exhaust fan (for cooling the magnetron) and a light bulb inside.
A switch should be provided which turns the magnetron off is case; the door of the oven
is open. All these function can be controlled by the controller or processor.

The microwave oven needs some input / out put capability to communicate with the user.
This includes.
Input keys: Consisting of a number pad having digits 0 to 9 for selected time etc.
and function keys such as reset, start, stop, and auto defrost, clock set, auto
cooking, fan control etc. Some of the functions can be multiplexed to reduce the
total number of keys to be provided. For example, by pressing a key once or
twice, different function can be implemented.
Visual output in the form of a liquid crystal display (LCD)

 A small speaker that produces the beep tone.