Using PIC18F448 in wireless DC motor control

Abstract – Design of the drive circuitry of a DC motor
using Microchip’s MRF24J40MA wireless module
combined with a PIC18F448 microcontroller and a
MOSFET H-bridge. The wireless transmission is
achieved in the 2.4 Ghz frequency band and the above
mentioned microcontroller communicates with the MRF
module via SPI interface.
Keywords: microcontroller, wireless, H-bridge
I. INTRODUCTION
A host computer will generate command words to
drive the DC motor which are decrypted at reception
by the PIC microcontroller. Thus one can implement
actuation based upon a predefined command table
stored locally in the PIC’s Data EEPROM. The
transmission is achieved using a PIC18F448
communicating with the host PC via RS232 serial
interface and connected to the MRF24J40MA
wireless module provided by Microchip. Reception is
implemented with a similar MRF24J40MA module
connected to a PIC18F448 microcontroller using the
SPI interface. Also this unit drives a full MOSFET H-
bridge suited for a DC motor control thus
implementing a forward or reverse mode.
A serial level converter (S.L.C.) is needed to match
the voltage levels of the serial RS232 interface of the
host PC to the TTL logic levels of the PIC
microcontroller’s similar interface. A MAX232
circuitry will do the job. According to drive the MRF
wireless module, some control signals are needed to
be connected to the PIC18F448, stated as “Control” in
Fig.2., beside the usual SPI interface signals [1].
The receiving unit (R.U.) contains a similar MRF
module and a PIC18F448 microcontroller which not
only controls the wireless module but stores the DC
motor control data sent by the host PC, decrypts the
values for spin direction and speed, drives the
MOSFET H-bridge and processes the feedback
signals from the DC motor. Fig.3. depicts the bloc
diagram of the receiving unit combined with the
motor driving circuitry.
RF PWM x4
SPI
Gate drivers
MRF PIC
18F448 Current Feedback Vc
c
Contr
ol H-Bridge

R
II. SYSTEM OVERWIEV DC Motor

Basically, the entire device can be illustrated as it is

Mechanical Feedback
shown in Fig.1.
Fig.3. Receiving and driving unit
RS23
Host 2 T.U. Wireless RF
PC Signals from the four PWM outputs are forwarded to
the MOSFET H-bridge through adequate gate drivers.
Wireless RF We will use TC428 dual high-speed power MOSFET
drivers [2].
R.U. H M The driving algorithm can use a current feedback to
Bridge regulate the motor torque and a mechanical feedback
to control speed or position. These feedbacks are
optional.
Feedback

Fig.1. System diagram III. DEVICE INTERFACING

Fig.2. indicates a detailed bloc diagram of the The PIC18F448 communicates with the MRF wireless
transmission unit (T.U.). module as it is shown in Fig.4.
RS23
2 S.L.C.

RF
SPI

PIC MRF
18F448

Contr
ol
Fig.2. Transmission unit diagram Fig.4. Connecting PIC18F448 with the MRF24J40MA
The MRF24J40MA module operates in the 2.4 GHz voltage, power management applications [4].
frequency band and is FCC, IC and ETSI compliant. ZXMHC6A07T8 is a complementary 60V
The integrated module design allows quick and enhancement mode MOSFET H-bridge with low gate
simple usage without any supplementary regulatory drive, suitable for this application. Fig.6. gives the
compliance test, thus allowing quicker product circuit configuration and Fig.7. the pinout diagram.
development and time to market [1]. The module
interfaces to the PIC18F448 via 3-wire serial SPI,
using Serial interface data input (SDI), Serial interface
data output (SDO) and Serial interface clock (SCK).
In addition a serial interface enable pin is used (/CS),
connected to a usual I/O line. Furthermore, interrupt,
wake and Reset signals are required to fully operate
the module. Excepting the interrupt, all other lines are
driven by usual I/O microcontroller pins. Table 1
indicates the pin assignment to the MRF and
PIC18F448 interfacing.
Fig.6. ZXMHC6A07T8 configuration
Table 1
PIC RB0 RB1 RB2 RB3 RC3 RC4 RC5
MRF INT /CS Wake / SCK SDI SDO
Reset

In order to command the MOSFET H-bridge, we will

use the built in DC motor control options of the PIC’s
ECCP module (Enhanced Capture/Compare Module)
to provide a simple and efficient driving method.
P1A, P1B, P1C and P1D are the outputs from the
ECCP module (lines RD4 – RD7) and they are Fig.7. ZXMHC6A07T8 pinout diagram
configured as Full Bridge mode (Forward or Reverse)
[2]. Actually, lines RD4 – RD7 are directly connected To implement a bidirectional DC motor control, a
to the inputs of four gate drivers to assure level classic H-bridge wiring configuration is used in
compatibility and proper current drain from the port addition with a current feedback actually proportional
lines. Two TC428 integrated drivers with with the voltage on the resistor R as depicted in Fig.8.
complementary outputs are used as shown in Fig.5. A
TTL/CMOS input voltage level is translated into a PIC18F448
rail-to-rail output voltage level swing. The CMOS
output is within 25 mV of ground or positive supply RA1 P1A P1B P1C P1D
[3].
TC428 InA InB InA InB

(RD4)P1A InA /OutA nMOS TC428 TC428

/OutA OutB /OutA OutB

(RD5)P1B InB OutB pMOS

G1 G2 G4
G3 ZXMHC6A07T8
TC428
(RD6)P1C InA /OutA nMOS S2,S3 S1,S4 D1,D2 D3,D4

(RD7)P1D InB OutB pMOS

M
PIC8F448 R Vcc
Fig.5. Interfacing PIC18F448 to the H-bridge

According to Fig.5. all PWM outputs are active high
thus turning on the respective MOSFET due to
complementary outputs of TC428. Input logic signals
may equal the power supply voltage and the input
current is 1mA, making direct interface to CMOS
microcontrollers simple and easy [3]. The H-bridge
used hereby is a new generation of MOSFETs from
Zetex, utilizing a unique structure that combines the
benefits of low on-resistance with fast switching
speed, making them ideal for high efficiency, low
Fig.8. H-bridge interfacing
Pin RA1 of PIC18F448 is used as an analog input and
should be configured accordingly. Optional
mechanical feedback can be added to the system using
pins RA2, RA3 and RA4 set as digital inputs
depending on the chosen transducer (i.e. incremental).
Any DC motor up to 60V/1A can be used due to the
integrated ZXMHC6A07T8 H-bridge. According to
the used DC motor the R resistor must be
dimensioned properly regarding power dissipation.
IV. SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION
System operation starts when the host PC is sending 8
bit command words to the transmission unit (T.U.) via
the RS232 serial interface. Therefore, the T.U.’s
PIC18F448 USART (Universal Synchronous
Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) is used in
synchronous slave reception. Pin RC6 is assigned for
the serial clock and pin RC7 for the receive Rx signal.
The following steps should be achieved in software
initialization:
-setting the bits SYNC, SPEN;
-clearing the bit CSRC from the TXSTA register;
-clearing the bits CREN, SREN;
-enabling USART interrupts by setting the bit RCIE
from the PIE1 register.
Testing if the USART Receive Interrupt Flag bit,
RCIF is set, will show the end of transmission [5].
Then an interrupt request is generated and a propper
subroutine will read the value from RCREG which
gives the wanted command word. Each received word
is stored afterwards in the data memory of the
receiving unit. Table 2 shows the layout used for the
command word.
Table 2
Bit7 Bit6 Bit5 Bit4 Bit3 Bit2 Bit1
Direction Speed in % of the maximum rpm of the motor
“Direction” can be “0” for clockwise and “1” for
counterclockwise and speed a value between 0 –
100%, encoded binary on 7 bits. The sequence
10001111 means a counterclockwise rotation with
15% of the maximum motor speed.
In order to operate the MRF24J40MA, the MSSP
(Master Synchronous Serial Port) module of the
PIC18F448 must be initialized and entered in SPI
(Serial Peripheral Interface) communication mode.
Pins RC3, RC4 and RC5 are used for the SPI. Also
RB0, RB1, RB2 and RB3 control the MRF, according
to Table 1. Therefore PIC’s TRISB register should be
loaded with the hexadecimal value 0x01 and TRISC
with 0xD0. To write or read data with the MRF, SPI
mode 0 must be used. The maximum SPI clock
frequency must not exceed 10 MHz. Therefore if we
use a 20 MHz oscillator as clock for the PIC18F448, a
software division with 4 is required. To enable the
port, SSPEN bit from SSPCON1 register must be set.
This configures the SDI, SDO, SCK, and SS pins as
serial port pins [2]. Next, bits SSPM<3:0> must be
cleared (in SSPCON1 register) to achieve a division
by 4 of the Fosc (20 MHz). The clock polarity must
be selected by programming the CKP bit from
SSPCON1, the CKE (Clock Edge) and SMP (Sample)
from SSPSTAT register according to SPI waveforms
illustrated in Fig.9. That means, for SPI mode 0 CKP
and CKE will be cleared and the SMP set. When
receiving data, bit BF (Buffer Full) from SSPSTAT
should be flagged. If 0 it means empty and only if it
turns to 1 indicates that SSPBUF has been loaded
with the received data (transmission completed).
When the SSPBUF is read, the BF bit is cleared
which is relevant only when the SPI is a receiver
(used for the receiving unit).
Fig.9. SPI Master mode waveforms
Before operating with the MRF24J40MA, the init
routine should perform a high level setting on /CS (by
setting the RB1 pin) and also the same for the
/RESET (RB3 pin). SPI setup routines must be run on
both microcontrollers (on transmission and receiving
Bit0
units) to initialize the respective wireless modules.
Initializing the MRF24J40MA means to issue a
sequence of auxiliary operations like setting the
transmission channel and enabling or disabling the
interrupts. Also, on start-up, certain control register
values must be initialized for basic operations [1].
First initialization steps are shown as follows.
1. SOFTRST (0x2A) = 0x07 – Perform a software Reset;
2. PACON2 (0x18) = 0x98 – Initialize FIFOEN = 1 and
TXONTS = 0x6;
3. TXSTBL (0x2E) = 0x95 – Initialize RFSTBL = 0x9;
4. RFCON1 (0x201) = 0x01 – Initialize VCOOPT = 0x01;
5. RFCON2 (0x202) = 0x80 – Enable PLL (PLLEN = 1);
6. RFCON6 (0x206) = 0x90 – Initialize TXFIL = 1 and
20MRECVR = 1;
7. RFCON7 (0x207) = 0x80 – Initialize SLPCLKSEL = 0x2
8. RFCON8 (0x208) = 0x10 – Initialize RFVCO = 1;
9. SLPCON1 (0x220) = 0x21 – Initialize CLKOUTEN = 1
and SLPCLKDIV = 0x01;
10. BBREG2 (0x3A) = 0x80 – Set CCA mode to ED;
11. RSSITHCCA (0x3F) = 0x60 – Set CCA ED threshold;
12. BBREG6 (0x3E) = 0x40 – Set appended RSSI value to
RXFIFO.
The next step (13) is to enable interrupts, on pin INT
of the MRF24J40MA to signal the microcontroller
when a successful transmission or reception have
been made. Interrupts are enabled via the INTCON
register (0x32) and the INTSTAT (0x31) indicates the
status of operation and it is automatically cleared
when read. Thus, the INT pin will continue to signal
an interrupt until the INSTAT register is read. Also
the edge polarity of the INT pin should be configured
accordingly to the interrupt input of the PIC18F448.
In our case we choose interrupt on falling edge this
being the default on the MRF module after RESET.
That means INTEDG0 will be cleared in the
INTCON2 register of the PIC18F448 microcontroller.
A channel selection follows (14). The MRF24J40MA
is capable of selecting one of sixteen channel
frequencies in the 2.4 GHz band [5], listed in Table 3.
Table 3
Bits RFCON0<7:4> (address 0x200) select the
desired channel. The current application will use
channel 11. After channel selection we perform as
follows:
15. RFCTL (0x36) = 0x04 – Reset RF state machine;
16. RFCTL (0x36) = 0x00;
17. Delay at least 192 μs.
Step 17 is necessary to allow the RF circuitry to
recalibrate after the RF State Machine Reset [5].
A simple function to receive a word from the MRF
module via SPI interface, after it is set in receiving
mode is written bellow:
void receive(int rvalue)
{
while (!SSPSTAT.F0)
{}
rvalue=SSPBUF;
} Combining known DC motor driving methods with
where rvalue will be loaded with the SSPBUF value
after a successful wireless transmission. When
transmitting a value a simple routine should be used,
like the following:
void transmit(int tvalue)
{
SSPBUF=tvalue;
}
where tvalue is the word issued by the host PC and to
be transmitted to the receiving unit via the MRF.
Based upon the transmitted command word, the
PIC18F448 from the receiving unit generates four
PWM signals using the built in ECCP module. The
PWM period is specified by writing in PR2 register.
The value to be written is given by:
PWM period = [(PR2) + 1] • 4 • TOSC • (TMR2 p.v.) (1)
where TMR2 p.v. is the prescale value set by TMR2
and Tosc is the period of the clock oscillator
according to a 20 MHz frequency that is used. The
PWM duty cycle is calculated using:
PWM duty cycle = (ECCPR1L:ECCP1CON<5:4>) •
TOSC • (TMR2 p.v.) (2)
The ECCPR1L contains the eight MSbs and the
ECCP1CON<5:4> contains the two LSbs thus making
a 10 bit wide word. The EPWM1M<1:0> bits in the
ECCP1CON register allows to switch the ECCP
operation between Full – bridge output forward or
reverse mode. In order to use the ECCP, bits
TRISD<7:4> should be cleared thus making pins
RD7:4 outputs. Table 4 shows the operating modes.
Table 4
MODE ECCP1CON
Forward ‘b01xx1100’
Reverse ‘b11xx1100’
In order to use the current feedback on pin RA1 we
use a initializing routine of PORTA as follows:
void analog_init()
{
PORTA=0;
LATA=0;
ADCON1=0x80;
TRISA=0xFF;
}
When acquiring an analog value, the integrated A/D
converter is used and the conversion is started by
setting bits ADON and GO/Done of ADCON0
register.
V. REMARKS
new concepts regarding wireless communication this
approach is intended to offer support to further
development of automation devices. Focused mainly
on achieving the wireless communication the
proposed method can be used to implement a complex
wireless robotic drive system.
REFERENCES
[1] Microchip Technology Inc., “MRF24J40MA Datasheet”, 2008
[2] Microchip Technology Inc., “PIC Microcontroller CCP and
ECCP Tips’n Tricks”, 2008
[3] Telcom Semiconductor Inc., “TC428 1.5A dual high-speed
power MOSFET drivers”1996
[4] Zetex Semiconductors, “ZXMHC6A07T8 complementary 60V
enhancement mode MOSFET H-bridge Datasheet”, 2005
[5] Microchip Technology Inc., “PIC18F448 Datasheet”, 2001