Lec5 : Interrupts

For more details, refer to:

• Chapter 6, T. Wilmishurst, Designing Embedded Systems with PIC
Microcontrollers, 2010.

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Interrupts

n Fundamental concept in computation

n Interrupt execution of a program to handle an event
n Don’t have to rely on program relinquishing control
n Can code program without worrying about others
n Issues
n What can interrupt and when?
n Where is the code that knows what to do?
n How long does it take to handle interruption?
n Can an interruption be, in turn, interrupted?
n How does the interrupt handling code communicate its results?
n How is data shared between interrupt handlers and programs?
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main idea of interrupts

n Computer CPU is a deeply orderly entity, following the instructions of the program one
by one and doing what it is told in a precise and predictable fashion.
n An interrupt disturbs this order.
n Its function is to alert the CPU in no uncertain terms that some significant external
event has happened, to stop it from what it is doing and force it (at the greatest speed
possible) to respond to what has happened.
n Originally interrupts were applied to allow emergency external events, such as power
failure, the system overheating or major failure of a subsystem to get the attention of
the CPU.
n But the concept of interrupts was recognized as being very powerful.
+ Interrupt Classifications
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n Some categories are:

n Internal/ External
n Hardware/ Software
n Maskable/ Non-maskable
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What is an Interrupt?

n Reaction to something in I/O (human, comm link)

n Usually asynchronous to processor activities
n interrupt handler or interrupt service routine (ISR)
n invoked to take care of condition causing interrupt
n Change value of internal variable (count)
n Read a data value (sensor, receive)
n Write a data value (actuator, send)
+ Interrupt structures
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n Differentmicrocontrollers have rather different interrupt structures.

n They have more than one interrupt source, usually with some internally
generated and others external.
n A simple generic interrupt structure
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Example:
The 16F84A interrupt structure
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INTCON register (16F84A )

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Saving and Restoring Context

n How much context to save?
n Registers, flags, program counter, etc.
n Save all or part?
n Agreement needed between ISR and program

n Where should it be saved?

n Stack, special memory locations, shadow registers, etc.
n How much room will be needed on the stack?
n Nested interrupts may make stack reach its limit – what then?

n Restore context when ISR completes

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Prioritizing Interrupts

n When multiple interrupts happen simultaneously

n Which is serviced first?
n Fixed or flexible priority?

n Priority interrupts
n Higherpriority can interrupt
n Lower priority can’t

n Maskable interrupts
n Don’t bother me with that right now
n Not all interrupts are maskable, some are non-maskable
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Interrupt Jump Vector Table

n Fixed location in memory to find

first instruction for each type of
interrupt
n Only room for one instruction
n JMP to location of complete ISR
n On system reset, the vector
table is fixed at address
0x00000000.
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Interrupt Response Sequence of

Events
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Chain of Events on Interrupt

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Working with Interrupts (for PIC16F84A)

n Itis easy to write simple programs with just one interrupt.

n Using Assembly language!
n For success, the essential points to watch are:
n Start the ISR at the interrupt vector, location 0004.
n Enable the interrupt that is to be used by setting the enable bit in the
INTCON register.
n Set the Global Enable bit, GIE.
n Clear the interrupt flag within the ISR.
n End the ISR with a retfie instruction.
n Ensure that the interrupt source, for example Port B or Timer 0, is actually
set up to generate interrupts!
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Shared Data Problem

n When you use interrupts you create the opportunity for

multiple sections of code to update a variable.
n This might cause a problems in your logic if an interrupt
updates a variable between two lines of code that are directly
dependent on each other (e.g. if statement)
n One solution is to create critical sections where you disable
the interrupts for a short period of time while you complete
your logic on the shared variable
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COUNTERS & TIMERS

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The counter as a timer

n It is extremely useful for a microcontroller to be able to count – widgets
passing on a conveyor belt, for example, coins in a slot machine, or people
going through a door.
n It is, however, especially useful if it can measure time, and the counter
allows us to do this.
n Suppose the input signal of a counter is a stable 1 kHz clock frequency.
n Then the counter would increment exactly every 1 ms.
n After 16 clock cycles, exactly 16 ms would have elapsed, after 31 cycles 31 ms and
so on.
n By starting the clock input at a moment of choice, it is therefore possible to
measure elapsed time.
n The resolution of the measurement is determined by the period of the clock.
n In this example the resolution is 1 ms and we can’t measure anything less
than that, or a fraction of it.
+ The challenge of time measurement
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n The actual measurement seems easy – start the

counter/timer running when the first event occurs and
stop it at the moment of the second.
n In practice, this poses a number of challenges.
n For an accurate measurement, the start and stop of the
counter/timer must be perfectly synchronized with the
events.
n The best way of doing this is by using an interrupt.
n If we don’t have an interrupt, then we will have to
continuously scan the input to detect when the event
occurs .
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The Watchdog Timer

nA big danger with any computer-based system is that the software
fails in some way and that the system locks up or becomes
unresponsive.
n In a desktop computer such a lock-up can be annoying and one
would normally have to reboot.
n In an embedded system it can be disastrous, as there may be no
user to notice that there is something wrong and maybe no user
interface anyway.
n The WDT offers a fairly brutal ‘solution’ to this problem.
n It is a counter, internal to the microcontroller, which is continually
counting up If it ever overflows, it forces the microcontroller into
Reset.
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Sleep Mode
n It is an important way of saving power.
n The microcontroller can be put into this mode by executing the
instruction SLEEP.
n Once in Sleep mode, the microcontroller almost goes into
suspended animation.
n The clock oscillator is switched off, the WDT is cleared, program
execution is suspended, all ports retain their current settings, and
the PD and TO bits in the Status register are cleared and set
respectively.
n If enabled, the WDT continues running.
n Under these conditions, power consumption falls to a negligible
amount.
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Wakes from Sleep Mode

nThe MCU wakes from Sleep in the following situations:

n External reset through MCLR pin.
n WDT wake-up.
n Occurrence of interrupt.

nOn wake-up, the oscillator circuit is restarted.

nThe Sleep mode is extremely powerful for products that
must be designed in a power conscious way.
n Battery-based devices
n WSN
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STM32 Sleep Mode

In Sleep mode, the CPU clock is off, but there is no effect on other clocks or analog
clock sources. All peripherals continue to operate and can wake up the CPU when an
interrupt or event occurs.
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SAMPLE PROJECT

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Example:Keypad/Display

When you press a key,

Display it on the 7-segment
+ Downstream - BL0114 - Combo 25
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+ the LCD_4x20 component 29

The Start routine is required to initialize the LCD screen, so that the
microcontroller knows it exists, and sets up timing routines etc.
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