LCD 16x2 and 16x4 Driver

Copyright (C) 2013 RS Tecnologia.

The Project

This project aims to create a driver for communication and manipulation of a 16x2 and 16x4 lcd display via I2C protocol. Using a PCF8574 IO expander (IC)..

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1. Use - This driver creates a file structure to facilitate its use as described below:
   1. line1
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line1 - Write only.
      2. Writing a text on line 1 of the display. Command: echo "Text" > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line1.
   2. line2
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line2 - Write only.
      2. Writing a text on line 2 of the display. Command: echo "Text" > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line2.
   3. line3 - Only LCD16x4
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line3 - Write only.
      2. Writing a text on line 2 of the display. Command: echo "Text" > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line3.
   4. line4 - Only LCD16x4
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line4 - Write only.
      2. Writing a text on line 2 of the display. Command: echo "Text" > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/line4.
   5. clear
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/clear - Write only.
      2. Clears all text display. Command: echo 0 > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/clear.
   6. backlight
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/backlightr - Write only.
      2. Turns off the Backlight. Command: echo 0 > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/backlight.
      3. Turns on the Backlight. Command: echo 1 > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/backlight.
   7. command
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/command - Write only.
      2. Sends a byte of command to the display. Command: echo 192 > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/command.
   8. data
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/data - Write only.
      2. Sends a byte of data to the display. Command: echo 192 > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/data.
   9. new_caracter
      1. /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/new_caracter - Write only.
      2. Sends a new character into CGRAM of the display. Command: echo char_file.chr > /sys/class/display/lcdxy/device/new_caracter.
      3. The file should contain 9 bytes. The first is the character position in the CGRAM and the next eight bytes form the character.
      4. To print the character set, the cursor must be positioned using COMMAND file and then sent to the CGRAM position to be printed on the display using the DATA file.

**Install the Module in Beaglebone Black or Raspberry Pi**

1. Download the lcd folder and copy the path to the kernel source code BEAGLEBONE or Raspberry Pi: /usr/src/beagle-3.8/KERNEL/drivers/misc/
2. Change the Makefile that is on the way: /usr/src/beagle-3.8/KERNEL/drivers/misc/Makefile
   1. Add: "obj-y + = lcd/"
3. Change the Makefile that is on the way: /usr/src/beagle-3.8/KERNEL/drivers/misc/Kconfig
   1. Add: source "drivers/misc/lcd/Kconfig"
4. Compile the kernel, generating modules lcd16x2.ko and lcd16x4.ko

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**Instantiating the device in user space**

To instantiate the device lcd16x2 or lcd16x4, just run the following command respecting the device address, coforme below:

LCD 16x2 - address 0x27:

  echo lcd16x2 0x27 > /sys/bus/i2c/devices/i2c-1/new_device

LCD 16x4 - address 0x27:

  echo lcd16x4 0x27 > /sys/bus/i2c/devices/i2c-1/new_device

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**Instantiating the device in kernel space on Beaglebone Black with Device Tree**

Edit the file: /usr/src/beagle-3.8/KERNEL/arch/arm/boot/dts/am335x-bone-common.dtsi and add the following code before the SLOT@3:

slot@4 {
lcd16x2 = <&cape_lcd16x2_1>; 
};

Edit the file: /usr/src/beagle-3.8/KERNEL/arch/arm/boot/dts/am335x-bone-common.dtsi and add the following code before the CAPE_EEPROM3:

cape_lcd16x2_1: cape_lcd16x2_1@27 {
compatible = "at,lcd16x2";
reg = <0x27>; 
};

Compile the kernel

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Support

Developer: Tiago Sousa Rocha - [email protected] - +558396541382 and +558381115793