Note the following details of the code protection feature on Microchip devices:
•Microchip products meet the specification contained in their particular Microchip Data Sheet.
•Microchip believes that its family of products is one of the most secure families of its kind on the market today, when used in the
intended manner and under normal conditions.
•There are dishonest and possibly illegal methods used to breach the code protection feature. All of these methods, to our
knowledge, require using the Microchip products in a manner outside the operating specifications contained in Microchip’s Data
Sheets. Most likely, the person doing so is engaged in theft of intellectual property.
•Microchip is willing to work with the customer who is concerned about the integrity of their code.
•Neither Microchip nor any other semiconductor manufacturer can guarantee the security of their code. Code protection does not
mean that we are guaranteeing the product as “unbreakable.”
Code protection is constantly evolving. We at Microchip are committed to continuously improving the code protection features of our
products. Attempts to break Microchip’s code protection feature may be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If such acts
allow unauthorized access to your software or other copyrighted work, you may have a right to sue for relief under that Act.
Information contained in this publication regarding device
applications and the like is provided only for your convenience
and may be superseded by updates. It is your responsibility to
ensure that your application meets with your specifications.
MICROCHIP MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY OR
OTHERWISE, RELATED TO THE INFORMATION,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ITS CONDITION,
QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR PURPOSE. Microchip disclaims all liability
arising from this information and its use. Use of Microchip
devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at
the buyer’s risk, and the buyer agrees to defend, indemnify and
hold harmless Microchip from any and all damages, claims,
suits, or expenses resulting from such use. No licenses are
conveyed, implicitly or otherwise, under any Microchip
intellectual property rights.
Trademarks
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, Accuron,
dsPIC, K
EELOQ, microID, MPLAB, PIC, PICmicro, PICSTART,
PRO MATE, PowerSmart, rfPIC and SmartShunt are
registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated
in the U.S.A. and other countries.
AmpLab, FilterLab, Migratable Memory, MXDEV, MXLAB,
SEEVAL, SmartSensor and The Embedded Control Solutions
Company are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology
Incorporated in the U.S.A.
Analog-for-the-Digital Age, Application Maestro, dsPICDEM,
dsPICDEM.net, dsPICworks, ECAN, ECONOMONITOR,
FanSense, FlexROM, fuzzyLAB, In-Circuit Serial
Programming, ICSP, ICEPIC, Linear Active Thermistor, Mindi,
MiWi, MPASM, MPLIB, MPLINK, PICkit, PICDEM,
PICDEM.net, PICLAB, PICtail, PowerCal, PowerInfo,
PowerMate, PowerTool, REAL ICE, rfLAB, rfPICDEM, Select
Mode, Smart Serial, SmartTel, Total Endurance, UNI/O,
WiperLock and ZENA are trademarks of Microchip
Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other countries.
SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated
in the U.S.A.
All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their
respective companies.
Microchip received ISO/TS-16949:2002 certification for its worldwide
headquarters, design and wafer fabrication facilities in Chandler and
Tempe, Arizona, Gresham, Oregon and Mountain View, California. The
Company’s quality system processes and procedures are for its
PICmicro
EEPROMs, microperipherals, nonvolatile memory and analog
products. In addition, Microchip’s quality system for the design and
manufacture of development systems is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
All documentation becomes dated, and this manual is no exception. Microchip tools and
documentation are constantly evolving to meet customer needs, so some actual dialogs
and/or tool descriptions may differ from those in this document. Please refer to our web site
(www.microchip.com) to obtain the latest documentation available.
Documents are identified with a “DS” number. This number is located on the bottom of each
page, in front of the page number. The numbering convention for the DS number is
“DSXXXXXA”, where “XXXXX” is the document number and “A” is the revision level of the
document.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains general information that will be useful to know before using the
MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board. Items discussed in this chapter
include:
• Document Layout
• Conventions Used in this Guide
• Recommended Reading
• The Microchip Web Site
• Customer Support
• Document Revision History
DOCUMENT LAYOUT
This document describes how to use the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s
Board as a development tool. The manual layout is as follows:
• Chapter 1. “Product Overview” – Important information about the MCP355X
Sensor Application Developer’s Board.
• Chapter 2. “Hardware Description”– Includes detailed description of the
hardware for the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board.
• Chapter 3. “Firmware Description” – Includes detailed description of the
software for the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board.
• Chapter 4. “DataView” - Includes detail description of the DataView software.
• Appendix A. “Schematic and Layouts” – Shows the schematic and layout
diagrams for the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board.
• Appendix B. “Bill Of Materials (BOM)” – Lists the parts used to build the
MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board
Choice of mutually exclusive
arguments; an OR selection
Represents code supplied by
user
“Save project before build”
4‘b0010, 2‘hF1
any valid filename
[options]
errorlevel {0|1}
var_name...]
void main (void)
{ ...
}
RECOMMENDED READING
This user's guide describes how to use MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s
Board. The following Microchip documents are available and recommended as
supplemental reference resources.
MCP3550/1/3 Data Sheet, “Low-Power Single Channel 22-Bit Delta-Sigma ADCs”
(DS21950)
This data sheet provides detailed information regarding the MCP3550/1/3 device.
AN1007, “Designing With The MCP3551 Delta Sigma ADC” (DS01007)
This application note documents the design decisions associated with this device.
Microchip provides online support via our web site at www.microchip.com. This web
site is used as a means to make files and information easily available to customers.
Accessible by using your favorite internet browser, the web site contains the following
information:
• Product Support – Data sheets and errata, application notes and sample
programs, design resources, user’s guides and hardware support documents,
latest software releases and archived software
• General Technical Support – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), technical
support requests, online discussion groups, Microchip consultant program
member listing
• Business of Microchip – Product selector and ordering guides, latest Microchip
press releases, listing of seminars and events, listings of Microchip sales offices,
distributors and factory representatives
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Users of Microchip products can receive assistance through several channels:
• Distributor or Representative
• Local Sales Office
• Field Application Engineer (FAE)
• Technical Support
• Development Systems Information Line
Customers should contact their distributor, representative or field application engineer
for support. Local sales offices are also available to help customers. A listing of sales
offices and locations is included in the back of this document.
Technical support is available through the web site at: http://support.microchip.com
This chapter provides an overview of the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s
Board and covers the following topics:
• What is the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board?
• What the MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board Kit includes
1.2WHAT IS THE MCP355X SENSOR APPLICATION DEVELOPER’S BOARD?
The MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board allows for easy system design of
high resolution systems such as weigh scale, temperature sensing, or other small
signal systems requiring precise signal conditioning circuits. The reference design
includes firmware that performs all the necessary functions including ADC sampling,
USB communication for PC data analysis, LCD display output, zero cancellation, full
scale calibration, and units display in gram (g), kilogram (kg), or ADC output units.
Figure 1-1 shows the LCD display output in kg of a high resolution system.
The MCP355X Sensor Application Developer’s Board’s purpose is to ease development of small signal sensor MCP355X applications such as weigh scales. There are
two circuits, or channels, to allow for comparison of different approaches to signal
conditioning circuits. The first channel is a low-cost, low-power signal conditioning
circuit that uses Microchip’s MCP6XX amplifiers. This circuit is intended to be a
reference design for low power, low cost MCP355X applications requiring intermediate
ranges of signal gain.
The second channel uses a precision amplifier with high gain. It is intended to be a
reference design for MCP355X circuits that can require higher resolution.
The board has jumper connections and screw terminals to connect external sensors
such as load cells or RTD temperature sensors. The board easily accomodates both
4-wire and 6-wire load cells sensor connections.
The system includes two PICmicro MCUs for firmware development and data analysis
through either an LCD display or graphically on a PC using a USB connection. A
PIC16F877 communicates with the two MCP355X channels, push-buttons and LCD
display.
For data analysis on the PC the USB PIC18F4550 is used. This device collects the
post processed PIC16F877 data and passes it via USB to the PC for display on
DataView software.