NT3881D
character patterns from the CG RAM. Character codes
from 10H to 1FH and from 80H to 9FH map to full
character patterns. Character codes from E0H to FFH
are assigned to generate 5 X 10 dot character patterns,
and other codes are used to generate 5x8 dot character
patterns.
Functional Description
The NT3881D is a dot-matrix LCD controller and driver
LSI. It operates with either
a 4-bit or an 8-bit
microprocessor (MPU). The NT3881D receives both
instructions and data from the MPU. Some instructions
set operation modes, such as the function mode, data
entry mode, and display mode; as well as some control
LCD display functions, such as clear display, restore
display, shift display, and cursor. Other instructions
include read and write both data and addresses. All
instructions allow users convenient and powerful
functions to control the LCD dot-matrix displays.
2. 240 Characters:
The CG ROM contains 192 5 X 8 dot character patterns
and 48 5 X 10 dot character patterns. An example of this
type is the NT3881D-02, in which the relation between
the character codes and character patterns is shown in
Table 2.
The character codes from 00H to 0FH are used to get
character patterns from the CG RAM. Character codes
from 10H to 1FH and from E0H to FFH are assigned to
generate 5 X 10 dot character patterns, and other codes
to generate 5 X 8 dot character patterns. No null
character pattern exists in this type. Note that the
underlined cursor, displayed on the 8th duty may be
obscure if the 8th row of a dot character pattern is coded.
We recommend that users display the cursor in the
blinking mode if they code 5x8 dot character patterns is
their custom CG ROM.
Data is written into and read from the Data Display RAM
(DD RAM) or the Character Generator RAM (CG RAM).
As display character codes, the data stored in the DD
RAM decodes a set of dot-matrix character patterns that
are built into the Character Generator ROM (CG ROM).
The CG ROM, with many character patterns (up to 256
patterns), defines the character pattern fonts. The
NT3881D regularly scans the character patterns through
the segment drivers. The CG RAM stores character
pattern fonts at run time if users intend to show character
patterns that are not defined in the CG ROM. This
feature makes character display flexible. Other unused
bytes can be used as general-purpose data storage.
3. 256 Characters:
The CG ROM contains 192 5 X 8 dot character patterns
and 64 5 X 10 dot character patterns. No adequate
example is presented here.
The only difference between this type and the just
mentioned second type is that the character codes from
00H to 0FH get character patterns from the CG ROM
rather than from the CG RAM. These character codes
are assigned to generate 5 X 10 dot character patterns.
In this application, the CG RAM would be employed as a
general-purpose data storage.
The LCD driver circuit consists of 16 common signal
drivers and 40 segment signal drivers allowing a variety
of application configurations to be implemented.
Additionally, the user can extend display size by
cascading the segment driver LSI NT3882. The
maximum display dimensions can be either 80
characters in a 1-line display or 40 characters in a 2-line
display.
Character Generator ROM (CG ROM)
Custom character patterns are available by mask-
programming ROM. For convenience of character
pattern development, NOVATEK has developed a user-
friendly editor program for the NT3881D to help
determine the character patterns users prefer. By
executing the program on the computer, users can easily
create and modify their character patterns. By
transferring the resulting files generated by the program
The character generator ROM generates LCD dot
character patterns from the 8-bit character pattern codes.
The NT3881D provides 3 CG ROM configurations:
1. 192 Characters:
The CG ROM contains 160 5 X 8 dot character patterns
and 32 5 X 10 dot character patterns. An example is the
NT3881D-01, in which the relation between the character
codes and character patterns is shown in Table 1. The
character codes from 00H to 0FH are used to get
through
a modem or some other communication
method, the user and NOVATEK have established a
reliable, fast link for programming the CG ROM.
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