Built-in Controller VFD: BC-VFD

The Built-in Controller VFD module type has been discontinued. However, we will keep this page up for historical technical reference.

What is BC-VFD

BC-VFD or built-in controller Vacuum Fluorescent Display has the dependable and reliable CU-U Series HD44780 compatible controller built-in to the display glass package.

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Benefits

What are the benefits?

– Reliability

Driver and control chips are built-in to Vacuum Enclosure. Field proven CU-U Series HD44780 compatible controller is used.

– Easy to use

Common Code Library with CU-U can be used.
Simple 3-wire synchronous serial interface.

– Design flexibility

Space saving by embedding a BC-VFD directly into your design.

– Cost saving

Display can be made with only adding a simple power supply.

Available Models and Sizes (mm)

Typical Font Size

  • 20×2 DS2025R 96.0 x 24.0 x 5.8
  • 20×4 DS2045G 96.0 x 35.0 x 8.0

Medium Font Size

  • 20×2 DS2029H130.0 x 32.0 x 6.7
  • 20×4 DS2049E130.0 x 55.0 x 9.2

Large Font Size

  • 20×2 DS202MZ 186.0 x 36.0 x 7.0
  • 20×4 DS2049F195.0 x 59.0 x 11.2

Design flexibility

Embed directly into your design

BC-VFD can be mounted on your PCB and its 2 mm pitch lead pins can be soldered directly.

Compact design

Height

Smaller height :DS2045G has 42% height compared to 20×4 CU-U VFD module.

Depth

Thin :DS2045G can be mounted with 1/16″ thickness double sided tape. The standard VFD module will require minimum of 1/2″ of clearance.

Circuit required
BC-VFD CU-U VFD module
Logic controller Integrated CU-U controller Integrated CU-U controller
Power supply circuit 5V DC and 36V DC required Integrated

DS2049F horse racing demo using Arduino

DS2049F horse racing demo using Arduino

Product image

  • 20×4 5mm Char.:DS2045G DS2045G
  • 20×2 5mm Char.: DS2025RDS2025R

  • 20×2 9mm Char.: DS2029HDS2029H
  • 20×4 9mm Char.: DS2049EDS2049E
  • 20×2 11mm Char.: DS202MZDS202MZ
  • 20×4 9mm Char.: DS2049FDS2049F

Reliability

Same controller as CU-U Series VFD module

  • CU-U series has been the leader in display solutions for over 20 years
  • Controller has been supported for over 20 years
  • Vacuum design allows to withstand the most demanding environment
  • Wide viewing angle display. The display content WILL NOT wash-out like the LCD.
  • Faster display response time and refresh rate allowing data to display clearly.

What is CU-U Series VFD module?

HD44780 compatible character VFD module serving display solutions for over 20 years

Following are example applications for CU-U Series VFD modules:

  • Instrumentations
  • high-end audios
  • Broadcasting equipments
  • PLC
  • Green energy equipments
    EV chargers
    Solar panel inverters
  • Commercial food industry equipments
  • Medical equipments
  • Gaming equipments
  • Vending machines

Long term support

Noritake has supported global demands for industrial displays since 1966. Because of their high quality and life cycles in excess of 10 years, Noritake has enjoyed a long-standing reputation with Fortune 100 companies.

We offer the assistance of experienced and qualified application engineers nationwide, working hand-in-hand to solve customer’s problems and ensure reliable display solutions.

Just-in-time (JIT) programs are also available.

Factory ISO9001 and ISO14001 Certified

Application photos

Application photosApplication photosApplication photosApplication photosApplication photos

Specifications

Specifications Summary

Part Number Instructions Number of characters Display size Viewing area Interfaces Note
DS2025R HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 2 96.0 x 24.0 mm 70.8 x 11.5 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued
DS2029H HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 2 130.0 x 32.0 mm 102.6 x 18.8 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued
DS2045G HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 4 96.0 x 35.0 mm 70.8 x 20.9 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued
DS2049E HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 4 130.0 x 55.0 mm 99.6 x 37.6 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued
DS202MZ HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 2 186.0 x 36.0 mm 159.6 x 23.75 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued
DS2049F HD44780
Brightness control
Set font table		 20 x 4 195.0 x 59.0 mm 164.1 x 42.4 mm SPI (3 wires) Discontinued

Pin Description: DS2045G

Pin number Symbol Function Description
1 – 3 F(+) Filament supply voltage 4.0 V DC to F(-)
26 HOSC2 NC No connect
27 HOSC1 NC No connect
28 T1 Test signal Must be connected to VDD1.
29 NC Not connected –
30 OSCI RC oscillator Must be connected to VDD1 through resistor and capacitor.
R = 200 KΩ, C = 0.01 μF
31 RST Reset signal Used for Power-on reset which is composed by an RC device.
R = 10 KΩ, C = 0.01 μF
Pull-up when connected to MCU
32 SI/SO Data input/output –
33 STB Strobe signal Used as read/write enable signal.
34 SCK Clock signal Shift clock
Data is written at the rising edge
35 VDD1 Logic supply volatage 5.0 V DC
36 – 37 VSS1 Ground 0V
38 VDD2 Display supply volatage 36.0 V DC
41 – 43 F(-) Filament supply voltage Filament bias voltage = 1.0 V DC to Ground

Power Supply Circuit Reference: DS2045G

Power Supply Circuit Reference: DS2045G
Note:Ef,VDD2 and Ek differ by display models.
Symbol Terminal Pin number Function Rating
Ef F(+) 1 – 3 Filament supply voltage 4.0 V DC
167 mA
F(-) 41 – 43
VDD2 VDD2 31 Display supply voltage 36.0 V DC
10 mA
Ek – – Filament bias voltage,Generated by R7 1.0 V DC

Interface

Synchronous serial Data Transfer

Data write

Synchronous serial Data Transfer: Data write

Data read

Synchronous serial Data Transfer: Data read

SPI wiring example

DS2045G SPI wiring diagram

CU-U Code library

Download the CU-U code library

Appendix

Environmental Specifications

Parameter Condition
Operating temperature -40 to +85°C

Optical Specifications

Parameter Condition
Note: Applying the color filter can alter the illumination color and increase the contrast.
More on Noritake color filters >
Luminance Typ. 1000 cd/m²
Color of illumination Green (Blue-green)

Instruction table

Instruction Instruction Code Execution time Descriptions
RS R/W DB7 DB6 DB5 DB4 DB3 DB2 DB1 DB0
Clear display 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 100 µs max Clear all display
DDRAM address set to 0x00
Cursor home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 J/E 1 µs DDRAM address set to 0x00.
Return cursor to its original site and return display to its original status, if shifted.
Contents of DDRAM does not change.
J/E: Select Japanese / European font table

  • J/E = 1, set to Japanese font table
  • J/E = 0, set to European font table
Entry Mode Set 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 I/D S 1 µs Set the moving direction of cursor and display.
I/D: Increment / decrement of DDRAM address
(cursor or blink)

  • I/D = 1, cursor/blink moves to right and DDRAM address is increased by 1.
  • I/D = 0, cursor/blink moves to left and DDRAM address is decreased by 1.

* CGRAM operates the same way as DDRAM, when reading from or writing to CGRAM.
S: Shift of entire display

  • S = 1, shift of entire display is performed according to I/D value (I/D = “High”: shift left, I/D = “Low”: shift right).
  • S = 0, shifting of entire display is not performed.
Display ON/OFF 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 D C B 1 µs Control display/blink ON/OFF 1 bit register.
D: Display ON/OFF control bit

  • D = 1, entire display is turned on.
  • D = 0, display is turned off, but display data remains in DDRAM.

B: Cursor Blink ON/OFF control bit

  • B = 1, cursor blink is on.
  • B = 0, blink is off.
Cursor / Display Shift 0 0 0 0 0 1 S/C R/L – – 1 µs Shifting of right/left cursor position or display without writing or reading of display data.
Shift Patterns according to S/C and R/L bits

S/C R/L Operation
0 0 Shift cursor to the left, address counter is decreased by 1
0 1 Shift cursor to the right, address counter is increased by 1
1 0 Shift all the display to the left, cursor moves according to the display
1 1 Shift all the display to the right, cursor moves according to the display
Function Set 0 0 0 0 1 1 BR3 BR2 BR1 BR0 1 µs Set the brightness of the display.
Brightness setting according to BR3, BR2, BR1 and BR0 bits

BR3 BR2 BR1 BR0 Brightness
0 0 0 0 100.00%
0 0 0 1 93.75%
0 0 1 0 87.50%
0 0 1 1 81.25%
0 1 0 0 75.00%
0 1 0 1 68.75%
0 1 1 0 62.50%
0 1 1 1 56.25%
1 0 0 0 50.00%
1 0 0 1 43.75%
1 0 1 0 37.50%
1 0 1 1 31.25%
1 1 0 0 25.00%
1 1 0 1 18.75%
1 1 1 0 12.50%
1 1 1 1 6.25%
Set CGRAM address 0 0 0 0 1 ACG 1 µs Set CGRAM address to address counter.
See CG RAM
ACG: CGRAM address
Set DDRAM address 0 0 0 1 ADD 1 µs Set DDRAM address to address counter.
See DD RAM address
ADD: DDRAM address
Read busy flag and address 0 0 BF ACC 1 µs This instruction shows whether VFD is in internal operation or not and read the value of the address counter.
BF: Status of VFD

  • BF = 1, internal operation is in progress and should wait until BF is to be Low.
  • BF = 0, ready to receive next instruction.

ACC: Address counter
Write data to RAM 1 0 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 1 µs Write binary 8-bit data to DDRAM/CGRAM.
The selection of RAM from DDRAM, and CGRAM, is set by the previous address set instruction (DDRAM address set, CGRAM address set).
RAM set instruction can also determine the address counter direction to RAM.
After write operation, the address is automatically increased/decreased by 1, according to the entry mode.
Read data to RAM 1 1 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 1 µs Read binary 8-bit data to DDRAM/CGRAM.
The selection of RAM is set by the previous address set instruction.
RAM set instruction can also determine the address counter direction to RAM.
After read operation, address counter is automatically increased/decreased by 1 according to the entry mode.
After CGRAM read operation, display shift will not execute.

Font tables

Font table for DS2045G can be selected by setting the DB0 of the “Cursor home” instruction.

RS R/W DB7 DB6 DB5 DB4 DB3 DB2 DB1 DB0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 J/E

J/E: Select Japanese / European font table

  • J/E = 1, set to Japanese font table
  • J/E = 0, set to European font table
Japanese font table European font table
DS2045G Japanese font table DS2045G European font table

DD RAM address

Line number Number of characters Address range
1 20 0x00 – 0x13
2 20 0x40 – 0x53
3 20 0x14 – 0x27
4 20 0x54 – 0x67

CG RAM

The Character Generator RAM (CGRAM) allows the user to reconstruct the character patterns from 8-bit by software programming. Eight character patterns can be written and constructed using 5 x 7 dots. Areas that are not used for display purposes may be used as general data RAM.

Definable character code (DDRAM data)

  • 0x00 or 0x08
  • 0x01 or 0x09
  • 0x02 or 0x0A
  • 0x04 or 0x0B
  • 0x05 or 0x0C
  • 0x06 or 0x0D
  • 0x07 or 0x0E

Character map

Byte CGRAM data mapping Character pattern
DB7 DB6 DB5 DB4 DB3 DB2 DB1 DB0
Byte 1 – – – 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Byte 2 – – – 6 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10
Byte 3 – – – 11 12 13 14 15 11 12 13 14 15
Byte 4 – – – 16 17 18 19 20 16 17 18 19 20
Byte 5 – – – 21 22 23 24 25 21 22 23 24 25
Byte 6 – – – 26 27 28 29 30 26 27 28 29 30
Byte 7 – – – 31 32 33 34 35 31 21 33 34 35
Byte 8 – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Relationship between Character Code (DDRAM) and Character Pattern (CGRAM)

Character code
(DDRAM data)		 CGRAM address CGRAM data Character pattern
A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0 DB7 DB6 DB5 DB4 DB3 DB2 DB1 DB0
0x00 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5
0 0 1 – – – 1 0 0 0 1 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 1 11 12 13 14 15
0 1 1 – – – 1 1 1 1 1 16 17 18 19 20
1 0 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 21 22 23 24 25
1 0 1 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 26 27 28 29 30
1 1 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 31 21 33 34 35
1 1 1 – – – 0 0 0 0 0 – – – – –
•
•
•
0x08 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5
0 0 1 – – – 1 0 0 0 1 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 1 11 12 13 14 15
0 1 1 – – – 1 1 1 1 1 16 17 18 19 20
1 0 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 21 22 23 24 25
1 0 1 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 26 27 28 29 30
1 1 0 – – – 1 0 0 0 0 31 21 33 34 35
1 1 1 – – – 0 0 0 0 0 – – – – –

Downloads

CU-U Code library

AVR MPU Core library Noritake_VFD_CUU C++ code library and demo files for AVR MPU
Add-on library Noritake_VFD_CUU_Graph Noritake_VFD_CUU_Graph code library takes the input from a source and displays horizontal bar graphs. Various display options available.
NOTE: The Noritake_Graph_CUU code library requires Noritake_VFD_CUU code library. Please download the latest version before use.
Demo files Noritake_VFD_CUU_BrightnessDemo The Noritake_VFD_CUU_BrightnessDemo demonstrates how to change the brightness of the BC-VFD.

NOTE: The Noritake_Graph_CUU code library requires Noritake_VFD_CUU code library. Please download the latest version before use.
Noritake_VFD_CUU_Graph_BarGraphDemo The Noritake_VFD_CUU_Graph_BarGraphDemo demonstrates how to display horizontal bar graphs on the BC-VFD.

NOTE: The Noritake_Graph_CUU code library requires Noritake_VFD_CUU code library andNoritake_VFD_CUU_Graph code library. Please download the latest version before use.
Arduino Core library Arduino_Noritake_VFD_CUU C++ code library and demo files for Arduino
Included demo files Brightness The Brightness demonstrates how to change the brightness of the BC-VFD.
CustomCharDemo The CustomCharDemo demonstrates how to create custom character for the BC-VFD.
HelloDemo The HelloDemo demonstrates how to display “Noritake” to the BC-VFD.