Introduction to

Digital Controllers
Shengwei Wang
Chair Professor of Building Energy and Automation
Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Smart Building
Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE)
Director, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE)
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
 Typical Types of Controllers

• Mechanical Controller
• Electrical Controller
• Electronic Controller
• Pneumatic Controller
• Digital Controller
 Binary Data and Digital Signal
binary hexadecimal octal Decimal
000000 00 00 00
000001 01 01 01
000010 02 02 02
000011 03 03 03
000100 04 04 04
000101 05 05 05
000110 06 06 06
000111 07 07 07
001000 08 10 08
001001 09 11 09
001010 0A 12 10
001011 0B 13 11
001100 0C 14 12
001101 0D 15 13
001110 0E 16 14
001111 0F 17 15
010000 10 20 16

Data bus
All signals (including data, address Address bus

and control signals) within the

computers are in the format of binary Address Contents
digital parallel signal, although
people record them in decimal data
format and human languages usually.
 t t t
Line Voltage Ideal Voltage
level Pulses

Actual Voltage
Pulses

1 0 1
０Volts

Representation of Binary Data by Voltage Pulses

 Temporary store
or registers

ALU

Control unit

Central Processing Unit (CPU) or Microprocessor

 Microprocessor

CONTROL BUS
ADDRESS BUS

DATA BUS
RAM Inputs

ROM Outputs

MEMORY I/O Units

Microcomputer principal architecture and buses

 Data bus

Address bus

Store

Microprocessor or CPU
RAM EPROM
chip chip
ALU

Control
unit

Input unit Output unit

Control bus
sensors Actuators

Typical architecture of control outstation

 Basic Components of a Control Station

Microcomputer - Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Memory Unit
ROM - Read-Only Memory (permanent)
RAM - Radom-Access Memory
EPROM - Erasable and reProgrammable ROM
(1 G = 1,024 M, 1 M = 1,024 K, 1 K =1,024 = 210 )
Buses - Address bus, Data bus, Control bus

I/O - Input/Output
Analog Input (A/D)
Digital Input
Analog Output (D/A)
Digital Output
 Input Units of Controller

• Analogue Input Original

data
(continuous signal)
• Digital input (Binary Sampled
data
on/off signal)
Main technical specification of Reconstructed
data
Analogue to Digital (A/D)
Converter: Speed, Resolution
Resolution of an Input unit is Examples of successful and
unsuccessful sampling
determined by number of
A. Adequate (8 samples/circle);
bits of its A/D converter. B. Bad (< 2 samples/circle)
 Input Units of Controller – A/D conversion
The scaling factor (F): F = Vrange/(2n-1)

When the analogue range is 0 to 10 volts and A/D converter

has 8 bits:
10 volt = Σ(128+64+32+16+8+4+2+1) F = 255 F
F = 10/255 [=Vrange/(28-1)] = 0.0392 volt
Resolution (RA/D) of the A/D converter:
Measurement Band
RA/ D =
2n − 1
The maximum measurement error of A/D
converter is half its resolution
 Output Unit of Controller

• Analogue output – gives continuous signal for

modulating control
• Digital output – gives binary on/off signal for
on/off control)
Resolution (RD/A) of an output unit is determined
by number of bits of its D/A converter.

Output Band
RD / A =
2 −1
n
 Programming Language and Environments

Typical categories of programming languages:

• Machine language - Expressed in Machine Code,
e.g.: 010011000
• Assembler language - Expressed in Mnemonics,
e.g.: LD A, (2240H)
LD B, A
LD A, (2241H)
ADD A, B
LD (2242H), A
HALT
• High-level languages - Expressed in Codes closely
related to English word, e.g.: C, Basic, Fortran, etc.
 Sensor
A sensor might consists of three function elements:
• Sensing element: a component that undergoes a
measurable change in response to a change in the variable
to be measured.
• Transducer: an active device that produces an electrical
signal which is a function of the change in the sensing
element.
• Transmitter: a device that produces an electrical signal that
is a standardised function of the change in the physical
variable and which can be used as an input to the control
module.
 Analogue Sensors
Analogue sensors may be categorized into:
• Passive devices which consist of the sensing element only
and do not contain a transducer. All signal conditioning is
carried out in the controller.
• Active devices which incorporate signal conditioning within
the sensor device and include a transmitter which converts
the measured value to an industry standard electrical signal.

Standard signals for transmission of sensor readings

Signal Application
0-10 V DC Standard for HV AC applications
4-20 mA Common in process control
Voltage-free contact For status indication
Pulse Energy and flow measurement
 Smart Sensors

Sensor + Digital Processing + Interface = Smart Sensor

Capacity of:
Measuring
Logical functions
Decision Making
Two-way communication
 Smart Meter
• A smart meter is usually an electronic
device that records consumption of
electric energy in intervals of an hour or
less and communicates that information
at least daily back to the utility for
monitoring and billing purposes.
• Smart meters enable two-way
communication between the meter and
the central system.
• Smart meters can gather data for remote
reporting.
 Actuators
An actuator responds to the output signal from a controller
and provides the mechanical action to operate the final
control device, which is typically a valve or damper. A wide
range of actuators is available and the chosen actuator must
concerns the following:
• match the mechanical requirements of the controlled
device;
• match the characteristics of the control system, especially
the output signal of the controller
• be suitable for its operating environment.

Popular actuator types:

Electrical actuator, Pneumatic actuators
Thanks!