A question about millis()

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm trying to make a stopwatch display a time delay of a sensor when it detects the object on conveyor. Just wondering if there's anyway to store the millis() value in a point of time and minus to another ongoing millis() and get the work as a stopwatch.

2

In your Arduino IDE, open File -> Examples -> 02. Digital -> BlinkWithoutDelay.

That should give you an idea of how it's done.

1 Like
3

Always use unsigned long variables for millis() and micros(), for example:

unsigned long start_time = millis();
...
unsigned long elapsed_time = millis() - start_time;
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4

Sure

unsigned long start_mS = millis();
// some code here
unsigned long stop_mS = millis();  
Serial.print(F("elapsed time mS:")); Serial.println(stop_mS - start_mS);

Also check out my tutorial on How to write Timers and Delays in Arduino

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5

I tried this but it display 00:00

6

try using micros() instead of millis();
and post the actual code you are running

7 
#include <TM1637.h>
#include <TM1637Display.h>
#define CLK 8
#define DIO 9
int zoneinput = 3; 
int inhiritoutput = 2;
int zonecheck; 

TM1637 tm(CLK,DIO);

void setup() {
  pinMode(zoneinput, INPUT);
  pinMode(inhiritoutput, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600); 
  tm.init();
  tm.set(2);
}

void loop() {
  zonecheck = digitalRead(zoneinput); 
  Serial.println(zonecheck);  
  delay(500);  

 if(zonecheck == 1) // sensor haven't triggered
  {
    tm.display(3,10);
    tm.display(2,1);
    tm.display(1,0);
    tm.display(0,15);
    tm.point(POINT_OFF);
  }
  else if(zonecheck == 0) // sensor triggered and time start counts
  {  
  int total;
  unsigned long prev = millis();
  unsigned long sec = millis();
  total = sec - prev;
  
  // This part will display my time on module. 
  tm.display (3,total%10);
  int pos2 = total/100;
  tm.display (2,pos2%10);
  int pos1 = pos2 /10;
  tm.display (1,pos1%10);
  int pos0 = pos1 /10;
  tm.display (0,pos0%10);
  tm.point(POINT_ON);
  }
  }
8

Two points
i) total should be also unsigned long and
ii) nothing happens between these two statements
unsigned long prev = millis();
unsigned long sec = millis();
so no change in millis(); (well almost always no change)
you need to change the code so that
prev = millis() is only called once when the timer starts.

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9

That's exactly what I'm doing :rofl:

finding a way to only call prev when it's triggered

10

Well you can add a global boolean to say triggered
like

bool triggered = false;
unsigned long prev;   // make this a global

and

else if(zonecheck == 0) // sensor triggered and time start counts
  {  
 unsigned long total;
if (!triggered) {
   triggered = true;
  prev = millis();
}
 unsigned long sec = millis();
  total = sec - prev;

BUT... how do you decide when to un-trigger the timer?

Finally instead of the delay(500) to slow down the prints try a millis() timer
see How to write Timers and Delays in Arduino
and Multi-tasking in Arduino

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11

This worked! Appreciate a lot.

I'll figure out later how to un-triggered. You the best, thanks again!

12

I want it to untriggered when the sensor is no longer detect the object . And the program starts again in loop.

13

how about

if (zonecheck == 1)  
  // stop/reset timer 
  triggered = false;
} else if (zonecheck == 0) {
  etc..
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15

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