Dear Community,
I am using the accelerometer ADXL346Z from analog Devices.
I am trying to detect a free fall in order to send an alarm signal.
As a first step, I compiled and checked the two examples provided in the following URL:
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/240
Following a similar scheme respect the advanced example I have built the following code:
#include <SPI.h>
//Assign the Chip Select signal to pin 10.
int CS = 10;
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//ADXL345 Register Addresses
#define DEVID 0x00 //Device ID Register
#define THRESH_TAP 0x1D //Tap Threshold
#define OFSX 0x1E //X-axis offset
#define OFSY 0x1F //Y-axis offset
#define OFSZ 0x20 //Z-axis offset
#define DURATION 0x21 //Tap Duration
#define LATENT 0x22 //Tap latency
#define WINDOW 0x23 //Tap window
#define THRESH_ACT 0x24 //Activity Threshold
#define THRESH_INACT 0x25 //Inactivity Threshold
#define TIME_INACT 0x26 //Inactivity Time
#define ACT_INACT_CTL 0x27 //Axis enable control for activity and inactivity detection
#define THRESH_FF 0x28 //free-fall threshold
#define TIME_FF 0x29 //Free-Fall Time
#define TAP_AXES 0x2A //Axis control for tap/double tap
#define ACT_TAP_STATUS 0x2B //Source of tap/double tap
#define BW_RATE 0x2C //Data rate and power mode control
#define POWER_CTL 0x2D //Power Control Register
#define INT_ENABLE 0x2E //Interrupt Enable Control
#define INT_MAP 0x2F //Interrupt Mapping Control
#define INT_SOURCE 0x30 //Source of interrupts
#define DATA_FORMAT 0x31 //Data format control
#define DATAX0 0x32 //X-Axis Data 0
#define DATAX1 0x33 //X-Axis Data 1
#define DATAY0 0x34 //Y-Axis Data 0
#define DATAY1 0x35 //Y-Axis Data 1
#define DATAZ0 0x36 //Z-Axis Data 0
#define DATAZ1 0x37 //Z-Axis Data 1
#define FIFO_CTL 0x38 //FIFO control
#define FIFO_STATUS 0x39 //FIFO status
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//This buffer will hold values read from the ADXL345 registers.
char values[10];
char output[20];
//These variables will be used to hold the x,y and z axis accelerometer values.
int x, y, z;
boolean alarm = false;
void setup() {
//Initiate an SPI communication instance.
SPI.begin();
//Configure the SPI connection for the ADXL345.
SPI.setDataMode(SPI_MODE3);
//Create a serial connection to display the data on the terminal.
Serial.begin(9600);
//Set up the Chip Select pin to be an output from the Arduino.
pinMode(CS, OUTPUT);
//Before communication starts, the Chip Select pin needs to be set high.
digitalWrite(CS, HIGH);
//Create an interrupt that will trigger when a tap is detected.
attachInterrupt(0, fall, RISING);
//Put the ADXL345 into +/- 4G range by writing the value 0x01 to the DATA_FORMAT register.
writeRegister(DATA_FORMAT, 0x01);
//Send the Frefall interrupt to INT1, others INT2
writeRegister(INT_MAP, 0xFB);
//Enable only the frefall int
writeRegister(INT_ENABLE, 0x04);
//Frefall parameters
writeRegister(THRESH_FF, 0x05); //free-fall threshold
writeRegister(TIME_FF, 0x14); //Free-Fall Time
//Put the ADXL345 into Measurement Mode by writing 0x08 to the POWER_CTL register.
writeRegister(POWER_CTL, 0x08); //Measurement mode
readRegister(INT_SOURCE, 1, values); //Clear the interrupts from the INT_SOURCE register.
}
void loop() {
//Reading 6 bytes of data starting at register DATAX0 will retrieve the x,y and z acceleration values from the ADXL345.
//The results of the read operation will get stored to the values[] buffer.
readRegister(DATAX0, 6, values);
//The ADXL345 gives 10-bit acceleration values, but they are stored as bytes (8-bits). To get the full value, two bytes must be combined for each axis.
//The X value is stored in values[0] and values[1].
x = ((int)values[1] << 8) | (int)values[0];
//The Y value is stored in values[2] and values[3].
y = ((int)values[3] << 8) | (int)values[2];
//The Z value is stored in values[4] and values[5].
z = ((int)values[5] << 8) | (int)values[4];
//Print the results to the terminal.
Serial.print(x, DEC);
Serial.print(',');
Serial.print(y, DEC);
Serial.print(',');
Serial.println(z, DEC);
delay(100);
if(alarma == true){
Serial.println("ALARMA");
delay(5000);
alarma = false;
}
detachInterrupt(0);
delay(500);
attachInterrupt(0, fall, RISING);
}
//This function will write a value to a register on the ADXL345.
//Parameters:
// char registerAddress - The register to write a value to
// char value - The value to be written to the specified register.
void writeRegister(char registerAddress, char value){
//Set Chip Select pin low to signal the beginning of an SPI packet.
digitalWrite(CS, LOW);
//Transfer the register address over SPI.
SPI.transfer(registerAddress);
//Transfer the desired register value over SPI.
SPI.transfer(value);
//Set the Chip Select pin high to signal the end of an SPI packet.
digitalWrite(CS, HIGH);
}
//This function will read a certain number of registers starting from a specified address and store their values in a buffer.
//Parameters:
// char registerAddress - The register addresse to start the read sequence from.
// int numBytes - The number of registers that should be read.
// char * values - A pointer to a buffer where the results of the operation should be stored.
void readRegister(char registerAddress, int numBytes, char * values){
//Since we're performing a read operation, the most significant bit of the register address should be set.
char address = 0x80 | registerAddress;
//If we're doing a multi-byte read, bit 6 needs to be set as well.
if(numBytes > 1)address = address | 0x40;
//Set the Chip select pin low to start an SPI packet.
digitalWrite(CS, LOW);
//Transfer the starting register address that needs to be read.
SPI.transfer(address);
//Continue to read registers until we've read the number specified, storing the results to the input buffer.
for(int i=0; i<numBytes; i++){
values[i] = SPI.transfer(0x00);
}
//Set the Chips Select pin high to end the SPI packet.
digitalWrite(CS, HIGH);
}
void fall(void){
//Clear the interrupts on the ADXL345
readRegister(INT_SOURCE, 1, values);
alarm = true;
}
I have set the minimum values for the free fall threshold and the free fall time.
Everything seems correct to me, but when I test the sketch, wich means throwing down the board with the sensor, no one alarm is showed.
Someone has any suggestion or idea?
Thanks in advance for your time.
