NeoSegments

NeoSegments is a lightweight Arduino extension library built on top of Adafruit NeoPixel for controlling NeoPixel strips as if they were a seven-segment display. It allows you to easily display digits and symbols on a NeoPixel strip, giving you the flexibility to create custom numeric displays, timers, clocks, or other projects requiring segmented displays.

Features

• Control a NeoPixel strip like a seven-segment display.
• Customizable colors.
• Supports up to 32 elements (digits or symbols) in the display layout.
• Register custom symbols and characters to display.
• Works with any NeoPixel-compatible LED strip.

Hardware Layout

Each digit is built from 7 segments (groups of NeoPixels), laid out similar to a classic seven-segment display. Data flows from the MCU into the first segment (1), and continues through the others in order.

          222
        1     3
        1     3
  IN -> 1     3
          444
        5     7 -> OUT
        5     7 
        5     7
          666

Dependencies

This library depends on the Adafruit NeoPixel Library, which must be installed separately.

Usage

Here is an example sketch that demonstrates how to use the NeoSegments library:

Example

#include "NeoSegments.h"

#define DATA_PIN 11
#define PIXELS_PER_SEGMENT 6
#define NUMBER_OF_SEGMENTS 6
#define SYMBOL_PIXELS 6
#define NUM_PIXELS (PIXELS_PER_SEGMENT * 7 * NUMBER_OF_SEGMENTS) + SYMBOL_PIXELS  //

Adafruit_NeoPixel strip(NUM_PIXELS, DATA_PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);
NeoSegments segs(strip, PIXELS_PER_SEGMENT);

void setup() {
 Serial.begin(9600);


segs.begin();

// Register two colons for HH:MM:SS format
segs.registerSymbol(':', 2, true);  // colon
segs.registerSymbol(';', 2, false); // hidden colon 
  const uint8_t N_segments[7] = {1,1,1,0,1,0,1};
  const uint8_t E_segments[7] = {1,1,0,1,1,1,0}; 
  const uint8_t O_segments[7] = {1,1,1,0,1,1,1};
  const uint8_t S_segments[7] = {1,1,0,1,0,1,1}; 
  const uint8_t G_segments[7] = {1,1,0,0,1,1,1}; 
  segs.registerDigit('N', N_segments);
  segs.registerDigit('E', E_segments);
  segs.registerDigit('O', O_segments);
  segs.registerDigit('S', S_segments);
  segs.registerDigit('G', G_segments);
}



void loop() {
segs.setDigitColor(strip.Color(255, 0, 0));  
segs.setString("12;34;56");
Serial.println(("set to 12 34 56 in red"));
segs.update();
delay(3000);
segs.setString("56:78:90");
segs.setDigitColor(strip.Color(0, 255, 0));  
Serial.println(("set to 56:78:90 in green"));
segs.update();
delay(3000);
segs.setString("NE;OS;EG");
segs.setDigitColor(strip.Color(0, 0, 255));  
Serial.println(("set to NEOSEG in blue"));
segs.update();
delay(3000);
}

Functions

• NeoSegments(Adafruit_NeoPixel& strip, uint8_t pixelsPerSegment, uint8_t segmentsPerDigit = 7)
  Initializes the display.
• begin()
  Starts the LED strip and builds the digit map.
• setString(const char* str)
  Queues up a new string to display.
• update()
  Sends data to the LED strip; call this each loop.
• setDigitColor(uint32_t color)
  Changes the color of all digits.
• clear()
  Clears the display.
• registerSymbol(char symbol, uint8_t length, bool show = true)
  Defines a custom symbol length.
• registerDigit(char c, const uint8_t segs[7])
  Adds a custom 7-segment pattern.

License

This library is licensed under the MIT License.
It uses the Adafruit NeoPixel Library, which is also licensed under the MIT License.

Contributions

If you'd like to contribute to this library, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request. Please make sure to follow the coding standards and include tests for any new features or bug fixes.

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to the team at Adafruit for the Adafruit NeoPixel Library.
• Thanks to Arduino for providing the platform for makers and developers.