35.6.2.4 Counter Operation

Depending on the mode of operation, the counter is cleared, reloaded, incremented, or decremented at each TCC clock input (CLK_TCC_COUNT). A counter clear or reload mark the end of current counter cycle and the start of a new one.

The counting direction is set by the Direction bit in the Control B register (CTRLB.DIR). If the bit is zero, it is counting up and if the bit is one it is counting down.

The counter will count up or down for each tick (clock or event) until it reaches TOP or ZERO. When it's counting up and TOP is reached, the counter will be set to zero at the next tick (overflow) and the Overflow Interrupt Flag in the Interrupt Flag Status and Clear register (INTFLAG.OVF) will be set. When down counting, the counter is reloaded with the TOP value when ZERO is reached (underflow), and INTFLAG.OVF is set.

The INTFLAG.OVF register can be used to trigger an interrupt, a DMA request or an event. An overflow or underflow occurrence (that is, a compare match with TOP/ZERO) will stop counting if the One-Shot bit in the Control B register is set (CTRLBSET.ONESHOT). The One-Shot feature is explained in the ‘Additional Features’ section.

It is possible to change the counter value (by writing directly in the COUNT register) even when the counter is running. The COUNT value will always start from ZERO or TOP, depending on direction set by CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR, when starting the TCC, unless a different value has been written to it, or the TCC has been stopped at a value other than ZERO. The write access has higher priority than count, clear, or reload. The direction of the counter can also be changed during normal operation. Refer to the Counter Operation section for more information.

Stop Command

A stop command can be issued from software by using TCC Command bits in the Control B Set register (CTRLBSET.CMD = 0x2, STOP).

When a stop is detected while the counter is running, the counter will maintain its current value. If the waveform generation (WG) is used, all waveforms are set to a state defined in Non-Recoverable State x Output Enable bit and Non- Recoverable State x Output Value bit in the Driver Control register (DRVCTRL.NREx and DRVCTRL.NRVx), and the Stop bit in the Status register is set (STATUS.STOP).

Pause Event Action

A pause command can be issued when the stop event action is configured in the Input Event Action 1 bits in Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT1 = 0x3, STOP).

When a pause is detected, the counter can stop immediatly maintaining its current value and all waveforms keep their current state, as long as a start event action is detected: Input Event Action 0 bits in Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT0 = 0x3, START).

Re-Trigger Command and Event Action

A re-trigger command can be issued from software by using TCC Command bits in Control B Set register (CTRLBSET.CMD = 0x1, RETRIGGER), or from event when the re-trigger event action is configured in the Input Event 0/1 Action bits in Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACTx = 0x1, RETRIGGER).

When the command is detected during counting operation, the counter will be reloaded or cleared, depending on the counting direction (CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR). The Re-Trigger bit in the Interrupt Flag Status and Clear register will be set (INTFLAG.TRG). It is also possible to generate an event by writing a '1' to the Re-Trigger Event Output Enable bit in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.TRGEO). If the re-trigger command is detected when the counter is stopped, the counter will resume counting operation from the value in COUNT.

Start Event Action

The start action can be selected in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT0 = 0x3, START) and can start the counting operation when previously stopped. The event has no effect if the counter is already counting. When the module is enabled, the counter operation starts when the event is received or when a re-trigger software command is applied.

Count Event Action

The TCC can count events. When an event is received, the counter increases or decreases the value, depending on direction settings (CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR).

The count event action is selected by the Event Action 0 bit group in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT0 = 0x2, COUNTEV).

Count on Active State of Asynchronous Event

The TCC counts during the active state of an asynchronous event (increment or decrement, depending on counter direction).

Direction Event Action

The direction event action can be selected in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT1 = 0x2, DIR). When this event is used, the asynchronous event path specified in the event system must be configured or selected. The direction event action can be used to control the direction of the counter operation, depending on external events level. When received, the event level overrides the Direction settings (CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR) and the direction bit value is updated accordingly.

Increment Event Action

The increment event action can be selected in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT0 = 0x4, INC) and can change the Counter state when an event is received. When the TCE0 event (TCCx_EV0) is received, the counter increments, whatever the direction setting is, either CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR.

Decrement Event Action

The decrement event action can be selected in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACT1 = 0x4, DEC) and can change the Counter state when an event is received. When the TCE1 (TCCx_EV1) event is received, the counter decrements, whatever the direction setting is, either CTRLBSET.DIR or CTRLBCLR.DIR.

Non-recoverable Fault Event Action

Non-recoverable fault actions can be selected in the Event Control register (EVCTRL.EVACTx = 0x7, FAULT). When received, the counter will be stopped and the output of the compare channels is overridden according to the Driver Control register settings (DRVCTRL.NREx and DRVCTRL.NRVx). TCE0 and TCE1 must be configured as asynchronous events.

Event Action Off

If the event action is disabled (EVCTRL.EVACTx = 0x0, OFF), enabling the counter will also start the counter.