M41T0
14/20
CLOCK OPERATION
The M41T0 is driven by a quartz controlled oscilla-
tor with a nominal frequency of 32.768kHz. The
accuracy of the Real -Time Clock depe nds on the
frequenc y of the q uartz cr ystal th at is us ed as the
time-base for the RTC. The M41T0 is tested to
meet ± 35 ppm with nominal crystal. The eight-
byte Clock Register (see Table 8., page 15) is
used to both set the clock and to read the date and
time from the clock, in a binary coded decimal for-
mat. Se conds, Minutes , and Hours are contain ed
within the first three registers. Bits D6 and D7 of
Clock Register 2 (Hours Register) contain the
CENTURY ENABLE Bit (CEB) and the CENTURY
Bit (CB). Setting CEB to a '1' will cause CB to tog-
gle, either from '0' to '1' or from '1' to '0' at the turn
of the century (de pending upon its initi al state). If
CEB is set to a '0', CB will not toggle. Bits D0
through D2 of Register 3 contain the Day (day of
week). Registers 4, 5 and 6 contain the Date (day
of month), Month and Years. The final register is
the Control Register. Bit D7 of Register 0 contains
the STOP Bit (ST). Setting this bit to a '1' will cause
the oscillator to stop. If the device is expected to
spend a significant amount of time on the shelf, the
oscillator may be stopped to reduce current drain.
When reset to a '0' the oscillator restarts within
four second s (typi c all y one seco nd) .
The seven clock registers may be read one byte at
a time, or in a seque ntial block. T he Control Reg -
ister (A ddress loca tion 7) ma y be acc essed inde -
pendently. Provision has been made to assure
that a clock update does not occur while any of the
seven clock addresses are being read. If a clock
address is being read, an update of the clock reg-
isters will be delayed by 250ms to allow the READ
to be completed before the update occurs. This
will prevent a transition of data during the READ.
Note: This 250ms delay affects only the clock reg-
ister update and does not alter the actual clock
time.
Output Driver Pin
The OUT pin is an output driver that reflects the
contents of D7 of the Control Register. In other
words, when D7 of location 7 is a '0' then the OUT
pin will be driven low.
Note: The OUT pin is open drain which requires
an external pull-up resistor.
Oscillator Stop Detection
If the Oscillator Fail (OF) Bit is internally set to a '1,'
this indicates that the oscillator has either stopped,
or was stopped for some period of time and can be
used to judge the validity of the clock and date da-
ta. This bit will be set to '1' any time the osci llator
stops. T he fo llowi ng co nditio ns can ca use t he OF
Bit to be set:
– The first time power is applied (defaults to a '1'
on power-up).
– The voltage present on VCC is insufficient to
support oscillation.
– The ST Bit is set to '1.'
– External interference or removal of the crystal.
This bit will remain set to '1' until written to logic '0.'
The oscil lator must s tart and have run for at lea st
4 seconds before attempting to reset the OF Bit to
'0.' This function operates both under normal pow-
er and in battery back-up.
Initial Power-on Defaults
Upon initial application of power to the device, the
OUT Bit and OF Bit will be set to a '1,' while the ST
Bit will be set to '0 .' All other Regis ter bits will ini-
tially power- on in a rand om sta te.