6 digit counter circuit

We require a counter on a conveyor belt.
The requirement is that there need to be atleast 6 digits on the counter.
The scenario is such that there will be a PIC sending clock pulses to the counter.
The Problem is that we will have to use six 7 segment decoders to drive six 7 segments. It makes the circuit alot complicated and big(costly too).

Is there any smarter solution?

Is this to be a business solution, a hobby or a school/college project? The most appropriate approach may depend on which one it is.

Actually its my college project, but I mentioned the requirements in business tone because its actually of a professional approach. If this project i intend to complete succeeds, then we may have a chance for some industry sponsoring this project(you know they may pay us students to complete it in their name)

however, this does not seem more important right now, because i am stuck in this. Can anyone help out.

You can build it with only 2 x MC14553 + 1 x MC14543,
look at inside the MC14553 datasheet.

I used two 14553 IC's in my 6-digit frequency counter. This has worked out great.

Each drives its own 4543. (The 4511 may or may not suit your purposes).

The 14553 outputs 4 data lines to a 4543.

To strobe 3 digits, it has 3 pins which go low in rotation.

Nowadays, with microcontrollers and LCDs having become very economical and popular, it is possible to build a compact and low-cost LCD based counter.
Here is an example of many can be found on the internet:

BradtheRad said:

I used two 14553 IC's in my 6-digit frequency counter. This has worked out great.

Each drives its own 4543. (The 4511 may or may not suit your purposes).

The 14553 outputs 4 data lines to a 4543.

To strobe 3 digits, it has 3 pins which go low in rotation.

Click to expand...

I found your suggestion good so i brought two MC14553 and two CD4543 ICs. I assembled the circuitry()given in the datasheet of MC14553 IC) on a breadboard, but I dont know why its not working. The 7 segment is showing only 8 or when i give it a clock, it sometimes shows a bogus 9 but no counting.
(I could not find MC14543 IC in market, but they said that the CD4543 also is same as MC14543)

I found your suggestion good so i brought two MC14553 and two CD4543 ICs. I assembled the circuitry()given in the datasheet of MC14553 IC) on a breadboard, but I dont know why its not working. The 7 segment is showing only 8 or when i give it a clock, it sometimes shows a bogus 9 but no counting.
(I could not find MC14543 IC in market, but they said that the CD4543 also is same as MC14543)

Click to expand...

Since it's working a little bit, that's a sign you've done most everything right.

Besides the clock input, there are several pins which must each be brought hi or low depending on what operation you wish.

These pins are:
clock enable
latch enable
BCD out
reset

To count pulses you must pull clock enable low. It enables the internal counters.

To see the changing count: You must (1) disable the latch, and (2) enable BCD out. As I recall you can operate it this way indefinitely.

Activate the reset pin to bring all counters back to zero.

If you only want to see the updated count at periodic intervals (example, frequency counter), then you (1) enable latch, (2) enable BCD out, (3) static display now shows previous count, (4) counters accumulate invisibly for one second, (5) disable latch, (6) disable BCD out, (7) activate reset, (8) return to step 1. There is a timing circuit that accomplishes this once each second. It uses several gates and capacitors.

As you can see you need to apply signals hi and low at the proper times, to get everything working in sync.

It's an established popular IC. Helpful schematics and explanations can be found at websites, such as these links:

http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/MC14553B-D.PDF

Laurier's Handy Dandy Little Circuits: 6 Digit Counter