The SN74AC595 contains an 8-bit serial-in, parallel-out shift register that feeds an
8-bit D-type storage register. The storage register has 8 parallel 3-state outputs. Separate
clocks are provided for both the shift (SRCLK) and storage (RCLK) registers.
The shift register has a direct overriding
clear (
SRCLR) input, serial (SER) input, and a serial output
(Q
H') for cascading. When the output-enable (
OE) input is
high, all outputs, except Q
H', are in the high-impedance state.
Both the shift-register clock (SRCLK) and
storage-register clock (RCLK) are positive-edge triggered.
If both clocks are
connected together, the shift register always is one clock pulse ahead of the storage
register. In this configuration, it takes 8 clock pulses to load data into all 8 registers,
and 9 clock pulses for the outputs to display that data.