28 September 2009
High speed USB hub controller for automotive applications
Seiko Epson Corporation has developed and begun shipping samples of a high speed USB hub controller for automotive applications.
The IC chip, the S2R72A04, has an operating temperature range from -40 to 105°C, which it describes as 'among the best in the industry'.
USB is used in a high number of applications - in vehicles, USB is already being used to connect devices such as mobile phones and portable audio players to car navigation systems and similar in vehicle equipment. In the future, USB connections are expected to find even broader application in vehicles, where they will be used to couple a wide variety of dedicated short range communication and other devices.
To use USB to connect devices to in vehicle equipment such as car navigation systems, however, device developers had to find their way around some difficult challenges. For example: adding a USB port to a main IC chip increases costs and package size and using a general purpose USB controller chip that connects to a local bus necessitates major changes in system architecture, requires extensive software development, and lengthens the development cycle.
The newly developed S2R72A04 is a high speed USB hub controller for automotive applications. It is the automotive quality grade and does not require any special software. The number of USB ports can be expanded simply by connecting this controller to a USB port on a main IC chip. In addition, the S2R72A04 has a low power design and is currently undergoing testing for qualification as an AEC-Q100 device. (AEC-Q100 is an industry standard for automotive quality.)
Author
Chris Shaw
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.epson-electronics.de
http://www.epson.co.jp/e
http://www.epsondevice.com/support_e/interface/index.html
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