Connectivity processors aid automotive networking

Four next-generation connectivity processors provide an easy, cost-effective way to connect different types of devices in automobiles via wide-area, local-area or personal-area networks.

Four next-generation connectivity processors provide an easy, cost-effective way to connect different types of devices in automobiles via wide-area, local-area or personal-area networks.

These processors expand National's CP3000 family of connectivity processors, which dramatically simplify the creation of linked networks and connected devices.

National will demonstrate the unique features and capabilities of these processors on booth 606 in Hall 10 at Wireless Connectivity World 2004 next week in Amsterdam.

The new connectivity processors integrate Bluetooth wireless technology, controller area network (CAN) and universal serial bus (USB) interfaces with additional software to accelerate development of telematics applications such as hands-free communication devices and information and entertainment devices such as offboard automotive GPS navigation systems.

The connectivity processors also can be used in consumer, medical and industrial applications such as remote sensors or personal health data loggers.

For wireless applications, the CP3000 processors include a fully embedded Bluetooth interface with baseband processing, a host protocol stack and dedicated profiles.

Like other members of the CP3000 family, these new products include a complete package of hardware, software with Bluetooth profiles in prequalified source code, development tools and worldwide technical support.

Additional features of these new processors include a high-resolution, 12bit analogue-to-digital convertor, additional serial interfaces and increased memory.

"National shares a vision with its customers of increasingly ubiquitous connectivity in cars", said Malcolm Humphrey, Director of National Semiconductor's Device Connectivity Division.

"National's new CP3000 devices address the latest offboard navigation and vehicle gateway requirements".

"Our continued focus on providing developers with complete solutions also enables short development times".

The CP3BT23, CP3BT26, CP3UB26 and CP3CN23 connectivity processors feature National's power-efficient CompactRISC 16bit microcontroller core and a wealth of on-chip peripherals.

Each processor features 256Kbyte of on-chip Flash, 32Kbyte of on-chip static RAM, an additional 8Kbyte of on-chip data Flash and the ability to address up to 12Mbyte of external memory.

Additional functions and interfaces include: versatile timer units; multifunction timers; audio interfaces; USART, UART, Microwire and SPI interfaces; Access.bus, which is I2C compatible; programmable I/O ports; an on-chip clock; a phased-lock loop; and a watchdog timer.

The processors run from 0 to 24MHz and are available in an extended temperature range of -40 to +85C.

Both the CP3BT23 and CP3BT26 reprogrammable connectivity processors include the Bluetooth baseband and allow the implementation of a fully embedded Bluetooth stack with a customer's application code.

Each interfaces easily with National's LMX5252 Bluetooth radio transceiver.

The processors also allow easy access from user-developed application code to Bluetooth functionality through a well-defined application programming interface (API).

This allows a designer to program the host protocol stack and dedicated profiles into the on-chip Flash program memory, eliminating the need for a separate host/system controller, and saving cost, board space and power.

The CP3BT23 connectivity processor integrates Access.bus, SPI, dual CAN and four UART interfaces; and the CP3BT26 connectivity processor integrates USB, Access.bus, SPI, CAN and four UART interfaces.

The USB interface is ideal for consumer and computing devices that require a high-speed serial interface, while the CAN interface is ideal for electrically noisy environments in automotive and industrial applications.

The embedded interfaces enable easy communication with other automotive systems, such as in-car dashboard displays, CD-ROM-based navigation systems and car radios.

National's CP3UB26 and CP3CN23 reprogrammable connectivity processors are ideal for automotive, industrial, PC and consumer applications where Bluetooth technology is not required.

The CP3UB26 provides USB, CAN, four UART, Access.bus (I2C compatible) and SPI interfaces, while the CP3CN23 offers dual CAN, four UART, Access.bus and SPI interfaces.

All the new CP3000 connectivity processors are available now.

For 10,000-unit quantities in a 128-pin package, the CP3BT23 is US $9.25, the CP3BT26 is $9.15, the CP3UB26 is $9.05 and the CP3CN23 is $8.95.

In 10,000-unit quantities in a 144-pin LQFP package, the CP3BT23 is $9.44, the CP3BT26 is $9.34, the CP3UB26 is $9.04 and the CP3CN23 is $9.14.

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