Plug-and-play connection of CAN bus devices to PCs via USB

The new adapters are built into a tough plastic enclosure capable of operating throughout the industrial temperature range (from -40°C to 85°C). Flexible mounting allows use in a variety of applications, including as a portable adapter accompanying a laptop or for permanent installation in industrial and commercial locations. The enclosure features a standard USB type-B socket, allowing the adapter to be connected to a Host type-A socket using the cable provided.

Each device integrates a USB-to-FIFO interface IC, CAN controller and CAN bus transceiver, and is compatible with USB1.1 and USB2.0 Host and Hub ports for easy plug-and-play installation. For the USB-to-FIFO interface IC, EasySYNC has chosen the FTDI FT245R featuring value-added capabilities such as FTDIChip-ID™ security and support for USB suspend/resume modes.

The CAN bus signals are output to an industry-standard DE-9P connector conforming to the CAN-in-Automation (CiA) DS102-2 pin-out. Maximum CAN bus data rate is 1Mbps. Three coloured LEDs, in yellow, green and red, indicate link validity, operating status and error conditions using a variety of Blink, Flash, Off and On modes.

EasySYNC can also provide USB device drivers that allow the adapter to appear as a Virtual COM Port (VCP). This enables communications using ASCII commands to the CAN controller. Additional USB device drivers can be employed with application software to directly access the FT245R. These can be used in conjunction with a CAN command Application Programming Interface (API) to allow the specific functionality for a given task to be provided. An API guide is also available directly from EasySYNC.