ELM ELM630SM

ELM630
LIN Monitor
Description
Features
LIN or ‘Local Interconnect Network’ is a low cost
and relatively simple networking system that is used
predominantly in the automotive world. Recently, it
has been gaining in popularity, with proposals to use
it in major appliances as well. For more information,
visit the LIN web site (http://www.lin-subbus.de/).
The ELM630 is a monitoring device designed
for troubleshooting LIN bus systems. It is capable of
continually monitoring a LIN network, translating the
LIN messages to standard ASCII characters, and retransmitting them to an RS232 system (personal
computer or PDA) for display and possibly analysis.
The baud rate measurements, data formatting,
synchronizing, and checksum calculations are all
done for you by the ELM630.
The LIN specification has recently been updated
to revision 2.0, incorporating several improvements.
The ELM630 has been updated to be compatible
with this new specification, as well as the previous
ones.
• Low power CMOS design
• Crystal-controlled for accuracy
• Standard ASCII character output
• Special power-on monitor mode
• Autobaud from 1200bps to 19200bps
• High speed (57600 baud) RS232 interface
• Works with LIN1.x and LIN2.0
Connection Diagram
PDIP and SOIC
(top view)
VDD
1
14
VSS
XT1
2
13
LIN
XT2
3
12
MTime
Rxmode
4
11
Monitor
RS232Rx
5
10
b0
LFmode
6
9
Baud
b1 Rate*
RS232Tx
7
8
b2
Applications
• LIN logic probes
• Diagnostic PC interfaces
• Instruction triggered (breakpoint) devices
• Educational or training devices
*see Table 1 on Page 3
3.58MHz
Block Diagram
XT1
Rxmode
RS232Rx
RS232Tx
ELM630DSB
5
2
XT2
3
Timing
4
RS232
Interface
7
Formatting
and
Control
6
11
LFmode
Monitor
12
MTime
LIN
Interface
8
9
13
LIN
10
b2 b1 b0
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ELM630
Pin Descriptions
VDD (pin 1)
This pin is the positive supply pin, and should
always be the most positive point in the circuit.
Internal circuitry connected to this pin is used to
provide power-on reset of the microprocessor, so an
external reset signal is not required. Refer to the
Electrical Characteristics section for further
information.
XT1 (pin 2) and XT2 (pin 3)
A 3.579545MHz NTSC television colourburst crystal
is connected between these two pins. Crystal
loading capacitors (typically 27pF) will also be
connected from each of these pins to the circuit
common (Vss).
Rxmode (pin 4)
This input is used to control the inverting of the
signal at the RS232Rx input (pin 5), allowing some
flexibility as to how the RS232 is connected to it.
Many experimenters will prefer to use only a single
resistor between the RS232 interface and pin 5 to
minimize costs. In that case, pin 4 need only be tied
to common (VSS), and the internal logic will invert
the polarity of the signal for you.
Other users may prefer to use one of the standard
(inverting) interface circuits such as the MAX232
series, or the SN75189/MC1489 type of IC. In these
cases, the internal inversion is not required, and
should be disabled by connecting the Rxmode input
to a high level (VDD). The interface IC can then be
directly connected to the RS232Rx input (pin 5).
RS232Rx (pin 5)
A computer’s RS232 transmit signal is connected to
this pin, either through a resistor or through an
interface IC, as discussed under Rxmode (pin 4). If
a resistor is used, care should be taken in selecting
its size in order to limit currents into the protecting
diodes, while minimizing degradation of the input
signal (due to the interaction between the resistor
and stray circuit capacitance). A value of 47KΩ is
typically chosen for this resistor.
LFmode (pin 6)
This input is used to select the default linefeed mode
after a power-up or system reset. If it is at a low
level, then the RS232 output from the ELM630 will
be terminated by a carriage return character only,
and no linefeed character. If it is at a high level, then
all messages sent by the ELM630 will end with both
a carriage return and a linefeed character. This
behaviour can also be modified by issuing an AT L0
or AT L1 command (see the AT Commands section
for more information).
RS232Tx (pin 7)
This is the RS232 transmit, or data output, pin.
While at rest (no data is being sent), this pin will
output a high level (VDD), which is compatible with
most interface ICs. It has sufficient current drive to
allow interfacing using only a transistor if desired.
See the Example Applications section for more
details.
Baud Rate (pins 8, 9, and 10)
These pins are used to set the baud rate that is to
be used when monitoring the LIN system. This is
only the initial rate used after a power-up or reset,
and does not affect rates that are subsequently set
using the AT SB command. The following chart
shows the possible input values and the resulting
baud rate:
All rights reserved. Copyright 2003, 2004 Elm Electronics.
Every effort is made to verify the accuracy of information provided in this document, but no representation or warranty can be
given and no liability assumed by Elm Electronics with respect to the accuracy and/or use of any products or information
described in this document. Elm Electronics will not be responsible for any patent infringements arising from the use of these
products or information, and does not authorize or warrant the use of any Elm Electronics product in life support devices and/or
systems. Elm Electronics reserves the right to make changes to the device(s) described in this document in order to improve
reliability, function, or design.
ELM630DSB
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ELM630
Pin Descriptions (continued)
b2
b1
b0
SB
Baud Rate
L
L
L
0
auto
L
L
H
1
1200
L
H
L
2
2400
L
H
H
3
4800
H
L
L
4
9600
H
L
H
5
19200
H
H
L
6
auto
H
H
H
7
auto
Table 1. Baud Rate Settings
Note that the SB column in this table refers to the
value that would be used with an AT SB command
to set the baud rate.
Monitor (pin 11)
This input is used to effectively force an AT MA
command upon power-up, without any RS232 input
being required. If this pin is found to be at a high
level during a power-up (or reset), the ELM630 will
display the ID string, but instead of issuing a prompt
character it will immediately execute an AT MA
command, reporting on all LIN bus activity.
MTime (pin 12)
This input sets the default measurement time period
for monitoring the input in order to determine the LIN
baud rate. If low, a time of 0.5 seconds will be used,
and if high, 10 seconds is used. This is only the
power-up time period – it can be changed at any
time using the AT SM command, which is discussed
later. Note that this time period is only used when in
the automatic baud rate mode. If a specific baud
rate has been selected, or if a previous rate
measurement successfully determined a baud rate,
there is no need to make more baud measurements,
and this setting will not be relevant.
LIN (pin 13)
This is the active high LIN signal input. The signal
from the LIN bus is inverted and buffered, then
presented to this pin. Note that this input is limited to
voltages from VSS to VDD, so it can not be directly
connected to the LIN bus. (See the Example
Applications section for a typical interface circuit.)
VSS (pin 14)
Circuit common is connected to this pin. This is the
most negative point in the circuit.
Ordering Information
These integrated circuits are available in either the 300 mil plastic DIP format, or in the 150 mil SOIC surface mount
type of package. To order, add the appropriate suffix to the part number:
300 mil Plastic DIP...................................ELM630P
ELM630DSB
150 mil SOIC........................................ ELM630SM
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ELM630
Absolute Maximum Ratings
Storage Temperature....................... -65°C to +150°C
Ambient Temperature with
Power Applied....................................-40°C to +85°C
Voltage on VDD with respect to VSS............ 0 to +7.0V
Note:
Stresses beyond those listed here will likely damage
the device. These values are given as a design
guideline only. The ability to operate to these levels
is neither inferred nor recommended.
Voltage on any other pin with
respect to VSS........................... -0.6V to (VDD + 0.6V)
Electrical Characteristics
All values are for operation at 25°C and a 5V supply, unless otherwise noted. For further information, refer to note 1 below.
Characteristic
Minimum
Typical
Supply voltage, VDD
4.5
5.0
VDD rate of rise
0.05
Average supply current, IDD
Maximum Units
5.5
V
V/ms
0.8
Conditions
1.4
mA
see note 2
Input low voltage
VSS
0.15 x VDD
V
Input high voltage
0.85 x VDD
VDD
V
0.6
V
Current (sink) = 8.7mA
V
Current (source) = 5.4mA
Output low voltage
Output high voltage
RS232Rx pin input current
RS232 baud rate
VDD - 0.7
-0.5
+0.5
57600
mA
see note 3
baud
see note 4
Notes: 1. This integrated circuit is produced with a Microchip Technology Inc.’s PIC16C505 as the core embedded
microcontroller. For further device specifications, and possibly clarification of those given, please refer to the
appropriate Microchip documentation (available at http://www.microchip.com/).
2. This spec must be met in order to ensure that a correct power on reset occurs. It is quite easily achieved
using most common types of supplies, but may be violated if one uses a slowly varying supply voltage, as
may be obtained through direct connection to solar cells, or some charge pump circuits.
3. This specification represents the current flowing through the internal protection diodes when the voltage
connected to the RS232Rx input (through a current limiting resistance) is greater than VDD or less than VSS.
Currents quoted are the maximum that should be allowed to flow continuously.
4. Nominal data transfer rate when the recommended 3.58 MHz crystal is used as the frequency reference.
Data is transferred to and from the ELM630 with 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit (8 N 1).
ELM630DSB
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ELM630
Communicating with the ELM630
The ELM630 relies on a standard RS232 serial
connection to communicate with the user. The data
rate is not adjustable, and is set at 57600 baud, with 8
data bits, no parity bit, 1 stop bit, and no handshaking
(often referred to as 57600 8N1). All responses from
the IC are terminated with a single carriage return
character and, optionally, a linefeed character. Make
sure your software is configured properly for this
connection and for the linefeed mode that you have
chosen. No special software is required to ‘talk’ to the
IC – a standard terminal program is all that is needed.
Once it has been properly connected and
powered, the ELM630 will send the message:
ELM630 v2.0
>
In addition to identifying the version of this IC,
receiving this string is a good way to confirm that the
computer connections and terminal software settings
are correct. The ‘>’ character displayed above is the
ELM630’s prompt character, which shows that the
device is in its idle state, ready to receive characters
on the RS232 port.
All messages that are sent to the ELM630 must
begin with the character ‘A’ followed by the character
‘T’, and must be terminated with a carriage return
character. No action is taken – commands are not
checked for errors, nor are they acted upon – until this
terminating carriage return is received. The one
exception is when a command is interrupted for some
reason, and no carriage return appears. In this case,
an internal timer will automatically abort the incomplete
message after about 15 seconds, and the ELM630 will
print a single question mark to show that the input was
not understood (and was not acted upon).
Messages that are not understood by the ELM630
(syntax errors) will always be signalled by this same
single question mark (‘?’). When this occurs, it is
usually due to a spelling mistake, so you often only
need to repeat the input, typing more carefully.
Occasionally, errors occur if the ELM630 is busy
processing LIN messages when an RS232 command
message begins. In these cases, the first character of
the RS232 command message will always be missed
by the IC, so the remaining characters will appear to
be incorrect. One should always interrupt the
monitoring process with a single character (it doesn’t
matter which one, as it will be ignored), then wait for
the prompt character (‘>’) to appear before sending
any more. This ensures that the ELM630 is ready to
receive commands.
For convenience, the ELM630 has been designed
to ignore spaces and control characters in the input, so
if you prefer to add spaces or tabs, etc. to improve
readability, then go ahead. Also, the ELM630 is not
case-sensitive, so ‘ATZ’ is equivalent to ‘atz’, and to
‘AtZ’, which may be helpful in some situations.
AT Commands
The ELM630 is controlled with short commands
that all begin with the two characters ‘AT’ (which is
short for ATtention). These two characters serve no
purpose other than to add validity to the characters
that follow. Modem manufacturers have used this
same technique for years, and it has become
customary to refer to commands that begin with these
characters as ‘AT Commands’.
The ELM630 accepts several different AT
commands, but only one at a time (it cannot process
multiple commands on one line, as modems can).
Each command is executed only upon the receipt of a
terminating carriage return character. Several
commands do not have a visible response (AT D for
example), so completion of such commands will be
ELM630DSB
acknowledged by the printing of the characters ‘OK’.
Monitoring of the LIN bus can generally begin
without requiring the use of any AT commands, as the
factory default settings are appropriate for most
situations. Occasionally, however, the user may wish
to customize settings, such as turning the character
echo off, and in these cases AT commands must be
used.
To perform the desired AT command, simply send
the characters AT followed by the appropriate
characters from the following list. For example, to turn
character echoing off, simply send AT E0 followed by
a return character. To turn it back on, send AT E1.
The following is a summary of the commands that
are recognized by the current version of the ELM630.
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ELM630
AT Commands (continued)
Remember that they are not case-sensitive, they can
have spaces or tab characters embedded as you wish,
and that for the on/off type commands, the ‘0’
character is the number zero:
BR
[ display the Baud Rate ]
This command asks the IC for the LIN baud rate that
it is currently operating at. If the IC is set for auto
and no rate has yet been determined, the reply will
be ‘AUTO’. Otherwise, it will be one of the allowed
rates (1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 or 19200).
D
[ set all to Defaults ]
This command resets all of the options to their
default values as are set after a power-up, or
manual reset command. This includes the baud rate,
echo, linefeed, and the measurement period. Note
that if the Monitor pin was at a high level during
power-up, the IC will immediately enter the Monitor
All (AT MA) mode after this command is issued.
E0 and E1
[ Echo off(0) or on(1) ]
These commands control whether or not characters
received on the RS232 port are re-transmitted (or
echoed) back to the host computer. To reduce traffic
on the RS232 bus, users may wish to turn echoing
off by issuing AT E0. The default is E1 (echo on).
I
[ Identify yourself ]
Issuing this command causes the chip to identify
itself, by printing the startup product ID string (this is
currently ‘ELM630 v2.0’). Software can use this to
determine exactly which integrated circuit it is talking
to, without resorting to resetting the entire IC.
MA
[ Monitor All ]
This command causes the IC to immediately begin
monitoring the LIN bus for messages, displaying all
that it finds. It can be interrupted at any time by
activity on the RS232 receive input.
MR hh
[ Monitor for a Response to hh ]
This is a special version of the AT MA command.
Only identifier/command bytes matching the hex
characters hh will be displayed, and all others will be
ignored. This can be useful if trying to track down a
troublesome switch problem or for triggering another
action on a specific input.
SB n
[ Set the Baud rate to n ]
Issuing this command causes the chip to configure
itself for operation at baud rate n, where n is a
number from 0-7. The possible values for n, and the
corresponding baud rates are shown under the SB
column in Table 1 on page 3. (For example, issue
AT SB 5 to monitor a 19200bps LIN bus).
SM hh
[ Set the Measurement period to hh ]
This command adjusts the time allowed for a baud
rate measurement to that specified by hh, in
100 msec increments. A value of 00 is special, and
causes the default period to be used, while values of
01 to FF provide times of 0.1 sec to 25.5 sec.
Z
L0 and L1
[ Linefeeds off(0) or on(1) ]
The option of transmitting a linefeed character after
each carriage return character is controlled by these
commands. If AT L1 is issued, linefeed generation
will be turned on, and AT L0 will turn it off. Users
may wish to have this option on if using a terminal
program, but off if using a custom interface (as the
extra characters serve no real purpose in that case).
The default setting is determined by the logic level at
the LFmode pin on powerup or reset: if it is a ‘1’ or
high level, then the default is L1, otherwise it is L0.
ELM630DSB
[ reset all ]
This command causes the chip to perform a
complete reset, as if the power was cycled off and
then on again. All settings are returned to their
default values, and if the Monitor input is at a low
level, the chip will be put in the idle state, waiting for
characters to arrive on the RS232 bus. Note that the
level at the Rxmode input is measured again at this
time, so the RS232Rx input may be affected, if the
level at pin 4 has changed since the initial power-up.
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ELM630
The LIN Standard
The cost and the weight of wiring harnesses in
automobiles has been a concern to manufacturers for
some time. To reduce both of these, manufacturers
have begun adopting network bus structures to allow
sharing of common information (and common copper).
While several topologies (CAN, etc.) were developed
for the high-speed information requirements, these
systems were a definite overkill for some applications,
particularly when interfacing with humans. Seeing this
need, the LIN Consortium was formed, and the Local
Interconnect Network standard was developed.
The LIN standard uses a bit serial interface that is
in most respects identical to that used for personal
computers. This keeps costs to a minimum as almost
‘off the shelf’ parts can be employed, and the learning
time for developers is quite short, as the techniques
are familiar. One main difference between the RS232
and the LIN protocols is that the LIN system requires a
synchronizing signal.
The LIN synchronizing signal consists of a period
of at least 13 consecutive bit times that are all in the
active (‘0’) state. (This would normally never occur in
an RS232 system as a start bit and 8 data bits could
only give a maximum of 9 active bits.) The 13 bit long
start signal (known as the ‘Synch Break’ signal) is
always initiated by the bus master processor, to signal
that a data transfer is about to follow. Once the Synch
Break occurs, the message bytes are all sent in the
same manner as for standard RS232.
Each message that is sent is split into two parts,
the header and the response. The bus master always
generates the header, while the response can be
provided by either the master or by a slave processor
on the bus (depending on whether the master is trying
to send information or obtain it).
The first byte of the header is known as the ‘Synch
Byte’, and it is always the byte value $55. That value
was chosen because it creates a pattern of alternating
‘1’s and ‘0’s that can be used by the slave devices to
perform an internal timing calibration. This allows
inexpensive RC oscillators to be used for the slave
processors, if desired.
Following the Synch Byte, the master will always
send an Identifier Byte which describes the information
which is required, or that which is to follow. One can
think of it as the command byte.
The response field occurs after the ID byte, and
will generally consist of two, four, or eight data bytes,
followed by a single checksum byte. The standard
does allow certain commands to initiate messages of
arbitrary length however, so be aware of this if
developing software to process the LIN data.
The following figure may prove helpful in
visualizing a typical LIN message:
Message
Header
Synch Break
55
Response
ID
Data Bytes
Checksum
Byte
Figure 1. The LIN Message Structure
ELM630DSB
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ELM630
Measuring the Baud Rate
If the ‘auto’ baud rate mode is selected, the
ELM630 will automatically configure itself for operation
at whatever baud rate it determines is present on the
LIN bus. It does this by monitoring the LIN data for the
time period set by the AT SM command (or by the
MTime pin), and calculating the baud rate from the bit
patterns that were detected. This measurement will
occur when the first monitor command is to be
performed (either an AT MA or an AT MR).
Often, the bus will be asleep when a monitor
request is first made by the user. In this case, if the
ELM630 is in the auto mode, it will display the error
message ‘[B]’ to say that there has been a problem
determining the baud rate. It does not stop measuring,
however; it continues on, repeating the measurement
routine until a reasonable baud rate has been found.
If the user should explicitly set the LIN baud rate,
either by the AT SB command or by hard-wiring the
b2, b1 and b0 pins, no baud rate measurement will be
made. All bus monitoring will begin immediately after
being requested, rather than being delayed by having
to make a baud rate measurement. This could be an
advantage, if the system’s baud rate is known.
If the baud rate is not initially known, it is
preferrable to use the auto baud mode rather than
simply guessing at rates. The advantage to using the
auto mode is that it allows the system to re-measure
the baud rate should a synchronizing error occur. This
allows automatic recovery for systems that perhaps
have varying rates, or for a tester that is moved from
system to system. This error recovery measurement is
not performed automatically if a fixed baud rate has
been set.
The measurement period can be adjusted using
the AT SM hh command. This allows flexibility for
systems that operate at very low baud rates, or have
very infrequent messages. In these cases, a longer
measurement period can be selected in order to
ensure that enough samples appear to the ELM630 for
reliable baud rate detection. Experimentation has
shown that a value of about ‘3600 ÷ baudrate’ seconds
is often adequate, and will certainly make a good initial
value for your testing. For example, a system that
might be operating at 1200 baud would ideally be set
for a measurement period of 3 seconds.
If unsure of the current baud rate, or of the rate
after an automatic measurement, it can be requested
by issuing the AT BR command. If the ELM630 is in
the automatic mode and no baud rate has yet been
determined, it will simply display ‘AUTO’. After a rate
has been measured, or if it has been set manually,
AT BR will respond with the actual baud rate.
Monitoring the LIN Bus
Data bytes that appear on the LIN bus can
assume values from 0 to 255. These cannot be
displayed using a PC terminal program, however,
since many of these values are not printable
characters. In order to make them readable, the
ELM630 re-formats every byte as a pair of
hexadecimal digits, using standard ASCII characters
for the digits. A typical request made of the ELM630
would appear as:
>AT MA
49: 6C 8F 04
The AT MA is the user’s request to ‘monitor all’,
while the 49: 6C 8F 04 is what the ELM630 found on
the LIN bus. Note that the initial Synch Byte is always
received, but is never displayed (it is always 55).
The identifier byte (49 in this example) always
appears first, and is separated from the data bytes by
ELM630DSB
a colon character (‘:’), while the pairs of hexadecimal
digits following represent the data bytes that were
received. The final pair of digits on each line is the
checksum byte (04 in this case).
Should the checksum byte not match the value
calculated internally by the ELM630, the error will be
flagged by printing a single question mark at the end of
the line. For an example, if the slave driver in this case
was ‘weak’ (allowing an extra ‘1’ to appear in the first
data byte of this example), the output might typically
look like:
>AT MA
49: 7C 8F 04?
The question mark at the end of the line alerts you
to the fact that an error is present, but the position of
the error can not be determined from this information you will only be able to say that it is somewhere in the
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ELM630
Monitoring the LIN Bus (continued)
response. Another type of error that could occur is
when a slave fails to respond to the master. In this
case, you would typically see only the identifier,
followed by a question mark:
49:?
The question mark gets printed in this case
because 49 is not a valid checksum value (all bytes
must add up to FF).
This would often be followed by a timeout, so the
output could appear as:
49:?
[T]
mean that there has been no activity for some time,
often due to the system going into a low-power sleep
mode.
This data is typical of what might be experienced
in many systems. The current version of the LIN
standard (2.0) does allow for the transmission of an
arbitrary number of data bytes, however, so while the
ELM630 has no limitations on what it can display, the
user should be prepared for that possibility. This could
involve simply allocating enough buffer space,
processing the data faster than it arrives, or by simply
ignoring lines that are longer than a predetermined
length.
As you experiment, you will likely find that
timeouts are a very common occurence. They simply
Error Messages
There are only a few error messages that the
ELM630 will generate in response to data problems.
They are kept short so that their sending does not
interfere with the LIN data monitoring. Here is a brief
description of each:
[B]
[ Baud rate error ]
This error will be printed if the ELM630 attempts to
make a baud rate measurement and fails. Failure
may occur if the measured frequency is too high or
too low, or if there was no activity on the bus (the
devices are all ‘sleeping’). Even though the error has
occurred, the IC will continue to monitor the bus,
and will carry on with the monitoring once a
successful baud rate measurement has been made.
[S]
[ Sync error ]
If the ELM630 is unable to synchronize to the LIN
data stream, or if the received data bytes seem to
be of incorrect length, a synchronizing error occurs.
This might be for several reasons - if the device has
been set to a rate that differs from the actual data
rate; if the data stream is not of the LIN format, and
sync breaks or bytes could not be found; or possibly
if something occurred during data transfer and the
stop bits did not occur when expected. The ELM630
will report this error, and immediately try to resynchronize to the bus. If the ELM630 has been set
to the ‘auto’ mode, a new baud rate measurement
ELM630DSB
will also be initiated before the next attempt to
synchronize.
[T]
[ Timeout error ]
This message is printed if there have been no
recognizable messages for some time (referred to
as a ‘Bus Idle Time-Out’ in the LIN specification).
The time period in the specification is actually 25000
bits, and the ELM630 sends the message after
about 27500 bit periods. This timeout normally
occurs when the LIN system has been put to sleep.
When a timeout occurs, the ELM630 will continue to
monitor the bus, and will resume resending the LIN
data when it appears again.
?
[ General error ]
This is the standard response for a general error,
often due to a misunderstood AT command received
on the RS232 bus (usually due to a typing mistake).
It can also occur if the checksum byte that was
received was not correct for either a classic (LIN1.3)
or an enhanced (LIN2.0) system.
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ELM630
Example Applications
The circuit of Figure 2 (on the next page) shows
how the ELM630 might typically be used. While the
LIN standard does not specify the type of connector
that is to be used, it does specify that the physical
interface
will
essentially
be
an
enhanced
implementation of the ISO 9141 standard currently
used in automobiles. It provides a three wire
connection, with power, data, and common.
The provision of a (nominal) 12V supply at the
connector provides a convenient means to power the
ELM630 circuit. This voltage is reduced to the required
5 volts by the 78L05 regulator shown, and filtered with
the capacitors. An LED provides visual feedback that
the supply is available.
The PNP transistor that is shown connected to the
LIN input (pin 13) serves mainly to level-shift the input
signal, and to invert it. A typical CMOS input will switch
state at about half the supply level (2.5V) which might
cause problems with noise in an automotive
environment. By providing a transistor buffer, the input
threshold is effectively raised to about 4V, increasing
noise immunity, while adding amplification, signal
clamping, and inversion. Note the use of the diode on
the input, which prevents possibly damaging
backfeeds from entering the circuit, protecting the
transistor and the other components.
A very basic RS232 interface is shown connected
to pins 5 and 7 of the ELM630. This circuit ‘steals’
power from the host computer in order to provide a full
swing of the RS232 voltages without the need for a
negative supply. The RS232 pin connections shown
are for a 25 pin connector; if you are using a 9 pin, the
connections would be 2(RxD), 5(SG) and 3(TxD).
RS232 data from the computer is directly
connected to pin 5 of the IC through only a 47KΩ
current limiting resistor. This resistor allows for voltage
swings in excess of the supply levels while preventing
damage to the ELM630. A single 100KΩ resistor is
also shown in this circuit so that pin 5 is not left floating
if the computer is disconnected. Note that pin 4 has
been tied to VSS in order to configure the receive
circuit for this type of connection.
Transmission of RS232 data is via the single PNP
transistor connected to pin 7. This transistor allows the
output voltage to swing between +5V and the negative
voltage stored on the 0.1µF capacitor (which is
charged by the computer’s TxD line). Although it is a
simple connection, it is quite effective for this type of
application.
Circuit timing is maintained by the crystal shown
ELM630DSB
connected between pins 2 and 3. It is a common TV
type that can be easily and inexpensively obtained.
The 27pF crystal loading capacitors shown are only
typical, so you may have to select other values
depending on what is specified for the crystal you use.
Pins 8 to 12 have been tied to VSS for this circuit,
setting power-up options as follows. Pins 8, 9, and 10
are all ‘0’ so the baud rate has been selected to be
‘auto’, allowing the IC to adapt to whatever baud rate
appears. Pin 11 is also low, meaning that the ‘Monitor
All’ mode will not be entered into on a power-up or
reset – the chip will simply issue a prompt character
and wait for instructions from the user. Finally, pin 12
is also tied to VSS, so the default measurement period
for determining the baud rate will be 0.5 seconds. This
is often an adequate setting, even for the slowest
(1200 bps) systems.
Another application for the ELM630 is in the handheld “data snoop”, or “LIN Logic Probe” that is shown
in Figure 3. This circuit is very similar to that of Figure
2, except that in this case pin 11 has been tied to VDD,
causing the IC to immediately enter a “Monitor All”
mode on power-up. Setting pins 8, 9 and 10 to low
selects auto-baud operation, allowing this circuit to be
used on virtually all LIN systems. Note that since there
is no need to send commands to the ELM630 in this
case, the RS232 interface has been simplified even
further, eliminating the receive components. Power is
from three button cells, which provide 4.5V to the
circuit through a momentary action pushbutton switch.
The 4.5V is at the lower level of recommended
voltages, but is still within specified limits.
Hopefully this has provided enough information to
get you started with this convenient device. By
monitoring traffic on your automobile’s seat control
circuit, or your clothes dryer’s information bus, one can
learn a great deal. Certainly, you will be able to identify
what is normal, then of course you will know when it is
not…
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10 of 12
ELM630
LIN
Interface
78L05
Battery
Positive
+5V
0.01µF
0.1µF
470Ω
‘Power On’
LED
+5V
22KΩ
Notes: LIN Data
10KΩ
-
PNP transistors are
2N3906 or similar
Diodes are 1N4148,
1N914, 1N4001, etc.
4.7KΩ
14
13
12
Signal
Ground
11
10
9
8
630
+5V
+5V
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
RS232
Interface
3.58MHz
10KΩ
3 (RxD)
27pF
27pF
4.7KΩ
0.1µF
7 (SG)
47KΩ
2 (TxD)
100KΩ
Figure 2. Typical LIN to RS232 Interface
ELM630DSB
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11 of 12
ELM630
LIN
Interface
LIN Data
22KΩ
10KΩ
+4.5V
0.01µF
Signal
Ground
4.7KΩ
14
13
12
11
10
9
RS232
Interface
8
2 (RxD)
10KΩ
630
3 (TxD)
4.7KΩ
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
5 (SG)
3.58MHz
27pF
27pF
Figure 3. LIN Logic Probe
ELM630DSB
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