Meeting car manufacturers needs to provide a reliable, intelligent connection between the car's display and one or more smartphones or tablets, Microchip Technology provides numerous options with its five USB 2.0 smart hub ICs. The devices are available in a variety of architectures, enabling manufacturers to implement their design of choice to easily interface with all major smartphone operating systems. These systems allow the graphical user interface of the phone or tablet to be displayed on the vehicle's screen and enable integration with voice commands inside the car, all while simultaneously charging the mobile devices. They also enable driver assistance applications on mobile handsets to be integrated with an automobile's infotainment system.
The ICs enable cascading of the hubs to the second- and third-row seats with simultaneous data and charging in all ports. For example, if there are dual USB ports, one port can connect the phone or tablet to the head unit, leaving the other port free to charge and upload/download data. As the car becomes more of an entertainment environment, manufacturers can create solutions that allow consumers, for example, to use one phone for navigation and another for music or video.
The USB4715, USB4914, USB4916, USB4925 and USB4927 USB 2.0 smart hub ICs provide unique USB configurations including single- and dual-bus implementations for optimal connection to infotainment systems. All devices operate with standard USB drivers present in most automotive head units for faster development, system validation and field updates. Each device also contains an integrated 32-bit microcontroller for advanced bridging, audio application support and USB Power Delivery (USB PD).
Development Support
A demonstration application board and evaluation board are available for each of the new USB 2.0 smart hub ICs. The demonstration application board emulates a system that a tier one supplier or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) would use in their actual application. Microchip also provides a USB Power Delivery application showing charging for the USB PD 3.0 specification.
Availability
The USB4715, USB4914 and USB4925 are offered in a 48-pin QFN package. The USB4916 and USB4927 come in a 64-pin QFN package. Devices are available today in volume production in 10,000 unit quantities. To learn more, visit Microchip.