1999-09-27 , S/IC-2085/27
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

Low-cost 80C51-based device with on-chip CAN controller targeted for industrial and system controls

Philips Semiconductors today announced a new Controller Area Network (CAN) device designed for industrial and system controls. The  P8xC591 is a low cost,  80C51 microcontroller that is compliant with the CAN 2.0B industry standard. The device includes an enhanced version of Philips Semiconductors' proven PeliCAN (Philips' Extended Library CAN) functionality and offers designers support for the CAN Transport Layer in hardware, reducing CPU software overheads and resulting in more power to run applications. CAN devices are typically used in equipment control applications, such as photocopiers, x-ray equipment and factory floor systems. CAN microcontrollers are also useful in appliances such as electronic wheelchairs and navigational systems.

"Philips Semiconductors is the market leader in CAN transceiver devices and 80C51 microcontrollers," said Geoff Lees, marketing director for Philips Semiconductors' Microcontroller Business Line. "This new CAN microcontroller is the result of our expertise in both markets."

Philips Semiconductors will demonstrate the P8xC591, along with several other new devices, at the Embedded Systems Conference, San Jose Convention Center, September 26-30, booth 1028.

The P8xC591 features a watchdog timer and operates at 6 clocks per cycle, achieving twice the throughput at the same clock frequency. Other features include 16 Kbytes of internal program memory that is expandable externally to 64 Kbytes, three 16-bit timers/counters, and 32 I/O port pins. The device also features a 10-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) with 6 multiplexed analog inputs and a fast 8-bit conversion option, a 16-bit capture/compare unit, an 8-bit Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) unit with two output channels, and both Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) and I²C serial channels.

The P8xC591 utilizes Philips Semiconductors' PeliCAN functionality, which includes features such as listen-only and self-test modes, error interrupts, and arbitration lost capture, making this device ideal for system maintenance and optimization. Enhanced PeliCAN features include four independently configurable identifier filters (screeners) that each include a 32-bit Match and a 32-bit Mask. 32-bits of mask per screener will allow designers to specify a unique group address per screener. All screeners are changeable "on the fly" and include the ability to screen for data byte information as well as CAN IDs. For example, DeviceNet™ data frames can be screened for both CAN ID and data byte content. Additionally, PeliCAN allows designers to construct CAN analyzers using a "listen-only" mode without the other "normal" CAN acknowledgements that would otherwise alter the CAN bus traffic being analyzed.

Philips Semiconductors is the world's leading supplier of the most popular 8-bit architecture, the 80C51, offering more than 100 derivatives. Philips Semiconductors has extended this successful architecture into its low-power, small footprint, low-system cost 80C51 family, the 51LPC and its high-performance16-bit XA family. Now customers can preserve their software, development tools and technology investment in the 80C51 while capitalizing on low-power, small footprint and 16-bit performance applications. Dataquest's "1998 Microcontroller Market Share and Unit Shipments" July 1999 report stated, "Philips Semiconductors' 80C51 sales of US$ 445 million in 1998, a 38 percent share of the total 80C51 microcontroller market." ^*1

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the eighth largest semiconductor supplier based on Dataquest's 1998 report^*2. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by systems labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at  http://cdrom.semiconductors.com/

*1. Based on Vendor Revenue by Architecture of Microcontroller Market Share and Unit Shipments

*2. Based on Vendor Revenue from Shipments of Total Semiconductors Worldwide according to Dataquest's 1998 Worldwide Semiconductor Market Share report published in May, 1999.