DS276
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OPERATION
Designed for the unique requirements of battery-backed systems, the DS276 provides a low-pow er full-or
half-duplex interface to an RS-232 serial port. Typically, a designer must use an RS-232 device which
uses system power during both negative and positive transitions of the transmit signal to the RS-232 port.
If the connector to the RS-232 port is left connected for an appreciable time after the communication
session has ended, power will statically flow into that port, draining the battery capacity. The DS276
eliminates this static current drain by stealing current from the receive line (RXIN) of the RS-232 port
when that line is at a negative level (marking). Since most asynchronous communication over an RS-232
connection typically remains in a marking state when data is not being sent, the DS276 will not consume
system power in this condition. Sys-tem power would only be used when positive-going transitions are
needed on the transmit RS-232 output (TX
OUT
) when data is sent. However, since synchronous
communication sessions typically exhibit a very low duty-cycle, overall system power consumption
remains low.
RECEIVER SECTION
The RXIN pin is the receive input for an RS-232 signal whose levels can range from ±3 to ±15 volts. A
negative data signal is called a mark while a positive data signal is called a space. These signals are
inverted and then level-shifted to normal +3 or +5 volt CMOS/TTL logic levels. The logic output
associated with RXIN is RX
OUT
which swings from VCC to ground. Therefore, a mark on RXIN produces a
logic 1 at RX
OUT
; a space produces a logic 0.
The input threshold of RXIN is typically around 1.8 volts with 500 millivolts of hysteresis to improve
noise rejection. Therefore, an input positive-going signal must exceed 1.8 volts to cause RX
OUT
to switch
states. A negative-going signal must now be lower than 1.3 volts (typically) to cause RX
OUT
to switch
again. An open on RXIN is interpreted as a mark, producing a logic 1 at RX
OUT
.
TRANSMITTER SECTION
TXIN is the CMOS/TTL-compatible input for data from the user system. A logic 1 at TXIN produces a
mark (negative data signal) at TX
OUT
while a logic 0 produces a space (positive data signal). As
mentioned earlier, the transmitter section employs a unique driver design that can use the RXIN line for
swinging to negative levels. RXIN can be connected via external circuitr y to V
DRV-
to allow stored charge
to supply this voltage during marking (or idle) states. When TX
OUT
needs to transition to a positive level,
it uses the V
DRV+
power pin for this level. V
DRV+
can be a voltage supply between 3 to 12 volts, and in
many situations it can be tied directly to the V
CC
supply. It is important to note that V
DRV+
must be greater
than or equal to V
CC
at all times.
The voltage range on V
DRV+
permits the use of a 9V battery in order to provide a higher voltage level
when TX
OUT
is in a space state. When VCC is shut off to the DS276 and V
DRV+
is still powered (as might
happen in a battery-backed condition), only a small leakage current (about 50-100 nA) will be drawn. If
TX
OUT
is loaded during such a condition, V
DRV+
will draw current only if RXIN is not in a negative state.
During normal operation (V
CC
= 3 or 5 volts), V
DRV+
will draw less than 2 uA when TX
OUT
is marking. Of
course, when TX
OUT
is spacing, V
DRV+
will draw substantially more currentabout 3 mA, depending
upon its voltage and the impedance that TX
OUT
sees. The TX
OUT
output is slew rate-limited to less than 30
volts/us in accordance with RS-232 specifications. In the event TX
OUT
should be inadvertently shorted to
ground, internal current-limiting circuitry prevents damage, even if continuously shorted.
RS-232 COMPATIBILITY
The intent of the DS276 is not so much to meet all the requirements of the RS-232 specification as to
offer a low-power solution that will work with most RS-232 ports with a connector length of less than 10