Typical Application Information
TABLE 1. Device Pin Descriptions
Pin
No.
Name Description
1 RO Receiver Output: When RE (Receiver Enable) is LOW, the receiver is enabled (ON), if DO/RI ≥
DO*/RI* by 200 mV, RO will be HIGH. If DO/RI ≤ DO*/RI* by 200 mV, RO will be LOW. Additionally
RO will be HIGH for OPEN (Non-terminated) Inputs.
2 RE* Receiver Output Enable: When RE* is LOW the receiver output is enabled. When RE* is HIGH, the
receiver output is in TRI-STATE (OFF).
3 DE Driver Output Enable: When DE is HIGH, the driver outputs are enabled. When DE is LOW, the driver
outputs are in TRI-STATE (OFF).
4 DI Driver Input: When DE (Driver Enable) is HIGH, the driver is enabled, if DI is LOW, then DO/RI will be
LOW and DO*/RI* will be HIGH. If DI is HIGH, then DO/RI is HIGH and DO*/RI* is LOW.
5 GND Ground Connection.
6 DO/RI Driver Output/Receiver Input, 485 Bus Pin.
7 DO*/RI* Driver Output/Receiver Input, 485 Bus Pin.
8V
CC
Positive Power Supply Connection: Recommended operating range for VCCis +4.75V to +5.25V.
Unit Load
Aunit load for anRS-485 receiver is defined by the input current versus the input voltage curve. The gray shaded region
is the defined operating range from −7V to +12V. The top
border extending from −3V at 0 mA to +12V at +1 mA is defined as one unit load. Likewise, the bottom border extending
from +5V at 0 mA to −7V at −0.8 mA is also defined as one
unit load (see
Figure 18
). An RS-485 driver is capable of
driving up to 32 unit loads. This allows up to 32 nodes on a
single bus. Although sufficient for many applications, it is
sometimes desirable to have even more nodes. For example, an aircraft that has 32 rows with 4 seats per row
would benefit from having 128 nodes on one bus. This would
allow signals to be transferred to and from each individual
seat to 1 main station. Usually there is one or two less seats
in the last row of the aircraft near the restrooms and food
storage area. This frees the node for the main station.
The DS36C278, the DS36C279, and the DS36C280 all have
1
⁄2unit load and1⁄4unit load (UL) options available. These
devices will allow up to 64 nodes or 128 nodes guaranteed
over temperature depending upon which option is selected.
The
1
⁄2UL option is available in industrial temperature and
the
1
⁄4UL is available in commercial temperature.
First, for a
1
⁄2UL device the top and bottom borders shown in
Figure 18
are scaled. Both 0 mA reference points at +5V and
−3V stay the same. The other reference points are +12V at
+0.5 mA for the top border and −7V at −0.4 mA for the bottom border (see
Figure 18
). Second, for a1⁄4UL device the
top and bottom borders shown in
Figure 18
are scaled also.
Again, both 0 mA reference points at +5V and −3V stay the
same. The other reference points are +12V at +0.25 mA for
the top border and −7V at −0.2 mA for the bottom border
(see
Figure 18
).
The advantage of the
1
⁄2UL and1⁄4UL devices is the increased number of nodes on one bus. In a single master
multi-slave type of application where the number of slaves
exceeds 32, the DS36C278/279/280 may save in the cost of
extra devices like repeaters, extra media like cable, and/or
extra components like resistors.
The DS36C279 and DS36C280 have an additional feature
which offers more advantages. The DS36C279 has an automatic sleep mode function for power conscious applications.
The DS36C280 has a slew rate control for EMI conscious
applications. Refer to the sleep mode and slew rate control
portion of the application information section in the corresponding datasheet for more information on these features.
DS012040-17
FIGURE 17. Typical RS-485 Bus Interface
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