Microcontroller for embedded motor control
28 March 2001
DSP, Micros & Memory
For years, NEC's 78K family has been one of the best-known 8/16 bit microcontroller series. Hallmarks of the 78K family are the extremely large product range and the affordability. Devices are interchangeable so that developers can swap to a different 78K controller for a new project, but continue to work in the familiar development environment.
The 78K0S family has been extended by the µPD78F9842, specially designed for the control of 3-phase asynchronous motors. In a 44-pin LQFP package, purpose-built functions include a 10-bit inverter control timer, an 8-channel A/D converter with 8 bit resolution, and a hardware multiplier (10 x 10 ->20). The inverter outputs can be cut off in an emergency via software or the watchdog timer. Communication with the outside world is handled via 30 I/O ports, which are also available for the user-programmable UART.
There is a choice of variants to match different requirements - 8 KB ROM, 16 KB ROM or 16 KB FlashROM. RAM size is a uniform 256 bytes. The µPD78F9842 instruction cycle time is 0,24 µs at a clock rate of 8,38 MHz. The operating voltage should be in the range 4,0 to 5,5 V.
While the controller peripherals make it an ideal selection for 3-phase asynchronous motor applications, it can naturally also be used in other applications whenever a more complex PWM functionality is required. Typical application fields include white goods, fan and pump motor controls.
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