iC-BL: flexible BiSS Line bridge module

As a BiSS C, SSI, SPI and I²C master as well as an SPI slave, iC-BL can be used as a BiSS Line slave to integrate a wide variety of technologies into BiSS Line on the sensor side. On the control side, BiSS Line communication with the BiSS Line master iC-BL is coordinated via the integrated BiSS C or SPI slave interface, so that safe transmission paths can be implemented in many applications.

Flexibility is supported by a generous supply voltage range (5V, 7V...30V), an on-chip DC/DC converter for generating a stabilised sensor supply (2.5V, 3.3V or 5V at max. 200mA) and a non-volatile OTP memory for device configuration – all in a compact 5 x 5mm QFN28 package.

Versatile applications

In addition to integrating existing BiSS C components into BiSS Line and implementing robust and compact data transmission, the versatile I/O port also enables parallel assignment of multiple interfaces (e.g., BiSS C and I²C/SPI). Additional sensor data, e.g., from an I²C temperature sensor or an SPI accelerometer for leading-edge Industry 4.0 applications such as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, can thus be simply integrated into the cyclic data transmission.

Due to the bidirectional sensor and actuator data transmission from the BiSS Line master to the BiSS Line slave and vice versa, BiSS Line can also be implemented as a robust transmission channel between several microcontrollers.

Even more complex bus systems with several BiSS Line slaves can be implemented in this way. The RS485 transceivers for differential communication are already included in iC-BL.

BiSS Line single-cable technology: Robust data transmission over 2 cores

With BiSS Line, iC-Haus extends the established bidirectional open-source BiSS interface with a single-cable technology. This allows power and data signals to be transmitted modulated over just two wires with full compatibility to BiSS C and high data availability. This is because the integrated error correction makes the communication extremely robust even in harsh environments with electromagnetic interference fields (e.g., motor feedback applications, construction machinery) and allows corrections of up to 4 bytes.

The transmission of up to 8 sensor/actor data channels, each with a maximum data length of 64 bits, takes place at a rate of 12.5 Mbit/s over transmission distances of up to 100m, using existing infrastructures and the established RS-485 physical layer (half-duplex).

Kits for easy BiSS Line Evaluation

With the available evaluation kits and software, interested parties can already get an idea of the functions and capabilities of the robust BiSS Line single-cable technology.

The iC-Haus application engineers are also happy to assist with the commissioning and evaluation of BiSS Line components such as the flexible bridge module iC-BL.