LIN bus emerging standard for body control apps

By Johann Stelzer ports the interoperability of LIN CAN

European Marketing Manager network nodes from the view-
MAC Single master Multiple master
Automotive Products Group point of hardware and software, Typical bus speed (kbd) 2.4 to 19.6 62.5 to 500
Microchip Technology Inc. with predictable EMC behavior. Multicast message routing 6bit identifier 11bit/16bit identifier
This concept allows the Typical number of nodes 2 to 10 4 to 20
Local interconnect network implementation of a seamless Encoding NRZ 8N1 (USART) NRZ with bit stuffing
(LIN) is a new, low-cost serial chain of development and de- Data byte per frame 2bytes, 4bytes, 8bytes 0 to 8bytes
communication system for dis- sign tools, and enhances the Transmission time for
tributed electronic systems in speed of development and reli- 4 data bytes 3.5ms at 20kbd 0.8ms at 125kbd
Error detection 8bit Checksum 15bit CRC
vehicles. It complements the ability of the network.
Physical layer Single wire, Vbat Twisted pair, 5V
existing portfolio of automotive LIN targets low-end applica- Clock generation Master: crystal, slaves: Crystal
multiplex networks. The speci- tions where the communication RC/resonator
fication covers the definition of cost per node must be signifi- Relative cost per node 0.5 1
the protocol and the physical cantly lower compared with
Table 1: LIN targets low-end applications where the communication cost per node must
layer as well as the definition of CAN. The main savings of LIN
be significantly lower compared with controller area network.
interfaces for development vs. CAN are the single-wire
tools and application software. transmission, the low cost of shown in Table 1. supporters in the car industry.
Never before in the automo- In fact, the LIN consortium has
tive market, the European car been founded by an initiative of
Embedded control Multimedia
industry in particular, has a a small group of automakers,
25M
D2B, MOST standard been adopted so tool manufacturers and semi-
quickly—from the concept of the conductor vendors. In this ini-
Data rate (bps)

Optical ring
10M
Flexray, TTx
Time triggered (TDMA)
LIN standard in late 1998 to the tiative, an open serial bus stan-
fault tolerant, dependable
2x2 wire/optical
introduction of the first produc- dard for cost-efficient commu-
1M
CAN-C Bluetooth tion car series in 2001. Several nication was developed that en-
Arbitration (CSMA)
dual wire Wireless medium factors have driven the success sured at the same time the avail-
125K
CAN-B
Arbitration
story of the LIN standard. ability of a consistent tools con-
20K
fault tolerant dual wire
LIN has been introduced to cept and appropriate software
LIN
Time triggered
master-slave Relative communication the market at a time when the interfaces.
JI850
single wire, no quartz cost per node electronic content in cars has The concept of the LIN con-
0.5 1 2.5 5 been growing dramatically. sortium motivated many sup-
More than 80 percent of today’s pliers to develop a wide range
Figure 1: LIN enables a cost-effective communication for smart sensors and actuators innovations in cars are made of semiconductor solutions al-
where the bandwidth and versatility of CAN is not required. possible through electronics. ready at early stages. This was
Consumer demands for more backed up by commitments of
LIN enables a cost-effective implementation as hardware or comfort and safety fuel this mar- automakers. Today, LIN bus
communication for smart sen- software in silicon and the ket development; regulatory standard 2.0 has been released
sors and actuators where the avoidance of crystals or ceramic guidelines enforce this trend. At and standardized to ensure
bandwidth and versatility of resonator in slave nodes. These the same time, automakers ex- interoperability of solutions
controller area network (CAN) advantages are compromised by pect significant cost reductions developed by various vendors
is not required. a lower bandwidth and the re- from their suppliers. and system suppliers.
The communication is strictive single-master bus ac- Since LIN helps optimize sys- SAE initiated the task force
based on a serial communica- cess method. The main features tem cost and increases system J2602 to develop LIN standards
tions interface (SCI) data for- of LIN and CAN protocol are efficiency, LIN has found many for the U.S. market. SAE had
mat, a single-master/multiple-
slave concept, a single-wire
12V bus and a clock synchroni-
Steering wheel
zation for nodes without a sta- Roof Cruise control, wiper,
bilized time base. Until re- Rain sensor, light sensor turning light…
cently, no automotive standard light control, sun roof... Optional: climate
in low-end multiplex communi- control, radio,
cation existed. The LIN consor- telephone…
tium developed a standard of a
serial low-cost communication
Seat
concept in conjunction with a
Seat position motors,
development environment that occupancy sensor,
enables the automakers and control panel
Door
their suppliers to create, imple-
Mirror, central ECU,
ment and handle complex hier- mirror switch,
archical multiplex systems in a window lift, Climate Engine
cost-effective manner. seat control switch, Small motors Sensors
The LIN specification cov- door lock... Control panels Small motors
ers the transmission protocol,
transmission medium, inter-
faces for development tools and Figure 2: Typical applications for the LIN bus are assembly units, such as doors, steering wheel, seats, motors, climate-control,
application software. LIN sup- lighting, rain sensor, smart wipers, intelligent alternator, switch panels and RF receivers.
 use of any information about
the system configuration, ex-
ECU and Gateway cept for the denomination of
Satellite 1 Satellite 2 Satellite 3 Satellite 4
the master node. Nodes can be
CAN 5V CAN SCI SCI SCI SCI added to the LIN without re-
phys LIN phys IF LIN phys IF LIN phys IF LIN phys IF quiring hardware or software
IF SCI
changes in other slave nodes.
LIN phys IF
The size of a LIN is typically
LIN
under 12 nodes, resulting from
the small number of 64 identi-
Figure 3: LIN is a single-wire serial communications protocol based on the common SCI (UART) byte-word interface. fier and the relatively low trans-
mission speed. The clock syn-
inputs to LIN 2.0 specification. They can easily be connected to trolled by a master node so that chronization, simplicity of
J2602 will be a subset of LIN 2.0 the car network and become no arbitration or collision man- UART communication and
specification. accessible to all types of diag- agement of the slave nodes is re- single-wire medium are major
nostics and services. The com- quired, thus giving a guarantee factors for the cost-efficiency of
Typical applications monly used analog coding of of the worst-case latency times LIN.
In a centralized body control signals will be replaced by digi- for signal transmission.
system, actuators and sensors tal signals, leading to an opti- The LIN synchronization Communication concept
are hard-wired with one elec- mized wiring harness. mechanism allows the clock re- A LIN comprises one master
tronic control unit (ECU) with LIN is a single-wire serial covery by slave nodes without node and one or more slave
CAN connectivity. One ECU ex- communications protocol the need for crystal or ceramics nodes. All nodes include a slave
changes signals via a CAN link based on the common SCI resonator. The specification of communication task that is split
with other main ECUs. (UART) byte-word interface. the line driver and receiver fol- in a Rx and Tx task, while the
Hardwiring is chosen if the lo-
cal actuators and sensors re-
quire a high computing perfor-
Voltage
mance. In systems where the lo- Vbat
regulator
cal performance can be low, an Ratiometric
alternative distributed system Wake-up reference
Vreg
based on smart actuators and Internal circuits logic
sensors can be used. This parti-
tioning is chosen to achieve -
RXD
scalable system architecture +
with universally applicable CS/WAKE Approx.
components. 30kΩ
TXD OC LIN
The architecture is cost-
effective if cost savings in pro- FAULT/SLPS
duction and development com- Vss
POR Slope Thermal
pensate the additional cost for control protection
the local intelligence and net-
working. The key enablers for
this architecture are the sub-
bus LIN standard, low-cost Figure 5: Example of a physical LIN transceiver implementation with integrated voltage regulator. The switching of the transceiver
mechatronic assembly and must not disturb other electronic components.
semiconductor integration.
Typical applications for the UART interfaces are available lows the ISO 9141 single-wire master node includes an addi-
LIN bus are assembly units, as a low-cost silicon module on standard with some enhance- tional master Tx task. The com-
such as doors, steering wheel, almost all microcontrollers. ments. The maximum transmis- munication in an active LIN is
seats, motors, climate-control, LIN can also be implemented sion speed is 20Kbps, resulting always initiated by the master
lighting, rain sensor, smart with software equivalent code from the requirements by EMC task.
wipers, intelligent alternator, or pure state machines. The and clock synchronization. The master sends out a mes-
switch panels and RF receivers. medium access in a LIN is con- A node in LIN does not make sage header that comprises the
synchronization break, the
synchronization byte and the
Message header Message response message identifier. Exactly
one slave task is activated upon
Synch break Synch field Identifier 2, 4 or 8 data fields Checksum reception and filtering of the
≥13bit identifier and starts the trans-
mission of the message re-
sponse. The response com-
prises two, four or eight data
Byte field bytes and one checksum
SCI/UART format byte. The header and the re-
sponse part form one message
frame.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The identifier of a message
Start LSB Stop denotes the content of a mes-
sage but not the destination.
This communication concept
Figure 4: Master sends out message header that comprises synchronization break, synchronization byte and message identifier. enables the exchange of data in
various ways: from the master Significant electrical param- workflow concept allows for the ment process and at end of LIN
node (using its slave task) to one eters of the LIN physical layer implementation of a seamless assembly of the vehicle.
or more slave nodes, and from are listed in Table 2. chain of design and develop- The functions in the door
one slave node to the master The LIN physical-layer ment tools. The key element of LIN cluster are: window lift
node and/or other slave nodes. specification puts a high re- the whole development process with/without anti-pinch con-
It is possible to send signals di- quirement on the transceiver. is the LIN description file trol, PWM control of the mo-
rectly from slave to slave without The switching of the trans- (LDF). LDF describes the com- tor, position monitoring of the
the need for routing through the ceiver must not disturb other plete behavior of the LIN net- window; door lock actuator
master node, or broadcasting electronic components. Special work, or LIN cluster, as it is control, including motor
messages from the master to all care has to be taken to meet the called since the release of LIN control (dead lock) and door
nodes in a network. EMC requirements of the specification 2.0 in 2003. opening contact control;
LDF can be created manu- switch panel control and
ally or with the system genera- switch illumination.
Node capability files Design
tor tool. Also new to LIN 2.0 are The mirror function can be
the LIN node capability files. integrated on one or more LIN
System defining
tool
Node capability files define slave nodes, depending on the
baud rates, protocol versions, flexibility the OEM plans for
signals and messages. The LIN offering functions optional to
System
generator
LIN description node capability language pro- the user. These mirror func-
file
vides the syntax for specifica- tions include mirror up/down,
System Debugging
tion of off-the-shelf slave nodes. in/out motor control, heating,
Thus, plug-and-play with nodes puddle lamp, turn indicator,
Bus analyzer and in a cluster becomes reality. dimming (electrochromatic
Slave1 Slave2 Slave3 Master emulator
Manufacturers of slave nodes mirrors) and power fold.
LIN supply with the components The requirement for the
also the node capability file. master node can be covered by
This enables the system integra- high performance 8bit MCUs
Figure 6: The local interconnect network workflow concept allows for the implementation tor to develop the LIN descrip- with a CAN interface and uni-
of a seamless chain of design and development tools. tion file for his specific cluster. versal synchronous/asynchro-
The increasing numbers of nous receiver/transmitter
The sequence of message carmakers. Wave shaping or electronic functions in car (USART)/enhanced USART
frames is controlled by the mas- edge rounding is applied to doors make them a good ex- (EUSART). Memory require-
ter. The number, sequence and minimize radiated emissions of ample for the usage of LIN bus. ments and package size de-
frequency of messages in the the transceiver. Functions can be added or re- mands depend on the software
scheduling frame of the master moved while maintaining the functions, CAN software stack
determine along with the baud System implementation same system design and with- and hardware I/O require-
rate, the system response time The LIN consortium not only out any impact to hardware and ments. Slave node functions in
and time behavior. Careful sys- specified the communication software of the remaining slave this example are within the ca-
tem design is necessary since if protocol, but also put high em- nodes. It allows the integration pability of lower performance
the master missed a slave mes- phasis on a consistent, homog- of pre-assembled and pre-tested 8bit MCUs.
sage, this message will reach enous and defined LIN-system modules as the functions or op- I/O demand is covered in 14-
the master earliest at the next development process. The LIN tions grow during the develop- pin to 28-pin packages while
schedule sequence due to the
master-slave concept.
The LIN protocol provides a
dedicated synchronization pat- PIC16F432
PIC16F433 TC4xxx
tern with the start of every mes- High-end PIC16F675 FET
PIC16F683
LIN
Xcvr C drvr M Window lift motor
sage frame that allows slave door PIC16F684
PIC16F688
nodes a without crystal or ce- module PIC18F4580 MCP201
ramics resonator to synchro- PIC18F4680
FET
nize their local time base to that Xcvr C M Door lock actuator
drvr
of the master.

LIN physical layer FET

The LIN bus is single line, wired drvr
M Mirror up/down motor
MCP2551
or bus being supplied via a ter- CAN-B
mination resistor from the posi-
Xcvr C Xcvr

tive battery node Vbat. The bus FET

M Mirror in/out motor
drvr
can take two complementary
Xcvr
logic levels: the dominant value C
with an electrical voltage close FET
Mirror heater
to ground represents a logical drvr
Switch console
‘0,’ and the recessive value with Puddle lamp
an electrical voltage close to the
battery supply voltage repre- Turn indicator
sents a logical ‘1.’
The bus is terminated with a Switch illumination Dimmer
pull-up resistance of 1kΩ in the Xcvr C
master and 30kΩ in a slave. The
termination capacitance is typi-
cally 220pF in the slave nodes. Figure 7: Functions in the door LIN cluster include window lift with/without anti-pinch control and position monitoring of the window.
program memory ranges from complexity, such as switch
2KB to 16KB depending on the panels, temperature sensors
complexity of control func- and LED displays. At the ex- PICmicrocontroller
tions. Switch nodes and an EC pense of a relatively high CPU
mirror node have a program re- load, the customer achieves
VDD
quirement at the lower end of the lowest cost solution. The
this scale while a 3-phase PIC16C433 is an example of an MCP201
USART/ RX/TX Vreg +
brushless DC motor control MCU that includes an on-chip Digital EUSART LIN
(BLDC) would be an example of RC oscillator and the physical input
an application that sits at the transceiver interface, thus of- Int
higher end of this program fering a highly integrated low Osc
memory scale. cost LIN solution.
More complex systems, such TC4
Slave implementation as actuators and motors, that Timer xxx
ADC output
Depending on the complexity of require more CPU performance
the LIN slave application and work with LIN implementa-
budget for the slave micro- tions with standard USART.
controller, LIN can be imple- The CPU is off loaded com-
Figure 8: LIN has synchronization capability for slave nodes using low cost oscillators.
mented in software, or using a pared to a software LIN solu-
standard USART, or with an tion by USART hardware fea- standard USART are higher due LIN specification allows ±15
EUSART or dedicated LIN tures. Synchronization break is to a larger silicon area and the percent clock deviation for
hardware. detected with the USART hard- need for an external crystal or unsynchronized slave node. If
Pure software implementa- ware, generating a frame error. resonator. the clock deviation is greater
tion works for systems with low Costs of a slave node using a Systems with higher com- than 15 percent, a data byte
plexity require even more free with the value zero sent by the
Parameter Typical value CPU performance for the appli- master will be recognized from
cation. Microchip’s EUSART the slave as a synchronization
Communication speed 9.6Kbaud, 19.2Kbaud features automatic sync-break break. For correct communica-
Voltage level 13.5V detection and auto-baud rate tion, the slave must be able to
Signal slew rate 2V/µs measurement and generation. resynchronize and remain
These features offload the CPU. stable for the time of a LIN
Termination resistor Master: 1kΩ They work well with the on-chip frame with better than ±2 per-
Slave: 30kΩ RC oscillator and help reduce cent. This requirement can be
Termination capacitor Master: 220pF system costs. met with calibrated internal RC
One of the key features of the oscillators. The internal oscilla-
Slave: 220pF to 250pF
LIN protocol is its synchroniza- tor is tuned and compensated
Line capacitance 100pF/m to 150pF/m tion capability for slave nodes against temperature and volt-
Table 2: The LIN physical-layer specification puts a high requirement on the transceiver. using low-cost oscillators. The age variation.