Delco Electronics Corp, based in Kokomo, Indiana has developed a Data Link Controller chip to link microprocessors and serial data buses in motor vehicles, and is negotiating with Motorola Inc and Texas Instruments Inc to produce and market the system worldwide. The Data Link devices act as an interface and line driver between a microprocessor and the General Motors Corp implementation of the SAE J1850 serial data bus, which Delco wants to help promote as a world standard. Delco has designed two versions, both conforming to the single-wire version of the J1850 serial data bus and containing the protocol handling logic, transmission line driver and receiver circuitry. As the electronics content-per-vehicle increases, the need for greater flexibility and ease of communication among the electronics systems and components increases, the company comments and the SAE J1850 calls for standardisation of the communication bus between electronic systems. One version of chip would provide a direct interface to the parallel microprocessor bus of the Motorola 68HC11 and 68332 microcontroller families and the other a direct interface with the Serial Peripheral Interface on the 68HC11 and 68332, and on Texas Instruments’ TMS 370 families. The part is design-ed in a high voltage CMOS process. Delco has no plans to market the Data Link devices, but will manufacture them for its internal use.
