The CANPIC CANUSB module from Embedded Micro Software (www.emicros.com) is a very economical way to connect a computer with a USB port to a Controller Area Network (CAN). The CANPIC CANUSB is designed to be easy to use and easy to design applications to interface to a CAN network. The CANPIC CANUSB connects to the USB port on the PC.

• Send and receive CAN messages
• Develop powerful CAN applications using PC software
• Compact design is ideal for portable applications
• Simulate network traffic to test module applications

The CANPIC CANUSB is intended to be a low-cost alternative to the PCMCIA, PC Bus Cards, and serial interface cards used to connect a PC to a CAN network. In order to keep the cost low while maintaining a high degree of functionality, the CANPIC CANUSB relies on a PIC18F258 processor from MicroChip.

The software included is general in nature and is intended to aid in getting your application up and running quickly.

The following block diagram shows the hardware and software model.

The CANPIC CANUSB uses the PIC18F258 microcontroller from Microchip with an integrated CAN controller to connect to the network.

• Support for CAN Specification 2.0
• Standard 11 bit message identifier data and remote frames
• Extended 29 bit message identifier data and remote frames
• Global Identifier Masks (Acceptance filters)
• 3 Transmit message buffers
• 2 Receive Message buffers
• Programmable Bit Rate

The physical layer is a Phillips 82C250.

The CANPIC CANUSB provides a user interface consisting of simple ASCII commands as well as binary commands for custom applications. Using terminal programs such as the TERMINAL.EXE program under Windows, a user can access the CAN network with simple text commands. Binary commands are also included for optimized interfacing to computer program control such as applications written using Delphi, Visual Basic, or C++.