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2018
congatec
AG
TR44m17
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6
Additional Features
6.1
congatec Board Controller (cBC)
The conga-TR4 is equipped with a Texas Instruments Tiva™ TM4E1231H6ZRB microcontroller. This onboard microcontroller plays an important
role for most of the congatec embedded/industrial PC features. It fully isolates some of the embedded features, such as system monitoring
or the I²C bus from the x86 core architecture, which results in higher embedded feature performance and more reliability, even when the x86
processor is in a low power mode. It also ensures that the congatec embedded feature set is fully compatible amongst all congatec modules.
6.1.1
Board Information
The cBC provides a rich data-set of manufacturing and board information such as serial number, EAN number, hardware and firmware revisions,
and so on. It also keeps track of dynamically changing data like runtime meter and boot counter.
6.1.2
Fan Control
The conga-TR4 has additional signals and functions to further improve system management. One of these signals is an output signal called
FAN_PWMOUT that allows system fan control using a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output. Additionally, there is an input signal called
FAN_TACHOIN that provides the ability to monitor the system’s fan RPMs (revolutions per minute). This signal must receive two pulses per
revolution in order to produce an accurate reading. For this reason, a two pulse per revolution fan or similar hardware solution is recommended.
Note
A four wire fan must be used to generate the correct speed readout.
The congatec COM Express Type 6 and Type 10 modules use a Push-Pull output for the fan_pwm signal instead of the open drain output
specified in the COM Express specification. Although this does not comply with the COM Express specification 2.0, the benefits are obvious.
The Push-Pull output optimizes the power consumed by the fan_pwm signal without functional change.
6.1.3
Power Loss Control
The cBC has full control of the power-up of the module and can be used to specify the behavior of the system after an AC power loss condition.
Supported modes are “Always On”, “Remain Off” and “Last State”.
