EZ-USB Series 2100
The focus of the EZ-USB
family is to provide the
peripheral designer a
multitude of design
configurations and
migration paths. The “soft,”
programmable nature of the
EZ-USB architecture
provides flexibility while
minimizing risks.
USB requires synchronization
between four major technology
suppliers: operating system,
UHCI/OHCI interfaces, hub
controllers, and peripheral
devices. In a traditional hard-
ware configuration, ensuring
that a peripheral device will
work with every combination of
these technologies is a time-
consuming and expensive task.
Using the EZ-USB chip’s “soft”
configuration,
the peripheral
developer can easily devise
workarounds or accommodate
dynamic changes. At the same
time, there is minimum risk to
design implementation.
Peripheral manufacturers can
provide firmware updates in
conjunction with driver changes
via a floppy disk or through
Internet downloads. Thus,
Unprecedented “Soft” Architecture
software device configurability
provides easy field updates, last
minute software code changes
prior to production, or alterations
due to ever-changing standards.
In these ways, the EZ-USB chip
makes development easier and
guards against product obsoles-
cence.
RAM Architecture
With an enhanced 8051 core
combined with 4 or 8 Kbytes of
SRAM in a single chip, users have a
complete solution. The 8051’s
firmware can be stored in the hard
disk (along with the driver) and
downloaded into the peripheral
during its initialization. That
makes updates as easy as updating
any other PC software.
Host PC
Soft Configuration
Code
Download
RAM
Anchor Chips
USB Controller
Now it’s easy.
Hardware configuration
Software upgrades
Memory enhancements
Feature upgrades
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