New USB 2.0 Controller for Simultaneous Port Transfer

Seiko Epson Corporation has announced the availability of their new product, the S1R72V18, a USB controller LSI product that supports the USB 2.0 High Speed Mode standard (480 Mbps). Taking advantage of the low power consumption inherited from the S1R72V series, the chip features isochronous transfer mode (The USB 2.0 feature equal timings) when used in conjunction with a portable music player. The chip supports all the USB 2.0 transfer modes: High Speed (480 Mbps), Full Speed (12 Mbps), and Low Speed (1.5 Mbps).

The new S1R72V18 has two high-speed USB 2.0 ports built-in: one of them is shared for the device and the host functions, while the other is dedicated exclusively for host functions. The controller is the first in the field that has the ability of operating two USB ports at the same time. S1R72V18 facilitates the data transfer and makes it possible for the user to move large amounts of data over the USB ports in an extremely short time.

The chip is energy-efficient and takes up 3.9 watts while in standby mode, which qualifies it for mobile equipment and terminals, especially in sectors where reduced noise is a mandatory condition. The S1R72V18 chip is mainly suitable for use in car navigation systems, as multiple USB 2.0 ports are becoming an interconnectivity necessity: GPS antennas or even global positioning standalone systems.

The S1R72V18 USB 2.0 controller is currently under heavy development and improvement, in order to deliver peak results. The chip is designed to work flawlessly in a wide temperature range, from -40°C to 105°C, and is expected to meet the whole set of AEC-100 industry standard specifications. Its main usage is alleged to be in the automotive industry and Epson has already started shipping samples to automotive original equipment manufacturers.