Tiny MCUs address applications in two-wheeled vehicles
Renesas has announced 21 new 16-bit microcontroller (MCU) products in the RL78/D1A Group, including 48-pin versions, which are the industry’s smallest single-chip MCUs for two-wheeled vehicle meter applications. The new devices with packages ranging from 48 to 100 pins are designed for cost-sensitive meter control applications in two- and four-wheeled vehicles in various markets.
Affordable two- and four-wheeled vehicles have become increasingly popular in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, and further growth is expected. As the volume of information to be handled by MCUs used in automotive meter control increases, package pin count goes up, requiring larger internal flash memory capacity to accommodate the software for implementing enhanced functions. This has created demand for electronic single-chip solutions to replace systems employing many external components, as a way to achieve greater compactness and reliability and reduced cost. Currently, there is a trend of replacing mechanical meters such as gauges with electric ones to improve reliability for two-wheeled vehicles. In addition, space for these meters is limited in small vehicles, e.g. a motor cycle with an engine displacement of 125 cc or less, so engineers must consider the compactness of electronic components. On the other hand, instrument cluster systems for four-wheeled vehicles must be also able to display a variety of information, such as the fuel level, even in low-price models.
With the RL78/D1A MCUs, Renesas continues to provide 8- and 16-bit support that meets the price, performance and size constraints required for use in low-end meter applications. The new devices address the growing market demand, offering integrated 16-bit MCUs in a variety of pin-count packages to deliver more compactness and enhanced functions.
The 48-pin package, which is the smallest in the industry, enables the use of electronic meters in compact two-wheeled vehicles.
The 100-pin package MCU with enhanced functions and increased memory enables the display of a wide range of vehicle information on electronic meters in low-price four-wheeled vehicles.
The newly added 48-pin package product versions of the RL78/D1A MCUs are the smallest single-chip MCUs in the industry for two-wheeled vehicle meter applications. The new MCUs provide roughly the same functionality at about half the size (7 mm × 7 mm) of the earlier 78K0/Dx2 with 64-pin package (10 mm × 10 mm), making them ideal for electronic meter applications for compact two-wheeled vehicles with limited space. This enables switching from mechanical to electronic meters more practical.
The 100-pin package MCU with enhanced functions and increased memory enables the display of a wide range of vehicle information on electronic meters in low-price four-wheeled vehicles.
The RL78/D1A Group of MCUs adds on-chip data flash for storing odometer data so that external EEPROM can be eliminated, reducing the mounting area by approximately 10 percent compared with a system using previous-generation Renesas devices. Combining integrated flash memory, 1 to 4 channels of stepping motor controller/driver, an LCD controller/driver and a sound generator, the new MCUs make it possible to implement a meter display control system on a single chip, resulting in smaller form factors, reduced system costs and shortened system development cycles.
Software compatibility is maintained across the pin count range, making it possible to adapt flexibly to changes in specifications.
The Samples of the RL78/D1A product family will become available in October 2012. Mass production of the RL78/D1A devices is scheduled to begin in January 2013
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