ALLEGRO ASEK-20 Daughterboard with Samples Programmer User Manual

: June 5, 2024
: ALLEGRO

ALLEGRO ASEK-20 Daughterboard with Samples Programmer

Introduction

This quick guide documents the use of the ACS7031x daughterboard (TED-0003346) and the ASEK-20 (Part #850540-004) with the Allegro ACS70311 samples programmer. The ASEK-20 chassis can be seen in Figure 1, and the top and bottom layers of the ASEK-20 ACS70311 daughterboard can be seen in Figure 2. See the Appendix section for the ASEK70311 Daughterboard Schematic.

Downloading the Programmer

Register for software on the Allegro Software Portal: https://registration.allegromicro.com/login. 2
Ensure that the ASEK-20 being used has the most recent firmware downloaded. Refer to the ASEK-20 firmware webpage (https://registration.allegromicro.com/parts/ ASEK-20) and the ASEK-20 quick guide under “Support Files” on the ASEK-20 firmware webpage.
After registering and logging in to the software portal, the dashboard page will be shown. Choose the “Find a Part” button highlighted in Figure 3.
Click “Find a Part” to go to the “Available Parts & Software” page.
Search for “ACS70311” in the “Select by Part Number” search bar shown in Figure 4.
Click “View” next to the ACS70311 search result as shown highlighted in Figure 5.
Click “Download” next to the first result to open the Programming Application ZIP file as highlighted in red in Figure 6.
Open and extract the downloaded ZIP file and save to a known location.
Open the extracted ZIP file and open the folder “Allegro ACS70311 Samples Programmer V#”.
Open the “Allegro ACS70311 Samples Programmer” application file (EXE file extension) to open the samples programmer.

Connecting ASEK-20 to PC and ASEK70311 Daughterboard

Connect one end of the USB communications cable to the USB port of a personal computer.
Connect the other end of the USB communications cable to the “USB” port on the ASEK-20 chassis.
Connect a ribbon cable to the “J2” connector on the left-hand side of the ACS70311 daughterboard
Connect the other end of the ribbon cable to the “Device Connection” port on the ASEK-20 chassis as shown in Figure 8.
Connect the DC Power Supply/Cable to the 5 V port on the ASEK-20 chassis.
Plug in the DC Power Supply to a 110/220 AC 60/50 Hz outlet with the appropriate power adapter.

Inserting ACS70311 into ACS70311 Daughterboard

The ACS70311 coreless current sensor is offered in through-hole, TN leadform (KT and OK) and surface-mount, TH leadform (KT only). Leadforming options are shown in Figure 9. For more information, refer to the ACS70310 and ACS70311 device datasheet.

To insert the ACS70311 into the ACS70311 daughterboard, do the following:

Place the ACS70311 in the socket labeled “J1” with pin 1 of the part farthest away from the “J1” label.
Ensure that the ejector pin mark is on the side facing down into the socket as stated in the pinout diagram in the ACS70311 datasheet (see Figure 10).
Secure the part in place using the clamps on the left and right side of the socket.
See Figure 11 showing the ACS70311 in “J1” socket.
Proceed to Using the Programmer section below.

Using the Programmer Connecting to the ASEK-20

Opening the programmer will result in a window identical to Figure 12 below.

To connect the ASEK-20, click “Setup” → “Communication Setup”. The dialog box in Figure 13 will appear. Click the correct COM# in the pulldown menu next to COM Port. If the COM port is unknown, do the following:

Unplug the USB cable to the ASEK-20.
Click “Refresh” in the “Communication Setup” dialog window as highlighted in blue in Figure 13.
Click on the “COM Port” pulldown menu.
Note which ports are in the menu.
Plug the USB cable back into the ASEK-20.
Click “Refresh”.
Click the “COM Port” popup menu again.
Note the COM port not previously listed in the menu; this is the port connected to the ASEK-20.
Select this COM port to use

Once the correct COM port is selected and the ASEK-20 is connected to the PC, verify next to “Communication” the status of the ASEK-20.

If the status is “Active”, the ASEK-20 is powered and responding. If the status is “Inactive”, the ASEK-20 is not responding or powered on. If this is the case, click “Refresh” and ensure the ASEK-20 chassis is plugged into the PC and the chassis is powered on.

Click “OK” to exit the dialog box.

Status Bar

The green or red colored rectangle on the right side of the status bar shown highlighted in red in Figure 14 indicates the status of the communication with the ASEK. If the status bar is red, the communication is not active and if green, the application is communicating with the ASEK. The COM port that is currently set is overlaid on the colored rectangle. Clicking on the rectangle will open the Communication setup dialog window.

Turning the Part ON and OFF

To power on the part using the ASEK-20, click “Power On” on the right-hand side of the programmer as show in red in Figure 15.

Once the part is powered on, values for “VCC [V]” and “ICC [mA]” will populate with the measured values. Verify that the voltage is what is desired and that the device is consuming approximately 13 mA (maximum of 15 mA).
To read the output of the ACS70311, select “Read Output” highlighted green in Figure 15. Verify the Output [V] is a reasonablenumber, around 2.5 volts with zero external field applied if testing a bidirectional part with 5 volts typical VCC (0.5 volts with zero external field applied for a unidirectional device).
To turn the part off, select “Power Off” to the left of “Power On”, highlighted in blue in Figure 14 above. Clicking “Power Off” will cause ICC to fall to ≈ 0 mA.

Read and Writing to the Part

Note before reading and writing to the part, the part must be connected and powered on using the programmer GUI.
It is recommended that the user save the memory to a tabular file before experimenting with programming so the user can return the device to its original factory programmed state if necessary. See the Saving and Loading Memory Files section below.
To read a field, select the desired field by checking the box under “Select” to the left of the register name and click the “Read Selected” button highlighted in red in Figure 15.
To write to a field, select the desired field by checking the box under “Select” to the left of the name. Change the value under “Code” to the desired value and press Enter. Click “Write Selected” button highlighted in blue in Figure 15.
To verify that field was written to the device, do the following: click “Clear Selected” causing the values in the “Code” and “Value” cells to disappear. Then click “Read Selected”. The values that were written will reappear in the “Code” and “Value” cells verifying the user correctly wrote to the part.

Below, each option on the programmer menu has been briefly defined:

Read Selected: reads value of the selected field.
Write Selected: writes entered value to the part.
Zero Selected: this option will zero the selected field but will not write zero to the device unless “Write Selected” is clicked.
Clear Selected: this option will hide and clear the value of the
selected field but will not change the value.
Select All: selects all fields.
Deselect All: deselects any and all selected fields.

Note that clicking on the name of a selected field will define the field to the user (see Figure 16). Hovering over a field with the PC cursor will tell the user the address of that field (see Figure 18).

Accessing the Register Diagram

To access the register diagram, hover over “Help” on the menu bar. Select “ACS70311 Register Diagram”. This will open a dialog window identical to the window in Figure 18 below. See the appendix section below for a larger register diagram.

Manchester Programming Protocol

Under “Setup” → “Device Setup…”, the dialog menu in Figure 20 below will appear. In this menu, the user can change various characteristics of the Manchester programming protocol used by the ASEK-20. To restore these settings to their default settings, click “Restore Defaults” as highlighted in red in Figure 20. For more information about the device specific
Manchester parameters, see the ACS70310 and ACS70311 device datasheet.

Below, each Manchester option has been briefly defined:

Program Enable [V]: used to set the voltage for the Program Enable.
Serial Pulse High Level [V]: used to set the voltage for the high level of the Manchester signal.
Serial Pulse Low Level [V]: used to set the voltage for the low level of the Manchester signal.
Slew Rate [V/μs]: used to set the speed at which the Manchester signal will take to get from one voltage to another.
Speed [kb/s]: used to set the bit rate for communication with the ASEK.
Threshold [V]: used to set the threshold for determining the difference between a 1 and a 0 when performing register read.
Initial Commands: used for commands that must be sent to the ASEK-20 when it is being initialized.

Programming Methods Overview

The ACS70311 uses a bidirectional communication on VOUT.
The ACS70311 implements two programming methods: Prog_En Control (Low Voltage Progamming) and Raised VCC Conrol.

While the ACS70310 only implements Raised VCC control, the
ACS70310 implements both methods. See Figure 21 below for
ACS70311 programming diagram. The programming method can be selected when the device is off. In the right hand side of the prgrammer, the user can select the Programming Mode (see Figure 22). Figure 23 below shows the two programming methods of the ACS70311 on the bench.

RAISED VCC CONTROL (ACS70310/1)

When the voltage on the VCC pin is increased beyond the programming threshold, the device will enter programming mode.

Note the ACS70311 does not initiate communication; it responds to commands from the external controller. If the command is a write, there is no acknowledging from the ACS70311. If the command is a read, the ACS70311 responds by transmitting the requested data. To initialize any communication, VCC should be increased to a level above VprgL (6.5 V) without exceeding VprgH (9.2 V). At this time, VOUT is disabled and acts as an input.

PROG_EN CONTROL (LOW VOLTAGE PROGRAMMING, ACS70311 ONLY)

The ACS70311 will enter programming enable mode should the voltage on the programming enable pin (PROG_EN) pin exceeds VprgH(PROG_EN). The lower threshold of the programming enable pin allows for communication with the ACS70311 without having to generate signals above 5V

Saving and Loading Memory Files

To save the memory as a tabular data file or text file, click “Save…” in the bottom right side of the GUI as highlighted in red in Figure 24. Clicking “Save…” will open a file explorer where the user can save the memory information as a CSV file or TXT file. Saving the memory is recommended before experimenting with programming so the user can return the device to its original factory-programmed state if necessary. The user can also save the memory by clicking “File” → “Save Memory…”.
To load a previously saved file containing memory information, click “Load…” as highlighted in green in Figure 24 below. Clicking “Load…” will open a file explorer where the user can navigate to a previously saved CSV or TXT file. The user can also load a memory file by clicking “File” → “Load Memory…”.

Two-Point Programming

The goal of two-point programming is to calculate and set device sensitivity using two known points. The user must know the values of the magnetic field and the desired voltage output at two levels.
Prepare a test bench with the ACS70311 evaluation setup, a ferromagnetic core, and current-carrying conductor.
Enter a “Voltage at current level 1 [V]” target value, i.e. 1.5 V. Apply a known magnetic field, i.e. –500 G. Press the “Current Level 1” button. Remove the field once the GUI has finished processing.
Enter a “Voltage at current level 2 [V]” target value, i.e. 3.5 V. Apply the know magnetic field, i.e. 500 G. Press the Current Level 2” button. Remove the field once the GUI has finished processing.

For this example, the GUI will set the device sensitivity to 2 mV/G and will set the ‘sensf’ register value accordingly. The device sensitivity is calculated as follows: ([3.5 – 1.5] V × 1000 / 500 G = 2 mV/G
The GUI will also set the device offset to 2.5 V and will set the ‘qvof’ register accordingly. The user can now apply 500 G, read the output, and find the output will swing 1 V, 2.5 V to 3.5 V

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR TWO-POINT PROGRAMMING

The values for ‘senf’ and ‘qvof’ will be written by the GUI after two-point programming (the user does not have to select “Write Selected”).

The coarse gain value will not automatically update. For example, if the user inputs two voltage levels and field levels that equate to a 10 mV/G device sensitivity and the coarse gain value is currently set to 1, the GUI will produce an error message as the device is unable to have a 10 mV/G sensitivity in coarse gain 1.

If the user uses a positive field when setting a voltage level below QVO, i.e. the user sets the “Voltage at current level 1 [V]” to be 1.5 V and the applied magnetic field after pressing “Current level 1” is 500 G, the GUI will produce and error message asking the user to flip the polarity bit (“pol”).

Appendix

Revision History

Number

| Date|

Description

---|---|---

–

| October 7, 2020|

Initial release

1

| July 30, 2021|

Updated to include OK package

Copyright 2021, Allegro MicroSystems.
The information contained in this document does not constitute any representation, warranty, assurance, guaranty, or inducement by Allegro to the customer with respect to the subject matter of this document. The information being provided does not guarantee that a process based on this information will be reliable, or that Allegro has explored all of the possible failure modes. It is the customer’s responsibility to do sufficient qualification testing of the final product to ensure that it is reliable and meets all design requirements.
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