
6.1 Description
The L6238 contains a powerful serial port that
may be optionally used to dramatically increase
the functionality of the controller without signifi-
cantly increasing the pin count. The serial port
serves two primary functions:
1. Receive Control Information
A total of 16 bits of controlinformation can be pro-
grammed via the serial port, in addition to the ca-
pabilitiesprovided by externalpins. By duplicating
key serial port control functions at dedicatedpins,
the L6238 will still provide sufficient motor control
for many applications, without the use of the se-
rial port.
2. Provide Status Information
Certain status information is available only via the
serial port, with additional information available at
dedicatedpins.
6.2 Block Diagram
Figure 29 is a simplified block diagram of the
serial port. It consists of a 16-bit shift register, a
16-bit latch, and some control logic. The serial
port utilizes 5 pins to communicate with the out-
sideworld. They are:
Data I/O
The data I/O pin enables16 bits of data
to flow in as controlor out as statusinformation.
Read/Write
This pin selects read or write mode.
Clock
Used to shift data in or out of the serial
port.
Disable
If multiple controllers are connected for
parallel operation, this signal can be used to se-
lect communication to a particular port. If the Se-
rial Port is not used, the
PORT DISABLE
pin
shouldbe tied high.
Strobe
The read operation is transparent. When
the strobe is high, the data on the status bus
flows through to the serial register. In a write op-
eration,the loading of the control bits into the par-
allel control latch is an edge-triggered operation
occurring on the risingedge of the strobe.
6.3 Functional Truth Table
Table 4 defines the states for the disable and
R/W functions. If the disable pin is asserted high,
the Data I/O pin is tristated to a High-Impedance
state. The R/W pin determines whether the Data
I/O pinis an inputor an output.
The AC operating parameters of the serial port
aredefined in theElectrical Specifications.
Table 4:
TruthTable.
Dis
0
0
1
R/W
0
1
X
Function
Write to Serial Port (Data I/O = Input)
Read to Serial Port (Data I/O = Output)
Chip Disabled (Data I/O = Hi Z)
6.4 Timing Diagrams
Figure29:
Block Diagram.
L6238
27/35