EMUS G1 Control Unit (or simply Control Unit) is the main controller that autonomously executes all core and utility functions of battery management. It interacts with all other first party and third party components in the system using various inputs, outputs and interfaces that arepopulated on its main 22 pin and secondary 8 pin connectors.
Depending on their purpose, all Control Unit pins can be divided into two categories: fixed and remappable. Fixed pins that dedicated for digital communication interfaces and power supply, and their position on the connector is permanent. Remappable pins are quite the opposite they can be mapped with various functions during configuration, meaning the default function of one pin can be remapped onto another pin. They are also further divided into general purpose and special purpose categories. A general purpose pin has a st andard set of mappable functions, while a special purpose pin can also be mapped with certain function that is unique to that pin and cannot be mapped on others. Each of these pins is marked with its default function on the enclosure of the Control Unit.
USB data interface
The Control Unit has a USB interface that is intended for quick and straightforward connection to a host device (e.g. computer, tablet, smartphone) when configuration, diagnostics, or maintenance is needed. Although aimed for connecting to first party applications on the host device, the USB interface can also be used with custom third party applications developed by the users. It is based on a USB to serial converter chip from FTDI, and the requ ired USB drivers are royalty free.
The protocol that defines the format of the data exchanged between the Control Unit and the host application is described in an openly available document called EMUS G1 Control Unit Serial Protocol.
RS232 data interface
The protocol used for data exchange over the Control Unit’s RS232 interface is the same as the one used in data exchange over the USB interface, thus both interfaces are functionally identical. However, RS232 is inherently more robust than USB and is therefore more suitable for continuous BMS activity monitoring either directly by a third party controller, or by using the optional firs t party EMUS G1 BMS components that are dedicated for this purpose.
CAN data interface
Because of its popularity in automotive, industrial, and many other applications, EMUS G1 Control Unit is also equipped with a non isolated CAN 2.0A/B interface. It is populated as the “CAN+”, “CAN –”, and “GROUND” pins on the main 22 pin connector. This interface is multipurpose, and enables the Control Unit to:
• Communicate with other CAN equipped EMUS G1 BMS components;
• Control certain third party charging devices;
• Transmit BMS activity data (either periodically or by request);
• Receive new configuration parameter values and other special messages
The message format of the latter two follows a special proprietary CAN protocol that is describedin a separate document called EMUS G1 Control Unit CAN Protocol.
Application:
Any lithium chemistry, series connected battery pack of up to 254 cells if using serial cell communication.
Any lithium chemistry, series connected battery pack, or pack of multiple parallel strings, of up to 8128 cells total, if using EMUS CAN Cell Group Modules.