I�C was designed to communicate over short distances between printed circuit boards and is a simple, 8-bit serial data bus. For the time being, it is not only PCB-mountable pressure sensors that utilize the I�C signal for data transfer, but additionally pressure sensors remote from customer electronics.
Remote sensors will often have the benefit of being less sensitive to contaminated or aggressive media and having the ability to measure directly at the process. In the case of sensors mounted on the circuit board, the sensor element is, oftentimes, exposed directly to the medium. With remote sensors, steel or ceramic generally serve because the wetted surface.
I�C circuit
The I�C bus, alongside the two supply lines, requires only two further lines:
SCL (serial clock line)
SDA (serial data line)
Additional possibilities through I�C
The I�C bus is a well-known standard in electronics, offering additional possibilities for communication with a pressure sensor than with an analogue signal:
In the info protocol, in addition to the pressure value, a temperature value and diagnostic information (for instance an integrity test of the data transfer) can be transmitted with a status byte.
Several pressure sensors can be linked to a bus line as ?slaves? to the client electronics that functions as a ?master?.
On the client side, in contrast to the application of pressure sensors with analogue signals, the analogue-to-digital conversion of the pressure value for further signal processing is unnecessary because the pressure value is already present in digital form. This contributes to faster and easier signal processing.
The electronics for communication could be constructed with standard components readily available on the market.
Often, I�C signal pressure sensors are also optimised to take less energy, making them ideal for battery-powered applications. In the WIKA portfolio, for example, this pertains to the MPR-1 pressure sensor module.
Boundary conditions with the use of I�C
Since I�C isn’t a fieldbus, long wire lengths are not recommended. The utmost wire length depends, at length, on the operating environment and the corresponding disturbing influences. I�C communication is most beneficial used in projects where the pressure sensor or the pressure sensor module is integrated into the customer product and therefore protected against external influences. It will also be noted that with any digitally processed signal, the response time because of discrete-time sampling will undoubtedly be somewhat slower than for an analogue, continuous signal.
Note
Your contact person will be happy to assist you to with any more questions on digital interfaces.
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