Contact: H.-Chr. v. d. Wense, Motorola GmbH, Schatzbogen 7, D-81829 Munich, Germany
Ph: +49 (89) 92103-882 E-Mail: H.Wense@Motorola.com
LIN Specification Package
Revision 2.0
September 23, 2003; Page 1
LIN
Specification Package
Revision 2.0
This specification is provided on an "AS IS" basis only and cannot be the basis for any
claims.
© LIN Consortium, 2003.
All rights reserved. The unauthorized copying, displaying or other use of any content
from this document is a violation of the law and intellectual property rights.
LIN is a registered Trademark ®.
All distributions are registered.
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LIN Specification Package
Revision 2.0
September 23, 2003; Page 2
Revision history
1 REVISION HISTORY
Issue Date Remark
LIN 1.0 1999-07-01 Initial Version of the LIN Specification
LIN 1.1 2000-03-06
LIN 1.2 2000-11-17
LIN 1.3 2002-12-13
LIN 2.0 2003-09-16 Major Revision Step
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LIN Specification Package
Revision 2.0
September 23, 2003; Page 3
LIN
2LIN
LIN (Local Interconnect Network) is a concept for low cost automotive networks, which
complements the existing portfolio of automotive multiplex networks. LIN will be the
enabling factor for the implementation of a hierarchical vehicle network in order to
gain further quality enhancement and cost reduction of vehicles. The standardization
will reduce the manifold of existing low-end multiplex solutions and will cut the cost of
development, production, service, and logistics in vehicle electronics.
2.1 SCOPE
The LIN standard includes the specification of the transmission protocol, the transmis-
sion medium, the interface between development tools, and the interfaces for soft-
ware programming. LIN promotes the interoperability of network nodes from the
viewpoint of hardware and software, and a predictable EMC behavior.
2.2 FEATURES AND POSSIBILITIES
The LIN is a serial communications protocol which efficiently supports the control of
mechatronics nodes in distributed automotive applications.
The main properties of the LIN bus are:
• single master with multiple slaves concept
• low cost silicon implementation based on common UART/SCI interface
hardware, an equivalent in software, or as pure state machine.
• self synchronization without a quartz or ceramics resonator in the slave nodes
• deterministic signal transmission with signal propagation time computable in
advance
• low cost single-wire implementation
• speed up to 20 kbit/s.
• signal based application interaction
The intention of this specification is to achieve compatibility with any two LIN imple-
mentations with respect to the scope of the standard, i.e. from the application inter-
face, API, all the way down to the physical layer.
LIN provides a cost efficient bus communication where the bandwidth and versatility
of CAN are not required. The specification of the line driver/receiver follows the ISO
9141 standard [1] with some enhancements regarding the EMI behavior.
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LIN Specification Package
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LIN
2.3 WORK FLOW CONCEPT
The LIN workflow concept allows for the implementation of a seamless chain of
design and development tools and it enhances the speed of development and the reli-
ability of the LIN cluster.
The LIN Configuration Language allows for safe sub-contracting of nodes without
jeopardizing the LIN system functionality by e.g. message incompatibility or network
overload. It is also a powerful tool for debugging of a LIN cluster, including emulation
of non-finished nodes.
The LIN Node Capability Language, which is a new feature in LIN 2.0, provides a
standardized syntax for specification of off-the-shelves slave nodes. This will simplify
procurement of standard nodes as well as provide possibilities for tools that automate
cluster generation. Thus, true Plug-and-Play with nodes in a cluster will become a
reality.
An example of the intended workflow is depicted below:
The slave nodes are connected to the master forming a LIN cluster. The correspond-
ing node capability files are parsed by the system defining tool to generate a LIN
description file (LDF) in the system definition process. The LDF is parsed by the Sys-
tem Generator to automatically generate LIN related functions in the desired nodes
(the Master and Slave3 in the example shown in the picture above). The LDF is also
used by a LIN bus analyzer/emulator tool to allow for cluster debugging.
LIN Description
System Defining
Tool
Node Capability Files
File
LIN
System
Generator
Bus analyzer and
emulator
Design
System
Debugging
Slave1 Slave2 Slave3 Master
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LIN Specification Package
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LIN
2.4 NODE CONCEPT
The workflow described above generates the complete LIN cluster interaction module
and the developer only has to supply the application performing the logic function of a
node. Although much of the LIN specifications assumes a software implementation of
most functions, alternative realizations are promoted. In the latter case, the LIN docu-
mentation structure shall be seen as a description model only:
A node in a LIN cluster interfaces to the physical bus wire using a frame transceiver.
The frames are not accessed directly by the application; a signal based interaction
layer is added in between. As a complement, a diagnostic interface exist between the
application and the frame handler, as depicted below.
2.5 CONCEPT OF OPERATION
2.5.1 Master and slave
A LIN cluster consists of one master task and several slave tasks. A master node
1
contains the master task as well as a slave task. All other nodes contain a slave task
only. A sample LIN cluster with one master node and two slave nodes is depicted
below:
Note 1: A node may participate in more than one cluster. The term node relates to a single bus
interface of a node if the node has multiple LIN bus interfaces.
Diagnostic
Signal interaction
Application
LIN bus line
API
Protocol
Physical
Frame handler
LIN bus
slave task
master task
master node
slave node
slave node
slave task slave task
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