April 9, 2012 -- CSR plc has introduced the Quatro 5300 series of programmable imaging processors which the company claims are the most highly integrated solutions available for efficiently developing the next generation of printers, scanners and all-in-ones (AIOs) that meet the latest EU and U.S. energy-efficiency requirements. The Quatro 5300 series' reduced overall system BoM cost, programmable architecture and modular firmware platform help OEMs create smaller, less-expensive controllers for a wide range of low-end to mid-range products.

The Quatro 5300 series eliminates the need for many of the external components typically used to control printers, scanners and AIOs, making the Quatro 5300 series an attractive solution for OEMs seeking to reduce BoM costs. Newly integrated features include ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller cores for direct control of printer and scanner motors, eliminating the need for external motor control ICs.

The Quatro 5300 also supports the latest graphical user interface designs with its integrated ARM Mali-400 MP GPU, LCD controller and touch screen controller interface. The integrated Silicon Labs' V.34 hardware fax modem provides a globally-programmable telephone line interface with proven performance, and the Quatro 5300 series also integrates a complete scanner analog front end (AFE). The integrated DRAM interface supports DDR2 and DDR3 memory, enabling use of the lowest-cost option as the memory market evolves, while the integrated DAC provides cost-effective sensor control. An innovative 14-mm advanced quad flat no-lead (aQFN) package reduces board area and material cost compared to conventional BGA packages.

The Quatro 5300's energy-saving low-power sleep mode can reduce processor power consumption to less than 100mW, more than enough to meet the new EU energy-efficiency requirements expected to be implemented in January 2013. The Quatro 5300 low-power sleep mode disables unused function blocks, reduces the system clock frequency, puts DRAM into self-refresh mode and operates the CPU only on internal memory to monitor USB, Ethernet and operator panel interfaces for wake-up conditions.

Faster, easier software development

Developers will appreciate the Quatro 5300 series' fast ARM11 CPU core, up to 525MHz, and dual Quatro 4-datapath SIMD DSP cores, which enable the Quatro 5300 series to efficiently cover a range of applications including inkjet printers and AIOs, monochrome laser/LED printers and AIOs up to 50ppm, color laser/LED printers and AIOs up to 25ppm and document scanners. Higher-end products are covered by the CSR Quatro 4500 series. The CSR Inferno modular firmware platform provides developers with a single firmware base for the full range of Quatro processors that enables them to easily customize features to meet their specific needs and efficiently build cost-effective controllers for a wide range of products.

The Quatro programmable CPU, DSP and microcontroller cores let developers implement their own unique features, image-processing algorithms and mechanism controls using standard tools for faster software development and time-to-market. Developers can choose between Embedded Linux or ThreadX RTOS for the underlying operating system, and the extensive CSR library of optimized image-processing algorithms for the Quatro family makes developing image-processing pipelines easy.

For Wi-Fi connectivity, the CSR UniFi CSR6030 and CS6031 solutions interface directly with the Quatro 5300 and the CSR Synergy connectivity software is integrated with Inferno.

Availability