Controller having discrete driver circuitry connected to a single processor port

摘要

A controller (10) having discrete driver circuitry (20A) for driving an electrical load (16A) and a method (30) are provided. The controller (10) includes a microprocessor (12) having ports (PO-P3) configurable to operate as inputs or outputs. The controller (10) also includes discrete driver circuitry (20A-20D) connected to ports (P1-P3) of the microprocessor (12). The discrete driver circuitry (20A) is configured to apply electrical power to drive an electrical load (16A). The controller (10) further has logic (30) for configuring the ports (P0-P3) of the microprocessor (12) as an output to enable on/off of the output signal that drives the electrical loads (16A-16D), and further for configuring the ports (P0-P3) of the microprocessor (12) as an input to receive feedback signals from the discrete driver circuitry (20A-20D). The feedback signals are processed to detect fault conditions.