The Quantum ASCII interface module is a general purpose ASCII interface module providing the ability to communicate and exchange data with third party devices. These devices, typically, are found in industrial environments that do not utilize a standard communication method familiar to industrial automation. Such standard communication methods are using the industry standard Modbus communications, which defines the data query and response strings necessary, along with the physical interface required to communicate between programmable devices.

There are many communications standards and field busses available in industrial automation today. Few of these standards are based on RS 232C physical media for serial data streams. Much of the serial data information is not based on one of the available standards; therefore, the need for ASCII interfacing is required. ASCII communications are based on a custom serial protocol using RS232 or RS422/485 physical media.

The majority of these ASCII applications talk directly to printers, bar code readers and scanners, serial devices such as weigh scales, meters and other measurement devices, as well as to other control systems used within the industrial automation application.

These third party devices require communications in a language they can understand in order to enable data transmission to occur between the third party device and the ASCII module.

For example, a scale measuring the total weight of a package, may respond to receiving a ’control A’ ASCII character <^A> by returning the package weight. This data is placed into the memory of the ASCII module, which in turn is read by the Quantum controller. The controller may need to make a logical decision of where the package should go if the weight is above a certain pre defined amount. The ASCII module therefore allows integration of data typically found within automation applications by simply knowing the protocol or language the foreign device needs in order to communicate.