Back up pictures from digital cameras with USB mass storage class interface to USB flash drives

VF2F2 is a file backup device for data from a digital camera with a USB Mass Storage Class interface to a USB Flash drive.  At the push of a button, all the picture files on the camera are copied to a unique folder of a USB Flash drive so that the digital camera memory can be re-used to take further pictures.  This is an ideal accessory for digital camera users who wish to back up their photos on the road without having to carry a notebook PC, or for people who want to share or swap their photos without requiring a card reader.  VF2F2 is powered by two AAA-size alkaline batteries.

USB Digital Camera to USB Flash Drive Interface Features

• Two USB "A" sockets connect to digital camera and USB Flash drive respectively
• Uses FTDI’s VNC1L embedded USB host controller IC device
• Single-button file backup function
• Intelligent LEDs illustrate successful USB Flash disk enumeration, file copy function and error conditions
• On-board DC-DC converter supplies the circuitry with 5V and 3.3V power from 2 x AAA cells
• Program or update firmware via USB Flash disk or UART interface
• VNC1L firmware programming control pins (RESET# and PROG#) brought out onto jumper interface
• Schematics, firmware and PCB Gerber files available for download
• Assembled VF2F2 evaluation kit is Pb-free and RoHS compliant

Vinculum USB Host Microcontroller

The VNC1L microcontroller used on this digital camera to USB Flash drive backup controller is part of the FTDI Vinculum USB Host Microcontroller Series. The VNC1L chip features an integrated 8/32-bit MCU and 64k embedded Flash memory. Not only does the chip handle data transfer functions on two USB Host/Client Interfaces, but it encapsulates several USB device classes as well. You don't have to worry about having to write the firmware to implement those functions.

When interfacing to mass storage devices such as USB Flash drives, the VNC1L transparently handles the FAT file structure communicating via UART, SPI or parallel FIFO interfaces via a simple-to-implement command set. The VNC1L device features two USB ports which can be individually configured by firmware as Host or Slave (client) ports.

VNC1L brings cost-effective USB Host capability to products that previously did not have the hardware resources available. As VNC1L comes complete with FTDI's in-house developed firmware, there are no USB software stacks to license, and no knowledge of USB is required to use these devices.

Key VNC1L features include:

• 8/32 bit V-MCU Core
• Dual DMA controllers for hardware acceleration
• 64k Embedded Flash Program Memory
• 4k internal Data SRAM
• 2 x USB 2.0 Slow/Full speed Host/Slave Ports
• UART, SPI and Parallel FIFO interfaces
• PS2 legacy Keyboard and Mouse interfaces
• Up to 28 GPIO pins depending on configuration
• 3.3V operation with 5V safe inputs
• Low-power operation (25mA running/2mA standby)
• FTDI firmware easily updated in the field
• LQFP-48 RoHS-compliant package
• Multi-processor configuration capable

Downloads