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USB Interfaces User’s Guide
COM Port Naming
Windows operating systems use COMxxx names to access the serial interfaces, with xxx representing a range of 1 to 255. Once
the driver is installed (see
COM Port Emulation Driver
on page 1-4), the OS uses the next available COMxxx name and binds it
to the new device. There are two different methods that can be used to assign a COMxxx name to a device. Scanning one of
the bar codes below has the following effect:
Using the serial number to bind a COMxxx name to a device is best for most users. If this method is
not used, the OS uses the
USB port tree to choose the COMxxx name, which is affected by the order in which each device is plugged in.
If you are a distributor and connect a different device to your PC every hour, you probably want to use the USB Port Number
Tree method (Serial Number OFF). To achieve this, the PC must either ignore the serial number, or the device must not publish
it. On Windows 2000 and XP you have both options. The firmware has a menu setting that hides the serial number, so your PC
uses the USB Port Number Tree method.
See
USB Serial Number
beginning on page 1-13 for more details about ignoring the serial number.
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes the default setting.
COM Port Emulation Driver
Hand Held Products provides a custom serial COM port emulation USB driver for use with its Adaptus Imaging Technology
products. This driver allows data transfer speeds of up to 7 meg-bits per second. The COM port emulation driver is required for
Windows 2000 (see below), Windows XP (see
page 1-7
), and Windows 98 (see
page 1-9
).
Windows 2000
Hand Held Products provides a specific CDC driver for Adaptus Imaging Technology devices. When Windows asks for a driver,
locate the file
cdc.inf. The rest of the process is automated. The operating system uses the next available COM port number.
Note: The COM port number is bound to the serial number of the device. Therefore, you can plug the device into any USB port
without changing the COM port number.
Note: COMxxx has a maximum of 256. Each time you try a device, your port number increases. Some programs cannot access
higher numbered ports. See
FAQs
beginning on page 2-1 for further information.
Serial Number ON
Serial Number OFF
This device always has the same name.
Name changes if USB port is changed.
Replacing a broken device requires a manual
change of the COM Port name.
Name changes if any USB hub is changed.
Every new device uses a new COM port name.
Name changes if USB host controller gets replaced.
