Express Logic Introduces USB Support for ThreadX RTOS; Universally recognized USB communication protocol eases deployment and increases functionality of digital electronics.

SAN DIEGO -- Express Logic, Inc., the worldwide leader in royalty-free real-time operating systems (RTOS), today announced USBX(TM), a modularized, royalty-free universal serial bus (USB) communications stack for its popular ThreadX(R) RTOS. Fully compatible with ThreadX, Express Logic's USBX eliminates the development, integration and debug time required to write custom USB host/device support software or to integrate third-party solutions.

With Express Logic's USBX software, application developers can create embedded systems that communicate via the industry standard USB 1.1 and 2.0 protocol with existing commercial devices for transfer and storage of data. USBX capabilities are particularly useful for digital electronics products such as digital cameras, DVD players, medical equipment, 3G phones, set-top boxes, photo printers, MP3 players, and games consoles.

"ThreadX has been deployed in over 100 million digital cameras, printers and other devices, most of which use USB technology," commented William E. Lamie, president of Express Logic. "By providing our customers with a royalty-free combination of ThreadX and USBX, they can more quickly address their high-performance USB device connectivity needs, shortening the development cycle and its related costs."

Supporting both USB Host and USB Device mode operation, USBX is composed of a core USB stack and a set of USB-IF approved USB classes that include mass storage, audio, printer, HID, and hub. USBX also supports popular embedded 1.1 and 2.0 USB controllers like OHCI and EHCI, found in the IP of many custom SoC devices and in standard discrete controllers such as the Philips ISP1161A1.

USBX is designed for use with Express Logic's ThreadX real-time operating system (RTOS), but by using the included abstraction layer, USBX can be easily ported to any RTOS that support threads, semaphores and timer functions. USBX fully supports the maximum USB performance provided by the USB hardware controller.

USBX works in conjunction with Express Logic's FileX(TM) embedded file system to support USB mass storage devices. USBX supports the USB 2.0 specification with OTG extensions. Express Logic also plans future support for the PictBridge standard so that developers can use USBX for a full USB printing solution, including both the printer class and the PictBridge printer driver.

Shipping and Availability

USBX is available immediately, and is priced at $12,500 for a single-product development license with no run-time royalties. Broader licensing is also available.

About Express Logic

Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Express Logic offers the most advanced run-time solution for deeply embedded applications, including the popular ThreadX(R) RTOS, the high-performance NetX(TM) TCP/IP stack, and the FileX(TM) embedded MS-DOS compatible file system. All products from Express Logic include full source-code and have no run-time royalties. For more information about Express Logic solutions, please visit www.expresslogic.com, call 1-888-THREADX, or email inquires to [e-mail].

ThreadX is a registered trademark of Express Logic, Inc. NetX, FileX, CANX, USBX, preemption-threshold, picokernel, UDP fast path technology, are trademarks of Express Logic, Inc. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.