Central Hub (USB Controlled Appliances)

The Central Hub from USB Controlled Appliances is a 4-port USB hub with MCP2221A ICs attached to two or three of the USB ports, depending on jumper configuration. The UART interfaces on the MCP2221A ICs are broken out onto external connectors. The I2C bus on one of the MCP2221A ICs has a MCP23017 GPIO expander, a MCP79410 real time clock, and a DS2482-100 1-Wire converter. (The other MCP2221A ICs don't have anything attached to the I2C bus.)

The Central Hub is known as a "compound device" according to USB specifications. It has a USB hub with devices (MCP2221A chips) permanently attached to the hub. The other USB ports on the hub are exposed externally.

The board is still used after the end of ECE 445 as a USB hub for full- and low-speed devices such as keyboards and mice, as well as a serial adapter for single-board computers and routers.