Interface module and method for communicating with an electric machine

An interface module configured to be releaseably coupled to an electric machine, said interface module comprising:

• a processing device;
• a first communication interface coupled to said processing device and configured for coupling with a motor controller of the electric machine;
• and
• a second communication interface coupled to said processing device and configured to receive a control signal, wherein said processing device is configured to receive the control signal using a first communication protocol that defines a first format for communicating data and transmit the control signal to the motor controller using a second communication protocol that defines a second format for communicating the data, wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.

A method for communicating with a motor controller that includes a serial communication interface, said method comprising:

• coupling an interface module to the serial communication interface of the motor controller;
• configuring the interface module to receive an input signal;
• and
• configuring the interface module to convert the input signal into a control signal for transmission to the motor controller by receiving the input signal using a first communication protocol that defines a first format for communicating data and transmitting the input signal to the motor controller as the control signal using a second communication protocol that defines a second format for communicating the data, wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.