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CONTROLS & DISPLAYS
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 | Controls & Displays: Responsive Refrigeration (July 2008)
With
global energy prices soaring to record high levels and no end in sight,
appliance manufacturers struggle to find innovative and effective ways
to improve energy efficiency. Among the most energy-consuming and
expensive of all appliances are compressor-based heating and cooling
systems. These include living space heating, cooling and comfort
control equipment, as well as refrigerators and freezers that are
present in millions of households and businesses throughout the world.
And that is why any efficiency improvements to compressor-based
equipment can have a significant impact on both the end-users and
society as a whole.
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 | Displays: Electronic Paper (May 2008)
The evolution of textual communication, from
cave walls and stone tablets to ink on parchment, from the first Gutenberg
press to the latest high-speed printing presses, has always embodied a common
thread of concern: readability. Once taken for granted, the issue jumped back
to the fore in the past few decades when text leaped off the page and onto the
computer screen.
by Larry Adams
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 | Controls: Leveraging Lasers (Feb. 2008)
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs)
were commercialized in 1996 primarily for use in data communication networks
using fiber optic cables. Since then, many millions of devices have been deployed
with arguably the highest reliability of any optoelectronic component ever
produced. Other applications for VCSELs have since emerged, principally as the
light source replacement for Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in optical mice.
Further expansion of VCSELs into other optical components is just beginning as
more OEMs realize the inherent benefits of using a VCSEL-based optoelectronic
component.
by Jim Tatum
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 | Controls: Thick Skin (Feb. 2008)
Spurred by the size and cost advantages of
fingerprint sensors and a growing need for security, biometric fingerprint
technology is being integrated into an increasing number of devices. With
fingerprint sensors being integrated into millions of products that will be
shipped globally, it’s important that the sensor system be able to function for
any type of finger in any situation. For example, these sensors are found in
rugged laptops used on construction sites, mobile phones deployed in humid
locales, and door locks installed in cold Northern towns. This means that
modern fingerprint sensors need to not only work with all skin types (dry,
worn, calloused, or oily), but they also must be durable enough to survive in
harsh outdoor environments.
by Tony Iantosca
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 | Controls: Infrared Innovations (Feb. 2008)
The applications for infrared energy are wide
ranging and include imaging and cooking, nondestructive tests and home heating,
motion sensors and remote controls for consumer electronics. For at least two
decades, infrared has also been used in touch-control technology. Here, too,
infrared technology’s uses may grow as new innovations emerge, such as improved
slide controllers.
by Larry Adams
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 | Controls: Direct and Digital (Feb. 2008)
The ongoing revolution in electronics technology
has spurred a demand for advanced digital sensors. To help meet this demand,
Inprox Technology Corp., Boston, has developed advanced inductive-based and
capacitive-based digital sensor technology. The technology was originally,
developed for advanced aerospace engine controls, but has since evolved from
these specialized engine and flight-control systems into designs and products
for a diversified set of critical applications involving measurements based on
inductive and capacitive platforms including: position, pressure, vibration,
torque, level, speed, deposition and temperature. Applications now include
high-volume products in the home appliance and consumer electronics segments.
by Derek Weber
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 | Controls: Acoustic Actuation (Feb. 2008)
Materials choices for product designers are
vast, but often when it comes to touch control the fall back is traditionally
glass or plastic, but new acoustic signal processing is expanding those
options.
by Larry Adams
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 | Controls: Taking Charge (Feb. 2008)
Capacitive touch-control technologies are
considered by many to be the workhorses of the electronics industry, having
been used in applications such as cash registers, kiosks, cooking appliances,
medical equipment, consumer electronics, and more. The robustness and
versatility of capacitive-based touch control has been under development for
more than 80 years, and its uses continue to grow.
by Larry Adams
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 | Displays & Indicators: Color Coordinated (Nov. 2007)
An emerging reflective display technology allows
product designers to match the inactive part of the display to the housing of
the product. (See image above.) Because the method relies on the displacement
of dyed oil within a pixel, the display can be designed to show any one of an
extensive range of colors simply by changing the color of the dye. It’s even
possible to match a specific shade used as an identifying shade, as in a brand
color or corporate logo color.
by Richard Babyak
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 | Displays & Indicators: Driving LED Backlights (Nov. 2007)
Vendors
of large-area and medium-area displays are switching from cold-cathode
fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) to the more environmentally friendly LED backlights,
as “green” technology permeates more and more systems. LED backlights are also
thinner, consume less power, and are more reliable than CCFLs.
by Achilles Wang
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 | Displays & Indicators: Lustrous Luminance (Nov. 2007)
LED technology is improving by leaps and bounds, or,
more appropriately, watts and lumens. Riding a wave of better fabrication
technologies, today’s LEDs are cheaper, brighter and offer more color choices.
And, they still feature inherent longevity, durability and the ability to
operate at a wide — and growing wider — temperature range.
by Larry Adams
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 | Controls & Sensors: Quick Code (July 2007)
Splashy
graphics and colorful images. Layer upon layer of screens. Text that is easier
to read. More interesting fonts, tactile effects, animated icons and richer and
more detailed graphics. Today's software and hardware make the creation of these effects easier than ever.
by Larry Adams
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 | Controls & Sensors: Touch Tones (July 2007)
As electronically
controlled products become more sophisticated in their capabilities, the
touchscreen has become an increasingly popular interface, one that places a
burgeoning array of features at a user’s fingertips. In a growing number of
applications, both large and small, the touchscreen often provides a design
engineer with an optimal solution: one that avoids the cost of discrete buttons
and switches, while eliminating the complexity of scroll and slew controls.
by Richard Babyak
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 | Displays: Adding the Right Touch (May 2007)
Glass-front
appliances are known to perform better than non-glass-front units in vending
machine applications, and also promise greater performance and functionality in
commercial and home appliances. A touchscreen technology that is compatible
with the glass-front panel will extend the reach of these types of machines and
enable further improvements in appearance and styling.
by Mark Cambridge
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 | Displays: Easy on the Eyes (May 2007)
Thin-film electroluminescent (EL) displays were initially developed
in the early 1980s as a high-performance alternative to monochrome passive LCD
displays. EL displays were developed in the laboratories and commercialized by
four companies: Planar Systems in the U.S., Finlux in Finland, Sharp
Electronics, and later Nippon Denso, both in Japan. Initial applications for
this technology were many and varied, but they were found to be particularly
advantageous in portable medical equipment, industrial controls, commercial
in-vehicle, and military applications. Displays produced with EL technology
have ranged in size from a few inches to 18-in. diagonals in monochrome,
grayscale and multicolor.
by Larry Lewis
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 | Controls & Sensors: Work Out Works Smart (February 2007)
Life Fitness provides more than 300 different cardio and strength-training products to the fitness industry, delivering products that are used in health clubs worldwide. The company employs more than 1,700 people at 12 international subsidiaries and manufacturing facilities, with 186 dealers and distributors in more than 120 countries.
by John Suh
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 | Controls & Sensors: Touch Sensors Spread Out (February 2007)
With all the recent excitement about capacitive sensing in portable media players, laptop PCs and mobile handsets, it is easy to forget that such interface technologies have been actively designed into major appliances applications for years. Significant improvements in sensing algorithms and control circuitry have expanded the suite of applications in which the technology can be implemented. Designers are seeing the value of capacitive sensing as a replacement for mechanical buttons and membrane switches, as well as discovering new, exciting applications such as touchscreens and proximity sensors.
by Ryan Seguine
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 | Controls & Sensors: Slide Style (February 2007)
Capacitive touch controls are now finding their way into many applications, from mobile phones to television sets. These interfaces are both robust and practical, and increasingly affordable. The designer’s quest for the ideal human interface is increasingly answered with electronic touch controls that increase consumer appeal and improve usability.
by Hal Philipp
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 | Controls & Sensors: Touch Controls Touch Back (February 2007)
As appliance designs become more complex and feature-rich, manufacturers are looking at ways to improve the human-machine interface (HMI). While touchscreens offer intuitive operation and software flexibility, touch-activated digital switches offer refined aesthetics and better sealing. Both types of controls offer space and cost savings and have become extremely popular for many appliances and devices.
by Michael D. Levin
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 | Displays and Indicators: Natural Light
What can a butterfly teach about technology? Quite a lot, actually. The physics behind the iridescence seen in butterfly wings, peacock feathers, and the inside of a sea shell, has inspired an innovative display technology based on the same principles.
by Richard Babyak
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 | Displays and Indicators: OLEDs on the move
Recent developments in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology are enabling greater deployment of OLED displays in a number of applications, including home appliances, consumer electronics, and even medical equipment. One factor behind this movement is the development of OLED materials with longer life.
by John Cramer
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 | Controls & Sensors: Touch Points (July 2006)
Sophisticated industrial controls, chip and PIN commerce, access control systems and high-end consumer goods are among the emerging applications that demand enhanced performance from electronic keypads.
by Mark Cambridge
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 | Controls & Sensors: Versatile Vision (July 2006)
Our universe is largely comprised of electrically charged particles. The
ubiquitous nature of this phenomenon is the foundation for applications using
capacitive sensing technology. While today there is not a standard name for this
category of sensors, some common names are E-Field sensor,
capacitance-to-digital-converter and capacitive sensor.
by Philip Sieh
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 | Displays & Indicators: LCDs Leap Ahead
The exploding thin-film-transistor, liquid-crystal display industry has leaped beyond the traditional information technology applications of notebook PCs and desktop monitors, propelled by a wide array of technological advancements and attractive prices.
by Joe Virginia
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 | Displays & Indicators: Flashy Future
From Christmas tree lights and flashlights, to traffic lights and brake lights, LEDs are showing up everywhere these days, and some predict that LEDs will begin replacing conventional incandescent light bulbs in the home before the end of the decade. In the realm of indicator lights for appliances and electronics, the steady replacement of incandescent bulbs with LEDs in product designs has been underway for a long time.
by Richard Babyak
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 | Displays & Indicators: Thin Is In
Designers are always looking for ways to make their products slimmer, particularly in portable applications such as mobile phones, where thinness has become the fashion and helps determine the acceptance of the product in the market. For designers thinking thin, the selection of illumination technology for keypad and decorative lighting plays an important role in realizing those design objectives.
by Richard Babyak
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 | Displays & Indicators: What’s Your Angle?
During the past decade, thin-film-transistor LCDs have rapidly displaced emissive displays, such as CRTs and LEDs, by offering superior resolution, lower power, lighter weight, and thinner profile. But LCDs had their issues, notably their smaller viewing angle.
by Sriram Peruvemba
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 | Controls & Sensors: Tough Touch Screen (February 2006)
Interactive display uses durable glass touch controls.
The Whirlpool Velos SpeedCook oven, introduced last month, is an innovative appliance, not just for its multimodal cooking technologies, but also for its novel industrial design, which was made possible, in part, by a new interactive touch screen technology.
by Hal Philipp
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 | Controls & Sensors: Tactile Turn (February 2006)
Multifunction rotary encoders increase design options.
There has always been something appealing about a simple knob as a control input. Its operation is familiar and intuitive. And on an electromechanical control, a knob typically provides enough resistance to let the user know positively that a function has been actuated or selected.
by Mike Levin
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DISPLAYS: White Panels for White Goods
The monochromatic look for major home appliances has been popular for a long time and shows no sign of fading. However, for white or light-colored appliances, complete implementation of the design concept is often thwarted by a dark display area. Whether it’s the black window for LEDs or the grey box of an LCD, the location serves as a stark interruption of the otherwise uniform look.
by Richard Babyak
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DISPLAYS: Connected Cooking
One of the big attractions at the Consumer Electronics Show this year was the ConnectIo Intelligent Oven, developed by TMIO, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The oven received two separate Innovations Design and Engineering Awards from the Consumer Electronics Association, the show’s sponsor.
by Richard Babyak
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DISPLAYS: Pondering Panels
In today’s competitive appliance market, a simple on-off switch and a mechanical timer just won’t cut the mustard anymore. Modern appliances are all about convenience and capability, which also requires a user interface that can communicate effectively. Complex choices are easy for users to make when an attractive display provides clear prompts. Anything less leads to customer frustration, calls for support, and product returns.
bY Dale Maunu
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DISPLAYS: View from the Edge
Thin, flat screen televisions are all the rage these days, but many consumers prefer the big screen experience provided by rear projection televisions. Technologically, the two concepts are at odds with each other, but that is about to change, thanks to a technology developed by Cambridge Flat Projection Display, Ltd. (CamFPD), a high-tech start-up company spun-off from the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University in the U.K.
by Richard Babyak
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DISPLAYS: The Plastic Page
A recurring dream in the display business is that it will one day be possible to produce a low-cost display that has the same clarity and resolution as a page in a magazine. The other part of the dream is that such a display can be cost-effectively “printed,” much in the same way one would print a magazine. Recent research is bringing that dream closer to realization.
by Richard Babyak
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