Overview of 2014

OLED displays with SPI interface

The highly popular   serial peripheral interface (SPI) is now available on ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY OLED text displays. The deployment of serial data transmission continues to increase and SPI expands the application range of the displays. A broad and ever -expanding range of SPI-enabled components and microcontrollers is available on the market and the SPI bus is now being designed into many applications. In theory, there is no limit to the number of displays and nodes that can be attached to the SPI bus. The bus has 3 shared bus lines (MOSI, MISO and CLK) as well as a CS ( chip-select) line.

Previously, the advanced text displays which are available in ice white and yellow/green were only supplied with a 4-/8 -bit data bus.

All displays have a built-in controller similar to the HD44780 and run on a single 3.3V or 5V supply. Current consumption is very low with 15    ~50mA. 4 character sets including special characters are already stored in the character ROM: English/Japanese, English/Russian (Cyrillic) and 2 different Western European character sets. Users can also define up to 8 of their own characters. Different functions can easily be programmed with a single command: Clear Display, Cursor Home, Cursor ON/OFF, Cursor Blink and Shift Display. Example code is available on the homepage. All OLED displays will run in a wide operating temperature range (-40  ~+80°C).

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY offers 9 different versions of its text OLEDs:
EA W082-XLG with 2x8 characters (5. 5mm high)
EA W162, 6 versions with 2x16 characters (5. 5mm and 8. 9mm high)
EA W202-XLG with 2x20 characters (5. 5mm high)
EA W204-XLG with 4x20 characters (5. 5mm high)
Here’s the link for the corresponding data sheet.

Developing and testing displays

The new EA 9780-3USB test board allows a rapid start to be made on development projects involving displays of the EA DOG and EA eLABEL20 lines from Gilching manufacturer  ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY. The PCB drives all display modules of these product lines and, when combined with the free PC software StartDog.exe, enables all displays and illumination schemes of the DOG series to be tested rapidly. Commissioning does not require any proprietary hardware or software development at all, which means that high-level decisions can be reached extremely quickly and at minimum expense.
The board comes with an arrangement of plug contacts to suit all the above display modules. The PCB also contains the driver circuit for the LED backlighting of the display as well as 2 banks of DIP switches that allow even multicolor backlighting right through to full-color RGB illumination to be realized. No other hardware components – such as adapters, driver boards, power supplies or the like – are required. Connection to the master PC is by means of a supplied USB cable. Once the test board is connected to the PC, the displays immediately show the screen content developed with StartDog.exe.
This software is available free of charge on the home page and can be used even without a test board, which means that text and bitmap graphics for the display modules can be displayed directly. This screen content is loaded onto the test board and displayed. Use of the program is largely self-explanatory and does not require any software knowledge  . Screen content, displays and illumination schemes can thus be developed and tested extremely rapidly and at minimum expense.
Here’s the link for the relating data sheet.

Fast LCD graphics module in widescreen format

The LCD graphics module EA DIP180B-5LWTP from ELECTRONIC ASSEMBMLY is being offered in an interesting format.
With external dimensions of only      102x27x11mm (window    88x19mm), it is ideal for use in 19-inch racks, where it can be accommodated in a single RU. Even so,   180x32 pixels can still display a lot. The very bright super-twist LCD   is configured with LED backlighting and offers a high contrast in blue/white. It delivers brilliant images and optimum readability even under poor lighting conditions.
3 type PT6520 controllers (compatible with SED1520) are used to control the left, center and right sections of the display. All characters are designed as graphics and various character sets are available on a USB flash drive.
The use of super-twist technology allows a fast response time even when temperatures are very low. In fact, at extremely low operating temperatures of -20°C, the display has a sufficient response time of approximately 2.5 s. The operating temperature range extends from -20  to +70°C.
The display comes with automatic temperature compensation. This removes the usual need to adjust the contrast during operation. The module can be soldered directly to the printed circuit board, avoiding complex assembly with additional mechanical components. A robust analog 4-wire panel is optionally available as a touch panel.
Other key features of this high-quality LCD graphics module include:

  • Connection by 8-bit data bus
  • Power supply +3.3 V…+5 V  /approx. -3.3V max.  800µA
  • Long LED lighting service life of 100,000 hours
  • Many years of availability

Here’s the link for the corresponding data sheet.
Other modules in the same technology:  Dot-matrix modules with 1x8, 2x16 and 4x20, character and graphics modules with 122x32, 128x64 and 240x128 dots.

Small, versatile graphics displays

The EA DOGXL240-7 is the latest addition to the  ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY EA DOG series. The new graphics display has 240x128 pixel resolution. It comes with a UC1611s controller, graphics RAM and alternatively with background lighting. The compact display (   94x67mm) is ideal for handheld applications, particularly because current consumption is only  900µA (without lighting) and the display can be powered by batteries. 3 different LED background lighting options and 4 different display technologies (STN and FSTN) are available, giving users up to 8 possible designs to choose from. All feature high brightness and contrast.

Other attractive features include:
Super -flat, 2. 8mm without backlight, 6. 5mm with LED backlight
Broad power input range, 2.  7V to 3. 3V, no auxiliary voltage needed
Serial SPI interface (3- and 4-wire) and I2C
Fast and easy mounting by pins soldered to PCB
Operating temperature -20 to +70°C with built-in temperature compensation

The following backlighting options are available: White, green/red and amber. The backlight color can be switched between red and green for 2-color displays. All are extremely bright for excellent readability and they have low power consumption.

The EA DOGXL240-7 modules will also operate with the EA TOUCH240-3, which is a 4-wire resistive touch panel that has a self-adhesive backing and can be mounted directly onto the display. ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY recommends a display with backlight to ensure good readability when the touch panel is used.

The EA DOGXL240-7 modules have been designed with compact handheld devices in mind but they are also used in instrumentation and diagnostic systems, machine manufacturing, construction machinery, auto electronics development, special purpose vehicles and medical equipment.
EA DOG series products are available in many different versions from stock in quantities of 1 or more. Availability is guaranteed for up to 10 years.

Here’s the link for the corresponding data sheet.

The customized EA 9780-3USB evaluation kit can be supplied to support application development for the display. ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY developed the kit to speed up commissioning and help users familiarize themselves with the EA DOG displays. Individual character sets and a font editor are available on a USB flash drive as an accessory. DOG displays can also be supplied in other sizes and dimensions as text (1x8 to 4x20 characters) and graphics versions (1.7 to 3.9 inches).

WiFi data logger

Capacitive touch panel

Displays are used for status output and command entry on today’s state-of-the-art machinery, equipment and industrial systems. A suitable touch panel provides the necessary functionality. At electronica 2014, Electronic Assembly exhibited its intelligent EA eDIPTFT43-A TFT graphic display with capacitive touch panel. The unit combines an elegant appearance with optimal usability whether or not the user is wearing gloves. Multi-touch is detected but does not result in operating errors. The display with 6H surface hardness is absolutely scratch-proof and is designed for day-to-day use in harsh industrial environments.

The EA eDIPTFT43-A has a diagonal screen size of 4.3 inch (10.9 cm) and is able to display 480 x 272 pixels. The 16-bit color depth supports up to 65,536 colors, and LED backlighting ensures bright, high-contrast images. The display is also suitable for vertical mounting to meet application needs, in which case the resolution is 272 x 480 pixels. The orientation is software selectable.

A 4 MB on-board flash memory can be used for storage and recall of character sets, images, animations and macros. 8 fonts are pre-defined, and they can be customized, scaled over a wide range and rotated in 90-degree increments. The display with built-in intelligence features pixel-perfect positioning on all graphic and font functions. A combination of images, animations, graphics and text can be displayed simultaneously on the screen.

By adding a capacitive or resistive (analogue) touch panel, it is possible to create GUIs with user-definable virtual switches and controls. The controls can be modified on the fly to match the current operating state.

Three different data interface ports are available for communication with the outside world: RS-232, I2C and SPI bus. The displays also have eight digital inputs and outputs and two programmable analogue inputs. Graphic commands resembling high-level language code are used to control the display, eliminating the need for time-consuming character set programming and graphic routines. This considerably reduces time to market.


For more information, please contact

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY GmbH
Zeppelinstr. 19
D-82205 Gilching

Tel. +49-8105-77 80 90
Fax +49-8105-77 80 99

E-mail: neu@lcd-module.de
Internet: www.lcd-module.de


Press contact:
pth-mediaberatung GmbH
Paul-Thomas Hinkel
Friedrich-Bergius-Ring 20
97076 Würzburg

Tel: 0931/32 93 0-0
Fax: 0931/32 93 0-16

E-mail: kg@mediaberatung.de
Internet: www.mediaberatung.de

 

DOG-Displays and Arduino

The Arduino open source computer platform has taken the hearts (and desktops) of product design engineers and programmers by storm. The versatile, low-cost EA DOG series from Electronic Assembly is the ideal display for Arduino systems. As part of its “Arduino meets DOG” campaign, Electronic Assembly has given developers free-of-charge access to all of the documentation needed to connect DOG displays to the Arduino.
The support package includes circuit diagrams, EAGLE PCB layouts, component placements, initiation sequences and sample programs for operating the display on an Arduino Uno.

Five product types based on different technologies are available in the DOG series: positive and negative character display as well as transmissive, transflective and reflective display technologies. These basic types can be supplied in one, two or three line versions. As the display units can be used in combination with 6 different backlight modules, there are a large number of possible versions.

Electronic Assembly's DOG series will run out of the box on 3.3V, which is highly recommended for mobile devices. Low current consumption (only 250 microamperes) is a definite advantage in these applications. The display can also be powered from a 5V source without problem.

The external dimensions of the displays were also defined with handy, mobile devices in mind. The units are very compact. Including the backlight module, they are only 5.8 mm thick. Without the backlight module, the thickness is just 2 mm. The 55 x 31 mm footprint including a 51 x 14.5 mm viewing window is also extremely compact.

Besides the free support package, unpopulated boards (Arduino Shields) for text and graphic displays including the EA DOGS102-6, EA DOGM132-5 and EA DOGLM128-6 are also available from Electronic Assembly at extra charge.



More details available from:

ELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY GmbH
Zeppelinstr. 19
D-82205 Gilching
Germany

Tel. +49-8105-77 80 90
Fax +49-8105-77 80 99

E-mail: vertrieb@lcd-module.de
Internet: www.lcd-module.de



Press contact:

pth-mediaberatung GmbH
Paul-Thomas Hinkel
Friedrich-Bergius-Ring 20
97076 Würzburg
Germany

Tel: 0931/32 93 0-23
Fax: 0931/32 93 0-16

E-mail: kg@mediaberatung.de
Internet: www.mediaberatung.de

 

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