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Screenkey Technology

ScreenKeys offer Design Engineers and System Designers the ultimate in programmable LCD key switches. ScreenKeys are physically and electrically designed to ensure easy integration into end-user designs. Software integration is also made easy with the simple programming interface. 

The LCD and LED technology used in ScreenKeys offer superior display characteristics and optical performance.

Display Technology

STN LCDs (Super Twist Nematic Liquid Crystal Display) with wide viewing angles and excellent contrast ratios are used in all ScreenKey products. Two different LCD resolutions are offered:

• 32 x 16 pixels for fast changing graphics and text where immediate operator recognition is a primary requirement.
• 36 x 24 pixels higher resolution where finer detail and more text options are preferred.

LED Backlighting

ScreenKeys offer the most uniformly distributed backlighting (across the full face of the key) in the marketplace today.

Backlighting is provided by LED technology ensuring longer lifetime and better visibility compared to other backlighting methods. Multiple LEDs of each base colour and a unique light guide mechanism combine to create a highly uniform light diffusion.

ScreenKeys offer two product options for LED backlighting:

• RG (or LC) range use four red and four green LEDs
• RGB range use four red, four green and four blue LEDs

In addition to the base LED colours, composed colours can be generated by mixing base colours together, e.g. orange is achieved by mixing red and green etc. Each base colour can be turned on at full or half brightness to give more options for mixing composed colours.

ASIC Design

ScreenKeys progammable LCD keys utilise ASIC technology to provide a dedicated hardware single-chip solution. The ASIC design incorporates a graphical LCD Contoller, LED Control, and a simple synchronous communucation interface.

This single-chip solution provides optimum performance and minimises failures in the field.

ScreenKeys use a very simple comms interface in which control data is transmitted synchronously into the key using just four pins (Vcc, 0V, Clock and Data). A separate circuit provides the keyswitch contacts. Once an LCD image or LED colour command is sent to a ScreenKey, this data is maintained within the key and does not need to be resent. There is no load on the CPU and no ongoing data communication.

Switch mechanisms

Each ScreenKey product range is offered with a choice of two switch mechanisms:

• Soft-Touch (standard) switch mechanism (>1 million cycles)
• Tactile feedback switch mechanism (>3 million cycles)

Please click on the following link for to view the complete ScreenKey Product Range. The full range of ScreenKey Technical Datasheets can be downloaded from here.