World’s First Safety-Certified Capacitive Touchscreen Controller Family from Microchip
As standard, emergency stop and unlock buttons are safety mechanisms in home appliances (e.g. ovens, hobs, washing machines, tumbler driers, etc.) are necessary help reduce the risk of fires and floods in homes.
Microchip’s maXTouch MXT336UD-MAUHA1 new family offers IEC/UL 60730 Class B pre-certified solutions that meet functional safety requirements whilst eliminating the need for a separate emergency stop or unlock buttons on touchscreen appliances. They are the only touchscreen controllers to offer pre-certified, Class B firmware on the market.
The touch controllers offer a unique safety feature that enables the system to shut off through an intuitive soft button on a touchscreen. This removes the requirement for an external stop/cancel button, and associated microcontroller (MCU). The maXTouch MXT336UD-MAUHA1 also allows an appliance to detect a touchscreen/appliance failure and shuts down automatically through self-testing capabilities. For example, if the glass on an electric hob breaks, the touchscreen will darken and shut off the machine – minimising any accidental damage in the home.
The number of touch-enabled home appliance is growing; the MXT336UD-MAUHA1 family is progressing in this direction, offering OEMS reduced costs and improving time-to-market with this simplified, single touchscreen interface.
The family consists of three controllers: the MXT112UD-MAUHA1, the MXT228UD-MAUHA1 and the MXT336UD-MAUHA1; each of one these fulfil various screen size requirements, ranging from 2 to 8 inches.
“Due to the risk of house fires caused by home appliances, appliance manufacturers must add functional safety to their machines, and Microchip’s MXT336UD-MAUHA1 touchscreen controller family is already certified for these required safety standards,” said Fanie Duvenhage, Vice President of Microchip’s Human Machine Interface business unit. “Integrating Class B certification into our touch controllers eases the design and qualification process for touch enabled appliances, ultimately putting safety first, while reducing costs and enabling modern user interface solutions.”