Description
| A freely programmable standard keyboard with LCD display keys acts as an extremely efficient and adaptable HMI (human-machine interface) | |
| Programming effort should not be underestimated | |
| Touchscreens have found their way into many areas of industry. Especially in industrial and plant control systems, they are used as an easy-to-operate, fast and intuitive input medium. With clearly structured touch surfaces, they can be operated intuitively. Functional sequences are visualised in detail by self-explanatory and easy-to-understand images. The advantages are manifold and have often been discussed. However, what users often do not consider in advance is the necessary flexibility and the high effort in terms of programming. While programming user interfaces under a touch screen is relatively complex and usually requires the user to have a high level of knowledge in programming technology, with a freely programmable keyboard with LCD display keys, command outputs or input data can be changed or corrected quickly and easily. The changes are realised with the help of easy-to-use software. This is a great advantage for companies with multi-server workstations. Why? The programming of the keyboard can also be changed from the central server, if necessary, so that all connected workstations are automatically fed with the new command data. This saves both time and money. This has great advantages for keyboards that are used, for example, to sell a frequently changing assortment of goods at sales counters. If, for example, data only needs to be changed or extended in individual functional areas, this can also be programmed accordingly quickly and easily. The "chameleon" keyboard was developed for the standard range of input media as a high-quality alternative to customised keyboards. It is a keyboard that also represents an output medium via the LCD keys used. This means that in some applications a screen can even be dispensed with, as the LCD keys can also display machine or computer statuses. In the customised sector, there have been fewer suppliers to date who also use LCD keys. For example, Siemens has developed a customised LCD keypad in the telecommunications sector for rescue control centres. | |
| Advantages and disadvantages of the technologies - GeBE's chameleon as a versatile alternative | |
| Modern devices in industrial and automation technology require new types of interfaces between the user and the machine. In the data output there is the monitor/display to always show current data about the operating status. In order to have an influence on the actions of the machine, an input device is always required. The touch screen is already used in many places in industry. Where the touch screen is not sufficient due to a lack of tactile feedback, or where no operating graphics can be generated on the display for input for programming reasons, the LCD keyboard can come into play. For control purposes, keystrokes are transmitted to the computer according to the symbols on the LCDs of the keys, which converts these signals into a command to the machine. In turn, feedback on the actions performed can be sent directly back to the display of the individual keys. For example, the background lighting can change colour, flash or change colour rhythmically. Of course, the symbol or text on the key displays can also change. Thus, input and output functions are similarly closely linked as on the touch screen. Of course, the "chameleon" keyboard has a security advantage that cannot be overlooked. The key clearly closes only one switching contact at a time, via which sufficiently large currents, which are more sensitive to interference than a contact on the touchscreen, can be switched directly. For this purpose, each key is equipped with gold contacts that guarantee a long service life with low switching resistance. The LCD displays built into the keycaps are extremely compact. With 32x16 pixels, the LCDs offer a high resolution. Each of these pixels can be turned off or on individually to display text or graphics. The background illumination supports use in dimly lit environments. It can be permanently lit or flashing in eight colours. It can also do this with changing primary colours. Since the keyboard with its controller already contains these operating modes prepared, operating status displays and warning signals in case of malfunctions are also easily programmable via a simple PLC. | |
| Adaptability in different applications | |
| The controller that controls the display assigns different key codes (also strings) to the actual buttons in different operating states. Which graphic or text is displayed can be stored for each button on the controller. This information can also be sent directly from the main computer to the individual displays in the buttons via the serial interface in so-called online mode. The controller of a machine can react in real time to certain situations and quickly offer changed input alternatives via the "chameleon" keyboard. Operator guidance via an additional standard display can thus be omitted. For example, an entire production line can be monitored with just one control panel. This adaptability also gave the "chameleon" keyboard its name, because similar to the "chameleon" in the animal world, which (for camouflage) quickly adapts its surface colour to the respective surface on which it is standing, the keyboard can change its graphic structure and signal colour. | |
| Easily modifiable: graphical representations | |
| The "chameleon" keyboard, which is offered as standard by GeBE Computer & Peripherie GmbH, is also extremely adaptable. It has 16 LCD keys that can be programmed to up to 24 levels and thus to a total of 384 functions. The 32x16 pixels per key display can show either two lines of text or any graphics and can be illuminated with eight different colours. In non-online mode, text and graphics can be stored in the controller for each individual key. In total, there is space for 250 different graphics to realise menu control. The twelve standard keys at the bottom of the keyboard are also programmable. The labelling of these keys can easily be customised. For this purpose, graphically designed paper labels are inserted between the basic key bodies and the clear cover caps. Thus, a more permanent layout design of this row of keys is possible. | |
| Adaptation is everything! | |
| The "chameleon" keyboard can serve well in various applications due to its "chameleon" adaptability. Let's look at the possible application in a control system that controls and monitors several machines via a network. Operating data, such as the feed rate on a spindle, the oil pressure in a hydraulic system or the fill level in a boiler, are shown on the display keys and can then be changed by means of key input. Character strings can be stored for any keys. These can be prices for the products shown on the displays as a menu selection, or telephone numbers, addresses, passwords and other data that are to be called up by pressing a key. In addition to use in industry and commerce, such "chameleon" keyboards can be used advantageously in areas such as sound and film studios, building automation and medical technology. Wherever frequently changing input situations have to be efficiently mastered in menu-like input/output applications, this adaptable HMI (Human-Machine-Interface), namely the "Chameläon" keyboard from GeBE, is a first-rate alternative to the touch screen. |
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