Touch switch for PCAP fronts

Hy-Line

Inka Krischke, 08.04.2024, 11:08

Touch switch for PCAP fronts

With the 'Safety Key', Hy-Line Technology has developed an input device that enables the development of high-quality surfaces with touch input while offering the safety of a mechanical button.

For reasons of hygiene, surfaces with protruding switches or gaps on the front are less desirable in the medical sector. The Hy-Line Safety Key, on the other hand, can be seamlessly integrated into the front panel. The flush surface can be structured with a recess for easy finger guidance so that the switch can be found without looking at the device. For secure touch input, the switch has two independent channels with two different technologies for evaluating the touch of a surface. One channel uses a conventional PCAP sensor with a clever arrangement of the sensor area, which is already redundant in itself and therefore offers greater security. The second channel is based on an optical LiDAR sensor. Both channels must report a positive contact event before the output forwards the information to a downstream device. The prototype is designed to display a single button, but the number of buttons can be extended, for example for a numeric keypad.

Hy-Line offers comprehensive support for the integration of the Safety Key into a target system. It can be integrated into a customer design consisting of the touchscreen display and the windshield. There are various approaches to integration. It can be installed as a separate component behind the glass, or its PCAP part can be integrated into a larger display. The PCAP sensor and the optical sensor must be fine-tuned according to the specifications of the target device. The parameters include the sensitivity for operation with or without a glove and the activation distance. This depends on whether the finger should trigger a switching function immediately or rest on the contact surface for a certain time before the function is executed.

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