Two-Chip, 3.3-Volt Analog/Digital Chipset Improves Handwriting Recognition with Low Power Pen Systems for PDAs.ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 1995--A new 3.3-volt chipset introduced by WACOM Technology Corporation at the Society for Information Display Conference here slashes overall power consumption of a pen input system offering increased durability and higher accuracy and resolution, thereby solving many problems previously associated with PDAs, including longevity, screen readability, and handwriting recognition Handwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive intelligible handwritten input. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning (optical character recognition). . The two chip, W6004F/W F/W Framework F/W Firewall F/W Firmware F/W Fixed Wing F/W Franked With (postal designation) 7003F analog/digital electromagnetic system is part of WACOM's integrated sensor display (ISD See IDD. ) solution, which includes the chips, a battery-free pen, and a sensor board. The chipset's total height has been reduced by 60% compared to the company's previous two-chip, 5-volt version. The chipset's controller circuit area is half the size of the 5-volt chipset. The analog transceiver is a proprietary ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. developed by WACOM. The digital, 16-bit controller is based on a Hitachi H8 core. Each chip is packaged in a 100-pin TQFP See QFP. . The new chipset is based on WACOM's patented electromagnetic resonance (EMR (ElectroMagnetic Radiation) The emanation of energy from everything in the universe. Although the EMR from electrical and electronic devices is typically measured for practical, every-day situations, every object, including humans, emanates energy. ) technology, which offers the only-battery free/wireless electronic pen on the market today. The WACOM approach is currently used by IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Toshiba, Fujitsu, and other builders of pen-enhanced computer systems. Because the sensor board powers the pen, no battery is required, reducing pen weight by about 75% over battery-operated pens and making this approach far more durable than traditional overlay technology, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. WACOM marketing manager Steve Sechrist. Low Voltage Low voltage is an electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. While different definitions exist for the exact voltage range covered by "low voltage", the most commonly used ones include "mains , Low Power for PDAs The W6004F/W7003F achieves a 30% to 40% reduction of the pen input system's power consumption over WACOM's previous generation 5-volt chipsets. "This makes the new solution even more suitable for mobile computers and PDAs," said Hoshin Maeda, WACOM's application support engineer. Survey Scan Reduces Power Consumption, Wakes Up Entire System From Sleep The chipset features a new power reduction mode called "survey scan," which serves as a switch "to wake up the host from system sleep with just a tap of the pen," said Maeda. After a pen goes out of proximity from the sensor board, the host CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. commands the controller to enter survey scan mode. When the pen next enters proximity, the controller returns to high scan mode. Power consumption is approximately one mW in survey scan mode at one scan per second. Proximity sensing allows position and switch data to be sent to the system before the pen touches the sensor. The cursor becomes visible when the pen is 15 mm above the sensor grid. "This is most useful when the pen is used as a navigating or pointing device, and is much faster than using a mouse for navigation," said Maeda. Improves Handwriting Recognition Other technologies using resistive/capacitive solutions may be simpler, but they are also lower in performance: lower data rates, lower resolution, and lower accuracy. "These solutions are also unable to provide some major features of the WACOM solution, such as pressure sensitivity and proximity sensing, that are imperative for solving the problems related to signature capture, verification, and authentication," said Sechrist. WACOM's patented, non-mechanical "tip-switch" technology determines switch on/off functions by firmware in the controller chip. Pressure curve, survey scan rate, and optimizing the pen for graphics and handwriting are OEM-configurable features. Features which the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and may choose for user configurability include pressure curve, tilt, click tap area, scaling the tablet for landscape or potrait orientation, and setting the pen to mouse mode. Metal Effect Reduction Broadens Range of LCD Selection The new chipset is optimized for integration with metal-bezel LCD systems. There are two kinds of metal effect on EMR technology today. One is the magnetic characteristic of surrounding metal such as LCD bezel The front cover of a desktop or tower computer case. The term also refers to the individual drive bay covers, which are removed to install CD-ROMs and other removable drives that require access from the front of the case. and case metalization. The other is the secondary current induced in such metal by the sensor board's magnetic field. "WACOM's 5-volt chipset already reduced effects from metal around the digitizer, and we intensify this process in the new 3-volt version by improving on previous correction table methods," said Maeda. Price and Availability The W6004F and W7003F are each packaged in a 100-pin TQFP. The new chipset will sample in July, and volume production is scheduled for September. If the yen exchange rate remains stable, WACOM expects pricing to be approximately $50 for the chipset, pen and sensor board in quantities of 100,000, about the same as pricing of WACOM's 5-volt solution. CONTACT: Wacom Technology Corp., Santa Clara Steve Sechrist, 408/496-4500 or fax, 408/986-9310 Internet: sechrist@wacom.com |
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