| The Milwaukee, WI, U.S.–based
company, which is typically recognized as a major player among high-end
refrigeration appliance makers, wanted
to maintain its status, which meant it had to make the switch from mechanical
to electronic controls on many of its appliances. The problem was that
the company did not have an electronics department.
“
Many mid- to small-size manufacturers don’t have an electronics department,” Tom
Rand, engineering manager for U-Line, tells APPLIANCE. “We knew we
would have to rely on a vendor to provide the expertise.”
Gemtron
Corporation (Sweetwater, TN, U.S.) and its subsidiary company TouchSensor
Technologies, LLC (Wheaton, IL, U.S.) helped fill this need. Together,
U-Line and the two companies worked together to develop the electronic
controls and sensors—and the material in which they would be encased—for
U-Line’s new 2075 Drawer Wine Captain. The refrigerated wine drawer,
which, at press time, was slated to start production in mid-July, is not
only new to U-Line, but to the refrigeration industry. Therefore, U-Line
had to ensure the drawer was not only top notch, but it had to be anything
other than ordinary, according to Mr. Rand.
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The
TS100 ASIC chip from TouchSensor
Technologies, LLC (Wheaton, IL, U.S.) allowed U-Line (Milwaukee, WI,
U.S.) to add a touch keypad to its new refrigerated
wine drawer, scheduled to start production this summer.
The sensor is a 5-V digital switch composed of an
electrode structure printed in a circuit board, with
two resistors in close proximity. No software is
required for the component. |
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Making High-End, High Tech
Nearly 2 years ago, U-Line decided that it needed to update some of its
controls because the company was finding “that people really want
digital controls,” Mr. Rand points out. “We wanted to make
sure we provided this feature when we introduced the drawer. The biggest
impetus was sales and marketing and competition. We are a high-end product,
and to maintain the status of our brand, we have to offer such high-end
features, especially when other low-dollar units with electronic controls
are entering the marketplace.”
Mr. Rand admits that U-Line’s engineering department first thought
that adding electronic controls to the drawer “was just fluff—not
really necessary. But we realized it really was,” he says.
U-Line originally started out working with another one of its vendors,
which it still uses and with which it has a good relationship. “The
company is great,” Mr. Rand notes, adding that the company supplies
a main control board in the wine drawer and that it makes all the controls
for
U-Line’s other units. But, he says, the supplier didn’t have
all the technology U-Line needed for this project—a touch sensor
for a “nice, clean feel,” Mr. Rand says.
The refrigeration maker then began taking quotes for electronic controls.
Two or three quotes came in, but the problem with all of the potential
suppliers was that they had wanted to put the control display inside the
appliance. “We wanted the put the display on the outside, where the
user could see the display without opening up the appliances—and
we wanted a touch sensor. I think it comes down to a lot of people having
trouble using manual knobs, and the electronic controls are also very tangible
to customers. They are used to saying, ‘I want 38 degrees or 36 degrees.’ With
a knob, there is just one through seven.”
During the midst of all this decision making, the proposal came in from
Gemtron’s TouchSensor Technologies. U-Line had worked with Gemtron
in the past on other projects and had developed a good relationship. What’s
more is that by having the TouchSensor and Gemtron combination, U-Line
could deal with only one vendor for two aspects of the project—the
electronic controls themselves (TouchSensor) and the glass pack in which
they would be encased (Gemtron). “We could rely on Gemtron to coordinate
the development of both products,” Mr. Rand explains. “We had
a good history with them, too and have a lot of faith in their engineering
capabilities, so it was a natural to choose them. It made things less complex
working through one corporation.”
U-Line and Gemtron first worked together in 2001 when Gemtron developed
encapsulated shelves and the door for the U-Line Echelon wine cooler line.
Now, 3 years later, Gemtron has designed the plastic frame that holds the
glass to get the flush edge on the wine drawer, and its subsidiary, TouchSensor,
has developed the display board with electronic controls that is attached
to the glass.
Design Details
In the fall of 2003, U-Line gave Gemtron a rough visual sketch with dimensions
of what they were looking for. During the process of pinning down what
vendor to use, U-Line had hired a design firm to develop the wine drawer’s
industrial design. The industrial designers came back with the idea to
have flush glass all the way to the edge of the unit’s door and to
have a display outside the glass. “We definitely could not have assembled
the touch sensor to the glass,” Mr. Rand points out. “That’s
what we rely on Gemtron’s expertise for.”
For Gemtron, this was a great opportunity, says Bob Hermann, engineering
program manager, Molded Product Systems, Gemtron. “We had the freedom
to design and create a new refrigeration drawer front with touch electronics
as the user interface,” he says. “U-Line gave Gemtron a blank
piece of paper—it had some pictures of an industrial design, but
this was just a visual aid. We had only a concept sketch—what we
would design needed to be ‘x’ inches tall, by ‘x’ inches
wide, and ‘x’ inches thick. They let the expertise lay in our
lap and be responsible for it.”
The result was a user interface assembly that employs TouchSensor’s
patented Field-Effect switching technology. The foundation of the technology
is the TouchCell™, a stand-alone switch that combines TouchSensor’s
TS-100 integrated circuit (IC) with a patterned-foil trace and two resistors,
which are used to set touch sensitivity to the customer’s requirements. “A
keyboard is essentially just an amalgamation of many TouchCells put together,” says
Dave Muisenga, manager of New Business Development, TouchSensor Technologies. “It
is a building block approach,” he notes.
The TouchCell only requires a 5-V power supply and ground to create a keypad
that works through dielectric substrate materials, such as glass or plastic. “The
5-V supply and ground powers the TouchSensor TS-100 IC and creates a dynamic
electric field around the TouchCell,” Mr. Muisenga explains. “The
TS100 IC then monitors the field for changes. On user interface applications,
these changes are the result of human touch, but TouchCells can be designed
to sense any conductive material, such as metal or liquid. The TouchSensor
TS-100 does this without software, so TouchCells interface electrically
the same as mechanical or membrane switches.”
The design process, however, did not come without some challenges. The
first challenge was to find the best position for the TouchSensor™ keypad.
According to Mr. Hermann, the simplicity of the electronics integration
enables appliance customers to focus on the mechanical challenges inherent
in appliance design. “Gemtron engineering placed it on the backside
of the thermopane so that it can be accessed as necessary,” Mr. Hermann
explains. “This will enable U-Line to easily add new features to
the core user interface in the future.” Another issue was designing
the entire assembly to fit into the area to which it was restricted. The
problem was solved, however, by working with the frame designed by Gemtron.
Additional alterations to its design were made wherever necessary.
There were also some prototype challenges with glass breakage and the adhesive
coating releasing on the initial units due to the unique combination of
electronics, glass, and plastic. “We’ve solved some of these
problems by working with the integrated units and with field tests,” Mr.
Rand of U-Line says. “We provide feedback, and they [Gemtron and
TouchSensor] have been very responsive to getting back to us with changes,
so now we have worked to correct this problem.”
A Measure of Success
Although the wine drawer has not yet been out on the market long enough
to know how profitable this relationship has been, Mr. Rand says the initial
feedback he has received has been very favorable. “We received lots
of positive feedback at K/BIS, where it was introduced, from dealers and
reps wanting the product. This has been one of the best-received new units
that we’ve had. It is generating a lot of excitement.”
This, Mr. Rand says, is evidence of both the success of a new product and
evidence of a good partnership with a supplier. “For Gemtron, working
with a company such as U-Line gives it a good test bed of where to try
new things,” he offers.
“They like that we are using their core capabilities and extending
them to other or new products,” Mr. Rand continues. “At the
same time, we work on an aggressive schedule, and we appreciate that they
can
keep pace with us and keep on our time line. U-Line is an innovative company
with innovative products. We are dedicated to developing new technologies
that keep us ahead, and together with partners like Gemtron, we are doing
that.”
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