Itron UK shows its design innovation with VFD modules
Vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) technology has been popular for decades and Itron UK’s electronic visual displays make up the company’s wide temperature, industrial range of products.
The wide temperature display module-based industrial displays have used in European industry for the last 40 years but there are still new opportunities where they can be used in applications that cannot be solved in any other way, or as reliably and/or cost effectively, says Itron UK, including certain medical and automotive applications.
The modules provide OEMs with the option of wide operating temperature ranges (-40 to +85 degrees C). They also offer high brightness visibility and wide viewing angle, in all directions.
The displays can be character and graphic format options or a combination of both.
VFDs use inorganic materials and are supplied in a hermetically sealed package, including the driver ICs. This construction makes them reliable and durable for use in message critical and wide temperature applications.
VFD displays are an emissive technology which was developed at the same time as LCD and have been enhanced by chip in glass (CIG) technology.
They are a high brightness blue-green display which can be filtered to other colours as required.
VFDs are used in message critical applications because individual dot or segment failure does not occur during normal service life. Typical applications are measuring instruments, medical equipment and point of sale cash tills.
Noritake Itron VFD modules provide a simple interface and operating protocol for host CPUs. Character fonts, cursor control and draw commands in graphic modules make it easy to produce a dynamic user interface with virtually no set up requirements, says Itron UK. There is also software support, the Modmaster development software, available from Itron (UK) which provides custom developed modules.
