Appliance Design - October 2007 - (Page 31)

ELECTRONICS There had been experiments with downloading over the Internet, but there were issues of connectivity and cost, particularly for locations with multiple ovens in locations that do not necessarily have existing internet connectivity or would require excessive wiring. Today, the customer is installing new ovens with a built-in USB interface. Instead of the technician visiting, the new heating sequences are loaded from a USB flash drive, which can be easily done by the restaurant manager or a member of staff. (See Fig. 1.) But the use of a USB flash drive doesn’t just have to be for loading information into an appliance; it can also be used in obtaining information from an appliance. For example, a prototype design can be fitted with sensors for heat, humidity, cycle-counting, and so on. It can then be monitored during testing, with the results downloaded into the flash drive for analysis in a PC later. USB is designed to be easy to use, but until now, adding a USB host to an application could be difficult, as the USB protocol is complex. To help resolve this issue, Future Technology Devices International (FTDI) developed the Vinculum USB platform, an ASIC that links Fig. 2. Vinculum embedded USB host controller architecture. and applications. One particular manifestation of USB — the flash drive — is particularly pervasive. The latest announcement is for drives of 32 gigabytes of data available in a compact but rugged package designed to fit onto a key ring. Four gigabytes are widely available for around $40 retail, while smaller drives, such as 256 megabytes, are currently available for under $10 in low volume. Technology advances will ensure that storage capacity will increase while the cost per gigabyte will decrease year on year for the foreseeable future. This makes USB flash drives the storage medium of choice for sharing files offline, for back-up and for carrying the inevitable PowerPoint presentation to meetings. So how is a technology designed for easy plug-and-play of PC peripherals going to be useful in an appliance? One case study should make this all clear. A supplier of commercial ovens to the fast-food industry has a customer with a rolling program of seasonal special meals, heavily advertised across their sales territories. Normally, staff in the restaurants load prepared meals into the oven and enter a meal code into a control keypad, initiating a sequence of microwave and radiant heat cycles specific to that meal. Whenever the new specials were introduced, the new sequences had to be loaded by a technician, who would use the keypad and its single-line interface for set-up. This is www.applianceDESIGN.com clearly time consuming and inefficient, with a technician traveling to every location. TOWER– QUALITY TO PROTECT PEOPLE LCDIs • GFCIs • ALCIs LCDI GFCI ALCI • Customized to meet your specs • Priced from our own Asian plant to keep you competitive • Customer service from our USA headquarters for quick satisfaction TOWERManufacturing Corporation 25 Reservoir Avenue, Providence, RI 02907 • Tel: 401-467-7550 • Fax: 401-461-2710 www.towermfg.com For more Information Enter 113 applianceDESIGN October 2007 31 8/2/07 10:26:53 AM AD09074Tow1.indd 1 http://www.towermfg.com http://www.towermfg.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - October 2007

Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Applying Powder Coatings to Plastic Parts is No Longer a Pipe Dream New Technology Platform Provides the Ability for a single IC to Control Two- Motors in a Single Appliance, Simplifying Motor Control Design Advanced Motor-Control Techniques have Become More Accessible to a Wider Array of Appliances, Helping to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Noise Adding USB Host Capability to Appliances Permits In-Field Programming and Acquisition of Test Data ZigBee Modules Make it Easier to Design Wireless Connectivity into Applications New Concepts such as Rapid Tooling and Rapid Injection Molding Provide Stepping Stones Between Prototyping and Full Scale Production A Number of Factors and New Developments Affect the Decision on Whether to Build Prototypes In-House or Outsource to a Service Bureau DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: CEA

Appliance Design - October 2007

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