PenMount has been releasing projected capacitive (PCI or PCAP) touch controllers, firmware, drivers, and utilities for more than 7 years. Many of our customers also have experience using other suppliers’ PCI controllers. We have asked several customers what they feel the difference is between PenMount and other brands. From their responses, we believe the key is user friendly parameter setting offered by PenMount controllers. We know that disparately sized PCI touch panels will use different controllers because of differences in touch panel driving and sensing wires. Normally, one (or a set of) PCI controller IC(s) will support a particular range of PCI touch panel sizes, a number of cover lens thicknesses, various connection interfaces, different system platforms, disparate forms of environmental interference, etc. The achievement of PenMount PCI control boards is the ability to use one controller, a single software utility, and simple parameter adjustment to satisfy the requirements of a majority of customers.

Due to our customers’ experience with other PCI touch controller brands, when introducing PenMount controllers, they will ask us out of habit, “after product assembly is complete, do we need to send the entire system to PenMount for parameter adjustment and performance tests?” Through PenMount’s unique frequency hopping mechanism, customers need only assemble their systems according to the precautions and instructions in our assembly guide and most products will not need to be provided to the PenMount team for controller firmware adjustment. Only a minority of special applications such as an extremely thick PCI cover lens, requiring adjustment for increased sensitivity to noise, will necessitate sending an entire system to the PenMount team for firmware parameter changes.

At the same time, for the convenience of distributors and system integrators, we provide a graphical interface utility, PCIUtility which integrates “parameter setting,” “firmware update,” “testing,” and “debugging” when paired with the PenMount PCI controller’s latest firmware V5.0. Simple operation allows customers to complete setting adjustment and avoid cumbersome control items causing added burdens. We also provide an easy to use utility, PCIMSet to enable/disable frequently used functions such as water handling, screen rotation, sensitivity adjustment, and more to facilitate customer-end parameter adjustment according to individual needs.

PenMount understands that customer products will operate in various environments and on different platforms. In addition to providing a Windows version, this year we have also released PenMount PCIUtility for Linux. The biggest difference between the Windows and Linux versions of PenMount PCIUtility is the Linux version provides a textual user interface and can support X86(X64) and ARM architectures. A very small number of customers have requested embedded VxWorks and QNX systems. Currently, PenMount does not have a corresponding utility but we can provide protocol documents to allow customers to develop utilities.

As the end of the year nears, PenMount sincerely thanks our customers for their year-long support and acknowledgement. PenMount truly believes that the only way to satisfy essential customer conditions is to provide simple, convenient, and highly user friendly PCI touch products. We will continue providing superior PCI controller product features to repay your support. The entire PenMount staff wishes you a merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you in 2017!

You are welcomed to download all of PenMount’s standard product data and drivers directly from our website at: //www.salt.com.tw and //www.penmount.com. If you have any suggestions or comments please send e-mail to: salt@salt.com.tw or PenMount@seed.net.tw.