LCD Character Displays

The LCD2X20 and LCD4X20 are character-oriented LED-back lit LCD dot matrix displays built for the AniLink Network. The LED2X20 and LED4X20 have luminescent characters in a vacuum type display. These units are intended for use as part of an operator interface for SmartMotors. The displays are divided into lines, each line capable of displaying twenty characters. The LCD2X20 uses a two line display, while the LCD4X20 is built around a four line display. Available characters include 96 ASCII and Japanese characters and 32 special symbols. Each unit takes up 1 AniLink port address (8 max). The AniLink Network is a proprietary serial-based high-speed network based on I2C technology.

The Animatics LCD and LED units include the controller LSI, MPU and network support chips necessary for plug-in operation. The SmartMotor™ command set supports both high and low level commands for addressing the displays. An entire user interface can be built around a SmartMotor by using other inputs for push buttons or by using an encoder-pot with SmartMotors equipped with an external encoder input. Sample code for such applications is available from Animatics. Both text and data can be printed to the displays.