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3M™ MicroTouch™ Controller EX Dual Mode Reference Guide 

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3M Touch Systems, Inc. Proprietary Information – TSD-40848A 

 

CHAPTER 4 

3M™ MicroTouch™ EX Serial 
Communications 

This chapter discusses the fundamentals of communicating with the 3M™ MicroTouch™ 
EX serial controller. The firmware commands, which are usually issued by a driver or 
utility program on the host system, control the operation of the touch controller however 
developers can enter these commands directly. This chapter: 

 

Describes the controller default settings. 

 

Lists the recommended firmware commands for current development. 

 

Describes how to use each of these commands. 

 

References additional commands developers may need to use. 

The description of each command includes the command syntax, the default value, how 
the command works, and the expected response from the controller. 

Overview of Firmware Commands 

Developers may use these commands when writing touch applications, developing 
custom drivers or touch configurations, or testing their touch systems. Developers can 
issue commands to initialize the controller, select operating modes, and execute 
diagnostic functions. 

Most sensor users do 

not

 have to use firmware commands to use their touch systems. For 

example, users can use MT 7 software to calibrate the sensor or to determine the 
controller type and firmware version. 

Note:

 This document assumes you are familiar with standards and modes of 

communication with serial devices, as well as firmware commands and how to use them. 
Executing some commands may alter the performance of your sensor and render it 
inoperable. You should be aware of the results before executing any firmware commands. 

To optimize the performance of the 3M™ MicroTouch™ EX touch controller and 
simplify the development of custom drivers, 3M Touch Systems recommends you use the 
commands listed in this chapter for current development. Using these commands ensures 
compatibility with all 3M™ MicroTouch™ controllers. 

Summary of Contents for MicroTouch EX113

Page 1: ... Touch Systems Proprietary Information TSD 40848A 3M MicroTouch EX113 Dual Mode Controller Reference Guide Read and understand all safety information contained in this document before using this product 3 ...

Page 2: ...ness is not warranted 3M Touch Systems Inc products and software are not specifically designed for use in medical devices as defined by United States federal law 3M Touch Systems Inc products and software should not be used in such applications without 3M Touch Systems Inc express written consent User should contact its sales representative if User s opportunity involves a medical device applicati...

Page 3: ...10 Mounting the Controller 10 Supplying Power to the Controller 11 Mounting the Sensor 12 Turning On Your System 12 Status Light LED Diagnostics 13 Installing 3M MicroTouch Software 14 Chapter 3 3M MicroTouch EX USB Communications Overview of USB Firmware Commands 15 Communicating with the Controller 16 Vendor Requests 16 Sending Commands to the Controller 17 Receiving Reports from the Controller ...

Page 4: ... of Firmware Commands 29 Controller Default Settings 30 Communicating with the Controller 30 Firmware Commands 32 Calibrate Extended 33 Calibrate Raw 35 Diagnostic Command 36 Format Raw 36 Format Tablet 38 Mode Stream 39 Null Command 39 Output Identity 40 Parameter Set 40 Reset 41 Restore Defaults 41 Unit Type Verify 42 Appendix A EX113 Dual Mode Controller Specifications Physical Dimensions 44 ...

Page 5: ...ing a premier supplier in touch systems throughout the world As a 3M Touch Systems customer you are aware that we have strong internal programs that meet or exceed environmental regulations of our customers and the regions in which we conduct business What You Need to Know This document assumes you are familiar with firmware commands and how to use them Executing some commands may alter the perfor...

Page 6: ...tric shock which could result in serious injury or death Do not use a damaged power supply Do not use a power cord that is frayed or otherwise damaged CAUTION To reduce the risks associated with improper disposal which if not avoided may result in minor or moderate injury from ground water contamination Dispose of components in accordance with federal state and local regulations To reduce the risk...

Page 7: ...r website and technical support organization Visit the 3M Touch Systems website at http www 3M com touch where you can download touch software and drivers obtain regularly updated technical documentation on 3M Touch Systems products and learn more about our company Whenever you contact Technical Support please provide the following information Touch display size part number and serial number Curre...

Page 8: ...his EX dual mode controller refer to the appendix at the end of this manual The EX dual mode controller and sensors are supplied separately or as a mated pair A 25 point linearization procedure has been performed to determine the physical properties of the sensor and the data is stored in a 2D bar code label attached to the flex tail The linearization data must be loaded in both serial and USB mod...

Page 9: ...ing normal operation of the sensor Refer to the appendix for further specifications EX Dual Mode Controller Communication Connections The EX USB controller requires a 3M MicroTouch USB communication cable P N 7319420 or an equivalent interconnect One end of this cable plugs into the USB connector JP4 on the EX USB controller The other end plugs into a USB port on your PC with a Type A connector Ta...

Page 10: ...Cable shield connected to ground DC power jack ground Shell 7 Chassis earth ground EX113 Sensor Cable Connections The sensor cable has a 5 pin single row locking female connector that plugs into the controller The following table describes the pins on this connector Table 3 Sensor Flex Tail Connector for EX113 dual mode controllers Pin Description 1 Upper left UL corner 2 Upper right UR corner 3 C...

Page 11: ...peak CAUTION To avoid possible damage to the controller you must provide a path for electrostatic discharge The controller mounting hole near the sensor connector should be used to connect to chassis safety ground and must be attached by the shortest possible route to a good earth return chassis in all applications You can supply power to the controller using any of the following methods The volta...

Page 12: ...rd 3M MicroTouch RS 232 serial cable P N 7310101 consult your applications engineer for power supply specifications Mounting the Sensor There are several methods for mounting the sensor depending on your application If you need instructions or recommendations from 3M Touch Systems on how to incorporate a sensor into your design refer to the 3M MicroTouch System 3nnnEX Integration Guide P N TSD 19 ...

Page 13: ...cksum error Reload program code RAM Code Error 2 2 1 Firmware EEPROM checksum verification error Reload program code STRAY Error 1 3 2 Unable to initialize stray cancellation Replace controller If error reoccurs might be a sensor problem NOV Error 3 4 3 Parameters invalid using defaults Restore defaults If fault persists replace controller If error reoccurs might be a sensor or cable problem HDW E...

Page 14: ... 3M MicroTouch Software 3M MicroTouch Software includes the driver that enables your sensor to work with your computer 3M Touch Systems has touch drivers for many operating systems including Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows XP Windows XP embedded Windows CE and Linux Kernel 2 6 refer to the website for a complete listing You must be sure to install the correct software for your operating system 3M ...

Page 15: ...elopers may use these USB commands when writing touch applications developing custom drivers or touch configurations or testing their touch systems Developers can issue commands to initialize the controller select operating modes and execute diagnostic functions Most sensor users do not have to use firmware commands to use their touch systems For example users can use MT 7 software to calibrate th...

Page 16: ...ID 1 for normal mode and 2 for special mode and the vendor ID 0596H to write your own driver The EX USB controller is command set compatible with previous generation MicroTouch USB controllers Modifications of existing software should not be necessary when replacing an older controller The following commands are those that 3M Touch Systems currently uses for communications 3M Touch Systems recomme...

Page 17: ...pecify command parameters 6 wLength 2 0xXXXX Number of bytes to transfer The Type field should be set to Vendor 0x10 The Recipient field should be set to Device The Direction field depends on the command Receiving Reports from the Controller Four reports can be sent from the controller to the host These reports fit into two categories those sent immediately in response to a host request synchronou...

Page 18: ...0xXX Pen finger touch status 3 X Compensated 2 0xXXXX Compensated X coordinate 5 Y Compensated 2 0xXXXX Compensated Y coordinate 7 X Raw 2 0xXXXX Raw X coordinate 9 Y Raw 2 0xXXXX Raw Y coordinate The main purpose of the loop counter is to effectively put a time stamp on the output data Data produced in the same tick will have the same timestamp This can be used to match the final coordinate data ...

Page 19: ... calibration The calibration can be performed at points inset from the lower left and upper right corners extended calibration or it can be done at those corners This is equivalent to the Calibrate Extended 12 5 insets from the lower left and upper right corners command used by 3M MicroTouch serial controllers The 2 point calibration defines the active area of the sensor by mapping two targets dis...

Page 20: ... x 1 8 96 The Calibrate Extended command then positions the first calibration target inward from the lower left corner 0 767 and the second calibration target inward from the upper right corner 1023 0 The following illustration shows how the calibration targets are calculated for a Windows based system Your operating system may be different The coordinates are in video terms with the origin 0 0 in...

Page 21: ... 0 if the request cannot be processed successfully This would happen if the report length requested by wLength does not match the controller status report size Controller Status Report 6 This report contains information describing the status of the controller The report sent is determined by the size specified in the wLength field of the Status Request All multi byte quantities in this report are ...

Page 22: ...e whether the last request was processed successfully It is also used to track the progress of a multi stage request such as 2 point calibration The Status Request does not affect the contents of this field i e successful or unsuccessful processing of a previous status request does not cause the command status field to be updated Table 11 Valid Command Status Field Entries Response Description 0 F...

Page 23: ... ms the device acknowledges the request before it is completed The host must issue a status request to determine whether the reset request was completed The command status field of the status report will be set to command in progress while the soft reset is occurring The field will change to soft reset occurred when the reset has completed Any other request issued while the reset is still in progr...

Page 24: ...0 Reserved 6 wLength 2 0x0000 No data phase The direction bit in bmRequestType has been set to 0 host to device This request does not require that the device return any data The byte bRequest is set to 8 to indicate that this is the Restore Defaults request The wValue field should be set to 0 for future compatibility The wIndex field should be set to 0 for future compatibility Response The device ...

Page 25: ...e processed endpoint 0 will be stalled The request cannot be processed if the requested report size wLength does not match either the size of the backward compatible ID report 18 or the EX report 24 Controller ID Report 12 This report contains information describing the controller including its type firmware revision special features and the ROM checksum This report is sent via the control endpoin...

Page 26: ...the 1 will be transmitted first Note If you received an identifier of M0 you must issue a Reset with a wValue of 5 This must be done twice to lock in the values FW Major Revision This can range from 0 to 99 This is a BCD value i e major revision 23 is sent as 0x23 FW Minor Revision This can range from 0 to 99 This is a BCD value i e minor revision 23 is sent as 0x23 Features This identifies the sp...

Page 27: ...a report The direction bit in bmRequestType has been set to 1 device to host to return the contents of the requested parameter The byte bRequest is set to 16 to indicate that this is the Read Parameter request The wValue field is set to the number of the parameter being requested This request does not use the wIndex field This field should be set to zero to ensure future compatibility The wLength ...

Page 28: ...rameter number is not valid It cannot be processed if less than 4 bytes wLength are requested It cannot be processed if more data is requested than is contained in the parameter Parameter Data Report 4 This report is sent in response to any request for parameter data All parameter data is treated as if it were stored as bytes in the order that it is stored in memory This means that multi byte valu...

Page 29: ...rs may use these commands when writing touch applications developing custom drivers or touch configurations or testing their touch systems Developers can issue commands to initialize the controller select operating modes and execute diagnostic functions Most sensor users do not have to use firmware commands to use their touch systems For example users can use MT 7 software to calibrate the sensor ...

Page 30: ... Y touch coordinates input data packet to the host system Mode Stream is the default operating mode for the EX serial controller In Mode Stream the controller sends a continuous stream of data packets when the sensor is touched The controller sends the data as long as a touch continues on the sensor Because Mode Stream sends touch data continually it is the most versatile mode and it provides the ...

Page 31: ... each command as a string of ASCII control characters and printable characters consisting of a header the command and a terminator as follows SOH Command CR Receiving Responses from the Controller After executing a command the controller returns a response or acknowledgment to the host system Each controller response consists of a header the command response and a terminator in the following forma...

Page 32: ... system issue a Reset command whenever the host system is powered on and is attempting to establish communication with the controller Firmware Commands Developers may use this information when writing touch applications developing custom drivers or touch configurations or testing their touch systems Developers can use firmware commands to initialize the controller select operating modes specify da...

Page 33: ...controller to stop sending data and recalculates the environmental conditions Restore Defaults RD Returns the controller to the factory default operating parameters Note the serial port is reset to N81 format tablet and 2 point calibration is lost Unit Type Verify UV Identifies the touch controller on your system Calibrate Extended Syntax SOH CX CR Note This command should not be used when 3M Micr...

Page 34: ...inward in the Y direction 768 x 1 8 96 The coordinates are in video terms with the origin 0 0 in the upper left corner of the sensor Examples from the controller s perspective however place the origin at the lower left corner of the sensor numbers in brackets The controller outputs 0 to 64K on both axes independent of display screen resolution The Calibrate Extended command then positions the firs...

Page 35: ...arget long enough to provide an accurate calibration point Calibrate Raw Syntax SOH CR CR Description Allows the collection of raw signed X and Y coordinates before the normal scaling linearization and filtering processes The controller sends a continuous stream of data in Calibrate Raw mode The Calibrate Raw data is a 5 byte packet that includes 1 status byte and 4 bytes of binary X Y coordinate ...

Page 36: ...ouch liftoff the controller outputs one final set of X Y coordinate data with the bit equal to 0 and the X Y coordinate data equal to the last touch point S7 Packet synchronization Always 1 Diagnostic Command Syntax SOH DX CR Description This command requests that the controller check for sensor failures such as broken corners broken wires etc Response SOH 0 CR Positive response SOH 1 CR Command n...

Page 37: ... 8 bit communication mode To terminate Format Raw issue a Reset command The controller may return several bytes of data between the time you issue a Reset command and the controller receives it You can either scan the data stream for the Reset acknowledgment or you can ignore the response to the first Reset command and then issue a second Reset after approximately 10 seconds has passed Use the For...

Page 38: ...er data b7 Always 0 N 3 b0 b6 bits 4 10 of respective I Q corner data b7 Always 0 N 4 b0 b3 bits 0 3 of respective I Q corner data b4 b7 Always 0 Format Tablet Syntax SOH FT CR Description Outputs the X Y touch coordinate data in a 5 byte packet The packet includes 1 status byte and 4 bytes of binary X Y coordinate data The protocol also establishes the X and Y coordinate output as 14 binary bits ...

Page 39: ...ontinued touch 0 Sensor is not being touched a touch liftoff or inactive When the proximity bit changes from 1 to 0 touch liftoff the controller outputs one final set of X Y coordinate data with the bit equal to 0 and the X Y coordinate data equal to the last touch point S7 Packet synchronization Always 1 Mode Stream Syntax SOH MS CR Description Sends a continuous stream of X Y coordinate data whe...

Page 40: ...ity data bits and stop bits of the controller Optionally you can change the communication rate by appending an additional character to the command string Upon execution of the Parameter Set command the controller automatically stores the new settings the current operating mode and the current data format in NOVRAM The communication parameters of the host system must match the present settings of t...

Page 41: ...oller to normal operation 3M Touch Systems recommends that the host system issue a Reset command whenever the host system is powered on and is attempting to establish communication with the controller The amount of time needed to execute a Reset command ranges from 225 milliseconds to 800 milliseconds Therefore the application program should wait and be sure it receives the command response before...

Page 42: ...sponds with an 8 character identity string This string identifies the type of controller currently attached to the system lists the features supported by the controller and outputs the status of the controller hardware a self test code Response Returns an identification code up to 8 ASCII characters in the following format SOH TtFfffSs CR where Tt Two ASCII characters that identify the controller ...

Page 43: ...l mode controller specifications such as power requirements environmental requirements and cable connectors The EX113 dual mode controller is a compact 3 175 x 1 30 x 0 45 inches controller for internal mounting in your display The following figure shows the overall dimensions of the EX113 dual mode controller and the locations of the mounting holes and connectors Figure 2 EX113 Touch Controller ...

Page 44: ...ns EN 55022 1998 Class B Compliant FCC Class B CISPR22 Class B Class B Compliant VCCI Class B ITE Emissions Japan Class B Compliant AS NZS 3548 1995 CISPR 22 Class B ITE Emissions Aus Class B Compliant RFI EN 61000 4 3 ENV 50140 Class A Compliant CRFI EN 61000 4 6 Communications cable 3 meters long N A N A AC Mains Class A 80 Screen Area Compliant AC Mains Class B 80 Screen Area Compliant EFT Burs...

Page 45: ...EC 61000 4 2 1 false touch allowed Compliant 27 kV Air Discharge Class 1 per section 9 of IEC 61000 4 2 Normal Operation No false touches Compliant MTBF by MIL Std 217F Calculation 740 000 Hours Touch System Parameters Accuracy vs Dynamic Temperature Change tested at 0 deg C to 60 deg C with a 0 5 deg C minute temperature ramp Maintains 99 0 Accuracy Sensor Compatibility 3M MicroTouch Capacitive S...

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