Underground » Maintenance
In this project a robust transparent optically clear touch screen overlay was developed and prepared for intrinsically safe (Ex ia) certification for use in underground coal mines.
The design process concentrated on the following aspects of the product; suitability for intrinsically safe certification, optical clarity, surface scratch resistance, durability and robustness, resistance to contamination by coal dust, cost effectiveness, availability of custom screen sizes, compatibility with existing flameproof window dimensions, and continuing long term availability of the technology for this dedicated use.
The Intrinsically Safe (IS) touch screen developed in this project and the associated screen controller is suitable for immediate commercialisation without further product development or modifications. The touch screen can be supplied as either optically clear, for use as an overlay on a flameproof enclosure window, or custom printed for use as a dedicated touchpad or substitute for flameproof push-button style operators. The touch screens are extremely durable and scratch resistant and can easily be installed over toughened glass or polycarbonate material, both of which are used for flameproof enclosure windows.
When operating flameproof enclosed computers and machine mounted instrumentation underground operators prefer a well designed screen for easy function selection. Many computerised Human Machine Interface (HMI) functions and push button select operations will be easier to achieve using this touch screen, especially when operating in the adverse conditions typical of an underground environment.
Normal IS keyboards are awkward to operate, especially with dirty or gloved hands, whereas this IS touch screen, complimented by a well designed screen menu, will make function selections commonly performed by underground operators as easy as a simple touch of the screen with a finger or stylus pen.