Macroblock patented technology, Share-I-O™, adopted in LED traffic signs, displays

Date Announced: 20 Jun 2006

Hsinchu, Taiwan- Macroblock announced today that its key patent, “System Of LED Drivers for Driving Display Devices”, has been granted in Taiwan, USA, China, and Korea, and is coming up in other countries.

This patent provides dual-mode switch, display and command modes, to not only light up LED applications but perform extra functions, such as Error Detection and Current Adjustment, and PWM via conventional four-wire transmission interface, known as Share-I-O™. Today, the patented technology has been successfully adopted in traffic sign and video display applications worldwide.

Share-I-O™ technology features pin compatibility. By means of the Share-I-O™ technique, additional functions can be added to LED drivers without adding any extra pins in package and without changing the printed circuit board originally designed for conventional LED drivers.

Macroblock’s LED drivers include the additional functions such as Share-I-O™ with Error Detection, Share-I-O™ with Current Gain Adjustment, and Share-I-O™ with PWM.

To manage the traffic information in freeways efficiently, a global trend toward LED solutions for traffic systems should be transparent to report the system status and adjust panel brightness in real time. To easily move to such policy for traffic sign applications, Macroblock’s LED drivers with Error Detection can online detect and read back open- and short-circuit errors of each channel at any time. Such a feature is especially important in traffic sign applications where instant and correct messages are required.

Moreover, the Current Adjustment function provides a 256-step programmable range to adjust output current and further achieve the desired brightness, suppressing EMI effects. The patented technology has been widely applied to Macroblock’s 16-bit and 8-bit LED drivers.

The niche of the patented technology relies on providing a base for Macroblock to continually upgrade its LED drivers’ functions, such as intelligent PWM-embedded LED driver, and thus consolidates Macroblock’s innovation leadership.

Contact
Lisa Liu
Macroblock, Inc.
Tel: +886-3-579-0068 ext. 208
Fax: +886-3-579-0125

E-mail: marketing@mblock.com.tw

Web Site: www.mblock.com.tw