[Tfug] Virtual Keyboard

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Joe,

--- jblais <joe.blais at pti-instruments.com> wrote:

> > > Our latest machine has a touchscreen (Fedora 5),
> >
> > That makes sense.  Kiosk style (I should show
> > you what I'm doing for WC).  Do you have "issues"
> 
> Yes, I'm always looking to see other ideas and
> "things"

I'll bring a demo by when I have one that is
"portable" (or, invite you in to WC to see it
"deployed").  From what I am *guessing* you do
there, this might be a good tool to add to your
collection!
 
> > with cross-contamination?  I.e., making sure that
> > you can "wipe clean" the display (which is also
> the
> > "keyboard") at the end of a run to prevent
> carryover
> > to the *next* run?
> 
> ? I'm not sure what you mean.  We have tested the

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, you can't allow the
materials used in the manufacture of one product to
"carry-over" into the manufacture of *another*
product.

So, for example, if you had the machines making 
Viagra (sp?) all morning, you would have to be
careful that no trace of these ingredients are
present when you start making "baby aspirin" in
the afternoon!

Tableting generates a fair bit of airborn "dust"
(except that "dust" is actually "pills in powdered
form").  So, it gets on *everything*.  I.e. equipment
tends to be made out of stainless steel so it can be
cleaned readily, minimize nooks and crannies where
stuff can collect, etc.

(one firm even has a tablet press that can be *filled*
with water -- imagine a 200 gallon aquarium with
a big chunk of *rotating* iron in the middle  :> )

I would imagine there are similar issues for you?
I.e., if the user makes a batch of "Compound X"
in the morning, there have to be precautions taken
to ensure none of that substance gets into the
batch of "Compound Y" that they make in the
afternoon!

I guess what I *don't* know is how easy/hard it is
for this to happen and what steps you have to do
to prevent it.

For example, when making tablets, each time you
touch a "control" (panel), you are transfering
material *to* that surface.  When you later
touch it again, you are also transfering material
*from* that surface...

> touch-screen with various
> organic solvents used in the synthesis, as well a
> trifluroacetic acid (nasty
> stuff).  The user should propbably turn off the
> instrument to physically
> wipe it.  I never thought of a wipeable screen -- no
> buttons, just a time to
> ignore the mouse presses. ?

Exactly.  Or, some other *explicit* action that the
user must take to restore normal operation.

In practice, many "widget" implementations don't
react to *touches* (key DOWN events) but, rather,
actuate on *releases* (key UP events).  And, further,
they tend to ignore the key UP event if it wasn't
immediately preceded by a key DOWN event OF THE SAME
"key"!  So, user can wipe screen as long as he lifts
the towel off someplace *other* than where he
initially touched the screen...

> > > and the user does everything through there.
> > > I fixed up an alphanumeric and a numeric keypad
> > > for touch use.
> >
> > Out of curiosity, telephone layout or calculator?
> 
> calculator

Makes sense for a lab...
 
> > > Basically, our instrument users need to pick
> from
> > > options, and type in some words for naming
> things
> > > they want to save.  The rest is control buttons,
> > > text displays, some graphics (unless I can avoid
> > > it).
> >
> > Presumably, the "names" they assigned are
> presented
> > in the future to let them re-call that Rx?
> 
> Yes, they create/edit/delete programs, then they can
> pick them for various cycles of a synthesis.

But there are *some* provisions for creating those
"programs" on the instrument (instead of doing it
all off-line...?  Something like a "watch me"
mode?

> > > parameters.  The user then goes to the Run
> screen,
> > > and hits go.
> >
> > Could the "recipe creation" task be off-loaded
> > (e.g., to a PC/workstation)?  I.e., just turn
> > the instrument into something that *runs* Rx's
> > instead of *creating* them?
> 
> Yes, I did the development in wxWidgets on Linux,
> then used most of the
> files with very little change, to make a Winders
> app, where the user can go
> through the exact same screens to create a job. 
> Then I allow them to save
> jobs on the PC and copy them to the machine using
> USB sticks.  There's also
> reporting and some enhanced features on the PC side,
> so I don't have to deal
> with printers and stuff on the Linux side.

Understood.

--don


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