Versatile CapSense Plus™ Solution Delivers Water-Resistance and Leading Noise Immunity,
And Also Controls Buzzer, I2C Communication, LEDs, and Display Backlighting with Dimming SAN JOSE, Calif., April 13, 2009 – Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY) today announced that its PSoC®-based CapSense Plus™ solution has been selected to control the touch-sensing buttons in the new AWOE Premium Collection line of washing machines from Whirlpool. The flexible solution offers leading noise immunity and water-resistance to deliver uninterrupted operation in the harsh sensing conditions prevalent in household appliances. Cypress is the industry touch-sensing leader, with over 2.5 billion mechanical buttons replaced in mobile handsets, laptops, consumer electronics, white goods, automotive applications and more. Engineers can take advantage of PSoC flexibility to implement functions beyond CapSense - a capability called CapSense Plus. The Whirlpool AWOE Premium Collection washing machines feature 6th Sense technology, which recognizes the size of a load and automatically adjusts resources to ensure optimal performance, saving up to 30% on time, water and energy. The CapSense Plus capability specifically controls the 6th Sense indicator lighting on the main display. The durable, user-friendly interface in the Whirlpool line employs one CapSense Plus device to implement 14 buttons and drive LEDs in the rotary dial control. A second device in the control display powers eight buttons, LED backlighting with dimming functionality and a buzzer. “We wanted an intuitive, durable control panel for the Premium Collection line that was also attractive to end-users,” said Giorgio Zambon, project manager at Whirlpool. “Cypress’s CapSense Plus solution delivered a smart user interface and simplified the design process by controlling multiple functions beyond the touch-sensing interface.” “Whirlpool is recognized as a worldwide leader in home appliances with diverse products that provide an excellent proving-ground for the flexibility of our CapSense Plus solution,” said Gokul Krishnan, business unit director for Cypress’s CapSense products. “The durability and water resistance of the CapSense solution and the compelling user-interface designs it enables are ideal for white goods, as well as consumer electronics, computation, and automotive applications.” About CapSense
Cypress's CapSense Touch-Sensing solution has replaced 2.5 billion mechanical buttons in mobile handsets, laptops, consumer electronics, white goods, automotive applications, and virtually any system that has a mechanical button or switch, making Cypress the industry touch-sensing leader. The CapSense portfolio, the industry's broadest and most integrated, enhances industrial design and reliability with the most noise-immune and water tolerant capacitive touch-sensing interfaces, including proximity sensing where direct touch is not required. CapSense proximity sensing, with its industry leading detection range up to 25 cm, provides power savings by activating an interface only when needed while further enhancing industrial designs by only exposing interfaces when necessary. Based on the PSoC programmable system-on-chip architecture and the PSoC Designer Embedded-System Design Tool, users complete CapSense designs quickly and easily using pre-configured and verified "user modules" and real-time sensor tuning and monitoring. Learn more about CapSense online at www.cypress.com/go/capsense. About Whirlpool Brand Laundry
With annual sales of approximately $18 billion and more than 73,000 employees, Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Recognizing the average American family does about seven loads of laundry each week, Whirlpool brand is committed to providing forward-thinking laundry appliances that match the lifestyles of all consumers. Brought to United States in 2001, the innovative Duet® Fabric Care system continues to be America’s best-selling front load laundry pair, washing 16 pairs of jeans in a single load* while using half the water and energy of traditional top-loaders. Further continuing its commitment to innovation, the brand introduced the Duet steam dryer; a first-of-its-kind laundry appliance that relaxes wrinkles and removes odors from fabrics in just minutes. No other laundry brand has fewer repairs, according to a leading consumer magazine; and no other brand sells more laundry products worldwide. For additional information regarding Whirlpool brand laundry please visit www.whirlpool.com. Information about the company can be found at www.whirlpoolcorp.com. (* Various sizes.)
About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless connectivity technologies ranging from its CyFi™ Low-Power RF solution, to West Bridge® and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, and industrial. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com. # # # Cypress, the Cypress logo and PSoC are registered trademarks and CapSense, CapSense Plus and PSoC Designer are trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. All other trademarks are property of their owners.
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