Components Division

"02L" Series Flip Digits 

The "02L" series indicator flip digits are seven-segment electromechanical indicators.  They are commonly used in public display systems.  Originally designed by the Staver Company, these classic displays continue to fill the need for high visibility low power displays.  The original series included displays in sizes from 1-1/2" tall to 24" tall.  ScoreTronics produces and sells the 4" and 6" sizes (402L and 602L).  You can contact Colorado Time Systems for information on the other sizes.

Construction

The display has seven brightly colored moving "vanes" that move forward and back to either display the segment or hide it.  The position of the vane (displayed or hidden) is maintained magnetically, so there is ZERO POWER consumed when the device is displaying.  To change the display, a brief pulse of a dual winding solenoid is all that's required to change the position of the vanes.  The pulse length is only 50ms for the 4" unit, requiring only .048 watt-seconds to shift a single vane.  More about this below under "Very Very Very Low Power".

Brightness, Contrast, Readability

Ambient light is used to produce an outstanding high contrast display.  This product excels in bright sunlight where other technologies have difficulty in competing with the brightness of the sun.  It also maintains suitable brightness levels automatically (since it is driven by ambient light).  Compared to other low power displays (like reflective LCD's) this technology excels in contrast, with contrast ratios many times that of LCD's.  

The vanes form fully-formed numbers, not tiny dots in a row trying to simulate a number like LED's.  Flip digits appear to the eye as fully formed "opto type", the same high quality characters used on an eye chart.  Fully formed characters allow the maximum in viewing distance for a given size of display, because of stimulating significantly more receptors in the eye.  (Dot-formed LED numbers cannot make this claim, and do not achieve the same distance viewing ability as an eye chart)  The viewing distance of flip digits (and eye charts) is 40 feet per inch of height, for people with average vision (able to pass a drivers test).  People with 20/20 vision can see them to over 50 feet per inch of height.

Viewing Angle

The viewing angle of flip digits is superior to every other technology, bar none.  They have viewing angles that approach 180 degrees.  Compare this with most LED displays that are often blinding when viewed head-on, and then have difficulty in competing with sunlight when viewed at a small angle off axis.  If viewing angle is important in your application, flip digits are one of the best choices.

Simplicity in Operation

The drive circuitry is simple.  The coils that drive the vanes have a center taped winding configuration with three wires.  The simplest operation is by connecting the center tap to a positive source (the nominal voltage for the coil is 12 volts DC), and to "flip" the vane, either end of the coil is momentarily connected to ground.  Only a 50 milliseconds pulse is required to move a 4" digit segment to the desired position.

When using groups of digits, the coils are commonly connected in a multiplexing arrangement that greatly reduces the number of connections to the group and lowers the cost of the drive circuitry.  In this arrangement, only 14 source drivers are needed, plus one strobe wire per digit.  The source drivers for the 4" digit only need to supply 80ma each, and the digit strobes need to sink 1/2 amp (again, for only 50ms).  Circuitry to sink and source these currents is simple and inexpensive.  

Very Very Very Low Power

Because the display state is held magnetically, when the number is not being changed, these digits draw ZERO power.  This is the only display technology that has this characteristic.  

To change the position of all seven vanes, only .34 watt-seconds is required.  Yes, that's 1/3 of a watt-second!  After that, NO power is required.  Comparing to LEDs, a 35 LED display (five LED's per segment) operating at 20ma per LED, would consume .34 watt-seconds of energy in just a quarter of a second!

The power consumption can be further reduced by selectively applying power to only those vanes that need to move.  For instance, changing a "5" to a "6" requires moving only a single vane.  The energy to do this is only .049 watt-seconds, which is the power to operate a single LED for .8 seconds.  (Remember, an LED has to be powered continuously to maintain display)

Here To Stay

The Staver Company invented this product and sold it for many years under the Signalex brand name.  When the owners of Staver retired, they sold their company to a Colorado based company who produced the product for several years.  ScoreTronics (a scoreboard company who uses the flip digits in their products) then purchased the inventory and tooling to produce the 4" and 6" size of the product.  ScoreTronics is now producing the product with superior quality, lower prices, and reliable delivery.

Data Sheets

Click Here for 402L, 602L Brochure Sheet 

ScoreTronics Inc., Components Division
7320 S Madison St, Unit 1100, Willowbrook, IL  60527
Toll free (888) 456-1970,  (630) 323-4600,  fax (630) 729-3206

Email: sales@scoretronics.com