Chips ease users' frustration with frozen gadgets

STMicroelectronics’ new generation of smartreset chips provide a safe, convenient, and intuitive means of resetting “frozen” gadgets, such as mobile phones, media players, and other portable consumer devices. Traditionally, when electronic devices freeze or lock up, users either try to remove the battery, which is sometimes inconvenient, or find an appropriate tool to press the dedicated reset button, which is typically in a hole that is often difficult to access.

Smart resets extend the functional capability of a device’s buttons so that users can simply reset their frozen device by simultaneously pushing one or two buttons for a long time. With the increasing popularity of touchscreen devices, smart resets remove the need for extra buttons, saving space and cost for equipment manufacturers and significantly increasing convenience for the user.

“The proliferation and complexity of mobile apps, operating- system versions, and hardware platforms has inevitably brought about interoperability issues, with consumers increasingly experiencing frozen operation, or the ‘white screen of death,’ on their portable devices,” says Alberto De Marco, director of the standardand high-resolution-products business unit at STMicro.

The STM6524 dual-assert, smart-reset IC effectively prevents accidental resets. Its two inputs connect to a selected pair of buttons on an electronic gadget. When a user holds these buttons simultaneously for a manufacturer-specified time, the IC sends a reset signal to the main processor. The combination of two inputs and a programmable delay time effectively prevents accidental resets. The new single-assert STM6519 smart-reset IC targets singlebutton electronic devices, such as tablets and e-readers, with a programmable-delay reset.

The IC has a smaller package than other currently available devices, and it implements a customizable extended input delay of 0.5 to 10 sec, which increases flexibility and enables manufacturers to distinguish their products through user-interface settings. The smart resets also integrate a dedicated test mode, which improves device testability and slashes test costs. The STM6519 and STM6524 sell for $0.242 and $0.338 (1000), respectively.

STMicroelectronics