Touch key assembly, control method thereof, household appliance, and storage medium

Abstract

The application discloses a touch key assembly and a control method thereof, a household appliance and a storage medium, wherein the touch key assembly comprises a touch panel, touch springs and a controller, the touch panel is divided into different touch areas, each touch area is connected with a touch spring to form a touch key, each touch spring is connected to a same IO interface of a touch chip, each touch key has a different opening threshold, and the controller determines a target touch area according to a received touch signal and executes a corresponding function. The touch key assembly and the control method thereof, the household appliance and the storage medium provided by the application have different opening thresholds for each touch key, the controller determines a target touch area according to a received touch signal, and each touch area is connected to a same IO interface of a touch chip, so that the number of used IO interfaces is reduced, the design layout is easier, and the cost is reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly relates to a touch key assembly, a control method thereof, a household appliance, and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] Since the traditional carbon film key has contact wear and limited service life, and the capacitive sensing technology is increasingly mature, more and more devices no longer use traditional carbon film keys, but use advanced capacitive touch keys.

[0003] However, in the related art, a plurality of touch keys are arranged on a touch panel of a household appliance such as a rice cooker or a washing machine, and each touch key is connected to an I / O interface of a touch chip. The connection mode uses a large number of I / O interfaces, greatly increases the cost of the touch chip, occupies a large space, and makes it difficult to design a controller layout. SUMMARY

[0004] To solve the technical problems mentioned in the background, the present application provides a touch key assembly, a control method thereof, a household appliance, and a storage medium, in which each touch area is connected to the same I / O interface of a touch chip, thereby reducing the number of I / O interfaces used, making the design layout easier, and reducing the cost.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned object, the specific technical solutions of the touch key assembly, the control method thereof, the household appliance, and the storage medium of the present application are as follows:

[0006] In one aspect of the present application, a touch key assembly is provided, which includes a touch panel, touch springs, and a controller. The touch panel is divided into different touch areas, each touch area is connected to a touch spring to form a touch key, each touch spring is connected to the same I / O interface of a touch chip, each touch key has a different opening threshold, and the controller determines a target touch area according to a touch signal received by the touch chip and executes a corresponding function.

[0007] Further, the touch panel is one layer, the touch panel includes at least two sub-panels to form different touch areas, the sub-panels in different touch areas are made of materials with different dielectric constants, or the thicknesses of the sub-panels in different touch areas are different.

[0008] Further, the touch panel includes at least two layers, at least one layer of the touch panel has at least two sub-panels to divide different touch areas.

[0009] Further, the total thicknesses of the touch panels of different touch areas are consistent, and the thicknesses and / or dielectric constants of the layers of the touch panel or the sub-panels are different.

[0010] Further, the adjacent sub-panels are oppositely arranged with the first connecting member and the second connecting member to cooperate with each other, so that the sub-panels are connected to form a complete touch panel.

[0011] Further, the side wall of the touch panel is arranged with a mounting column to be connected with the mounting base.

[0012] Another aspect of the present application provides a control method using the touch key assembly, comprising:

[0013] obtaining a touch signal of the touch key in real time;

[0014] determining a target touch key according to the obtained touch signal;

[0015] executing a function corresponding to the touch key.

[0016] Further, the determining of the target touch key according to the obtained touch signal comprises:

[0017] determining a touch signal interval of the touch signal;

[0018] looking up an opening threshold of the touch key matched with the touch signal interval according to a preset corresponding relation table, wherein the corresponding relation table comprises a corresponding relation between the touch signal interval and the touch key.

[0019] Another aspect of the present application provides a household appliance comprising a controller and the touch key assembly, wherein the controller comprises a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and the processor executes the computer program to realize the steps of the method.

[0020] Another aspect of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program executable on a processor to realize the steps of the method.

[0021] The touch key assembly, the control method, the household appliance and the storage medium have the following advantages: the touch key assembly, the control method, the household appliance and the storage medium have different opening thresholds in each touch area, the controller determines a target touch area according to a received touch signal, and each touch area is connected to the same IO interface of a touch chip, so that the number of IO interfaces is reduced, the design and layout are easier, and the cost is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a touch key assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 7 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 8 Structure diagram of a touch key assembly according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0031] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0032] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "linking" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral connection; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; it can be direct connection, or indirect connection through intermediate medium, or internal communication of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances. In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0033] The touch key assembly in the present application can be used in household appliances with touch keys 102, such as dishwashers, washing machines, electric rice cookers, steam ovens, etc. The touch key assembly sets different touch areas 101, and the touch keys 102 in each touch area 101 have different opening thresholds. Each touch key 102 is connected to the same IO interface of the touch control chip. According to the touch signal output by the touch control chip, the corresponding touch area 101 is matched, and then the controller 20 executes the corresponding function, greatly saving the number of IO interfaces of the touch control chip.

[0034] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of the touch key assembly of an embodiment is schematically shown. As Figure 1 shown, in the technical solution of the present embodiment, a touch key assembly includes a touch panel 10, a touch spring 103 and a controller 20. The touch panel 10 is divided into different touch areas 101, each touch area 101 is connected to the touch spring 103, forming a touch key 102, and each touch spring 103 is connected to the same IO interface of the touch control chip. Each touch key 102 has a different opening threshold. The controller 20 determines the target touch area 101 according to the touch signal received by the touch control chip and executes the corresponding function.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, the touch key assembly includes a touch panel 10, and the touch panel 10 is provided with n touch areas 101, and each touch area 101 is provided with a touch key 102, wherein n≥2, and n is an integer.

[0036] In Figure 2 , the touch key assembly sets three independent touch keys 102, and the three touch keys 102 are connected to the same IO interface of the touch control chip through lead wires. Figure 3In the embodiment, the touch key assembly is provided with three touch areas 101, which form a large touch area 101, i.e. a common three-in-one touch key 102, and the touch keys 102 of the touch areas 101 are connected to the same IO interface of the touch chip through lead wires. The number and arrangement of the touch keys 102 can be determined according to actual conditions.

[0037] Each touch key 102 includes oppositely arranged metal conductors, which generate a capacitance. In the position of the touch key 102, a copper foil on a PCB is shaped into a key shape to form a capacitive switch. When a finger contacts the touch key 102, the capacitance value of the capacitive switch changes. Generally, the capacitance value increases when the finger touches. The change of the capacitance value can be detected by continuously charging and discharging the capacitive switch and detecting the change of the charging voltage, so as to determine whether a conductive element such as a finger contacts the touch key 102.

[0038] When the finger does not contact the touch key 102, the capacitance value detected by the touch chip is called a parasitic capacitance Cp, which is generated by the internal capacitance of the touch key 102 and a coupling electric field. The coupling electric field is generated by coupling between the touch key 102, the wire, the via, and other conductors in the system. Therefore, when the finger does not contact the touch key 102, the capacitance value Cs detected by the touch chip is Cp.

[0039] When the finger contacts the touch key 102, a planar capacitor is formed between the finger and the touch key 102 through the touch panel 10, and the capacitance value C F The capacitance value C

[0040]

[0041] Wherein, ε0 is the dielectric constant of air, ε r is the relative dielectric constant of the touch panel 10; A is the contact area of the finger and the touch key, and d is the thickness of the touch panel 10.

[0042] Therefore, when the finger contacts the touch key, the capacitance value C s detected by the touch chip is C p +C F .

[0043] The touch key assembly converts the capacitance value C s after the finger contacts the touch key into a corresponding numerical relationship table at the factory, and transmits the capacitance value C s detected by the touch chip to the controller 20 in real time. The controller 20 looks up the numerical relationship table according to the received real-time capacitance value C s , and obtains the implementation capacitance value C sThe matched opening threshold is determined, and then the touch key touched by the finger is determined.

[0044] According to the formula one, the capacitance value can be changed by changing the material of the touch panel 10 and the thickness of the touch panel 10, and then the pressed touch key is determined by software.

[0045] The material of the touch panel 10 can be selected according to the following table, and other materials with relative dielectric constant can also be selected in the actual application process. The selected materials can distinguish the touch area 101, and the application is not limited.

[0046] Material Relative dielectric constant Wood table and desktop 1.2～2.5 Acrylic (Plexiglass) 2.8 Polycarbonate (lexan) 2.9～3.0 PET film (Mylar) 3.2

[0047] The touch key assembly provided in the embodiment has different opening thresholds for each touch key 102, the controller 20 determines the target touch area 101 according to the received touch signal, and each touch area 101 is connected to the same IO interface of the touch control chip, thereby reducing the number of IO interfaces, making the design and layout easier, and reducing the cost.

[0048] The following describes the touch key assembly provided with three touch areas 101.

[0049] In the embodiment, the touch panel 10 is one layer, the touch panel 10 includes multiple panels to form different touch areas 101, and the sub-panels in different touch areas 101 are made of materials with different dielectric constants, or the thicknesses of the sub-panels in different touch areas 101 are different.

[0050] As shown in Figure 4 The touch panel 10 is divided into three sub-panels arranged side by side, each sub-panel is made of a material with different dielectric constants, and the bottom surfaces of the panels are respectively connected to the touch springs 103.

[0051] In order to facilitate installation, the sidewall of the middle panel is provided with a first connecting piece, the sidewalls of the two side panels are provided with second connecting pieces matched with the first connecting piece, and the three panels are clamped and fixed through the first connecting piece and the second connecting piece, so as to form a complete touch panel 10.

[0052] Specifically, the first connecting piece can be a buckle, and the second connecting piece can be a clamping groove matched with the buckle; or the first connecting piece is a clamping groove, and the second connecting piece is a buckle matched with the clamping groove.

[0053] The sidewall of the touch panel 10 is provided with a mounting column 2, so that the touch panel 10 is mounted on the mounting seat, and the mounting seat is a component for fixing the touch key assembly.

[0054] The touch area 101 corresponding to the touch spring 103 does not overlap the area where the first connecting member or the second connecting member is located, so as to prevent the two different materials from generating a new capacitance value and thus changing the touch effect.

[0055] In the embodiment, the touch panel 10 includes at least two sub-panels, and the touch panel 10 is made of laminated materials. As shown in the figure, Figures 5-7 The touch panel 10 includes three sub-panels from top to bottom, i.e., a top layer touch panel 501, a middle layer touch panel 502, and a bottom layer touch panel 503. The total thickness of the sub-panels of different touch areas 101 is consistent, and the thickness and dielectric constant of each sub-panel are different.

[0056] As shown in the figure, Figure 5 The materials of the bottom layer touch panel 503 and the top layer touch panel 501 can be the same or different, and the middle layer touch panel 502 is made of 2#, 3#, and 4# materials with different dielectric constants. Since the bottom layer touch panel 503 is arranged below the middle layer touch panel 502, the several layers can be directly stacked together without any other structure. In order to be connected with the mounting seat, the side walls of the bottom layer touch panel 503 are respectively provided with connecting columns, so that the touch key assembly is clamped at the place where the touch panel 10 is installed.

[0057] As shown in the figure, Figure 6 On the basis of the figure, Figure 5 The bottom layer sub-panel is divided into three panels, and the three panels are made of materials with different dielectric constants, as shown in the figure. Figure 6 The top layer sub-panel is made of 1# material, the middle layer sub-panel is made of 2#, 3#, and 4# materials, and the bottom layer sub-panel is made of 5#, 6#, and 7# materials. For the three panels of the bottom layer sub-panel, the first connecting member and the second connecting member are connected, so that the three panels of the bottom layer can be spliced together. The side walls of the bottom layer sub-panel are provided with connecting columns to be clamped at the place where the touch panel 10 is installed. At the same time, Figure 6 The thickness of the middle layer and the bottom layer of the touch panel 10 can also be different.

[0058] As shown in the figure, Figure 7 The top layer, the middle layer, and the bottom layer of the sub-panel are all divided into three panels, which require nine different materials. The three panels of the top layer and the bottom layer of the sub-panel are respectively clamped and fixed by the first connecting member and the second connecting member. Similarly, the touch area 101 corresponding to the touch key 102 below the touch panel 10 does not overlap the first connecting member or the second connecting member, so as to prevent different materials from generating a new εr and thus changing the touch effect.

[0059] In the embodiment, Figure 7 The thickness of all layers can be inconsistent, as long as the total height of the same touch area 101 is consistent. For example, Figure 7The thickness of the middle layer from left to right is 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm, and the thickness of the bottom layer from left to right is 5mm, 4mm, and 3mm, so the total thickness is 8mm.

[0060] In this embodiment, the thickness of the touch panel 10 and the dielectric constant of the material can be adjusted simultaneously. Due to the different thicknesses, the variety of materials used can be reduced. For example, in... Figure 6 In the diagram, touch panel 10 (#2), touch panel 10 (#3), touch panel 10 (#4), touch panel 10 (#5), touch panel 10 (#6), and touch panel 10 (#7) use material 4. The different thicknesses create different εr values, resulting in varying touch effects. This reduces the number of material types used. Both solutions are illustrated using three buttons as an example. If the number of buttons changes, the combination method should be adjusted accordingly.

[0061] The present invention provides a touch button assembly that can form a variety of combinations by selecting touch panels 10 with different layers, dielectric constants and / or thicknesses, thereby reducing the number of IO interfaces used and greatly reducing costs.

[0062] For the sake of simplicity, the method embodiments are described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the described order of actions, because according to the embodiments of the present invention, some steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions involved are not necessarily essential to the embodiments of the present invention.

[0063] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a control method for a touch button assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 8 As shown, the control method using the above-described touch button component provided in this embodiment includes:

[0064] S81. Real-time acquisition of touch signals from touch button 102;

[0065] S82. Determine the target touch button 102 based on the obtained touch signal;

[0066] S83, Execute the function corresponding to the touch button 102.

[0067] The application provides a touch key assembly and a control method thereof. Each touch key 102 has a different opening threshold. A controller 20 determines a target touch area 101 according to a received touch signal. Each touch area 101 is connected to a same IO interface of a touch control chip, so that the number of IO interfaces used is reduced, and the design layout is easier and the cost is reduced.

[0068] In the embodiment, the target touch key 102 is determined according to the obtained touch signal, and the method comprises the following steps.

[0069] The touch signal interval of the touch signal is determined.

[0070] The opening threshold of the touch key 102 matched with the touch signal interval is searched according to a preset corresponding relation table, wherein the corresponding relation table comprises the corresponding relation between the touch signal interval and the touch key 102.

[0071] The corresponding relation table in the embodiment is formulated when the controller 20 is manufactured and is configured in the controller 20. The corresponding relation table is used for recording the corresponding relation between the touch signal interval and the touch key 102.

[0072] The controller 20 can be used for determining the touch signal interval of the touch signal, and according to the obtained touch signal interval, the corresponding relation table is called to obtain the opening threshold of the touch key 102 corresponding to the touch signal interval, and then the target touch key 102 is determined.

[0073] The control method of the touch key assembly provided in the embodiment comprises the following steps: the touch signal interval of the touch signal is obtained, and then the opening threshold of the touch key 102 matched with the touch signal interval is determined according to a preset corresponding relation table, so that the target touch key 102 is determined, and the recognition rate of a single IO interface is improved.

[0074] In addition, the embodiment of the application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method are implemented.

[0075] The control method of the touch key assembly in the embodiment is integrated into a module / unit. If the module / unit is in the form of a software function unit and is sold or used as an independent product, the module / unit can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can also be completed by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above-mentioned various method embodiments can be implemented. The computer program includes computer program code, which can be in the form of source code, object code, an executable file, or some intermediate form, etc. The computer-readable medium can include any entity or device, a recording medium, a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a computer memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electrical carrier signal, a telecommunication signal, and a software distribution medium, etc. that can carry the computer program code.

[0076] In addition, the household appliance provided by the embodiment of the application includes a controller and the touch key assembly as described above. The controller includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the computer program, the steps in the control method of the touch key assembly are implemented, for example Figure 8 the real-time touch signal of the touch key is obtained; the target touch key is determined according to the obtained touch signal; and the function corresponding to the touch key is executed.

[0077] The touch key assembly, the control method thereof, the household appliance, and the storage medium provided by the application have different opening thresholds for each touch key. The controller determines a target touch area according to a received touch signal. Each touch area is connected to the same IO interface of a touch control chip, thereby reducing the number of IO interfaces used, making the design and layout easier, and reducing costs.

[0078] Those skilled in the art can understand that although some embodiments herein include certain features rather than other features included in other embodiments, the combination of features of different embodiments means that it is within the scope of the application and forms different embodiments. For example, any one of the embodiments claimed in the present application can be used in any combination.

[0079] It should be pointed out finally that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit the same; and although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments can be modified, or some technical features thereof can be replaced equivalently; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A touch button assembly, characterized in that, The device includes a touch panel, touch springs, and a controller. The touch panel is divided into different touch areas, and each touch area is connected to a touch spring to form a touch button. Each touch spring is connected to the same I / O interface of the touch chip. Each touch button has a different activation threshold. The controller determines the target touch area based on the touch signal received by the touch chip and executes the corresponding function. The touch panel includes at least two layers, wherein at least one layer of the touch panel has at least two sub-panels to divide the different touch areas. The touch panel consists of three sub-panels from top to bottom: a top touch panel, a middle touch panel, and a bottom touch panel. The total thickness of the touch panel is the same in different touch areas, but the thickness and / or dielectric constant of each layer of touch panel or sub-panel is different; the bottom touch panel and the top touch panel can be made of the same or different materials, and the middle touch panel uses materials with different dielectric constants.

2. The touch button assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sub-panels in different touch areas are made of materials with different dielectric constants, or the sub-panels in different touch areas have different thicknesses.

3. The touch button assembly according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, Adjacent sub-panels are provided with mutually cooperating first and second connectors so that the sub-panels can be connected to form a complete touch panel.

4. The touch button assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The touch panel has mounting posts on its sidewalls for connection to the mounting base.

5. A control method utilizing a touch button assembly as described in any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, include: Real-time acquisition of touch signals from touch buttons; The target touch button is determined based on the obtained touch signal; Perform the function corresponding to the touch button.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Determining the target touch button based on the obtained touch signal includes: Determine the touch signal range of the touch signal; The activation threshold of the touch button that matches the touch signal range is found according to a preset correspondence table, wherein the correspondence table includes the correspondence between the touch signal range and the touch button.

7. A household appliance, comprising a controller and a touch button assembly as described in any one of claims 1-4, wherein the controller includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 5-6.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 5-6.

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