Capacitive Touch Switch Tinting for a Dead-Front Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Capacitive touch switches in domestic appliances often lack a seamless dead-front user interface, where unlit icons are not invisible, disrupting the monochromatic appearance when not illuminated.
Innovation Solution
A capacitive touch switch design featuring a transparent insulating panel, a filtering layer with opaque color, a tinted transparent substrate with capacitive electrodes, and a light source that transmits light through the substrate and panel, creating a monochromatic surface when icons are not illuminated by matching the opaque color of the filtering layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional capacitive touch switches are used with visible icons, then the user interface provides clear visual identification, but the dead-front effect is disrupted when icons are not illuminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by using a transparent substrate with a specific tint that matches the opaque color of the filtering layer. When the light source is off, the tinted substrate appears opaque and matches the filtering layer color, creating a monochromatic dead-front appearance. When illuminated, the substrate becomes transparent and the icon is visible, thus resolving the contradiction between visual identification and monochromatic appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the optical properties of the transparent substrate. The substrate's transparency parameter changes from opaque (when unlit) to transparent (when illuminated), allowing it to seamlessly blend with the filtering layer in the off state and reveal the icon in the on state, thereby maintaining both dead-front effect and visual identification.
2Illumination intensity
If a transparent substrate is used to allow light transmission, then the icon can be illuminated, but the substrate itself becomes visible when not illuminated, disrupting the dead-front effect
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent substrate is tinted with an opaque color that substantially matches the filtering layer. This color change strategy ensures that when the substrate is not illuminated, its tinted appearance blends seamlessly with the filtering layer, maintaining the uniform monochromatic dead-front appearance. When illuminated, the substrate allows light transmission while the icon becomes visible.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by tinting only the transparent substrate with a color matching the filtering layer, while leaving the icon region transparent. This localized differentiation allows the substrate to provide the necessary light transmission while maintaining the dead-front effect in the surrounding areas, thus resolving the contradiction between illumination and uniform appearance.
3Illumination intensity
If the transparent substrate is made completely transparent, then light transmission is maximized, but the substrate is always visible, preventing dead-front effect
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by tinting the transparent substrate with an opaque color that matches the filtering layer. This tint allows the substrate to appear opaque and blend with the filtering layer when not illuminated, creating the dead-front effect. When illuminated, the substrate remains transparent enough to allow light transmission and icon visibility, thus resolving the contradiction between light transmission and dead-front appearance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively achieves a dead-front effect by ensuring that unlit icons appear as a monochromatic surface, enhancing the user interface's aesthetic and usability by maintaining a uniform appearance.
Implementation Method 1
a light source configured to transmit light through the transparent substrate, the transparent icon, and the transparent insulating panel when energized
Implementation Method 2
the transparent substrate including a capacitive electrode, the transparent substrate being tinted to substantially match the opaque color of the filtering layer
Data Source
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AI summary
A capacitive touch switch is disclosed which includes a transparent insulating panel, a filtering layer having an opaque color, a transparent icon being defined in the filtering layer, a transparent substrate including a capacitive electrode, the transparent substrate being tinted to substantially match the opaque color of the filtering layer, and a light source configured to transmit light through the transparent substrate, the transparent icon, and the transparent insulating panel when energized. A user interface and a method of manufacturing a capacitive touch switch are also disclosed.