Conductive Coating Reducing Fingerprint Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrically conductive coatings on exposed surfaces, such as window panes, are prone to fingerprint visibility issues due to their reflective nature, which affects aesthetic appeal and can be difficult to clean without damaging the coating.
Innovation Solution
A coating with a specific layer structure that includes an electrically conductive layer and anti-reflective layers, optimized to have a local minimum reflectance between 310 nm to 360 nm and a local maximum between 400 nm to 460 nm, reducing the visibility of fingerprints through interference optics, while maintaining corrosion resistance and thermal radiation reflection properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a transparent electrically conductive coating is applied to an exposed surface, then corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity are improved, but fingerprint visibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a transparent electrically conductive oxide layer (such as ITO, IZO, or ZnO) with a dielectric layer to create a composite coating structure. This composite approach allows the conductive oxide to provide corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity while the dielectric layer modifies the optical properties to reduce fingerprint visibility through controlled reflectance characteristics in specific wavelength ranges.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the reflectance parameters of the coating by adjusting the thickness and material composition of the dielectric layer. Specifically, the coating is designed to exhibit a local minimum of reflectance in the 310-360 nm range and a local maximum in the 400-460 nm range, which reduces the contrast between fingerprints and the surrounding surface, thereby reducing fingerprint visibility while maintaining the functional properties of the conductive layer.
2Loss of energy
If the coating is made more reflective to improve thermal radiation reflection, then thermal comfort is improved, but fingerprint visibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating specific optical properties at different wavelength ranges. The coating is designed to have high reflectance in the thermal infrared range (for thermal comfort) while simultaneously having controlled reflectance characteristics in the visible and UV ranges (310-460 nm) to reduce fingerprint visibility. This allows different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum to have optimized properties for their respective functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of conductive oxide and dielectric layers enables the coating to achieve both thermal radiation reflection and reduced fingerprint visibility. The dielectric layer's specific thickness and material properties allow it to modulate the optical response in the visible spectrum while the underlying conductive oxide layer maintains thermal reflection properties.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a multi-layer coating structure is implemented to reduce fingerprint visibility, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fingerprint visibility problem from the overall coating system and addresses it separately by adding a specific dielectric layer configuration. Rather than redesigning the entire coating system, the solution focuses on adding or optimizing a particular layer (the dielectric layer) with specific optical properties, thereby reducing complexity compared to more comprehensive multi-layer approaches.
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 coating significantly reduces the visibility of fingerprints and surface contamination, enhancing the aesthetic appearance and ease of cleaning while maintaining thermal comfort and electrical conductivity.
Implementation Method 1
optimized to have a local minimum reflectance between 310 nm to 360 nm and a local maximum between 400 nm to 460 nm, reducing the visibility of fingerprints through interference optics
Implementation Method 2
maintaining thermal comfort and electrical conductivity... heat-reflecting coating... reflect heat radiation
Implementation Method 3
an electrically conductive coating... sufficiently corrosion-resistant to be used on an exposed surface... maintaining electrical conductivity
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3(a)~3(g)
Figure 4(a)~4(g)
AI summary
The present invention relates to a pane having an electrically conductive coating, comprising a substrate (1) and an electrically conductive coating (2) on an exposed surface of the substrate (1), said coating comprising at least one electrically conductive layer (4). The pane has a local minimum of reflectance (RL) in the range of 310 nm to 360 nm and a local maximum or reflectance (RL) in the range of 400 nm to 460 nm.