Consumer appliance and touch panel interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user interfaces in appliances like washing machines become unreliable due to air gaps forming between conductive components, leading to input errors and unresponsiveness, especially in high-vibration environments, making pre-assembly challenging and increasing the potential for these gaps.
Innovation Solution
A user interface design featuring a substrate panel with a flexible capacitance touch circuit and a deformable conductive joint connecting it to a rigid circuit board, which is positioned behind the substrate panel, providing a robust and reliable connection that maintains electrical communication even under vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conductive spring or foam pad is used to connect the touch panel to the circuit board, then complex geometries can be accommodated, but air gaps form over time leading to unreliable connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible circuit board that can dynamically adapt to vibrations and movements while maintaining continuous electrical contact. The flexible circuit board bends and deforms elastically in response to external forces, ensuring the conductive surfaces remain in constant contact without forming air gaps, thus resolving the contradiction between geometry accommodation and connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite construction for the flexible circuit board, combining flexible substrates with conductive traces. This composite structure provides both the flexibility needed to accommodate complex geometries and the mechanical stability required to maintain reliable electrical connections under vibration and movement conditions.
2Productivity
If pre-assembly of user interface portions is performed, then assembly efficiency improves, but movement during assembly increases potential for air gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the user interface into separable modules that can be pre-assembled independently. The flexible circuit board serves as a universal connector that can accommodate these separate modules, allowing efficient pre-assembly while maintaining reliable connections through its flexible, gap-free contact mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the flexible circuit board's ability to change its physical parameters (bending radius, contact pressure) to accommodate pre-assembled modules. The flexible nature allows the circuit board to adapt to slight position variations and movements during assembly, maintaining reliable electrical contact without requiring precise alignment.
3Stability of the object's composition
If rigid connections are used between components, then structural stability improves, but vulnerability to vibration-induced failures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid connections with a flexible circuit board that can dynamically respond to vibrations. The flexible board absorbs and dissipates vibrational energy through elastic deformation, preventing the stress concentration and fatigue failure that would occur in rigid connections, thus improving vibration resistance while maintaining structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible circuit board as a thin, flexible interconnection medium. This flexible film structure provides both mechanical stability for structural integrity and flexibility to accommodate vibrations and movements, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and vibration resistance.
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 enhances the reliability of user interfaces by maintaining consistent capacitance detection and preventing input errors, even in high-vibration environments, while allowing for easier assembly and service by allowing incremental movement of components without disrupting electrical communication.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible capacitance touch circuit... changes in capacitance are not detected between the touch panel and the circuit board
Implementation Method 2
a deformable conductive joint... providing a robust and flexible connection that withstands vibrations and movement
Data Source
AI summary
A consumer appliance or touch panel interface, as provided herein, may include a substrate panel, a flexible capacitance touch circuit, a deformable conductive joint, and a rigid circuit board. The flexible capacitance touch circuit may be joined to the substrate panel. The deformable conductive joint may extend from a first end to a second end. The first end may be bonded to the flexible capacitance touch circuit. The rigid circuit board may be bonded to the deformable conductive joint at the second end, the rigid circuit board being positioned behind the substrate panel along the axial direction.