Glass-Ceramic Lighting Substrate for Color-Accurate Kitchen Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kitchen and laboratory equipment with glass or glass ceramic substrates face challenges in balancing light transmission for aesthetic and operational purposes, as current solutions either compromise on visibility or require additional color compensation filters, and are not thermally or chemically stable enough for high-temperature applications.
Innovation Solution
A fitout article with a glass or glass ceramic substrate having a low coefficient of thermal expansion (0 to 6 ppm/K) and a separating element that allows light transmittance of 0.1% to 12% with specific color coordinates in the CIELAB color space, ensuring visibility of lighting elements while concealing the interior, and featuring a coating or diffuser layers to achieve desired thermal and chemical stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If transparent non-coloured glass or glass ceramic is used with an opaque coating and cutouts, then light transmission is improved, but aesthetic appearance deteriorates due to visible cutouts when lighting element is off
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a coloured coating (specifically black or dark-coloured) to the glass or glass ceramic substrate. This coating allows the surface to maintain a uniform aesthetic appearance when the lighting element is off, while still permitting controlled light transmission when the lighting element is active. The color change principle resolves the contradiction by using optical properties to achieve both aesthetic uniformity and functional light transmission.
2Loss of information
If dark-coloured glass or glass ceramic is used, then interior concealment is improved, but light transmission and color accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the coloured coating only in specific regions where interior concealment is required, rather than uniformly across the entire substrate. This localized application allows areas requiring light transmission to maintain high transparency while specific zones provide interior concealment. The local quality principle resolves the contradiction by spatially differentiating functional requirements.
3Loss of information
If coloured glass ceramic with vanadium ions is used, then interior concealment is improved, but color distortion of display device deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a colour compensation filter as an intermediary element between the coloured glass ceramic and the display device. This filter compensates for the color distortion caused by the vanadium ions in the glass ceramic, restoring accurate color representation. The intermediary principle resolves the contradiction by adding a compensating element that counteracts the unwanted color shift while maintaining interior concealment.
4Manufacturing precision
If neutral density filters or grey glasses are used, then color accuracy is improved, but thermal and chemical stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by selecting glass or glass ceramic substrates with specific compositional characteristics that inherently provide both color accuracy and thermal/chemical stability. Rather than using standard neutral density filters with poor thermal stability, the invention modifies the optical and thermal parameters of the substrate material itself to achieve both requirements simultaneously.
5Manufacturing precision
If additional colour compensation filters are mounted, then color accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the coloured coating directly onto the glass or glass ceramic substrate, integrating the color compensation function into the substrate itself rather than using separate additional filters. This combining approach reduces device complexity by eliminating separate compensation filter components while maintaining color accuracy through the integrated coating design.
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 provides improved thermal and chemical stability, enhanced light transmission control, and aesthetic appeal by maintaining the white appearance of light passing through, eliminating the need for additional color compensation filters and ensuring the equipment remains functional under varying temperature conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a glass or glass ceramic substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion of 0 to 6 ppm/K in the temperature range between 20° C. and 300° C.
Implementation Method 2
the separating element, in the region of the lighting element, has a light transmittance of at least 0.1% and less than 12%
Data Source
AI summary
A fitout article or article of equipment for a kitchen or laboratory is provided. The article has a lighting and separating element. The separating element in a region of the lighting element has light transmittance of at least 0.1% and less than 12%. The lighting element in the interior emits light that passes through the separating element and to the exterior. The separating element has a glass or glass-ceramic substrate having a CTE of −6 to 6 ppm/K and has a colour locus in the CIELAB colour space with the coordinates L* of 20 to 40, a* of −6 to 6 and b* of −6 to 6. D65 standard illuminant light, after passing through the separating element, is within a white region W1 determined in the chromaticity diagram CIExyY−2° by the following coordinates:White region W1xy0.270.210.220.250.320.370.450.450.470.340.36 0.29.