Glass-Ceramic Operating Panel for Swipe Sensing in Hot, Wet Appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch screen technologies for household appliances, particularly cooking apparatuses, face challenges due to high temperatures and moisture, leading to increased costs and limited functionality, such as the inability to detect movements in arbitrary directions and susceptibility to interference from surface contaminants and electromagnetic signals.
Innovation Solution
A cost-effective and flexible user interface for household appliances, featuring a planar support with a glass or glass-ceramic substrate, integrated sensors with overlapping electrodes, and a display element, allowing for swiping gestures and improved resistance to interference, with sensors arranged in a 2:N matrix structure for enhanced signal recognition and reduced complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a touch screen is integrated into a cooking apparatus, then ease of operation is improved, but cost increases and reliability deteriorates due to high temperatures and moisture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive and temperature-sensitive touch screen technology with a more robust alternative using glass or glass-ceramic surfaces with embedded sensors. This substitution uses materials that are inherently more resistant to thermal and moisture damage, effectively creating a more durable input interface suitable for cooking environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the sensor system by using capacitive sensors that can detect both contact and near-field gestures. The sensor arrangement with multiple electrodes enables detection of swiping movements in arbitrary directions, improving ease of operation while maintaining reliability in harsh conditions through parameter optimization.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional sensor arrangements are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but measurement precision deteriorates due to inability to detect movements in arbitrary directions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sensor surface into multiple discrete electrodes arranged in a matrix pattern on the glass or glass-ceramic substrate. This segmentation allows independent detection at multiple points, enabling precise determination of gesture direction and position while maintaining a relatively simple manufacturing process using standard sensor fabrication techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-direction or limited-direction sensor detection to multi-directional detection by arranging electrodes in a two-dimensional matrix. This dimensional expansion enables detection of swiping gestures in any arbitrary direction across the surface, significantly improving measurement precision without complicating the manufacturing process.
3Measurement precision
If more sensors are added to detect arbitrary movements, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sensor arrangement with multiple electrodes that serve multiple functions: detecting contact position, determining swipe direction, and recognizing gestures in arbitrary directions. This multi-functionality allows a single sensor arrangement to perform what would otherwise require multiple separate sensor systems, improving measurement precision while controlling device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple sensor functions into a unified electrode matrix system on the glass or glass-ceramic substrate. By merging position detection, directional sensing, and gesture recognition into a single integrated sensor arrangement, the system achieves high measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
4Reliability
If glass or glass-ceramic substrate is used, then reliability is improved against temperature and moisture, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs glass or glass-ceramic composite materials that combine thermal resistance, moisture resistance, and structural integrity. These materials provide inherent reliability in cooking environments while their standardized production processes help manage manufacturing precision requirements through material consistency and robust fabrication methods.
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
Enables intuitive control through swiping gestures and improved resistance to interference, providing a robust and cost-effective solution for household appliances by allowing arbitrary user interface arrangements and maintaining operational reliability in harsh conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor arrangement having at least two sensors, each of which comprises at least one electrode and is disposed on the inner substrate surface, for interaction with a user located in the external region
Data Source
AI summary
An operating panel for a household appliance is provided with at least one user interface. The operating panel includes a planar support with an outer support surface facing an external region; a planar glass or glass-ceramic substrate with an outer substrate surface facing the external region and an opposite-lying inner substrate surface facing away from the external region and facing the outer support surface; a display element affixed to the support for luminous indication of information, which is preferably disposed on the outer support surface; and a sensor arrangement having at least two sensors, each of which comprises at least one electrode and is disposed on the inner substrate surface, for interaction with a user located in the external region.