User interface for a hob
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hobs with multiple cooking zones lack user-friendliness and controllability in their control and display elements, increasing the risk of inadvertently activating the wrong zone.
Innovation Solution
A touchscreen interface for a hob with multiple cooking zones that employs a dual interface mode, where the selected zone is highlighted with enlarged, bold, and differently colored input elements, while others are shifted to the periphery, along with additional features like timer functions and power level adjustments, to facilitate clear selection and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hobs provide one control knob or touch sensitive zone for each cooking zone, then each zone can be controlled independently, but the user-friendliness and controllability are insufficient and the risk of inadvertent activation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface dynamically changes its display mode based on the operational state. In selection mode, all cooking zones are displayed with equal prominence. When a zone is selected, the interface transitions to adjustment mode where the selected zone's controls are highlighted and enlarged while other zones are dimmed or reduced. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the interface both comprehensive (showing all zones) and focused (highlighting selected zone) at different times.
Solution Approach 2:
The touchscreen interface applies different visual qualities to different regions based on their operational state. The selected cooking zone's input elements are displayed with enhanced properties (enlarged size, bold formatting, different color, prominent location) while non-selected zones use standard display properties. This local differentiation makes it immediately clear which zone is active, preventing inadvertent activation of wrong zones while maintaining full control over all zones.
2Ease of operation
If multiple cooking zones are displayed with similar input elements, then the interface remains simple and consistent, but it becomes difficult to distinguish which zone is selected and reduces user-friendliness
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen interface uses color changes to indicate the selected cooking zone. The input element for the selected zone is displayed in a different color (e.g., highlighted color) compared to non-selected zones. This visual differentiation provides immediate and unambiguous feedback about which zone is active without requiring complex additional displays or controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface uses spatial repositioning as an additional dimension of differentiation. When a cooking zone is selected, its input element is moved to a prominent location (such as the center of the touchscreen) while other zones are shifted to peripheral regions. This spatial transformation clearly indicates the selected zone and provides an intuitive visual hierarchy without adding complex control elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A user interface for a hob that comprises at least two cooking zones is disclosed. The user interface comprises a touch-screen interface (18) for presenting operating parameters and input elements (20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48) for adjusting such operating parameters. The touchscreen interface (18) is configured to display for each of the cooking zones an input element (20, 22, 24, 26) for selection of the respective cooking zone. In a first interface mode the input elements (20, 22, 24, 26) for selection of the cooking zones are represented in a normal display mode that is simultaneously applied to the input elements for all cooking zones, and in a second interface mode the input element (24) for a selected cooking zone is represented in a highlighted display mode different from the display mode applied to the input elements (20, 22, 26) for the remaining cooking zones.