Control Panel Light Guide Structure for Continuous Annular LED Lighting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry treating apparatuses lack an aesthetically pleasing and elegant lighting pattern on their control panels, which can confuse users regarding the operation and status of the device.
Innovation Solution
A control panel design featuring a circular light guide with ribs that create an annular lighting pattern around a rotary knob, using LEDs to produce a continuously connected and elegant lighting effect, with specific rib structures guiding light to enhance visibility and prevent misinterpretation of the lighting pattern.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a conventional lighting structure is used on the control panel, then the manufacturing is simple, but the lighting pattern lacks aesthetic appeal and may confuse users
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide is divided into multiple segments or sections, each containing LEDs arranged in specific patterns. This segmentation allows independent control of different lighting zones while maintaining an integrated visual effect, resolving the contradiction between aesthetic complexity and manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide acts as an intermediary component between the LEDs and the control panel display. It transforms the raw LED light into an elegant, continuous annular lighting pattern that enhances aesthetics while the modular light guide design keeps manufacturing relatively simple
2Shape
If LEDs are arranged to create an elegant lighting pattern, then the aesthetic appeal is improved, but the structural complexity of the light guide increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide employs curved or annular rib structures that naturally guide light in continuous flowing patterns. The curved geometry of the ribs creates elegant circular or annular lighting patterns around the rotary knob while the smooth continuous curves are easier to manufacture than complex angular structures
Solution Approach 2:
The ribs are designed with varying thickness parameters - thicker at the base for structural integrity and thinner at the light-emitting edges for optimal light diffusion. This parameter variation creates the desired lighting pattern效果 while maintaining manufacturability through gradual transitions
3Loss of information
If the lighting pattern is made more visible and distinct, then user understanding is improved, but the risk of creating misleading patterns increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the light guide are designed with different rib configurations - some areas have ribs that create bright, distinct lighting for status indication, while other areas have ribs designed to prevent light leakage and create clear separation between different operational states. This local differentiation ensures clear information transmission without ambiguity
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting pattern provides visual feedback about the device's operational status through clearly defined patterns. The rib structures are designed to create distinct lighting zones that correspond to different operational modes, ensuring users can accurately interpret device status without confusion or misleading information
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 a clear and elegant lighting pattern that enhances user understanding of the device's operation and status, minimizing confusion and improving the overall aesthetic appeal of the laundry treating apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
a light guide for guiding the light emitted from the LEDs to the window, thus allowing the light emitted from the LEDs to be represented through the window to the outside
Implementation Method 2
The laundry treating apparatus may include LEDs, a window through which light emitted from the LEDs passes
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A laundry treating apparatus including a plurality of LEDs (60) mounted on a PCB (21A), a light guide (90) including inner (92) and outer (94) walls and ribs (100) disposed between the inner and outer walls to define cells (U) accommodating the plurality of LEDs, and a window (82) through which light emitted from the plurality of LEDs passes, wherein at least one rib includes a first portion (110) that is decreased in thickness toward the window and is pointed toward the window. A continuously connected integral lighting pattern is created on the window, and a neat and elegant lighting pattern is created by a simple structure.