Refrigerator including touch interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulty in intuitively identifying and locating the touch key on a refrigerator door, especially in dark environments, leading to inconvenience in operating the door opening device.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator with a touch interface that includes a light-emitting indicator to assist users in locating the touch point, enhanced by a light guide member and a distance sensor to control light emission based on user proximity, ensuring improved visibility and sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a touch key is provided on the refrigerator door, then the door can be opened by touch operation, but the user cannot intuitively identify which part to touch, especially in dark environments
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator emits light in advance before the user touches the touch key, especially when the user approaches the refrigerator (detected by distance sensor). This preliminary lighting action ensures the touch key location is visible before contact is made, resolving the visibility issue in dark environments while maintaining ease of touch operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The indicator acts as an intermediary element between the touch key and the user's eye. It converts the invisible touch key location into a visible light signal, mediating the detection process. The light guide member further mediates by transferring light from the light source to the indicator, ensuring efficient light transmission to highlight the touch position.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If lighting is provided to illuminate the touch interface, then visibility is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system transitions from a static always-on state to a dynamic conditional state. The light source is activated only when the distance sensor detects user proximity or when touch is detected, and deactivated otherwise. This dynamic control adapts the lighting to actual usage needs, improving visibility when required while minimizing energy consumption during idle periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting operates periodically rather than continuously - turning on when needed (user approach or touch detected) and off when not needed. This periodic activation pattern, controlled by distance and touch sensors, maintains visibility functionality while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous illumination.
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 user convenience by allowing easy identification of the touch interface in various lighting conditions and reduces the need for manual search, improving the operational efficiency of the door opening mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
a light guide member configured to transfer incident light from the at least one light source to the indicator
Implementation Method 2
a touch sensor configured to generate a touch signal by sensing the touch of the user
Implementation Method 3
a distance sensor configured to sense an approach of a user within a pre-set distance range from the main body
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator including a main body configured with a storage compartment; a door configured to be rotatable to open and close the storage compartment; a touch interface on the door, and configured to sense a touch of a user, and a door opening device configured to rotate the door to open the storage compartment when the touch interface senses the touch of the user, wherein the touch interface includes an indicator configured to emit light out of the touch interface to assist a user to locate the touch interface.