Sliding Indicator Lamp Cover for Air-Conditioning Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional communication devices designed for external use are not suitable for installation within apparatuses, leading to difficulties in rotating the cover to expose or cover indicator lamps, causing either eye disturbance or loss of necessary indication.
Innovation Solution
A communication device integrated into an apparatus with a slidable indicator lamp cover that adjusts the opening degree to selectively expose or cover indicator lamps, allowing for appropriate indication based on the device's type and installation site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the communication device uses a rotatable cover to cover all indicator lamps, then eye disturbance is prevented, but the device cannot be properly installed in apparatuses and the cover cannot be rotated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the rotatable cover mechanism into a slidable cover mechanism that moves horizontally along guide rails. This dynamic adjustment allows the cover to slide between covering and exposing indicator lamps, resolving the contradiction between preventing eye disturbance and enabling operation in installed positions where rotation is impossible.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the indicator lamps into multiple groups arranged in different directions, with each group可控 independently. The cover can selectively cover specific groups of lamps while leaving others exposed, allowing partial indication functionality even when fully covered in the original design would be required.
2Loss of information
If the communication device maintains the indicating state with all indicator lamps exposed, then all information is visible, but eye disturbance occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different regions of indicator lamps to have different visibility states. The slidable cover creates zones of covered and exposed lamps, enabling critical information to remain visible while non-critical indicators are covered to prevent eye disturbance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of covering all indicator lamps uniformly, the patent implements partial covering where only necessary lamps are exposed while others remain covered. This partial action maintains sufficient information visibility without the excessive exposure that causes eye disturbance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the communication device maintains the non-indicating state with all indicator lamps covered, then eye disturbance is prevented, but necessary indication cannot be checked
Solution Approach 1:
The slidable cover mechanism enables dynamic switching between covered and exposed states for different lamp groups. Users can slide the cover to expose only the necessary indicator lamps for checking while keeping others covered, preventing eye disturbance from continuous full exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows users to self-adjust the cover position based on their immediate information needs. The multi-directional lamp arrangement ensures that critical indicators are always accessible through sliding the cover, making the system self-adapting to user requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
A communication device 1 constitutes part of an apparatus 100 and communicates with other apparatuses 400. The communication device 1 includes a case 8 having an opening 71; a plurality of indicator lamps 12 accommodated in the case 8, at a position corresponding to the opening 71; and an indicator lamp cover 6 that is provided so as to be slidable in a direction in which the plurality of indicator lamps 12 are arranged and that is used to adjust an opening degree of the opening 71.