Touch Display Control Panel for Household Appliance Program Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household appliances, such as laundry machines, face challenges in providing intuitive and efficient user interfaces due to limited space on control panels, often requiring mechanical elements and limited display of available programs, leading to potential incorrect selections and increased configuration time.
Innovation Solution
A touch display connected to a control unit that contemporaneously displays multiple operating functions, with one highlighted function for easy selection, allowing users to view and interact with various programs and options without mechanical controls, optimizing space and reducing selection errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mechanical selecting devices (knobs, buttons) are used on the control panel, then the user can directly select programs, but the control panel requires more space and cannot display all available programs simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical selecting devices (knobs, buttons) with a touch-sensitive display that allows direct selection of programs through touch input. This substitution eliminates the need for physical mechanical components while maintaining ease of operation, and enables the display of multiple programs simultaneously on the control panel surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses graphical icons and visual representations on the touch display to represent programs and functions. These visual copies allow users to see and select from multiple programs simultaneously without requiring physical space for each program's mechanical selector, thus optimizing control panel space while maintaining accessibility.
2Area of stationary object
If only one or very few programs are displayed in text format, then control panel space is optimized, but the user loses overview of all available programs and may make incorrect selections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs different visual states (highlighted vs. non-highlighted) on the touch display to indicate program selection status. The highlighted visual state clearly shows the currently selected program, while other programs remain visible but unhighlighted, providing both comprehensive program overview and clear selection indication without requiring additional space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional text display to a two-dimensional graphical interface with icons and visual elements. This dimensional change allows multiple programs to be displayed simultaneously in a compact grid or list format, providing comprehensive program overview while optimizing the use of control panel space through efficient spatial arrangement.
3Loss of information
If multiple operating functions are displayed simultaneously on the touch display, then the user gets an overview of available programs, but the interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user interface into distinct functional areas on the touch display: program selection area with graphical icons, parameter adjustment area, and control area. This segmentation allows multiple operating functions to be displayed simultaneously in an organized manner, providing comprehensive program overview while reducing perceived complexity through clear visual separation and hierarchical structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A household appliance having a control panel, a control unit, and a touch display connected to the control unit. The control unit is configured to contemporaneously display a plurality of operating functions on the touch display and to receive and to process user input, whereby the touch display displays a plurality of operating functions, among them a highlighted operating function, whereby each of the displayed operating functions is selectable by touching it at least one time.