Touch Sensor Assembly for Cooking Apparatus with Precise Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking apparatuses face issues with sensor and keypad accuracy due to precise positioning requirements, leading to recognition errors when not attached correctly.
Innovation Solution
A control assembly with a printed circuit board featuring a touch sensor mounted on a cover plate, bonded using a bonding member, and assembled into a body panel with a corresponding opening, ensuring precise positioning and easy assembly, enhancing operation reliability and reducing error rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a touch sensor or keypad is attached to a precise position on the operational surface, then operation recognition accuracy is improved, but assembly complexity and error rate increase due to precise positioning requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the control assembly into separate functional modules: the cover plate with operating units, the printed circuit board with touch sensors, and the body panel with a receiving cavity. This segmentation allows each module to be manufactured and positioned independently, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining precise sensor positioning through the standardized PCB mounting structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The printed circuit board serves as an intermediary component that bridges the cover plate and body panel. It provides a standardized mounting interface with multiple mounting holes that simplify assembly, while precisely positioning the touch sensors relative to the operating units on the cover plate, thereby reducing positioning errors without requiring complex assembly procedures.
2Manufacturing precision
If a separate zig is used to mount the printed circuit board to achieve precise positioning, then positioning accuracy is improved, but productivity decreases due to additional assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the positioning function into the basic structure of the body panel by forming an integrated receiving cavity that directly receives and positions the printed circuit board. The cavity includes positioning structures such as ribs or guides that are formed as part of the body panel molding process, eliminating the need for separate positioning components (zigs) and reducing assembly steps while maintaining precise positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The body panel's receiving cavity serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, precise positioning through integrated guides, and mechanical retention for the printed circuit board. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate positioning components and simplifies the assembly process, thereby improving productivity without sacrificing positioning accuracy.
3Ease of manufacture
If the printed circuit board is not precisely positioned, then assembly is simpler, but operation reliability decreases due to bad recognition
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric positioning structures within the body panel's receiving cavity, such as asymmetric ribs or guide features that correspond to asymmetric mounting holes or edges on the printed circuit board. This asymmetric design provides foolproof positioning that prevents incorrect installation orientations, ensuring high operation reliability while maintaining simple assembly procedures through self-aligning features.
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 ensures accurate operation recognition and increased productivity by maintaining the printed circuit board in the correct position, preventing assembly errors and maintaining durability through the use of a supporter for stable contact between the cover plate and printed circuit board.
Implementation Method 1
a bonding member configured to be applied between the cover plate and the printed circuit board to bond the both
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a cooking apparatus and a touch sensor assembly of the cooking apparatus, including an outer cover formed of a metal material and forming an exterior of the cooking apparatus; and a touch module mounted on a rear side of the outer cover to be contacted therewith and including a plurality of touch sensors, wherein a touch unit is formed in an opening of a rear side of the outer cover that contacts to the touch sensor and is elastically deformed with ease when touched by a user to transfer the pressure to the touch sensor.