Touch Sensor Control Module Backlighting via Translucent Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch sensors used in motor vehicles are opaque, making it difficult to illuminate control buttons for night driving, which affects ergonomic comfort and visibility.
Innovation Solution
A control module with a touch sensor and a flexible protection layer that allows backlighting, featuring a rigid mechanical support with openings for light to pass through and a transparent or translucent plate sandwiched between the support and the sensor, enabling light to illuminate the touch surface while maintaining sensitivity to pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional opaque touch sensors are used, then manufacturing simplicity and robustness are maintained, but visibility and ergonomic comfort during night driving deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The control surface is divided into multiple independent touch-sensitive zones (first control zone, second control zone, third control zone) that can be selectively illuminated. Each zone can be individually backlit through the translucent plate, allowing partial illumination without illuminating the entire sensor surface, thus balancing visibility with structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate is made of translucent material rather than fully opaque, allowing light to pass through selectively to illuminate specific regions. This local transparency enables backlighting of control zones while maintaining the overall structural integrity and relative simplicity of the sensor assembly.
2Illumination intensity
If a translucent plate is added for backlighting, then visibility during night driving is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The translucent plate is integrated directly with the sensor assembly, combining the illumination function with the existing control surface structure. The plate serves dual purposes: protecting the sensor while allowing backlight transmission, eliminating the need for separate illumination components and simplifying manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate performs multiple functions simultaneously: it protects the underlying sensor, allows light transmission for backlighting, and provides a smooth continuous touch surface. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of components needed and simplifies the overall manufacturing process.
3Illumination intensity
If openings are created in the mechanical support for light passage, then backlighting capability is enabled, but structural strength and sensor protection may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible membrane is introduced as a protective layer that spans across the openings in the mechanical support. This thin film allows light to pass through to illuminate the control zones while maintaining the structural integrity of the support and protecting the sensor from direct exposure. The membrane's flexibility allows it to conform to the underlying sensor surface.
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 allows for improved visibility and ergonomic comfort during night driving by enabling backlighting of control functions without compromising the sensor's functionality, providing a smooth and continuous touch surface that is both visible and responsive.
Implementation Method 1
a rigid mechanical support in which openings are formed enabling light to pass from at least one light source
Implementation Method 2
A technology using pressure-sensitive resistors (also known by the name FSR sensor for 'Force Sensing Resistor')
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a control module that comprises at least one touch control surface (3) made of a sensor (31) sensitive to the pressure applied on the touch surface (3) and of a flexible protection layer (33) covering said sensor (31) and allowing a pressure to be locally transmitted to the sensor. The module further includes a rigid mechanical support (15) in which openings (27) are formed, allowing therethrough the light from at least one light source (25) and defining back-lighting regions of the touch surface (3), and a plate (20) of an incompressible material and transparent to the light which is sandwiched between the mechanical support (15) and the sensor (31) and defines a continuous smooth surface at the touch surface (3), wherein the sensor (31) and the flexible protection layer (33) are made so as to allow the light at least partially through the back-lighting regions.