Touch sensor assembly and door including the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household appliances with display assemblies face challenges in maintaining uniform light brightness and preventing foreign materials from entering through small holes, while also maintaining a luxurious exterior appearance.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with a display assembly that uses a urethane coating liquid with an anti-foaming agent to fill minute holes in a metal exterior panel, allowing light to be uniformly diffused and preventing foreign materials from entering, without the need for an additional diffusive sheet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If minute through holes are formed in the exterior member for display purposes, then light transmission and display visibility are improved, but foreign materials can enter through the holes causing reliability issues
Solution Approach 1:
A coating layer is applied to the exterior member covering the minute through holes. This thin film structure allows light to pass through for display visibility while simultaneously blocking foreign materials from entering the holes, thus resolving the contradiction between display visibility and prevention of foreign material entry.
2Illumination intensity
If a diffusive sheet is added to uniformize light brightness, then illumination uniformity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The diffusive function is integrated into the coating layer that already covers the exterior member. By incorporating light-diffusing properties into the existing coating structure, the patent achieves uniform light brightness without adding a separate diffusive sheet, thus reducing device complexity while maintaining illumination uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The coating layer's optical parameters are modified to provide diffusive properties. By changing the physical or chemical composition of the coating material, it gains the ability to uniformly diffuse light, eliminating the need for additional diffusive components and simplifying the overall device structure.
3Shape
If the exterior member is formed with metal material for luxurious appearance, then aesthetic quality is improved, but light diffusion and uniformity are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure consisting of a metal exterior member combined with a coating layer. The metal provides the luxurious appearance, while the coating layer contributes light-diffusing properties. This composite material approach allows simultaneous achievement of aesthetic quality and uniform light diffusion that neither material could provide alone.
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 uniform light brightness and clear display information, while maintaining a luxurious exterior appearance and preventing foreign materials from entering the appliance, resulting in improved operational visibility and durability.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of through holes are filled with a coating liquid including an anti-foaming agent
Implementation Method 2
light emitted from a display assembly through a display window formed with a group of a plurality of minute through holes formed at an exterior member may be transmitted
Data Source
AI summary
A household appliance according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a front panel forming an exterior, a display window formed with a plurality of through holes having minute or fine sizes formed at the front panel, and the plurality of through holes are filled with a coating liquid including an anti-foaming agent.