Touch screen control panel and kitchen appliance comprising such a control panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current touchscreen control units for kitchen appliances require significant mounting effort and are not cost-efficient, making them difficult to assemble and install.
Innovation Solution
A touchscreen control panel design featuring a transparent touch-sensitive layer and a bracket frame that allows for easy alignment and attachment of a display unit to a cover plate, enabling simple and automated assembly, with components such as ITO-foil and a display unit that can be aligned and secured using gluing, screwing, or snapping, facilitating low-cost manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a touchscreen control unit is implemented with multiple separate components (cover plate, touch-sensitive layer, display unit, bracket frame), then the alignment and assembly precision is improved, but the mounting effort and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket frame is integrated directly into the cover plate as a single component, eliminating the need for separate mounting brackets. This merging of components simplifies the assembly process while maintaining precise alignment between the touch-sensitive layer and display unit, as the bracket frame is already positioned correctly on the cover plate during manufacturing
2Reliability
If traditional mounting methods (screws, clips, complex fastening mechanisms) are used to attach the display unit and touch-sensitive layer, then the structural strength and reliability are improved, but the ease of manufacture and assembly time are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional mechanical fastening systems (screws, clips, complex fasteners) are replaced with a simplified attachment mechanism where the bracket frame is integrally formed with the cover plate. This substitution maintains structural reliability through the rigid integrated construction while dramatically improving ease of manufacture and assembly, as no separate fastening operations are required
Solution Approach 2:
The touch-sensitive layer is implemented as a thin transparent film that can be directly attached to the front surface of the cover plate. This thin-film approach maintains structural integrity while simplifying assembly, as the flexible nature of the thin film allows for easy positioning and attachment without complex mechanical fastening systems
Data Source
AI summary
Touchscreen control panel (3) configured to be implemented with a kitchen appliance (1), preferably with a home kitchen appliance or a commercial kitchen appliance, and operable from a front or top side of the appliance (1), wherein the touchscreen control panel (3) comprises a cover plate (4) with a transparent section (4a), a transparent touchsensitive layer (5) arranged and attached within the transparent section (4a) to the back side of the cover plate (4), a bracket frame (6) implemented at the back side of the cover plate (4) and surrounding at least partially the transparent section (4a), and a display unit (7) comprising an active display (9). The bracket frame (6) is adapted to retain the display unit (7) at the back side of the cover plate (4) preferably in such a way that the display unit (7) is in alignment, especially in proper alignment with the touchsensitive layer (5).