Household appliance with a control unit designed as a external or internal touch screen
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Solution Overview
Problem
Controlling household appliances with touchscreens becomes complex and user-unfriendly when there are numerous executable programs and setting options, leading to confusion and inefficient operation, especially in appliances like washing machines and dishwashers with complex hierarchies of programs and settings.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with a touchscreen interface that displays treatment programs and program parameters on multiple hierarchical screens, using elongated sensor elements for parameter adjustments and providing visual and acoustic feedback, allowing intuitive selection and operation, while preventing unfavorable parameter combinations through dependency storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a touchscreen displays numerous executable programs and setting options, then the appliance offers more functionality and versatility, but the operation becomes complex and user-unfriendly
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen interface is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels or screens. Each screen displays a specific subset of functions or parameters relevant to the current context, rather than showing all available options simultaneously. This segmentation allows the appliance to maintain comprehensive functionality while presenting information in manageable, organized portions that are easier for users to navigate and understand.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the touchscreen displays detailed program parameters and settings, then the appliance provides more control options, but the interface becomes more complex and confusing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to the touchscreen interface structure. Instead of organizing controls in a single flat plane, the interface is structured across multiple levels or screens, where each level represents a different depth of parameter detail. This dimensional organization allows comprehensive control options to be distributed across hierarchical layers, reducing the apparent complexity on any single screen while maintaining full functionality through systematic navigation.
3Productivity
If the touchscreen allows extensive parameter adjustments, then the appliance achieves better optimization, but the operation time and user effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The touchscreen interface is designed to display and pre-configure commonly used parameters and settings on the initial screens or default views. Frequently adjusted parameters are made readily accessible without requiring users to navigate through multiple hierarchical levels. This preliminary arrangement of information allows users to quickly access and optimize the most important parameters, reducing the time and effort required for typical operations while still providing access to more detailed settings when needed.
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
Enhances usability and security by simplifying the operation of household appliances, allowing users to easily select and set treatment programs and parameters, reducing the risk of errors and improving energy efficiency and user-friendliness.
Implementation Method 1
at least one capacitive sensor electrode as part of a touch capacitor, which are arranged at a distance from the control surface, so that when the control surface is touched, a capacitance of the touch capacitor can be changed
Implementation Method 2
with at least one lighting element for emitting light for backlighting the display symbol
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a household appliance for treating objects, comprising a control device and an operating device configured as an external or internal touchscreen (1), wherein the control device is configured to display first and second adjustable control variables of the household appliance as flat touch-sensitive operating elements (3, 4, 5) which are separated from each other on the touchscreen on at least two screen displays (B1, B2 2, 15, 25) of different hierarchy, wherein first adjustable control variables are treatment programs for the objects and second control variables are program parameters associated with the treatment programs and having changeable parameter values, wherein first operating elements (3, 4, 5) are displayed on a hierarchically higher screen display (B1) with a hierarchy (H1) and are associated with treatment programs which are selected by touching an associated operating element (3, 4, 5), and second operating elements (26, 27, 28) are displayed on at least one hierarchically lower screen display (B2) with a hierarchy (H2 < H1) and enable the program parameters to be adjusted, wherein the hierarchically lower screen display (B2) indirectly or directly follows the hierarchically higher screen display (B1) if a first operating element (3, 4, 5) is selected by touch, and at least one part (28) of the second operating elements has elongated sensor elements (31), in the longitudinal direction of which an associated parameter value continuously or suddenly changes so that the parameter value can be adjusted by touching the elongated sensor element (31). The invention also relates to a method for operating said household appliance.