Touchscreen Power-Time Input for Household Appliance Operation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display devices with touch panels for household appliances, such as microwave ovens, make it difficult for users to perform power and time settings, especially for oven functions, requiring complex operations and multiple steps.
Innovation Solution
An operation device with a display unit showing power and time settings on an orthogonal coordinate system, allowing users to input these values by touching and dragging on the screen, simplifying the process and reducing the number of operations needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional touch panel operation is used for power and time settings, then the display can show multiple alternatives, but the number of operations required increases and usability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from one-dimensional sequential input (touching buttons in sequence) to two-dimensional simultaneous input (touching multiple points on a coordinate system at once). The operation device displays a coordinate system with power values on one axis and time values on the other axis, allowing users to set both parameters simultaneously by touching the intersection point, thereby reducing the number of operations while maintaining display flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the power setting function and time setting function into a single unified operation. Instead of requiring separate operations for power and time settings, the coordinate system integrates both parameters spatially, allowing a single touch operation to simultaneously define both power and time values, thus simplifying the user interface and reducing operational steps
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple images representing alternatives are displayed simultaneously, then display flexibility is improved, but the complexity of input operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by organizing multiple alternative values along the axes of a coordinate system rather than displaying them as separate images requiring sequential selection. Power alternatives are positioned along one axis and time alternatives along the other axis, transforming the interaction from multi-step sequential selection to single-step simultaneous selection at the coordinate intersection, thereby maintaining display versatility while simplifying operations
Data Source
AI summary
An operation device is provided with a GUI display unit which displays a power setting value for defining an operation power of a household appliance, and a time setting value for defining an operation time of the household appliance on an orthogonal coordinate system; and a touch operation unit which simultaneously accepts an input of the power setting value and an input of the time setting value to be displayed on the GUI display unit by an operation of letting a predetermined object touch the GUI display unit.