Disappearing interface system

• US 8,223,131 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2009
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electrolux Home Products Incorporated (AB Electrolux)
• Original Assignee: Electrolux Home Products Incorporated (AB Electrolux)
• Inventors: Rudolph, John R., Fisher, Gary, Downing, Frank, McCoy, Robert, Donoho, Maureen, Hughes, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US12/390,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20090179864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 345/39, 345/56, 345/168, 345/173, 219/506
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/083 on tops, hot plates
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/085 on baking ovens
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/086 touch control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/6435 Aspects relating to the user interface of the microwave heating apparatus

Abstract

A disappearing interface system for a device, such as an appliance (e.g., a cooking range) having an interactive user interface, a light-emitting device (e.g., a LED), a microprocessor based LED fader electronic control system that uses a PWM signal to drive an A/D circuit to control the intensity (e.g., fade in/out) of the light-emitting device.

Claims

1. A disappearing interface system including:

an interface having at least one touch sensitive area for information exchange between a user and the interface system, the interface including at least one light-emitting diode visible to the user when activated; and

a control system, operatively connected to the interface, and configured to gradually change an intensity of the light emitted from the light-emitting diode in response to a condition at the interface in a nonlinear manner,

wherein one or more of the touch sensitive areas appear blank to the user when inactive, and

wherein one or more of the touch sensitive areas appear visible to the user when active.

2. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control system includes a microprocessor that performs functions of a time-stepping algorithm and provides a pulse width modulated output signal.

3. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the intensity of the light is a function of the pulse width modulated signal frequency generated by the microprocessor.

4. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the interface system is part of a control system for an appliance.

5. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the appliance is a cooking range.

6. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 1, including a medium located between the light-emitting diode and the user, the medium permits viewing of the light-emitting diode when the light-emitting diode is activated and obscures viewing of the light-emitting diode when the light-emitting diode is not activated.

7. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 6, wherein the medium is black glass.

8. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control system includes a circuit that provides a varying voltage to the light-emitting diode.

9. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the circuit includes a transistor that is operated to output a varying voltage.

10. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the circuit includes a transistor that is operated via a pulsed input to the transistor.

11. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the control system includes means for providing the pulsed input to the transistor.

12. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 11, wherein means for providing the pulsed input changes the frequency exponentially over time.

13. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 10, wherein the circuit includes a capacitor connected to an output of the transistor such that a voltage at the transistor output is averaged to an analog voltage.

14. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 13, wherein the circuit includes a second transistor that is operated to output a varying voltage, the analog voltage is used to control the second transistor.

15. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 14, wherein the second transistor is operatively connected to a supply voltage, application of the analog voltage to the second transistor is used to control the percent of the supply voltage that passes through the second transistor.

16. A disappearing interface system as set forth in claim 15, wherein the percent of the supply voltage that passes through the second transistor is provided to the light-emitting diode.

17. A disappearing interface system of claim 1, wherein the at least one touch sensitive area includes a plurality of touch pad buttons and the interface further includes an informational display area to display graphics.

18. A disappearing interface system of claim 17, wherein the control system further comprises a digitized exponential curve and a microprocessor based time-stepped algorithm to process data from the digitized exponential curve.

19. A disappearing interface system of claim 18, wherein the microprocessor generates a pulse width modulated output digital signal based on the data processed by the time-stepped algorithm, wherein the frequency of the pulse-width output signal is proportional to the data received from the time-stepped algorithm.

20. A disappearing interface system of claim 19, wherein the control system further comprises a digital to analog circuit to receive the pulse width modulated output signal, wherein the digital to analog circuit provides an output voltage to the at least one light-emitting diode that is proportional to the frequency of the pulse-width modulated output signal.

21. A disappearing interface system of claim 20, wherein the at least one light emitting diode further comprises an LED array, wherein the light intensity of the LED array is proportional to the output voltage of the digital to analog circuit.

22. A disappearing interface system of claim 21, wherein the LED array illuminates the graphics on the informational display.

23. A disappearing interface system of claim 22, wherein when the frequency of the pulse-width modulated signal increases at least a portion of the graphics on the informational display illuminate and when the frequency of the pulse-width modulated signal decreases at least a portion of the graphics on the informational display disappear.

24. A disappearing interface system of claim 1, wherein the control system includes a digital to analog converter and a means to provide a variable frequency digital signal as an input to the digital to analog converter.