JP3175907U - Equipment for influencing the indoor climate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for influencing the indoor climate that enables simple and comfortable operation and does not disturb the design and the visual.
An apparatus for influencing indoor climate includes indoor climate influencing means, in particular heating and / or cooling and / or ventilation means and a user operating one or more functions of the apparatus. A plurality of operating means configured to be capable of performing at least one of the operating means configured to be a touch sensor type and / or a proximity sensor type. The device 1 comprises an element 2 formed in the form of a plate made of at least partly transparent material, in particular glass or synthetic resin, and operating means are provided behind such element.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention is an apparatus for influencing the indoor climate, including indoor climate influencing means, in particular heating and / or cooling and / or ventilation means and a user operating one or more functions of the apparatus. The present invention relates to an apparatus including a number of operating means configured to be capable of performing at least one of the operating means configured to be a touch sensor type and / or a proximity sensor type.

  A device for influencing the indoor climate, for example, a heating device or a ventilation device, is an operation means. For example, in the case of a heating device, a desired temperature or heating output can be adjusted via the operation means. In particular, it comprises operating means which can be implemented as an operating unit incorporated in the device, which is fixedly flanged to the device or which can always be visually recognized as such. The operation of the device known from the state of the art is often relatively difficult to use. An apparatus of the type mentioned at the beginning is known, for example, from US Pat.

European Patent Application No. 1811240

  The object of the present invention is to provide a device for influencing the indoor climate of the type mentioned at the outset, which allows simple and comfortable operation and does not disturb the design and the visual.

  The solution to this problem provides a device for influencing the indoor climate of the type mentioned at the outset with the features of the features of claim 1. The subclaims correspond to further embodiments having the advantages of the invention.

  The device according to the invention, according to claim 1, comprises an element formed in the form of a plate made of at least partly transparent material, in particular glass or synthetic resin, and is operated behind such element. Means are provided. By doing so, it is possible to operate the apparatus simply and comfortably. Devices for influencing the indoor climate that can adopt such a concept for operability are, for example, heating devices, in particular, heat storage electric stoves, electric convection heaters, electric speed heaters, electric glass radiation electric heaters There are glass radiant electric convection heaters or fireplaces or air conditioners, in particular central air conditioners or indoor climate control devices. The flat element can protect the operating means from dirt and damage, for example, and is easy to clean.

  In order to unify the concept relating to the operability of the device, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the operating means are all touch sensitive and / or proximity sensitive.

  At least one of the operating means can preferably be configured as a capacitive operating means. In a further preferred embodiment, at least one of the operating means is implemented as an inductive operating means.

  In a particularly preferred embodiment, each of the operating means configured in a touch sensor type and / or a proximity sensor type in order to allow a response that can be seen and recognized by the user (especially when the operating means is activated) Has at least one light source, and the at least one light source is configured to emit light and to irradiate a flat plate element from the rear when at least the operating means is in an active state. It becomes.

  In a particularly preferred embodiment, the device according to the invention has at least one display means, through which the status information of the device in particular can be displayed. Such status information can be a parameter selected by operating one of the operating elements, or in particular (in the example of a heating device), in particular a first temperature and / or a target temperature. The display means may be configured to indicate time, for example.

  In a preferred embodiment, the display means comprises at least one segment display having several selectively activatable light emitting segments. Such a segment display is characterized in that many characters, numbers, or symbols can be displayed by controlling each segment individually or plurally electronically or electromechanically. When activated, the corresponding controlled segment of the segment display emits light. The segment display of the display means may be, for example, a so-called 7-segment display, with which all the numbers from 0 to 9 are activated by activating up to 7 individually controllable striped segments. It is possible to obtain For example, the segment display can be a so-called 14-segment display. The 14-segment display can display all uppercase letters of the alphabet, for example, and even some symbols such as “+” and “*”. Depending on the type of status information displayed mainly using at least one display means, the number and format of the segment displays can be selected accordingly.

  In a particularly preferred embodiment, the display means is arranged behind the flat plate-like element, and is configured to be able to irradiate the flat plate element from behind. The flat element can protect the display means from contamination or damage and can be easily cleaned. Light emitted from at least one display means and / or operation means can be transmitted through the element formed in such a flat plate shape.

In particular, the surface of the tabular element is at least partly translucent but at least partly printed (especially printed in color) or otherwise processed so as to be opaque. be able to. Therefore, advantageously, the display means or the operating means arranged behind the flat element can be made invisible to the observer in the off (inactive) state. When printing (whether full-screen printing or partial printing), the special color is that only printing is visible when not irradiated. That is, in order for the display means or the operation means to be visible, printing means that the elements disposed behind are opaque but must have translucency. . Alternatively, the flat element may be made from opaque colored glass or white glass.
The surface of the flat element may be transparent at least in a partial region.

  Preferably, the planar element can be made from opaque colored glass or white glass.

  In a particularly preferred embodiment, the device is configured so that, during operation, heat can be radiated to the surroundings beyond the planar element.

  According to the present invention, there is obtained a device for influencing the indoor climate that enables simple and comfortable operation and does not disturb the design and the visual.

1 is a front view of an apparatus for influencing indoor climate, implemented as a glass radiant heater, formed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is an enlarged view of the operation panel of this apparatus.

  Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a front view of an apparatus 1 for affecting the indoor climate is shown, which can be used as an electric glass radiant heater. The basic configuration of the glass radiant heater itself is of the state of the art and will not be described in detail below. The device 1 has a flat element 2 made of glass, preferably made of safety glass, in particular tempered safety glass (abbreviated ESG). The plate-like element 2 is at least partially configured to be translucent (transparent) and radiates heat beyond the element to the surroundings during operation of the device 1. The flat element 2 is made of, for example, translucent colored glass or transparent glass, and is transparent on the one hand but may be opaque on the other hand. The surface of the flat element 2 is translucent, for example, but may be color-printed so as to be opaque.

  In the region of the flat element 2 made of glass, another material, in particular an at least partly translucent plate made of at least partly translucent synthetic resin, may be provided.

  An operation panel 3 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1 is disposed behind the flat element 2 and is again enlarged and shown in FIG. In the embodiment, a display unit 30 is arranged in the operation panel 3, and status information of the apparatus 1, for example, an actual temperature or a target temperature to be reached by the apparatus 1 is displayed on the flat plate via the display unit. You may display by irradiating the shape element 2 from back. The display means 30 may display time or input parameters, for example. The display means 30 may advantageously have several segment displays. Such a segment display can display many letters, numbers or symbols by electronically or electromechanically controlling each segment individually or in groups. When activated, the corresponding controlled segment of the segment display emits light. The light emitted from the activated segment display is incident on the rear surface (light incident surface) of the flat element 2, propagates through the flat element 2, and exits from the front surface (light emitting surface). Can be notified to the user.

  At least some of the segment displays of the display means 30 may be, for example, so-called 7-segment displays, from which by activating up to 7 individually controllable striped segments from 0 All numbers up to 9 can be obtained. Furthermore, at least some of the segment displays can be so-called 14-segment displays. A 14-segment display can display, for example, all uppercase letters of the alphabet, and even some symbols such as “+” and “*”. It is possible to select the number and format of the segment displays correspondingly according to the format of the status information displayed mainly using the display means 30.

  Furthermore, the operation means 3 includes a plurality of touch sensor type and / or proximity sensor type operation means 31 through which the user can adjust at least some of the functions of the apparatus 1. Preferably, the operating means 3 is configured as capacitive. When the user touches with one or a plurality of fingers from outside the surface of the flat element 2 in the region above the operation panel 3, at least one of the capacitive operation means 31 can be activated and operated. Become. In that case, the flat element 2 acts as a dielectric for the corresponding capacitive operating means 31.

  Therefore, the operation means 31 is configured to react sensitively when the flat element 2 is touched. If the operation means 31 is adjusted accordingly, it can be activated or operated even if it is close to or without touching. The user can, for example, move his finger close to the flat element 2. Let There is no need to touch the flat element 2. As described above, the proximity sensor type operation means 31 is preferably implemented as the capacitive operation means 31. Instead, for example, an inductive touch sensor type operation means 31 may be used.

  The operating means 31 is configured to emit light during operation after activation. This light emitted from at least one irradiation means passes through the flat element 2 and is visually recognized by the user.

  Preferably, the operation means 31 and the display means 30 are coupled to each other so that when one of the operation means 31 is activated, the display means 30 is also activated. Instead, the display means 30 can be activated or deactivated again by operating the operation means 31 provided for the display means 30.

  When the display unit 30 or at least one operation unit 31 is activated, the user can visually recognize the display unit 30 and / or the operation unit 31. This is because they emit light only in the on state. Preferably, the time during which the display means 30 and / or the operation means 31 emits light is controllable, and therefore the operation means is touched from the outside after a predetermined time or a time that can be adjusted in advance. It may be possible to turn it off and deactivate it without doing so. Therefore, it is particularly preferable that the display means 30 and the one or more operation means 31 can be turned off at least partially (preferably entirely) when not in use, so that the user can turn them off. It cannot be visually recognized and can be made to emit light again after being activated as described above.

  The advantage of the device 1 for influencing the indoor climate described here is simple and intuitive operability, and the uniform appearance of the device 1 with the plate-like element 2 is the display device 30 and the operating means 31. Will not be damaged by. This is because these cannot be visually recognized by the user when not in use. The operation unit is integrated to match the appearance of the apparatus 1. The device 1 does not have any operating parts that are always visible, attached by flange fixing or by fitting. Furthermore, since the display means 30 and the operation means 31 are in the operation panel 3 behind the flat plate-like element 2, it is not necessary to perform time-consuming cleaning.

  According to another embodiment of the device 1 for influencing the indoor climate, for example a storage heater, the device 1 has a separate operating unit with an at least partly transparent cover element and a cover The element is made of, for example, glass or other, at least partially transparent material. For example, it may be made of a synthetic resin. The cover element of the operating unit may for example be printed so that it is translucent but not transparent. The cover element may, for example, consist of opaque colored glass or white glass, thus allowing light to pass through but being opaque. The operating unit includes one or more display means 30 and / or operating means 31, which can be implemented, for example, as described above with reference to FIGS. In another embodiment, the operating unit comprises at least one display means and / or at least one touch-sensitive operating means implemented on a liquid crystal basis. In this case, the cover element is preferably transparent and is therefore configured to show through. The operating unit can be incorporated, for example, in the housing of the device 1 or can be attached to the housing.

  In all of the embodiments described here, it is completely printed, but further transparent material is irradiated from the rear, so that at least one display means 30, operating means 31 or other active functional surface is visible. Not only is it possible to make it possible, but also it is made transparent for reasons of visibility, or it is indispensable as a transparent surface for other displays It is also possible to irradiate a partially printed surface from behind, where there may be a surface (eg liquid crystal display means). A feature of printing, whether full-screen printing or partial printing, is that only printing is visible in a state where it is not irradiated. That is, the element provided behind cannot be seen through, but must have translucency in order to make the display means 30 or the operation means 31 visible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device for affecting indoor climate 2 Flat element 3 Operation panel 30 Display means 31 Operation means

Claims (13)

A device (1) for influencing the indoor climate,
Several operations comprising indoor climate influence means, in particular configured to allow heating and / or cooling and / or ventilation means and a user to operate one or more functions of the device (1) Means (31), wherein at least one of the operating means (31) comprises operating means configured in a touch sensor type and / or a proximity sensor type, wherein the device (1) is at least partially A device comprising an element (2) formed in a flat plate made of a transparent material, in particular glass or synthetic resin, and an operating means (31) provided behind the element.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that all operating means (31) are touch-sensitive and / or proximity-sensor-type.   Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the operating means (31) is configured as a capacitive operating means (31).   Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one of the operating means (31) is configured as an inductive operating means (31).   Each of the operation means (31) configured as a touch sensor type and / or a proximity sensor type has at least one light source, and the at least one light source is at least an active state of the operation means (31). 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to emit light and to irradiate the planar element (2) from behind.   The device (1) has at least one display means (30), and in particular the status information of the device (1) can be displayed via the display means. The apparatus of any one of 1-5.   Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the display means (30) comprises at least one segment display having several selectively activatable light-emitting segments.   8. The display means according to claim 1, wherein the display means is arranged behind the flat element and is configured to be able to irradiate the flat element (2) from behind. The apparatus of any one of Claims.   9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display means and / or the operating means (31) are arranged in the operating panel (3).   10. The surface of the flat element (2) is at least partly translucent, but is at least partly printed so as to be opaque. The apparatus according to claim 1.   Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface of the flat element (2) is transparent at least in a partial region.   Device according to claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the flat element (2) is made from opaque colored glass or white glass.   13. The device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, during operation, the device (1) is configured to be able to radiate heat beyond the plate-like element (2) to the surroundings. The device described in 1.

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