CAPACITIVE SENSOR SWITCH WITH DISPLAY

Abstract

A capacitive sensor switch with a housing and a sensor assembly. The sensor assembly includes a printed circuit board holding a sensor circuit with multiple LED and a cover disk located on the printed circuit board and oriented towards the front side of the switch. The cover disk has an electrically conductive surface connected to the sensor circuit and a plurality of light channels for guiding the LED light.

Claims

1. A capacitive sensor switch comprising: a housing with a front side and a rear side, the sensor switch including a sensor assembly, wherein the sensor assembly further comprises: a printed circuit board carrying a sensor circuit, a sensor area, and a plurality of LEDs, the sensor area being connected to the sensor circuit, and a cover disk on the printed circuit board above the sensor area and oriented towards the front side wherein: the cover disk comprises a dielectric material, the cover disk comprises a plurality of light channels through the cover disk, and at least one of the LEDs is arranged within a light channel.

2. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein at least one light channel from the plurality of light channels penetrates the cover disk from the printed circuit board to the front side.

3. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein the cover disk comprises at least one sidewall between at least two light channels from the plurality of light channels.

4. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, further comprising a ring display that includes multiple arc shaped segments, with each segment comprising at least one LED in a corresponding light channel.

5. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, further comprising a digit display that includes multiple display segments arranged to form at least one of a digit and a letter, with each segment comprising at least one LED in a light channel.

6. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein at least one LED from the plurality of LEDs is positioned on the printed circuit board and in a light channel from the plurality of light channels.

7. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, comprising at least one optical sensor on the printed circuit board and in a light channel from the plurality of light channels.

8. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 7, wherein the at least one optical sensor is an optical proximity sensor.

9. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the cover disk and the sensor area comprises multiple conductive sections that are insulated from each other and individually connected to the sensor circuit.

10. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein the sensor circuit has means for detecting at least one of a presence, a direction, a speed of movement of a conductive object in close proximity to at least one of i) at least one of an electrically conductive surface and an electrically conductive material connected to the sensor circuit, ii) the sensor area, and iii) an at least one optical sensor disposed on the printed circuit board and in a light channel from the plurality of light channels.

11. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, further comprising a bus interface or a network interface.

12. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 1, wherein the rear side comprises at least one fixation means or an additional sensor assembly.

13. A capacitive sensor switch comprising a housing with a front side and a rear side, the capacitive sensor switch including a sensor assembly, wherein the sensor assembly further comprises: a printed circuit board including a sensor circuit and a plurality of LEDs, and a cover disk disposed on the printed circuit board and oriented towards the front side, wherein the cover disk comprises at least one of an electrically conductive surface and an electrically conductive material, wherein the cover disk is capacitively coupled or galvanically connected to the sensor circuit, and wherein the cover disk comprises a plurality of light channels through the cover disk and at least one of the LEDs is arranged within a light channel from said plurality of light channels.

14. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 13, wherein at least one light channel penetrates the cover disk from the printed circuit board to the front side.

15. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 14, wherein the cover disk comprises at least one sidewall between at least two light channels from the plurality of light channels.

16. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 14, further comprising a ring display that includes multiple arc shaped segments, wherein each segment contains at least one LED in a light channel from the plurality of light channels.

17. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 14, further comprising a digit display that includes multiple display segments arranged to form at least a digit or a letter, with each segment comprising at least one LED in a light channel.

18. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 14, wherein at least one LED is positioned on the printed circuit board and in a light channel.

19. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 14, wherein at least one optical sensor is positioned on the printed circuit board and in a light channel.

20. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 19, wherein

21. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 13, wherein at least one of the cover disk and the sensor area comprises multiple conductive sections that are insulated from each other and individually connected to the sensor circuit.

22. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 13, wherein the sensor circuit has means for detecting at least one of a presence, a direction, and a speed of movement of a conductive object located in close proximity to at least one of i) the electrically conductive surface, ii) an electrically conductive material connected to the sensor circuit; iii) the sensor area and iv) and optical sensor positioned on the printed circuit board and in a light channel.

23. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 12, wherein the sensor switch comprises a bus interface or a network interface.

24. The capacitive sensor switch according to claim 12, wherein the rear side comprises at least one fixation means or the rear side comprises an additional sensor assembly.

25. A consignment system comprising a plurality of capacitive sensor switches, a control unit, and a digit display.

26. The consignment system according to claim 25, further comprising a ring display.

27. The consignment system according to claim 26, wherein the capacitive sensor switches are interconnected and further connected to the control unit by bus lines forming an operational network of bus lines.

28. The consignment system according to claim 27, wherein said network of bus lines is a ring network of bus lines.

29. A consignment system comprising a plurality of capacitive sensor switches according to claim 1, a control unit, and a digit display.

30. The consignment system according to claim 29, further comprising a ring display.

31. The consignment system according to claim 30, wherein the capacitive sensor switches are interconnected and further connected to the control unit by bus lines forming a bus line network.

32. The consignment system according to claim 31, wherein said bus line network is a ring network.

33. A consignment system comprising a plurality of capacitive sensor switches according to claim 13, with a digit display and an optional ring display and further comprising a control unit.

34. The consignment system according to claim 33, wherein the capacitive sensor switches are interconnected and further connected to the control unit by bus lines forming a network and preferably a ring network.

35. A method for operating a consignment system according to claim 25, comprising the steps of: assigning at least one capacitive sensor switch to a goods container, a tray, or a goods storage place, controlling displays of the plurality of capacitive sensor switches with the control unit to generate indicia of a quantity of goods to be picked, transferring of a signal to the control unit, indicating that a capacitive sensor switch has been touched.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In the following, the invention will be described by way of example, without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples of embodiment and with reference to the drawings.

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a front view of a capacitive sensor switch.

[0030] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment from the rear side FIG. 3 presents a sectional side view of an embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 4 addresses details of the sensor assembly.

[0032] FIG. 5 provides a further sectional view of the sensor assembly.

[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged section of the ring display.

[0034] FIG. 7 shows the interior of a ring channel in more detail.

[0035] FIG. 8 provides details of a cover disk.

[0036] FIG. 9 shows a PCB.

[0037] FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a sectioned cover disk.

[0038] FIG. 11 shows a further sectioned cover disk.

[0039] FIG. 12 shows a consignment system.

[0040] FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a method of operating a consignment system.

[0041] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In FIG. 1, a front side 901 of a capacitive sensor switch 900 of an embodiment is shown. The sensor switch includes a housing 910, which further includes a sensor or sensor assembly 100. A ring-shaped display 200 and a digit display 300 of the sensor assembly are shown. There may be any other types of display and any combination thereof.

[0043] In FIG. 2, an embodiment of the sensor switch 900 as seen from the rear side 902 is shown. There may be fixation means 940, for example screw holes which may either be configured for self-tapping screws or may have a thread. Furthermore, there may be connectors for connecting a power supply and/or a bus or a network. It is preferred to have two connectors as shown in this example to allow daisy chaining of a bus. There may be a first bus connector 951 for a first cable connector 955 and a second bus connector 952 for a second cable connector 956. The rear side may either have a cover or may comprise a casting compound 980. It is preferred, if the interior of the housing, but preferably not the light channels, is filled with a casting compound.

[0044] In FIG. 3, a sectional side view of an embodiment of a capacitive sensor switch 900 is shown. It is a vertical section at the center of FIG. 1. Here, the details of the sensor assembly are shown. A printed circuit board (PCB) 110 may hold or carry thereat a sensor circuit 120. A cover disk 400 may be mounted on top of the printed circuit board. Preferably, the cover disk shows a space between the printed circuit board 110 and the housing 910.

[0045] In FIG. 4, details of the sensor assembly 100 are shown in a front view as seen from the front side 901 at the left part of the figure. The right part of the figure shows a sectional view as marked by the letters A-A. The ring display 200 comprises a plurality of ring segmentsin this embodiment there are eight segmentswhich may be illuminated by LEDs. The digit display 300 comprises a couple of digits, for example 4 digits. In this embodiment, 7-segment digits are shown, wherein the individual segments of the digits may be illuminated by LEDs to display desired digits (and/or letters and/or numbers).

[0046] In FIG. 5, a further sectional view of the sensor assembly 100 along the line B-B is shown. The section of the ring display 200 is shown enlarged and with more detail in the following Figures.

[0047] In FIG. 6, an enlarged section of the ring display 200 is shown. Here a section of a ring channel 410 is shown enlarged. Basically, any of the ring light channels 410 and the digit light channels 420 may be built as described herein.

[0048] On the PCB 110 and within the ring light channel 410, there is at least one LED 210. In this embodiment, two LEDs are shown to increase light intensity and to improve light distribution over the length of the channel. Basically, any number of LEDs may be used in a channel. The LEDs may be single color or multicolor types such as RGB LEDs or a combination thereof. Furthermore, an optical sensor such as a photodiode 220 may be provided. This photodiode may be an infrared diode or any other suitable diode, photo-transistor or integrated sensor. It may be used to detect the presence of any object, such as a finger or a hand above the channel. Therefore, the optical sensor may be or may be used as an optical proximity sensor. Such an optical sensor may be used to detect the presence of a finger above one of the ring channels with a higher resolution than the capacitive sensor. Furthermore, the reliability of detection may be improved by correlating optical and capacitive signal detection. Depending on the presence of a finger above a ring channel, the reflective properties are changed, and therefore the photo diode 220 receives a different amount of light which may either be ambient light or light from the LEDs. Such a difference in light may be detected and evaluated to generate a control signal. Preferably such a photo diode is coupled to the sensor circuit 120.

[0049] In FIG. 7, the interior of a ring channel 410 is shown in more detail in a side view. Basically, the digit light channels 420 are built the same way. Here, an LED 210 is shown besides or behind a photodiode 220. Each channel has at least one inner wall 440 which may have reflective properties. At the outer end (distant from the LED and the PCB) there is an edge 450 which defines the contour of a symbol to be displayed. The contour may either be a segment of the ring display or a segment of the digit display.

[0050] In FIG. 8, details of a cover disk 400 are shown in a front view as seen from the front side 901 at the left part of the figure. The right part of the figure shows a sectional view as marked by the letters A-A. The ring light channels 410 define a ring and the digit light channels 420 define digits and/or letter(s) and/or numbers. All light channels are separated by sidewalls 430.

[0051] In FIG. 9, a PCB 110 (printed circuit board) is shown in a top view from the front side. Here, ring LEDs 111 for illuminating the ring display 200 may be provided. Also, digit LEDs 113 for illuminating the digit display 300 may be provided. The digit LEDs may be smaller than the ring LEDs as they have to illuminate a smaller area and therefore need a smaller power. RGB LEDs may have a larger size than monochrome LEDs. There may be one or a plurality of photodiodes 112. Furthermore, a sensor area 115 may be provided. Preferably, this sensor area covers most of the surface of the PCB. The sensor area is coupled to a sensor circuit 120 and configured for evaluation of signals at the sensor area. The sensor circuit may detect the presence of a conductive object, for example a finger or a hand in close proximity to the sensor area. The term close proximity represents and defines a detection distance that, in related implementations, in preferably a range from 0 mm (when the conductive object is directly on or at the sensor area) to 30 mm above or away from the sensor area; or in a range from 0 mm to 10 mm, or from 0 mm to 5 mm. For detection an electric signal such as a HF or RF signal may be fed into the sensor area and changes in signal level by capacitive coupling to the object may be evaluated.

[0052] The sensor area may comprise multiple radially arranged sections. An inner section may be a main sensing section, while a surrounding section may be a guard or reference section. The inner section may cover the area within the ring LEDs 111, while the surrounding section may be the area outside the ring LEDs.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, a cover disk 400 is provided above the PCB 110. Therefore, the cover plate is between the object and the sensor area. The cover plate may comprise a dielectric material such as a plastic material. Such a dielectric material improves coupling of the electric field from the sensor area to the object. A further improvement may be made by using an electrically conductive cover plate. Such a cover plate may comprise a metal or a plastic body having a metallized surface. This cover plate may be electrically connected to the sensor area. In most cases capacitive coupling to the sensor area would be sufficient, as the cover plate may be arranged directly above the sensor area.

[0054] FIG. 10 illustrates a sectioned cover disk. Here, the cover disk is separated into two parts by a vertical separation forming a left section 401 and a right section 402. Such a sectioned cover disk serves to localize the presence of a finger or another object to a section. In this embodiment, it may be detected whether a finger is over the left section 401 or the right section 402. This and other similar embodiments may be combined with a radial arrangement as disclosed above.

[0055] In FIG. 11, a further sectioned cover disk comprising four sections is shown. In this embodiment, there is a horizontal and a vertical separation between the cover disks forming four equally shaped sections 403, 404, 405, and 406. It is obvious that there may be any other numbers of cover disk sections. Also, the shape may be varied according to the requirements.

[0056] In FIG. 12, a consignment system 500 is shown. The consignment system comprises four capacitive sensor switches 501, 502, 503, and 504 together with a control unit 509. The capacitive sensor switches and the control unit are connected together by bus lines 511, 512, 513, 514, and 515 to a ring bus, such that they can communicate with each other.

[0057] In FIG. 13, a flow chart of a method of operating a consignment system is shown. In the first step 601, at least one capacitive sensor switch is assigned to a goods container, a tray, or a goods storage place. In the following step 602, the display of a capacitive sensor switch is controlled by a control unit to indicate the quantity of goods to be picked. In the following step 603, a signal to the control unit is generated to indicate that a capacitive sensor switch has been touched.

[0058] It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that this invention is believed to provide a capacitive sensor switch and an input and output unit for a consignment system. Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0059] 100 Sensor assembly [0060] 110 PCB (printed circuit board) [0061] 111 ring LED [0062] 112 photodiode [0063] 113 digit LED [0064] 115 sensor area [0065] 120 sensor circuit [0066] 200 ring display [0067] 210 LED [0068] 220 optical sensor [0069] 300 digit display [0070] 400 cover disk [0071] 401-406 disk sections [0072] 410 ring light channels [0073] 420 digit light channels [0074] 430 sidewalls [0075] 440 channel inner wall [0076] 450 channel edge [0077] 500 consignment system [0078] 501-504 capacitive sensor switches [0079] 509 control unit [0080] 511-515 bus lines [0081] 601-603 method steps [0082] 900 sensor switch [0083] 901 front side [0084] 902 rear side [0085] 910 housing [0086] 940 fixation means [0087] 951 first bus connector [0088] 952 second bus connector [0089] 955 first cable connector [0090] 956 second cable connector [0091] 980 casting compound