US 12,104,305 B2
Proximity control device and domestic electrical appliance equipped therewith
Lukas Schade, Nabburg (DE); Martin Brabec, Nabburg (DE); Manfredi Signorino, Wackersdorf (DE); Josef Irlbacher, Nabburg (DE); and Günter Zühlke, Stulln (DE)
Assigned to EMZ-HANAUER GMBH & CO. KGAA, Nabburg (DE)
Filed by emz-Hanauer GmbH & Co. KGaA, Nabburg (DE)
Filed on Nov. 23, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/533,790.
Claims priority of application No. 102020131516.3 (DE), filed on Nov. 27, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0170971 A1, Jun. 2, 2022
Int. Cl. D06F 34/20 (2020.01); D06F 34/14 (2020.01); D06F 103/00 (2020.01); D06F 105/44 (2020.01); G01R 27/26 (2006.01)
CPC D06F 34/20 (2020.02) [D06F 34/14 (2020.02); D06F 2103/00 (2020.02); D06F 2105/44 (2020.02); G01R 27/2605 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A domestic electrical appliance comprising:
an appliance main body having a process chamber formed therein;
a door, arranged so as to be movable relative to the appliance main body, for closing an access opening to the process chamber;
a proximity control device configured to detect a proximity control gesture of a user; and
an electronic control unit;
wherein the proximity control device comprises:
a pair of planar sensor electrodes arranged with a mutual spatial distance, wherein each of the pair of sensor electrodes forms a capacitor electrode of a plate-type capacitor, wherein the capacitor electrodes are arranged sufficiently close to one another such that, when a manual proximity control gesture is performed by the user, the two sensor signals show a signal curve in which the manual proximity control gesture is reflected, wherein the sensor electrodes are installed in the door so as to overlap such that the two sensor electrodes are arranged one behind the other and one of the sensor electrodes is arranged spatially closer to a control surface of the proximity control device than the other of the sensor electrodes, wherein said relative arrangement of the sensor electrodes in relation to the control surface allows for the proximity control gesture to be reflected in signal changes of the two sensor signals in a same direction, and wherein a signal amplitude of the sensor signal of one sensor electrode is greater than a corresponding signal amplitude of the sensor signal of the other sensor electrode;
a shielding electrode in a spatial region between the pair of sensor electrodes; and
an electronic assembly connected to the two sensor electrodes, wherein the electronic assembly is configured to generate, in association with each of the pair of sensor electrodes, an electrical sensor signal which is representative of a change in a capacitance associated with the respective sensor electrode and, by mutual correlation of the two sensor signals, to determine a manual proximity control gesture or other proximity operation of the control device; and
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to cause a predetermined response in dependence on the determination of a proximity operation of the proximity control device.