The present disclosure relates to control panels and in particular, relates to a capacitive touch control panel.
BACKGROUND
With the advancement of technology in the realm of automobiles, a number of control panels, such touch-enabled control panels, are employed for controlling various functionalities of a vehicle. The touch-enabled control panels may include, but are not limited to, a capacitive touch LCD and a resistive touch LCD. Generally, a driver of the vehicle may operate a control panel for controlling systems, such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). The driver may provide a touch input to the touch-enabled control panel. Such control panels are provided with multiple control elements to control various operations of the vehicle. The control panels are usually provided with different provisions to illuminate such control elements when ambient light is not sufficient for the user to visibly comprehend location of the control elements on the control panel. However, the control panels fail to provide uniform illumination for each of the control elements. Specially, when size of the control elements are substantially small, the control panels fail to provide uniform illumination for each of such control elements.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved control panel for performing various operations in the vehicle.
SUMMARY
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a capacitive touch control panel for a vehicle is disclosed. The capacitive touch control panel includes a touch panel having a plurality of control elements adapted to receive a touch input. The plurality of control elements is distributed along a length of the touch panel. Further, the capacitive touch panel includes a first PCB assembly disposed beneath the touch panel and comprises a pair of light sources for illuminating the control elements of the touch panel. Each of the pair of light sources is positioned at one of a first end and a second end of the first PCB assembly. The capacitive touch panel includes a light guiding member disposed between the touch panel and the first PCB assembly. The light guiding

member is adapted to accommodate each of the pair of light sources and to guide light discharged from the pair of light sources to each of the plurality of control elements.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a capacitive touch control panel for a vehicle. The capacitive touch control panel includes a touch panel having a plurality of control elements adapted to receive a touch input. The plurality of control elements is distributed along a length of the touch panel. Further, the capacitive touch control panel includes a first PCB assembly disposed beneath the touch panel and comprises a plurality of light sources for illuminating the control elements of the touch panel. The plurality of light sources is distributed along a length of the first PCB assembly corresponding to the plurality of control elements. The capacitive touch panel includes a light guiding member disposed between the touch panel and the first PCB assembly. The light guiding member is adapted to accommodate each of the plurality of light sources and to guide light discharged from the plurality of light sources to each of the plurality of control elements.
To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a capacitive touch control panel for a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of the capacitive touch control panel for the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a partial exploded view of the capacitive touch control panel for the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of a light guiding member of the capacitive touch control panel, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view of the capacitive touch control panel taken along an axis X-X', according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrates another sectional view of the capacitive touch control panel, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 7 illustrates an exploded view of the capacitive touch control panel, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 8 illustrates a partial exploded view of the capacitive touch control panel, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 9 illustrates a sectional view of the capacitive touch control panel, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figures 10a and 10b illustrates a light guiding member and a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly, respectively, of the capacitive touch control panel, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by

conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to "an aspect", "another aspect" or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a nonexclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or subsystems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
It should be understood at the outset that although illustrative implementations of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated below, the present invention may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.
The term "some" as used herein is defined as "none, or one, or more than one, or all." Accordingly, the terms "none," "one," "more than one," "more than one, but not all" or "all" would all fall under the definition of "some." The term "some embodiments" may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments.

Accordingly, the term "some embodiments" is defined as meaning "no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments."
The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.
More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to "includes," "comprises," "has," "consists," and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language "MUST comprise" or "NEEDS TO include."
Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way it may still be referred to as "one or more features" or "one or more elements" or "at least one feature" or "at least one element." Furthermore, the use of the terms "one or more" or "at least one" feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as "there NEEDS to be one or more ..." or "one or more element is REQUIRED."
Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having an ordinary skill in the art.
Reference is made herein to some "embodiments." It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility and non-obviousness.
Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to "a first embodiment," "a further embodiment," "an alternate embodiment," "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "multiple

embodiments," "some embodiments," "other embodiments," "further embodiment", "furthermore embodiment", "additional embodiment" or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a capacitive touch control panel for a vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the capacitive touch control panel 100 may interchangeably be referred to as the control panel 100. The control panel 100 may be employed for performing various applications of a vehicle. The applications may include, but are not limited to, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). The control panel 100 may be operated by a user for performing various applications. In the present embodiment, the control panel 100 may be implemented for operating a HVAC system of the vehicle. Therefore, the control panel 100 may interchangeably be referred to as the HVAC control panel 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the HVAC control panel 100 may be positioned on a dashboard of the vehicle.
Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of the control panel 100 for the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the control panel 100 may include, but is not limited to, a front cover 202, a touch panel 204, a sealing member 206, a light guiding member 208, a first Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly 210, a plurality of lenses 212, a sensing element 214, a housing member 216, a second PCB assembly 218, and a rear cover 220. In an embodiment, the control panel 100 may also include at least one haptic

feedback motor adapted to provide haptic feedback to the user in response to a touch input on the touch panel 204 of the control panel 100.
In the illustrated embodiment, the housing member 216 may be adapted to encapsulate various sub-components, i.e., the plurality of lenses 212, the sensing element 214, and at least one haptic feedback motor. Further, the front cover 202 and the rear cover 220 may be coupled together to encapsulate the housing member 216 accommodating various sub-components of the control panel 100. In an embodiment, the housing member 216 adapted to support the touch panel 204 and accommodate the first PCB assembly 210 and the light guiding member 208. In an embodiment, the sealing element 206 may be provided to restrict ingress of contaminants, such as dirt and moisture in the control panel 100.
Figure 3 illustrates a partial exploded view of the capacitive touch control panel for the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3, the touch panel 204 may be adapted to receive the touch input from the user to control various functions of the HVAC system. In an embodiment, the touch panel 204 may be made of a transparent thermoplastic material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The touch panel 204 may include a plurality of control elements 302 adapted to be operated by the user to control various functions of the HVAC system of the vehicle. The plurality of control elements 102 may interchangeably be referred to as the control elements 102. Further, the control elements 102 may individually be referred to as the control element 102. In an embodiment, the plurality of control elements 102 may be distributed along a length LI of the touch panel 204.
In the illustrated embodiment, the control elements 102 may be provided for controlling functions including, but not limited to, switching ON/OFF fan, selecting fan speed, switching ON/OFF AC, selecting temperature, selecting modes of AC, switching ON/OFF defogger, switching ON/OFF auto-climate control, and selecting air-circulation mode. In the illustrated embodiment, a laser etching process may be performed on a rear side of the touch panel 204 for engraving different symbols corresponding to the control elements 102. This leads to enhanced illumination of the touch panel 204 during operation of the HVAC control panel 100.

WE CLAIM:

1.A capacitive touch control panel (100) for a vehicle, the capacitive touch control panel
(100) comprising:
a touch panel (204) having a plurality of control elements (102) adapted to receive a touch input, wherein the plurality of control elements (102) is distributed along a length (LI) of the touch panel (204);
a first Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly (210) disposed beneath the touch panel (204) and comprises a pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2) for illuminating the control elements (302) of the touch panel (204), wherein each of the pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2) is positioned at one of a first end (306) and a second end (308) of the first PCB assembly (210); and
a light guiding member (208) disposed between the touch panel (204) and the first PCB assembly (210), wherein the light guiding member (208) is adapted to accommodate each of the pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2) and to guide light discharged from the pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2) to each of the plurality of control elements (302).
2. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a housing member (216) adapted to support the touch panel (204) and accommodate the first PCB assembly (210) and the light guiding member (208).
3. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first end (306) and the second end (308) of the light guiding member (208) includes a first cavity (402-1) and a second cavity (402-2), respectively, adapted to accommodate the pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2).
4. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the first cavity
(402-1) and the second cavity (402-2) is adapted to receive one of the pair of light sources
(304-1, 304-2) such that a gap is defined between each of the pair of light sources (304)
and the light guiding member (208).

5. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a sensing element (214) adapted to be disposed within a housing member (216).
6. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the light guiding member (208) includes an opening (404) distal to each of a pair of cavities (402-1, 402-2) adapted to accommodate the pair of light sources (304-1, 304-2), wherein the sensing element (214) is disposed in the housing member (216) such that the sensing element (214) is projected outwardly towards the touch panel (204) through the opening (404).
7. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light guiding member (208) is formed of a transparent material.
8. The capacitive touch panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a diffuser sheet interposed between the touch panel (204) and the light guiding member (208), wherein the diffuser sheet is adapted to provide uniform diffusion of the light on the touch panel (204).
9. A capacitive touch control panel (700) for a vehicle, the capacitive touch control panel (700) comprising:
a touch panel (204) having a plurality of control elements (302) adapted to receive a touch input, wherein the plurality of control elements (302) is distributed along a length (LI) of the touch panel (204);
a first Printed Circuit Board (PCB) assembly (210) disposed beneath the touch panel (204) and comprises a plurality of light sources (802) for illuminating the control elements (302) of the touch panel (204), wherein the plurality of light sources (802) is distributed along a length (L2) of the first PCB assembly (210) corresponding to the plurality of control elements (302); and
a light guiding member (208) disposed between the touch panel (204) and the first PCB assembly (210), wherein the light guiding member (208) is adapted to accommodate each of the plurality of light sources (802) and to guide light discharged from the plurality of light sources (802) to each of the plurality of control elements (302).

10. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 9 further comprising a housing member (216) adapted to support the touch panel (204) and accommodate the first PCB assembly (210) and the light guiding member (208).
11. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the light guiding member (208) includes a plurality of cavities (1002) adapted to receive the plurality of light sources (802), wherein the plurality of cavities (1002) is distributed along a length L3 of the light guiding member (209).
12. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the plurality of cavities
(1002) receives the plurality of light sources (802) such that a gap is defined between each
of the plurality of light sources (802) and the light guiding member (208).
13. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first PCB assembly 210 include a plurality of touch sensing areas (1004) corresponding to each of the control element (302) of the touch panel (204).
14. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the plurality of touch sensing areas (1004) are uniformly distributed at an interval of a distance (D) along a length (L2) of the first PCB assembly (210).
15. The capacitive touch panel (700) as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first PCB assembly (210) is disposed below the touch panel (204) such that each of the plurality of touch sensing areas (1004) is aligned with a centre of corresponding control element (302) of the touch panel (204).