FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
control panel and more particularly, to a compact display screen of the HVAC control panel.
BACKGROUND
Nowadays, automatic Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control panels are
being used in vehicles for climatic control inside the vehicle to meet functional and luxurious
needs of passengers. As would be understood, a display screen of such control panels plays a
major role for indicating operational status of various components of an HVAC unit, such as an
ON-OFF display of an automatic mode, an Air conditioning (A/C) mode indicator, a front
defogger indicator, a temperature indicator, and a fan speed indicator.
Also, Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) are quite popularly used in vehicles, for example, in
20 the HVAC control panel. In fact, a plurality of LCDs is used in the HVAC control panel to
illuminate signs indicating various operational parameters of the HVAC unit. Each of the
plurality of LCDs is connected to a power source through a number of wires, to indicate an
operational status of a number of components of the HVAC unit on the display screen. Further, a
user may trigger a change in any of the operational statuses through at least one of mechanical
25 knob and touch screen.
Displaying boundaries of such LCD objects enhances aesthetics of an interface of the
display screen. However, one of the many challenges faced for achieving such boundary
illumination is routing of wires to connect electrically with the inside of boundary of an LCD to
30 individual display objects. Hence, there is a need to solve any of the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that
35 are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither
3
intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for
determining the scope of the invention.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for controlling an operation of the
blower is provided. A Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control panel in5 cludes
a plurality of mechanical switches for controlling a number of parameters of the HVAC control
panel, and a compact display screen in communication with the plurality of mechanical switches
to display values for the number of parameters. The compact display screen includes a plurality
of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) adapted to illuminate signs on the compact display screen.
10 Each sign is indicative of a value of a parameter of the HVAC control panel. The compact
display screen further includes a surrounding structure for the plurality of LCDs adapted to
illuminate and comprising at least one opening along a perimeter. The at least one opening is
adapted to provide a guided path for connecting wires of the compact display screen.
15 In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a compact display screen is provided.
The compact display screen includes a plurality of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) for
illuminating signs on the compact display screen. Each sign is indicative of a value of an
operational parameter. The compact display screen further includes a surrounding structure for
the plurality of LCDs, adapted to illuminate and comprising at least one opening along a
20 perimeter. The at least one opening is adapted to provide a guided path for connecting wires of
the compact display screen.
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,
25 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.
30 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
4
accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings,
wherein:
Figure 1 illustrates an improved Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control
panel having a compact display screen with a surrounding structure, according to 5 an
embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates the compact display screen having the surrounding structure with at
least one opening, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a line diagram of the compact display screen having the surrounding
10 structure with at least one opening, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a line diagram of the compact display screen depicting wires
connecting a power source to a first set of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) of the compact
display screen, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a line diagram of the compact display screen depicting wires
15 connecting the power source to a second set of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) of the compact
display screen, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrates the HVAC control panel having the compact display screen with a
surrounding structure having a single opening, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
20 Figure 7 illustrates the HVAC control panel having the compact display screen with a
surrounding structure having four openings, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
Figure 8 illustrates a compact display screen with a rectangular surrounding structure
having an opening, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
25 Figure 9 illustrates a compact display screen with a rectangular surrounding structure
having four openings, 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
30 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
5
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.
5
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 10 at 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
15 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
20 the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 illustrates an improved Heat Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control
panel 100 having a compact display screen 102 with a surrounding structure 104, according to
an embodiment of the present disclosure. The improved HVAC control panel 100 is hereinafter
25 referred to as the HVAC control panel 100. In an embodiment, the HVAC control panel 100
may be installed in a vehicle. The present disclosure is explained with respect to the HVAC
control panel 100 installed in the vehicle. However, as would be appreciated by a person skilled
in the art, the HVAC control panel 100 can be used for any other application, without departing
from the scope of the present disclosure.
30
In the present embodiment, the HVAC control panel 100 is provided to control operational
parameters of a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit of the vehicle. The
HVAC control panel 100 may include, but is not limited to, a plurality of mechanical switches
108 for controlling a number of parameters of the HVAC control panel 100, and the compact
6
display screen 102 in communication with the plurality of mechanical switches 108 to display
values for the number of parameters.
In an embodiment, the plurality of mechanical switches 108 may include, but is not limited
to, tabs and push buttons. For example, the HVAC control panel 100 may include 5 e a push button
108-1 for operating a front duct of the AC, a push button 108-2 for automatic operation of the
AC, a push button 108-3 for turning ON the AC, a push button 108-4 for controlling a fan speed
of the AC, a push button 108-5 for controlling a temperature of the AC, a push button 108-6 for
turning OFF the AC, a push button 108-7 for selecting an operational mode of the AC, and a
10 push button 108-8 for controlling the ventilation system of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the
HVAC control panel 100 may include a protruded tab 108-9 and a protruded tab 108-10 to
increase and decrease the fan speed, respectively. Similarly, in an embodiment, the HVAC
control panel 100 may include a protruded tab 108-11 and a protruded tab 108-12 to increase
and decrease the temperature of the AC.
15
In an embodiment, the HVAC control panel 100 may include patterned tabs instead of
protruded tabs for controlling the abovementioned operations. The tabs can be designed in any
way so as to distinguish a corresponding tactile feel with respect to a tactile feel of the push
buttons 108, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
20
Further, the compact display screen 102 may display details pertaining to the operational
parameters of the HVAC unit. Figure 2 illustrates the compact display screen 102 having the
surrounding structure 104, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3
illustrates a line diagram of the compact display screen 102, according to another embodiment of
25 the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, features of the present disclosure that are already
explained in the description of Figure 1 are not explained in detail in the description of Figure 2
and Figure 3.
Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3, the compact display screen 102 may display
30 details that may include, but are not limited to, an operational status of an automatic climate
control system, an operational status of the AC, a temperature of the AC, an operation status of
the ventilation system, and a fan speed.
7
In an embodiment, the compact display screen 102 may include, but is not limited to, a
plurality of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) adapted to illuminate signs on the compact display
screen 102, and the surrounding structure 104 for the plurality of LCDs. Each sign on the
compact display screen 102 is indicative of a value of a parameter of the HVAC control panel
100. In an embodiment, the details may be indicated through signs that are to be illuminated 5 ted by
the LCDs. For example, the compact display screen 102 may display a sign of a fan for
indicating the operational status of the fan. An LCD may be disposed within the compact display
screen 102 behind the fan sign, which may operate to illuminate the fan sign to indicate the
operational status of the fan. Similarly, one or more LCDs may be disposed within the compact
10 display screen 102 behind different signs being displayed on the compact display screen 102.
Therefore, the LCDs may be operated to illuminate the signs for indicating the details of the
vehicle, based on operational statuses of the components.
Further, the surrounding structure 104 may be disposed to surround the plurality of LCDs
15 of the compact display screen 102, and may be adapted to illuminate. The surrounding structure
104 may not be continuous in shape. In an embodiment, the surrounding structure 104 may
include at least one opening 106 along a perimeter. The at least one opening 106 is adapted to
provide a guided path for connecting wires of the compact display screen 102. In an
embodiment, a dimension of the at least one opening 106 is within a range of 1.5 mm to 20 mm.
20
In the illustrated embodiment, the surrounding structure 104 includes a pair of openings
106, namely, an opening 106-1 and an opening 106-2. The pair of openings 106 is adapted to
guide connecting wires, i.e., wires supplying power from a power source to the LCDs. Further,
due to the inclusion of the pair of openings 106, the surrounding structure 104 includes a first
25 semi-circular ring 104-1 and a second semi-circular ring 104-2. As would be appreciated by a
person skilled in the art, the dimensional characteristics of the openings 106 may vary based on
requirements, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, a
number of openings 106 of the surrounding structure 104 may vary based on at least one of a
shape of the surrounding structure 104, a number of connecting wires, and a position of the
30 connecting wires within the compact display screen 102.
8
In the illustrated embodiment, each of the pair of openings 106 is disposed diametrically
opposite to each other. In another embodiment, the pair of openings 106 may be disposed in any
other arrangement, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Further, the compact display screen 102 as shown in Figure 2 is a positive-type displa5 y
screen as texts or symbols are indicated in black color on a background of orange color. In
another embodiment, the compact display screen 102 may be a negative-type display screen,
wherein the texts or symbols may be indicated in orange or any other color on a background of
black, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
10
Figure 4 illustrates a line diagram of the compact display screen 102 depicting wires 402
connecting the power source 404 to a first set of LCDs of the compact display screen 102,
according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 illustrates a line diagram of the
compact display screen 102 depicting wires 402 connecting the power source 404 to a second set
15 of LCDs of the compact display screen 102, according to an embodiment of the present
disclosure. Referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5, the wires 402 may individually be referred to as a
wire 402-1, a wire 402-2, a wire 402-3,… and a wire 402-14.
As shown, the wires 402 are guided towards the LCDs through the openings 106-1 and
20 106-2. Although the present embodiment discloses the pair of openings 106 in the surrounding
structure 104, the surrounding structure 104 may include more or less number of openings 106,
without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
In the illustrated embodiment, the compact display screen 102 may include at least one
25 LCD to illuminate an “AUTO” sign, at least one LCD to illuminate an “A/C” sign, and at least
one LCD to illuminate a “FAN” sign. Similarly, one or more LCDs may be used to illuminate
different signs displayed on the compact display screen 102.
In an embodiment, dimensional characteristics of text and signs as displayed in the
30 compact display screen 102 are kept at optimum level so that the size of the compact display
screen 102 is reduced. Accordingly, an overall size of the HVAC control panel 100 is reduced
while ensuring clear visibility for a driver and a co-driver. Further, the text and the signs are
aesthetically appealing as well.
9
Figure 6 illustrates the HVAC control panel 100 having the compact display screen 102
with a surrounding structure 604 having a single opening 606, according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure. Therefore, the surrounding structure 604 includes the opening 606 for
guiding the wires 402 in the compact display screen 102. For the sake of brevity, 5 , features of the
present disclosure that are already explained in the description of Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3,
Figure 4, and Figure 5 are not explained in detail in the description of Figure 6.
Figure 7 illustrates the HVAC control panel 100 having the compact display screen 102
10 with a surrounding structure 704 having four openings 706, according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. The openings 706 may individually be referred to as an opening 706-1, an
opening 706-2, an opening 706-3, and an opening 706-4.
Further, in an embodiment, the surrounding structure 104, 604, 704 may be of any other
15 shape than circular. In other embodiments, the surrounding structure 104 may be of any other
shape based on the operational details of the LCDs positioned within the compact display screen
102. In an embodiment, the surrounding structure 104 may have at least one of the circular
shape, a rectangular shape, a square shape, a pentagonal shape, and a hexagonal shape, without
departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
20
Figure 8 illustrates a compact display screen 802 with a rectangular surrounding structure
804 having an opening 806, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The compact
display screen 802 may also display the operational parameters of the HVAC unit of the vehicle.
For the sake of brevity, features of the present disclosure that are already explained in the
25 description of Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, and Figure 7 are not
explained in detail in the description of Figure 8.
Figure 9 illustrates a display screen 902 with a rectangular surrounding structure 904
having four openings 906, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The openings
30 906 may individually be referred to as an opening 906-1, an opening 906-2, an opening 906-3,
and an opening 906-4.
10
Further, in the present embodiment, the compact display screen 102 is shown to be used in
the HVAC control panel 100 for the HVAC unit of the vehicle. In other embodiments, the
compact display screen 102 having the surrounding structure 104 with the openings 106 can be
used for any other application having the LCDs or the wires or both, without departing from the
scope of the present 5 t disclosure.
As would be gathered, the surrounding structure 104 of the compact display screen 102
allows for convenient and systematic paths of the wires 402. Therefore, the undesired mesh of
the wires is avoided. As a result, maintenance of components available in the vicinity of the
10 wires 402 becomes convenient. Moreover, a possibility of short-circuits is also minimized. In
addition, due to the optimum size of the text and the signs as displayed in the compact display
screen 102, the size of the HVAC control panel 100 is reduced as well. In an embodiment, the
size of the HVAC control panel 100 is reduced by at least 40 % in comparison to existing
control panels. Moreover, owing to clear demarcation of different components as displayed on
15 the compact display screen 102, the compact display screen 102 and therefore, the HVAC
control panel 100 is aesthetically attractive as well. In addition, considering that similar
surrounding structures can be implemented for any similar display, a range of implementation of
the present disclosure is wide.
20 While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any
limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the
art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the
inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of
embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements
25 may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be
split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another
embodiment.

WE CLAIM:
1. A Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control panel (100) comprising:
a plurality of mechanical switches (108) for controlling a number of parameters of
the HVAC control panel (100); and
a compact display screen (102, 802, 902) in communication with the plurality of
mechanical switches (108) to display values for the number of parameters, the compact
display screen (102, 802, 902) comprising:
a plurality of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) adapted to illuminate signs on the
10 compact display screen (102, 802, 902), wherein each sign is indicative of a value of
a parameter of the HVAC control panel (100); and
a surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804, 904) for the plurality of LCDs
adapted to illuminate and comprising at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906)
along a perimeter, wherein the at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is
adapted to provide a guided path for connecting wires (402) of the compact display
screen (102, 802, 902).
2. The HVAC control panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one
opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) of the surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804, 904)
20 varies based on at least one of a shape of the surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804,
904), a number of connecting wires (402), and a position of the connecting wires (402)
within the compact display screen (102, 802, 902).
3. The HVAC control panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one opening
(106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is adapted to guide the connecting wires (402) from a power
source (404) to the plurality of LCDs.
4. The HVAC control panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surrounding structure
(104, 604, 704, 804, 904) has at least one of a circular shape, a rectangular shape, a square
30 shape, a pentagonal shape, and a hexagonal shape.
5. The HVAC control panel (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a dimension of the at least
one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is within a range of 1.5 mm to 20 mm.
6. A compact display screen (102, 802, 902) comprising:
a plurality of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) for illuminating signs on the compact
display screen (102, 802, 902), wherein each sign is indicative of a value of an operational
parameter; and
a surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804, 904) for the plurality of LCDs, adapted
to illuminate and comprising at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) along a
perimeter, wherein the at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is adapted to provide
a guided path for connecting wires (402) of the compact display screen (102, 802, 902).
7. The compact display screen (102, 802, 902) as claimed in claim 6, wherein a number of
the at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) varies based on at least one of a shape of
the surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804, 904), a number of connecting wires (402),
and a position of the connecting wires (402) within the compact display screen (102, 802,
902).
8. The compact display screen (102, 802, 902) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the at least one
opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is adapted to guide the connecting wires (402) from a
power source (404) to the plurality of LCDs.
9. The compact display screen (102, 802, 902) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the
surrounding structure (104, 604, 704, 804, 904) has at least one of a circular shape, a
rectangular shape, a square shape, a pentagonal shape, and a hexagonal shape.
10. The compact display screen (102, 802, 902) as claimed in claim 6, wherein a dimension of
the at least one opening (106, 606, 706, 806, 906) is within a range of 1.5 mm to 20 mm.