The present invention relates to a household appliance (10) such as an oven, a refrigerator, or a washing machine. The household appliance comprises a transparent casing element (12) and a fingerprint sensor (20) mounted to the inside of an exterior surface of said casing element (12). The sensor co
The present invention relates to a household appliance (10) such as an oven, a refrigerator, or a washing machine. The household appliance comprises a transparent casing element (12) and a fingerprint sensor (20) mounted to the inside of an exterior surface of said casing element (12). The sensor comprises a light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) emitting light for which said casing element (12) is transparent, a detector (23; 23″; 23′″) for detecting reflected light emitted from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) and a light guiding means (22; 22′; 22″; 22′″; 22b′″) for guiding emitted light from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) towards the casing element (12) and guiding light reflected at the exterior surface of the casing element (12) to the detector (23; 23″; 23′″). Thereby detection of a fingerprint image through said casing element (12) is rendered possible.
대표청구항▼
1. A household appliance (10), having: an exterior protective casing (11) covering operable components of the household appliance (10);a transparent casing element (12) transparent to light of at least one wavelength in the infrared or visible area, wherein the transparent casing element (12) is an
1. A household appliance (10), having: an exterior protective casing (11) covering operable components of the household appliance (10);a transparent casing element (12) transparent to light of at least one wavelength in the infrared or visible area, wherein the transparent casing element (12) is an integrated portion of the exterior protective casing (11), thereby maintaining an impermeable surface of the exterior protective casing (11); anda fingerprint sensor (20) arranged below the transparent casing element (12) and mounted to the inside surface of said transparent casing element (12), said fingerprint sensor (20) comprising:a light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) emitting light of at least one wavelength in the infrared or visible area for which said transparent casing element (12) is transparent;a detector (23; 23″; 23′″) for detecting reflected light emitted from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″); anda light guiding means (22; 22′; 22″; 22′″; 22b′″) for guiding emitted light from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) towards the transparent casing element (12) and guiding light reflected at the exterior surface of the transparent casing element (12) to the detector (23; 23″; 23′″), thereby enabling detection of a fingerprint image through said transparent casing element (12),wherein the transparent casing element (12) is a part of a user interface (13) for controlling the operation of the household appliance (10) and wherein the fingerprint sensor (20) is combined with the user interface (13). 2. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the transparent casing element (12) constitutes at least a part of a front panel or a top panel of the household appliance, wherein the transparent casing element (12) covers said fingerprint sensor (20) and a component within the interior space of said household appliance. 3. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the household appliance (10) is one of an oven, a microwave oven, a refrigerator, a freezer, a dishwasher, a laundering machine, and a tumbler dryer. 4. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the household appliance (10) is an oven, and wherein the transparent casing element (12) is a cooking plate of said oven. 5. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the light source (21; 21; 21″; 21′″) is adapted to emit infrared light. 6. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) comprises at least one light emitting diode (LED). 7. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the transparent casing element (12) consists of a plate of plastic or glass. 8. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the light guiding means (22; 22′; 22″; 22′″; 22b′″) comprises at least one prism with one surface attached to the interior side of the transparent casing element (12). 9. The household appliance of claim 8, wherein the prism is attached to the interior side of the transparent casing element (12) by means of transparent glue (24). 10. The household appliance of claim 8, wherein the prism is trapezoidal in cross-section. 11. The household appliance of claim 10, wherein the light source and the detector are both oriented in a direction essentially perpendicular or essentially parallel to the exterior surface of said transparent casing element. 12. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises a plurality of detector pixels. 13. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the light source and the detector are arranged on a common printed circuit board (PCB) (26). 14. The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising a memory device (31) for storing of pre-stored fingerprint image data, and processing means (30) for comparing detected fingerprint image data with said pre-stored image data. 15. The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising a touch pad panel arranged on said transparent casing element. 16. The household appliance of claim 14, wherein the fingerprint sensor is combined with an on/off switch for said household appliance, thereby enabling personalization of the household appliance immediately upon activation. 17. The household appliance of claim 5, wherein the infrared light includes light with a nominal wavelength in the range of about 850±20 nm. 18. The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera. 19. The household appliance of claim 13, wherein the PCB (26) is arranged essentially parallel to said transparent casing element (12). 20. A household appliance (10), having: an exterior protective casing (11) covering operable components of the household appliance (10);a transparent casing element (12) formed as an integrated portion of said exterior protective casing (11) thereby maintaining an impermeable surface of the exterior protective casing (11), said transparent casing element (12) being transparent to light of at least one wavelength in the infrared or visible area; anda fingerprint sensor (20) arranged below the transparent casing element (12) and mounted to the inside surface of said transparent casing element (12), said fingerprint sensor (20) comprising:a light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) emitting light of at least one wavelength in the infrared or visible area for which said transparent casing element (12) is transparent;a detector (23; 23″; 23′″) for detecting reflected light emitted from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″); anda light guiding means (22; 22′; 22″; 22′″; 22b′″) for guiding emitted light from said light source (21; 21′; 21″; 21′″) towards the transparent casing element (12) and guiding light reflected at the exterior surface of the transparent casing element (12) to the detector (23; 23″; 23′″), thereby enabling detection of a fingerprint image through said transparent casing element (12),wherein the transparent casing element (12) is a cover for the fingerprint sensor (20) and is a portion of the exterior protective casing (11), negating the need for making holes or openings through the exterior protective casing (11) for mounting the fingerprint sensor (20) or for mounting the fingerprint sensor (20) on the outside of the exterior protective casing (11), wherein the transparent casing element (12) is a part of a user interface (13) for controlling the operation of the household appliance (10) and wherein the fingerprint sensor (20) is combined with the user interface (13).
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