Upper Lamp

The upper lamp is directly located under the kitchen cupboard and its main function is to illuminate the worktop from above. The centre of the design is the light source: a flexible OLED panel. A rendering of the upper lamp is presented in figure 5.6. Moreover the lamp is composed of a back element, a casing, an OLED panel and a touch sensor. Renderings of all parts are presented in appendix E.2 and technical drawings of the assembly, the back element and the casing are represented in appendix E.3.

Back Element

The back element is mainly used for fixing the entire upper lamp to the cupboard. Therefore the back element contains two holes for screws. Due to its function the back element design is mainly depending on stability. All parts of the lamp (OLED panel, casing and touch sensor) are light weight so

that the stress on the back element is reasonable. Another relevant factor was to not use any ineffectual material in the design. The larger holes in the middle of the element do not affect the stability. This part would not have any impact on the stability and that’s why the material must not remain there. The single connection between the two sides is enough for holding the part stable.

Moreover the design of the element was also depending on the production of this part. Most of the edges are round off in order to assure good results of an injection moulding process. The material can then flow better through the mould and the quality and stability of the part will be higher.

A hole is located in the end of the back element and is essential for passing the cables through it. The cable route is described in detail in the mounting section of this chapter.

Casing

The casing includes all technical parts (OLED panel and touch sensor) of the lamp and is attached to the back element by a snap connection. Snap connections are cheap, easy to mount and to take apart which is beneficial for recycling products. Moreover no tools are necessary and the mounting is performed fast. Moreover a snap connection is not visible which supports a high quality appearance. (CES EduPack 2014) The snap connection of the casing and the back element is illustrated in figure 5.7.

The main function of the casing is to hold all parts together and to protect them. Therefore it needs to be stable. The thickness of this part is 2mm which is stable enough because of the low weight of the OLED panel less than 5g (LG-Chem,

5. Design Completion

Figure 5.7. Snap Connection Figure 5.8. Connection 2015). Such a thickness is also matching with the

injection moulding and most of the edges are again rounded off for a good quality part.

A transparent protection layer is located in front the OLED. OLED panels are still sensitive to shocks and fingerprints should be also avoided (LG-Chem, b). The protection layer which is fixed with glue inside the casing is protecting the OLED panel. In kitchens, where people are cooking, it can happen that the lamp gets dirty and the user wants to clean it. This layer allows the user to clean the lamp carefully without any damage on the OLED panels.

Then the OLED panel is placed in the respective frame in the casing as illustrated in figure 5.7. It

is recommended to use spring or snap contacts for integrating OLED panels in design because the contact with chemicals like glue needs to be avoided (LG-Chem, 2015). Some possible interconnections for the OLED panel are illustrated in a small morphologic schema in appendix E.4. One of the suitable interconnections is illustrated in figure 5.8 and cross section of the integration of the OLED panel in the casing is presented in figure 5.9. A foam layer is placed above the OLED panel. This is beneficial because the foam will protect the OLED panel and isolate it at the same time. In the morphologic schema some different solutions for holding the panel in place can be seen. One is illustrated in figure 5.8. It is a small click element

which can easily be placed into the holes in the casing. It is even possible to exchange the OLED panels with this interconnection. Moreover this element does not damage the foam or OLED panel.

Finally a hole is located on the underside of the casing. This hole is used for the cables of the other two parts which also need to be hidden behind the cupboard. It is possible to add a cap in the hole in case just the upper lamp is used.

5.2.2. Side Lamp

The side lamp (figure 5.10) is attached to the wall and thus illuminates the work top from the side. Indeed this is possible because OLED panels are glare free. By lighting the work top from above and the side no irritating shadows will appear on the work top. Two panels obviously emit more light and the illuminance increases.

As in the upper lamp this lamp also contains a flexible OLED panel, a back element, a casing and a touch sensor. Renderings and technical drawings of the parts are provided in appendix E.5 and E.6.

Back Element and Casing

The design requirements for the back element and the casing are exactly the same than for the upper OLED’s. Both parts are connected to each other by a snap connection. The integration of the OLED panel inside the casing is also the same as illustrated in figures 5.7 and 5.8. The only difference between these parts is the shape and their position above the work top. Moreover the side lamp also includes two holes on the top and bottom for the cables of the OLED panel and the possible add- ons.

Figure 5.10. Side Lamp Figure 5.9. Integration of the OLED Panel