The TMIO oven uses the 3M Touch Systems ClearTek 6.5-in. capacitive touch screen for the control interface. When accessing the oven remotely, users see the same interface they would see when using the oven at home.

One of the big attractions at the Consumer Electronics Show this year was the ConnectIo Intelligent Oven, developed by TMIO, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The oven received two separate Innovations Design and Engineering Awards from the Consumer Electronics Association, the show’s sponsor. Two things stand out to make the 30-in. double, wall oven interesting.

One, it has a refrigeration mode that will keep food fresh until it is ready to be cooked. Two, it has an interconnectivity feature that permits remote control by a cell phone, computer, or PDA. The idea is that a consumer could place a food item in the oven when leaving the house, have it kept cool while gone, then initiate cooking remotely so that the food can be ready upon arriving home.

The remote access allows the oven to be operated as if the user were standing in the kitchen, setting functions such as delaying cooking time, changing oven temperature, refrigerating before cooking, setting a warming mode, and more. Because this advanced appliance demands intelligent and intuitive controls that can also stand up to temperature variations and the cook’s messy fingers, TMIO turned to 3M Touch Systems, Methuen, Mass., for a solution.

“Standard control panels were extremely limited in their capabilities, so we needed a new approach,” says David Mansbery, founder and CEO, TMIO. “With 3M touch screens, consumers have a high level of comfort in operating our Intelligent Oven at home.”

The TMIO Intelligent Oven uses the 3M Touch Systems ClearTek 6.5-inch capacitive touch screen, which is able to meet the high-temperature requirements, while TMIO engineers have been able to keep the electronics cooler than most oven designs require. Moreover, its transparent overcoat makes ClearTek exceptionally resistant to scratches and abrasions, ensuring consistently accurate and sensitive response to the user’s touch, even with heavy daily use. The ClearTek screen is also ideal for the often, messy kitchen environment since it is easy to clean while being highly resistant to liquids, dirt, and chemicals.

“Durability and reliability were two very important characteristics for the oven’s control panel,” says Diane Valachovic, chief operating officer, TMIO. “One critical aspect was the durability of the gasket that lies between the touch screen and the LCD. We saw that the 3M touch screens, heavily used in other industries, demonstrated proven durability in this area, so we took advantage of 3M’s experience. We know we have a product with the same high reliability.”

The ConnectIo Intelligent Oven, developed by TMIO, has a refrigeration mode that will keep food fresh until it is ready to be cooked. It also has an interconnectivity feature that permits remote control by a cell phone, computer, or PDA.

When remotely accessing the oven’s controls via a computer, PDA, or cell phone, the consumer logs in to www.tmio.com with their name and password to establish a direct link to their oven. An image of the oven’s 3M touch screen control panel appears on the computer screen, and users can point and click the appropriate areas to set baking time, temperature, cooking or refrigeration mode, and more.

“There is a huge comfort level in seeing the same controls on your computer screen that you see at home, and that’s where the touch screen interface correlates very nicely,” Valachovic says. “Because the screens provide automatic prompts to the user, much like a software wizard, they make the operation of the appliance very easy.” Valachovic adds that the 3M touch screen played a key role in winning the awards at the Consumer Electronics Show.

At the core, every 3M ClearTek touch screen is an all glass screen with a transparent, conductive coating fused to its surface. Along the edges, a narrow, precisely printed electrode pattern uniformly distributes a low-voltage field over the conductive layer. When a finger touches the screen, it draws a minute amount of current to the point of contact, creating a voltage drop. The x/y location of the point of contact is calculated by the display controller then transmitted to the system controller. A transparent, protective overcoat is designed to minimize reflection and maximize light transmission, while delivering scratch resistance.