GB2546122A

GB2546122A - Door panel device

Info

Publication number: GB2546122A
Application number: GB1604695.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chuang Hsiang-Kai; Huang Fu-Lung
Original assignee: LWO TECHNOLOGY Co Ltd; Lwo Tech Co Ltd
Current assignee: LWO TECHNOLOGY Co Ltd; Lwo Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-01-05
Filing date: 2016-03-21
Publication date: 2017-07-12
Also published as: GB201604695D0; TW201725351A

Abstract

A door panel device is adapted to be mounted to a casing 1 of a household appliance such as a microwave oven or refrigerator, for removably covering an opening of the casing, and includes a panel unit comprising a panel module 22 having a display region 223 that is for image display, and an observation region 224 that is configured to be light-transmissive for observation of a receiving space. A backlight unit is provided and includes a backlight module co-movably mounted to the panel unit and disposed corresponding in position to the panel module for providing light to the display region of the panel module.

Description

DOOR PANEL DEVICE

The disclosure relates to a door panel device, more particularly to a door panel device for a household appliance such as a microwave oven or a refrigerator. A conventional microwave oven usually includes a casing for receiving food to be heated, a door panel pivotally mounted to the casing, and a plurality of control buttons, as well as a display screen disposed on a front surface of the casing. The control buttons may include a door-controlling button, and several buttons for setting the power level and time duration of a microwaving process. The display screen may display information regarding the microwaving process. Since the display screen is disposed on the front surface of the casing, an overall size of the casing has to be large enough to have a sufficiently large front surface area for disposing the same. However, since the overall size of the casing is not preferred to be too large, space available for receiving the food in the casing is limited by the configuration of the display screen. Moreover, the arrangement of the display screen on the front surface of the casing cannot provide a simple and neat appearance therefor.

Therefore, one object of the disclosure is to provide a door panel device for a household appliance having display function.

According to the disclosure, a door panel device for a household appliance may be provided. The household appliance includes a casing defining a receiving space and having an opening that is spatially communicated with the receiving space. The door panel device includes a panel unit and a backlight unit. The panel unit is adapted to be mounted to the casing for removably covering the opening of the casing, and includes a panel module having a display region that is for image display, and an observation region that is configured to be light-transmissive for observation of the receiving space. The backlight unit includes a backlight module co-movably mounted to the panel unit and disposed corresponding in position to the panel module for providing light to the display region of the panel module .

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of a door panel device which is connected to a casing of a household appliance according to the disclosure;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the first embodiment illustrating the door panel device and the casing;

Figure 3 is a front view of the first embodiment, illustrating an observation region of a panel module is in a light-transmissible state;

Figure 4 is another front view of the first embodiment similar to Figure 3, where the panel module is in a non-transmissible state;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment according to the disclosure, illustrating the panel module, a backlight unit, and a lighting unit of the door panel device; and

Figure 6 is a front view illustrating a third embodiment of the door panel device according to the disclosure and the casing.

Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4, the first embodiment of a door panel device according to the present disclosure is adapted to be mounted to a casing 1 of a household appliance . In this embodiment, the household appliance is a microwave oven, and the casing 1 has spaced-apart top and bottom walls 11, 12, a U-shaped side wall 13 interconnecting the top and bottom walls 11, 12, a door-controlling button 15, and a plurality of function buttons 16 (see Figure 1) . As shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, the door-controlling button 15 and the function buttons 16 are disposed on a front surface of the side wall 13. A receiving space 14 is defined cooperatively by the top and bottom walls 11, 12 and the side wall 13 of the casing 1 for receiving food materials to be heated. The casing 1 has an opening 141 spatially communicated with the receiving space 14. In this embodiment, the function buttons 16 maybe designed for setting parameters of a microwaving process, such as the power level and time duration thereof. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the door panel device of the first embodiment includes a panel unit 2, a backlight unit 3, a lighting unit 4, and a thermal insulating unit 5.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the panel unit 2 is adapted to be mounted to the casing 1 for removably covering the opening 141 of the casing 1, and includes a panel frame 21, a panel module 22 mounted to the panel frame 21, and a switch button 23 disposed on the casing 1. The panel frame 21 is pivotally connected to the casing 1, and has an outer frame portion 211 being substantially rectangular shaped to define a space therein, and a middle portion 212 that is horizontally connected to the outer frame portion 211 and in the space to separate the same into two parts as illustrated in Figure 1. The panel unit 22 includes a display panel 221, and a control element 222 that is connected to the display panel 221 and that is operable to output a control signal to the display panel 221. The display panel 221 is large enough in size to fully cover the opening 141 of the casing 1. The display panel 221 has a display region 223 for image display, and an observation region 224 that is configured to be light-transmissive for observation of the receiving space 14. In this embodiment, the display panel 221 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel including elements such as a glass substrate, a liquid crystal layer, a polarizer, etc. Since the structure of the LCD panel is well-known in the art, details are thereby omitted herein for the sake of brevity. The control element 222 is operable to control the display region 223 to display information such as the parameters of the microwaving process, and includes at least one flexible print circuit board (FPCB) and electronic devices (not shown) mounted thereon . In this embodiment, the information to be displayed by the display region 223 of the display panel 221 may include, but is not limited to, the power level, the temperature, and the time duration of the microwaving process.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal molecules in the observation region 224 of the display panel 221 can be orient ably controlled by the control element 222 such that the observation region 224 of the panel module 22 is configured to be operable between a light-transmissible state (see Figure 3), where the observation region 224 is configured to be light-transmissive to allow the observation of the receiving space 14, and a non-transmissible state (see Figure 4 ) , where the observation region 224 is configured to be not light-transmissive . It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the observation region 224 may remain at the light-transmissible state at all times according to the present disclosure.

In this embodiment, the switch button 23 is electrically connected to the control element 222, and is operable, while being pressed, to drive the control element 222 to output a signal, so as to change the state of the observation region 224.

In this embodiment, the backlight unit 3 includes a mounting frame 31 co-movably mounted to the panel unit 2 and a backlight module 32 mounted to the mounting frame 31. The mounting frame 31 has three parallel-disposed first frame bars 311 each having opposite first and second side ends, and two upright second frame bars 312 each interconnecting the first frame bars 311 at a corresponding one of the first and second side ends. The first and second frame bars 311, 312 cooperatively define a first space 313 and a second space 314. The first space 313 corresponds in position to the display region 223 of the panel module 22, and the second space 314 corresponds in position to the observation region 224 of the panel module 22. In certain embodiments, a light-transmissible glass (not shown) may be disposed in the second space 314 and will not adversely affect the observation of the receiving space 14.

The backlight module 32 is mounted in the first space 313 of the mounting frame 31, is co-movably mounted to the panel unit 2, and is disposed corresponding in position to and is for providing light to the display region 223 of the panel module 22. The backlight module 32 may include elements as those of a backlight module of the LCD panel, e.g., a lighting element, a light guide plate for guiding light incident from the lighting element, a reflect plate disposed at a rear side of the light guide plate for reflecting the light forward, and a brightness enhancement film and a diffuser plate both being disposed at a front side of the light-guide plate. For ease of illustration, the backlight module 32 is illustrated as a single plate in Figures 1 and 2.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the lighting unit 4 of this embodiment is disposed in the second space 314 for aiding observation of the receiving space 14 of the casing 1, and includes a plurality of light-emitting elements 41 disposed on the bottom two of the first frame bars 311 for cooperatively lighting the observation region 224. In this embodiment, each of the light-emitting elements 41 is a light-emitting diode (LED).

As illustrated in Figure 2, the thermal insulating unit 5 of this embodiment is co-movably mounted to an inner side of the backlight unit 3 facing toward the receiving space 14, and includes a pair of mutually spaced-apart insulating walls 51, and a surrounding wall 52 interconnecting the insulating walls 51 and cooperating with the insulating walls 51 to define an insulating space 50. The insulating space 50 of the insulating unit 5 can be vacuumed to improve heat insulation, so that heat generated in the receiving space 14, e.g., during the microwaving process, can be prevented from being transmitted outward to cause overheat of the backlight unit 3, the panel module 22 and the lighting unit 4.

In use, when a user is setting the time duration and power level for the microwaving process, such information may be displayed on the display region 223 of the panel module 22. When the microwaving process is initiated, the real-time temperature within the receiving space 14 and the remaining period for the microwaving process may be simultaneously displayed on the display region 223 as well. In addition, the user can change the state of the observation region 224, e.g., from the non-transmissible state to the light-transmissible state, so as to allow observation of the microwaving process in the receiving space 14 (e.g., as illustrated in Figure 3).

In conclusion, with the design that the panel module 22 of the panel unit 2 is divided into the display region 223 and the observation region 224, and that the backlight module 32 is disposed corresponding in position to the display region 223, the panel module 22 not only can display the information such as the microwaving time duration and power level, but also allows for the observation of the receiving space 14. Moreover, by such design, the thickness of the casing 1 can be reduced so as to provide a sufficiently large receiving space 14.

Referring to Figure 5, the second embodiment of the door panel device according to the present disclosure has a structure similar to that of the first embodiment. The main difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment resides in the configuration of the backlight module 32. In this embodiment, an area of the backlight module 32 is larger, and the backlight module 32 corresponds in position to both the display region 223 and the observation region 224 of the display panel 221 . The backlight module 32 includes a light guide plate 321, and a plurality of backlighting elements 322 disposed above the light guide plate 321 for emitting light to the light guide plate 321. The structure of the backlight module 32 can be the same as that of the first embodiment, e.g., to include the reflect plate, the brightness enhancement film and the diffuser plate. The light guide plate 321 of this embodiment has a light guide region 323 corresponding inposition to the display region 223 of the panel module 22, and a light-transmissive region 324 connected to the light guide region 323 and corresponding in position to the observation region 224 of the panel module 22. The light guide region 323 has a light incident surface 325 facing the backlighting elements 322, a rear surface 326 opposite to the display region 223 of the panel module 22, and a plurality of microstructures 327 formed on the rear surface 326 for reflecting light incident from the backlighting element 322 toward the display region 223 of the panel module 22. The microstructures 327 may be, for example, a dot array formed on the rear surface 326 by printing or other equivalent methods according to the present disclosure . Basically, no microstructure is formed in the light-transmissive region 324 so as to allow observation of the receiving space 14 therethrough .

In this embodiment, the mounting frame 31 is designed based on the structure of the backlight module 32 to have two parallel-disposed first frame bars 311 each having the opposite first and second side ends, and the two second frame bars 312 each interconnecting the first frame bars 311 at a corresponding one of the first and second side ends. The light-emitting elements 41 are disposed on the bottom one of the first frame bars 311. With the design of the panel module 22 and the backlight module 32, the second embodiment has the same advantages as those of the first embodiment.

Referring to Figure 6, the household appliance, in which the third embodiment of the door panel device according to the present disclosure is applied, is a refrigerator. The display region 223 and the observation region 224 of the panel module 22 of the door panel device are disposed and aligned in a left-right direction. The household appliance, i.e., the refrigerator, has cooling and freezing compartments, and the display region 223 of the panel module 22 is operable to display temperatures respectively in the cooling and freezing compartments. In this embodiment, the display region 223 of the panel module 22 is touch-sensitive and has a plurality of control buttons 25 for, e.g., setting the temperatures respectively in the cooling and freezing compartments, initiating the deodorization function, or releasing silver ions for sterilization. The food stored in the refrigerator can be observed through the observation region 224 . The door panel device applied to the refrigerator in this embodiment has both display and observation functions, and has the same advantages as those of the first embodiment.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.

Claims

Claims :

1. A door panel device for a household appliance, which includes a casing that defines a receiving space and that has an opening spatially communicated with the receiving space, said door panel device comprising: a panel unit adapted to be mounted to the casing for removably covering the opening of the casing, said panel unit including a panel module that has a display region for image display, and an observation region that is configured to be light-transmissive for observation of the receiving space; and a backlight unit including a backlight module that is co-movably mounted to said panel unit and that is disposed corresponding in position to said panel module for providing light to said display region of said panel module .

2. The door panel device according to Claim 1, further comprising a thermal insulating unit that is co-movably mounted to an inner side of said backlight unit facing toward the receiving space, and that includes a pair of mutually spaced-apart insulating walls, and a surrounding wall interconnecting said insulating walls and cooperating with said insulating walls to define an insulating space.

3. The door panel device according to Claim 2, wherein said insulating space of said insulating unit is vacuumed.

4. The door panel device according to Claim 1, wherein: said backlight unit further includes amounting frame that is co-movably mounted to said panel unit and that defines a first space corresponding in position to said display region of said panel module, and a second space corresponding in position to said observation region of said panel module; and said backlight module is mounted to said mounting frame and in said first space.

5. The door panel device according to Claim 4, further comprising a lighting unit disposed in said second space for aiding observation of the receiving space of the casing.

6. The door panel device according to Claim 5, wherein: said mounting frame has three parallel-disposed first frame bars each having opposite first and second side ends, and two second frame bars each interconnecting said first frame bars at a corresponding one of said first and second side ends; said first and second frame bars cooperatively define said first and second spaces; and said lighting unit includes a plurality of light-emitting elements disposed on the bottom two of said first frame bars.

7. The door panel device according to Claim 1, wherein said observation region of said panel module is configured to be operable between a light-transmissible state, where said observation region is configured to be light-transmissive to allow the observation of the receiving space, and a non-transmissible state where said observation region is configured to be not light-transmissive .

8. The door panel device according to Claim 1, wherein said backlight module includes a light guide plate, and at least one backlighting element disposed at one side of said light guide plate for emitting light to the light guide plate, said light guide plate having a light guide region that corresponds in position to said display region of said panel module and that has a light incident surface facing said backlighting element, a rear surface that is opposite to said display region of said panel module, and a plurality of microstructures formed on said rear surface for reflecting light incident from said backlighting element toward said display region of said panel module.

9. The door panel device according to Claim 8, wherein said light guide plate of said backlight module further has a light-transmissive region that is connected to said light guide region and that corresponds in position to said observation region of said panel module.

10. The door panel device according to Claim 1, wherein said panel module includes a display panel that has said display region and said observation region and that is large enough in size to fully cover the opening of the casing.

11. The door panel device according to Claim 1, wherein the household appliance is a refrigerator having cooling and freezing compartments, and said display region of said panel module is operable to display temperatures respectively in the cooling and freezing compartments.

12 . The door panel device according to Claim 11, wherein said display region of said panel module is touch-sensitive and has a plurality of control buttons for setting the temperatures in the cooling and freezing compartments .