CN110965287A

CN110965287A - Electric household appliance with a lighting window

Info

Publication number: CN110965287A
Application number: CN201811501609.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 曼弗雷迪·西格诺里诺; 马丁·伯拉比奇
Original assignee: emz Hanauer GmbH and Co KGaA
Current assignee: emz Hanauer GmbH and Co KGaA
Priority date: 2018-09-28
Filing date: 2018-12-07
Publication date: 2020-04-07
Also published as: DE102018007700A1

Abstract

An electric household appliance, for example a washing machine, has a lighting window (38) which has a window contour which is curved at least in regions in an arc shape, in particular in an arc shape. In some embodiments, the household appliance further comprises a lighting module (36) for illuminating the lighting window with light at the rear side. The lighting module has a printed circuit board in the form of a flexible strip circuit board (48), on which a plurality of light-emitting diodes (50) are mounted one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the strip. The strip circuit board is arcuately arranged in accordance with the arc shape of the lighting window.

Description

Electric household appliance with a lighting window

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical household appliance (i.e. a household appliance) having an illumination window which is part of an illuminated display device of the household appliance for aesthetic purposes or/and information purposes.

Background

It is known from the prior art according to WO 02/14593 a2 to provide a plurality of lighting elements on a round window door of a front-loading washing machine, which are distributed around the round window of the door and are each mounted in groups on a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board with the illumination components is enclosed in a frame that surrounds the round window and provides a handle for opening the door. The frame has a translucent window area through which the light of the lighting components can exit to the outside, so that the user can deduce the type of operating program, for example, from which lighting components are correctly illuminated. The printed circuit board is inserted into the frame with its board plane parallel to the door plane, wherein an observer who is looking at the door in front sees the lighting components directly through the window region.

The solution according to WO 02/14593 a2 has the disadvantage that standard components which are customary on the market cannot be used for the printed circuit board. Since the lighting components are distributed annularly around the round window, the printed circuit board requires a plate with an annular contour, which usually has to be manufactured separately. This increases the cost of the illuminated display mechanism of the door, which in turn increases the cost of the washing machine as a whole.

Disclosure of Invention

Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric household appliance with a lighting window, the window contour of which extends at least in regions in an arcuate manner, wherein the production costs are to be reduced.

In order to achieve this object, the invention is based on an electric household appliance having a lighting window with a window contour which is curved at least in some regions in an arc shape, in particular in a circular arc shape, and having a lighting component group for illuminating the lighting window with light on a rear side, wherein the lighting component group comprises a printed circuit board with a plurality of lighting components, in particular in an LED configuration, which are mounted on the printed circuit board and are distributed along an arc which at least approximately follows the arc shape of the lighting window. According to the invention, it is provided for such a domestic appliance that the printed circuit board is formed from a flexible strip circuit board which is arranged in an arc-shaped curve. Flexible strip circuit boards, on which the light-emitting diodes are mounted, are commercially available as standard components, usually in the form of a coil. The flexibility of the strip circuit board, which is sometimes as thin as a film, allows it to bend in a strip plane in the shape of an arc along which the individual lighting elements of the group of lighting elements are distributed. In WO 02/14593 a2, the planar side of the printed circuit board is parallel to the circular line along which the lighting components are distributed around the round window, so in contrast to this, in the solution according to the invention, the planar side of the strip circuit board is not parallel to the plane containing the arc line.

In some embodiments, the domestic appliance has a transparent window, in particular with a circular window contour, which allows viewing into the interior of the working chamber of the domestic appliance, wherein the illumination window extends around the transparent window along at least a part of its circumference. For example, the household appliance is a front-loading type washing machine, wherein the transparent window is a round window of a round window door of the washing machine, which is pivotable about a vertical pivot axis. The lighting window may be arranged or constructed in a frame part of the door surrounding the round window. For example, the lighting window may be formed by a separate, transparent plate portion which is inserted into a correspondingly sized recess in the frame portion. Alternatively, it is conceivable for the frame part to be produced from a transparent material in a partial region and from an opaque material in an adjoining peripheral region, which is associated with the partial region in a material-consistent or identical manner, for example by two-component injection molding.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to application in domestic washing machines. Alternative applications of the illumination window of the invention can be considered, for example, in laundry dryers of domestic appliances or in so-called washing and drying machines. A washing and drying machine is an apparatus having a drying function in addition to a laundry washing function, thereby functioning as both a washing machine and a drying machine.

In some embodiments, the window contour of the illumination window has at least approximately the contour of an annular disk or of a circumferential part of an annular disk. The circumferential part may, for example, extend over an angle of at least about 30 degrees or at least about 45 degrees or at least about 60 degrees or at least about 90 degrees or at least about 120 degrees.

In some embodiments, the lighting components each have a light radiation characteristic with a main axis, wherein the lighting components are mounted on the strip circuit board and their main axes are oriented at least approximately perpendicular to the strip circuit board. The orientation perpendicular to the strip circuit board as referred to herein is the orientation perpendicular to the planar side of the strip. If the strip circuit board is plane-curved mounted in the frame of the round window door of the front loading type washing machine so that the strip circuit board follows a circular arc around the round window of the door, the main axis of each lighting member can be made at least nearly toward the center of the round window. In order to achieve a large dispersion of the light rays towards an observer standing in front of the door, however, in some embodiments the set of lighting components comprises a reflecting surface extending along an arc, which is arranged in front of the lighting window in the propagation path of at least a part of the light rays, in particular at least a major part of the light rays, emitted by the lighting components, which reflecting surface is advantageously designed such that it exhibits a reflecting effect towards the lighting window. In order to avoid local brightness peaks, the reflecting surface may at least locally have a diffuse reflecting effect, so that an observer perceives no brightness change, or at least no noticeable brightness change, along the row of lighting elements when he observes the lighting window. The diffuse reflection effect (scattering effect) of the reflection surface can be achieved by a suitable surface roughness of the reflection surface or/and a suitable degree of extinction.

When viewed in a cross-section perpendicular to the arc, in some embodiments, the reflective surface has an arcuately curved shape.

Drawings

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front loading home washing machine according to an exemplary design;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a round window door of a home washer according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a round window door of a home washer according to one embodiment;

fig. 4 is a schematic view for explaining a mounting position of a strip circuit board of the lighting component group of the embodiment of fig. 3.

Detailed Description

Reference is first made to fig. 1. The washing machine shown here, which is arranged for use in private homes, is generally designated 10. The washing machine is of a front loading type and thus can be loaded with laundry from the front side of the machine. The washing machine 10 includes a machine body 12 on which a round window door 14 is pivotably mounted about a vertical pivot axis (not shown). The door 14 has a transparent round window 16 in a manner known per se, through which a user can see the interior space of a washing drum 18, which is rotatably arranged inside the machine body 12, when the door 14 is closed. In operation of washing machine 10, door seal 20 seals door 14 against a leaching receptacle (not shown in detail) housed in machine body 12 that houses washing drum 18. An operating handle 22 for manually operating the door 14 is provided on the door 14. The round window 16 forms a transparent window in the sense of the present invention, which is surrounded by a frame 24, which extends annularly around the round window 16 and serves as a carrier for the door handle 22.

In a manner known per se, an operating panel 26 with a plurality of operating members 28, by means of which the user can control the operation of the washing machine 10, is provided on the front side of the machine above the door 14. In addition to the operating panel 26, a detergent drawer 30 is provided on the front side of the machine, into which the user loads the desired cleaning substances.

The washing machine 10 is provided with illumination display means which provide an illumination display visible to the user, with which information about the operating state of the washing machine 10, for example the currently running washing program, can be notified to the user. These illuminated display mechanisms may include one or more illuminated display components disposed in the area of the operator panel 26. In the case of the example shown, an illumination display ring 32, which is only partially depicted in fig. 1 and is shown in its entirety in fig. 2, is provided on the door 14, irrespective of the presence or absence of such illumination display means on the operating panel 26, fig. 2 schematically showing the door 14 of the washing machine 10 in a front view.

In the example shown, the illuminated display ring 32 extends substantially completely around the circular window 16 and is formed from a plurality of individually controllable illuminated display segments 34, which each form a different circumferential part of the illuminated display ring 32. In the example shown, the illuminated display ring 32 comprises a total of four illuminated display segments 34, which each extend over approximately one quarter of the ring circumference. It goes without saying that the number and the circumferential length of the illuminated display sections 34 can be varied at will. It is particularly conceivable to provide only a single illuminated display section 34 on the door 14, which can extend along a part of the circumferential circumference or substantially along the entire circumferential circumference. The entire illuminated display ring 32 can thus be formed by a single illuminated display section 34, or instead of an annularly closed illuminated display section, a separate illuminated display section can be provided which extends only along a part of the circumference of the ring. If a plurality of illuminated display sections 34 are provided, they may abut one another substantially directly and closely in the circumferential direction, or there may be any large intermediate space between adjacent illuminated display sections 34. Whether one or more illuminated display sections 34 are provided on door 14, each illuminated display section 34 has a profile that extends along a circular arc when door 14 is viewed from a front perspective.

For a detailed description of one embodiment of the illuminated display section 34, reference is now additionally made to fig. 3 and 4. Each illuminated display section 34 is formed by an illumination module 36 that is embedded into the frame 24 of the door 14 behind an illumination window 38. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the frame 24 comprises two

frame halves

40, 42 which sandwich between them an edge region 44 of the round window 16 and are assembled in a multi-piece housing. The lighting module 36 is inserted into an interior cavity 46 of the frame 24 formed between the frame halves 40, 42. The frame half 40 forms a frame front that faces a user standing in front of the washing machine 10 when the door 14 is closed. While the frame half 42 forms a frame back that faces the wash drum 18 when the door 14 is closed. The illumination window 38 is made of a transparent plate material and can be an integral part of the frame half 40 or be made of a separate window part which is inserted into a correspondingly dimensioned recess of the frame half 40.

The lighting module 36 is a prefabricated structural unit which is itself inserted into the interior cavity 46. The lighting module has a flexible, bendable strip circuit board (i.e., a strip-shaped, elongate, flexible printed circuit board) 48, on which a plurality of light-emitting diodes 50 serving as lighting elements are arranged distributed along the strip in the longitudinal direction of the strip. The light-emitting diodes 50 can each be designed as monochromatic or polychromatic light-emitting diodes. In the case of a multi-color design, the illumination color of the led 50 can be changed by corresponding control. As can be seen from fig. 3 and 4, the strip circuit board 48 is arranged in a curved manner in accordance with the circular arc shape of the lighting window 38. The light-emitting diodes 50 each have a main axis 52 (fig. 4) which, assuming a planar orientation of the strip circuit board 58, runs approximately perpendicular to the strip plane of the strip circuit board 48. The main axis 52 represents the following directions: in this direction, the light radiation of the relevant light-emitting diode 50 exhibits a maximum of the light intensity. In the installed position, the LEDs 50 are oriented such that their primary axes 52 extend substantially parallel to the door plane of the door 14 (corresponding to the ring plane of the illuminated display ring 32) and toward the center of the round window. The main direction of illumination of the leds 50 is thus not forward from the front of the door 14; this avoids undesirable glare effects on the user when viewing the illuminated display ring 32 in front.

However, in order to achieve a sufficiently bright illumination of the illumination window 38, the illumination module 36 has a reflection surface 54 (fig. 3) formed on a reflector 56, which is part of a module housing 58 of the illumination module 36. The reflection surface 54 is designed to be diffusely reflective at least in some regions, for which purpose it has a suitable surface roughness or/and a suitable degree of extinction. The scattering effect of the reflective surface 54 results in a mixing and homogenization of the light emitted by the adjacent leds 50, which in turn results in a uniform image brightness of the illumination window 38. The reflective surface 54-as can be seen in fig. 3-is arcuately curved in a radial cross-sectional view (with reference to or radially with respect to the center of the round window of the door 14) and causes the light emitted by the light emitting diode 50 to be diverted towards the lighting window 38.

In the example shown, part of the illumination module 36 is an additional light-transmitting plate 60, by which the module interior together with the light-emitting diodes 50 and the reflection surface 54 located therein are enclosed. It goes without saying that the optical disc 60 may be omitted in other embodiments.

Claims

1. An electric household appliance having a lighting window with an at least partially curved window contour, in particular in the shape of a circular arc, and a lighting component group for illuminating the lighting window with light on a rear side, wherein the lighting component group comprises a printed circuit board with a plurality of lighting components, in particular in the form of LED structures, which are mounted on the printed circuit board and distributed along an arc which at least approximately follows the curved shape of the lighting window, characterized in that the printed circuit board is formed by a flexible strip circuit board which is arranged curved in an arc.

2. The electric household appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the household appliance has a transparent window, in particular having a circular window contour, which allows viewing of the interior of the working chamber of the household appliance, wherein the illumination window extends around the transparent window along at least a part of its circumference.

3. The electric household appliance of claim 2, wherein the household appliance is a washing machine of the front loading type, the transparent window is a round window of a round window door of the washing machine pivotable about a vertical pivot axis, wherein the illumination window is arranged or constructed in a frame portion of the door surrounding the round window.

4. An electric household appliance as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the window profile of the illumination window has at least approximately the profile of an annular disc or of a circumferential section of an annular disc.

5. The electric household appliance of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lighting components each have a light radiation characteristic with a main axis, and are mounted on the strip circuit board with their main axes oriented at least approximately perpendicular to the strip circuit board.

6. An electric household appliance as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said set of lighting elements comprises a reflecting surface extending along said arc, said reflecting surface being arranged in front of said lighting window on at least a part, in particular at least a major part, of the propagation path of the light rays emitted by said lighting elements, said reflecting surface having at least partially a diffuse reflecting effect.

7. The electric household appliance of claim 6, wherein the reflective surface has an arcuately curved shape when viewed in a cross-section perpendicular to the arc.