EP1662207B1 - Control device for a household appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

Control panel for washing machines and electric ovens is built as a single functional module (22). This consists of a rigid housing (18), into which switches (16) and optical displays (17) are fitted. These are made from a flexible material.

Description

The present invention relates to an operating device for a household electrical appliance, such as a dishwasher, a washing machine, an electric oven, a microwave oven or the like, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such an operating device is for example from the DE 200 02 947 U1 known and exemplified in Fig. 1 shown. The operating device 10 serves as an interface between a user and a controller of the household appliance; and includes a printed circuit board 12 on which various electrical control, switching and / or display elements 14 coupled to the controller (not shown); a plurality of mechanical actuators 16 in the form of, for example, key switches or encoders and optical display elements (not shown) in the form of, for example, seven-segment displays, each of the electrical controls, switching and / or display elements 14 on the circuit board 12 by plunger, light guide, etc . assigned; a support 18 for holding the mechanical actuators 16 and optical display elements; and a decorative panel 20 on the user-facing side of the carrier 18.

Another operating device of this type is in the DE 102 58 563 B3 the applicant described. In this known operating device, the plurality of electrical control, switching and / or display elements, the plurality of mechanical actuators and / or visual display elements, and the carrier is provided as a functional unit, which is design-wise formed on the user-facing front side, so that the decorative panel has a single large opening for the functional unit.

The conventional operating devices have in common that they have a plurality of individual components, depending on their size and embodiment of the Part are very difficult to assemble, so that the installation costs of such controls are relatively high.

Further, the DE 102 60 428 A1 an electrical appliance housing having a housing body made of hard plastic, in which an opening for actuating a switch or the like is provided. In the opening projects an integrally formed with the housing body carrier, consisting of a web and at least one base, which are also formed of hard plastic. In one alternative, a separate operating knob made of a metal or a very hard plastic is fitted in the base, and in another alternative, an actuating knob is formed integrally with the base by means of two-component injection molding or integral injection molding of a hard plastic. Further, the opening is closed by a soft plastic membrane to provide a watertight housing.

The present invention has the object, an operating device of the type mentioned in such a way that it has a smaller number of components, so that the assembly is simplified and the installation costs are reduced.

This object is achieved by an operating device with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The operating device for a household electric appliance includes a controller; a plurality of electrical control or switching and display elements coupled to the controller; a plurality of mechanical actuators and optical display elements that are operable or observable by a user and which are each associated with the electrical control or switching or display elements; and a support for holding the plurality of mechanical actuators and optical display elements. According to the invention, the plurality of mechanical actuators and optical display elements and the carrier are combined in one component as an integral one. Function module are formed, wherein the carrier is formed from at least one hard component and the plurality of mechanical actuating elements and / or optical display elements are each formed from at least one soft component.

In contrast to conventional operating devices are thus not a support and a plurality of mechanical actuators and / or optical display elements provided that need to be mounted, but only the one integral function module. The slightly higher production costs of the integral functional module due to the at least two material components are offset by significant savings in effort and costs during storage and assembly.

The mechanical actuators of the functional module include, for example, push buttons.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the mechanical actuating elements of the functional module on the side facing the user are each provided with decorative caps, which are preferably formed from a hard component and integral with the functional module. This results in a further reduction of the components and the installation costs compared to conventional operating devices with such Dekorkappen.

In addition, on the side facing the user of the functional module, a decorative panel with corresponding recesses for the mechanical actuating elements and / or optical display elements can be provided. Alternatively, the functional module itself is formed on its side facing the user with a decorative design, so that a separate decorative panel can be omitted, which leads to a further simplification of assembly and cost savings.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the functional module, for example, on its side facing away from the user and / or in the edge region further provided with a seal to seal the electronic components of the operating device. This seal is preferably also formed of a soft component and integral with the functional module, so that further simplification during assembly and storage of the operating device arise.

In one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of electrical control, switching and / or display elements of the operating device are arranged in a housing, and the functional module is connected to this housing.

In a still further embodiment of the invention, the functional module is further provided with a damping element for mechanical damping or buffering between the functional module and an adjacent component (for example decorative trim or housing) of the operating device. This damping element is preferably also formed of a soft component and integral with the functional module, so that further simplification during assembly and storage of the operating device arise.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the carrier and the plurality of mechanical actuators and / or optical display elements are formed by integral injection molding. In this case, the at least one hard component is a Housing plastic, such as ABS, PA, PA66, PBT, PCABS or the like, and the at least one soft component is a thermoplastic or a thermosetting elastomer.

Fig. 1

eine Querschnittsansicht einer herkömmlichen Bedienvorrichtung;

Fig. 2

eine Perspektivansicht eines bevorzugten Ausführungsbeispiels eines Funktionsmoduls einer Bedienvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung von oben;

Fig. 3

eine Perspektivansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines als Weichkomponente ausgeführten Teils des Funktionsmoduls von Fig. 2;

Fig. 4A

eine Perspektivansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines ersten als Hartkomponente ausgeführten Teils des Funktionsmoduls von Fig. 2;

Fig. 4B

eine Perspektivansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines zweiten als Hartkomponente ausgeführten Teils des Funktionsmoduls von Fig. 2;

Fig. 4C

eine Seitenansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Verstärkungselements des als Hartkomponente ausgeführten Teils von Fig. 4A; und

Fig. 5

eine Perspektivansicht des Funktionsmoduls von Fig. 2 von unten.

The above and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred, non-limiting embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show:

Fig. 1

a cross-sectional view of a conventional operating device;

Fig. 2

a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a functional module of an operating device according to the present invention from above;

Fig. 3

a perspective view of an embodiment of a running as a soft component part of the functional module of Fig. 2 ;

Fig. 4A

a perspective view of an embodiment of a first executed as a hard component part of the functional module of Fig. 2 ;

Fig. 4B

a perspective view of an embodiment of a second executed as a hard component part of the functional module of Fig. 2 ;

Fig. 4C

a side view of an embodiment of a reinforcing element of the executed as a hard component of Fig. 4A ; and

Fig. 5

a perspective view of the functional module of Fig. 2 from underneath.

Based on Fig. 2 to 5 a preferred embodiment of a functional module for an operating device according to the invention will be explained in more detail below. The show Fig. 2 and 5 respectively the entire functional module in perspective view while Fig. 3 and 4 detail individual parts of this function module.

That in the Fig. 2 to 5 illustrated integral functional module 22 is used in a control device 10 for a household electrical appliance whose structure, for example, that of Fig. 1 equivalent. In this case, the operating device 10 is for example for Dishwashers, washing machines, electric stoves, microwave ovens and the like usable.

The integral functional module 22 of Fig. 2 to 5 connects the components 16-18 of the operating device 10 of Fig. 1 in a component, so that a significant reduction of the components is achieved, which leads to a simpler and more cost-effective installation and storage of the operating device.

In particular, the integral functional module 22 has a carrier 18, which is formed from a hard component. As in FIGS. 4A and 4B 1, the carrier 18 is formed with a plurality of recesses 27 for mechanical actuators 16 and a plurality of recesses 28 for optical display elements 17. In these recesses 27, 28, the corresponding mechanical actuating elements 16 and the optical display elements 17 are arranged, which are formed from at least one soft component.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the functional module 22 contains a total of six mechanical actuators 16 designed as pushbutton switches, an optical display element 17 designed as a seven-segment display, five optical display elements 17 configured as operating displays and each associated with a pushbutton 16, and three visual display elements 17 designed as function or symbol displays Of course, the present invention is not limited only to this particular embodiment. In particular, functional modules 22 with a different number and / or arrangement of mechanical actuators 16, with a different number and / or arrangement of optical display elements 17, exclusively with mechanical actuators 16, excluding optical display elements 17, with other types and / or sizes of mechanical actuators 16, with other types and / or sizes of optical display elements 17, and the like are used within the scope of the present invention in a control device 10 for a household electrical appliance.

The optical display elements 17 of the soft component each form a light guide or a reflector field for guiding the radiation from an electrical display element 14 on the board 12 radiation to the user-facing side of the operating device 10 and can also be combined with lenses or symbol representations. The mechanical actuators 16 serve the mechanical actuation of an electrical control or switching element 14 on the board 12 with or without interposing a plunger. The actuating elements 16 designed as a pushbutton switch are preferably formed elastically with a restoring force. If the restoring force provided by the material and the structure of the actuating element 16 is insufficient, an additional reinforcing element 26 can optionally be provided (see FIG Fig. 4C ) integrally formed with the carrier 18 of the hard component and assisting recovery of the actuator 16 from the soft component to its home position.

The integral functional module 22 is preferably produced by injection molding. First, the carrier 18 is injection molded from the hard component, and then the mechanical actuators 16 and the optical display elements 17 are injection molded from the at least one soft component in the already existing carrier 18, so that forms an integral composite of the hard and soft components. As is known, this composite can be reinforced by mechanical anchoring between the two material components. The integral functional module 22 of at least two different material components can be manufactured rationally.

Preferably, only one soft component is used both for the mechanical actuators 16 and for the optical display elements 17 of the functional module 22, as this simplifies the manufacture and cheaper. For this, a compromise must be made between the optical fiber properties and the mechanical properties of the soft component. In the context of the present invention, however, it is also possible to use a plurality of different soft components and also a plurality of different hard components, which indeed increases the manufacturing costs but, on the other hand, permits optimal matching to the various functional areas of the functional module 22.

Various variants of the functional module 22 with different optical display elements 17 and mechanical actuators 16 can be realized in a simple manner during injection molding by changing inserts in the variable range.

If in each case only one soft component is used for the different functional components of the functional module 22, preferably only one injection point may be used in each case for the three optical display elements 17 top right in Fig. 2 and for the five mutually associated key switch 16 and light guide 17 (see Fig. 3 ) to be used.

The hard component for the carrier 18 is preferably a housing plastic, such as ABS, PA, PA66, PBT, PCABS, etc .. As a soft component for the mechanical actuators 16 and the optical display elements 17 are, for example, thermoplastic elastomers on polyethylene, polyurethane , Polypropylene base and the like, or thermosetting elastomers, such as a self-adhesive liquid silicone with a platinum catalyst for vulcanization.

For simple assembly of the functional module 22, this has, for example, on its side facing away from the user a plurality of latching hooks 24, as in Fig. 5 shown, which can snap into corresponding recesses on a housing (not shown) for the electronic components of the operating device 10. The latching hooks 24 are preferably formed from a hard component and integral with the carrier 18 of the functional module 22.

It is also conceivable in this context that the carrier 18 of the functional module 22 forms a first housing shell, which is connected via a film hinge, preferably made of a soft component, with a second housing shell made of a hard component. After inserting the circuit board 12 with the electrical control, switching and / or display elements 14 in the second housing shell, the function module 22 can be set as a cover on the second housing shell and the electronic components of the operating device 10 thus be integrated into a housing. The connection of the printed circuit board 12 to the control of the household appliance takes place, for example, via a suitable plug connection on the second housing shell. The two housing shells and the film hinge are preferably integrally injection molded.

Like also in Fig. 5 illustrated, the function module 22 may further comprise on its side facing away from the user, a seal 30 which is intended to seal the electrical components of the operating device 10 in particular against liquids. In the embodiment of the functional module 22 according to the invention, this seal 30 may also be made of a soft component, which is likewise formed integrally with the functional module 22.

Although not shown, the integral functional module 22 of the operating device 10 according to the invention may further comprise at least one damping or buffer element, which cause a particular mechanical damping of the functional module 22 with respect to adjacent components of the operating device 10, such as the decorative panel 20 or the housing of the electronic components should. Also, this damping element is preferably made of a soft component, which is also made integral with the functional module 22.

The seal 30 and the damping element may also be made of a softer soft component than the mechanical actuators 16 and the optical display elements 17.

The mechanical actuators 17 of the functional module 22 may be further provided on the user-facing side with decor caps. These decorative caps are preferably formed from a hard component and therefore may advantageously also be made integral with the functional module 22, if desired.

Furthermore, the operating devices 10 are usually provided on the side facing the user with a decorative panel 20 which contains corresponding recesses for the mechanical actuating elements 16 and the optical display elements 17 of the operating device 10. In the case of the operating device 10 according to the invention it is possible in this context to form the user-facing side of the integral functional module 22 with a decorative design, so that the decorative panel can be omitted in this area and only need to have a frame with a single large opening. Such a structure of the operating device 10 is particularly possible because the functional module 22 may also have excellent insulation properties by a suitable choice of the material components. This structure of an operating device 10 is similar already in the DE 102 58 563 B3 the applicant discloses.

As described above, the operating device 10 of the invention is characterized by an integral functional module 22, which can combine a plurality of components and functions of the operating device, such as optical display elements, mechanical actuators, seals, damping elements and the like via a carrier. When an integral component, the assembly compared to conventional operating devices with a large number of individual components is much easier.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

operating device

12

circuit board

14

electrical control, switching and / or display elements on 12

16

mechanical actuators

17

optical display elements

18

carrier

20

decorative trim

22

function module

24

latch hook

26

reinforcing element

28

recess

30

poetry

Claims (14)

1. Operator control apparatus (10) for an electrical domestic appliance, comprising
   a control system;
   a plurality of electrical operator control or switching and display elements (14) which are coupled to the control system;
   a plurality of mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17) which can be operated or monitored by a user and which in each case are associated with the electrical operator control or switching and display elements (14); and
   a support (18) for holding the plurality of mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17),
   characterized
   in that the plurality of mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17) and the support (18) are in the form of an integral functional module (22) so as to be combined in one component, with the support (18) being formed from at least one hard component and the plurality of mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17) in each case being formed from at least one soft component.
2. Operator control apparatus according to Claim 1,
   characterized in that the mechanical operating elements (16) of the functional module (22) comprise touch-operated switches.
3. Operator control apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mechanical operating elements (16) of the functional module (22) are in each case provided with decorative caps on that side which faces the user.
4. Operator control apparatus according to Claim 3,
   characterized in that the decorative caps of the mechanical operating elements (16) of the functional module (22) are formed from a hard component and integrally with the functional module (22).
5. Operator control apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a decorative screen (20) with corresponding cutouts for the mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17) is provided on that side of the functional module (22) which faces the user.
6. Operator control apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the functional module (22) is formed with a decorative design on that side which faces the user.
7. Operator control apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the functional module (22) is also provided with a seal (30) for sealing off the electronic components of the operator control apparatus (10).
8. Operator control apparatus according to Claim 7,
   characterized in that the seal (30) of the functional module (22) is formed from a soft component and integrally with the functional module (22).
9. Operator control apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the plurality of electrical operator control, switching and display elements (14) of the operator control apparatus (10) are arranged in a housing and the functional module (22) is connected to this housing.
10. Operator control apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the functional module (22) is also provided with a damping element for damping between the functional module (22) and an adjacent component of the operator control apparatus (10).
11. Operator control apparatus according to Claim 10, characterized in that the damping element of the functional module (22) is formed from a soft component and integrally with the functional module (22).
12. Operator control apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support (18) and the plurality of mechanical operating elements (16) and optical display elements (17) are formed by integral injection moulding.
13. Operator control apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one hard component is a housing plastic such as, for example, ABS, PA, PA66, PBT, PCABS or the like.
14. Operator control apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one soft component is a thermoplastic elastomer or a thermosetting elastomer.

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