EP2638326A1

EP2638326A1 - A household appliance comprising a speaker

Info

Publication number: EP2638326A1
Application number: EP11779706.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kenan Kahraman; Mehmet Baris Gocer; Ugur Camli
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2010-11-12
Filing date: 2011-11-11
Publication date: 2013-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 2031-11-11
Also published as: WO2012062888A1; EP2638326B1

Abstract

The warning beeps coming from household appliances and/or the sounds coming from the music player devices such as radio, Mp3 player placed in the household devices are desired to be delivered to the user without loss. The household appliances comprise speaker and the sounds are transmitted to the user by means of the speaker. The present invention relates to the transmission of the sound coming from the speaker (4) in the household appliances (1) to the outer environment with an improved quality.

Description

A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE COMPRISING A SPEAKER

The present invention relates to a household appliance comprising a speaker.
In household appliances such as the oven, the washing machine, the dishwasher or the refrigerator, embodiments having music players such as radio, Mp3 player and/or warning beeps are present in order that audible warning is provided or the user can listen to music. The sound reaches the user by means of a speaker. The path that the sound follows to reach the outside is important in terms of the placement of the speaker in the household appliance, the quality of the sound and the effective operation of the speaker. In the said household appliances, the speaker is positioned in the household appliance or the speaker is positioned outside the household appliance and a connection is provided between the speaker and the household appliance.
In the state of the art Chinese Patent Document No CN1704658, a speaker arrangement, that is disposed at the back of the panel by recessing into the control panel on the front wall of the microwave oven comprising a radio, is described. A protrusion, placed so as to surround the speaker arrangement disposed on the front wall, provides support to the speaker.
In the state of the art Japanese Patent Document No JP59086831, a speaker placed at the back of the front panel of the oven and the openings that provide the sound to be emitted through the control panel, are described.
In the state of the art German Patent Document No DE10224364, it is described that the speaker can be placed inside and outside the base unit for the cooking devices comprising radio.
In the state of the art Japanese Patent Document No JP2010032083, a speaker which is placed at the back of the control panel and realized in order to stabilize the sound pressure level and to protect the speaker from high temperatures, is described.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a household appliance comprising a speaker, the sound transmission quality of which is improved.
A household appliance comprising a speaker, realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, described in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, is explained in the claims.
The household appliance comprises at least one body, a panel provided on the body, at least one speaker and at least one push-pull-type button disposed on the panel.
The household appliance comprises a sound transmission line extending between the speaker and the button and providing the sound coming from the speaker to be transmitted to the outer environment by passing through the button. When the button is opened, the sound transmission line is opening and transmitting of the sound to the outer environment is allowed. When the button is closed, the transmission line is closing and delivering of the sound to the outer environment is prevented.
The household appliance comprises at least one casing at the back of the panel wherein the button is disposed. The button, which is disposed on the panel and positioned inside the casing, has a push-pull mechanism, a front wall and at least one side wall that surrounds the front wall. The button makes axial movement by means of the push-pull mechanism. The button opens/closes as a result of its axial movement.
Depending on the desire of the user, when the front wall of the button is pushed, the button first extends from the inside of the casing towards the back of the panel and then towards the front from the panel level by means of the push-pull mechanism. Thus, the button is opened. When the button is opened, the side walls and the front wall are positioned in the front of the panel level and when the user desires to close the button, he/she pushes the button to the back of the panel by pressing on the front wall and places the button inside the casing. The button is closed such that the front wall thereof is at the same level with the panel.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the sound transmission line comprises at least one inlet hole provided on the casing and at least one outlet hole provided on the side wall. Thus, while proceeding along the sound transmission line, the sound coming from the speaker is delivered into the button by passing through the inlet holes and transmitted to the outer environment by passing through the outlet holes. Thus, the quality of the sound emitted to the outer environment is improved. By means of the inlet holes and the outlet holes, the level of the sound that is transmitted to the outer environment increases.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the side walls move when the button is opened/closed. Depending on the movement of the side walls and the position to which they come accordingly, the fronts of the inlet holes and the outlet holes are opened/closed. When the button is opened, the side walls extend forwards from the panel level, to the outer environment and in this situation, not whole side wall surfaces are positioned inside the casing and overlap with the casing. Thus, the front of the inlet holes is opened. When the button is closed, the front of the inlet holes is closed as the side walls are positioned inside the casing by extending towards the back of the panel. Thus, the sound transmission line is closed and the sound is prevented from being emitted to the outer environment. When the button is opened, the front of the outlet holes that open to the outer environment together with the side walls is opened. When the button is closed, since the outer surfaces of the side walls are surrounded by the casing and the side walls extending entirely towards the back of the panel such that the front wall is at the same level with the panel and contacting with the inner surface of the casing such that almost no gap is left therebetween, the front of the outlet holes is closed. In this embodiment, when the button is opened, by means of the sound transmission line that changes to the open position, the sound coming from the speaker is provided to be emitted to the outer environment from the outlet holes, by being transmitted to the inside of the button by passing through the inlet holes. Since the button is closed by the user, the sound is not transmitted to the user as the fronts of the inlet and outlet holes are closed.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance comprises a housing that extends between the speaker and the button and to one of the walls of which the speaker is mounted. The housing, which is shaped as a closed box, at least partially surrounds the sound transmission line. Thus, the sound coming from the speaker is provided to be delivered to the inside of the button by means of the housing, without allowing the sound to be dispersed. The sound that passes through the button disperses to the outer environment by passing through the outlet holes. Thus, the quality of the sound transmitted to the outer environment is improved. The sound is provided to proceed along a sound transmission line which brings the speaker and the button closer to each other and does not allow the sound to be dispersed.
In an embodiment of the present invention, more than one holder, which provides the button to be mounted to the housing and supports the said mounting, is provided inside the housing. More than one holder that entirely contacts the outer surface of the casing provides the housing to be mounted to the casing. Thus, by supporting the casing and the button, the opening/closing movement of the sound transmission line is provided to be performed in the most effective way.
In an embodiment of the present invention, when the button is opened, the value of the current flowing to the speaker is adjusted by rotating the button around its own axis. Thus, depending on the current value, the sound level is adjusted. As the current value is increased, the level of the sound transmitted to the outer environment is increased.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance is an oven.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance is a washing machine.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance is a dishwasher.
A household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
Figure 1 – is the perspective view of a household appliance.
Figure 2 – is the perspective view of the button.
Figure 3 – is the perspective view of the casing.
Figure 4 – is the perspective view of the casing, the housing and the speaker, all mounted to each other.
Figure 5 – is the exploded view of the panel.
Figure 6 – is the cross-sectional view of the button when the button is in the open position.
Figure 7 – is the cross-sectional view of the button when the button is in the closed position.
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Household appliance
Body
Panel
Speaker
Button
Sound transmission line
Housing
Casing
Front wall
Side wall
Push-pull mechanism
Inlet hole
Outlet hole
Holder

The household appliance (1) comprises at least one body (2), a panel (3) provided on the body (2), at least one speaker (4) and at least one push-pull-type button (5) disposed on the panel (3) (Figure 1 and Figure 5).
The household appliance (1) comprises a sound transmission line (6) that provides the sound coming from the speaker (4) to be transmitted to the outer environment by passing through the button (5). The sound transmission line (6) extends between the speaker (4) and the button (5). Thus, the sound quality is improved. The sound coming from the speaker (4) extends towards the button (5) without dispersing in the environment by following the sound transmission line (6). Thus, the sound quality is improved by decreasing the losses in the sound that reaches the user.
Depending on the push-pull movement of the button (5), the button (5) opens/closes. Thus, the sound is delivered to the outer environment by means of the button (5). When the button (5) is opened, the sound transmission line (6) is also opened. Thus, the sound coming from the speaker (4) is delivered to the outer environment by passing through the button (5) by means of the sound transmission line (6). When the button (5) is closed, the sound transmission line (6) closes and thus the sound is prevented from being delivered to the outer environment.
The button (5) has a front wall (9), at least one side wall (10) surrounding the front wall (9) and the push-pull mechanism (11) (Figure 2). The household appliance (1) comprises at least one casing (8) wherein the button (5) is placed (Figure 3). By means of the push-pull mechanism (11), the button (5) is opened and closed by pushing. The user rotates the button (5) around its own axis after opening it at any desired time.
Since the button (5) is of push-pull type, the user opens the button (5) at any desired time by pressing on the front wall (9) and by the button (5) extending forward from the panel (3) when pushed to the back of the panel (3). Thus, the sound transmission line (6) is opened and the sound is provided to be delivered to the outer environment. Similarly, the user closes the button (5) by pressing on the front wall (9) and by pushing the button (5).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) comprises at least one inlet hole (12) situated on the casing (8) and providing the sound proceeding along the sound transmission line (6) by coming from the speaker (4) to pass into the button (5) and at least one outlet hole (13) situated on the side wall (10) and providing the sound passing through the inlet hole (12) to be delivered to the outer environment. Thus, the sound is delivered to the outer environment with improved quality by means of the inlet holes (12) and the outlet holes (13). The emission of the sound is facilitated by means of the inlet holes (12) and the outlet holes (13). Because, the sound proceeding along the sound transmission line (6) comprising the inlet holes (12) and the outlet holes (13) is emitted to the outer environment by passing from the back to the front of the panel (3) through the holes (12, 13). By means of the inlet holes (12) and the outlet holes (13), the amount of the sound that is transmitted to the outer environment increases.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the side walls (10) move when the button (5) is opened/closed. When the button (5) is opened, the front of the inlet holes (12) is opened by the side walls (10) extending towards the front from the panel (3) level and when the button (5) is closed, the front of the inlet holes (12) is closed by the side walls (10) extending entirely towards the back of the panel (3) so that the front wall (9) is at the same level with the panel (3). The outlet holes (13) opens to the outer environment together with the side walls (10) extending forward from the panel (3) when the button (5) is opened. When the button (5) is closed, the front of the outlet holes (13) is closed by the side walls (10) extending towards the back of the panel (3). When the button (5) is closed, the side walls (10) contact the inner surface of the casing (8) and are positioned such that there remains almost no gap therebetween (Figure 4). When the button (5) is open, the sound that comes from the speaker (4) reaches the outer environment by passing through the inlet holes (12) and then through the outlet holes (13) while proceeding along the sound transmission line (6). Depending on the user choice, when the button (5) is closed, the sound transmission line (6) is closed by the fronts of the inlet holes (12) and the outlet holes (13) closing (Figure 6, Figure 7).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) comprises a housing (7) which extends between the speaker (4) and the button (5) and which at least partially surrounds the sound transmission line (6) (Figure 4). The speaker (4) is fastened to one of the walls of the housing (7) which is almost entirely closed box shaped. Thus, the sound coming from the speaker (4) is directed along the sound transmission line (6) first from the inlet holes (12) to the outlet holes (13) and then from the outlet holes (13) to the outer environment by means of the housing (7) without dispersing. Therefore, the sound is transmitted to the outer environment by being collected inside the housing (7) which is shaped as a closed box. Thus, the quality of the sound transmitted to the outer environment is improved.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) comprises more than one holder (14) that entirely contacts the outer surface of the casing (8) and provides the housing (7) to be mounted to the casing (8) (Figure 4). In this embodiment, the housing (7) surrounds the casing (8) all around. By means of the holders (14), the casing (8) and the button (5) are supported. Thus, the speaker (4) and the button (5) are disposed on the housing (7) and while the sound coming from the speaker (4) proceeds along the sound transmission line (6), the casing (8) and the button (5) are supported by the holders (14) by being surrounded all around, and the quality of the sound emitted to the outer environment is improved by providing almost all of the sound coming from the speaker (4) to reach the outer environment through the inlet holes (12).
In an embodiment of the present invention, when the button (5) is opened, the value of the current flowing to the speaker (4) is changed by rotating the button (5). By the increasing/decreasing of the value of the current flowing to the speaker (4), the level of the sound coming from the speaker (4) is increased/decreased. Thus, the level of the sound coming from the speaker (4) is adjusted.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) is an oven.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) is a washing machine.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the household appliance (1) is a dishwasher.
The sound coming from the speaker (4) is provided to be emitted to the outer environment through the outlet holes (13) disposed on the side walls (10) by being delivered into the button (5) through the inlet holes (12) by means of the sound transmission line (6) extending between the speaker (4) and the button (5). Thus, the quality of the sound that reaches the user is improved. By mounting the speaker (4), the casing (8) and the button (5) onto the housing (7) which is shaped as a closed box, the sound is prevented from dispersing at the back of the panel (3) and all of the sound is provided to be delivered to the outer environment by coming from the speaker (4). Being disposed at the back of the panel (3), the speaker (4) is not affected by the adverse environmental conditions such as dirt, moisture and high temperature in the outer environment and in the interior of the oven.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

A household appliance (1) comprising

-at least one body (2),

-a panel (3) situated on the body (2),

-at least one speaker (4),

-at least one push-pull type button (5) provided on the panel (3),

characterized by

-a sound transmission line (6) that provides the sound coming from the speaker (4) to be transmitted to the outer environment by passing through the button (5) and

-the button (5) which allows the sound to be delivered to the outer environment by opening the sound transmission line (6) when opened and which prevents the sound from being delivered to the outer environment by closing the sound transmission line (6) when closed.
A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by

-the button (5) having one front wall (9) and at least one side wall (10) surrounding the front wall (9) and at least one casing (8) wherein the button (5) is disposed,

-at least one inlet hole (12) situated on the casing (8), providing the sound proceeding along the sound transmission line (6) to pass into the button (5) and

-at least one outlet hole (13) situated on the side wall (10), providing the sound passing through the inlet hole (12) to be transmitted to the outer environment.
A household appliance (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by the inlet holes (12), the front of which is opened by the side walls (10) extending towards the front from the panel (3) level when the button (5) is opened, and the front of which is closed by the side walls (10) extending entirely towards the back of the panel (3) when the button (5) is closed so that the front wall (9) and the panel (3) are coplanar.
A household appliance (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by the outlet holes (13) that open to the outer environment together with the side walls (10) extending forward from the panel (3) when the button (5) is opened and the outlet holes (13) the front of which is closed by the side walls (10) extending towards the back of the panel (3) when the button (5) is closed.
A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a housing (7) that extends between the speaker (4) and the button (5) and partially surrounds the sound transmission line (6).
A household appliance (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the housing (7) which is shaped as an almost-closed box, to at least one wall of which the speaker (4) is fastened, and which directs the sound coming from the speaker (4) to the button (5) by collecting the sound therein when the button (5) is opened.
A household appliance (1) as in any one of the Claims 5 to 6, characterized by more than one holder (14) that entirely contacts the outer surface of the casing (8) and provides the housing (7) to be mounted to the casing (8).
A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is an oven.
A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above Claims, which is a washing machine.
A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is a dishwasher.