EP2818799B1 - Electric cooking hob with a holding device for a control unit of the electric cooking hob - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electric hob with a holding device for a control for mounting on the electric hob.

For example, it is from the DE 10 2012 217 059 A1 known to store a control as an assembly on an electric hob as an electrical device on a lower housing cover. This housing cover consists of several parts, and a holding plate with several locking hooks is provided as a raised area on a central part or a central base plate. The control can be snapped into place on these locking hooks. Then it can be attached under a hob plate, possibly pressed against it, for example if it has capacitive sensor elements for touch switches in accordance with the EP 859 467 A having.

The DE 22 11 498 A1 shows a radio-controlled racing car as a toy with a plastic chassis. Starting from a large central area of the chassis, a front chassis section is provided in one piece in the front area and a rear chassis section is provided through incisions towards the rear. The chassis sections are each connected by a single wide arm of the chassis between two slots. Thus, a holding plate is mounted on a base body with only a single spring means.

From the US 2007/0139389 A1 A keyboard for a notebook is known in which a holding plate is elastically mounted on a base plate by means of curved and protruding arms. However, the base plate is then clamped into a two-part frame with a small part of the holding plate, so that the spring effect is eliminated.

From the DE 10 2006 062 393 A1 It is known to movably hold a circuit board on a base plate. A maximum distance between the circuit board and the base plate is defined by overlapping hooks and the circuit board is pressed against these hooks using spring means. However, the spring means themselves are designed as separate parts from the base plate.

From the EP 2 578 949 A1 A resilient mounting of a holding plate on a base plate of a housing is known, with separate helical compression springs being used for this.

From the WO 2012/089543 A2 A hob is known in which a holding plate is held in the manner of a circuit board on resilient hooks on elongated spring arms and leaf springs, which are integrally formed on the base plate. In addition, rigid hooks are provided on the base plate for maximum distance between the holding plate.

From the DE 203 19 730 U1 a holding device is known with a holding plate that is attached to a base plate, but via rigid spacers, i.e. not resilient.

The FR 2 895 047 A1 shows an electric hob with a control board, on the underside of which leaf spring-like retaining clips are arranged. They are inserted into recesses in the control board with locking hooks. With opposing locking hooks, they can be inserted into recesses in a carrier plate or the like. The control board is resiliently mounted relative to the carrier plate.

The WO 01/81785 A1 shows a general configuration of a resilient projection or surface part within a carrier plate. Resilient arms are formed between the projection or the surface part and the support plate, so that the projection or the surface part are arranged resiliently relative to the support plate. A specific use is given for pneumatic instruments or valve controls.

The DE 20 2011 002925 U1 discloses another surface spring element in one-piece manufacture. This can be used, for example, to make a base for a seat or reclining piece of furniture made of plastic.

The DE 10 2009 045 911 A1 shows a coupling device for connecting a sensor to a circuit board. Here, within a stamped grid, contact surfaces made of metal are connected to the stamped grid or a copper sheet using webs.

Task and solution

The invention is based on the object of creating an electric hob mentioned at the beginning, with which problems of the prior art can be avoided and in particular It is possible to arrange or hold a control on a base body in a usable and easy-to-install manner.

This task is solved by an electric hob with the features of claim 1. Advantageous and preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the further claims and are explained in more detail below. The wording of the claims is incorporated into the content of the description by express reference.

It is intended that the holding device of the electric hob has a base body. This can, for example, be attached to the electric hob or form a part, in particular a wall or outside, of it. A holding body is in turn arranged or held on the base body, the holding body being movable relative to the base body. This mobility allows the position of the control to be adjusted relative to the holding device or to the base plate or to the electric hob, for example for adjustment. The connection between the base body and the holding body, whereby the holding body is held or fastened to the base body, is formed by several spring means or several spring means can be provided for this purpose. This makes it possible that the aforementioned relative mobility between the holding body and the base body is not completely free or is elastic on the one hand due to the suspension and is dampened on the other. This means that the control can be held in a resilient and therefore gentle manner in electric hobs that move a lot. In addition, for the control of the electric hob, which is placed on the underside of a hob plate, a secure, flat and resilient contact can be achieved.

According to the invention, the spring means mentioned are integrally formed on both the base body and the holding body by plastic injection molding. Then no assembly step is necessary at all, which saves time anyway and with spring means that are otherwise difficult to handle is particularly advantageous. With the invention, a holding body integrated into the base body with already existing, integrated suspension can be created relative to one another.

According to the invention, several spring means are provided in order to store or hold the holding body on the base body. A resilient holder that is evenly distributed over the entire holding body can thus be achieved. According to the invention, only spring means are provided for this holder or the holding body is connected to the base body exclusively via spring means. The spring means can in principle be of the same design, particularly preferably identical, so that their suspension behavior is the same. In this way, an evenly distributed spring force or a uniform deflection of the holding body relative to the base body can be achieved.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, four spring means are provided in order to arrange or hold the holding body on the base body. The spring means should generally be distributed as evenly as possible, for example in corner regions of the holding body, especially if the holding body is polygonal. It is advantageous to arrange spring means provided symmetrically opposite an axis of symmetry of the holding body. Particularly advantageously, the spring means can then also be designed identically.

In the invention, the base body has a cutout or an opening in which the holding body is arranged. The holding body is at least partially, advantageously completely, surrounded by the base body. The shape of the opening can correspond to or correspond to the outer shape of the holding body. A distance or a gap between the base body and the holding body can be relatively small, advantageously a few millimeters, for example 1 mm to 5 mm or 10 mm, preferably approximately in the plane of the base body. A small distance is sufficient, especially if the spring means are designed in such a way that they only allow movement between the base body and the holding body perpendicular to the plane of the base body. Therefore, a small distance may be sufficient in this direction.

The spring means are advantageously designed for bending elasticity, so they do not compress but can bend. They are preferably designed and arranged in such a way that they are essentially in a plane perpendicular to the aforementioned direction of movement of the Holding body runs relative to the base body, i.e. approximately parallel to the essential surface extent of the base body or the assembly formed with it.

A spring force of a spring means can be relatively low, for example 1 N/cm to 10 or 20 N/cm, advantageously a maximum of 10 N/cm.

In one embodiment of the invention, the spring means, in particular as a spiral spring, are designed in such a way that they have at least two parallel spring legs and are therefore at least U-shaped, possibly also E- or W-shaped, i.e. with three parallel spring legs. This means that in a plan view with a viewing direction essentially along the spring direction or direction of movement, the spring means has at least two spring legs, advantageously two or three spring legs. A holding spring strut is connected to the holding body and a basic spring strut is connected to the basic body. Both struts advantageously run in a parallel direction, at least seen from above, and are connected to one another in a connection area. In order to avoid that when springing or moving, the spring means is shortened by the deflection and thus a movement occurs in the direction from the holding body to the base body, which should be avoided, as explained above, it is advantageous if both spring struts extend away from the common connection area in essentially the same direction. Furthermore, it is possible for the two spring struts to be of similar length, with the holding spring strut advantageously being slightly longer than the basic spring strut, for example 5% to 20%. The connection area can then move slightly in a lateral direction when the spring is deflected, but this is not a problem because it is advantageously free in the air. The retaining spring strut and the base spring strut can run laterally next to each other with some distance, particularly advantageously parallel. This results in a U-shaped spring means. With three spring legs, an aforementioned W- or E-shaped spring means can be created, in which a middle spring leg goes to the holding body or the base body and the spring legs adjacent to the left and right go to the other body. For reasons of easier manufacture, as will be explained later with reference to the drawings, in this case a middle holding spring strut is guided to the holding body and two adjacent basic spring struts are guided to the basic body. This means that twisting of the spring means about an axis from the base body to the holding body can be avoided.

The spring properties of the shock absorbers should be coordinated with one another in such a way that even deflection is possible. This means that the part of the suspension on the holding body has the same spring properties as the part on the base body.

If a spring means, as described above, has a basic spring strut on the base body and a holding spring strut on the holding body, these are advantageously of the same width and thickness or have the same cross-section. If a spring means has three spring legs, the thickness is advantageously the same and the width for the single spring leg can be approximately twice as large as for the other two spring legs.

The spring struts advantageously have a thin and wide cross section. They can be anywhere from three to eight times as wide as they are thick. In this way, good and relatively soft spring properties can be achieved with fatigue-resistant design of the spring means.

Preferably, the connecting region of the spring struts is designed to be considerably thicker and stronger than the longitudinal cross section of the spring struts themselves. This prevents damage from occurring here, since the connecting region must absorb the torsional moments of the different spring struts relative to one another with a flat design of the spring means.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the spring means are formed with thickened approaches or transitions on the base body or on the holding body. Likewise, a transition into the connection area can take place with a significant thickening, so that deformation of the spring means is relatively small here. Deformation of the spring means should primarily take place in a central region of the spring means, which can be, for example, the middle 30% to 70% of the length of a spring strut. In this spring area, the cross section of a spring strut is advantageously constant.

In an embodiment of the invention, the spring means can be arranged approximately between the holding body and the base body in a corresponding recess. However, it is considered advantageous if the spring means extend essentially within the surface of one of the two bodies, advantageously in a recess in the base body, so that it essentially protrudes from the holding body.

In the invention, the electric hob mentioned is, regardless of the type of heating, advantageously an induction hob. The control to be held is attached to the holding body in a conventional manner, for example with simple locking hooks, and can be arranged on it rigidly or without springs. The suspension of the control as a whole and especially in relation to the electric hob is carried out by the suspension of the holding body compared to the base body. As explained above, the control can advantageously be pressed against the underside of a cover or hob plate and then rests against it in a resilient manner.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1

eine schräge Draufsicht auf eine Trageplatte mit der Halteeinrichtung samt vier Federmitteln an einem Grundkörper zur Halterung einer Halteplatte,

Fig. 2

eine starke Vergrößerung eines der Federmittel aus Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine Draufsicht auf den Bereich der Trageplatte aus Fig. 1 mit der Halteeinrichtung,

Fig. 4

eine starke Vergrößerung eines Federmittels aus Fig. 3,

Fig. 5

einen seitlichen Schnitt durch ein erfindungsgemäßes Elektrokochfeld mit an der Halteeinrichtung gehaltener Steuerung,

Fig. 6

einen Schnitt durch das Federmittel entlang A-A durch ein Grund-Federbein der Federmittel,

Fig. 7

einen Schnitt entsprechend Fig. 6 entlang B-B durch ein Halte-Federbein der Federmittel,

Fig. 8

ausgehend von der Schnittdarstellung der Fig. 7 ein verbogenes Federmittel bei Einfe-dern der Halteplatte in den Grundkörper der Halteeinrichtung und

Fig. 9

eine schräge Draufsicht ähnlich der Fig. 2 auf eine alternative Ausgestaltung einer Hal-teeinrichtung mit einem zweibeinigen Federmittel zwischen Grundkörper und Halteplatte.

Embodiments of the invention are shown schematically in the drawings and are explained in more detail below. Shown in the drawings:

Fig. 1

an oblique top view of a support plate with the holding device including four spring means on a base body for holding a holding plate,

Fig. 2

a strong enlargement of one of the spring means Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 3

a top view of the area of the support plate Fig. 1 with the holding device,

Fig. 4

a strong enlargement of a spring means Fig. 3 ,

Fig. 5

a side section through an electric hob according to the invention with the control held on the holding device,

Fig. 6

a section through the spring means along AA through a basic spring strut of the spring means,

Fig. 7

a cut accordingly Fig. 6 along BB through a retaining strut of the spring means,

Fig. 8

based on the sectional view of the Fig. 7 a bent spring means when the holding plate is compressed into the base body of the holding device and

Fig. 9

an oblique top view similar to this Fig. 2 on an alternative embodiment of a holding device with a two-legged spring means between the base body and the holding plate.

Detailed description of the exemplary embodiments

In Fig. 1 to 4 is shown as on a support plate 10 for the construction of an electric hob, as shown in the DE 10 2012 217 059 A1 is known, a holding device 11 with a raised base body 13 is provided in an area that will later be arranged at the front of an electric hob. The base body 13 carries in an opening 14 a holding plate 16 as a holding body, on which a control or its circuit board can be attached by means of locking means 18 and 18 '. Base body 13 and holding plate 16 are connected to one another with previously described spring means 20a to 20d or the holding plate 16 is spring-elastic and can therefore be moved upwards and downwards in the opening 14 in the base body 13. The entire support plate 10 is a plastic injection-molded part, including all the devices or parts provided therein, advantageously manufactured in one piece in one operation.

From the magnification of the Fig. 2 and the top views of the Fig. 3 and 4 It can be clearly seen that the opening 14 in the base body 13 runs completely around the holding plate 16 or also forms a gap in the top view for a certain lateral mobility if the holding plate 16 is deflected into the base body 13 or into the opening 14 causes slight lateral displacement, for example due to oblique or uneven deflection. This gap can be a few millimeters wide, for example 1 mm to 3 mm.

From the enlargements of the Fig. 3 and 4 The shape of the spring means 20 can be seen and will be described below with reference to the spring means 20b. However, it should be noted that all spring means 20a to 20d are designed identically, which is particularly important for uniform deflection or a uniformly generated spring force.

The spring means 20b is, as mentioned at the beginning, W-shaped or quasi E-shaped. A retaining spring strut 22b extends from a corner area of the holding plate 16 with a thickened transition 23b. To the left and right of this, two basic spring legs 26b and 26'b extend from projections 13'b of the base body 13, again with a thickened transition 27b and 27'b. This as the sectional views corresponding to AA Fig. 6 and BB the Fig. 7 show, in the thick and strong connection area 30b, again each with a connection transition 24b on the holding strut and connection transitions 28b and 28'b on the base struts. The spring means 20b formed in this way is arranged in a recess 15 in the base body 13, i.e. outside the holding plate 16. This means that its surface can be used freely and without restrictions. Furthermore, the stability of the holding plate 16 is not affected by the recess 15 or the like. weakened.

From the sectional views of the 6 and 7 It is also obvious that the spring means 20b as a whole or especially the holding spring strut 22b and the base spring strut 26b run essentially horizontally and thus parallel to the essential extension plane of the support plate 10 and especially the holding plate 16. It can also be clearly seen from the sectional views that the actual thickness of the retaining spring strut 22b and the base spring strut 26b is relatively small compared to their width, meaning that good and finely appealing spring properties can be achieved. The transitions 23 and 27 and connecting transitions 24 and 28 are therefore thickened or widened so that no weak points occur at the transition of the spring struts into the base body 13 or into the holding plate 16 during deflection or bending and can lead to material damage . The thickened design of the connecting region 30, which runs transversely to the spring struts 22 and 26, ensures good absorption of the acting torques or torsional forces that the spring struts exert on the connecting region 30. The main bending of the spring means 20 takes place in the middle areas of the spring struts 22 and 26, these areas having a constant thickness or a constant cross section and generally making up about 30% to 70% of the total length of a strut, here about 50%.

In the sectional view of the Fig. 5 an entire induction hob is shown as an electric hob 31 or as an electrical appliance. It has a hob plate 32 with two induction heating devices 35a and 35b arranged underneath. In the right area, a control 33 is held on the holding device 11 with a circuit board 34 as a component carrier. The circuit board 34 carries two symbolically represented capacitive sensor elements 36, which are placed on the underside of the hob plate 32. These can be advantageously designed as shown in EP 859467 A known. Furthermore, it carries a schematically shown general component 37, for example a light display or a circuit component. Due to the spring properties of the spring means 20a to 20d, the holding plate 16 together with the control 33 or circuit board 34 can be pressed resiliently against the underside of the hob plate 32.

In the Fig. 8 It is easy to see how the spring means 20b, and also the other spring means 20a, 20c and 20d, which are identical, bends when the holding plate 16 moves or deflects into the base body 13. This deflection occurs primarily when a control 33 held on the holding plate 16 is placed on the underside of the hob plate 32 Fig. 3 instead, namely by the height difference Δh, as can be seen from the dashed lines. It can be seen that the deflection of the holding spring strut 22b and the base spring struts 26b and 26'b are approximately the same, although the holding spring strut 22b is slightly longer. For this purpose, the cross sections or widths of the spring struts 22 and 26 can be adjusted accordingly. The advantage of this uniform deflection or bending is that the connecting area 30b then moves downwards by approximately half the deflection depth, but is not twisted or tilted. From the Fig. 8 It can also be clearly seen that this design of the spring means 20 does not result in any lateral movement component for the springing holding plate 16 during deflection.

It can also be clearly seen from the figures that the support plate 10 can be manufactured in one piece as a plastic injection molded part. The shape is certainly not trivial, but can be easily manufactured.

In the alternative embodiment of a holding device 111 the Fig. 9 A raised base body 113 is provided on a basically similar support plate 110. It has an opening 114 in which a holding plate 116 with locking means 118 and 118 'is arranged. Spring means 120a to 120d are arranged in recesses 115a to 115d in the base body 113. These spring means 120 are U-shaped. They have a retaining spring strut 122 extending from the holding plate 116 and a basic spring strut 126 extending from the base body 113. These are molded onto a connecting region 130b. Thicker transitions can advantageously be provided for this purpose, but these do not have to be shown here. In this way it can be illustrated how a spring means can be designed with at least one basic spring strut and a retaining spring strut, as explained at the beginning.

Claims (10)

1. Electric hob (31) with a retaining device (11, 111) for a control (33) of the electric hob (31) on the electric hob, wherein the retaining device has a base body (13, 113), wherein

   - a retaining body (16, 116) is arranged on the base body (13, 113) so as to be movable relative thereto and is held thereon,

   - the control (33) is arranged on the retaining body (16, 116) and is arranged so as to be resiliently movable relative to the base body (13, 113),

   - the base body (13, 113) has a cutout or an opening (14) in which the retaining body (16, 116) is arranged, and

   - the retaining body (16, 116) is at least partially surrounded by the base body (13, 113),

   characterized in that

   - a plurality of spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) are provided for a retaining connection between the base body (13, 113) and the retaining body (16, 116) and for retaining the retaining body on the base body,

   - only the spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) are provided for this retention, and

   - the base body (13, 113) and the retaining body (16, 116) together with the spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) are manufactured in one piece and in a single operation by plastic injection molding.
2. Electric hob according to claim 1, characterized by spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) of the same or identical design.
3. Electric hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the retaining body (16, 116) is completely surrounded by the base body (13, 113) in the opening (14).
4. Electric hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) are designed as bending springs and extend essentially in a plane perpendicular to the spring direction or direction of movement of the retaining body (16, 116) relative to the base body (13, 113), the spring direction or direction of movement being perpendicular to the essential surface extension of the base body and/or of the control (33) to be held.
5. Electric hob according to claim 4, characterized in that, in plan view with the direction of view essentially along the spring direction or direction of movement of the retaining body (13), the direction of movement of the retaining body (16, 116) relative to the base body (13, 113), the spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) have at least two spring legs (22, 26, 26', 122, 126), one retaining spring leg (22, 122) extending from the retaining body (16, 116) and a base spring leg (26, 26', 126) extending from the base body (13, 113), the retaining spring leg (22, 122) and the base spring leg (26, 26', 126) being connected to one another in a connecting region (30, 130).
6. Electric hob according to claim 5, characterized in that the retaining spring leg (22, 122) and the base spring leg (26, 26', 126) extend laterally next to one another with some spacing, the retaining spring leg (22, 122) being longer than the base spring leg (26, 26', 126).
7. Electric hob according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the spring means have three spring legs (22, 26, 26') which run next to one another and approximately parallel to one another, a central spring leg (22) going to the retaining body (16) or the base body (13) and the adjacent spring legs (26, 26') going to the other body.
8. Electric hob according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that a cross-section of the spring legs (22, 26, 26', 122, 126) in a central spring area extending over 30% to 70% of the central area remains the same or is unchanged.
9. Electric hob according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that a cross-section of a spring leg (22, 26, 26', 122, 126) is flat or thin in a substantial length range and the spring leg is wider than high.
10. Electric hob according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring means (20a-20d, 120a-120d) project from the retaining body (16, 116) or the base body (13, 113) and extend substantially in a recess (15, 115) in the other body.

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