EP3732747A1 - A household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity - Google Patents

A household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity

Info

Publication number
EP3732747A1
EP3732747A1 EP18826719.9A EP18826719A EP3732747A1 EP 3732747 A1 EP3732747 A1 EP 3732747A1 EP 18826719 A EP18826719 A EP 18826719A EP 3732747 A1 EP3732747 A1 EP 3732747A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
button
mainboard
card
front panel
household appliance
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP18826719.9A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Hakan Ozkahraman
Sezgi YIKILMAZCINAR
Erkan Ozturk
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Arcelik AS
Original Assignee
Arcelik AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Arcelik AS filed Critical Arcelik AS
Publication of EP3732747A1 publication Critical patent/EP3732747A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/36—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith
    • H01Q1/38—Structural form of radiating elements, e.g. cone, spiral, umbrella; Particular materials used therewith formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H19/00—Switches operated by an operating part which is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and which is acted upon directly by a solid body external to the switch, e.g. by a hand
    • H01H19/02—Details
    • H01H19/10—Movable parts; Contacts mounted thereon
    • H01H19/14—Operating parts, e.g. turn knob

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity thanks to an antenna card placed below a non-metal button.
  • a wireless communication module and an antenna are provided in wireless communication enabled household appliances such as ovens and the like. If said antenna is positioned on the interior of a household appliance or on the side/rear portions of its cavity, then the communication distance sharply decreases due to metal blocks. Therefore, the most favorable location for placement of an antenna in a household appliance is its front panel. However, metal panels made of Inox, metal coating or completely metal, minimize the wireless communication distance by significantly weakening the antenna radiation. The display area provided on the front panel is also not suitable for antenna placement as the antenna would be affected by a LED/LCD (liquid crystal display/light emitting diode) screen, buttons, a printed circuit board (PCB) and the signals thereof. Therefore, an external antenna should be used on products with metal surfaces, increasing the product costs.
  • LED/LCD liquid crystal display/light emitting diode
  • the aim of the present invention is to realize a household appliance comprising an antenna card placed below a non-metal button.
  • the broadcasting of antennas provided in household appliances are prevented from being affected due to front panels made of Inox, metal coating or completely metal, communication distance is maximized and wireless communication in upper segment products made of INOX and the like is enabled without requiring an external antenna, thereby enabling producing less costly household appliances.
  • the household appliance comprises a front panel, a mainboard provided in the front panel, having at least one wireless data communication module, a button made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs to attach it to the front panel, a detection unit (for example an encoder or a potentiometer) for detecting the rotational motions of the button, connected to the mainboard, having a pin connected to the button, two connectors for data communication between the antenna card and the mainboard, and an antenna card placed between the detection unit and the button such that the pin of the detection unit can pass through the hole, comprising a card, a hole of a size through which the pin can pass, disposed on said card, a first conductive wire acting as an antenna, spacedly wound about the hole, and a second conductive wire disposed on an edge of the card to connect it to the ground.
  • a detection unit for example an encoder or a potentiometer
  • the household appliance comprises a front panel, a button made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs to attach it to the front panel, a double layer mainboard provided in the front panel, having at least one wireless data communication module and an opening, a first conductive wire acting as an antenna, spacedly wound about the opening on the face of the mainboard facing the front panel, and a detection unit (for example an encoder or a potentiometer) for detecting rotational motions of the button, comprising a pin connected to the mainboard from the opposite side of the mainboard, connecting to the button by passing through the opening disposed on the mainboard.
  • a detection unit for example an encoder or a potentiometer
  • Figure 1 is a frontal view of a household appliance with Inox panel.
  • Figure 2 is a view of the button region from above.
  • Figure 3 is a side view of the button and the mainboard.
  • Figure 4 is a perspective view of the antenna card from above.
  • Figure 5 is a top perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
  • Figure 6 is a side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
  • Figure 7 is another side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
  • Figure 8 is yet another side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
  • the household appliance (1) comprises a front panel (2), a mainboard (3) provided in the front panel (2), a button (4) having a plurality of tabs (43) to attach it to the front panel (2), a detection unit (6) for detecting rotational motions of the button (4), connected to the mainboard (3), having a pin (5) connected to the button (4), an antenna card (7) positioned between the detection unit (6) and the button (4), having a helical antenna and a hole (72) disposed on its center through which the pin (5) can pass, and two connectors (8) for data communication between the mainboard (3) and the antenna card (7).
  • FIG. 1 shows a household appliance (1) used in a preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • the household appliance (1) shown in said figure is an oven, but the invention is not limited thereto and may be any wireless communication enabled electronic appliance having a rotatable button (4) thereon such as a washing machine, dryer, a washer-dryer, a dishwasher, a microwave oven and the like.
  • a button (4) is provided on the front panel (2) of the household appliance (1) displayed in Figure 1.
  • Said button (4) comprises a cap (41), a base (42), a slot (44) extending from the base (42) to the cap (41) (or alternatively from the cap (41) to the base (42)), and a plurality of tabs (43) for fixing the button (4) to the front panel (2) ( Figures 3 and 7).
  • said tabs (43) extend from the base (42) of the button (4) towards the mainboard (3).
  • the slot (44) provided in the button (4) is adapted to grasp the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) and to transmit the rotational motion of the button (4) to the pin (5).
  • the detection unit (6) detects this rotational motion and transmits a signal to the mainboard (3).
  • a control unit provided on the mainboard (3) processes this signal and enables controlling the household appliance (1).
  • said detection unit (6) is an encoder.
  • said detection unit (6) is a potentiometer.
  • FIG. 4 shows the antenna card (7).
  • the antenna card (7) is adapted to transmit and receive radiation in Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth, RFID (Radio-frequency identification), 868 MHz (Megahertz) and similar bandwidths.
  • Said antenna card (7) is provided with a card (71), a hole (72) provided on the card preferably on its center, a first conductive wire (73) acting a an antenna, spacedly wound about the hole (72), and a second conductive wire (74) provided on an edge of the card to connect it to the ground.
  • Data communication between said antenna card (7) and the mainboard (3) and/or a display card provided on the mainboard (3) is enabled via a data bus provided on the mainboard (3) and two connectors (8) extending towards the mainboard (3) from the lower surface of the antenna card (7) facing the mainboard (3).
  • the mainboard (3) comprises at least one of the modules enabling remote data communication such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, and the like.
  • the size of the antenna card (7) and/or the area in which it is disposed is 26mm x 26.1mm. In an embodiment of the invention, the size of the antenna card (7) or the area in which it is disposed can be inscribed on an annular surface with a diameter not larger than 25mm. In these embodiments, the antenna card (7) and the display card is spaced with a distance in the range of 0 and 15mm.
  • said antenna card (7) is placed below the button (7), within the gap between the upper surface of the detection unit (6) and the button (4), such that the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) passes through the hole (72) provided on the center of the antenna card (7).
  • Said button (4) is made of a non-metal material, preferably of plastic, and does not have any adverse effects on radiation of the antenna card (7) (on its electromagnetic field) placed below the button (4).
  • the antenna card (7) is thus enabled to radiate from the annular surface opening opened for the button (4) on the front panels (2) made of Inox material, and to wirelessly communicate with peripheral units (for example, a modem enabling wireless network connection).
  • the antenna card (7) is disposed between the button (4) and the mainboard (3) or a display card provided on the mainboard (3).
  • the size of the connector (8) is thus minimized as much as possible.
  • a discrete antenna card (7) is not used unlike the previous embodiment, instead, the antenna is designed integrally on a mainboard (3) which is a double layer printed circuit board.
  • Said mainboard (3) is provided with an opening thereon large enough for the pin (5) to pass through, a first conductive wire (73) acting as an antenna, spacedly wound so as to surround the opening on the face of the mainboard (3) facing the front panel (2), and a detection unit (6) on the opposite side of the mainboard (3).
  • the pin (5) passes through the opening disposed on the mainboard (3), and interconnects the detection unit (6) and the button (4).
  • the antenna is connected to the mainboard (3) and/or a display card on the mainboard (3) via a conductive wire provided on the mainboard (3).

Landscapes

  • Rotary Switch, Piano Key Switch, And Lever Switch (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance (1) comprising a front panel (2), a mainboard (3) provided in the front panel (2), a button (4) made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs (43) to attach it to the front panel (2), a detection unit (6) for detecting the rotational motions of the button (4), connected to the mainboard (3), having a pin (5) connected to the button (4); an antenna card (7) placed between the detection unit (6) and the button (4) such that the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) can pass through the hole (72), comprising a card (71), a hole (72) of a size through which the pin (5) can pass, disposed on said card (71), a first conductive wire (73) spacedly wound about the hole (72), and a second conductive wire (74) disposed on an edge of the card (71) to connect it to the ground; and two connectors (8) for data communication between the antenna card (7) and the mainboard (3).

Description

    A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE WITH IMPROVED WIRELESS COMMUNICATION CAPACITY
  • Technical Field
  • The present invention relates to a household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity thanks to an antenna card placed below a non-metal button.
  • Prior Art
  • A wireless communication module and an antenna are provided in wireless communication enabled household appliances such as ovens and the like. If said antenna is positioned on the interior of a household appliance or on the side/rear portions of its cavity, then the communication distance sharply decreases due to metal blocks. Therefore, the most favorable location for placement of an antenna in a household appliance is its front panel. However, metal panels made of Inox, metal coating or completely metal, minimize the wireless communication distance by significantly weakening the antenna radiation. The display area provided on the front panel is also not suitable for antenna placement as the antenna would be affected by a LED/LCD (liquid crystal display/light emitting diode) screen, buttons, a printed circuit board (PCB) and the signals thereof. Therefore, an external antenna should be used on products with metal surfaces, increasing the product costs.
  • Problems Solved by the Invention
  • The aim of the present invention is to realize a household appliance comprising an antenna card placed below a non-metal button. Thus, the broadcasting of antennas provided in household appliances are prevented from being affected due to front panels made of Inox, metal coating or completely metal, communication distance is maximized and wireless communication in upper segment products made of INOX and the like is enabled without requiring an external antenna, thereby enabling producing less costly household appliances.
  • In an embodiment of the invention, the household appliance comprises a front panel, a mainboard provided in the front panel, having at least one wireless data communication module, a button made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs to attach it to the front panel, a detection unit (for example an encoder or a potentiometer) for detecting the rotational motions of the button, connected to the mainboard, having a pin connected to the button, two connectors for data communication between the antenna card and the mainboard, and an antenna card placed between the detection unit and the button such that the pin of the detection unit can pass through the hole, comprising a card, a hole of a size through which the pin can pass, disposed on said card, a first conductive wire acting as an antenna, spacedly wound about the hole, and a second conductive wire disposed on an edge of the card to connect it to the ground.
  • In another embodiment of the invention, the household appliance comprises a front panel, a button made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs to attach it to the front panel, a double layer mainboard provided in the front panel, having at least one wireless data communication module and an opening, a first conductive wire acting as an antenna, spacedly wound about the opening on the face of the mainboard facing the front panel, and a detection unit (for example an encoder or a potentiometer) for detecting rotational motions of the button, comprising a pin connected to the mainboard from the opposite side of the mainboard, connecting to the button by passing through the opening disposed on the mainboard.
  • Detailed Description of the Invention
  • A household appliance realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
    Figure 1: is a frontal view of a household appliance with Inox panel.
    Figure 2: is a view of the button region from above.
    Figure 3: is a side view of the button and the mainboard.
    Figure 4: is a perspective view of the antenna card from above.
    Figure 5: is a top perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the
    mainboard.
    Figure 6: is a side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
    Figure 7: is another side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
    Figure 8: is yet another side perspective view of placement of the antenna card on the mainboard.
  • The elements in the figures are numbered individually and the correspondence of these numbers are given hereinafter.
    1. Household appliance
    2. Front panel
    3. Main board
    4. Button
      41. Cap
      42. Base
      43. Tab
      44. Slot
    5. Pin
    6. Detection unit
    7. Antenna card
      71. Card
      72. Hole
      73. First conductive wire
      74. Second conductive wire
    8. Connector
  • In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the household appliance (1) comprises a front panel (2), a mainboard (3) provided in the front panel (2), a button (4) having a plurality of tabs (43) to attach it to the front panel (2), a detection unit (6) for detecting rotational motions of the button (4), connected to the mainboard (3), having a pin (5) connected to the button (4), an antenna card (7) positioned between the detection unit (6) and the button (4), having a helical antenna and a hole (72) disposed on its center through which the pin (5) can pass, and two connectors (8) for data communication between the mainboard (3) and the antenna card (7).
  • Figures 1 shows a household appliance (1) used in a preferred embodiment of the invention. The household appliance (1) shown in said figure is an oven, but the invention is not limited thereto and may be any wireless communication enabled electronic appliance having a rotatable button (4) thereon such as a washing machine, dryer, a washer-dryer, a dishwasher, a microwave oven and the like.
  • A button (4) is provided on the front panel (2) of the household appliance (1) displayed in Figure 1. Said button (4) comprises a cap (41), a base (42), a slot (44) extending from the base (42) to the cap (41) (or alternatively from the cap (41) to the base (42)), and a plurality of tabs (43) for fixing the button (4) to the front panel (2) (Figures 3 and 7). In an embodiment of the invention, said tabs (43) extend from the base (42) of the button (4) towards the mainboard (3).
  • The slot (44) provided in the button (4) is adapted to grasp the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) and to transmit the rotational motion of the button (4) to the pin (5). When said button (4) is rotated, the detection unit (6) detects this rotational motion and transmits a signal to the mainboard (3). A control unit provided on the mainboard (3) processes this signal and enables controlling the household appliance (1). In an embodiment of the invention, said detection unit (6) is an encoder. In another embodiment of the invention, said detection unit (6) is a potentiometer.
  • Figure 4 shows the antenna card (7). The antenna card (7) is adapted to transmit and receive radiation in Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth, RFID (Radio-frequency identification), 868 MHz (Megahertz) and similar bandwidths. Said antenna card (7) is provided with a card (71), a hole (72) provided on the card preferably on its center, a first conductive wire (73) acting a an antenna, spacedly wound about the hole (72), and a second conductive wire (74) provided on an edge of the card to connect it to the ground. Data communication between said antenna card (7) and the mainboard (3) and/or a display card provided on the mainboard (3), is enabled via a data bus provided on the mainboard (3) and two connectors (8) extending towards the mainboard (3) from the lower surface of the antenna card (7) facing the mainboard (3).
  • In an embodiment of the invention, the mainboard (3) comprises at least one of the modules enabling remote data communication such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, and the like.
  • In an embodiment of the invention, the size of the antenna card (7) and/or the area in which it is disposed is 26mm x 26.1mm. In an embodiment of the invention, the size of the antenna card (7) or the area in which it is disposed can be inscribed on an annular surface with a diameter not larger than 25mm. In these embodiments, the antenna card (7) and the display card is spaced with a distance in the range of 0 and 15mm.
  • In the preferred embodiment of the invention, said antenna card (7) is placed below the button (7), within the gap between the upper surface of the detection unit (6) and the button (4), such that the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) passes through the hole (72) provided on the center of the antenna card (7). Said button (4) is made of a non-metal material, preferably of plastic, and does not have any adverse effects on radiation of the antenna card (7) (on its electromagnetic field) placed below the button (4). The antenna card (7) is thus enabled to radiate from the annular surface opening opened for the button (4) on the front panels (2) made of Inox material, and to wirelessly communicate with peripheral units (for example, a modem enabling wireless network connection).
  • In this embodiment, the antenna card (7) is disposed between the button (4) and the mainboard (3) or a display card provided on the mainboard (3). The size of the connector (8) is thus minimized as much as possible.
  • In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a discrete antenna card (7) is not used unlike the previous embodiment, instead, the antenna is designed integrally on a mainboard (3) which is a double layer printed circuit board. Said mainboard (3) is provided with an opening thereon large enough for the pin (5) to pass through, a first conductive wire (73) acting as an antenna, spacedly wound so as to surround the opening on the face of the mainboard (3) facing the front panel (2), and a detection unit (6) on the opposite side of the mainboard (3). The pin (5) passes through the opening disposed on the mainboard (3), and interconnects the detection unit (6) and the button (4). Further in this embodiment, the antenna is connected to the mainboard (3) and/or a display card on the mainboard (3) via a conductive wire provided on the mainboard (3).

Claims (6)

  1. A household appliance (1) comprising a front panel (2), a mainboard (3) provided in the front panel (2), a button (4) made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs (43) to attach it to the front panel (2), and a detection unit (6) for detecting the rotational motions of the button (4), connected to the mainboard (3), having a pin (5) connected to the button (4), characterized by
    - an antenna card (7) placed between the detection unit (6) and the button (4) such that the pin (5) of the detection unit (6) passes through the hole (72), comprising a card (71), a hole (72) of a size through which the pin (5) can pass, disposed on said card (71), a first conductive wire (73) spacedly wound about the hole (72), and a second conductive wire (74) disposed on an edge of the card (71) to connect it to the ground, and by
    - two connectors (8) for data communication between the antenna card (7) and the mainboard (3).
  2. A household appliance (1) comprising a front panel (2), a button (4) made of a non-metal material, having a plurality of tabs (43) to attach it to the front panel (2), characterized by
    - a double layer mainboard (3) provided in the front panel (2), comprising an opening,
    - a first conductive wire (73) spacedly wound about the opening on the side facing the front panel (2), and by
    - a detection unit (6) for detecting the rotational motions of the button (4), connected to the mainboard (3) from the opposite side of the mainboard (3), comprising a pin (5) connecting to the button (4) by passing through the opening on the mainboard (3).
  3. A household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the button (4) comprising a cap (41), a base (42), a slot (44) extending from the base (42) to the cap (41) or from the cap (41) to the base (42), adapted to grasp the pin (5) and to transmit the rotational motion of the button (4) to the pin (5), and a plurality of tabs (43) extending from the base (42) to the mainboard (3) to fix the button (4) to the front panel (2).
  4. A household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the detection unit (6) which is an encoder.
  5. A household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the detection unit (6) which is a potentiometer.
  6. A household appliance (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the mainboard (3) comprising at least one wireless data communication module.
EP18826719.9A 2017-12-28 2018-12-21 A household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity Withdrawn EP3732747A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
TR2017/22543A TR201722543A2 (en) 2017-12-28 2017-12-28 A HOME DEVICE WITH IMPROVED WIRELESS COMMUNICATION CAPACITY
PCT/EP2018/086595 WO2019129712A1 (en) 2017-12-28 2018-12-21 A household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3732747A1 true EP3732747A1 (en) 2020-11-04

Family

ID=64900972

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP18826719.9A Withdrawn EP3732747A1 (en) 2017-12-28 2018-12-21 A household appliance with improved wireless communication capacity

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3732747A1 (en)
TR (1) TR201722543A2 (en)
WO (1) WO2019129712A1 (en)

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7196604B2 (en) * 2001-05-30 2007-03-27 Tt Electronics Technology Limited Sensing apparatus and method
WO2017212695A1 (en) * 2016-06-09 2017-12-14 アルプス電気株式会社 Rotation detector

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
TR201722543A2 (en) 2019-07-22
WO2019129712A1 (en) 2019-07-04

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