GB2105983A

GB2105983A - Control panel

Info

Publication number: GB2105983A
Application number: GB08223816A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bertazzoni Napoleone
Original assignee: SMEG ELETTRODOMESTICI
Current assignee: SMEG ELETTRODOMESTICI
Priority date: 1981-09-14
Filing date: 1982-08-18
Publication date: 1983-04-07
Also published as: IT8153593V0; GB2105983B; SE8205154L; FR2512655B3; FR2512655A3; SE8205154D0

Abstract

In order to conform to the height of drawers 2 of adjacent pieces of furniture, a control panel located on the upper front portion of a piece of household apparatus, e.g. a dishwater 4, comprises a fixed main part 7 provided with a lower cavity 11 in which a movable part 12 is vertically slideable. The part 12 can easily be fastened in any preselected position in relation to the fixed part 7, e.g. by means of screws 13 and fixed threaded members 14. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Control panel This invention relates to control panels which are adjustable in height and are particularly suitable for dish-washing machines, although they may also be used on other types of household apparatus such as washing machines or electric or gas ovens.

In many types of household apparatus, and particularly in dish-washing machines, control means are assembled on a panel which, for practical reasons, is applied to the upper front portion of the respective machine.

Such apparatus is often inserted into kitchen furniture assemblies, and it is aesthetically desirable for the machine to continue as far as possible the line of the adjacent furniture pieces. To this end, the control panel should ideally be made in such a manner as to correspond to the upper drawers of the adjacent furniture. In particular, this panel should have a height corresponding to that of the drawers, in order both to continue their line and to allow finishing panels, corresponding in their appearance and height to those of the furniture to be applied to the lower portion of the face of the apparatus. This requirement gives rise to some problems, because the height of the drawers of pieces of kitchen furniture is not standardized and it varies between a minimum of about 115 mm and a maximum of about 170 mm.

In order to allow the height of the control panel to be conformed to the height of the adjacent drawers, it has already been proposed to make the control panel of a height corresponding to the minimum height of the usual drawers, and to provide the panel with an additional series of strips. Said strips are then fastened below the panel until a total height is obtained which approximately corresponds to the actual height of the drawers of the assembly of furniture into which the apparatus is to be inserted.

However, this system has not proved to be completely satisfactory, due to the work required to apply the strips, to the unsatisfactory aesthetic appearance and stability of said strips, and above all to the fact that, in most cases, the height of the control panel with the strips added thereto is + about 5 or 6 mm the height of the drawers thus giving rise to a fairly unattractive aesthetic effect.

An object of the present invention is to provide a control panel for household apparatus, the height of which can be precisely adapted to the height of the drawers of adjacent pieces of furniture by a simple adjustment operation and without having to fasten auxiliary parts.

This object is attained, according to the present invention, by provision of a control panel for location in the upper front portion of a household apparatus, said panel comprising a fixed main part supporting manoeuvre and control members, said fixed part being no higher than the minimum height to which the control panel is to be conformed, and being provided with a cavity in its lower region, and a movable part inserted into the lower cavity of the fixed main part, slidable therein in a vertical direction and provided with means for being fastened in any preselected position relative to the fixed main part.

By virtue of the aforesaid features, the control panel can be precisely adapted to the height of the drawers of a furniture assembly into which the apparatus is to be inserted, by releasing the fastening means of the movable part of the control panel, positioning this latter in such a manner that its lower edge exactly corresponds to the lower edge of the drawers, and then engaging again the fastening means of the movable part of the control panel.

By appropriate construction of the control panel, the movable part may be arranged to move, in relation to the fixed main part of the control panel, through a distance or stroke which corresponds to the difference between the maximum and minimum height to which the panel is intended to be made to conform. Thus, the control panel can be precisely adapted to the height of the various drawers which are usually available on the market. Considering the usual limits mentioned hereinabove for the height of the drawers, the stroke of the movable part of the control panel may conveniently be about 55 mm.

In order that the apparatus may be neatly inserted into a furniture assembly having drawers of minimum height, the movable part of the control panel is preferably capable of being detached and removed.

Of course, after having adapted the height of the control panel to th e height of the adjacent drawers, the front surface of the household apparatus lying beneath the control panel may be provided with finishing panels precisely corresponding to those of the adjacent pieces of furniture, thus obtaining the maximum line uniformity between the apparatus and the adjacent pieces of furniture.

The means for fixing the movable part of the control panel in the preselected position may be selected from the fixing means available in the art, e.g. setscrews, bolts cooperating with elongated openings, excentric clamping devices. In an embodiment, which is preferred for the maximum practicality of its adjustment, said fastening means comprises, at each end of the movable part of the control panel, a screw which traverses the movable part in a vertical direction from the lower side upwards, and which threads into a threaded member rigidly connected to the fixed part of the control panel, and a helical spring inserted onto said screw and acting to brace or push the fixed main part away from the movable part of the control panel.With this arrangement it is sufficient to operate the screws, which are accessible from the lower side of the movable part of the control panel, to carry out adjustment of a few millimetres of the total height of the parts forming the control panel.

The features and advantages of the control panel of the present invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description of an embodiment, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. It should be understood that the following is illustrative and not limitative of the scope of the invention.

The single figure is a diagrammatic perspective and interrupted view of the upper front portion of a dish-washing machine, disposed alongside a piece of fumiture for kitchen. This dish-washing machine is provided with a practical embodiment of the control panel according to the present invention. The left-hand portion of the movable part of the control panel and the respective fastening means are shown in an exploded view.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 indicates the upper surface of a piece of kitchen furniture. A drawer 2 is located beneath the surface 1 and beneath this drawer 2 there is a door 3, faced with or formed of an ornamental panel.

Reference numeral 4 indicates the body of a dish-washing machine, terminating at the top with a plate 5 arranged at the same level or height as the surface 1 of the adjacent piece of furniture. This involves no difficulty because these heights are standardized. Reference numeral 6 indicates the door forming the front surface of the dish-washing machine, to the upper end of which, below the plate 5, there is applied the control panel of the machine.

This control panel, being a preferred embodiment of the control panel of the present invention, includes a fixed main part 7 rigidly fastened to the upper end of the door 6 and provided with manoeuvre and operation control members, such as a recessed handle 8 for opening the door 6, a plurality of manoeuvre keys 9, and a number of lights 10 indicating the conditions of operation. The part 7 is also provided with a finishing plate 17, which may be made to conform with the adjacent pieces of furniture.

The fixed main part 7 of the control panel is open at 11 along a downwardly facing edge and thereby provides a cavity into which a movable part 12 is inserted. This part 12 is shown at the right hand side of the drawing in its operative position, adapted to the height of the drawer 2, and at the left-hand side of the drawing, it is shown detached. In the illustrated embodiment this movable part 12 is fastened relative to the fixed part 7, at each end, by means of a screw 13 which traverses a corresponding hole in the bottom of the movable part 12 and engages in a screw nut 14 arranged in the fixed part 7 of the control panel. Furthermore, a helical spring 15 is inserted onto the screw 13, and this spring, in addition to the force of gravity, pushes the movable part 12 of the control panel downwards against the head of the screw 13.Thus, it is obvious that it is sufficient simply to engage the screw 13 more or less deeply into the screw nut 14 to precisely adjust the vertical position of the lower horizontal edge of the movable part 12 of the control panel, until it is made to coincide with the level of the lower edge of the drawer 2 of the adjacent piece of furniture. The part 12 is capable of moving downwards through a maximum distance or stroke of about 55 mm.

The underlying portion of the door 6 of the machine may be faced with a finishing panel 16 similar in appearance to the decorative panel 3 of the adjacent piece of furniture, and which can terminate, both at the lower and upper ends, exactly at the level of the ends of the panels 3 of said piece of furniture.

The finishing panel 16 is shown interrupted at the half width of the door 6 and with the left-hand portion cut away.

It will be understood that various modifications and any replacement by technically equivalent means may be made to what has been described and shown by way of example, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A control panel for location in the upper front portion of a household apparatus, and adapted to be conformed to the height of the drawers of adjacent pieces of furniture, said panel comprising a fixed main part supporting manoeuvre and control members, said fixed part being no higher than the minimum height to which the control panel is to be conformed, and being provided with a cavity in its lower region, and a movable part inserted into the lower cavity of the fixed main part, slidable therein in a vertical direction and provided with means for being fastened in any preselected position relative to the fixed main part.

2. A control panel as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the movable part of the panel is movable, relative to the fixed main part, through a distance or stroke which is no smaller than the difference between the maximum and the minimum height to which the control panel is to be conformed.

3. A control panel as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the height of the fixed main part is about 115 mm and the movable part is movable through a distance or stroke of about 55 mm.

4. A control panel as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the movable part is capable of being detached and removed in order to reduce the height of the control panel to its minimum value.

5. A control panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein means for fastening the movable part of the panel relative to the fixed main part comprise setscrews, bolts cooperating with elongated openings, or clamping devices.

6. A control panel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the means for fastening the movable part of the panel comprises, at each end of the movable part, a screw which vertically traverses the same from the lower side upwards and which threadedly engages into a threaded member rigidly connected to the fixed part of the control panel and a helical spring inserted onto said screws and acting to brace or push the fixed main part away from the movable part of the control panel.

7. A dish-washing machine including a control panel as claimed in any preceding claim.

8. A control panel which is adjustable in height and is adapted for use on household apparatus as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.