KR101153477B1 - Household appliance comprising an operating strip - Google Patents

Abstract

Known household appliances for incorporation into the sector of the countertop 5 include at least one recess 15 for receiving the piezo sensor 13 and a support surface 23 on the underside for supporting the household appliance on the countertop 5. And an operating strip 7 in which at least one piezo sensor 13 is accommodated. An object of the present invention is to support the household appliances on the countertop 5 in a stable state by the operating strip. For this purpose, the piezo sensor 13 is arranged in the recess 15 of the operating strip 7 to be arranged coplanar with the support surface 23 or staggered with respect to the support surface 23 in a sealed manner.

Description

Appliances with control strips {HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE COMPRISING AN OPERATING STRIP}

The present invention provides for incorporation into a sector of a countertop comprising at least one recess for receiving the operating element and a support surface on the underside for supporting the household appliance on the countertop and including a control strip containing the at least one operating element. It relates to home appliances.

DE 198 11 372 C2 discloses a cooking surface with a control and a display element and a light transmissive cooking hob made of glass ceramic. The cooking surface has an operating strip provided with a piezo sensor positioned below the operating strip which senses contact of the operating surface and transmitting a corresponding signal to the control unit and an operating surface facing the operator. The operating strip consists of a portion of the stainless steel cooking surface frame that supports the hob and surrounds the glass ceramic hob in a frame manner. The cooking surface frame is supported by the bent edge at the top of the countertop on the peripheral side. Between the countertop and the bottom of the cooking surface frame, the seal surrounds the cooking surface portion of the countertop. The operating element protrusion is provided at a mounting distance between the cooking surface housing and the peripheral edge of the countertop portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a household appliance for incorporation into a part of a countertop that is stably supported by an operation strip at an upper side of the countertop.

The object of the invention is solved by a household appliance having the features of claim 1. According to the feature of claim 1, the operating element is arranged in the recess of the operating strip such that the operating element is arranged coplanar with the support surface or staggered with respect to the support surface in a sealed manner. As a result, the operating element can be arranged above the countertop without being supported on the upper side of the countertop.

Preferably the operating strip has a plurality of recesses spaced apart from each other at the bottom of the operating strip, where various home appliance components are arranged. In such a case, the operating strip may consist of a solid semi-finished product with a large dimensional stability in which only the recesses required for the appliance part are constructed integrally. As a result, the operating strip can be manufactured at low cost. At the same time stability is ensured and is configured in the desired shape.

The operating strip is particularly preferably produced by forming or milling. Molding is understood to be produced from shaped raw materials (eg granules, melts, powders) into shaped parts. For this purpose, the unshaven initial material is inserted into a special forming tool that transforms the state of the solid by solidification or sintering (for example casting or compression molding). The part with the shape shaped in this way is removed from the forming tool. Depending on the result of the manufacturing process, the operating strip can be formed in a wide range of required shapes with a reduced number of subsequent processing steps and high accuracy dimensions. It is possible to further improve the shape of the technically advantageous side on the operating strip, which is possible with very great effort or cannot be produced by the continuous casting.

With regard to stability, it is preferred that the material thickness of the operating strip is changed depending on the requirements. This results in very high thermal stability of the operating strip. At the same time the risk of twisting the operating strip is reduced. In addition, additional elements for assembling the control strip and mounting in a single part can be configured in the control strip, thereby reducing the effort required for further assembly. The above mentioned advantages can be achieved by operating strips produced by milling.

Preferably, the sealing channel may consist of additional recesses in the operating strip that support the seal for sealing between the countertop and the operating strip. For example, the sealing strip can be attached at a fixed position in the sealing channel.

In addition, the operating strip has one or more mounting recesses, such as additional recesses at the bottom of the operating strip, wherein a fixing flange formed in the housing portion of the appliance is adjacent to the operating strip. The fixing flange thus has a structure of at least part of the recess in the mounting recess. Thus the overall height of the operating strip is not increased by the fixing flange. The housing-side fixing flange is preferably arranged in the mounting recess of the operating strip so that it is finished in the sealed side on the same side as the support surface or is staggered with respect to the support surface. In this case, the mounting recess is surrounded by the support surface.

In a particular embodiment, the operating element consists of a piezo sensor adjacent the bottom of the recess in the operating strip. If the operator presses the manipulation surface with a finger, the manipulation strip is slightly deformed. This deformation is detected by the piezo sensor and transmitted to the electrical control device. In order to further increase the response sensitivity of the piezo sensor, at least one positioning recess is formed below the recess in which the piezo sensor is located. The thickness of the material in the region of the positioning recess is further reduced to increase the reaction sensitivity. At the same time positioning the piezo sensor in the correct position in the recess is simplified.

It is preferred that a number of mounting recesses spaced from each other be configured in the operating strip. The recesses for the operating element can be arranged between the mounting recesses. In such a case, the recesses and mounting recesses for the operating element can be continuously arranged in a row at the bottom of the operating strip. As a result, the operating strip is particularly narrow, ie the overall depth can be reduced.

It is preferred that the recesses and / or mounting recesses for the operating elements are arranged inside the sealing channels of the operating strip to form a good sealing state of the household appliance. In this way, the operating element as well as the housing-side fixing flange are protected from the ingress of liquid.

The object according to the invention is achieved by a household appliance having the features of claim 13. According to the feature of claim 13, the operating strip is formed at a slight inclination downward with respect to the support surface with respect to the housing part. As a result, a line contact can be formed in the region of the front edge at the upper side of the countertop of the operating strip. Unevenness at the support surface of the operating strip or at the top of the countertop may be offset by line contact. This ensures reliable support of the operating strip at the top of the countertop. The working pressure exerted by the user on the operating strip is sensed by the piezo sensor and is not used to press the operating strip making contact with the countertop. The inclination of the operating strip on the household appliance is preferably formed from 0.3 ° to 1 °, in particular 0.5 °.

In one embodiment, the operating strip may be attached to the household appliance by one or more fastening elements. The fastening element is suitable for installing the control strip for the appliance at an inclined downward direction with respect to the appliance.

Embodiments of the invention are described in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a cooking surface inserted into a worktop;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view showing a portion of the cooking surface cut along the line l-l of FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a developed view showing a part of the cooking surface;

Fig. 4 is a partial side view showing a portion of the cooking surface cut along the line ll-ll in Fig. 1.

5 shows an operation strip of a cooking surface.

6 shows a guide element inserted in the housing opening of the cooking surface;

* Symbol description *

5: countertop

13: piezo sensor

15: recess

23: support surface

1 shows a cooking surface comprising a glass ceramic plate 1 with four various cooking zones as a household appliance. Suitable heating elements are arranged in accordance with known methods, ie under the decorative printing 3 of the cooking area. The cooking surface is inserted in the cross section of the worktop 5 and supported on the upper side of the worktop 5. On the front side facing the operator, the cooking surface is supported by the operating strip 7 on the countertop 5. On the other side, the cooking surface is supported on the countertop 5 by the peripheral edge of the glass ceramic plate 1. The operating strip 7 made of aluminum has a circular protuberance 11 for operating the cooking surface at the upper part 9. The operating strip 7 may be part of a closed cooking surface frame which surrounds the glass ceramic plate 1 in a frame manner.

The operating strip 7 is configured to have a wedge shaped cross section according to FIG. 2. The upper side 9 of the operating strip 7 is slightly inclined towards the countertop 5 and has a curved shape. Thus, a smooth transition between the countertop 5 and the operating strip 7 is ensured, which has the advantage of being easy to clean and visually outstanding.

The cooking surface is operated by pressing the corresponding projection 11 according to FIG. 1 with a finger. The pressure of the finger is received in a piezo sensor 13 located at the bottom of the operating strip, just below the projection 11, which converts the pressure of the finger into an electrical signal. Referring to FIG. 2, the piezo sensor 13 is arranged inside a recess 15 formed in the bottom of the manipulation strip 7. A positioning recess 19 for the piezo sensor 13 is located at the lower part 17 of the recess 15 so that the piezo sensor 13 is easily arranged at the correct position inside the recess 15. In addition, the wall thickness between the positioning recesses 19 and the opposing protrusions 11 on the upper side is substantially reduced in order to improve the response sensibility of the piezo sensor 13. The piezo sensor is fixedly cast in the recess 15 using a plastic casing compound 21.

In addition, a supporting surface 23 is formed at the bottom of the operating strip 7, and the cooking surface is supported at the upper side of the countertop 5. The piezo sensor 13 is arranged staggered with respect to the support surface 23 in the recess 15 of the operating strip 7. As a result, the operating strip 7 in the recess 15 of the operating strip 7 can be supported on the countertop 5 without damaging the piezo sensor 13. Referring to FIG. 2, the operating strip 7 is arranged generally on the upper side of the cooking surface. When pressure is applied to the projection 11, the cooking surface acts as a stable counter-bearing for the operating strip, so that the pressure is reliably absorbed by the piezo sensor 13.

Two angular portions 29 spaced apart from each other on the outer side of the housing 25 by a first leg 27 to secure the operating strip 7 to the housing 25 of the cooking surface. Are welded. The housing 25 may consist of a housing having a possible lower cover, one or a plurality of individual parts. The angular portion consists of an iron plate, and an angular portion of one of the angular portions 29 is shown in FIG. 3. The curved second leg 28 is formed mostly in parallel with the glass ceramic plate 1 and has a fixing flange 31. The fixing flange 31 is inserted into a mounting recess 33 at the bottom of the operating strip 7 in an assembled state on the cooking surface.

The second leg 28 is bent at an angle slightly smaller than 90 ° rather than perpendicular to the first leg 27. As a result, the operating strip 7 assembled with the support surface 23 bends downward by an inclination angle α of approximately 0.5 ° with respect to the cooking surface shown in FIG. 3. The angular portion 29 has sufficient elasticity. Therefore, when a nonuniformity is formed in the upper side of the countertop 5, the operation strip 7 is stably arranged with respect to the entire length on the countertop.

The mounting recess 33 is surrounded by the support surface 23. As shown in FIG. 3, a sealing channel 41 is additionally formed at the bottom of the operating strip 7. The sealing strip 43 shown in FIG. 4, which extends from the circumferential side with respect to the entire cooking surface, is attached to the sealing channel 41. The mounting recess 33 and recess 15 for the piezo sensor 13 are arranged inside the sealing strip 43. The fixing flange 31 is arranged to have the structure of the recess in the mounting recess 33 of the operating strip 7. The overall length of the operating strip 7 supported on the countertop 5 is thus reduced. As the fixing flange 31 is easily inserted into the mounting recess 33, it is ensured that the operating strip 7 is correctly positioned with respect to the housing 25. For this purpose, one side of the mounting recess 33 forms a fixing flange 31 of the housing-side. Referring to FIG. 4, a fixing flange 31 is arranged between the operating strip 7 and the upper side of the countertop.

In addition to the fastening flange 31, two plug-in portions 45 are formed in the second leg 28 and arranged in one plane with the first leg 27 welded on the housing 25. It is oriented perpendicular to the ceramic plate 1. The fixing flange 31 is arranged between the two plug-in portions 45. In the assembled state of the cooking surface, the fixing flange 31 is flatly joined with the mating surface 47 formed in the mounting recess 33. The fixing flange 31 can be screwed into the threaded hole 49 by a countersunk head screw formed in the occlusal surface 47. The plug-in portion 45 has a plastic adapter 51, by which the plug-in portion is inserted into a corresponding plug-in recess 53 formed in the mounting recess 33. In this way, the plug-in portion 45 formed perpendicular to the fixing flange 31 is formed with a counter-bearing, whereby the operating strip 7 is fixedly supported on the housing 25. At the same time, the plug-in portion 45 adjusts the centering of the control strip while the control strip 7 is mounted to the housing 25.

As shown in FIG. 4, the food container is exerted a force in the direction of the arrow F with respect to the cooking surface, and torque is applied in the direction of the arrow M in the fixing flange 31. This torque is substantially absorbed by the plug-in portion 45 of the angular portion 25. The operating strip 7 is thus kept spatially stable and fixed in the housing 25 in particular. According to the invention, the support surface 23 of the operating strip 7 is spaced apart from the cooking surface housing 25 by a narrow installation distance of 5 mm, for example. Therefore, the lever arm length to which torque M is distributed is reduced.

The side edge 55 of the glass ceramic plate 1 is arranged between the overhang 57 of the operating strip 7 facing the glass ceramic plate 1 and the support flange 56 of the housing. A seal 61 is arranged between the operating strip 7 and the side edges of the glass ceramic plate 1.

The cooking surface housing 25 is comprised of raised side walls 63 having a trough-shaped shape. At the upper end, the side wall 63 has a support flange 59 which is curved inwardly to form a right angle. The support flange 59 of the side wall 63 is attached to the bottom of the glass ceramic plate 1 using a silicone adhesive (not shown). Except for the front side, the glass ceramic plate 1 is supported by the side edges 55 on the upper side of the countertop 5. The sealing strip 43 is located between the glass ceramic plate 1 and the countertop 5, and the sealing strip arranged on the peripheral side is guided to the area of the front operating strip 7 in the sealing channel 41.

5 shows the bottom of the operating strip 7 without the piezo sensor 13 and cooking surface housing 25. For example, the operating strip 7 is made of molded facets of aluminum. In a further manufacturing step, the recesses 15 and the mounting recesses 33 for the piezo sensor 13 are made from the face formed by milling. By treating the operating strip 7 by milling, very accurate dimensions are formed, which reduces the number of after-treatment steps. In addition, the material thickness of the operating strip 7 is adapted to the respective requirements and can be changed to high accuracy dimensions. This reduces the risk of twisting the operating strip.

The electrical signal generated by the piezo sensor 13 is guided to the electrical control device 65 provided inside the housing 25 by a connecting lead 67. 2 shows one of the connection leads 67. The connecting lead 67 is joined to form a cable strand and guided from the casting compound 21 cast in the recess 15. The end of the connecting lead 67 is connected to the plug 68 shown in FIG. The plug is guided to the electrical control device 65 through a housing opening provided in the housing side wall and connected to the electrical control device.

The feed-through element 69 shown in detail in FIG. 6 is located in the housing opening. The feed-through element 69 is made of plastic injection molding with a frame 71 inserted in the housing opening. The frame 71 is formed with a feed-through opening 73, and the connecting lead 67 protected from the metal plate edge of the housing opening is guided to the control device 65 through the feed-through opening 73. The bearing flange 75 is formed in the upper strip of the frame 71, and when the bearing flange is inserted, the bearing flange is adjacent to the edge and inside of the housing opening. A locating lug 77 is formed centrally in the lower strip of the frame 71, which locating lug 77 is located on the side wall of the housing 25 for fixing the transfer-through element 69. do. In addition, the adjusting member 79 such as the flap is pivotally connected by a film hinged to the lower strip of the frame 71. Depending on the pivot rotational position, the adjusting member 79 can change the cross section of the feed-through opening 73.

When inserting the feed-through element 69, the bearing flange 76 is first guided from the outside through the housing opening of the housing and from the inside to the proximal portion of the edge region of the housing opening. The positioning lugs 77 are then pressed into the corresponding positioning portions of the side walls formed in the housing.

6 shows an adjusting member 79 such as a flap in the opened position, in which the cross section of the feed-through opening 73 is enlarged correspondingly. As a result, the plug 68 can be easily guided through the transfer-through opening 73 to the control device 65. The adjusting member 79 is configured substantially like a plate and has an offset protrusion 81 composed of a recess 83 such as a recess. The positioning element 85 is located on the opposite side edge of the adjustment member 79, which positioning element 85 is of the transverse strip of the conveying-through frame 71 when the adjustment member 79 is closed. It is detachably connected at the rear. In this position of the adjusting member 79, the cross section of the conveying-through opening is reduced to a small gap formed between the upper frame strip and the recess 83 such as the recess of the adjusting-member protrusion 81. In such a case, the connecting lead 67 is sufficient to be fixed by the assembling technique. At the same time, when the adjusting member 79 is closed, the cross section of the connecting lead 67 moving outside of the housing is almost completely protected by the offset protrusion 81 of the adjusting member, so that It is quite difficult to access the connecting lead 67 by this (shown in FIG. 2). The offset protrusion 81 of the adjusting member 79 is shown in FIG. 4 without damage occurring while the connecting lead 67 is inserted into the cooking surface. After inserting the cooking surface into the cross section of the countertop 5 that follows, it acts as a spacer to maintain a narrow mounting gap between the cut-out edge of the countertop 5 and the housing 25.

 Preferably the securing element can be configured to resilient. The household appliance can be inserted into the countertop part so that the fixing element can have some elastic deformation. The imbalance can be offset at the top of the countertop, and the flat contact of the operating strip on the countertop is ensured. This can be achieved by constructing a fastening element such as an angular part with one leg fixed to the housing part and an operating strip fixed to the other leg. An imbalance at the top of the countertop is spaced apart If connected to the housing part by two fixing elements it can be more easily offset.

Claims (18)

Appliances integrated into a portion of the countertop 5 and comprising an operating strip 7, wherein the operating strip 7 is provided at the lower side of the operating strip 7 to support the household appliance on the countertop 5. In a household appliance having a support surface 23 and at least one recess 15 comprising a piezo sensor 13, The piezo sensors 13 arranged in the recesses 15 of the operating strip 7 are arranged to be offset against the support surface 23 in a sealed state, The household appliance characterized in that the fixing flange 31 formed in the housing 25 of the electronic product is arranged adjacent to the operation strip 7, and at least one mounting recess 33 is formed at the bottom of the operation strip 7. product. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of recesses (15) spaced from each other for various mechanical parts are configured on the bottom of the operating strip (7). 3. The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein a recess (15) for the piezo sensor (13) is formed in the support surface (23) of the operating strip (7). Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating strip (7) is produced by forming or milling. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the material thickness of the operating strip (7) is varied depending on the requirements. The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein a sealing channel (41) for the sealing strip (43) for sealing the countertop (5) and the operating strip (7) is formed at the bottom of the operating strip (7). . Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the piezo sensor (13) arranged in the recess (15) of the operating strip (7) is arranged in the same plane as the support surface (23) in a sealed state. The fixing flange 31 located on the side of the housing 25 is arranged in the mounting recess 33 of the operating strip 7 and arranged or supported in the same plane as the support surface 23 in a sealed state. Appliances characterized in that they are staggered relative to the surface (23). Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the piezo sensor (13) is configured adjacent to the lower part (17) of the recess (15) in the operating strip (7). 10. The household appliance according to claim 9, wherein at least one positioning recess (19) for positioning the piezo sensor (13) is formed in the lower portion (17) of the recess (15). 2. Appliances according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of mounting recesses (33) spaced apart from each other are formed in the operating strip (7). 12. Appliances according to claim 11, characterized in that the recesses (15) for the piezo sensor (13) are arranged between the mounting recesses (33) in the operating strip (7). 2. The at least one piezo sensor (13) according to claim 1, comprising a housing (25) and an operating strip (7) and integrated into a portion of the countertop (5), said operating strip (7) arranged at the bottom of the operating strip. ), A support surface 23 for supporting home appliances on the countertop 5 and one or more recesses 15 for receiving the piezoelectric sensor 13, wherein the piezoelectric sensor 13 includes an operation strip ( 7) It senses the pressure acting on and transmits the corresponding signal to the control device 65, and the operating strip 7 having the support surface 23 is inclined downward by the inclination angle α with respect to the housing 25. Household appliances, characterized in that formed. 14. Appliances according to claim 13, characterized in that the inclination angle (α) of the operating strip (7) with respect to the housing part (25) is formed in an angle range of 0.3 ° to 3 °. 15. The appliance according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the manipulation strip (7) is fixed to the housing (25) by one or more angular portions (29). 16. The appliance according to claim 15, wherein the angular portion (29) is made of an elastically resilient material. The leg 27 of the angular portion 29 is fixed to the housing 25 and the operating strip 7 is fixed to another leg 28 of the angular portion 29. Home appliances. Appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the manipulation strip (7) is connected to the housing (25) by two angular portions (29) spaced apart from each other.

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