WO2003081153A1

WO2003081153A1 - A domestic appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2003081153A1
Application number: PCT/TR2003/000018
Authority: WO
Inventors: Levent ORÜNDÜ
Original assignee: Arcelik A.S.
Priority date: 2002-03-22
Filing date: 2003-03-21
Publication date: 2003-10-02
Also published as: AU2003256320A1

Abstract

This invention is related to a domestic appliance including a control panel (2) providing control of its functions. Manufacture, assembly and maintenance of the control panel (2) have been facilitated by the use of Various projections, slots and recesses. Catches (12), protections (26) and pins (18) provided at the rear wall of the frame (8) locks the whole control panel (2).

Description

A DOMESTIC APPLIANCE

This invention is related to a domestic appliance, which includes a control panel, to control the functions of the appliance which includes the mechanisms which provides the installation of the control panel. Control panels are provided in domestic appliances, for example in refrigerators, to make adjustments or changes in the refrigerator functions (such as temperature, vocation, economy, etc. adjustments). The control panel is located on the body or the door of the refrigerator with adjustment keys are present on it, to make the adjustments. Also, a display to provide the user to follow the adjustments and the changes that are made.

In the state of the art there are control panels located on the upper part of the body or the doors of the refrigerators. To provide the recess into which the control panel is inserted on the refrigerator door first a plate of suitable dimension and form is attached by tapes to the door, then the polyurethane is pumped into the body of the door. However, deformation occurs in the tapes and the control panel slides off its planned place.

In another application, in the state of the art, the control panel is attached to the recess which is present on the door of the refrigerator by screws. However, difficulties are encountered in the production and maintenance of this solution as it increases the number of the parts used and thus the cost as well.

In U.S. Patent No. 4966004, an assembly is used for the placement of the control panel onto the refrigerator door. The parts of this assembly are fixed to a box placed on the back of the recess which is opened on the door, by screws.

The object of this invention is the realize a domestic appliance, including a control panel the assembly and maintenance of which are made easier.

Another object of this invention is to reduce the amount of parts needed for the installation of the control panel to the domestic appliance. The domestic appliance, realized to attain the objects of this invention, has been shown in the enclosed drawings, wherein :

Figure 1- The exploded front view of the control panel and the surface of the door of the domestic appliance.

Figure 2- The exploded rear view of the control panel and the surface of the door of the domestic appliance.

Figure 3- The front view of the rear cover, installed to the surface of the door of the domestic appliance.

Figure 4- The perspective rear view of the front cover, on which the keys and the transparent cover have been attached.

Figure 5- The perspective front view of the front cover, on which the keys and the transport cover have been fitted.

Figure 6- The perspective rear view of the front cover, on which the keys, the transparent cover and the display have been fitted.

Figure 7- The perspective rear view of the front cover, on which the keys, the transparent cover and the display have been attached and which is assembled onto the surface of the door of the domestic appliance.

Figure 8- The perspective view of the installation of the frame onto the control panel.

The parts in the figures have been numbered as follows:

1. Door

2. Control Panel

3. Door surface

4. Key

5. Front Cover 6. Transparent Cover

7. Rear Cover

8. Frame

9. Display

10. Cable Connection Socket

11. Front Cover Key Slot

12. Catches of the Frame

13. Locking Catches

14. Connection Catches

15. Front Cover Recess

16. Key Skirt

17. Door Protrusion

18. Positioning Pin

19. Disassembly Slot

20. Display Pin Slot

21. Display Recess

22. Fitting Catch

23. Transparent Cover Slot

24. Key Extension

25. Frame Key Slot

26. Frame Installation Protrusion

27. Transparent Cover Skirt 28. Display Protrusion

29. Door Surface Recess

30. Front Cover Pin Protrusion

31. Front Cover Pin

32. Frame Installation Slots

33. Elevated Protrusion

34. Positioning Pin Recess

The domestic appliance preferably the refrigerator which is the subject of the invention comprises a body, a door (1), and a control panel (2), to provide the user to change certain parameters of the domestic appliance and adjust certain functions of the domestic appliance. The door (1), includes a door surface (3), onto which the control panel is attached (2).

The control panel (2), includes a rear cover (7), which forms a recess for the other parts, installed on the door (1), a front cover (5), which carries the other parts on itself, one or more key(s) (4), which provide the user to change certain parameters of the domestic appliance and to adjust certain functions of the domestic appliance, a display (9), which allows the user to follow the adjustments, a transparent cover (6), which protects the display (9) from external effects like dust, moisture and impacts and, a frame (8), which provides the locking of the whole assembly.

The rear cover (7), in the form of a box with certain depth which is installed from inside to the door (1), to enable the display (9) to be placed inside it, comprises a cable connection socket (10) for the cable connection and one or more connection catches (14), to provide the installation on the door (1). The connection catches (14) preferably are provided at the edges of the rear cover (7).

The door surface (3) includes one or more door protrusions (17) that is provided in the same plane for the installing and/or locking of the other parts of the rear cover (7) and the control panel (2), one or more door surface recesses (29) and one or more positioning pin recesses (34).

The Display (9), includes at least one display pin slot (20) and at least one display recess (21), which provides its installation on the front cover (5) by centering and one or more display protrusions (28), to provide locking with other parts.

The transparent cover (6), has been surrounded by a transparent cover skirt (27).

The keys (4), which have different geometrical shapes, include key skirts (16), to prevent the keys (4) to come off the recesses in which they have been installed and which have larger dimensions than the dimensions of the recesses and key extensions (24), to transmit the force applied by the user to the display (9).

The frame (8), includes one or more frame key slot(s) (25) into which the keys (4) are inserted and, one or more frame installation protrusions (26) and one or more frame catches (12) on its rear surface, which provide the frame (8) to be installed onto the front cover (5), one or more positioning pins (18), to lock the control panel (2) and a disassembly slot (19) at the edge of the frame (8), which contacts the front cover (5) and, used in the disassembly of the frame (8).

The front cover (5), includes a transparent cover slot (23), into which the transparent cover (6) is placed, the front cover key slots (11), into which the keys (4) are placed and which will be placed on top of the front key slots (25) present on the frame (8), when the control panel (2) is locked and number of which is the same as the keys (4), one or more front cover recesses (15) at the appropriate locations to receive the catches (12) and the positioning pins (18) of the frame (8), one or more frame installation slots (32), into which the frame installation protrusions (26) are placed, a front cover pin protrusion (30) and a front cover pin (31), which have been positioned in order to sit against the display pin slot (20) on the display and the display recess (21), on the back surface of the front cover (5), one or more locking catches (13) to lock the display (9), by fitting to the display protrusions (28) on the display (9), one or more fitting catches (22), to provide the placement on the door (1), by fitted onto the door protrusions (17) on the door surface (3), and one or more elevated protrusions (33) which are on the rear surface of the front cover (5), in order to provide the other parts, assembled onto itself to stay away at a certain distance from each other. The front cover (5) is carrying the other parts on itself via the locking and the fitting catches (13 and 22), and via the slots (11, 23, 32) that are present on it. Preferably, there are four fitting catches (22) and these are distributed over the rear surface of the front cover (5), preferably in a symmetrical order.

First of all, the door surface recess (29) and the door protrusions (17) with appropriate dimension and form are provided on the door surface (3), in order to place the display (9) on the refrigerator. The rear cover (7) is moved perpendicularly to the surface of the door (3) (Direction A), before the polyurethane material is applied into the door (1) for insulation and the connection catches (14) are inserted through the door surface recess (29) on the surface of the door (3). After this, the rear cover (7) is pushed in the parallel direction to the door surface (3) (Direction B) and the connection catches (14) are fit onto the door protrusions (17) which are present on the door surface (3) to hold the door surface (3). The rear cover (7) is fixed onto the door surface (3) by injecting the polyurethane material.

Secondly, the keys (4) are placed in the front cover key slots (11) on the front cover (5), by pushing these in direction A. The key skirts (16) that are present around the keys (4) prevent the keys (4) to come off their key slots (11) by moving more in the direction A. After this, the transparent cover (6) is also placed in the transparent cover slot (23), at the center of the front cover (5), by moving in direction A. The transparent cover skirt (27) which is present around the transparent cover (5) prevents the transparent cover (5) to come off its place by limiting the movement of the transparent cover (5) in the direction A. Later on, the display (9) and the front cover (5) are installed on top of each other by locating the front cover pin protrusions (31) and the front cover pins (30) that are present on the rear side of the front cover (5) in the display pin slot (20) and in the display recess (21). The locking catches (13), present on the front cover (5) also lock on the display protrusions (28) which are located around the display (9), from the rear. The keys (4) which remain in between the display (9) and the front cover (5) and also the transparent cover (6) are fixed in such position.

In the next step the group of the front cover (5), transparent cover (6), keys (4) and the display (9) is moved in direction A towards the door (1), onto which the rear cover (7) is installed and which have already been internally filled with insulation material, by inserting the fitting catches (22) which are present on the front cover (5) through the door surface recess (29), which exist on the door surface (3). Later on, locking the complete group is provided by locking of the fitting catches (22) on the door protrusions (17), provided on the door surface (3) by moving the group, as a whole in direction B.

As a last step, the frame (8) rests on the front cover (5) in such a manner that the frame installation protrusions (26) provided on the lower part of the frame (8) will be meeting the frame installation slots (32). After this, the frame (8) and the front cover (5) are locked onto each other by rotating the frame (8) around its edge which rests on the front cover (5) towards the door surface (3) (direction C), by passing the frame catches (12) from the front cover recesses (15) which are on the front cover (5) (Figure 8). The positioning pins (18) which pass through the front cover recesses (15) at the same time together with the frame catches (12) prevent the front cover (8) to come off its place by moving in the reverse direction by fitting into the positioning pin recess (34), which remain in between the door protrusions (17) and the door surface (3) of the front cover (5). Thus the frame (8) locks the whole mechanism onto the door (1).

If, for any reason such as repair or maintenance a need for unlocking the control panel (2) arises, the disassembling of the frame (8) from its place is accomplished by first inserting a thin device, for example a screw-driver of appropriate thickness, into the disassembly slot (19), which is on its edge and then by pushing it backwards, Other parts may also disassembled easily after the frame (8) is taken off. Production, assembly and maintenance of the control panel (2) of the domestic appliance (1), is facilitated since it does not include an additional connection element. Probability of the control panel (2) not to be fitted into its location due to dimensional differences has been eliminated since the rear cover (7) is installed into the door surface (3) before the polyurethane application. There is no need for another locking element, other then the protrusions and slots that are provided on the parts. Apart from this, user safety is also guaranteed, since the control panel (2) cannot be opened without using a tool. Thus, the production and the maintenance costs of the control panels (2), which exist on the external surfaces of the domestic appliances have been reduced considerably.

Claims

1. A domestic appliance including a body, a door (1) and a door surface (3), and which is characterized by a control panel (2) having a rear cover (7) which forms a recess for other parts, by fitted onto the door surface (3), a front cover (5), which carries the other parts on itself, one or more keys (4), to provide the user to adjust certain parameters of the domestic appliance and to modify certain functions of the domestic appliance, an display (9), which provides the user to follow the adjustments, a transparent cover (6), which protects the display (9) from the external effects like dust, moisture and impacts, and a frame

(8) to provide the locking of the whole mechanism.

2. A domestic appliance, as claimed in Claim 1, characterized by the rear cover (7) in the form of a box with, a certain depth to hold the display

(9) in it and which has a cable connection socket (10) for the connection of cable and one or more connection catches (14), to provide its installation onto the door (1).

3. A domestic appliance, as claimed in Claims 1 and 2, characterized by a door surface (3) which includes one or more door protrusions (17), one or more door surface recesses (29) and one or more positioning pin recesses (34) for the assembly and/or locking of the rear cover (7) and the other parts of the control panel (2).

4. A domestic appliance as claimed in Claims 1 to 3, characterized by the display (9), having at least one display pin slot (20) and at least one display recess (21), to install the display (9), onto the front cover (5) by centering it and one or more display protrusions (28), to provide the display (9), to be locked onto other parts.

5. A domestic appliance as claimed in Claims 1 to 4, characterized by the transparent cover (6), surrounded by a transparent cover skirt (27).

6. A domestic appliance as claimed in Claims 1 to 5, characterized by the keys (4), provided in various geometrical shapes and having key shirts (16), bigger than the recesses to prevent the keys (14) to come off from their recesses into which the keys (14) are installed, and key extensions (24), to transmit the force exerted on the keys(4) by the user to the display (9).

7. A domestic appliance, as claimed in Claims 1 to 6, characterized by the frame (8), including one or more frame key slots (25), into which the keys (4) are placed, one or more frame catches (12) and one or more frame installation protrusions (26), to fit the frame (8) onto front cover

(5), on the rear surface, one or more positioning pins (18), to lock the control panel and a slot (19), which is being used to disassemble it, and which is provided at its edge which contacts the front cover (5).

8. A domestic appliance, as claimed in Claims 1 to 7, characterized by the front cover (5), which carries other parts on itself, by fixing with catches and slots, comprising a transparent cover slot (23) into which the transparent cover (6) is placed, front cover key slots (11), in the same amount as the keys (4), which would meet on top of each other with the frame key slots (25), exist on the frame (8), when the control panel (2) is locked and into which the keys (4) are placed, one or more front cover recesses (15), provided at appropriate locations, for the fitting of the frame catches (12) and the positioning pins (18), one or more frame installation slots (32), into which the frame installation protrusions (26) are placed, a front cover pin protrusion (30) and a front cover pin (31), which are positioned in such a manner to meet the display pin slot (20) and the display recess (21), on its rear surface, , by one or more locking catches (13), which locks the display (9), one or more elevated protrusions (33), on its rear surface, to keep other parts, which are assembled onto it, at a certain distance from each other and one or more fitting catches (22), to provide the placement on the door (1) by fitting into the door protrusions (17) on the door surface (3).