OPERATING DEVICE FOR A DOMESTIC APPLIANCE HAVING A STABLY POSITIONED ANNULAR OPERATING-ELEMENT FRONT PART

Abstract

An operating device for a domestic appliance includes an electronic display field, a guide, and an operating element which is movable relative to the electronic display field to set operating conditions of the domestic appliance. The operating element is comprised of multiple parts and includes a sliding ring and a front part resting on the sliding ring. The front part and the sliding ring are coupled to the guide such that the front part is rotatable in a guided manner relative to the sliding ring by the guide.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. An operating device for a domestic appliance, comprising: an electronic display field; a guide; and an operating element configured for movement relative to the electronic display field to set operating conditions of the domestic appliance, said operating element comprised of multiple parts and including a sliding ring and a front part resting on the sliding ring, said front part and said sliding ring being coupled to the guide such that the front part is rotatable in a guided manner relative to the sliding ring by the guide.

12. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the guide has a groove which opens in a radial direction of the operating element, said guide including at least one engaging element.

13. The operating device of claim 12, wherein the engaging element is configured to be resilient in the radial direction of the sliding ring and of the front part.

14. The operating device of claim 12, wherein the engaging element is arranged in the groove and coupled in the groove in a prestressed manner.

15. The operating device of claim 14, wherein the engaging element is prestressed in a radially direction.

16. The operating device of claim 12, wherein the groove is formed on a radially inner shell side of the front part.

17. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the sliding ring includes a slide plate, which is arranged behind the front part in an axial direction of the operating element, and includes a holding web, which extends in the axial direction so as to overlap the front part, and further comprising at least one engaging element formed on the holding web and extending in a radial direction into the groove.

18. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the sliding ring has a fixed position on a control panel of the domestic appliance.

19. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the front part has a top side inclined inward.

20. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the operating element is configured as a rotary selector.

21. The operating device of claim 11, wherein the front part is configured as a ring having a top side which faces away from the sliding ring and is inclined inward in relation to a plane in which the front part extends.

22. A domestic appliance, comprising an operating device, said operating device including an electronic display field, a guide, and an operating element configured for movement relative to the electronic display field to set operating conditions of the domestic appliance, said operating element comprised of multiple parts and including a sliding ring and a front part resting on the sliding ring, said front part and said sliding ring being coupled to the guide such that the front part is rotatable in a guided manner relative to the sliding ring by the guide.

23. The domestic appliance of claim 22, wherein the guide has a groove which opens in a radial direction of the operating element, said guide including at least one engaging element.

24. The domestic appliance of claim 23, wherein the engaging element is configured to be resilient in the radial direction of the sliding ring and of the front part.

25. The domestic appliance of claim 23, wherein the engaging element is arranged in the groove and coupled in the groove in a prestressed manner.

26. The domestic appliance of claim 25, wherein the engaging element is prestressed in a radially direction.

27. The domestic appliance of claim 23, wherein the groove is formed on a radially inner shell side of the front part.

28. The domestic appliance of claim 22, wherein the sliding ring includes a slide plate, which is arranged behind the front part in an axial direction of the operating element, and includes a holding web, which extends in the axial direction so as to overlap the front part, and further comprising at least one engaging element formed on the holding web and extending in a radial direction into the groove.

29. The domestic appliance of claim 22, further comprising a control panel, said sliding ring having a fixed position on the control panel.

30. The domestic appliance of claim 22, wherein the front part has a top side inclined inward and/or the operating element is configured as a rotary selector.

31. The domestic appliance of claim 22, wherein the front part is configured as a ring having a top side which faces away from the sliding ring and is inclined inward in relation to a plane in which the front part extends.

Description

[0041] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of the schematic drawings, in which:

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective representation of an exemplary embodiment of an inventive domestic appliance;

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary embodiment of an inventive operating device;

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section through subcomponents of the operating device according to the representation in FIG. 2;

[0045] FIG. 4 shows an exploded representation of the drawing in FIG. 3; and

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a cross-section of the operating device according to FIG. 2.

[0047] In the figures, identical or functionally similar elements are provided with the same reference characters.

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic representation of a domestic appliance embodied as an oven 1. The oven 1 comprises four cooking zones 2, 3, 4 and 5 and a cooking compartment 6, which can be closed by a door 7, which has a handle 8 on the exterior. In the exemplary embodiment a control panel 9 with an operating device 10 is arranged above the door 7. Both the position and also the embodiment of the control panel 9 serve merely as examples.

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a simplified representation of a front view of an exemplary embodiment of the operating device 10. The operating device 10 comprises an electronic display field 11, which is embodied as a display. Information can be displayed in a dynamically changeable manner on the display field 11, the area of which is delimited by the edge or the boundary 12, which is configured to be rectangular in the exemplary embodiment. Different information in the form of letters and/or digits and/or symbols can be displayed on a screen of this type.

[0050] The operating device 10 furthermore comprises an operating element 13 which is a rotary selector in the exemplary embodiment. As can be seen from the representation in FIG. 2, the rotary selector 13 with its surface areas projected into the plane shown in the figure, viewed from the front, is arranged completely inside the surface area 12a with the boundary 12 of the electronic display field 11. It is thus positioned in effect entirely embedded in the planar areas of the display field 11. The operating element 13 can be moved in relation to the display field 11 on account of its embodiment as a rotary selector. By rotating the operating element 13, the operating conditions of the oven 1 associated therewith are set. As can be seen, an information display which in FIG. 2 takes the form of symbols 14, is embodied adjacent to and at least in ring sections around the annular operating element 13. The number of symbols 14 is only specified by way of example. Provision can also be made for digits and/or letters to be displayed instead of symbols 14. The information around the annular operating element 13 also represents menu interfaces in an alternative embodiment for instance, which then define a certain folder structure. The information then displayed can represent a category for a folder for instance, which contains further information. If a folder of this type is then accessed on the basis of the type of rotation of the operating element 13, the menu content can be displayed in further detail.

[0051] As can be seen in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, two controls 16a and 16b are embodied outside of the surface area 12a with the boundary 12 of the display field 11. These controls 16a and 16b are embodied as touch-sensitive control panels in the exemplary embodiment. On the one hand they can comprise a functional switching-on and switching-off of the oven 1 for instance. Provision can also be made additionally or alternatively for at least one of the controls 16a or 16b to be embodied to set an information depth of an item of menu content to be displayed on the display field 11. This means that the information, as is shown in FIG. 2 as symbols 14 or as menu categories of a menu interface, can be changed by one of the controls 16a or 16b. Where appropriate it can thus be set that a category, to be displayed, of a folder is not the high-level main folder, but rather a lower folder structure is already shown and a sub-folder is displayed as an initial setting for instance.

[0052] Provision can also be made for the control 16a and/or 16b to be arranged within the surface area 12a with the boundary 12 of the display field 11.

[0053] In a perspective representation in FIG. 3 the cover 15 indicated in FIG. 2 in the form of a glass plate is partially shown. The cover 15 is shown with a cross-section in the region of the operating element 13. The operating element 13 is shown in an exploded representation. As it can be seen, the operating element 13 is made of multiple parts, comprising an annular front part 17, which has a front panel or top side 18. The top side 18 is inclined obliquely inward so that the top side 18 in effect produces a funnel shape of the front part 17. The oblique inward inclination is preferably between 3° and 15° compared to the plane in which the annular front part 17 extends. In the exemplary embodiment, the front part 17 is embodied in one piece as an aluminum component.

[0054] The operating element 13 furthermore comprises a sliding ring 19, which is arranged below or behind the front part 17 in the direction of a longitudinal axis A of the operating element 13. It is likewise embodied in one piece and manufactured from a particularly low-friction material. The front part 17 can be rotated in relation to the sliding ring 19. The sliding ring 19 has a fixed position and is thus arranged in a fixed manner on the control panel 9, in particular glued or non-detachably fastened thereto in a non-destructive manner by ultrasonic welding or hot stamping.

[0055] The sliding ring 19 and the front part 17 are held in an annular groove 22 embodied in an exterior 21 of the cover 15, wherein the sliding ring 19 with a slide plate 19a (FIG. 5) is preferably arranged so as to rest on a groove base 20 of the groove 22 which opens axially forward when viewed in the axial direction and thus in the direction of the axis A of the operating element 13.

[0056] The rotational position in relation to a fixed metal spider 23 is registered by means of magnets which can also be arranged in multiples on, and equidistantly in the peripheral direction of, the front part 17. In accordance with the representation in FIG. 3, the metal spider 23 is likewise embodied as a ring which has a thickness of approximately 0.7 mm.

[0057] Provision is preferably made for an annular groove, in which the metal spider 23 is arranged, likewise to be embodied on a rear 24 of the cover 15. The concept of the metal spider comprises the ring form with the spider-type or spike-type elevations and/or radial extensions.

[0058] Material of the cover 15 and thus glass material is provided for the metal spider 23 between the groove 22 and the groove 26 (FIG. 4) embodied on the rear 24, so that in this respect no continuous hole or no continuous recess is formed.

[0059] The thickness D of the cover 15, which in particular represents a rectangular glass plate, is 4 mm in the exemplary embodiment.

[0060] Provision can also be made for the front part 17 and the sliding ring 19 to be embodied, at least in regions, to be permeable to light in the spectral range which is visible to humans. This means that at least ring sections of the front part 17 and of the sliding ring 19 can be backlit.

[0061] The rotational position of the sliding ring 19 and of the front part 17 in relation to the metal spider 23 can be detected by means of a control unit (not shown) and thus the specific rotational position and thus the relative position in relation to the cover 15 and thus also in relation to the display field 11 can be registered and the associated operating condition setting can be identified and executed.

[0062] The representation in FIG. 3 is shown in the assembled state in FIG. 4. It can be seen here that an outer edge 25 of the annular front part 17 projects approximately 0.5 mm beyond the exterior 21. The top side 18 which runs obliquely inward and downward can likewise be seen. Furthermore, the groove 26 for the metal spider 23 is also shown. In respect of an inner edge or a radially inner shell 27 of the annular front part 17, this can be flush with the exterior 21. On account of the top side 18 which runs inward obliquely downward, provision is then made for this subregion of the exterior 21 which is enclosed by the operating element 13 to be downwardly offset compared to the region of the exterior 21 embodied outside of the annular front part 17. Provision can however also be made for this inner edge 27 likewise to be arranged so as to project slightly beyond this subregion of the exterior 21 which is enclosed by the front part 17. The cover 15 is arranged at least in regions in front of the electronic display field 11 and is permeable to optical signals and information of the display field 11.

[0063] The subregion of the exterior 21 enclosed by the annular operating element 13 is preferably also embodied as the display region of the display field 11.

[0064] As already mentioned briefly above, the front part 17 can be rotated in relation to the sliding ring 19. In accordance with the representation in FIG. 5, which shows a cross-section along the line of intersection V-V in FIG. 2, the front part 17 and the sliding ring 19 are coupled by a guide 28. As a result, the front part 17 can be rotated in a guided manner in relation to the sliding ring 19. By means of the guide the front part 17 can furthermore not be unintentionally released from the sliding ring 19 and can thus also not fall out unintentionally, which is particularly advantageous when transporting the operating device 10.

[0065] The guide 28 comprises an open groove 29, viewed in the radial direction of the operating element 13 and thus also in the radial direction of the front part 17, which opens inward in this radial direction. This means that the groove 29 is thus oriented such that it is closed in the axial direction and thus in the direction of the axis A (FIG. 3) and has its opening or is accessible in the radial direction at right angles thereto. In the exemplary embodiment this radially open groove 29 is embodied on the shell side 27 of the front part 17 which is positioned further inward when viewed in the radial direction.

[0066] Furthermore, the guide 28 also comprises at least one further engaging element 30. The engaging element 30 may be an element embodied partially about the axis A in the peripheral direction; it may however also be a completely revolving engaging element.

[0067] The engaging element 30 is embodied integrally on the sliding ring 19. To this end, aside from a slide plate 19a the sliding ring 19 comprises a holding web 19b arranged thereon, on which this engaging element 30 is in turn then molded. In the exemplary embodiment, the engaging element 30 extends further outward in the radial direction of the operating element 13, compared to the holding web 19b, so that in this respect it can engage in the open groove 29 facing this or extends therein.

[0068] The engaging element 30 is preferably embodied resiliently and can thus be elastically deformed especially in the radial direction. Provision is made in particular for the engaging element 30 to be arranged in, and prestressed in the state coupled to, the groove 29, in particular arranged prestressed radially therein.

[0069] As can be seen from the representation in FIG. 5, when the operating device 10 is viewed from the front, the slide plate 19a is arranged behind the front part 17 when viewed in the axial direction, and the front part 17 rests on a sliding surface 19c of this slide plate 19a. This sliding surface 19c may be flat or may also be embodied with dimples.

[0070] The operating element 13 is guided in the control panel 9 and is centered and held there in a virtually play-free manner This relates in particular to the front part 17. A material pairing which is suitable for easy motion control is preferably embodied between the slide plate 19a and the front part 17, in particular a rear element 17a of the front part 17 which rests directly on the slide plate 19a.

[0071] Furthermore this means that breakthroughs in the slide plate 19a can also be configured to generate the engaging element or elements 30, without negatively affecting safety requirements, for instance the accessibility of live parts.

[0072] A form closure is preferably embodied between the engaging element 30 and the groove 29 and a form closure is furthermore also realized between the sliding surface 19c and the rear element 17a. The degree of the form closure in the radial direction is preferably embodied such that a freedom from play is achieved and on the other hand operation of the ring by the user is easily permitted. The degree of the form closure in the axial direction is embodied in particular such that pull-off forces are large enough to ensure that the front part 17 is held securely on the device 1 even with relative movements of the control panel 9 or during transportation and are small enough to be able to remove the front part 17 for cleaning purposes for instance.

[0073] Provision can also be made for the groove 29 to be embodied on the sliding ring 19 and for an engaging element 30 then positioned facing radially inwards to be embodied in particular on the shell side 27 so that compared to the representation in FIG. 5, the inverse embodiment is realized.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0074] 1 Domestic appliance [0075] 2 Cooking zone [0076] 3 Cooking zone [0077] 4 Cooking zone [0078] 5 Cooking zone [0079] 6 Cooking compartment [0080] 7 Door [0081] 8 Handle [0082] 9 Control panel [0083] 10 Operating device [0084] 11 Display field [0085] 12 Boundary or edge [0086] 12a Surface area [0087] 13 Operating element [0088] 14 Symbols [0089] 15 Cover [0090] 16a, 16b Controls [0091] 17 Front part [0092] 17a Rear element [0093] 18 Top side [0094] 19 Sliding ring [0095] 19a Slide plate [0096] 19b Holding web [0097] 19c Sliding surface [0098] 20 Groove base [0099] 21 Exterior [0100] 22 Groove [0101] 23 Metal spider [0102] 24 Rear [0103] 25 Outer edge [0104] 26 Groove [0105] 27 Shell side [0106] 28 Guide [0107] 29 Groove [0108] 30 Engaging element