Household appliance comprising a knob the outer periphery of which is illuminated

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance (1) comprising a control panel (2), a push-pull type and rotary knob (3) which is disposed to the control panel (2), a casing (5) which is produced from plastic, fixed to the back side of the control panel (2) and which forms a housing for the knob (3), and which has a cylindrical side wall (4), more than one light source (8) which provides the periphery of the knob (3) to be illuminated by emitting light, a printed circuit board (9) whereon the light sources (8) are integrated and a light guide (14) which transmits the light received from the light sources (8) to the periphery of the knob (3).

Claims

1. A household appliance (1) comprising a control panel (2), a knob (3) which is disposed to the control panel (2), a casing (5) which is fixed to a back side of the control panel (2), which forms a housing for the knob (3) and has a cylindrical side wall (4) and a planar support wall (6) which is vertical to the side wall (4), a guiding part (7) which is produced as one piece with the casing (5) and extends from a base of the planar support wall (6) backwards away from the planar support wall (6) wherein the planar support wall forms a structure between the control panel (2) and the guiding part (7), more than one light source (8) which is assembled to the casing (5) and provides a periphery of the knob (3) to be illuminated by emitting light into the casing (5), a printed circuit board (9) whereon the light sources (8) are integrated, an opening (10) which is located at the center of the printed circuit board (9) for assembling the printed circuit board (9) to the casing (5), and more than one assembly hole (11) wherein the light sources (8) are assembled and which is located on the support wall (6), wherein the printed circuit board (9) is mounted to the casing (5) by being inserted onto the guiding part (7) by means of the opening (10) and which is joined with the support wall (6) surface-to-surface, and further comprising at least one flexible locking detent (12) which is disposed on the guiding part (7) and which extends towards the support wall (6) by opening outwards from the guiding part (7) and which provides the printed circuit board (9) to be assembled to the casing (5) snap-fittingly by bearing against the back surface of the printed circuit board (9) in the position the light sources (8) are mounted to the assembly holes (11).

Description

(1) The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

(2) FIG. 1is the perspective view of a household appliance.

(3) FIG. 2is the exploded view of a control panel, a knob, a knob casing and a LED board.

(4) FIG. 3is the perspective view of a control panel, a knob casing and a LED board in before being assembled.

(5) FIG. 4is the perspective view of a control panel, a knob casing and a LED board in assembled state.

(6) FIG. 5is the schematic view of a LED, a LED board and an assembly hole located on the knob casing.

(7) FIG. 6is the schematic view of a LED, a LED board and a knob casing in assembled state.

(8) The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows: 1. Household appliance 2. Control panel 3. Knob 4. Side wall 5. Casing 6. Support wall 7. Guiding part 8. Light source 9. Printed circuit board 10. Opening 11. Assembly hole 12. Locking detent 13. Body 14. Light guide

(9) The household appliance (1) comprises a control panel (2), a push-pull type and rotary knob (3) which is disposed to the control panel (2), a casing (5) which is produced from plastic, fixed to the back side of the control panel (2) and forms a housing for the knob (3), and which has a cylindrical side wall (4), a planar support wall (6) which is vertical to the side wall (4) forming a gradual structure almost at the center of the casing (5), a guiding part (7) which is produced as one piece with the casing (5) and has hollow, cylindrical side walls extending from the support wall (6) backwards as an extension of the casing (5), more than one light source (8) which is assembled to the casing (5) and provides the periphery of the knob (3) to be illuminated by emitting light into the casing (5), a printed circuit board (9) whereon the light sources (8) are integrated, an opening (10) which is located at the center of the printed circuit board (9) and provides it to be assembled to the casing (5), more than one assembly hole (11) wherein the light sources (8) are assembled and which is located on the support wall (6), and a light guide (14) which is disposed into the casing (5) and transmits the light received from the light sources (8) to the periphery of the knob (3).

(10) The household appliance (1) of the present invention comprises a printed circuit board (9) which is mounted to the casing (5) by being inserted onto the guiding part (7) by means of the opening (10) and joined with the support wall (6) surface-to-surface, and the light sources (8) on which are mounted to the assembly holes (11), and at least one flexible locking detent (12) which is connected to the guiding part (7) and which extends in a curved manner towards the support wall (6) such that a distance remains between itself and the support wall (6) as much as the thickness of the printed circuit board (9) by opening outwards from the cylindrical side walls of the guiding part (7), and which provides the printed circuit board (9) to be assembled to the casing (5) snap-fittingly by bearing against the back surface of the printed circuit board (9) in the position the printed circuit board (9) bears against the support wall (6) and the light sources (8) are mounted to the assembly holes (11).

(11) While being assembled to the casing (5), the printed circuit board (9) is inserted onto the guiding part (7) by means of the opening (10) at the center of the printed circuit board (9) and is slid on the guiding part (7) towards the support wall (6) in the axial direction. The guiding part (7) is in a form matching with the contour of the opening (10) and bears the printed circuit board (9) during assembly. While the printed circuit board (9) is slid on the guiding part (7), the contours of the opening (10) stretch the locking detents (12) inwardly, that is, towards the guiding part (7) whereto the locking detents (12) are connected, by bearing against the locking detents (12), and at the moment the printed circuit board (9) bears against the support wall (6), the locking detents (12) become free from the contours of the opening (10) and change to the free position and provide the printed circuit board (9) to be locked to the casing (5) snap-fittingly while contacting the support wall (6) by bearing against the back surface of the printed circuit board (9). In case of any malfunction, for example when the need of changing the light sources (8) is required, the locking detents (12) are stretched by being pressed towards the guiding part (7) they are connected to (inwardly) and release the printed circuit board (9), and the printed circuit board (9) is easily removed from the casing (5) by being pulled backwards on the guiding part (7).

(12) In the household appliance (1), for illuminating the knob (3), a LED light bulb having a transparent plastic body (13) such as epoxy or polycarbonate is used as light source (8). The plastic body (13) is known as lens in the relevant technical field (FIG. 5, FIG. 6).

(13) In an embodiment of the present invention, the plastic body (13) of the light source (8) is used as fixing means and during production, the diameter dimension of the assembly holes (11) on the support wall (6) of the casing (5) are adjusted so as to be mounted snap-fittingly to the body (13) with standard dimensions. Thus, the printed circuit board (9), whereto the light sources (8) are connected, is prevented from being stretched and the light sources (8) from being released from the assembly hole (11) (FIG. 5, FIG. 6).

(14) During the assembly of the printed circuit board (9) to the casing (5), the plastic bodies (13) of the light sources (8) are used as fixing means and the light sources (8) are provided to be snap-fittingly fixed to the assembly holes (11) directly without using an additional fixing part. Since the body (13) and the assembly hole (11) are produced from plastic material, applying extra force during the snap-fitting process is not required. The light sources (8) are assembled to the assembly holes (11) in a detachable manner by providing a connection similar to clickable connections.

(15) In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, the printed circuit board (9), whereto the light sources (8) providing the periphery of the knob (3) to be illuminated are integrated, is assembled to the knob (3) casing (5) snap-fittingly in a detachable manner and hence, ease of production and maintenance is provided.

(16) It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.