THE CONTROL PANEL

The present invention relates to a household appliance comprising a knob that is mounted to the control panel. Household appliances, for example laundry washers/dryers, cooking appliances, and dishwashers, comprise a control panel, a main control card and one or more than one knob that enable the functions thereof to be monitored and controlled by the user. The knobs are, directly or by means of an intermediate element, attached from the front side of the panel to the shafts that are mechanically connected to the encoder disposed on the main control card that is disposed behind the control panel by means of the openings disposed on the control panel. As the knobs are being moved, the shafts that are connected to the knobs also move and the functions at predetermined positions depending on the user preferences, for example functions like in which program the laundries should be washed in a washing machine, at which rpm the spin-drying should be performed or at which temperature the wash water should be used, are enabled to be selected.

In the state of the art the knobs are mounted to the shaft connected to the encoder disposed on the main control card that is disposed behind the control panel from the front side of the control panel for the reason of ease of production. In this state of the art embodiment, while the knob is mounted on the control panel by means of clawed structures, some tolerances are needed to be taken into consideration in order that the shaft and the knob can be easily borne to each other. Therefore, a gap should be left around the clawed structures. While facilitating the rotation of the knob, these gaps weaken the resistance of the knob against exterior impacts and cause the knob to get loose and dislodge.

In the state of the art European Patent Application No. EP1829071, a household appliance is disclosed, that comprises a knob mounted to the control panel.

In the state of the art British Patent Application No. GB2040396, a control knob is disclosed, that is fixed to the shaft in a safe manner. The aim of the present invention is the realization of a household appliance that comprises a knob that is easily mounted on the control panel and the strength of which is increased against impacts and vibrations.

The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises an encoder that is connected to the main control card and that enables the user settings to be transferred to the control unit; a knob that moves the encoder shaft, and an interconnecting element that is disposed between the shaft and the knob and wherein the shaft is mounted and whereon the knob is mounted. The interconnecting element comprises a rear set that is disposed behind the control panel, that extends outwards in the radial direction around the rear end of the cylindrical body of the interconnecting element and that bears against the rear surface of the control panel and a front set that is disposed on the end of the body of the interconnecting element extending into the knob by going out of the opening and that extends outwards in the radial direction. Moreover, the interconnecting element comprises at least two claws that stretch by getting close to the body thereof while the body is being passed through the opening during the assembly, and return to the initial position and bear against the control panel after being passed through the opening. The knob of the present invention that is mounted to the interconnecting element comprises a second bearing that enables the knob to be fixed to the interconnecting element and at least two auxiliary claws, one end of which is fixed on the second bearing and the other end bearing against the front set while being mounted to the interconnecting element. By means of the present invention, the dislodging of the knob under a load is prevented and both the perceptional quality is improved and the safety risk is eliminated.

A household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where: Figure 1 - is the front view of the control panel of a household appliance.

Figure 2 - is the exploded cross-sectional view of the control panel, the interconnecting element and the knob.

Figure 3 - is the exploded cross-sectional view of the control panel, the intermediate element and the knob while the interconnecting element is passed through the opening.

Figure 4 - is the exploded cross-sectional view of the control panel, the intermediate element and the knob when the interconnecting element is fixed on the control panel. Figure 5 - is the perspective view of the interconnecting element that is fixed on the control panel.

Figure 6 - is the view of detail A in Figure 5.

Figure 7 - is the cross-sectional view of the interconnecting element that is fixed on the panel. Figure 8 - is the cross-sectional view of the interconnecting element and the knob that are fixed to the control panel.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Household appliance

2. Control panel 3. Main control card

4. Encoder

5. Shaft

6. Knob

7. Opening 8. Interconnecting element 9. Body

10. Rear set

11. First bearing

12. Claw

13. Front set

14. Second bearing

15. Auxiliary claw

16. Guide

17. Protrusion

18. Decorative element

19. Rib

The household appliance (1), for example the laundry washer/dryer, the dishwasher or the cooking appliance, comprises a control panel (2) that enables the functions of the household appliance (1) to be monitored and controlled by the user; a main control card (3) disposed behind the control panel (2); an encoder (4) that is connected to the main control card (3) and that enables the user adjustments to be transferred to the main control card (3); a shaft (5) that is connected to the encoder (4); a knob (6) that moves the shaft (5), and an opening (7) that is disposed on the control panel (2) and wherein the knob (6) is placed. The household appliance (1) of the present invention comprises an interconnecting element (8) that is disposed between the shaft (5) and the knob (6) and wherein the shaft (5) is mounted and whereon the knob (6) is mounted.

The interconnecting element (8) comprises

- a body (9) that is mounted on the shaft (5) and that extends outwards from the opening (7) at the front portion of the control panel (2), - one or more than one rear set (10) that is disposed on the rear portion of the control panel (2), that extends outwards in the radial direction around the rear end of the body (9) and that bears against the rear surface of the control panel (2),

- a first bearing (11) that is disposed in the body (9) and that supports (houses) the shaft (5), and

- at least two claws (12) that are fixed to the body (9) or produced with the body (9) as a single piece, that stretch by getting close to the body (9) while the body (9) is being passed through the opening (7) during the assembly, that return to the initial position and bear against the control panel (2) after being passed through the opening (7) to enable the control panel (2) to be squeezed from its rear and front surface together with the rear set (10).

While the knob (6) is mounted to the household appliance (1), first the interconnecting element (8) is inserted into the opening (7) from behind the control panel (2) and the rear set (10) is moved outside of the opening (7) until the rear set (10) bears against the rear surface of the panel (2). Meanwhile, the claws (12) passing through the opening (7) stretch inwards and get close to the body (9). After passing the opening (7), this time the claws (12) stretch in the opposite direction, namely outwards and bear against the front surface of the control panel (2) around the opening (7). The control panel (2) is squeezed between the claws (12) and the rear set (10), and the interconnecting element (8) is fixed so as to only perform rotational movement on the control panel (2). The interconnecting element (8) is fixed to the control panel (2) in the same axis with the opening (7), the shaft (5) and the knob (6). The interconnecting element (8) is prevented by the rear set (10) from moving out of the opening (7) in the axial direction and is prevented by the claws from moving through the opening (7) (behind the control panel (2)). The shaft (5) is placed into the first bearing (11) and the control panel (2) is fixed on the household appliance (1) with the interconnecting element (8) thereon. The knob (6) is mounted on the portion of the body (9) that passes to the front side of the control panel (2) by extending outwards from the opening (7) and the assembly of the knob (6) to the interconnecting element (8) is completed. By means of the interconnecting element (8), the resistance of the knob (6) against exterior forces is increased. The rear set (10) and the claws (12) increase the resistance of the interconnecting element (8) against the forces that are perpendicular to the surface of the control panel (2). While the rear set (10) increases the resistance against the forces that act outwards from the surface of the control panel (2) and that try to pull the knob (6) outwards from the opening (7), the claws (12) increase the resistance against the forces that act inwards from the surface of the control panel (2) and that try to push the knob (6) inwards from the opening (7). Moreover, the resistance against the forces (F) in the flexing direction acting on the knob (6) is increased (Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the interconnecting element (8) comprises a hollow cylindrical body (9) and at least two guides (16) that are disposed on the inner surface of the first bearing (11), that extend along the axis of the first bearing (11), that enable the rotational movement of the knob (6) and of the interconnecting element (8) to be transferred to the shaft (5).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the interconnecting element (8) comprises one or more than one front set (13) that is fixed to the body (9) or produced with the body (9) as a single piece, that is disposed on the end of the body (9) extending into the knob (6) from the opening (7) and that extends outwards in the radial direction from the body (9). (Figure 7).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the knob (6) comprises a second bearing (14) that enables the knob (6) to be fixed to the interconnecting element

(7) and at least two auxiliary claws (15) that are disposed in the knob (6), one end of which is fixed on the second bearing (14) and the other end bearing against the front set (13) while the knob (6) is being mounted to the interconnecting element

(8) . When a force that tries to pull the knob (6) outwards from the control panel (2) in the axial direction acts, the ends of the auxiliary claws (15) bear against the front set (13) disposed in the interconnecting element (8), move towards the connection point of the front set (13) and the body (9), thus the dislodging of the knob (6) on its own or by being pulled becomes nearly impossible.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the knob (6) comprises one or more than one rib (16) that bears against the body (9) of the interconnecting element (8) by extending inwards from the second bearing (14) in the radial direction and that enables the interconnecting element (8) to support the forces that try to bend the knob (6) right-left (or up-down), for example the impacts acting on the knob (6) from sideways.

When the knob (6) is mounted on the interconnecting element (8) fixed to the control panel (2), the interconnecting element (8) is moved forward in the second bearing (14) and the front set (13) stretches the auxiliary claws (15) outwards. The auxiliary claws (15) passing over the front set (13) stretch inwards once more and bear against the rear surface of the front set (13). When the auxiliary claws (15) bear against the rear surface of the front set (13), a rigid snap-fit connection is provided, and the dislodging of the knob (6) due to exterior acting forces and vibrations becomes nearly impossible.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the control panel (2) comprises a circular protrusion (17) that is disposed on the front surface thereof, that completely surrounds the opening (7) and wherein the ends of the claws (12) on the interconnecting element (8) that bear against the control panel (2) are seated (Figure 8).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the knob (5) comprises a decorative element (18) that is mounted in the middle thereof, and the second bearing (14), the auxiliary claw (15) and the ribs (16) are disposed in the decorative element (18).

In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, by means of the interconnecting element (8) used in the assembly of the knob (6), the dislodging or the loosening of the knob (6) due to exterior forces and vibrations is prevented, and the user satisfaction in terms of rigidity and appearance is increased.