Control panel assembly for home appliances and method for manufacturing the same

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to home appliances, and more particularly, to a control panel assembly for operating the home appliances and displaying an operation state thereof.

2. Background Art

FIG. 1

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a related art control panel assembly of a home appliance, in which a control panel

1

forms an outside shape of the control panel assembly. The control panel

1

may form one side of the home appliance. The control panel

1

is provided with a plurality of pass through holes

3

and resilient buttons

5

formed therein. The pass through holes

3

are parts for passing lights of LEDs to display operation states of the home appliance, and the resilient buttons

5

are parts for receiving signals for operating the home appliance from the user as a user presses the buttons

5

.

The resilient buttons

5

connects to the control panel

1

with a plurality of legs

6

, for returning to an original position after the button

5

is pressed owing to resiliency of the leg

6

. The resilient button

5

has a lengthy extension to an inside of the control panel

1

for on/off a switch

8

fitted to a substrate

7

to be explained later.

The substrate

7

is fitted to an inside of the control panel

1

. The substrate

7

has the switch

8

for receiving signals for operating the home appliance, components, such as LED for displaying operation states of the home appliance, and supporters

9

for supporting the LED and guiding lights. There are components other than above. The switch

8

is fitted at a position opposite to the resilient button

5

, and the LED is fitted to a position opposite to the pass through hole

3

.

Next, there is a window panel

10

welded to a surface of the control panel

1

. The window panel

10

has pass through holes

12

in positions opposite to the resilient buttons

5

and the pass through holes

3

in the control panel

1

. The pass through holes

12

opposite to the resilient buttons

5

are for permitting the user to press down the resilient buttons

5

, and the pass through holes

12

opposite to the pass through holes

3

are for permitting the lights of the LEDs to pass outside.

In the meantime, there is a window film

15

fitted to a surface of the window panel

10

. The window film

15

fitted to the window panel

10

prevents infiltration of foreign matters and moisture into an inner part. There are buttons

17

projected from positions opposite to the resilient buttons, and indicating parts

18

at positions opposite to the pass through holes

12

for indicating operation states of the home appliances. There are characters, or graphics on the buttons

17

and the indicating parts

18

for indicating functions or operations, or the like.

In the foregoing related art control panel assembly for home appliances, the window film

15

is fitted to the window panel

10

, and the window panel

10

with the window film

15

fitted thereto is welded to the control panel

1

. The substrate

7

is seated on an inside of the control panel

1

.

Once the control panel assembly is assembled, the buttons

17

on the window film

15

are located opposite to the resilient buttons

5

of the control panel

1

through the pass through holes

12

, such that when the buttons

17

are pressed, the resilient buttons

5

are pressed, to operate the switch

8

on the substrate

7

.

The lights from the LEDs on the substrate

7

are transmitted through the pass through holes

12

opposite to the indicating parts

18

on the window film

15

and the pass through holes

3

in the control panel

1

. The lights from the LED are guided by the supporters

9

. Once the lights from the LEDs illuminate the window film

15

, operation states of the home appliances are indicated in association with the indicating part

18

.

However, the foregoing related art control panel assembly has the following problems.

First, the related art control panel assembly, provided with the control panel

1

, the substrate

7

, the window panel

10

, and the window film

15

, has relatively many number of components, to require individual fabrication of the components, that increases a production cost, and causes assembly work of the components poor.

Moreover, the foregoing related art control panel assembly has a plurality of the supporters

9

separated from one another for supporting the LEDs and guiding the lights thereof The plurality of supporters

9

are provided for smooth interaction between the switches

8

each fitted between the LEDs and the resilient buttons

5

on the control panel

1

.

However, this configuration fails to provide a robust fitting state of the supporters

9

, because the supporters

9

cannot but be fixed to a level at which lower parts of the supporters

9

are inserted in the substrate

7

respectively, and held by one urethane coating. This construction cannot transmit the lights of the LEDS guided by the supporters

9

to the indicating parts

18

, accurately.

In addition to this, since (he resilient buttons

5

are on (lie control panel

1

, operation of the switches

8

by the resilient buttons

5

may not be made exactly if the assembly between the control panel

1

and the substrate

7

are accurate.

In the meantime, one of resilient buttons

5

on the control panel

1

provided adjacent to one another may be pressed by mistake on the occasion of pressing an adjacent one, to cause a problem that adjacent switches

8

are pressed on the same time.

Since the window film

15

is fitted to cover the window panel

10

only, there is a danger of water infiltration into an inner part through a gap between the control panel

1

and the window panel

10

, the control panel

1

does not look elegant since the control panel

1

has one part of the window film

15

fitted thereto and the other part of the window film

15

not fitted thereto, and which further causes a problem of a difference of discoloration between the part the window film

15

is fitted thereto and the other part the window film

15

is not fitted thereto when the control panel

1

is used for a long time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention designed for solving the foregoing problem is to provide a control panel assembly of a simple construction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control panel assembly having an improved outside look.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a control panel assembly which permits no infiltration of foreign matters into an inner part thereof

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a control panel assembly which shows no discoloration even if the control panel assembly is used for a long time period.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a control panel assembly for home appliances including a substrate for fitting switches and indicators for operating at least one or more than one home appliance and indicating operating states of the home appliance respectively, an outside film formed such that a user can access the switches and the indicators, and a control panel injection molded so to be inserted in, and unitized with, the outside film having a substrate fitted to an inside thereof.

Preferably, the control panel assembly further includes an intermediate frame for connecting the outside film to the switches/indicators such that the outside film interacts with the switches/indicators.

The intermediate frame includes at least one intermediate button for driving the switch, and at least one supporter for supporting the indicators and guiding indication of the indicators.

The intermediate frame further includes reinforcing ribs formed between adjacent intermediate buttons.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a control panel assembly for home appliances, including the steps of (a) forming an outside film such that a user can put the home appliance into operation and know an operation state, (b) injection molding resin in the outside film, to form the control panel as one unit with the outside film, and (c) fitting the control panel unitized with the outside film to a substrate, such that the outside film can interact with the switches and the buttons fitted on the substrate.

The step (a) includes the steps of (aa) printing graphics or characters on a raw film for indicating operations and operation states, and (ab) forming the printed film to be in conformilty with a predetermined outside form by heat.

The step (ab) includes the steps of placing the printed film in a mold having a forming surface of a required form, applying heat and pressure to the film such that the film is brought into close contact with the forming surface, maintaining a pressure in the mold for a time period for forming the film to a form opposite to the forming surface, and separating the formed film from the mold.

The step (b) includes the steps of (ba) placing the formed film in a first mold having recesses opposite to a form of a front surface of the formed film, (bb) coupling a second mold opposite to the first mold with the first mold having the film placed therein, to form a forming cavity between the first mold and the second mold, (bc) injecting resin into the forming cavity, and (bd) removing a control panel from the mold, the control panel being formed as the resin is set as one unit with the film.

Thus, the present invention can improve the quality of an outside look of the control panel, prevent infiltration of foreign matters into the control panel assembly, and permits easy assembly of the control panel assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The characters and advantages of the present invention can be better understood with reference to the attached drawings, together with the detailed description of the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a related art control panel assembly for home appliances;

FIG. 2

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a control panel assembly for home appliances in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3

illustrates a perspective view of a bottom of an intermediate frame of a control panel assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4D

illustrate perspective views showing the steps of a method for fabricating an outside film in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-5D

illustrate perspective views showing the steps of a method for thermal formation of an outside film in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 6A-6D

illustrate perspective views showing the steps of a method for fabricating a control panel in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A control panel assembly for home appliances in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 2

illustrates a perspective disassembled view of a control panel assembly for home appliances in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 3

illustrates a perspective view of a bottom of an intermediate frame of a control panel assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Though the control panel of the present invention is applicable to all kinds of home appliances, the following embodiment explains application to a washing machine.

As shown, the control panel of the present invention includes a control panel

30

, a substrate

40

fitted to the control panel

30

, and an outside film

60

fitted to a front surface of the panel

30

.

Referring to

FIG. 2

, the control panel

30

forms an outside shape of a control panel assembly. The control panel

30

is injection molded so to be inserted in the outside film. That is, the control panel

30

is formed as a unit with the outside film

60

. Thus, since the control panel

30

and the outside film

60

are unitized actually, a number of components to be assembled in a fabrication process are reduced relatively, and a design uniformity of the control panel

30

can be maintained. Moreover, the outside film

60

protects the control panel

30

, an injection molded product, from discoloration.

The control panel

30

has at least one button pass through holes

32

, at position opposite to switches

42

on the substrate

40

to be explained later. Along with this, at least one indicating pass through holes

34

is formed in the control panel

30

, at positions opposite to indicators

43

on the substrate

40

. The control panel

30

is formed of a transparent, or semi-transparent material for improvement of an outside look, preferably of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

The substrate

40

forms a bottom of the control panel assembly of the present invention, and supports various components fitted in the assembly. The switches

42

, components for operation of the home appliances and indicators

43

, components for indicating operation states of the home appliances are fitted on the substrate

40

. The switches

42

provides signals required for operation of the home appliances, and the indicators

43

may be LEDs (Light Emitting Diode), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), or the like.

Especially, when the control panel assembly of the present invention is applied to a washing machine, water proofing is more important than anything else. Therefore, it is preferable that a water proof layer

40

a

is formed on the substrate

40

for preventing the switches

42

and the indicators

43

from coming into contact with water. The water proof layer is in general formed of urethane, mostly.

As explained, the outside film

60

is unitized with the control panel

30

, basically. The outside film

60

covers all the front surface

30

a for improvement of an outer look and prevention of discoloration of the front panel

30

. Preferably, the outside film

60

has a continuous surface having no holes for prevention of infiltration of water and other foreign matters into the substrate

40

.

The outside film

60

is formed such that a user can access the switches

42

and the indicators

43

, i.e., the user can operate the switches

42

or can obtain information from the indicators

43

. For this, the outside film

60

includes buttons

62

formed opposite to the switches

42

and indicator windows

64

formed opposite to the indicators

43

. In this instance, the buttons

62

have projected from a surface of the outside film

60

opposite to the switches

42

so as to put the switches

42

into operation when the user presses the buttons

62

. The indicator windows

64

have the lights from the indicators

43

provided thereto through the indicating pass through holes

34

. If the control panel

30

is formed of transparent, or semi-transparent material, the lights from the indicators

43

can be provided to the indicator windows

43

directly even if there are no indicating pass through holes

34

.

The outside film

60

, particularly the buttons

62

and the indicator windows

64

, may have characters, graphics, or colors printed thereon for assisting a user's use of the home appliances. Moreover, though the buttons

62

may be formed to be transparent for providing various designs, the transparent buttons

62

do not provide a good look of the control panel assembly, because an inside of the control panel assembly can be seen through the transparent buttons

62

. Therefore, it is preferable that finishing members are fitted to rear of the transparent buttons

62

additionally for preventing the inside of the control panel assembly from being seen through the transparent buttons

62

. The finishing member may have a color, a character, or a graphic printed thereon for display through the transparent button

62

.

In the meantime, though the outside film

60

(i.e., the buttons

62

and the indicator windows

64

) may be directly connected to, and interact with, the switches

42

and the indicator

43

, it is more preferable that an intermediate film is provided between the outside film

60

and the switches

42

/the indicators

43

additionally for more stable operation. The intermediate frame

50

connects the outside film

60

to the switches

42

/the indicators

43

so as to interact with each other.

In more detail, the intermediate frame

50

has intermediate buttons

52

for driving the switches

42

. As shown, the intermediate buttons

52

has a body

52

a

extended for a length, and a leg

52

b

for connecting the body

52

a

to the intermediate frame

50

. The body

52

a

is actually projected from the intermediate frame

50

, with a bottom thereof in contact with the switch

42

, and a top thereof positioned in the button pass through hole

32

of the control panel

30

. The leg

52

b

makes the body

52

a

operative resiliently by a force provided to the body

52

a

. That is, whenever the force is provided to the intermediate buttons

52

, the leg

52

b

is deformed resiliently to press the body

52

a

down, to turn on/off the switch

42

. When the force is removed, the leg

52

b

is restored, to restore the body

52

a

to an original position, too. As shown, it is preferable that the leg

52

b

is a spiral member for having an appropriate elastic force.

The intermediate frame

50

also has supporters

54

formed as one unit. The supporter

54

has an opening

54

a

opposite to the indicator

43

, and a wall

54

b

extended in a vertical direction from a circumference of the opening

54

a

. That is, as shown the supporter

54

has a form of channel actually. According to this, it is preferable that a bottom of the wall

54

b

is seated on the substrate

40

for more stable supporting of the indicator

43

. A top of the wall

54

b

serves to guide a light from the indicator

43

to the indicator window

64

, together with the opening

54

a.

The intermediate frame

50

has a plurality of fastening parts

56

, for fastening the intermediate frame

50

to the substrate

40

. The fastening parts

56

may be fastened by screws.

As explained, unlike the related art, the present invention suggests unitization of the intermediate buttons

52

and the supporters

54

. According to this, a number of entire components are reduced, and required man power is also reduced. Moreover, since the intermediate frame

50

is fastened to the substrate

40

by the fastening parts

56

, bottoms of the supporters

54

are supported on the substrate

40

, and the intermediate frame

50

is supported on the substrate

40

firmly on the whole. According to this, when the intermediate buttons

52

are pressed down, the switches

42

can be operated exactly, and the supporters

54

can also guide lights from the indicators

43

to the indicator windows

64

, exactly.

In the meantime, a plurality of the legs

52

b

in the intermediate frame

50

may weaken a strength of the intermediate frame

50

, such that an adjacent button may be moved when one of the intermediate buttons

52

are pressed. For preventing this, the intermediate frame

50

is provided with a reinforcing rib

58

between every adjacent intermediate buttons

52

. Referring to

FIG. 3

, the reinforcing rib

58

may be formed on a back surface of the intermediate frame

50

, or, though not shown, may be formed on a front surface of the intermediate frame

50

. The reinforcing frame

58

, seated on the substrate

40

, serves to support the intermediate frame

50

. The reinforcing rib

58

reinforces strength of the intermediate frame

50

. Therefore, when one of the intermediate buttons

52

is pressed, no other intermediate buttons

52

are pressed, thereby preventing malfunction of the home appliances.

Though the intermediate frame

50

is divided into two parts in this embodiment, the intermediate frame

50

may be fabricated as one unit depending on a design condition.

A method for fabricating a control panel assembly of the present invention will be explained.

At first, an outside film

60

is prepared such that a user can operate a home appliance and understand operation state thereof.

FIG. 4A

illustrates a raw film state of an outside film

60

. The raw film is formed of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalata) or PC (Polycarbonate). Graphics or characters are printed in a surface of the raw film for indicating operation states of the home appliances. Particular color is painted on the surface of the outside film

60

on the same time with the printing of the graphics or characters. For an example, the surface of the outside film

60

is painted with a color the same with a color of the top cover or a door part located in the vicinity of the control panel assembly, or may be painted with a particular color depending on a design of the home appliances.

FIG. 4B

illustrates a state a ground color is painted on a surface of the outside film

60

, and a graphic or characters are printed thereon. A part the ground color is painted is an area indicated with a dashed line, which is an approx. outline of the outside film

60

. In the meantime, the graphic or characters on the outside film

60

is printed taking deformation in a thermal formation process, a next process, into account. That is, the graphic of characters are printed so as to indicate an intended shape after the outside film

60

is deformed in the thermal formation. For an example, if a final graphic is a circle, the graphic may be printed in an elliptical form.

Next, the printed film

60

may be subjected to thermal formation, to obtain a required shape. Referring to

FIG. 5A

, in this thermal formation step, the printed film

60

is placed in a cavity

73

formed by a first mold

70

and a second mold. In this instance, edges of the outside film

60

are projected outside of the molds

70

and

72

.

In this state, heat and pressure is applied to the printed film

60

. In more detail, the film

60

is heated by a heat coil

74

provided to the second mold

72

. Then, compressed air is blown into the cavity

73

through a compressed air injection hole

75

, to apply pressure to the film

60

. As shown in

FIG. 5A

, as a pressure inside of the cavity

63

becomes higher, the heated outside film

60

comes into close contact with the surface

70

′ of the first mold

70

.

Then, the state the heated outside film

60

is in close contact with the surface

70

′ of the first mold

70

is maintained for a preset time period, such that the outside film

60

takes a shape corresponding to the surface

70

′, i.e., a preset desired form. The buttons

62

projected from a surface of the outside film

60

are formed by the surface

70

′ on the same time as shown in FIG.

4

C. Upon finishing the formation, the first mold

70

and the second mold

72

are separated, and the formed outside film

60

is taken out.

Then, additionally, the outside film

60

is trimmed to obtain a completed outside film

60

as shown in FIG.

4

D.

Upon finishing a step of formation of the outside film, resin is injected so as to be inserted in the outside film

60

, to form a control panel

30

as a unit with the outside film

60

. A series of steps of a method for forming the control panel

30

will be explained, with reference to

FIGS. 6A-6D

.

At first, referring to

FIG. 6A

, the formed outside film

60

is placed in the first mold

80

having a recess

80

′ in conformity with the outside film

60

. The first mold

80

has extraction holes

81

extended for outside of the first mold

80

to the recess

80

′. By extracting air through the extraction holes

81

, a vacuum is formed between the recess

80

′ and the placed film

60

, to fix the outside film

60

on the recess

80

′ firmly accordingly.

Next, referring to

FIG. 6B

, a second mold

82

having a form substantially in conformity with the recess

80

′ in the first mold

80

is coupled with the first mold

80

. This coupling provides a formation cavity

83

between the first mold

80

and the second mold

82

. As shown, the second mold

82

has a plurality of projections

85

for forming the buttons and indicating holes

32

and

34

, which are opposite to the buttons

62

and the indicator windows

64

of the outside film

60

formed before, respectively. Moreover, when the first and second molds

80

and

82

are coupled, an edge of the outside film

60

is supported on a supporting edge

84

of the second mold

82

, so that the outside film

60

is placed in the recess

80

′ of the first mold

80

, correctly.

Then, referring to

FIG. 6C

, resin

30

′ is introduced into the formation cavity

83

between the molds

80

and

82

through the injection hole

86

for forming a control panel

30

.

FIG. 6D

illustrates a state the resin

30

′ is introduced into the formation cavity

83

, fully. The resin

30

′ is not introduced to a part of the formation cavity

83

corresponding to the buttons

62

and the indicator windows

64

of the film

60

owing to the projections

85

from the second mold. The resin

30

′ may be formed of transparent, or semi-transparent ABS for improvement of an outside look. Moreover, when the resin

30

′ has a melting point higher than the outside film

60

, the outside film

60

may be deformed when the resin

30

′ is injected into the formation cavity

83

. Therefore, it is preferable that the resin

30

′ has a melting point lower than the outside film

60

. When a certain time period has passed after the resin

30

′

0

is introduced, the resin

30

′ is set to become the control panel

30

, when the outside film

60

is inserted to the control panel

30

as one unit.

Upon finishing formation of the control panel

30

, the unitized outside film

60

/the control panel

30

is fitted to the substrate

40

. In the fitting, the buttons

62

and the indicator window

64

are respectively disposed opposite to the switches

42

and the indicators

43

, for good interaction through the button pass through holes

32

and the indicating pass through holes. That is, when the button

62

is pressed, the switch

42

is pressed, to put the home appliance into a designated operation. The information on operation state indicated by the indicator

43

is displayed on the indicator window

64

through the indicating pass through hole

43

.

If the intermediate frame

50

is employed, the intermediate frame

50

is fitted to the substrate

40

before the control panel

30

and the substrate

40

are assembled. In more detail, the intermediate buttons

52

connect the buttons

62

and the switches

42

, and the supporters

54

connect the indicator windows

64

and the indicators

43

. Accordingly, when the user presses the button

62

, a relevant switch

42

is operated exactly by the intermediate button

52

. Also, information on the indicator

43

is transmitted to the indicator window

64

more clearly through the supporter

43

and the indicator window

64

. That is, the intermediate frame

50

primarily assures operative stability of the control panel assembly.

The intermediate frame

50

is fastened to the substrate

40

by the fastening parts

56

, such that the reinforcing ribs

58

and the supporters

54

on the intermediate frame

50

are supported on the substrate

40

. Eventually, the firm fastening of the intermediate frame

50

to the substrate

40

permits exact operation of the intermediate buttons

52

and the supporters

43

, thereby enhancing an overall operative stability.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the control panel assembly for home appliances of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As has been explained, the control panel assembly for home appliances of the present invention can reduce a number of components relatively, thereby improving workability of an assembly Work.

The unitization of the intermediate buttons and the supporters with the intermediate frame in fitting to the substrate permits exact guidance of lights of the indicators and exact interaction of the intermediate buttons and the switches, thereby enhancing an operative reliability of the control panel assembly.

In the meantime, the outside film inserted in a front surface of the control panel prevents infiltration of foreign matters into an inside of the control panel effectively, and improves an outside look of the control panel assembly, and prevents discoloration of the control panel, an injection molded product.