Patent Application
20190051468
The present subject matter relates generally to cooktops appliances and more particularly to a system for illuminating control knobs on cooktop appliances.
Control knobs are commonly used on a variety of commercial and residential appliances to control an operating condition of the appliance. Control knobs are particularly common on cooking appliances, such as stoves or cooktops. Various shapes and sizes can be used depending upon, e.g., the intended application, aesthetics, and other factors.
For example, cooktops traditionally have at least one heating element positioned at a cooktop surface for use in heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil and its contents. The at least one heating element may heat a cooking utensil directly through induction heating or may use another heat source such as electrically resistant coils or gas burners. Control knobs are typically used to adjust the power level of the heating element—and thus the amount of heat delivered by the heating element. In other appliances, e.g., ovens, washing machines, clothes dryers, etc., control knobs are often used to select an operating mode of the appliance, such as “bake” or “broil” for ovens, “cotton” or “permanent press” for clothes dryers, etc.
Often the position of the control knob, and thus the operating mode or power level setting it controls, is not readily visible to a user of the appliance from a distance, for example, across the kitchen from the dining room. To provide a user with easily visible feedback regarding the setting of the power control and thus the power being supplied to the heating element, cooktops with mechanical knobs generally include a display for communicating a status of the heating element. For example, displays may typically include a fixed light source illuminating one or more translucent portions defined by the control knob. However, because light may bleed undesirably to adjacent indicators, it is often difficult for a consumer to precisely ascertain the power level.
Accordingly, a cooktop appliance having a control knob with improved knob illumination is desirable. More particularly, a control knob assembly that can accurately illuminate a portion of the control knob to provide an easily visible indication of the angular position of the control knob and the status of the heating element would be particularly beneficial.
The present disclosure relates generally to a control knob assembly for a cooktop appliance that provides a readily visible indicator of the power level of a heating element. The control knob assembly includes a control knob that is rotatably mounted to a center housing and defines an arcuate light display and contact features that extend toward the center housing. A stationary shutter that defines an arcuate aperture is fixedly positioned between a light source and the control knob for at least partially blocking light from the light source. A mobile shutter is positioned between the stationary shutter and the control knob and includes an axial paddle extending along the axial direction for engaging the contact features as the control knob is rotated, thereby rotating a radial shutter for blocking a portion of the arcuate aperture. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one exemplary embodiment, a control knob assembly defining an axial direction, a radial direction, and a circumferential direction is provided. The control knob assembly includes a light source and a control knob being rotatable about the axial direction, the control knob including one or more contact features extending along the axial direction toward the light source and an arcuate light display. A stationary shutter is fixedly positioned between the light source and the control knob, the stationary shutter defining an arcuate aperture extending along the circumferential direction to at least partially allow light from the light source to pass toward the arcuate light display. A mobile shutter is positioned between the light source and the control knob and being rotatable about the axial direction, the mobile shutter defining a radial shutter extending along the radial direction and an axial paddle extending along the axial direction for engaging the one or more contact features as the control knob is rotated.
In another exemplary embodiment, a cooktop appliance is provided. The cooktop appliance includes a cooking surface including a heating source, a control panel defining an aperture, and a control knob assembly for regulating a power level of the heating source, the control knob assembly defining an axial direction, a radial direction, and a circumferential direction. The control knob assembly includes a light source and a control knob being rotatable about the axial direction, the control knob including one or more contact features extending along the axial direction toward the light source and an arcuate light display. A stationary shutter is fixedly positioned between the light source and the control knob, the stationary shutter defining an arcuate aperture extending along the circumferential direction to at least partially allow light from the light source to pass toward the arcuate light display. A mobile shutter is positioned between the stationary shutter and the control knob and being rotatable about the axial direction, the mobile shutter defining a radial shutter extending along the radial direction and an axial paddle extending along the axial direction for engaging the one or more contact features as the control knob is rotated.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
The present disclosure relates generally to a control knob assembly for a cooktop appliance 100. Although cooktop appliance 100 is used below for the purpose of explaining the details of the present subject matter, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present subject matter may apply to any other suitable consumer or commercial appliance. For example, the exemplary control knob assemblies described below may be used on other types of cooking appliances, such as ranges or oven appliances, or on dishwashing appliances, washing machines, clothes dryers, or any other consumer or commercial appliance that operates at least in part based on user input through a control knob. Cooktop appliance 100 is used in the discussion below only for the purpose of explanation, and such use is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any manner.
According to the illustrated embodiment, cooktop appliance 100 is a gas cooktop and heating elements 104 are gas burners. As illustrated, heating elements 104 are positioned within top panel 102 and have various sizes, as shown in
Although heating elements 104 are illustrated herein as gas burners, it should be appreciated that according to various alternative embodiments, heating elements 104 may employ any suitable method for heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil and its contents. For example, cooktop appliance 100 may be a gas cooktop, a radiant smooth top cooktop, an electric coil cooktop, an induction cooktop, etc. Thus, according to alternative embodiments, heating elements 104 use another heat transfer method, such as electric coils or induction elements, to heat the cooking utensil. Moreover, the configuration of cooktop appliance 100 and top panel 102 may vary according to the type of cooktop and heating elements. For example, in smooth top (e.g., glass) and induction cooktop applications, top panel 102 may directly support the cooking utensils, such that no grate 106 is needed. In this regard, top panel 102 may be a constructed of a ceramic glass for supporting the cooking utensil and heating element 104 may be positioned within or below top panel 102. By contrast, in an electric coil cooktop, the heating element 104 (e.g., the electrical coil) directly supports the cooking utensil. Other configurations are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter.
According to the illustrated exemplary embodiment, a user interface panel or control panel 110 is located within convenient reach of a user of cooktop appliance 100. For this exemplary embodiment, control panel 110 includes control knob assemblies 120 that are each associated with one of heating elements 104. Control knob assemblies 120 allow the user to activate each heating element 104 and regulate the amount of heat input each heating element 104 provides to a cooking utensil located thereon, as described in more detail below. Control panel 110 may also be provided with one or more graphical display devices, such as a digital or analog display device designed to provide operational feedback to a user.
According to the illustrated embodiment, control knob assemblies 120 are located within control panel 110 of cooktop appliance 100. However, it should be appreciated that this location is used only for the purpose of explanation, and that other locations and configurations of control panel 110 and control knob assemblies 120 are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter. Indeed, according to alternative embodiments, control knob assemblies 120 may instead be located directly on top panel 102 or elsewhere on cooktop appliance 100, e.g., on a backsplash, front bezel, or any other suitable surface of cooktop appliance 100.
Referring now generally to
Referring now to
As illustrated in
As used herein, control knob 130 may refer to any configuration of rotary dial, and not just one having a circular base, as shown in
Referring now specifically to
As illustrated, control knob 130 includes a receiving boss 136 that extends along the axial direction A through aperture 122. More specifically, inner support piece 132 defines receiving boss 136 which is configured to receive control shaft 128 such that control knob 130 is operatively coupled with control shaft 128. In this regard, for example, receiving boss 136 may have a D-shaped cross section that is configured to receive control shaft 128, which has a corresponding D-shaped profile. In this manner, control shaft 128 is securely received by control knob 130 and rotates precisely with control knob 130 with little or no lag. According to the illustrated embodiment, control knob 130 is removably attached to control shaft 128, e.g., for easy cleaning. However, according to alternative embodiments, control shaft 128 may be integrally formed with control knob 130. It should be noted that while the D-shaped control shaft 128 profile is illustrated in this discussion, other shapes may be used so long as they rotationally link control knob 130 and control shaft 128.
Control shaft 128 may be further configured for regulating a flow of fuel to the gas burner or heating element 104 using a gas control valve (not shown). In this regard, rotating control knob 130 a certain amount in the circumferential direction C rotates control shaft 128 the same amount in the circumferential direction C, thereby controlling the gas control valve. By contrast, if heating elements 104 are electric or induction heating elements, control shaft 128 could instead be coupled to an electronic regulator, e.g., an infinite switch that controls the amount of electrical power delivered to heating element 104.
Certain types of appliances, such as gas cooktops, often require the ingestion of air into the appliances for the purposes of gas burner combustion. By contrast, often an electric appliance requires the ingestion of air for the cooling of electrical components within the chassis of the appliance. In such appliances, a practical inlet of this cooling or combustion air is through a gap between the knob stem (or gas valve shaft) and the opening in the control panel. Therefore, as best illustrated in
In order to provide a visual indication of the power level of heating element 104 on control knob 130, control knob 130 includes a display which is selectively illuminated according to the angular position of control knob 130 and the corresponding power level. More specifically, control knob assembly 120 includes a light source 140 that directs light toward control knob 130 which defines an arcuate light display 142. More specifically, light source 140 is mounted to center housing 124, e.g., below center housing 124 along the axial direction A (i.e., opposite control knob 130). Center housing 124 further defines a hub aperture 144 through which light from light source 140 may be directed toward control knob 130. However, it should be appreciated that according to alternative embodiments, light source 140 may be positioned on top of center housing 124 or at any other suitable location within cooktop appliance 100 for directing light toward control knob 130. For example, according to certain exemplary embodiments, central housing 124 may be omitted altogether and light source 140 may be mounted directly to central boss 126 or any other stationary part of control knob assembly 120.
Control knob 130 may further include a transparent disk 146 mounted between inner support piece 132 and outer knob 134. For example, according to the illustrated embodiment, transparent disk 146 is a circular glass plate positioned within control knob 130 to provide an aesthetic, transparent, and easy to clean surface visible to the user of cooktop appliance 100. In addition, control knob 130 includes an appearance piece 148 positioned between inner support piece 132 and transparent disk 146. Appearance piece 148 may be, for example, a polished stainless steel plate that hides certain portions of inner support piece 132 from the user's view. In addition, appearance piece 148 may define a plurality of apertures, e.g., to transmit light from light source 140 and provide a power level indicator to a user.
Although control knob 130 is illustrated as having a transparent disk 146 and appearance piece 148, it should be appreciated that the same visual effect may be achieved using alternative constructions. For example, according to alternative embodiments, transparent disk 146 may be constructed of transparent (clear or dark-tinted) glass or plastic material. An opaque backing material or masking layer may be printed on a bottom surface of transparent disk 146 to define various apertures or openings, e.g., translucent portions which allow light to travel through the transparent disk 146 and be visible to a user of cooktop appliance 100. Using such constructions, light source 140 may be used to illuminate control knob 130 and provide a highly visible indication to the user of the particular position of control knob 130 and the temperature of heating element 104.
As best shown in
Notably, certain conventional control knobs include a plurality of lights which are progressively illuminated as the control knob is turned, but such configurations often require complex and costly positional feedback systems and sensors as well as complex controller algorithms. Alternatively, moving mechanisms within control knob may be used to block or allow a portion of the light from light source 140 to indicate power level, but conventional mechanisms suffer from light bleed onto adjacent portions of the display and fail to define power levels with sharp, distinct light indicators. Therefore, control knob assembly 120 includes a plurality of additional light control features for illuminating arcuate light display 142 of control knob 130 in a desirable manner, as described below.
Referring generally to
Stationary shutter 150 generally includes an opaque disk 154 that extends substantially along the radial direction R to block a portion of the light from light source 140. In addition, stationary shutter 150 defines an arcuate aperture 156 extending along the circumferential direction C within opaque disk 154. For example, the arcuate aperture 156 is illustrated as being defined within a rim 158 of stationary shutter 150. However, according to alternative embodiments, opaque disk 154 only forms a partial circle, such as a semi-circle, to block a portion of the light from light source 140. So configured, opaque disk 154 of stationary shutter 150 blocks at least a portion of light from the light source 140 while arcuate aperture 156 allows at least a portion of that light to illuminate arcuate light display 142.
Referring still to
In addition, according to the illustrated embodiment, arcuate light display 142 is a plurality of circumferentially spaced light guides 170, which collectively form arcuate light display 142. As used herein, light guide may be used to refer to any structure, such as a pipe, tube, series of walls, etc., which are configured for directing and concentrating light emitted from light source 140. According to one exemplary embodiment, light guides 170 may be comprised of an opaque material and configured with translucent gems 172 (e.g., a transparent material, a translucent material, or both) through which the light from light source 140 is constrained and directed to transparent disk 146. In this manner, each light guide 170 may be configured to receive light from light source 140 and transmit the light along the length of light guide 170 to precisely illuminate transparent disk 146 according to the power level of heating element 104. Thus, a sharp, high-contrast graphical display may communicate the angular position of control knob 130 and the status of heating element 104 to the user.
According to one exemplary embodiment, contact features 166 on control knob 130 contact axial paddle 164 to rotate mobile shutter 160. These contact features may be simple protruding members that extend along the axial direction A. However, according to the illustrated embodiment, a first guide 170 of the plurality of light guides 170 and a last guide of the plurality of light guides 170 extend far enough along the axial direction A to act as contact features 166. In this manner, the first and last light guide 170 cause mobile shutter 160 to rotate as control knob 130 is rotated through specific angular positions, as described below.
In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment, stationary shutter 150 defines additional features for controlling the rotation of mobile shutter 160 and control knob 130. More specifically, stationary shutter 150 defines a first stopper 180 and a second stopper 182 both extending along the axial direction A toward control knob 130 for stopping mobile shutter 160 in a first angular position and a second angular position respectively.
It should be appreciated that the sizes of arcuate light display 142 (e.g., light guides 170), arcuate aperture 156, mobile shutter 160, and the configuration of light source 140 may all affect how light is displayed on transparent disk 146 of control knob 130. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, arcuate aperture 156 defines a first arc length 184 measured along the circumferential direction C and radial shutter 162 defines a second arc length 186 measured along the circumferential direction C. First arc length 184 and second arc length 186 may be adjusted to control the dispersion of light from light source 140. According to an exemplary embodiment, first arc length 184 is greater than two times the second arc length 186, and according to the illustrated embodiment, first arc length 184 is approximately 180 degrees and second arc length 186 is approximately 60 degrees. Other configurations are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter.
Referring now to
One skilled in the art will appreciate that in addition to the configurations of control knob assembly 120 described herein, alternative configurations of control knob assembly 120 are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter. For example, the size, positioning, and interaction between stationary shutter 150 and mobile shutter 160 may vary, control knob 130 may move mobile shutter 160 in a different manner, and other configurations may be used. It should be appreciated that still other configurations are possible and within the scope of the present subject matter.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
