Electric heating – Inductive heating – With heat exchange
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2002-12-24
Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Inductive heating
With heat exchange
C219S620000, C219S507000, C307S104000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06498326
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to an arrangement for the control of electrically controllable appliances, particularly electric cookers.
The preferred field of application for the invention is the control of electrically operated domestic appliances, particularly electric cookers, e.g. those having a glass ceramic cooking area and/or an electric oven. Such control arrangements have at least one manually operable control or control element placeable or placed on an outside of a plate of the appliance and which is held on or close to the plate by an associated holding device. There is also a sensor device intended to cooperate with a control device of the appliance for determining the position and/or position change of the control element. By appropriately moving the control element a desired switching state can be set.
A known and very frequently used construction of such control elements or controls is constituted by knobs. Knobs can be placed individually or in a group on a front panel of a cooker or the like below the normal working level. As a result of this arrangement the scales on such knobs are sometimes difficult to read. There is also a risk of the knobs being reached and operated by small children. Keeping clean can also constitute a problem. A large amount of space is generally required for the fitting of the knobs with corresponding mechanical holding devices.
These problems can be partly removed by the placing of the knobs on the top of the appliance. EP 797 227 shows for this purpose a construction particularly suitable for fitting to glass ceramic plates, in which the knobs are secured magnetically through the plate by means of a holding magnet placed on the underside of the glass ceramic plate. Knobs must have a certain minimum height, so that they can be easily turned and gripped by hand. Thus, they can interfere with the handling of cooking utensils in the cooking area. In addition, a free hand is necessary for their operation, so as to be able to securely hold and turn the knob.
Another known class of control elements is constituted by sliders, which are used for setting a desired operating state starting from a usually stop-limited, fixed neutral position can be slid over a clearly defined sliding or displacement path into an end position corresponding to the desired switching state. Examples of such sliders are described in European patent application EP 497 191 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,711,672 and 3,852,558. The precise setting of a desired end position can be problematical, because an energetic operator can slide it beyond the end position and a subsequent correction can be necessary. Moreover, both with the known knobs and also the sliders, on the way to the desired end position it is necessary to pass through all the intermediate positions and at least briefly switching states associated therewith may be assumed or activated.
The problem of the invention is to provide an arrangement for the control of electrically controllable appliances which, in the case of easy operation, permits a reliable setting of a desired switching state.
According to the invention this problem is solved by an arrangement having the features of claim 1. Further developments of the invention are given in the subclaims, whose wording is made by reference into part of the description.
An inventive control arrangement is characterized in that at least one control element is constructed as a slider automatically returning to an off or rest position and which is slidable along the plate in at least one sliding direction. Such a slider or sliding key creates the possibility of using a sliding process as such as a switching event, without it being a question of the precise maintaining of a sliding path corresponding to this state e.g. for setting a desired switching state. A self-resetting slider must, unlike in the case of conventional knobs or path sliders, not necessarily be gripped and moved by the fingers of a hand for its operation, but can instead be operated e.g. with the elbow, forearm or back of a hand. This facilitates operation, particularly if e.g. both hands are needed for holding a saucepan or the like. An inventive sliding key is also particularly advantageously adapted to a digital processing of sensor signals or control signals, because a controlling adjusting process with subsequent return to the rest position can be treated as an event e.g. detectable by a digital counter. There is no need to use analog/digital converters, which must be used with conventional knobs or sliders for generating digitally processable signals.
Certain advantages of the invention are usable with sliding keys controlling slidable in only one sliding direction. According to a preferred further development the control element can be slid in controlling manner in at least two different sliding directions, starting from the rest position, for generating at least two different control signals. Thus, the number of settings possible with a single control element is advantageously increased, because the sliding direction can now be used as a further input parameter for control purposes. Although the individual sliding directions can be oriented in random, optionally very small planar angles parallel to the plate surface, it is preferable if there are at least two antiparallel switching displacement directions, so that it is possible to implement a uniaxial, bidirectional sliding key. Multiaxial displaceable sliders are also possible. Thus, in an embodiment and starting from a common rest position, four controlling displacement directions oriented at right angles to one another are provided, so that a biaxial, bidirectional sliding key can be obtained. Sliding or displacement directions can also be arranged in a radial or fan-like manner and it is appropriately ensured that displacement directions in the plane are far enough apart in order to prevent an accidental setting by the user of an undesired switching state. A key displaceable in several, preferably coplanar displacement directions inter alia permits the selection of switching targets via the choice of the displacement direction. A direct switching e.g. between different operating modes of an oven is possible, without it being necessary on the switching path to also switch in at least briefly undesired modes. This protects both the heating-active components and also the control components and avoids in the case of switching processes for higher electric currents difficultly avoidable repercussions of the switching on the main supply.
The use of a sliding event for the control of the appliance can take place in different advantageous ways as a function of the particular circumstances. Thus, for reasons of operational safety and to avoid incorrect actuations, it is advantageous for the sensor device to be coupled or cooperate with the control device in such a way that a controlling displacement only occurs on exceeding a minimum displacement range in the particular displacement direction. This creates a lower threshold for a controlling displacement, so that in the case of an unintentional small movement of the actuating element and/or with a movement in a direction diverging from an intended displacement direction no control effect occurs. This ensures that only desired, targeted displacements give rise to a control effect.
According to a further development, the sensor device is so coupled with the control device that in the case of a controlling displacement on exceeding a minimum displacement range a single control signal is generated and preferably in certain limits independently of the displacement range achieved with maximum deflection from the rest position. Thus, an on/off information can be associated with the particular displacement direction which can be particularly easily digitally processed. Thus, e.g. with a particular displacement or sliding direction can be associated a specific oven function (hot air, grill, bottom heat, top heat, top and bottom heat, circulating air, etc.), which can in each case be associated by means of the keying o
Akerman & Senterfitt
E.G.O. Elektro-Geratebau GmbH
Van Quang
Walberg Teresa
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