JPH0141423Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an operation panel for a washing machine or the like that allows necessary switch operations to be performed in the washing machine or the like.

[Technical background of the invention]

The conventional operation panel of this type of washing machine, etc. is a so-called mounting plate for attaching various switches.
Each switch body is attached to the back side, and an operating member is located on the front side, and is penetrated from the front side to the back side to be inserted into the switch body, or from the switch body to the front side and protruded. They are designed to be attached to the tip of the operating shaft.

[Problems with background technology]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional devices, it is inevitable that the operation panel has a hole for passing through the operation member or the operation shaft, and there is a risk of water entering through this hole, especially in devices that handle water such as washing machines. There was a high possibility of flooding and there was a lot of worry about electric shocks and other accidents. In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional switch, the operating member of the switch is small and difficult to operate, and it may be difficult for a person with a physical disability, especially those with limited fingertips, to operate the switch.On the other hand, even a healthy person may have difficulty operating the switch with wet hands. The dot was hot.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an operation panel for a washing machine, etc., which has excellent waterproofness against switches and is also easy to operate. .

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention includes an integrally formed operation panel made of soft material that covers the switch and is wider than the operation surface of the operation button at a portion corresponding to the operation button of the switch, with the periphery shaped like a cushion. It is characterized by being reinforced throughout.

[Example of idea]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, 1 in FIG. 1 is, for example, the main body of a fully automatic washing machine; An operation panel 2 is provided on the top surface.
Specifically, the operation panel 2 is made of a soft material such as silicone resin or urethane resin, and is made in the shape of a horizontally long thick rectangular plate as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the half part, a plurality of display windows 3 are formed by integrally molding a display board 4, each display window 3 for displaying the driving details of a standard course or a saving course, and each of the display windows 3
An indicator lamp 5 is built into the inner back side of each. On the other hand, a switch 6 for starting the standard course and a switch 7 for starting the saving course are built into the right half of the operation panel 2, and in front of each switch 6 and 7 are operated. Operation panels 8 and 9, which are wider than the operation surfaces of the buttons 6a and 7a, are integrally molded with thin cushion portions 10 and 11 formed around the operation panels 8 and 9, respectively. In addition, on the back side of the operation panels 8 and 9,
Reinforcing panels 12 and 13 having approximately the same diameter as the operating panels 8 and 9 are provided, thereby reinforcing the entire operation panels 8 and 9, respectively.

Therefore, in the case of the above-mentioned structure, when the operation panel 8 is pressed, the entire operation panel 8 is pressed, and when the operation panel 9 is pressed, the entire operation panel 9 is pressed against the cushion portions 10 and 11, respectively.
is pushed in while compressing and deforming it, and presses the operation buttons 6a and 7a of the switches 6 and 7. As a result, the switches 6 and 7 are operated, and the switches 6 and 7 are pressed.
The switch 7 starts the standard course, and the switch 7 starts the saving course. At this time, both the switches 6 and 7 are entirely covered by the operation panel 2, and the operation panels 8 and 9 for pressing the operation buttons 6a and 7a are also formed integrally with the operation panel 2. As a result, even if water forms on the operation panel 2, the water is blocked by the operation panel 2 and does not reach the switches 6 and 7, making it superior to the switches 6 and 7. It is possible to ensure waterproofness, which can contribute to improving safety by preventing electric shock accidents. Also, in this case, the operation panels 8 and 9 are wider than the operation surfaces of the operation buttons 6a and 7a of the switches 6 and 7, respectively, and are reinforced throughout, so the positions are slightly shifted from the operation buttons 6a and 7a. Even if the operation panel 8, 9 is operated, the entire operation panel 8, 9 can be operated, and the operation buttons 6a, 7a can be pressed reliably. However, it can be operated with anything other than the fingertips, such as the elbow, and similarly, even a healthy person can operate it with the elbow or other parts of the body if his or her hands are wet.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the operation panels 9, 8 and the cushion part 1 are connected to each other.
1 and 10 are connected to the operation panel 2 by a self-hinge part 14 and integrally molded with the operation panel 2, and the parts other than the self-hinge part 14 are separated from the operation panel 2, thereby forming the operation panels 9 and 8. can be opened together with the cushion parts 11 and 10 from the self-hinge part 14 as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure. Of course, when the operation panels 9 and 8 are opened, the operation buttons 7a and 6a of the internal switches 7 and 6 can be operated other than the above-mentioned presses, such as rotation operations, for example, to change and set the operation content. It can be used in different ways, such as by doing . In this case, the operation panel 9,
There is a risk that water may enter between the separation part between the cushion parts 11 and 10 and the operation panel 2, but the operation panels 9 and 8 were originally operated by the operation buttons 7 of the switches 7 and 6.
For example, switch 7,
Since it covers the entire switch 6, even if water gets in as mentioned above, the switch 7 and 6 will not be exposed to water, thus ensuring the same excellent waterproofness as mentioned above. It is.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings; for example, as a means of reinforcing the entire operation panel, other than a reinforcing panel, for example, the thickness of the operation panel itself may be increased. In addition, the specific number of operation panels, the presence or absence of display windows, and the application to equipment other than washing machines as a whole may be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the invention. .

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above, the present invention includes an operation panel made of a soft material that covers the switch and is integrated into the part corresponding to the operation button of the switch, which is wider than the operation surface of the operation button, with the surrounding area shaped like a cushion. It is characterized by being molded and reinforced throughout the operation panel, thereby ensuring excellent waterproofness for the switch and also ensuring excellent operability. , it is possible to provide a more practical operation panel for washing machines, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part of the washing machine where the operation panel is located, Figure 2 is a front view of the operation panel, and Figure 3 is the upper part of the washing machine where the operation panel is located.
4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the same line, and FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a different embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 2 is an operation panel, 6 and 7 are switches, 6
a, 7a are operation buttons, 8, 9 are operation panels, 10, 11
1 is a cushion portion, 12 and 13 are reinforcing plates, and 14 is a self-hinge portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Made of soft material, an operation panel that is wider than the operation surface of the operation button is integrally molded on the part that covers the switch and corresponds to the operation button of the switch, with the surrounding area shaped like a cushion, and the entire operation panel is reinforced. An operation panel for a washing machine, etc.