Abstract:
A button assembly of a dishwasher is provided. The button assembly includes a button portion and a front panel. The button portion has a button head for a user to press and a button body extending down from the button head. A button connecting portion connects a plurality of button bodies, and hence, a plurality of button portions along one piece. The button portion is installed at the rear of the front panel. The front panel has a button window formed therein for inserting the button head therethrough. Because the button portions do not need to be individually mounted using individual springs and fasteners, the assembly process is simplified, and manufacturing cost is reduced.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a dishwasher, and more particularly, to a button assembly of a dishwasher for a user to input commands with, in order to control the operation of the dishwasher.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     In general, dishwashers are convenient kitchen appliances that clean and remove food deposits from dishes using high-pressure streams of water and detergent, and also dry the dishes afterwards.  
         [0005]     A dishwasher typically has a control panel, located on its frontal portion, including a button assembly for entering operation commands and an LED (light emitting diode) display for showing the operation mode. A user presses the buttons on the control panel to enter operational commands.  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a button assembly in a control panel of the prior art.  
         [0007]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the button assembly of the prior art includes a front panel  10  and a plurality of buttons  20  installed at the back of the front panel  10 . The front panel  10  includes a button window  11 , allowing a user to press the buttons  20  inserted through the button window  11 .  
         [0008]     In addition, attached to the rear of a button  10  are a leaf spring  30  having a predetermined elasticity, and a fastening screw  40  fastening the button  20  and the leaf spring  30  in one unit to the rear of the front panel  10 .  
         [0009]     Accordingly, when a user presses a button  20 , the leaf spring  30  flexes, and when the user releases the button  20 , the tension in the leaf spring  30  causes the button  20  to return to its original position.  
         [0010]     In this button assembly of the prior art, not only is an individual leaf spring required to maintain spring tension for each button, but a fastening screw is also required to fasten each spring to each button.  
         [0011]     Because each button needs to be installed with its own leaf spring and fastened with its own fastener, the number of parts needed to form the button assembly increases, and the assembly process is unnecessarily complicated.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a button assembly of a dishwasher that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0013]     To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an improved button assembly of a dishwasher having a reduced manufacturing cost and a simplified manufacturing process.  
         [0014]     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a button assembly of a dishwasher including: a front panel having a button window formed therein; a button portion having a button head inserted through the button window for a user to press and a button body extending down from the button head; and a connecting portion formed at the base of the button body, for installing the button portion on the rear of the front panel.  
         [0015]     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a button assembly of a dishwasher including: a button portion having a button head that a user can press, a button body extending down from the button head, a hinge formed at the base of the button body, and an arm protruding from one side of the hinge; and a front panel for installing the button portion at its rear, and having a button window for inserting the button head through.  
         [0016]     According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a button assembly of a dishwasher including: a button head having a protruding portion protruding a predetermined length from its top; a button body extending down from the lower portion of the button head; a button connecting portion disposed horizontally to the lower portion of the button body for connecting a plurality of buttons along a single unit; and a front panel for installing the button connecting portion to its rear, and having a button window for inserting the button head through and a button guide at the upper portion of the button window for guiding the protruding portion.  
         [0017]     An advantage of the button assembly of a dishwasher of the present invention is that the button assembly is simplified.  
         [0018]     Also, the number of parts needed for the button assembly is reduced, simplifying the assembly process and reducing manufacturing cost. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     The spirit of the present invention can be understood more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a button assembly in a control panel of the prior art;  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a frontal view of a front panel of a dishwasher according to the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the rear of the front panel in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the button portion according to the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the button portion installed in the rear of the front panel according to the present invention; and  
         [0025]      FIGS. 6 through 8  show a button assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a button assembly of a dishwasher according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention that come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a frontal view of a front panel of a dishwasher according to the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the rear of the front panel in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the door of the dishwasher of the present invention includes a front panel  100  disposed at the top portion of the door, and a handle for opening and closing the door centrally disposed on the door.  
         [0029]     Formed on one area of the front panel  100  is a button window  120  for inserting a button portion therein. On another portion of the front panel  100  is a display portion window  121  for displaying the operation status of the washing and drying cycles of the dishwasher. Inserted in the button window  120  is the button portion  200  according to the present invention.  
         [0030]     Also, the front panel  100  of the button assembly according to the present invention further includes a plurality of coupling catches  130  formed on the bottom of the button window  120 . In further detail, the coupling catch  130  comes in more than one inwardly facing pair of catches, with each pair separated by a predetermined distance.  
         [0031]     The front panel  100  also includes a plurality of button guides  150  at the upper portion of the button window  120 . Specifically, the button guides  150  prevent lateral movement of the button portion  200 , when it is installed in the button window, by guiding both sides of the button&#39;s upper portion.  
         [0032]     According to the above embodiment of the present invention, the button portion  200  is installed at the rear of the front panel  100 , fixed via the coupling catch  130  and the button guide  150 . When the button portion  200  inserted through the button window  120  is pressed, the operational commands can be inputted into the dishwasher.  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the button portion according to the present invention.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the button portion  200  of the present invention includes a button head  210  that inserts into the button window  120  of the front panel  100  to be pressed by a user, and a button body  220  formed on the button head  210  extending a predetermined length down from the button head  210 . In further detail, the button body  220  has a predetermined inherent elasticity, so that when a user presses the button head  210 , the button body  220  leans back a corresponding distance, then springs forward again when the button head  210  is released. Furthermore, there is a notched portion  221  at the frontal base of the button body  220 , notched slightly so that the button body  220  is able to flex more readily.  
         [0035]     At the lower portion of the button body  220  is a button connecting portion  230  horizontally formed. Specifically, in order for a guide rib  140  that protrudes from the rear of the front panel  100  to be inserted in the button connecting portion  230 , a guide rib insertion slot  232  is formed in the button connecting portion  230 . Furthermore, in the spaces between the button bodies  220 , catch insertion portions  231  that are roughly square in shape are formed, so that the coupling catches  130  can be inserted therein. The end of the coupling catch  130  is formed so that it is caught by the side of the catch insertion portion  231 , preventing the disengagement of the button portion  200  from the front panel  100 , following installation.  
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the button portion installed in the rear of the front panel according to the present invention.  
         [0037]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the process of attaching the button portion  200  to the front panel  100  will now be described.  
         [0038]     First, the guide rib  140  formed at the rear of the front panel  100  is inserted into the guide rib insertion slot  232  formed on the button connection portion  230 ; and at the same time, the coupling catch  130  is inserted through the catch insertion portion  231 . More specifically, a pair of coupling catches  130  are inserted along the inner walls of the catch insertion portion  231  until the hooked portions of the ends of the coupling catch  130  are caught by the ends of the walls of the catch insertion portion  231 . Also, when the protruding portions formed at the ends of the coupling catches  130  are caught by the ends of the walls of the catch insertion portion  231 , a clicking noise can be heard.  
         [0039]     Here, when the button portion  200  is completely inserted into the front panel  100 , the alignment bosses  211  protruding from both sides of the upper portion of the button head  210  come into contact with the sides of the button guides  150 . Consequently, when the button head  210  returns to its original position after being pressed and released, the button head will not move laterally, but will retain a constant central resting position.  
         [0040]      FIGS. 6 through 8  show a button assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0041]     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the button portion  300  of the present invention includes a hinge  322  horizontally disposed at the lower portion of the button body  320  and having a predetermined diameter and length. On one side of the hinge  322  is an arm  323  extending at roughly a right angle to the button body  320 . At each end of the hinge  322  is a hinge mount  340  for mounting the hinge  322  thereon. The button body  320  and the arm  323  may be injection molded in one piece with the hinge  322 .  
         [0042]     The hinge  322  may have a simple cylindrical shape, as shown in  FIG. 6 , or its ends may deviate from roundness, in order to prevent their disengagement from the hinge mounts  340 , as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , when a user applies a predetermined force (F) to the button head  320 , the button body  320  reclines as far back as a predetermined angle. In other words, the angle between the button body  320  and the arm  323  decreases. As the button body  320  reclines, the arm  323  exerts the same force (F) downward on the bottom of the front panel  100 . Furthermore, when the force applied to the button head  310  is removed, the elasticity in the arm  323  causes the button body  320  to return to a disposed angle of 90 degrees relative to the arm  323 .  
         [0044]     If a button portion  300  using the arm  323  and hinge  322  is implemented, the leaf spring at the back of the button body of the prior art does not need to be individually installed, thus simplifying the assembly process. Because the arm  323  is formed in one piece with the button body  320 , the manufacturing cost can also be reduced.  
         [0045]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.