Control panel for a microwave oven

Abstract: A control panel for a microwave oven is disclosed and includes a cooking mode selector switch (20) and a plurality of cooking function buttons (12, 13) associated with at least two cooking modes. When a cooking mode is selected, the cooking function buttons (12, 13) associated with at least one other cooking mode are concealed by the cooking mode selector switch (20).

Description: The present invention relates to a control panel for a microwave oven comprising a cooking mode selector switch and a plurality of cooking function buttons associated with at least two cooking modes. A microwave oven having such a control panel is known from EP-A-0661908. A microwave oven is a device for cooking food using microwaves and includes a chamber for receiving food to be cooked. Microwave generating means are disposed adjacent to the chamber for generating and radiating microwaves into the chamber to cook food placed therein. A control panel is provided for controlling the operation of the microwave oven and for selecting various cooking programs. The control panel includes a facia having a plurality of function buttons arranged thereon, and a main board having a circuit for controlling the microwave oven to perform the selected function. The function buttons can include an "on" button, a cooking time setting dial, a cooking mode selecting button, and a cooking function selecting button. As the number of different functions that a microwave oven can perform increases, additional function buttons are required. It is important that the function buttons remain convenient to operate and, as there is a growing number of appearance-conscious consumers, the positional arrangement and appearance of the function buttons must be considered to ensure that the overall appearance and design of the oven is acceptable. To meet the demands of current consumers, the trend has changed from providing a large number of single-functional buttons on the facia toward providing only a few multi-functional buttons. By using multi-functional buttons, their number can be significantly reduced, and the appearance of the microwave oven is improved. For the avoidance of doubt, the term "multi-functional button" means a button by which a user can select a plurality of functions of the microwave oven. For example, a user may select a first function of the microwave oven by pressing the multi-functional button once, and a second function by pressing the multi-functional button a second time. In accordance with the number of times a multi-functional button is pressed, respective functions of the microwave oven can be selected. The control panel of a microwave oven employing multi-functional buttons has the advantage of a neater appearance. However, multi-functional buttons have a shortcoming in that people tend to find them difficult to use and so they avoid buying a microwave oven of this type. Although a control panel having many single-functional buttons is easier to operate than a control panel having fewer multi-functional buttons, it has the disadvantage of looking very complex. Accordingly, consumers who are appearance-conscious avoid buying a microwave oven of this type. Accordingly, there is a strong demand for a functional button arrangement that would satisfy the demands of all consumers. A control panel for a microwave oven according to the present invention is characterised in that the cooking mode selector switch is configured such that the cooking function buttons associated with at least one cooking mode are concealed by the cooking mode selector switch when the cooking function buttons relating to at least one other cooking mode are exposed. Preferably, the control panel includes a recessed portion; the cooking mode selector switch and cooking function buttons being disposed in said portion. In a preferred embodiment, the cooking mode selector switch includes an encoder and a dial for operating the encoder. Preferably, an elongate aperture is formed in the recess, the cooking mode selector switch extending through and movable along the aperture to select a cooking mode. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a microwave oven; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the control panel; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a control panel shown in Figure 2; Figures 4 is a sectional view showing the control panel in a first cooking mode; and Figure 5 is a sectional view showing the control panel in a second cooking mode. As shown in the drawings, the microwave oven 2 has a body 1, a door 2 and a control panel 3. The body 1 houses a cooking chamber for receiving food to be cooked, and components receiving chamber. The components receiving chamber contains microwave generating means (not shown) for generating and radiating the microwaves of a certain frequency into the cooking chamber to cook food placed therein. The door 2 is pivotally disposed on the body 1 to enable access to the cooking chamber to be obtained. The control panel 3 is formed on the front of the body 1 to one side of the cooking chamber. A display panel 4 is also provided on the front face of the body 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the control panel 3 includes a front panel section 10, a switch 20, and a mode shifting switch 30. The facia 10 has a recessed slide receiving section 11 which is a concave depression in the surface of the facia 10. A slot 11a is formed in the centre of the slide section 11 between the first cooking mode single-functional button 12 and the second cooking mode single-functional button 13. The first and second cooking mode single-functional buttons 12, 13 may be for warming and defrosting modes, respectively, and are formed of a plurality of single-functional buttons. The number of single-functional buttons is not strictly limited and three are shown in Figure 2 for each cooking mode. The first and second cooking mode single-functional buttons 12, 13 are supported on a separate circuit board 14 attached to the rear face of the front panel section 10, such that the single-functional buttons extend forwardly. The switch 20 is movable laterally along the slot 11a and includes a tack switch 21, an encoder 23, and a dial type encoder multi-functional button having a knob 22 provided in the centre of the dial type encoder multi-functional button for operating the tack switch 21, and a dial 24 around the outer circumference of the knob 22 for operating the encoder 23. The knob 22 is used to control the operation of the microwave oven, and the dial 24 is used to set the cooking time. A mode shifting switch 30 is attached to a main board 40, and has a slidable projection 32. By selective movement of the projection 32, the mode of the microwave oven is altered. More specifically, as the projection 32 is moved toward one end of the mode shifting switch 30, the first cooking mode is selected, whereas when the projection 32 is moved toward the other end of the mode shifting switch 30, the second cooking mode is selected. In this embodiment, operation of the projection 32 is controlled by lateral movement of the switch 20. A groove 23a is formed on one side of the encoder 23 to receive the projection 32. Thus, by laterally moving the switch 20, the projection 32 of the mode shifting switch 30 is also moved and the mode of the microwave oven is automatically changed. In addition to the automatic selection of cooking modes by lateral movement of the switch 20, the first and second cooking mode single-functional buttons 12, 13 can be selected. For example, when selecting the first cooking mode, the first cooking mode single-functional button 12 is pressed. In this situation, the second cooking mode single-functional buttons 13 are blocked by the movable switch 20. Accordingly, the number of exposed functional buttons is significantly reduced. As the control panel employs a few easy-to-manipulate single-functional buttons used for frequently selected foods, while employing a dial type encoder button as the multi-functional button corresponding to the additional functions of the microwave oven, the control panel is easy to operate and still has the ability to cook various foods properly. As the cooking time for respective foods is pre-set in the single-functional buttons, the user can easily and properly cook the food by simply pressing the corresponding single-functional buttons. Also, when cooking food which is not pre-set, a user can properly cook the food by readjusting the cooking time with the dial 24 of the switch 20. Operation of the control panel described above will now be explained with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Hereinafter, the first cooking mode will be referred to as the warming mode, and the second cooking mode is referred to as the defrosting mode. First, a user places the food to be cooked in the cooking and selects the cooking mode for the food by laterally moving the switch 20. More specifically, as shown in Figure 4, when warming food, a user moves the switch 20 to the right-hand side. This causes projection 32 of the mode shifting switch 30 to move to the right-hand side to select the warming mode. As a result of moving the switch 20, the first cooking mode single-functional button 12 is exposed and can be pressed by the user, whereas the second cooking mode single-functional button 13 of the unselected defrosting cooking mode is blocked by the movable switch 20. After pressing the corresponding single-functional buttons for the food in the microwave oven, the user starts the microwave oven by turning the knob 22. When the food in the cooking chamber is not of a kind which is pre-set in the first cooking mode single-functional button 12, a user can set the required cooking time by turning the dial 24. When defrosting the food, as shown in Figure 5, a user moves the switch 20 to the left-hand side to select the defrosting mode and presses the single-functional buttons of the second cooking mode single-functional button 13 corresponding to the selected defrosting mode, and begins the defrosting operation by turning the knob 22. In this situation also, when the food in the cooking chamber is not of the type which is pre-set in the single-functional buttons, or when the quantity of food is larger than normal, the user selects the required cooking time by turning the dial 24. As described above, the control panel 3 of the microwave oven, the cooking modes are automatically selected by the lateral movement of the movable switch 20 and the cooking mode single-functional button of the selected mode are exposed whereas the cooking mode single-functional button of the unselected mode is blocked by the movable switch 20. Accordingly, since there is a reduced number of exposed single-functional buttons, the appearance of the microwave oven is simple and more attractive. Further, since the control panel assembly 3 employs single-functional buttons for frequently cooked foods, it is easier to simply press the desired single-functional buttons.

Claims: A control panel for a microwave oven comprising a cooking mode selector switch (20) and a plurality of cooking function buttons (12, 13) associated with at least two cooking modes, characterised in that the cooking mode selector switch (20) is configured such that the cooking function buttons (12,13) associated with at least one cooking mode are concealed by the cooking mode selector switch (20) when the cooking function buttons (12,13) relating to at least one other cooking mode are exposed. A control panel for a microwave oven according to claim 1, including a recessed portion (11), the cooking mode selector switch (20) and cooking function buttons (12,13) being disposed in said portion (11). A control panel for a microwave oven according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the cooking mode selector switch (20) includes an encoder (23) and a dial (24) for operating the encoder (23). A control panel according to claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein an elongate aperture (11 a) is formed in the recess (11), the cooking mode selector switch (20) extending through, and movable along the aperture (11a) to select a cooking mode. A microwave oven incorporating a control panel according to any of claims 1 to 4.

Inventors: JEON SEI-ILL, JEON, SEI-ILL
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H05B6
IPC codes: H05B6, F24C7