Abstract:
A button assembly for a home appliance is provided which allows for effective illumination of buttons. The button assembly includes a button body having buttons thereon which may pressed by a user to operate the appliance. The button body has a predetermined space inside, an elastic member which elastically supports the button body, a luminous body provided within the button body to emit light, and an extension extending from the button body which activates a corresponding switch, the extension being configured not to interfere with the luminous body.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2004-015091, filed on Mar. 5, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a control panel of a home appliance, and more particularly, to a button assembly loaded in the control panel. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   Generally, a control panel assembly is provided to a home appliance to instruct an operation of the home appliance and to display an operational state thereof. The control panel assembly consists of a panel unit exposed to a user and a board held in the panel unit. Switches electrically connected to a control device, display device, and the like are mounted on the board, and various mechanical switches turning on/off the electrical switches on the board are provided to the panel unit. The mechanical switches include dials, sliders, push buttons, and the like. Specifically, a specific push button in installed in the panel unit to be pressed to turn on/off a specific function whenever pressed. 
   A general push button consists of a button body provided to the panel unit to be movable upward and downward, an elastic member installed between the button body and the panel unit to elastically support the button body, and a bar member provided to the button body to turn on/off a switch on the board by a user&#39;s force working on the button body. The bar member is provided to a central part of the button body. When the button body is pressed, the bar member is moved downward together with the button body to push the corresponding switch. 
   It is a recent tendency that an illumination function is added to the button to be easily found in the dark. However, the bar member hinders a luminous body from being installed at the above-explained general button. Even if the luminous body is installed to the button, the interference with the bar member or other parts of the button makes it difficult to illuminate the button body effectively. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a button assembly of a home appliance that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
   An object of the present invention, which has been devised to solve the foregoing problem, lies in providing a button assembly of a home appliance, by which illumination is effectively achieved. 
   Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from a practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the subject matter particularly pointed out in the specification and claims hereof as well as in the appended drawings. 
   To achieve these objects and other advantages in accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a button assembly of a home appliance including a button body configured to be pressed by a user, the button body having a predetermined space inside, an elastic member elastically supporting the button body to have the pressed button body return, a luminous body provided within the predetermined space of the button body to emit light, and an extension extending from the button body to press to actuate a switch, the extension configured not to interfere with the luminous body. 
   The button body is configured to transmit the light of the luminous body. Preferably, the button body includes a window enabling to transmit the light of the luminous body. And, the window is provided to a central part of the button body. Specifically, the button body includes an outer shell having a perforated hole of a predetermined size and an inner shell provided within the outer shell. And, the inner shell includes a transparent material closing the perforated hole. Preferably, the inner shell includes a protrusion inserted in the perforated hole. The elastic member includes a body supporting the button body and a leg elastically connecting the elastic member and the body. 
   The extension is configured not to block or cover the luminous body. And, the extension is configured not to be contacted with the luminous body. Preferably, the extension is spaced with a predetermined distance apart from the luminous body and is formed eccentric to the button body. More preferably, the extension is provided to an edge of a lower end of the button body. The luminous body is arranged on a central axis of the button body and may include a light emitting diode. Preferably, the luminous body continuously emits light or emits light only when the switch is on. By the above-explained present invention, the luminous body is installed within the button body without interference, whereby the button body can be effectively illuminated. 
   It is to be understood that both the foregoing explanation and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and illustrative and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a disassembly diagram a control panel assembly of a home appliance including a button assembly according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional diagram of a button assembly according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram of a bottom side of a button assembly according to the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional diagram for showing an operation of a button assembly according to the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, like elements are indicated using the same or similar reference designations where possible. 
     FIG. 1  is a disassembly diagram a control panel assembly of a home appliance including a button assembly according to the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a control panel assembly of a home appliance mainly includes a board  10  and control panel  20  which are functionally connected to each other. 
   First of all, the board  10  forms a bottom of the control panel assembly to support various elements built in the assembly. Switches  12  as the elements for operating the home appliance and display devices  13  as the elements for displaying an operational state of the home appliance are mounted on the board  10 . The switch  12  outputs a signal necessary for operating the home appliance and the display device emits light or displays predetermined information. Specifically, in case of applying the control panel assembly to a washing machine, waterproofing is more important than anything else to prevent malfunction. Hence, a waterproof layer is preferably formed on the board  10  to prevent the switches  12  and display devices  13  from being contacted with water. Such a waterproof layer can be formed of various kids of material and is generally formed of urethane. 
   The control panel  20  covers the board  10  and is exposed to a user for user&#39;s operation. The control panel  20  is configured to enable user&#39;s accessibility to the switches  12  and display devices  13 . Namely, the control panel  20  is configured to enable a user to operate the switches  12  or to acquire information from the display devices  13 . For this, at least one or more button holes  22  are formed on the control panel  20  to confront the corresponding switches  12  of the board  10 , respectively. At least one or more display windows  24  are formed on the board  10  to confront the corresponding display devices  13  of the board  10 , respectively. Characters, diagrams, and predetermined colors can be printed on the control panel  20 , and more particularly, to the button holes  22  and the display windows  24  to assist a user in using the home appliance. Moreover, a button assembly  100  is installed in the button hole  22  and is configured to actuate the corresponding switch  12  by a mechanical movement. Namely, the switch  12  is configured to be alternately turned on and off whenever pressed. And, the button assembly  100  presses the switch  12  to repeatedly turn on and off whenever pressed by a user. The button assembly according to the present invention is explained in detail by referring to the attached drawings as follows. 
     FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional diagram of a button assembly according to the present invention,  FIG. 3  is a diagram of a bottom side of a button assembly according to the present invention, and  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional diagram for showing an operation of a button assembly according to the present invention. 
   A button assembly  100  according to the present invention, as shown in the drawings, includes a button body  110  provided between the board  10  and the control panel  20 , an elastic member  120 , a luminous body  130 , and an extension  140 . First of all, the button body  110  is movably installed within the button hole  22  of the control panel  20  in upper-to-lower direction and is configured to be pressed by a user. A space of a predetermined size is provided within the button body  110  to hold the luminous body  130  therein. Hence, the button body  110  is configured to transmit light of the luminous body  130  to be well identified by a user. Namely, the button body  110  may be formed of a transparent material overall to transmit the light of the luminous body  130 . Yet, an inside of the control panel assembly is exposed to a user through the button body  110 ./ hence, the overall transparent button body  110  is not preferably. Preferably, the button body  110   9  is formed partially transparent to transmit the light of the luminous body in part. The button body  110  can be provided with a window transmitting the light of the luminous body in part. The button body  110  can be provided with a window transmitting the light of the luminous body  130  to enable a user to concentrate on the corresponding button. Such a window enables to transmit the light substantially. The window can be easily provided by forming a perforated hole in the button body  110 . Yet, the perforated hole needs to be appropriately closed or sealed in order to prevent malfunction caused by external particles such as dust, moisture, and the like that enter the control panel assembly via the perforated hole. In order to provide an appropriately closed window, the button body  110  of the present invention can have a twofold configuration. 
   The button body  110 , as shown in the drawing, includes an outer shell  111  and an inner shell  112  inside the outer shell  111 . The outer shell  11  includes a perforated hole  111   a  transmitting light of the luminous body  130  and is formed of an opaque material overall. The inner shell  112  closes the perforated hole  111   a  and is formed of a transparent material. Moreover, the inner shell  112  includes a protrusion  112   a  fitted in the perforated hole  111   a  to provide the button body  110  with a smooth top surface. Thus, a window is provided to the button body  110  by the perforated hole  111   a  and the inner shell  112 , whereby the light of the luminous body  130  can be seen by a user via the window. Preferably, the window is formed at a central part of the button body  110  to enable a user to identify the button body  110  well. Instead of the circular shape shown in the drawing, the window can have such a various shape as a ring shape along a rim of a top end of the button body  110  and other modified shapes. 
   The elastic member  120  is provided to the control panel  20  to support the button body  110  elastically. The elastic member  120 , as clearly shown in  FIG. 3 , includes a body  121 , a flange  123 , and a leg  122  elastically connecting the body  121  and flange  123 . The body  121  is configured to support the button body  110 , and can be built in one body of a portion of the button body  110 , i.e., the outer shell  111 , to support the button body  110  more stably. The flange  123  is used in fixing the elastic member  120  to the control panel  20  together with a locking member. And, the leg  122  substantially forms a spiral cutting line  124  on the elastic member  120  to be relatively configured thereon. Hence, whenever pressed by an external force of the button body  110 , the leg  122  is elastically transformed. Once the external force is released, the leg  122  is elastically restored to have the button body  110  return to its original position. 
   The luminous body  130 , as mentioned in the foregoing description, is arranged in the space inside the button body  110  to emit light. The luminous body  130  is preferably located within a central axis of the button body  110  to enable to emit light evenly and may include a light emitting diode (LED). Moreover, the luminous body  130  can be configured to keep emitting light to facilitate a user to identify the corresponding button body  110 . Alternatively, the luminous body  130  can be configured to be actuated when the corresponding switch  12  is turned on. Namely, whenever the switch  12  is repeatedly turned on and off by the pressed button body  110 , the luminous body  130  is correspondingly turned on and off. In such a case, the light seen through the button body  110  enables a user to check whether the function given to the corresponding button is correctly performed. On the contrary, the luminous body  130  can be turned off when the corresponding switch is turned on  12 , and vice versa, if necessary. 
   And, the extension  140  extends from the button body  110  to press the switch  12 . The extension  140  is configured not to interfere with the luminous body  130 . Specifically, the extension  140  is formed not to block the luminous body  110  so that the light of the luminous body  130  can be evenly applied to the button body  110 . The extension  140 , which is movable in upper-to-lower direction together with the button body  110 , is formed not to come into contact with the luminous body during such a movement. Preferably, the extension  140  is spaced with a predetermined distance apart from the luminous body  130  not to touch or block the luminous body  130 . Moreover, as the luminous body  130  is located within the central axis of the button body  110 , the extension  140  is formed eccentric to the button body  110  in order for the luminous body  130  not to touch or block the luminous body  130 . More preferably, the extension  140 , as shown in the drawings, is provided to an edge of a lower end of the button body  110 , thereby enabling to avoid interfering with the luminous body  130  at all. And, compared to a general button assembly, the extension  140  enables to allow a more sufficient inner space of the button body  110  for installing the luminous body therein. The switch  12  is placed under the edge of the lower end of the button body  110  to confront the extension  140 , and a tip of the extension  140  expands to secure a stable contact with the switch  12 . Hence, when a user presses the button body  110 , the extension  140  is moved downward together with the button body  110  to push the corresponding switch  12 . 
   An operation of the button assembly according to the present invention is explained as follows. Referring to  FIG. 4 , when a user presses the button body  110 , the button body  110  is guided by the button hole  22  to move downward. Simultaneously, the extension  140  is moved toward the switch  12  together with the button body  110  to push the switch  12 . Whenever a series of such a process is repeated, i.e., whenever the button body  110  is pressed, the switch  12  is turned on or off. In case that the luminous body  130  keeps emitting light, the user is facilitated to find to press the button even in the dark. 
   If the luminous body  130  is alternately turned on and off whenever the button body  110  is pressed by the user, the user enables to recognize the on/off state of the switch  12  with ease. Once the luminous body  130  is turned on by pressing the button body  110 , the light passing through the pressed button body  110  helps the user find other buttons easily even in the dark space. Besides, if a predetermined symbol, character or the like is printed on the window of the button body  110 , it can be more easily checked whether a specific function given to the corresponding button assembly is correctly carried out or not. 
   Accordingly, in the present invention, the extension for pushing the switch is provided to the edge of the lower end of the button body, whereby the luminous body can be installed within the button body. The luminous body enables the button body to efficiently transmit the light, whereby the user is facilitated to find to use the button. 
   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 spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.