Patent Publication Number: US-2010116005-A1

Title: Home appliance, washing machine, and manufacturing method of home appliance

Description:
The present application claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2008-0109547 filed in Korea on Nov. 5, 2008, and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/112,076 filed on Nov. 6, 2008 in US, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a home appliance and a washing machine, and more particularly, to a home appliance and a washing machine using a patterned exterior panel for achieving improved aesthetics. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Generally, to arouse a user&#39;s aesthetic appreciation and to achieve harmony with surrounding environments, an external appearance defining part of a home appliance, called a body, cabinet, case, casing, or the like, is subjected to painting, coating, image printing, or the like. 
     For example, in the case of a laundry treating machine as one kind of a washing machine, an exterior panel is attached to an outer surface of a casing member that defines an external appearance of the machine, in order to improve aesthetics of the machine according to user demand for an aesthetic product. In particular, recently, aesthetics of a home appliance is no less important, as a judgment standard of purchase, than functionality or performance and thus, improving aesthetics of a product becomes important. 
     Conventionally, to improve aesthetics of a product, an image has been printed on the product using a silk screen. In this case, printing an image using the silk screen is unrelated to material characteristics of a member defining a printing surface and thus, has a limit in presentation of material texture of the member and creation of three-dimensional feeling. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a home appliance, a washing machine, and a manufacturing method of the home appliance, in which an exterior panel is formed by integrally coupling an ornament, having a patterned portion on which a predetermined image is formed, and a transparent member placed on an outer surface of the ornament to each other, thereby improving material texture, aesthetics, and three-dimensional feeling of the home appliance or the washing machine. 
     The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned object and other objects that have not mentioned above will become evident to those skilled in the art from the following description. 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided a home appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including a casing member defining an external appearance of the home appliance, and an exterior panel coupled to an outer surface of the casing member, wherein the exterior panel includes an ornament having a patterned portion on which an image is formed, and a transparent member integrally coupled to an outer surface of the ornament. 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided a washing machine according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including a casing member having a wash tub received therein, and an exterior panel coupled to an outer surface of the casing member, wherein the exterior panel includes an ornament having a patterned portion on which an image is formed, and a transparent member integrally coupled to an outer surface of the ornament. 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided a manufacturing method of a home appliance according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including forming a casing member defining an external appearance of the home appliance, forming an exterior panel, and attaching the exterior panel to the casing member, wherein the formation of the exterior panel includes forming a hair line on a surface of an ornament, forming a patterned portion on the ornament, sequentially stacking Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) and a transparent member on the ornament, and compressing a stack of the transparent member, the PSA, and the ornament. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view showing a laundry treating machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the partially cut-way portion A shown in  FIG. 1 , showing a door exterior panel of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the door exterior panel of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view showing a door of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially cut-away perspective view of the door exterior panel according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially cut-away perspective view of the door exterior panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing a control unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a front view showing exterior panels of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of a laundry treating machine according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of the door exterior panel shown in  FIG. 9 ; and 
         FIG. 11  is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing the door of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The advantages and features of the present invention, and the way of attaining them, will become apparent with reference to embodiments described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and will be embodied in a variety of different forms; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the scope of the present invention will be defined by the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. 
     Hereinafter, a laundry treating machine according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     A home appliance of the present invention refers to an electric appliance used at home, such as a laundry treating machine, refrigerator, television, or the like. In particular, a washing machine is designed to wash an object via washing, rinsing, spin-drying, drying operations, or the like. Based on the kind of an object to be washed, for example, washing machines may be classified into various kinds including a laundry treating machine and a dish washing machine. The laundry treating machine may include a washer, a dryer, a combined washing/drying machine, a spin-drier, and the like. 
     Although the following embodiments of the present invention describe a laundry treating machine  1  falling under the category of a washing machine, the present invention is not limited thereto and is applicable to a variety of washing machines. Furthermore, it is noted that the present invention is applicable to a variety of home appliances. 
       FIG. 1  is a front view showing the laundry treating machine  1  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the laundry treating machine  1  includes a body having a wash space (not shown) to wash laundry therein, a control unit  10  provided in an upper region of the body to control general operations of the laundry treating machine  1  upon receiving an operation command from a user, a door  20  to open or close a front side of the wash space, and a pedestal  30  provided in a lower region of the body to perform, e.g., drying, deodorization, and sterilization of shoes received therein. 
     The control unit  10  includes a display device  14  to display information related to general operations of the laundry treating machine  1 . In one example, the display device  14  may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a Light Emitting Diode (LED). The display device  14  serves to display an operation mode related to washing, rinsing, or spin-drying, a setting time or residual time of each operation mode, and the like. In addition, the control unit  10  further includes a user manipulation button  13  to allow the user to input an operation command. In one example, the user manipulation button  13  may take the form of a rotary encoder. 
     An external appearance defining part of a home appliance, which is called a body, case, cabinet, or the like (hereinafter, referred to as a “casing member”), is generally fabricated through injection molding. An injection molded article may allow an exterior panel to be attached to an outer surface thereof. In this case, to arouse a user&#39;s aesthetic appreciation, the exterior panel may be formed with an image, in the form of a figure, pattern, or the like, by printing or etching. 
     It is noted that the casing member does not essentially take the form of a single body to realize a shape of the home appliance, and may include a plurality of casing members, such as, e.g., a control unit casing member, a door casing member, and a pedestal casing member, which are coupled to each other so as to realize the overall shape of the home appliance(e.g. laundry treating machine). 
     The laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of exterior panels. The plurality of exterior panels may include a control unit exterior panel  10   a  to define an external appearance of the control unit  10 , a door exterior panel  20   a  to define an external appearance of the door  20 , and a pedestal exterior panel  30   a  to define an external appearance of the pedestal  30 . 
     The control unit exterior panel  10   a  is coupled to an outer surface of a control unit casing member defining a shape of the control unit  10 . The door exterior panel  20   a  is coupled to an outer surface of a door casing member defining a shape of the door  20 . The pedestal exterior panel  30   a  is coupled to an outer surface of a pedestal casing member defining a shape of the pedestal  13 . The door casing member, control unit casing member, and pedestal casing member may be formed by injection molding, respectively. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the partially cut-way portion A shown in  FIG. 1 , showing the door exterior panel  20   a  of the laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the door exterior panel  20   a  of the laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the door exterior panel  20   a  includes the ornament  100  on which an image is formed by an image processing technology, such as photo-etching, and a transparent member  130  coupled to a surface of the ornament  100  by means of an adhesive member  120 . 
     The surface of the ornament  100  is formed with an image, in the form of a figure, pattern, or the like, so as to make the ornament  100  aesthetically pleasing. Specifically, the transparent member  130  serves as a protective coating layer on the surface of the ornament  100  to allow the ornament  100  to be seen from the outside. 
     The ornament  100  is preferably made of a metal, which can be easily photo-etched. When the ornament  100  is made of a metal, aesthetics of the ornament  100  can be improved by maximizing material texture of the metal via polishing or photo-etching. In particular, the ornament  100  may be made of stainless steel (hereinafter, referred to as “STS”). As is known, STS has excellent corrosion-resistance, durability, and reflectivity and is easily photo-etched. In addition, when STS is subjected to cutting or photo-etching, a processed surface of STS exhibits a high gloss that is peculiar to a metal, making an external appearance of a product look more luxurious. 
     In more detail, the ornament  100  is formed at the surface thereof with a plurality of hair lines  102 . The hair lines  102  may be formed by polishing the surface of the ornament  100  in a given direction. Specifically, the hair lines  102  may be realized by a processing device that uses an abrasive sheet formed with appropriate sizes of particles. As the abrasive sheet is rotated at a high speed, the hair lines  102  of discontinuous pitches are formed on the surface of the ornament  100 . 
     The hair lines  102  serve to maximize the material texture of the ornament  100 , and have the effects of improving material texture of a metal by polishing, preventing glare via scattered reflection of indoor light, and creating a luxurious external appearance. In particular, although a smooth metal plate may cause irregular reflection light when it is slightly deformed by external shock thus having an unpleasing external appearance, processing hair lines on a metal surface can solve this problem. 
     The ornament  100  is further formed at the surface thereof with a patterned portion  110 . The patterned portion  110  may be realized by photo-etching. Here, photo-etching is an ultra-precision processing technology and includes coating a photo-resist film on a metal surface, exposing and developing a partial image by ultraviolet light, and then, etching the exposed metal surface. 
     In more detail, photo-etching is a combination of photolithography and etching. Photolithography includes applying a photo-resist solution over a substrate to form a photo-resist film, and selectively exposing and developing a partial image on the film by ultraviolet light having passed through a photo-mask (i.e. a patterned film). 
     Etching is a technology for selectively etching a material surface using a developed photo-resist film as a protective film. Specifically, etching is one kind of a recess forming technology for perforating and cutting a recess in a metal surface where no protective film is present via electrolytic etching or chemical etching using an acid or alkali solution, ferric chloride solution, or the like. 
     After completing the etching of the metal surface as described above, a finishing process for removing the protective film using an alkali solution, organic solvent, or the like may be added. 
     The patterned portion  110  may be formed on the surface of the ornament  100  by photo-etching. Photo-etching allows delicate lines of approximately 0.02 mm-0.03 mm to be presented on the ornament  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the patterned portion  110  includes recesses  112  indented from a surrounding plane by etching. The recesses  112  consist of outline recesses  112   a  defining an outline of an image and plane recesses  112   b  defining a plane of the image. In the present embodiment, the patterned portion  110  wholly defines a petal-shaped image. An outline of the image is realized by the outline recesses  112   a,  and a plane of the image is realized by the plane recesses  112   b.    
     The patterned portion  110  may be realized by photo-etching in a state wherein the hair lines  102  have been formed on the ornament  100 . In this case, the outline recesses  112   a  are preferably deeper than the plane recesses  112   b  and the hair lines  102 . 
     The patterned portion  110  may include a plurality of the recesses  112 . Respective ones of the plurality of recesses  112  may have various depths and widths under control of an etching degree. The various depths and widths of the plurality of recesses  112  cause, e.g., differences in paths, reflection angles, and reflected amount of light, advantageously enabling creation of a three-dimensional image. In particular, various depths of spaces are created between the transparent member  130  coupled to the surface of the ornament  100  and the plurality of recesses  112 , resulting in maximized three-dimensional effect. 
     Meanwhile, assuming that a plastic casing member formed by injection molding is subjected to mirror printing and thereafter, a transparent member made of reinforced glass is coated on the casing member, a printed surface of the injection molded casing member may scratch the transparent member during coating. More particularly, an outline of a printed image is generally defined by a thin and sharp line raised from a surrounding plane, thus acting to scratch the transparent member. 
     The laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention has an advantage of preventing the transparent member  130  from being scratched because the outline recesses  112   a  defining the outline of the image are deeply indented from the surrounding plane. 
     The transparent member  130  is made of a transparent material suitable to allow the patterned portion  110  and the hair lines  102  to be seen from the outside. The transparent material may be selected from reinforced glass, glass, a PolyCarbonate (PC) sheet, and the like. 
     The transparent member  130  is attached to the ornament  100  by use of the adhesive member  120 . The adhesive member  120  may be made of Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA). In a state wherein PSA is interposed between two objects to be coupled, PSA acts to attach the two objects to each other upon receiving a predetermined pressure. PSA can achieve desired adhesive strength even under conditions of a room temperature and low pressure and therefore, has an advantage of realizing attachment of an object without deformation of the object. The adhesive member  120  is seated over the hair lines  102  of the ornament  100 , serving to attach the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100  to each other. 
     Although photo-etching employed in the first embodiment of the present invention includes coating a photo-resist film on the ornament  100 , exposing and developing a partial image on the film, and then, chemically etching the ornament  100 , in an alternative embodiment, a desired shape of image may be directly sketched on the ornament  100  and thereafter, sand cutting may be performed along the sketched image. Of course, various other methods capable of etching an image in the ornament  100  may be applied without departing from the scope and sprit of the present invention. 
     With formation of the recesses  112 , predetermined spaces are created between the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100 , allowing the ornament  100  to exhibit different shadow effects and material textures according to viewing directions. That is, maximizing three-dimensional effect of the patterned portion  110  viewed from the outside is possible. 
     In more detail, a part of light directed to the door exterior panel  20   a  is reflected by a front surface of the transparent member  130 , another part of the light is reflected by a front surface of the adhesive member  120  after passing through the transparent member  130 , and another part of the light is reflected by the recesses  112  after passing through the adhesive member  120 . In this case, maximized three-dimensional effect can be accomplished because the transparent member  130 , the adhesive member  120 , and the recesses  112  reflect the light at different angles. Moreover, further enhanced three-dimensional effect can be accomplished because of refraction of the light passing through the transparent member  130  and/or the adhesive member  120 . 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view showing the door  20  of the laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 4 , as described above, the door exterior panel  20   a  is formed by integrally coupling the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100  to each other by use of the adhesive member  120 . The door exterior panel  20   a  is coupled to the outer surface of the door casing member  22 , completing formation of the door  20 . In this case, the door exterior panel  20   a  may be attached to the door casing member  22  by use of a sealant or a double-sided tape  125 . In particular, the sealant  125  is filled between the door exterior panel  20   a  and the door casing member  22  and can act to attach an object with excellent adhesive strength while exhibiting high water-resistance, strong cohesion for a long time, and less material deterioration and variation. 
       FIG. 5  is a partially cut-away perspective view of the door exterior panel  20   a  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the door exterior panel  20   a  includes the transparent member  130  formed with a patterned portion  135  on which a unique image is realized for improving aesthetics of the ornament  100 . Differently from the patterned portion  130  formed at the ornament  100  of the above described first embodiment, the patterned portion  135  according to the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized by being formed at a surface of the transparent member  130 . The patterned portion  135  may be realized by photo-etching. Various methods for etching glass have been known and thus, it will be appreciated that photo-etching of the transparent member  130  is also possible. Although  FIG. 5  illustrates the patterned portion  135  formed at a lower surface of the transparent member  130 , the patterned portion  135  may also be formed at an upper surface of the transparent member  130 . 
     Preferably, the patterned portion  135  is recessed in the lower surface of the transparent member  130  to create a predetermined space between the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100 . The ornament  100  is preferably made of a metal, such as STS. That is, the patterned portion  135  recessed in the lower surface of the transparent member  130  provides enhanced material texture of metal and three-dimensional effect. 
     The patterned portion  135  may be realized on the surface of the transparent member  130  by silk screen printing. The transparent member  130  may be formed with hair lines  137  by the same method as the above described first embodiment. 
       FIG. 6  is a partially cut-away perspective view of the door exterior panel  20   a  according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 6 , the door exterior panel  20   a  according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a printed layer  140  placed on the ornament  100 , on which an image, in the form of a figure, pattern, or the like, is printed. The printed layer  140  is interposed between the adhesive member  120  and the ornament  100 . That is, the adhesive member  120  is placed on the printed layer  140 . 
     The printed layer  140  may be realized using a transfer-printed film or by silk screen printing. The printed layer  140  includes a patterned portion  145  formed by etching a surface of the printed layer  140 . The printed layer  140  may be formed with hair lines  147 , and the patterned portion  145  includes recesses  146 , the hair lines  147  and the recesses  146  having the same configurations as the above described first embodiment. 
     The ornament  100  is preferably made of a metal, and the printed layer  140  is preferably made of a transparent material to allow metallic material texture of the ornament  100  to be seen from the outside. The printed layer  140  may be made of a transparent colored material. In this case, with cooperation of the color of the printed layer  140  and the metallic material texture of the ornament  100 , enhanced aesthetics of the ornament  100  can be realized. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing the control unit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The following description is given with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 7 . 
     Generally, a home appliance may have a curved surface portion. Although the exterior panel according to the present invention may be applied to a curved surface portion of the laundry treating machine  1 , it will be appreciated that the use range of the exterior panel is not limited thereto and the exterior panel is applicable to curved surface portions of various home appliances. The present embodiment proposes the control unit exterior panel  10   a  as one example of the curved surface portion of the laundry treating machine  1 . Of course, it is noted that the curved surface portion of the laundry treating machine  1  is not limited thereto. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the control unit exterior panel  10   a  includes a curved surface portion. That is, the control unit exterior panel  10   a  has a shape corresponding to that of the rounded control unit casing member  12 , so as to be closely attached to the control unit casing member  12 . 
     The control unit  10  has the same configuration as that of the door  20 . Specifically, the control unit  10  is configured such that the control unit exterior panel  10   a  is coupled to the control unit casing member  12  and in turn, the control unit exterior panel  10   a  is integrally formed such that the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100  are attached to each other. 
     Considering the fabrication of the control unit  10 , first, the control unit casing member  12  is fabricated. In one example, the control unit casing member  12  may be fabricated by injection molding of plastic. The injection molding may include preparing a mold having a curved portion and injecting plastic into the mold. 
     The ornament  100  is preferably made of a metal, which can be easily etched. Similar to the ornament  100  of the door exterior panel  20   a  according to the above described first embodiment, the ornament  100  may be formed with the patterned portion by photo-etching. The ornament  100  is subjected to bending such that an inner surface of the ornament  100  is closely attached to the outer surface of the control unit casing member  12 . Similarly, the transparent member  130  is subjected to bending such that an inner surface of the transparent member  130  is closely attached to an outer surface of the ornament  100 . In this way, adjacent surfaces of the transparent member  130 , the ornament  100 , and the control unit casing member  12  are closely attached to one another. 
     The control unit exterior panel  10   a  is coupled to the control unit casing member  12  by use of the adhesive member  125 , such as a sealant or a double-sided tape. The sealant has a predetermined thickness and elasticity, exhibiting excellent close-contact with respect to a curved surface portion. 
     Of course, in the present embodiment, the control unit exterior panel  10   a  may further include the printed layer in the same manner as the above described third embodiment. 
       FIG. 8  is a front view showing exterior panels of the laundry treating machine  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 8 , as described above, the exterior panels include the control unit exterior panel  10   a,  the door exterior panel  20   a,  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a.    
     In this case, the control unit exterior panel  10   a , the door exterior panel  20   a,  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a  may be formed as a single body. In one example, after a single exterior panel is patterned to form an image, the patterned exterior panel may be split into the control unit exterior panel  10   a,  the door exterior panel  20   a,  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a.    
     The above described exterior panel fabrication method of splitting the single patterned panel into the control unit exterior panel  10   a,  the door exterior panel  20   a,  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a  has an advantage of easily realizing a continuous image throughout a plurality of adjacent panels. For example, referring to  FIG. 8 , a part of an image  15  belongs to the door exterior panel  20   a,  but the remaining part belongs to the pedestal exterior panel  30   a.  For this, after the image  15  is formed by photo-etching in a state wherein the door exterior panel  20   a  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a  are formed as a single body, cutting of the single body is performed, enabling easy realization of the image  15 . In particular, realizing the continuous image  15  on the neighboring panels, i.e. the door exterior panel  20   a  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a,  may advantageously arouse unity and coordination, resulting in visual stability. 
     Of course, it is not essential that the control unit exterior panel  10   a,  the door exterior panel  20   a,  and the pedestal exterior panel  30   a  be formed as a single body. For example, an exterior panel having a curved surface portion, such as the control unit exterior panel  10   a  shown in  FIG. 7 , may be separately fabricated. 
       FIG. 9  is a front view of a laundry treating machine  2  according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of the door exterior panel  20   a  shown in  FIG. 9 . In the following description with reference to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the same configurations as the above described embodiments will not be described. 
     The laundry treating machine  2  according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention includes an observation window provided at the door  20 . The user is able to observe the interior of a wash tub (not shown) through the observation window. 
     The door  20  includes the door casing member (not shown) having an opening perforated in an approximately central position thereof, and the door exterior panel  20   a  coupled to the outer surface of the door casing member. The door exterior panel  20   a  takes the form of a stack of the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100 , and the ornament  100  includes the patterned portion  110 . The ornament  100  has an observation hole  26  at a position corresponding to the opening of the door casing member. 
     The door casing member (not shown) attached to a rear surface of the door exterior panel  20   a  may have an inwardly curved surface portion. The inwardly curved surface portion has the effect of providing improved three-dimensional feeling when viewing the inwardly curved surface portion through the observation hole  26 . 
     With relation to the patterned portion  110  formed at the ornament  100 , the patterned portion  110  is formed using the same method as the above described embodiments. 
       FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating a method for manufacturing the door  20  of the laundry treating machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  4 , and  11 , the door casing member  22  is formed (S 10 ). In one example, the door casing member  22  may be formed by injection molding of plastic. 
     Then, the door exterior panel  20   a  is formed (S 20 ). The door exterior panel  20   a  includes the ornament  100  and the transparent member  130  stacked on an upper surface of the ornament  100 . 
     Considering the operation S 20  for formation of the door exterior panel  20   a  in more detail, first, the surface of the ornament  100 , which is made of, e.g., a metal, is formed with the hair lines  102  by polishing (S 21 ). 
     The patterned portion  110  is formed on the ornament  100  (S 22 ). The patterned portion  110  may be formed by photo-etching. 
     The adhesive member  120  is stacked on the ornament  100  on which the hair lines  102  and the patterned portion  110  have been formed and in turn, the transparent member  130 , which is made of, e.g., reinforced glass, is stacked on the adhesive member  120  (S 23 ). In this case, the adhesive member  120  may include Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA). 
     The stack of the transparent member  130 , the adhesive member  120 , and the ornament  100  is compressed (S 24 ). In this case, the transparent member  130  and the ornament  100  are attached to each other when pressure is applied to the PSA constituting the adhesive member  120 . 
     The door exterior panel  20   a,  formed in operation S 20 , is attached to the outer surface of the door casing member formed in operation S 10 , by use of a sealant or a double-sided tape. 
     With the above described manufacturing method, the door  20  can be simply manufactured by attaching the integrally formed door exterior panel  20   a  to the outer surface of the door casing member  22 . 
     Of course, the present invention is not limited to the manufacturing method of the door exterior panel  20   a , and may be applied to all kinds of home appliances. In particular, it is noted that the present invention is applicable to various laundry treating machines. 
     When forming an exterior panel of a home appliance having a curved surface portion, preferably, after an image is realized on a flat exterior panel, the exterior panel is subjected to bending to correspond to the casing member having a curved surface portion and thereafter, is attached to the casing member. 
     It will be understood by those skilled in the art that example embodiments can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be noted that the forgoing embodiments are merely illustrative in all aspects and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description of the invention. All changes or modifications or their equivalents made within the meanings and scope of the claims should be construed as falling within the scope of the invention. 
     According to a home appliance and a washing machine of the present invention, one or more effects as follows may be achieved. 
     First, as a result of providing an ornament with a patterned portion on which an image is formed and closely attaching a transparent member to a surface of the ornament, enhanced material texture and three-dimensional effect can be accomplished, arousing a user&#39;s aesthetic appreciation. 
     Second, with the manufacturing method of the home appliance according to the present invention, the integrally formed patterned exterior panel is attached to the casing member, resulting in simplified formation of the exterior panel of the home appliance. 
     The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above can be clearly understood from the definitions in the claims by one skilled in the art.