Patent ID: 7963003

Claim:
A user-configurable decorative control knob for use on a rotary control shaft of a household appliance, the knob comprising: a base structure having a forward side and a rearward side separated by an edge, said edge having a thickness dimension; a rotational axis about which said edge is symmetrically arranged; a first receptacle in said forward side, said first receptacle having a depth extending into said forward side, an outer wall and an inner wall separated by a gap, said gap having a width, said outer and inner walls aligned parallel to said rotational axis; at least one tab extending from said inner wall or said outer wall into said gap a height that is less than said gap width; a second receptacle disposed on said rearward side and symmetrically configured about said rotational axis; a plurality of indicator inserts, each of said plurality of indicator inserts having an interior edge and an exterior edge separated by an annular width, said annular width being slightly less than said gap width such that one of said plurality of indicator inserts is selectively inserted into said first receptacle, each of said plurality of indicator inserts further having at least one notch for engagement with said at least one tab to prevent relative rotation of said plurality of indicator inserts relative to said gap, each of said plurality of indicator inserts having indicia for indicating rotary position of said control knob wherein said indicia on each of said plurality of indicator inserts is unique with respect to other indicia on the other of said plurality of indicator inserts; and a plurality of torque inserts, each of said plurality of torque inserts having an aperture configured for engagement on the control shaft wherein each said aperture is unique with respect to other said apertures in said plurality of torque inserts; wherein said knob is selectively configured by inserting one of said plurality of indicator inserts into said first receptacle and by inserting one of said plurality of torque inserts into said second receptacle.