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US 6,664,519 B2Granted
Touch-sensitive operating panel for cooking zones
AssigneeDiehl AKO Stiftung & Co. KG
InventorsKarlheinz Hammelsbacher, Alfred Kotouczek
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AssigneeDiehl AKO Stiftung & Co. KG
InventorsKarlheinz Hammelsbacher, Alfred Kotouczek
Estimating the term…
In order to be able to dispose the whole of the electrical circuitry of the operating panel (14) of a cooker top (11) on a single, single-layer circuit board (even if lined on both sides) of dimensions which do not project beyond the operating panel (14), there is provided a button selector switch (18) with which a cooking stage switch (19; 19−, 19+) which is also button-actuable can be cyclically successively switched to each of the cooking zones (12) provided, while the other cooking zones (12) remain in their current switching condition. Which of the cooking zones (12) is in operation at the present time and which of them is currently selected by way of the selector switch (18) can be seen from the optical signalling of miniaturized cooking zone lamps (22) or digital displays (23) which are arranged in a manner corresponding to the geometry of the cooking zones (12). A digital display indicates the currently predetermined cooking stage (23) for the currently selected cooking zone (12). In order to avoid separate residual heat lamps (29), the respective cooking zone lamp (22) or display (23) does not yet go out when its cooking zone (12) is switched off, but goes out only when the associated cooking zone (12) is cooled down below the residual temperature which is critical in terms of touching it.
A touch switch operating panel (14) for the starting of cooking stages including a digital cooking stage display (23) on a cooking top (11) having plurality of cooking zones (12), each of said cooking zones having an optical display associated therewith, which are individually selectable for the starting of cooking stages and settable through plus +/minus − function switch elements (19+, 19−) of a cooking stage switch (19);
An operating panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooking stage switch (19) is subdivided into two said function switch elements (19−, 19+) for selectively reducing or raising the heating output of a currently selected cooking zone (12) and which maintains the operating condition of the cooking stage of said zone when the cooking stage switch (19) is subsequently operatively associated with another cooking zone (12) through actuation of the selector switch (18).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.