Appliance displays having modular light guides and methods of assembling the same
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorEric Joseph Schuh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Example appliance displays having modular light guides and methods of assembling the same are disclosed. An example appliance display includes a printed circuit board having a side-fire light emitting diode attached to a surface of the printed circuit board, a frame having a plurality of heat stakes to operatively connect the printed circuit board to the frame, and a light guide inserted into an opening defined in the frame, wherein the light guide guides light emitted by the light emitting diode through the opening defined in the frame, and wherein the printed circuit board retains the light guide in the opening when the printed circuit board is heat staked to the frame.
Claims16
An appliance display comprising:
- a printed circuit board having a side-fire light emitting diode attached to a surface of the printed circuit board;
- a frame having a plurality of heat stakes to operatively connect the printed circuit board to the frame;
- and
- a light guide inserted into an opening defined in the frame, the light guide held in place in the opening,
- wherein the light guide guides light emitted by the side-fire light emitting diode through the opening defined in the frame,
- wherein the printed circuit board retains the light guide in the opening when the printed circuit board is heat staked to the frame;
- and
- wherein the light guide is formed from a material having a density that increases further away from an edge of the light guide into which the side-fire light emitting diode emits light such that the light emitted through the opening by the light guide is substantially uniform across the opening.
A method to assemble an appliance display, the method comprising:
- attaching a side-fire light emitting diode to a surface of a printed circuit board;
- inserting a light guide formed from a material having a density that increases further away from an edge of the light guide into which the side-fire light emitting diode emits light such that the light emitted through the opening by the light guide is substantially uniform across the opening into an opening defined in a frame;
- holding the light guide held in place in the opening by heat staking the printed circuit board to the frame using heat stakes of the frame,
- wherein light emitted by the side-fire light emitting diode is emitted through the opening via the light guide, and
- wherein the printed circuit board retains the light guide in the opening when the printed circuit board is heat staked to the frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.