Control element for a household appliance
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A control element for a domestic appliance, wherein the control element comprises:
- a housing, the housing defining an interior cavity with a housing wall;
a plurality of conductor paths disposed on a surface of the housing wall;
a retraction mechanism with sliding contacts, the retraction mechanism coupled to the housing in a manner that allows rotation of the retraction mechanism and an electronic connection between the sliding contacts and the plurality of conductor paths; and
a physical cap attached to the retraction mechanism, the physical cap functioning as an antenna for communication with an external data source.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A control element for a household appliance includes an antenna for communicating with an external data source. The antenna can be formed by a cap which is connected to a housing of the control element and is retractable in relation to the housing by a retraction mechanism accommodated in the housing. A transmit/receive unit is supported by the cap and is connected to flexible conductor paths for conveying received or transmitted data.
42 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A control element for a domestic appliance, wherein the control element comprises:
-
a housing, the housing defining an interior cavity with a housing wall; a plurality of conductor paths disposed on a surface of the housing wall; a retraction mechanism with sliding contacts, the retraction mechanism coupled to the housing in a manner that allows rotation of the retraction mechanism and an electronic connection between the sliding contacts and the plurality of conductor paths; and a physical cap attached to the retraction mechanism, the physical cap functioning as an antenna for communication with an external data source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20, 21)
-
-
7. A domestic appliance, comprising:
-
a communication system; and at least one control element operably connected to the communication system and comprising; a housing defining an interior cavity with a housing wall, a plurality of conductor paths disposed on a surface of the housing wall, a retraction mechanism with sliding contacts coupled to the housing in a manner that allows rotation of the retraction mechanism and an electronic connection between the sliding contacts and the plurality of conductor paths, and a physical cap attached to the retraction mechanism, the physical cap functioning as an antenna for communication with an external data source. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A control element for a domestic appliance, wherein the control element comprises:
-
a housing, the housing having a plurality of conductor paths disposed on a surface of the housing wall, a rotatable retraction mechanism with sliding contacts, the retraction mechanism coupled to the housing and allowing an electronic connection between the sliding contacts and the plurality of conductor paths, and a physical cap attached to the rotatable retraction mechanism, the physical cap functioning as an antenna for communication with an external data source. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
-
Specification