Electrical equipment

Abstract

We provide electrical equipment with a high level of design appeal. [Solution] The electrical device 10 has a main body 20 made of a resin material. The resin material includes a first resin material that defines the shape of the main body 20 and a second resin material that forms a pattern 40 on the main body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric appliance having a pattern.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a molded article having a mottled pattern which is an example of a pattern.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For electric appliances such as rice cookers, high designability is desired from the perspective of sales promotion. The above method for manufacturing a molded article does not disclose any specific example of the molded article at all.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an electric appliance with high designability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An electric appliance according to a first aspect of the present invention has a main body portion configured to include a resin material, and the resin material includes a first resin material that defines the shape of the main body portion, and a second resin material that forms a pattern of the main body portion.

[0007] The electric appliance according to a second aspect of the present invention is the electric appliance according to the first aspect, wherein the second resin material is of a single color.

[0008] The electric appliance according to a third aspect of the present invention is the electric appliance according to the first aspect or the second aspect, further comprising an operation portion attached to the main body portion, wherein the operation portion has a pattern.

[0009] An electrical device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is an electrical device according to the third aspect, wherein the operating part is made of a laminated sheet.

[0010] An electrical device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is an electrical device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the pattern of the main body and the pattern of the operating part are substantially the same in appearance.

[0011] An electrical device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is an electrical device according to the fifth aspect, wherein the pattern of the main body includes a first pattern and a second pattern having different color intensities when viewed externally, the pattern of the operating part includes a first pattern and a second pattern having different color intensities when viewed externally, the first pattern of the main body corresponds to the first pattern of the operating part, and the second pattern of the main body corresponds to the second pattern of the operating part.

[0012] An electrical device according to the seventh aspect of the present invention is an electrical device according to the sixth aspect, wherein the laminated sheet includes a first pattern sheet that forms the first pattern of the operating section and a second pattern sheet that forms the second pattern of the operating section.

[0013] An electrical device according to the eighth aspect of the present invention is an electrical device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein the first pattern of the main body is formed by the second resin material located on the surface side of the center in the thickness direction of the main body, and the second pattern of the main body is formed by the second resin material located on the inner side of the center in the thickness direction of the main body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The electrical equipment according to the present invention has a high degree of design appeal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of the electrical equipment according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a plan view of the control panel of an electrical device. [Figure 3]This is a cross-sectional view along the line D3-D3 in Figure 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] [1. Embodiments] Hereinafter, an electrical device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electrical device 10 of the embodiment. Figure 2 is a plan view of the operating section 30 of the electrical device 10 in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line D3-D3 in Figure 2.

[0017] In the example shown in Figure 1, the electrical appliance 10 is a rice cooker. The electrical appliance 10 can be any appliance that has elements made up of resin material. The electrical appliance 10 may be, for example, a cooking appliance, a lighting appliance, a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, an air purifier, a dehumidifier, a humidifier, a fan, a circulator, a stove, a fan heater, a futon dryer, a rice polishing machine, a shredder, a high-pressure washer, a steam cleaner, a television, audio equipment, digital equipment, or a remote controller used for operating these electrical appliances. The electrical appliance 10 has a main body 20 and an operating unit 30.

[0018] The main body 20 is made up of a resin material. The main body 20 has a housing section 21 that houses an inner pot (not shown) and a lid 22 that is connected to the housing section 21 so that the opening of the housing section 21 can be opened and closed.

[0019] The materials constituting the main body 20 include a first resin material and a second resin material. The first resin material defines the shape of the main body 20. The first resin material can be arbitrarily selected as long as it is a material that can define the shape of the main body 20. The first resin material is, for example, polypropylene.

[0020] The second resin material forms the pattern 40 on the main body portion 20. The second resin material can be arbitrarily selected as long as it is a material capable of forming a pattern on the main body portion 20. The second resin material is, for example, polypropylene particles. The second resin material may be of a single color or may have a plurality of colors. From the viewpoint of manufacturing the electric device 10 at low cost, the second resin material is preferably of a single color.

[0021] The pattern 40 is formed by the appearance of the second resin material in external view. The range in which the pattern 40 is formed in the main body portion 20 can be arbitrarily selected. In the present embodiment, the pattern 40 is formed at a predetermined density over substantially the entire storage portion 21 and the lid 22.

[0022] The specific shape of the pattern 40 can be arbitrarily selected. In the present embodiment, the pattern 40 is a stone-grain pattern. The pattern 40 includes a first pattern 41 and a second pattern 42 that differ in color depth in external view. The first pattern 41 is formed by, for example, the second resin material located closer to the surface side than the center in the thickness direction of the main body portion 20. For this reason, the first pattern 41 is darker in color than the second pattern 42 in external view. The second pattern 42 is formed by, for example, the second resin material located closer to the inner surface side than the center in the thickness direction of the main body portion 20. For this reason, the second pattern 42 is lighter in color than the first pattern 41 in external view.

[0023] The operation portion 30 shown in Figure 2 is attached to the lid 22. The operation portion 30 is constituted by a laminated sheet 50 that covers the button 10A related to the operation of the electric device 10. A pattern 60 is formed on the operation portion 30. Since the operation portion 30 is constituted by the laminated sheet 50, the pattern 60 can be formed planarly.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3, the laminated sheet 50 includes a first sheet 51, a second sheet 52, a first pattern sheet 61, a second pattern sheet 62, a third sheet 53, a fourth sheet 54, and a fifth sheet 55 which are laminated in order from the surface.

[0025] The first sheet 51 is a sheet that has the function of giving the laminated sheet 50 a matte finish. The second sheet 52 is a sheet on which text such as a description of the function of button 10A is printed.

[0026] The first pattern sheet 61 and the second pattern sheet 62 are sheets that form the pattern 60 on the operating section 30. In this embodiment, the pattern 60 on the operating section 30 and the pattern 40 on the main body 20 are substantially the same in appearance. Therefore, the electrical equipment 10 is given a unified design appearance.

[0027] The first pattern sheet 61 is a sheet on which the first pattern 61A is formed. The first pattern 61A can be arbitrarily selected. In this embodiment, the first pattern 61A is the same stone pattern as the pattern 40 of the main body 20. The second pattern sheet 62 is a sheet on which the second pattern 62A is formed. The second pattern 62A can be arbitrarily selected. In this embodiment, the second pattern 62A is the same stone pattern as the pattern 40 of the main body 20.

[0028] The first pattern sheet 61 is located on the surface side of the operating section 30 than the second pattern sheet 62. Therefore, the first pattern 61A appears darker than the second pattern 62A when viewed from the outside of the operating section 30. The first pattern 61A corresponds to the first pattern 41 of the main body 20.

[0029] The second pattern sheet 62 is located on the back side of the operating section 30, compared to the first pattern sheet 61. Therefore, the second pattern 62A appears lighter in color than the first pattern 61A when viewed from the outside of the operating section 30. The second pattern 62A corresponds to the second pattern 42 of the main body 20.

[0030] The third sheet 53 is a sheet made of the same color as the first resin material that constitutes the main body 20. The fourth sheet 54 is a sheet configured to transmit light emitted by the light-emitting diodes positioned corresponding to the button 10A. The fifth sheet 55 is a sheet that suppresses light from the light-emitting diodes positioned corresponding to the button 10A from leaking around the button 10A.

[0031] [2. Features] The electrical device 10 has a highly aesthetic design because it has a pattern 40 in which the second resin material is visible from the outside.

[0032] [3. Variant] The embodiments described above are illustrative of possible forms of electrical equipment according to the present invention and are not intended to limit its form. Electrical equipment according to the present invention may take forms different from those illustrated in the embodiments. One example is a form in which some of the configurations of the embodiments are replaced, modified, or omitted, or a form in which new configurations are added to the embodiments. Several examples of modifications of the embodiments are shown below. Note that the following modifications can be combined with each other as long as they do not contradict each other technically.

[0033] <3-1. First variation> In the above embodiment, the pattern 40 on the main body 20 and the pattern 60 on the operating unit 30 were substantially the same in appearance, but the pattern 40 on the main body 20 and the pattern 60 on the operating unit 30 may be different in appearance.

[0034] <3-2. Second variation> In the above embodiment, the pattern 40 is formed on almost the entire body portion 20. However, if the body portion 20 consists of multiple components, for example, the pattern 40 may be formed on only some of the components of the body portion 20. For example, the pattern 40 may be formed only on the lower part of the body portion 20.

[0035] <3-3. Third Variation> In the above embodiment, the configuration of the laminated sheet 50 is changeable. The laminated sheet 50 preferably includes at least a first patterned sheet 61 and a second patterned sheet 62, and at least one of the first sheet 51 to fifth sheet 55 may be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10: Electrical equipment 20: Main body 30: Operation section 40: Pattern 41: First Pattern 42: Second pattern 50: Laminated sheet 61: First pattern sheet 61A: Pattern 1 62: Second pattern sheet 62A: Pattern 2

Claims

1. It has a main body made of resin material, The aforementioned resin material is A first resin material that defines the shape of the main body, Includes a second resin material that forms the pattern of the main body. Electrical equipment.

2. The second resin material is a single color. The electrical equipment according to claim 1.

3. The main body further includes an operating section, The operating section has a pattern The electrical equipment according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The operating section is composed of laminated sheets. The electrical equipment according to claim 3.

5. The pattern on the main body and the pattern on the operating section are substantially the same in appearance. The electrical equipment according to claim 4.

6. The pattern on the main body includes a first pattern and a second pattern that differ in color intensity when viewed externally. The pattern of the operating section includes a first pattern and a second pattern that differ in color intensity when viewed externally. The first pattern of the main body and the first pattern of the operating section correspond to each other. The second pattern on the main body corresponds to the second pattern on the operating section. The electrical equipment according to claim 5.

7. The aforementioned laminated sheet is The first pattern sheet that forms the first pattern of the operating section, The operating section includes a second pattern sheet that forms the second pattern. The electrical equipment according to claim 6.

8. The first pattern of the main body is formed by the second resin material located on the surface side of the center in the thickness direction of the main body, The second pattern of the main body is formed by the second resin material located on the inner side of the center in the thickness direction of the main body. The electrical equipment according to claim 6.

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