The present invention relates to a control knob to shaft assembly and more particularly is directed to such an assembly wherein the knob has its rotational central axis at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft to which it is attached.
There are a large number of constructions for securing control knobs to shafts. In simple rotatable controls, spline arrangements have been used where the rotational central axis of the knob and the central longitudinal axis of the shaft coincide. There are occasions, however, wherein it is desirable that the rotational central axis of the knob be at an angle relative to the central axis of the shaft yet have the rotational movement of the knob transmitted to the shaft without any lost motion between the two. For example, in the case of an appliance such as a dishwasher that has a timer with a setting shaft on the horizontal it can be beneficial to have the escutcheon plate of the control panel in a plane at an angle to the vertical. With this arrangement the user, which in most cases would be standing, may set the timer by rotating the knob yet more easily observe the setting indications on the escutcheon plate surrounding the knob which may be at the user's waistline because the escutcheon plate is tilted at an angle toward the user's eyes.
By this invention, there is provided a control knob to shaft assembly that allows the rotational axis of the knob to be tilted at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft yet allows the user to easily rotate the knob and have transmitted to the shaft accurate and precise rotational movement.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds