Diehl Ako Stiftung & Co. Kg

Charles Hahs

Uwe Heimann

Dirk Golz

Bernd Theobold

An operating device contains a cover plate having an opening, a rotatable operating element having an operating head on the cover plate, and a shaft running through the opening. Behind the cover plate and at a distance therefrom, there is a circuit board having an opening through which the shaft extends. The operating device includes a tube element which has a hollow-cylindrical base body that runs, between the cover plate and the shaft of the operating element, at least partially through the opening of the cover plate, and a radial inner side that forms, between the tube element and the shaft of the operating element, an inner flow channel that runs through the opening of the cover plate and past the opening of the circuit board, to protect the circuit board against extraneous substances which may enter the operating device through the opening of the cover plate.

Operating device and household appliance having the operating device

A capacitive proximity and/or contact switch includes a cover plate having an upper side and an underside. The upper side provides a sensitive area of the switch and the cover plate, at least in the region of the sensitive area, is at least partially non-conductive. A conductive sensor face is disposed at a distance from the underside of the cover plate. The dielectric system of this capacitive proximity and/or contact switch is formed of the cover plate, at least one non-conductive element facing towards the sensor face and at least one conductive element between the cover plate and the non-conductive element.

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Wroclaw, Poland

Charles Hahs