Microprocessor based control circuit for washing appliances with overfill protection
First Claim
1. A control circuit for permitting a user to selectably operate a washing appliance having electro-mechanical means for filling, circulating and draining water in said appliance, said circuit comprising:
- (a) control means for controlling said electromechanical means,(b) connecting means adapted for connecting said control means to an external power supply,(c) input means permitting user selection of desired operating cycles and including means for communicating with said control means to permit said control means to determine the cycles selected by the user for controlling said electro-mechanical means in accordance therewith,(d) overfill means for detecting excess water in said appliance and producing an electrical signal indicative thereof, said control means including means for detecting said signal and responsive theretosaid overfill means being operative to produce said signal and said control means being operative in response thereto to initiate operation of the draining means at any time provided said connecting means is operatively coupled to the external power supply;
the duration of the period in which draining is enabled by said control means in response to said signal being determined by the duration of said signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control circuit is disclosed for appliances such as dishwashers and clothes washers. The control circuit employs a microprocessor programmed to respond to user selected options to determine the operating sequence of the appliance. The control circuit includes an overfill system which permits the microprocessor to detect and identify a flood condition in response to a signal from a float assembly. The flood signal causes the microprocessor to initiate a flood control routine which interrupts the normal operating cycle being executed, if any, and initiates and maintains operation of a drain cycle until the water returns to the normal level for a predetermined period of time. The flood routine overrides all other program control thereby preventing any other machine function until the flood condition has been eliminated and there has been user interaction. The user is advised of the flood condition via an alpha-numeric digital display on the appliance control panel. The overfill system will be activated regardless of the operative state of the appliance.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A control circuit for permitting a user to selectably operate a washing appliance having electro-mechanical means for filling, circulating and draining water in said appliance, said circuit comprising:
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(a) control means for controlling said electromechanical means, (b) connecting means adapted for connecting said control means to an external power supply, (c) input means permitting user selection of desired operating cycles and including means for communicating with said control means to permit said control means to determine the cycles selected by the user for controlling said electro-mechanical means in accordance therewith, (d) overfill means for detecting excess water in said appliance and producing an electrical signal indicative thereof, said control means including means for detecting said signal and responsive thereto said overfill means being operative to produce said signal and said control means being operative in response thereto to initiate operation of the draining means at any time provided said connecting means is operatively coupled to the external power supply;
the duration of the period in which draining is enabled by said control means in response to said signal being determined by the duration of said signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification