Heating appliance control system
First Claim
1. A control system for an appliance having a source of heat being controlled thereby, comprising:
- control circuitry having memory means, a plurality of different predetermined dedicated time interval values being permanently stored in said memory means for selective recall therefrom, said plurality of predetermined dedicated time interval values representing the time intervals available for selection;
electronic display means having a plurality of discrete time indicia, each of said time indicia being representative of a respective one of said predetermined dedicated time interval values and being selectively energized by said control circuitry for actively displaying the respective said time indicia;
keyboard means having a plurality of actuable keys for receiving user commands, the keys including only two time keys for controlling the selection of any of said predetermined dedicated time interval values from said control circuitry memory means; and
said control circuitry being responsive to actuation of a respective one of said time keys to respectively incrementally or decrementally select by slewing as a function of the duration of said actuation of said time key, successive ones of said predetermined dedicated time interval values at least for controlling said selective energization of said display means indicia.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control system for a heating appliance, such as a microwave oven, includes a display and electronic circuitry for controlling operation of the appliance and the display. One of the control operations involves the timing of an interval, such as a cooking interval. Another such operation involves the selection of a power level. The display and a memory associated with the circuitry include predetermined dedicated time intervals and/or power level values depicted thereon and stored therein, respectively. Appropriate data-entry keys allow for the selection of these time and/or power values by slewing the display and thus the memory through the dedicated values. Separate keys may be provided for respectively incrementing and decrementing time and power.
34 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A control system for an appliance having a source of heat being controlled thereby, comprising:
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control circuitry having memory means, a plurality of different predetermined dedicated time interval values being permanently stored in said memory means for selective recall therefrom, said plurality of predetermined dedicated time interval values representing the time intervals available for selection; electronic display means having a plurality of discrete time indicia, each of said time indicia being representative of a respective one of said predetermined dedicated time interval values and being selectively energized by said control circuitry for actively displaying the respective said time indicia; keyboard means having a plurality of actuable keys for receiving user commands, the keys including only two time keys for controlling the selection of any of said predetermined dedicated time interval values from said control circuitry memory means; and said control circuitry being responsive to actuation of a respective one of said time keys to respectively incrementally or decrementally select by slewing as a function of the duration of said actuation of said time key, successive ones of said predetermined dedicated time interval values at least for controlling said selective energization of said display means indicia. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification