Electric appliance

• US 6,111,240 A
• Filed: 07/23/1998
• Issued: 08/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hamada, Susumu, Kishimoto, Masamitsu, Shin, Yasuo, Aramaki, Yoshihiro, Arita, Tetsuichi, Kondou, Sakae
• Primary Examiner(s): Walberg, Teresa
• Assistant Examiner(s): FUQUA, SHAWNTINA T
• Application Number:
  US09/121,049
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 200/336, 200/564, 200/317, 219/702, 219/719, 219/720, 219/506
• US Class Current: 219/720
• CPC Class Codes: G04C 3/001 Electromechanical switches for setting or display in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 15/003 acting only at one preselected time or during one adjustable time interval
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 19/03 Means for limiting the angle of rotation of the operating part
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2011/0043 for modifying the number or type of operating positions, e.g. momentary and stable
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2019/006 being rotation direction sensitive, e.g. the generated pulse or code depends on the direction of rotation of the operating part
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 21/52 with means for introducing a predetermined time delay
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2223/004 Evacuation of penetrating liquid

Abstract

An electric appliance has a timer for calculating the remaining time, an operation member operated by being rotated, an adjuster for adjusting the remaining time, and a display for displaying the remaining time. When the operation member is operated while the timer is counting time, the adjuster adjusts the remaining time, and the display displays the adjusted remaining time.

Claims

1. An electric appliance comprising:

an electric appliance proper;

an operation member that is operated by being rotated and an angle of rotation of the operation member is correlated with a length of time;

setting means for setting the operation time of said electric appliance proper in accordance with the angle of rotation of said operation member;

timer means that starts counting time in response to a predetermined signal to calculate the remaining time for which said electric appliance proper is still to continue operating;

control means for controlling the operation of said electric appliance proper so that said electric appliance proper continues operating until said remaining times runs out;

adjustment means that, when said operation member is operated while said timer means is counting time, adjusts said remaining time to determine adjusted remaining time in accordance with the angle through which said operation member is rotated; and

display means having a plurality of figures marked around said operation member to indicate various lengths of time corresponding to various angles of rotation of said operation member, and having an illumination member for illuminating those figures individually, said display means displaying said remaining time which includes said adjusted remaining time by illuminating a specific one of said figures which corresponds to said remaining time.

2. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said display means further has subdivision symbols for displaying said remaining time including said adjusted time in units smaller than the units in which said remaining time is indicated by said figures, and has an illumination member for illuminating those subdivision symbols individually, said display means displaying said remaining time by additionally illuminating appropriate one or ones of said subdivision symbols.

3. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 2,

wherein said display means illuminates said figures and said subdivision symbols intermittently.

4. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 3,

wherein said display means is capable of varying the intervals at which it illuminates said figures and said subdivision symbols intermittently.

5. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said display means has a surface coated with fluorescent paint.

6. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said electric appliance is a microwave oven for heating and thereby cooking food, and how said display means illuminates said figures and said subdivision symbols varies with the power with which said microwave oven heats the food.

7. An electric appliance comprising:

a vertically fitted panel having a through hole and a tubular rib formed around the through hole so as to protrude forward;

an operation member fitted on the back side of said panel and having an operation shaft that protrudes forward; and

an operation knob having a joint at its back so as to be joined to said operation shaft through said through hole and having such a shape as to cover a part of a surface of said panel on which said rib is formed,

wherein said rib has a cut formed in its lower portion.

8. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 7.

wherein said rib has a rotation regulating portion that engages with a locking portion formed at the back of said operation knob so as to regulate rotation angle of said operation knob.

9. An electric appliance comprising:

a panel having a through hole;

an operation member fitted on the back side of said panel and having an operation shaft that protrudes toward the front side of said panel; and

an operation knob having a joint at its back so as to be joined to said operation shaft through said through hole and having such a shape as to cover a part of a surface of said panel,

wherein said electric appliance further comprises;

a click plate placed between said operation knob and said panel so as to rotate integrally with said operation knob; and

a spring placed between an inner wall of said operation knob and said click plate so as to be hid inside said operation knob,

wherein said click plate is pressed against said panel by a pressing force of said spring in such a way that, every time said operation knob is rotated through a predetermined angle, a plurality of dents formed on one of a front surface of said panel and a back surface of said click plate engage with a plurality of projections formed on the other.

10. An electric appliance as claimed in claim 9,

wherein said click plate can be fitted to said operation knob in a plurality of positions and a different number of dents are formed for an area that corresponds to each of the positions in which said click plate can be fitted.

11. An electric appliance comprising:

a timer for measuring time;

a control means for ending operation of said electric appliance when the time measured by said timer reaches a variable predetermined time;

a rotary operation member that is operated by being rotated;

a setting means for setting said predetermined time in accordance with an angle through which said rotary operation member is operated; and

a display means having a plurality of dot indicators for indicating said predetermined time by turning on some of said dot indicators and turning off the others,

wherein said rotary operation member and said plurality of dot indicators are arranged in a straight line.

12. An electric appliance as claimed in clam 11,

wherein said dot indicators are arranged at intervals that are proportional to lengths of time that can be set.

13. An electric appliance comprising:

a timer for measuring time;

a control means for ending operation of said electric appliance when the time measured by said timer reaches a variable predetermined time;

a rotary operation member that is operated by being rotated;

a setting means for setting said predetermined time in accordance with an angle through which said rotary operation member is operated; and

a display means, for displaying said predetermined time, having a plurality of dot indicators and having, between two adjacent ones of said dot indicators, a number of subdivided-time dot indicators, said number being equal to n-1, where n represents a number of parts into which a period between time points corresponding to said two adjacent ones of said dot indicators is subdivided,

wherein, when said predetermined time includes a subdivided time, said display means display said predetermined time by turning on those ones of said dot indicators which are on a shorter-time side of said predetermined time and blinking those ones of said subdivided-time dot indicators which correspond to said subdivided time.

14. An electric appliance comprising:

a timer for measuring time;

a control means for ending operation of said electric appliance when the time measured by said timer reaches a variable predetermined time;

a rotary operation member that is operated by being rotated;

a setting means for setting said predetermined time in accordance with an angle through which said rotary operation member is operated; and

a display means, for displaying said predetermined time, having a plurality of dot indicates and in addition capable of indicating a subdivided time between times indicated by two adjacent ones of said dot indicators,

wherein, when said predetermined time includes a subdivided time, said display means displays said predetermined time by turning on one of said adjacent dot indicators and blinking the other.

15. An electric appliance comprising:

a timer for measuring time;

a control means for ending operation of said electric appliance when the time measured by said timer reaches a variable predetermined time;

a rotary operation member that is operated by being rotated;

a setting means for setting said predetermined time in accordance with an angle through which said rotary operation member is operated; and

a display means, for displaying said predetermined time, having a plurality of dot indicators and in addition capable of indicating a subdivided time between times indicated by two adjacent ones of said dot indicators,

wherein, when said predetermined time includes a subdivide time, said display means displays said predetermined time by turning on both of said adjacent dot indicators.