Control for an electrical kitchen appliance with power interruption off feature
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electric appliance control comprising:
- an electromagnet;
an electrical switch assembly;
a ferromagnetic section movable with a contact of the switch assembly towards the electromagnet;
a user actuated member adapted to move the ferromagnetic section and the contact towards the electromagnet, wherein, when the electromagnet is energized and the ferromagnetic section and contact are moved by the user actuated member to an actuated position, the electromagnet can retain the contact at the actuated position by magnetically holding the ferromagnetic section at the actuated position.
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Abstract
An electric appliance control comprising an electromagnet; an electrical switch assembly; a ferromagnetic section movable with a contact of the switch assembly towards the electromagnet; and a user actuated member adapted to move the ferromagnetic section and the contact towards the electromagnet. When the electromagnet is energized and the ferromagnetic section and contact are moved by the user actuated member to an actuated position, the electromagnet can retain the contact at the actuated position by magnetically holding the ferromagnetic section at the actuated position.
22 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An electric appliance control comprising:
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an electromagnet;
an electrical switch assembly;
a ferromagnetic section movable with a contact of the switch assembly towards the electromagnet;
a user actuated member adapted to move the ferromagnetic section and the contact towards the electromagnet, wherein, when the electromagnet is energized and the ferromagnetic section and contact are moved by the user actuated member to an actuated position, the electromagnet can retain the contact at the actuated position by magnetically holding the ferromagnetic section at the actuated position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An electric toaster oven comprising:
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a housing;
heating elements connected to the housing; and
a control for controlling the heating elements, the control comprising;
a ferromagnetic member connected to an electrical contact of a switch assembly, the switch assembly being connected to the heating elements, the ferromagnetic member being biased by the contact towards a deactuated position, and the contact being movable with the ferromagnetic member towards an actuated position;
an electromagnet having a magnet field which, when the ferromagnetic member is located at the actuated position and the electromagnet is energized, magnetically attracts the ferromagnetic member towards the electromagnet, and wherein the field is insufficient to move the ferromagnetic member to the electromagnet when the ferromagnetic member is at the deactuated position, wherein, when the ferromagnetic member is located at the actuated position and supply of electricity to the toaster oven is interrupted, the ferromagnetic member is moved to the deactuated position and, if the supply of electricity to the toaster oven is subsequently re-established, the electromagnet cannot automatically move the ferromagnetic member back to the actuated position. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of preventing automatic re-energization of an electrical appliance after an interruption in supply of electricity to the appliance, the method comprising steps of:
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biasing a ferromagnetic section by a biasing force towards a deactuated position, the ferromagnetic section being adapted to move a contact of an electrical switch assembly, the ferromagnetic section being movable between the deactuated position wherein a portion of the switch assembly is OFF and an actuated position wherein the portion of the switch assembly is ON;
applying an electromagnetic force by an electromagnet to the ferromagnetic section when the ferromagnetic section is moved towards the actuated position to hold the ferromagnetic section at the actuated position; and
moving the ferromagnetic section by the biasing force, when the supply of electricity to the appliance is interrupted, to move the ferromagnetic section to the deactuated position, wherein the deactuated position is sufficiently far enough away from the electromagnet to prevent the electromagnet from automatically moving the ferromagnetic section back to the activated position when the supply of electricity is reactivated. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification