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US 2003/0196556 A1Published application
Methods and systems for alerting a user to clean appliance
AssigneeSalton, Inc.
InventorLawrence Lile
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to an indicator on a household appliance to alert a user to clean the appliance. For example, the indicator alerts the user when to clean a crumb tray in a toaster.
Claims31
A toaster, comprising:
- means for activating the toaster;
- and
- a counter coupled to the activating means wherein the counter is incremented upon activation of the activating means.
A toaster, comprising:
- means for activating the toaster;
- a counter coupled to the activating means wherein the counter is incremented upon activation of the activating means;
- a memory to store a value of the counter;
- and
- an indicator coupled to the counter, wherein the indicator produces a signal when the counter reaches a set value.
2 more elements
A method, comprising the steps of:
- counting a number of times a household appliance is activated;
- determining when the number reaches a set value;
- and
- when it is determined that the number reaches the set value, providing an indication that the number reached the set value.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.