Method and apparatus of assembling cooking appliances
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorErrin Gnadinger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solenoid for controlling gas flow to a burner of an appliance includes at least one coil configured to receive an electrically charged pulse based on a signal sent from a controller. The solenoid also includes an armature moveable between a first position and a second position by the at least one coil. The armature is configured to remain in one of the first position and the second position until the coil receives the electrically charged pulse. Gas is flowing to the burner of the appliance when the armature is in the first position, and gas is restricted from flowing to the burner when the armature is in the second position.
Claims20
A solenoid for controlling gas flow to a burner of an appliance, said solenoid comprising:
- at least one coil configured to receive an electrically charged pulse based on a signal sent from a controller;
- and
- an armature moveable between a first position and a second position by said at least one coil, said armature configured to remain in one of said first position and said second position until said coil receives the electrically charged pulse, wherein gas is flowing to the burner of the appliance when said armature is in said first position, and gas is restricted from flowing to the burner when said armature is in said second position.
A cooking appliance comprising:
- at least one gas burner;
- at least one solenoid configured to control the flow of gas to a corresponding one of said gas burners, each said solenoid operable in a first state wherein gas is flowing to said corresponding gas burner, and a second state wherein gas is restricted from flowing to said corresponding gas burner;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to each said solenoid, said controller configured to provide an electrical pulse to each said solenoid to control the operation state of said solenoid.
A method for assembling a cooking appliance, said method comprising:
- providing at least one gas burner;
- coupling a gas supply line to each of the at least one gas burner;
- coupling at least one solenoid to each gas supply line such that the solenoid controls the flow of gas to the respective gas burner, wherein each solenoid includes an armature moveable between a first position and a second position, wherein gas is flowing to the burner of the appliance when the armature is in the first position, and gas is restricted from flowing to the burner when the armature is in the second position, and at least one coil configured to receive an electrically charged pulse;
- and
- coupling a controller to each solenoid to control the position of the armature of each solenoid, wherein the controller is configured to send electrically charged pulses to the at least one coil of each solenoid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.