Food waste disposer with foreign object detector
AssigneeEmerson Electric Co.
InventorSteven Hanson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A food waste disposer system includes a grinding mechanism. The grinding mechanism includes a stationary grind ring and a rotatable shredder plate assembly. A detector is connected to the grinding mechanism to detect the presence of a foreign electrically conductive object in the grinding mechanism. In an aspect, the detector detects that a foreign electrically conductive object is in the grinding mechanism upon sensing that an electrical circuit has been completed between the stationary grind ring and the rotatable shredder plate.
Claims22
A food waste disposer system, comprising:
- a grinding mechanism, the grinding mechanism including a stationary grind ring and a rotatable shredder plate assembly;
- a motor driving the rotatable shredder plate assembly;
- and
- a detector coupled to the grinding mechanism that detects the presence of a foreign electrically conductive object in the grinding mechanism.
A method of operating a food waste disposer having a grinding mechanism, the grinding mechanism having a stationary grind ring and a rotatable shredder plate assembly driven by a motor of the food waste disposer, the method comprising:
- sensing whether an electrical circuit has been completed between the stationary grind ring and the rotatable shredder plate;
- and
- detecting that a foreign electrically conductive object is in the grinding mechanism upon sensing that there an electrical circuit has been completed between the stationary grind ring and the rotatable shredder plate assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.