US 4,187,499 AGranted

Electrical programmer for the automatic control of a household appliance

AssigneeKundo-Kieninger & Obergfell

InventorErich Scheer

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Abstract

A programmer for a household appliance, such as a washing machine or a dishwasher, comprises a disk-shaped carrier 41 and a position indicator 43 synchronized therewith, the indicator working into a comparator 36 also receiving a signal pattern from a read-only memory 35 addressed by a counter 30 which advances under the control of a timing circuit. The latter comprises a frequency divider 20, driven by alternating current from a utility network, certain of whose stages work into a set of AND gates 22-24 that are unblocked by signals read out from the memory in various program phases. The incrementation of the program may be temporarily inhibited by additional logical circuitry 80-83 responsive to external parametric conditions, such as the temperature of the liquid level in the controlled appliance. Unwanted phases of a maximum program recorded on the program carrier 41 may be skipped under the control of a plug-in key card 64 or a selector switch 95.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A system for the automatic control of an electrical appliance to be sequentially stepped through a predetermined number of operating phases, comprising:

a read-only memory for storing a multiplicity of instruction codes defining consecutive phases of a maximum operating program;
electronic counting means connected to said read-only memory for sequentially addressing same to read out said instruction codes in a predetermined order of succession;
a rotatable control unit including a program carrier generating, in successive working positions, a multiplicity of signal patterns respectively corresponding to said instruction codes, said control unit further having output means for the selective activation and deactivation of components of a controlled appliance in any of said working positions;
drive means for rotating said control unit;
electronic comparison means, with input connections to said memory means and to said program carrier, connected to said drive means for arresting said control unit upon detecting a match between an instruction code emitted by said memory means and a signal pattern generated by said program carrier;
a source of stepping pulses connected to said counting means for progressively advancing same to command the sequential readout of successive instruction codes of said maximum operating program;
presettable decoding means connected to said read-only memory in parallel with said comparison means for detecting certain instruction codes pertaining to unwanted phases of said maximum operating program and, in response to such detection, inhibiting the arresting of said drive means by said comparison means with simultaneous emission of a phase-skipping pulse fed to said counting means for advancing same out of turn;
and
selector means connected to said decoding means for varying the setting thereof.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 05/834,873Filed 20 Sep 1977
Priority: DE 264218820 Sep 1976
Granted: 5 Feb 1980
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G04G 15/006
Time-pieces comprising means to be operated at preselected times or after preselected time intervals: for operating at a number of different times
G05B 19/042
Program control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers: using digital processors
G05B 19/122
Using record carriers: using cards, tapes or discs having conductive paths
G05B 2219/21004
Pc I-O input output: microprocessor plus electromechanical, cam control for output