Control panel unit and timer unit and method therefor
AssigneeRobertshaw Controls Company
InventorsRobert Strachan, Carl J. Goodhouse
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control panel unit for a cooking apparatus having a clock construction for indicating the time of day and a timer control unit for selecting a delayed time period and a cooking time period for causing the apparatus to provide a cooking operation for the cooking time period following the elapsing of the delay time period, the clock construction comprising an electronic clock unit and the timer control unit comprising an electromechanical control unit operating independently of the electronic clock unit.
Claims14
A method of operating a control panel unit for a cooking apparatus or the like and having a clock construction for indicating the time of day and a timer control means for selecting a delay time period and a cooking time period for causing said apparatus to provide a cooking operation for said cooking time period following the elapsing of said delay time period, said clock construction comprising an electronic clock means that has a liquid crystal time of day indicating means, said timer control means comprising electromechanical means that operate independently of said electronic clock means, said method comprising the steps of setting said timer control means to a desired delay time interval from the observed actual time of day on said clock construction based upon a selection of a number of increments of time from said observed actual time that the cooking operation is to begin, and, thereafter, setting said timer control means to a desired cooking time interval based upon a selection of a number of increments of time that the cooking operation is to last from the elapsing of said delay time period.
In a method of making a timer unit for a cooking apparatus and having a first selector means for selecting a delay time period and a second selector means for selecting a cooking time period that will cause said apparatus to provide a cooking operation for said cooking time period following the elapsing of said delay time period, said second selector means having a driven gear that operates said second selector means when said driven gear is driven, said unit having a drive gear, said unit having a drive motor operatively interconnected to said drive gear to drive said drive gear, said first selector means being adapted to operatively interconnect said drive gear to said driven gear to operate said second selector means during said cooking time period after the elapsing of said delay time period, the improvement comprising the steps of forming said first selector means to comprise an axially movable shaft carrying a pair of gear-like members that are axially movable therewith, and forming one of said gear-like members to be adapted to operatively interconnect said drive gear with said driven gear following the elapsing of said delay time period.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.