Device for controlling or limiting temperature in an electric cooking appliance

Abstract

A device for controlling or limiting temperature in an electric cooking appliance includes a switch and a temperature sensor operatively coupled to the switch. The temperature sensor takes the form of a rod arranged substantially coaxially within a tube. The rod is made of a material having a first coefficient of thermal expansion and the tube is made of at least two tube portions, one of the tube portions being made from a material having a second coefficient of thermal expansion lower than the first coefficient of thermal expansion and another of the tube portions being made from a ceramic material having a third coefficient of thermal expansion intermediate the first and second coefficients of thermal expansion. The temperature controlling or limiting device may be incorporated into a radiant electric heater incorporating at least first and second heating elements defining separate heating areas for the cooking appliance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.