Clothes dryer with chiming alarm
AssigneeU.S. Controls Corporation
InventorsTimothy Laseke, Spencer C. Schantz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A solid state alarm for a clothes dryer receives a line voltage signal prior to termination of the tumbling cycle to provide a series of pulses with decaying amplitudes driving a piezoelectric-type transducer. A timer terminating the series of pulses communicates with a pulse generating oscillator so as to eliminate partial pulsing at the conclusion of the alarm signal.
Claims8
An alarm for a clothes dryer having a dryer basket in which clothes to be dried can be tumbled during a tumbling cycle, the alarm comprising:
- an electromechanical cycle timer controlling duration of the tumbling cycle;
- a clothes dry signal generator providing a line voltage electrical alarm signal prior to the conclusion of the tumbling cycle;
- a piezoelectric audio transducer;
- and
- a solid state transducer control circuit receiving the electrical alarm signal to provide a predetermined number of audio frequency pulses to the piezoelectric audio transducer, the pulses having decaying amplitude to produce a chime-like sound;
- the solid state transducer control further including:
- (i) solid state timing circuitry operating at a voltage level below line voltage;
- (ii) a non-inductive voltage dropping element connected between the electrical alarm signal and the low voltage solid state timing circuitry reducing the voltage of the electrical alarm signal in proportion to the current flow therethrough to the voltage level of the solid state timing circuitry.
In a clothes dryer having a dryer basket in which clothes to be dried can tumble during a tumbling cycle, the dryer having an electromechanical cycle timer controlling duration of the tumbling cycle producing a clothes dry signal providing a line voltage electrical alarm prior to the conclusion of the tumbling cycle, an alarm comprising:
- a piezoelectric audio transducer;
- and
- a solid state transducer control circuit receiving the electrical alarm signal to provide a number of audio frequency pulses to the piezoelectric audio transducer, and
- the solid state transducer control further including:
- (i) solid state timing circuitry operating at a voltage level below line voltage;
- (ii) a non-inductive voltage dropping element connected between the electrical alarm signal and the low voltage solid state timing circuitry reducing the voltage of the electrical alarm signal in proportion to the current flow therethrough to the voltage level of the solid state timing circuitry.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.