Babycare heating apparatus
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
InventorMark John Wortley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A babycare heating apparatus comprising a vessel (2;102) for containing water and a heating element (15;115) for heating water held in the vessel, characterized by: a temperature sensor (22;42,123) for sensing a temperature rise effected by operation of the heating element (15); and control means (25;125) for controlling the energizing of the heating element (15;115) in dependence on the output of the temperature sensor (22;42;123) and being configured to de-energize the heating element (15;115) if the change in the temperature, sensed by the sensor (22;42;123), meets a predetermined criterion. The apparatus can be used as a sterilizer or a bottle warmer, and its uses a measure of the rate of heating during operation to determine whether the apparatus has been correctly charged with water.
Claims18
A babycare heating apparatus comprising:
- a vessel for containing water;
- a heating element for heating the water held in the vessel;
- a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature rise effected by operation of the heating element;
- and
- a controller configured to energize the heating element in response to an output of the temperature sensor,
- wherein the controller is configured to de-energize the heating element if a change in the sensed temperature, sensed by the temperature sensor, meets a predetermined criterion including a first reference value and a second reference value, and
- wherein the controller is further configured to compare the sensed temperature, at a predetermined time after energizing the heating element, with the first reference value and the second reference value, and de-energize the heating element if the sensed temperature is above the first reference value or below the second reference value, the controller being further configures to provide a first signal indicating that a level of the water in the vessel is low when the sensed temperature is above the first reference value, and to provide a second signal indicating that the vessel is overfilled with the water when the sensed temperature is below the second reference value.
A babycare bottle warmer comprising:
- a vessel for containing water and receiving a feeding bottle to be warmed;
- a chamber;
- a conduit between the vessel and the chamber,
- a valve for opening and closing the conduit;
- a heating element for heating water held in the vessel;
- and
- a controller configured to open the valve at the end of a bottle heating operation so that hot water in the vessel can be conducted to the chamber, wherein the controller is further configured to compare a temperature of the water, at a predetermined time after energizing the heating element, with a first reference value and a second reference value, and de-energize the heating element if the temperature is above the first reference value or below the second reference value, the controller being further configures to provide a first signal indicating that a level of the water in the vessel is low when the temperature is above the first reference value, and to provide a second signal indicating that the vessel is overfilled with the water when the temperature is below the second reference value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.