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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7368686 | Apparatus and methods for operating an electric appliance An electric cooking appliance is provided. The electric cooking appliance includes a plurality of surface heating elements and a plurality of sensors configured to monitor an operational status of a corresponding surface heating element. The electric cooking applian... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7348522 | Apparatus for thawing frozen food items An apparatus is disclosed for thawing a frozen food item, including a chamber dimensioned to receive the frozen food item, a heat exchanger operable to either heat air in the chamber or to cool the air in the chamber, a fan for creating a flow of the air within the ... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7282677 | Menu selection device in microwave oven A menu selection device for a cooking device is provided which is constructed such that a single display device may be divided into a menu guide unit and a menu selection unit. The menu guide unit is used to display a variety of menus, whereas the menu selection uni... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7279660 | Apparatus for brewing beverages An electrically heated water kettle comprises a vessel for holding a liquid for extraction of tea, coffee or other food material. The vessel includes a partially open immersible container sized to allow the passage of water between the walls of the vessel. The conta... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7176418 | Cooking stove The present invention provides a cooking stove that prevents an instruction from being given using the touch switch owing to a factor different from the user's operation, while hindering the user from having an incongruous or anxious feeling when operating the touch... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7076324 | Directionless rotary encoder control system for a household appliance An embodiment of the present invention uses an on-board microcontroller of a household appliance to receive signals from a directionless encoder attached to a knob for receiving user input and processing the signals from the direction encoder according to a control ... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7069090 | Systems and methods for providing variable output feedback to a user of a household appliance An embodiment of the present invention uses an on-board microcontroller of a household appliance to receive signals from a directionless encoder attached to a knob for receiving user input and processing the signals from the direction encoder according to a control ... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7020540 | Temperature control A method and apparatus are disclosed for controlling temperature of a plant comprising plural temperature control zones, wherein an effective control parameter for a first zone for which a signal representing measured temperature is available is produced according t... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6998585 | Control unit for a household appliance A control unit for a household appliance, preferably a cooking device, containing a control device and regulating devices. The control device has a removable control element and a blocking device. The regulating devices have a change-over regulating device that allo... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6933474 | Electronic power control for cooktop heaters A power control system for an electric cooktop. The power level is set by a knob connected to a potentiometer. Potentiometer information is digitally communicated by a controller over a serial communication bus to a power unit. The power unit communicates power leve... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6924469 | Remotely operated microwave oven Apparatus and method for a microwave oven 12 having color-coded pressure switches 24, 26 applied to the face plate incorporating a receiver 14 for remotely operating the color-coded switches by means of a transmitter 16 having indicia and... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6849830 | Apparatus and method of rapidly and evenly heating a packaged food product The invention relates to a method for vending food products in food outlets. The method includes the steps of providing a heating cavity having thermal conductive heating surfaces; placing a container including the food product into the heating cavity, the container... | 02/01/2005 |
| 6681997 | Visual and reading enhancement apparatus for thermostats and associated methods A thermostat reading enhancer is provided which includes an enhancer body adapted to be positioned adjacent a thermostat. The enhancer body can have at least portions thereof abuttingly contacting a mounting surface and retained in a position between the ... | 01/27/2004 |
| 6664519 | Touch-sensitive operating panel for cooking zones In order to be able to dispose the whole of the electrical circuitry of the operating panel (14) of a cooker top (11) on a single, single-layer circuit board (even if lined on both sides) of dimensions which do not project beyond the operating panel (14),... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6539171 | Flexible spirally shaped heating element The present invention provides heating elements and methods for their fabrication and use. The heating elements of this invention include a spirally shaped structure having a plurality of spiral forms, and may contain a thermally conductive, electrically ... | 03/25/2003 |
| 6078027 | Ceramic fixing heater containing silicon nitride A heater for fixing a toner image suffers no cracking of the ceramics substrate, thereof has a high connection reliability between an electrode and a connector thereof, and capable of attaining an improved fixing speed and a size increase of a transfer ma... | 06/20/2000 |
| 5968393 | Hot water controller This is a system for controlling the heating of water in the tank, water in tank adapted to be heated by a first heater and a second heater, the system comprises a timer adapted to keep time, and a sensor to monitor the temperature of the water in the tan... | 10/19/1999 |
| 5841112 | Diagnostic display method for electronic cooking appliance control A cooktop service diagnostics method which is effected by a programmable controller system, wherein the programmable controller system: a) executes a routine upon receipt of a first specified pattern of input signals to the programmable controller: b) iss... | 11/24/1998 |
| 5818012 | Self-regulating cable assembly An improved self-regulating pipe heating cable assembly that includes a self-regulating cable having a temperature-sensitive conducting layer between a pair of busses and a plug coupled to a first end of the self-regulating cable for supplying electricity... | 10/06/1998 |
| 5797445 | Refrigerated rethermalization cart An integrated refrigeration and rethermalization system for storage of prepared meals in a refrigerated state, rethermalization of the meals in accordance with a rethermalization program, and maintenance of the rethermalized meals at a desired serving tem... | 08/25/1998 |
| 5788789 | Power device for fusing plastic pipe joints A handheld power control device adapted to be connected to an external power supply for controlling the electric power applied to a heating coil positioned in a fusible area of a thermoplastic pipe joint for thermally fusing the joint. A housing having a ... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5535664 | Remote control cooking apparatus with stackable cookers A remote control cooking apparatus with stackable cookers including a base. The base has an outer wall, an inner wall and is supported by three support legs. Included is a heating element between the outer wall and the inner wall. An electrical conductor ... | 07/16/1996 |
| 5434386 | Electric circuit having a heater element and a night light An electric circuit is disclosed which includes a heater element for generating heat, a power switch for controlling the current to the heater element, a night light for providing illumination, and a night light switch for controlling the current through ... | 07/18/1995 |
| 5432321 | Oven with preheating phase and continued heating phase, and independent phase indicators An oven includes a normal heating device, a partial heating capacity device, a first indicator device associated with the normal heating device, a second indicator device associated with the partial heating capacity device, and a control unit. The control... | 07/11/1995 |
| 5416301 | Cooking appliance with automatic power-off switch A cooking appliance has a heater for cooking, and a switch which generating an operational signal. The cooking appliance automatically turns off the heater a predetermined time after a last pressed switch, i.e., automatic power off function. A caution lam... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5171974 | Heating system for oven zone location A parameter control system for an oven which may, for example, be a baking oven or a convection oven having the capability of injecting steam into the cooking cavity. The parameter control system precisely controls cooking temperature, cooking time, humid... | 12/15/1992 |
| 4994655 | Electro-fusion joint This invention relates to an electrofusion joint, in which the electric power is supplied to a heating wire, which is buried in a resin, to melt the resin and thereby connect pipes together, and more particularly to an electrofusion joint, in which a memb... | 02/19/1991 |
| 4745263 | Current regulator for carpet seaming apparatus Apparatus for controlling the current flow through metal foil heating elements in carpet joining tape comprises an oscillator which produces a high frequency output to drive a power amplifier so that the output voltage to be applied to the heating element... | 05/17/1988 |
| 4508461 | Distributed fiber optic temperature monitoring apparatus and method An apparatus and method is described that determines the temperature distribution of an environment proximate a cable of optical fibers. No additional transducers are required to be inserted within the environment and the presence of electrical magnetic f... | 04/02/1985 |
| 4469545 | Heating apparatus for thermally bonding plastic foils and method for the operation thereof Heating apparatus for thermally bonding thermoplastic foil layers to produce a longitudinally welded seam. The heating apparatus comprises an elongated jaw element having a work surface for receiving the thermoplastic foils, at least two heating elements ... | 09/04/1984 |
| 4416713 | Method and apparatus for joining abutting edges of sheet material A method and apparatus for adhesively bonding together in edge abutting relationship two sheets of woven, felted or other textile such as carpet using a joining tape which includes electrically conductive-metal foil or wires and an integral layer of heat ... | 11/22/1983 |
| 4390965 | Micro-wave ovens The invention relates to a process for preparing a plurality of portions of food in a like plurality of microwave ovens, and to an electronic system in which the process is carried out. The system includes a memory for accepting and storing the time value... | 06/28/1983 |
| 4273989 | Battery powered thermal garment with fast and efficent recharging circuit The present invention relates to a battery powered thermal garment that is provided with a battery recharging circuit that is designed to recharge a battery package associated with said thermal garment approximately 30-40 times as fast as conventional rec... | 06/16/1981 |
| 4267432 | Installation circuitry for electric water heaters Electric installation circuitry that provides means for interconnecting with conventional storage-type electric water heaters of the sort energized from three-wire mains and controlled as to energy use thermostatically, the combination of hand switching a... | 05/12/1981 |
| 4235842 | Temperature cycle indicating means for a sterilizer unit Contact lens disinfector unit for sterilizing contact lenses contained within a lens case, wherein the contact lenses are of the type which preferably should be sterilized or disinfected once each day and periodically cleaned after a predetermined number ... | 11/25/1980 |
| 4131786 | Remotely controllable electric oven An electric oven which has a plurality of heating positions for controllably heating foodstuff thereon includes temperature selection means for locally and remotely selecting the heating temperature, and timing means for locally and remotely setting the h... | 12/26/1978 |
| 4127854 | Back-up and alarm circuit system Safety back-up and alarm circuit for loads such as electrical heaters and the like comprising a back-up substitute load for the primary load, e.g., an electric heater, switching circuits responsive to outputs from the primary and back-up loads, and which ... | 11/28/1978 |
| 3944786 | Cooking tray with control indicator means A cooking tray is disclosed in which a carrier of tempered glass is mounted on a support surface between the support surface and the heating element. The carrier is insulated to protect it from the heat of the heating element by thermal sealing means comp... | 03/16/1976 |
