US4276468A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electric home appliances
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1978-07-20
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Granted: 1981-06-30
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Expires: 1998-07-20
Abstract
Abstract An electric home appliance which is automatically controllable with use of a sensor such as temperature sensor or humidity sensor. Variations in terms of analogue quantities given by the sensor are converted to variations in the number of pulses by an oscillator connected to the sensor and comprising an astable multivibrator or the like. The number of pulses is counted by a counter, the gating time of which is determined for example by divided frequency of a commercial power supply. The control system is inexpensive to make and has high reliability.
Inventors
- 👤 Shun'ichi Nagamoto
- 👤 Kazuho Sakamoto
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 14:26
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05B; H05B6/00; H05B6/64; H05B6/6408; H05B6/6411; G; G05; G05B; G05B1/00; G05B1/01; G05B1/03; H05B6/6447; H05B6/645; H05B6/6452; H05B6/6458
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
An electric home appliance incorporating a control system comprising sensor means having an impedance value variable with variations in temperature, humidity or other state; a control circuit connected to the sensor means and including oscillator means, counter means for counting the number of oscillating output pulses from the oscillator means, and means for determining gating time for the counter means; characterized in that the oscillator means has an oscillation frequency directly defined by the impedance value of the sensor means, the oscillator means having an oscillation time constant determined by a plurality of impedance elements independent of the electric impedance of the sensor means, and change-over switch means for selectively connecting said independent impedance elements to the oscillator means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
119 words
An electric home appliance incorporating a control system comprising sensor means having an impedance value variable with variations in temperature, humidity or other state; a control circuit connected to the sensor means and including oscillator means, counter means for counting the number of oscillating output pulses from the oscillator means, and means for determining gating time for the counter means; characterized in that the oscillator means has an oscillation frequency directly defined by the impedance value of the sensor means, the oscillator means having an oscillation time constant determined by a plurality of impedance elements independent of the electric impedance of the sensor means, and change-over switch means for selectively connecting said independent impedance elements to the oscillator means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein the oscillator means is an astable multivibrator.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein the gating time determining means comprises a frequency divider for dividing the frequency of a commercial a.c. power supply.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 3 further characterized by manually settable register means for storing binary data corresponding to a desired state, comparison circuit means for comparing the data in the counter means with the data in the register means at intervals established by said means for determining gating time, and a power drive circuit operable by a signal from the comparison circuit means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuit further comprises means for comparing data stored in the counter means with preset data.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 5 wherein said change-over switch means is operable in response to a signal from said means for comparing data.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein said change-over switch means is operable in response to a signal from said control circuit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein said change-over switch means is arranged to directly connect a selected independent impedance element to the oscillator in additive relation with the impedance value of the sensor means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
An electric home appliance as defined in claim 8 wherein said independent impedance elements are capacitors.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1984-06-29 | 1984-12-29 | 1985-06-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-06-29 | 1988-12-29 | 1989-06-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-06-29 | 1992-12-29 | 1993-06-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |