Alarm system for electric range

Claim 1

In an alarm system for an electric range for detecting when a burner is energized without a utensil in place on said burner, said electric range having: a generally planar stovetop with an opening for a burner, a dish which rests in said opening, said dish having a rim that rests on the stovetop and supports the dish, and a heating element which rests in said dish and which is energized by electric current controlled by a burner control switch; and said alarm system having a sensing means for detecting the presence or absence of a utensil on the heating element and an alarm means responsive to said sensing means and said burner control switch; the improvement, wherein said sensing means comprises: an electrical switch mounted below the stovetop having a first switch position and a second switch position; a pin slidably passing through an opening in said stovetop beneath the rim of said dish in contact with the underside of said rim and biased against said rim with a pressure sufficient to lift the rim from the stovetop when no utensil is present on the heating element, but insufficient to lift the rim when a utensil is in place on the heating element, means connecting said pin with said switch to operate the switch between the first and second positions corresponding to the position of the pin when a utensil is present or absent from the heating element.