U.S. patent application number 09/801759 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-10 for beverage brewing apparatus having automatic and semi-automatic brewing modes.
Invention is credited to Clean, Stan M, Declos, Robert, Gravel, Denis.
Application Number | 20020002908 09/801759 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 4165479 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020002908 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Clean, Stan M ; et
al. |
January 10, 2002 |
Beverage brewing apparatus having automatic and semi-automatic
brewing modes
Abstract
A beverage brewing apparatus having an automatic brew cycle mode
and a semi-automatic brew cycle mode.
Inventors: |
Clean, Stan M; (Dorval,
CA) ; Gravel, Denis; (Brossard, CA) ; Declos,
Robert; (St-Hyacinthe, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ronald S. Kosie
BROUILLETTE KOSIE
1100 Rene-Levesque Boulevard West
25th Floor
Montreal
QC
H3B 5C9
CA
|
Family ID: |
4165479 |
Appl. No.: |
09/801759 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
99/280 ; 99/289R;
99/289T; 99/303 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 31/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
99/280 ;
99/289.00R; 99/289.00T; 99/303 |
International
Class: |
A23F 003/00; A47J
031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 10, 2000 |
CA |
2,300,446 |
Claims
We claim
1. In a beverage brewing apparatus for preparing a beverage from an
aqueous medium and a particulate beverage material with an
automatic brewing cycle comprising delivering particulate beverage
material and aqueous medium to a brew vessel and withdrawing
beverage from said brew vessel to a dispensing station, said
apparatus comprising particulate beverage material storage means,
particulate beverage material delivery means for delivering
particulate beverage material from said storage means to said brew
vessel, aqueous medium delivery means for delivering aqueous medium
to said brew vessel, beverage withdrawal means for withdrawing
beverage from said brew vessel and delivering beverage to a
beverage dispensing station and control means for controlling said
particulate beverage material delivery means, said aqueous medium
delivery means and said beverage withdrawal means, the control
means being configured to induce said automatic brewing cycle which
includes the delivery of particulate beverage material from the
particulate beverage material storage means to the brew vessel, the
improvement wherein said control means is able to provide a
semi-automatic brewing cycle wherein the particulate beverage
material delivery means is inactive and said semi-automatic brewing
cycle comprises delivering aqueous medium to said brew vessel and
withdrawing beverage from said brew vessel to said dispensing
station, and said apparatus further comprises selection means in
communication with said control means for allowing a user to select
between said automatic brewing cycle and said semi-automatic
brewing cycle, manual particulate beverage material introduction
means, separate from said particulate beverage material delivery
means, for a user to manually introduce particulate beverage
material into said brew vessel for said semi-automatic brewing
cycle, and brew cycle initiation means in communication with said
control means for initiating said semi-automatic brewing cycle.
2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said brew vessel is
disposed in a housing and said manual particulate beverage material
introduction means comprises a housing lid for providing access
through the housing to the brew vessel for the introduction of the
particulate beverage material into said brew vessel.
3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said particulate
beverage material is selected from the group consisting of coffee
and tea.
4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said particulate
beverage material is selected from the group consisting of coffee
and tea.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for brewing a
beverage from an aqueous medium (e.g. hot water) and a particulate
(e.g. ground) beverage material such as for example ground coffee.
The invention in particular is related to an apparatus able to brew
coffee using a semi-automatic brewing cycle. Although the text
which follows will make specific reference coffee brewing machines
the invention is applicable to the brewing of other beverage (e.g.
tea).
[0002] Automatic coffee brewing machines are known. U.S. Pat. No.
3,565,641, for example, teaches a piston based automatic coffee
brewing machine. The entire contents of this United States patent
is hereby incorporated by reference.
[0003] Known automatic coffee brewing machines have the draw back
that the coffee provided by the machine is limited to the type or
types of coffee which is associated with the machine. In other
words, a user of the automatic machine is restricted with respect
to the choice of coffee, i.e. the user is not able to operate the
machine with his own choice of coffee which is different from that
offered by the machine.
[0004] It would be advantageous to have a beverage brewing
apparatus which would allow a user to brew a beverage (e.g. coffee)
which is different from that provided in the beverage machine.
[0005] The present invention provides in a beverage brewing
apparatus for preparing a beverage from an aqueous medium and a
particulate beverage material with an automatic brewing cycle
comprising delivering particulate beverage material and aqueous
medium to a brew vessel and withdrawing beverage from said brew
vessel to a dispensing station, said apparatus comprising
particulate beverage material storage means, particulate beverage
material delivery means for delivering particulate beverage
material from said storage means to said brew vessel, aqueous
medium delivery means for delivering aqueous medium to said brew
vessel, beverage withdrawal means for withdrawing beverage from
said brew vessel and delivering beverage to a beverage dispensing
station and control means for controlling said particulate beverage
material delivery means, said aqueous medium delivery means and
said beverage withdrawal means, the control means being configured
to induce (i.e. to operate the apparatus so as to provide) said
automatic brewing cycle which includes the delivery of particulate
beverage material from the particulate beverage material storage
means to the brew vessel, the improvement wherein said control
means is able (i.e. configured so as) to provide a semi-automatic
brewing cycle wherein the particulate beverage material delivery
means is inactive (i.e. does not participate in the brewing cycle)
and said semi-automatic brewing cycle comprises delivering aqueous
medium to said brew vessel and withdrawing beverage from said brew
vessel to said dispensing station and said apparatus further
comprises selection means in communication with said control means
for allowing a user to select between said automatic brewing cycle
and said semi-automatic brewing cycle, manual particulate beverage
material introduction means, separate from said particulate
beverage material delivery means, for a user to manually introduce
particulate beverage material into said brew vessel for said
semi-automatic brewing cycle and brew cycle initiation means in
communication with said control means for initiating said
semi-automatic brewing cycle.
[0006] In accordance with the present invention the apparatus may
be configured to reset to automatic mode after a semi-automatic
brewing operation; alternatively the apparatus may have control
means which stays in semi-automatic mode unless otherwise
instructed by a user (e.g. pushing an appropriate mode initiation
button/switch). In either case the apparatus may of course comprise
selection means in communication with said control means for
allowing a user to select between said automatic brewing cycle and
said semi-automatic brewing cycle, e.g. to have the machine be
instructed to proceed with the semi-automatic mode.
[0007] As may be appreciated in accordance with the present
invention the control means is associated with mode change means
(i.e. the selection means) for selectively placing said particulate
beverage material delivery means in a stand-by mode wherein the
particulate beverage material delivery means is inactive for the
semi-automatic brewing cycle.
[0008] The word "automatic" as used herein means that once the brew
cycle (whether automatic or semi-automatic) is engaged or initiated
by a user then beverage brewing proceeds with no further
intervention from the user to provide the brewed beverage.
[0009] In accordance with the present invention the particulate
beverage material may, for example, be selected from the group
consisting of coffee and tea.
[0010] In accordance with the present invention the brew vessel may
be disposed in a housing and the manual particulate beverage
material introduction means may comprise a housing lid for
providing access through the housing to the brew vessel (and if
desired or necessary, chute guide means), for the introduction of
the particulate beverage material into said brew vessel.
Alternatively, the particulate beverage material introduction means
may comprise only an opening (e.g. in the absence of a housing
enclosing the brew vessel or chamber) in the brew vessel (e.g. an
upper or top opening as described herein).
[0011] In accordance with the present invention the apparatus may
have a brew vessel which may have a floor, at least a portion of
which, is configured as a filter for the evacuation of beverage
from the vessel and being permeable to air; additionally the
apparatus may have a fluid displacement means for forcing air into
the brew vessel through the floor and for withdrawing obtained
beverage. from the brew vessel through the floor.
[0012] Thus an apparatus of the present invention for preparing a
beverage from an aqueous medium and a particulate beverage material
may have a brew vessel having a floor, the floor being configured
as a filter for the evacuation of beverage from said brew vessel
and being permeable to air, supply means for supplying aqueous
medium and particulate beverage material to said vessel, fluid
displacement means for forcing air into the brew vessel through
said floor and for withdrawing obtained beverage from the brew
vessel through said floor, control means to effect a brewing cycle,
said brewing cycle comprising supplying aqueous medium (and, if
fully automatic, particulate beverage material) to the brew vessel,
forcing air through said floor to agitate a mixture of beverage
material and aqueous medium in the brew vessel and drawing the
obtained beverage from the vessel through said floor, and a
dispensing station for dispensing the obtained beverage.
[0013] The invention in particular may be used with piston type
coffee brewing machines such as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,565,641. Such piston type coffee brewing machines are
constructed for brewing a beverage from water (e.g. hot water) and
ground beverage material in a brew vessel wherein at least a
portion of the floor of the brew vessel is permeable to gas (e.g.
air) and liquid and impermeable to the (spent) ground beverage
material. An apparatus of this type may have any suitable (known)
control means so as to be able to be operated so as to supply a
predetermined amount of particulate beverage material and (hot)
water to the brew vessel, thereafter forcing air through the
gas/liquid permeable floor into the vessel to agitate the mixture
and finally withdrawing the brewed beverage through the floor of
the brew vessel and delivering it to a dispensing station i.e. a
station at which may be placed a cup to receive the brewed
beverage.
[0014] Alternatively, the present invention may of course be used
with any other (known) types of brewing machines which exploit a
brew vessel and a (fully) automatic brew cycle.
[0015] Referring to the drawings which illustrate example
embodiments of the present invention:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of a brew vessel
and beverage dispensing mechanism for a piston type coffee brewer
such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,641:
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates in schematic and block format an example
embodiment of a brewing apparatus in accordance with the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of an example outer housing
of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing
the control panel thereof;
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates the example housing shown in FIG. 3
provided with a housing lid, the housing being shown as being
partially cut away so as to expose the piston type coffee brewing
assembly housed therein and the housing lid being in a closed
position;
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates an example housing shown in FIG. 4
provided with a housing lid, the housing being shown as being
partially cut away so as to expose the piston type coffee brewing
assembly housed therein and the housing lid being in a pivoted back
position to expose an opening in the housing top wall;
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a front perspective view of another
example front face of an outer housing of an apparatus in
accordance with the present invention showing a drawer component
for the manual introduction of coffee into the brew vessel (FIG. 6
being on the same page of drawings as FIG. 9 to 11);
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates the example housing shown in FIG. 6
provided with a housing drawer, the housing being shown as being
partially cut away so as to expose the piston type coffee brewing
assembly housed therein and the housing drawer being in a closed
position;
[0023] FIG. 8 illustrates the example housing shown in FIG. 6
provided with a housing drawer, the housing being shown as being
partially cut away so as to expose the piston type coffee brewing
assembly housed therein and the housing drawer being in an opened
position;
[0024] FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective side view of the drawer
assembly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drawer being in a opened
position ready to receive coffee grounds;
[0025] FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of the drawer assembly
shown in FIG. 9;
[0026] FIG. 11 is a sectional side view of the drawer assembly
shown in FIG. 9 with the drawer in closed position with a guide
chute over the brew vessel of a piston type brewing unit;
[0027] FIG. 12 is an enlarged schematic partial sectional view of
showing the housing lid shown in FIG. 4 in closed position as well
as an associated micro switch;
[0028] FIG. 13 is an enlarged schematic partial sectional view of
showing the housing lid shown in FIG. 5 in closed position as well
as an associated micro switch;
[0029] FIG. 14 is an enlarged schematic partial sectional view of
showing the housing drawer shown in FIG. 7 in closed position as
well as an associated micro switch;
[0030] FIG. 15 is an enlarged schematic partial sectional view of
showing the housing drawer shown in FIG. 8 in open position as well
as an associated micro switch;
[0031] FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration in block form of a
portion of an example electronic mechanism for operation of an
apparatus of the present invention; and
[0032] FIG. 17 illustrates a partial electronic circuit associated
with the controller means and which shows the micro switch
discussed with respect to FIGS. 2, 4 and 6.
[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a brew vessel
and beverage dispensing unit or mechanism for a piston type coffee
brewer such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,641. A more
detailed description of the construction of such brew vessel and
beverage withdrawing means may be a gleaned from U.S. Pat. No.
3,365,641.
[0034] However, referring to FIG. 1 the coffee brewing components
include a brew vessel 1, preferably having a top opening 3 to the
atmosphere i.e. the coffee brew vessel has an upper or top opening
3 which may be used to introduce particulate beverage material and
water into the interior of the brew vessel 1. The brew vessel 1 is
provided with a filter floor 5 which is permeable to liquid and air
but impermeable to the coffee grounds and separates the brew vessel
from a second beverage vessel 7 thereunder. A piston 9 is disposed
in the second vessel 7. The piston 9 is movable in the second
vessel upwardly and downwardly (in the directions of the arrows 11
and 12) as the case may be for either inducing air agitation of the
brewing mixture or for inducing a low pressure in the second vessel
7 for withdrawing the beverage through the filter floor 5 of the
top brew vessel 1. An outlet 13 is provided in the sidewall of the
second vessel 7 which cooperates with the piston 9 for dispensing
the extracted beverage from the second vessel 7 to a dispensing
station i.e. a station 14 wherein a cup 15 or other type of
container may be placed in order to receive the brewed
beverage.
[0035] As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,641 the upper brew
vessel 1 comprises the above-mentioned filter floor 5 and a
cylindrical side wall 17. The filter floor 5 may for example
comprise a portion of a continuous strip of filter paper 19
supported on a porous filter support; it may alternatively comprise
a micromesh screen or other type of materials suitable for
filtering the beverage being brewed and separating it from the used
grounds.
[0036] As mentioned above, the upper brew vessel 1 is defined by
the filter floor 5 and the cylinder side wall 17. The cylinder side
wall 17 itself is movable upwardly and downwardly in the direction
of the double headed arrow 23 and the apparatus is so configured so
that the cylinder side wall 17 may be clamped in more or less fluid
tight fashion against the filter structure which defines the filter
floor 5 (i.e. for brewing). This characteristic of the (known)
piston type brewer allows the upper cylinder side wall 17 to be
raised above the filter floor 5 so as to facilitate the removal of
any filter paper and grounds deposited thereon and the provision of
fresh filter paper for a new brew cycle. The paper or filter is
moved off in the direction of arrow 26 and the grounds and filter
paper deposited in a suitable container. As may be seen fresh
filter material is unrolled from a roll of such filter material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,641 may be consulted for more specific
details.
[0037] As may be surmised from the above, when the piston 9 moves
in the direction of the arrow 11 it will cause air above the piston
9 but below the filter floor 5 to pass through the filter floor 5
for air agitation of the brewing mixture. On the other hand when
the piston 9 is moved in the opposite direction, namely in the
direction of the arrow 12, the piston 9 creates a low pressure zone
in the second vessel 7 which induces the brewed liquid or beverage
to pass through the filter floor 5 (i.e. to be filtered through the
filter floor) into the second or lower vessel 7 and as the piston 9
passes by the opening 13 in the side wall of the second vessel 7,
the brewed beverage is allowed to flow out of the spout 28 to a
dispensing station (i.e. into a container such as a cup 15).
[0038] Turning to FIG. 2, this figure illustrates in schematic and
block format an example embodiment of a brewing apparatus in
accordance with the present invention. For purposes of illustration
only a portion of the upper brew vessel 1 is shown. The brew vessel
1 is disposed within a housing 30 (again only a portion of which is
shown). For the purposes of this example, other elements of the
brewing apparatus are also shown as being disposed within the
housing 30. These other elements however may be disposed outside of
the housing 30 containing the brew vessel provided that suitable
access to the interior of the housing is provided for these
elements so that they may carry-out their function, e.g. supply
materials to the brew vessel.
[0039] As may be seen, the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 includes a
control means 33. This control means 33 may take any suitable
(known) form whatsoever, (e.g. it may take the form of a computer
chip or other electronic device with functions to control the
apparatus based on software (please also refer to FIG. 16)).
[0040] The brew unit includes a tank 35 for holding (hot) water or
other suitable or desired aqueous medium). The tank 35 is provided
with an outlet which is connected to a solenoid valve 37 for
controlling the flow of water out of the water tank 35 into the
brew vessel in the direction of the arrow 38. As may be seen the
hot water solenoid valve 37 is controlled by the control means 33
via line 39 .
[0041] The brewing unit as shown also includes a coffee grounds
dispensing component 41 for dispensing measured amounts of ground
coffee into the brew vessel (i.e. particulate beverage material
delivery means). The coffee dispensing component 41 comprises a
hopper 43 in which may be disposed ground coffee. The hopper 43
includes a cylindrical conduit 45 in which is disposed a conveyor
screw 47 e.g an archimedes type screw. The screw 47 is suitably
coupled at one end thereof to an electric motor 50. When the motor
50 is energized by the application of electrical current (through
power line 57), the motor 50 will induce the conveyor screw 47 to
turn such that the screw 47 will push the coffee out of the opening
of the conduit into the brewed vessel in the direction of the arrow
52. The energization of the motor 50 is controlled by the control
means 33 i.e. by the opening and closing of a (known) power
switch/relay 55; for illustration purposes the power switch/relay
55 is shown separate from the control means 33 in FIG. 2 and as
being connected to an electric power line 57 for delivering
electrical power or energy to the motor 50 to induce rotation of
the motor shaft and in turn the coupled conveyor screw. The control
means 33 is configured in any suitable manner (e.g. by exploiting
appropriate electronics and associated software) so as to be able
to place the motor 50 in inactive mode for a semi-automatic brew
cycle or in active mode (i.e. to be energisable) for participating
in a (fully) automatic brew cycle.
[0042] The brewing apparatus thus includes a mode change means (or
component) in communication with the control means for selectively
placing the motor (i.e. the particulate beverage material delivery
means) in a stand-by mode wherein the particulate beverage material
delivery means is inactive for the semi-automatic brewing
cycle.
[0043] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 16, the brew apparatus is provided
with a control panel (generally designated 60) which has mode
selection means for allowing a user to select between a (fully)
automatic and semi-automatic mode of operation. Referring to FIG.
3, this figure illustrates in schematic fashion a control panel for
selecting various functions for the brewing machine. As may be seen
the control panel 60 includes a control button (switch) 62
designated as coffee and a control button (switch) 64 designated as
packet, each of which is in suitable communication with the control
means 33 for selection of a respective mode of operation. The
coffee button 62 communicates with the control means 33 so as to
induce an automatic brew cycle. The packet button 64 on the other
hand communicates with the control means 33 (in any suitable
manner) so as to place the brewer in semi-automatic mode which
allows the user to manually add a desired type of coffee to the
brew vessel before the semi-automatic brew cycle is initiated as
shall be explained below; the control means in semi-automatic mode
will maintain the motor 50 in standby-by mode during brewing so
that the motor 50 will not participate in the brewing cycle, i.e.
the motor 50 will not be energised for semi-automatic
operation.
[0044] Although the means for rendering the coffee dispenser into
an inactive mode is illustrated by exploiting the ability of the
control means 33 to deny energisation of the motor 50 during the
brewing cycle, any other type of mechanism which can carry-out the
same function may be used. For example, the motor 50 may be coupled
to the conveyor screw 47 by means of a suitable clutch mechanism
which allows the shaft of the motor 50 to be engaged (i.e. coupled)
and disengaged (de-coupled) from the shaft of the conveyor screw
47. In this latter, case depressing the packet button 64 will
induce the motor 50 to become disengaged or de-coupled from the
conveyor screw 47 for the purpose of semi-automatic operation of
the coffee brewing apparatus.
[0045] As mentioned above the brew vessel is disposed in a housing.
The housing 30, as shown in FIG. 2, has a housing lid 66 which may
be pivoted about pivot or hinge means 67 between an open and closed
position (please see FIGS. 12 and 13 for more detail). When the
housing lid is in opened position it is possible to gain access
into the interior of the housing in order to introduce coffee
manually into the brew vessel via the exposed housing opening 68.
Thus, once the packet button 64 is depressed and the coffee grounds
dispensing unit is placed in stand-by or inactive mode the housing
lid 66 may be pivoted open so as to provide access to the opening
68 in the housing 30 through which coffee grounds may be introduced
into the brew vessel. As shown in FIG. 2, the housing lid 66 is
illustrated in its open configuration i.e. pivoted about its hinge
end. With the housing lid in an open state coffee grounds may then
be poured through the housing opening 68. The ground coffee will
slide along the guide chute 72 provided in the interior of the
housing so as to fall into the brew vessel through the top opening
3 of the brew vessel. As may be appreciated in this case the manual
particulate beverage introduction means comprises the lid 66, the
housing opening 68, the guide chute 72 and the top opening 3 of the
brew vessel.
[0046] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate in more detail an example housing
provided with a housing lid 66. The housing 30 is shown as being
cut away partially so as to expose the piston type coffee brewing
assembly housed therein. As may be seen in FIG. 4, the lid 66 is in
a closed position. Referring to FIG. 5, this figure illustrates the
housing lid 66 being in a pivoted back position so as to expose the
opening 68 through which coffee grounds may be poured and directed
by the chute 72 to the opening 3 of the brew vessel.
[0047] FIGS. 6 to 11 illustrate an alternate mechanism by which to
manually introduce the coffee grounds into the brew vessel. Refer
to these figures and in particular FIGS. 10 and 11, the mechanism
for introducing the coffee into the brew vessel comprises a
slidable housing drawer or shelf 76 which has a pivotable interior
container 78 which is hinged at one end thereof by hinge 80. Once
coffee grounds are placed in the pivotable container 78 the drawer
76 may then be pushed back into the machine in the direction of the
arrow 82. As the drawer or shelf 76 passes into the machine the
interior container 78 pivots downwardly about the pivot axis of
hinge 80 in the direction of the arrow 84 so as to allow the coffee
grounds to flow out of the open end 86 thereof onto and along the
guide chute 72 and hence into the brew vessel through the top
opening 3 of the brew vessel.
[0048] Referring back to the FIG. 2 the brewing unit includes a
sensor switching mechanism 90 (e.g. a micro-switch) associated with
the housing lid 66 for providing signals (open switch or closed
switch) to the control means 33 indicative that the coffee grounds
are in the brew vessel (lid in the pivoted up position) and to
initiate the semi-automatic brew cycle (lid subsequently in the
down closed position). FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate an example micro
switch 90a associated with the housing lid, the housing lid 66
having a lever member or projection 92 for engaging a member 94 of
the switch 90 so as to induce the switch 90a to be in open or
closed configuration as the lid 66 itself is in closed or open
position (the switch may be of the type wherein pressure on the
member 94 in one direction and release of pressure in the opposite
direction will bring about a change in configuration of the
switch).
[0049] FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate an analogous example of a
micro-switch 92 and housing drawer 76 combination (i.e. for the
drawer shown in FIGS. 6 to 11). These FIGS. 11 and 12 the mechanism
for introducing the coffee grounds into the brew vessel is of the
drawer type structure open at the distal end thereof away from the
front face of the machine. The housing drawer has a member or
projection for engaging a suitable member of the switch so as to
induce the switch to be in open or closed configuration as the
drawer itself is in closed or open position.
[0050] The control means 33 may advantageously be configured (in
any known manner) such that on termination of the semi-automatic
brew cycle, the control means resets to automatic mode, i.e. if
semi-automatic operation is again desired in this case it will be
necessary to again press on the packet button. Alternatively, if
the control means is configured to stay in semi-automatic mode, it
may of course be configured such that pressing the coffee button
will change the system to automatic mode with the (fully) automatic
brew cycle proceeding on pressing of the coffee button. In either
case the selection means is in communication with said control
means for allowing a user to select between said automatic brewing
cycle and said semi-automatic brewing cycle.
[0051] Referring to FIG. 17 this figure shows a partial electronic
circuit associated with the controller means and which shows the
micro switch 90 (or 90a) discussed with respect to FIGS. 2,4 and 6.
The switch may be for example a micro-switch having a momentary
contact trigger button and a lever arm contacting the button. The
switch may be opened or closed by appropriate movement of the lid
(or drawer) projection member (shown for illustration purposes as
being) in the direction(s) of the double headed arrow 100. When the
lid (or drawer) is open the switch is not activated; the circuit
contact is closed (input=low level). On the other hand when the lid
(or drawer) is closed the switch is activated; the circuit contact
is open (input=high level). The micro-switch may for example be
obtained from C&K Components Inc. (e.g. model 24TMA15-4 or
34TMT28-4).
* * * * *