Black Decker Inc.

General Electric Company

William D Ryckman

Robert J Wojnarowski

Charles W Eichelberger

Charles Z Krasznai

Michael E Bitzel

Thomas M O'Loughlin

Harry Albinger, Jr

Walter H Gordon, Jr

Charles A Balchunas

Thomas M Lyga

A cylindrical power brush for a vacuum cleaner includes two types of bristle tufts. One type of bristle tuft is short and stiff for contacting and agitating a carpeted surface. The other type of bristle tuft is longer and softer for contacting a hard surface. In addition to the differences in length and bristle stiffness, the tufts for the hard surface contain substantially fewer bristles, whereby catching and rolling of carpet edges is avoided. One embodiment alternates types of bristle tufts in a row of bristle tufts. Another embodiment employs multiple rows of bristle tufts arranged such that a point on a surface being cleaned is contacted alternately by the two types of bristle tuft. Winding up of thread and hair on the axle of the rotating brush is avoided by overlapping annular extensions on a support wheel and a brush spindle. The brush support wheel is locked in place in the floor tool by a resilient locking tab integrally formed with one of the halves of the floor tool.

Dual-purpose rotating brush for vacuum cleaner

A low-headroom popcorn popper, particularly for under-cabinet mounting, employs a charging drawer alongside an intermediate chute for entering kernels of corn into a popping chamber. The corn remains in the charging drawer until a charging slide is pushed to permit the corn to enter the popping chamber. A horizontal air path between a blower and a plenum surrounding the popping chamber further reduces headroom. Air enters the perimeter of the popping chamber from the plenum in a horizontal swirling motion produced by slanted louvers. A door closes an open bottom of the popping chamber to permit removal of unpopped kernels of corn and other debris therefrom. Heater elements are disposed in the plenum chamber non-uniformly in angle about the popping chamber to attain a substantially uniform air temperature entering the popping chamber. Separation of popped corn from unpopped kernels of corn is attained using two cylindrical sections connected by a diverging conical section. Popped corn rises upward on the air stream until it passes over a dam, whereupon it falls down a discharge chute. An electrical control system controls a WAIT light and a READY light to indicate to a user the time that an optimum popping temperature exists in the popping chamber. An overtemperature sensor deenergizes the heater, blower and the ready light, and energizes the WAIT light when an unsafe temperature is approached.

Low-headroom popcorn popper

Automatic switching apparatus for a hand held electrically operated appliance such as a pressing iron. A motion sensor and an electronic timer cooperate to automatically shut off the iron if the iron remains stationary for a predetermined period of time. A simplified mechanism is manually operable in the event the user desires to reactivate the iron. A circuit board mounting simplified electronic circuitry is located within the handle of the iron. An appropriate indicator informs the user whether the iron is in the active mode or in the inactive mode.

Automatic switching apparatus for an electric appliance

An electric toaster oven construction wherein a unique rotatable cam, cam follower and control panel construction accurately sets the threshold temperature of a thermostat switch. The rotatable cam is loosely mounted in the control panel and the cam follower urges the cam against a projection on the control panel to thereby sense the thickness of the cam between the projection on the control panel and the cam follower. With this construction, the height of the cam is accurately sensed although the cam may be warped or out of perpendicular with its shaft.

Electric toaster oven control

A new and improved electric toaster oven is disclosed, wherein the heating ratio between upper and lower heat sources can be readily changed to suit the different requirements of the food item being cooked, while the rate at which the total heat is applied to the food item remains substantially constant throughout.

Toaster oven

A novel cooking oven provides a plurality of elongated heating rods which are parallel to one another and surround the foodstuff to be cooked. The rods are energized sequentially by current flow controlled in magnitude and time to produce either black baking heat from the heating rods or infrared radiation from the heating rods by heating them to a red color. By sequentially heating the rods, the heat source in effect rotates around the foodstuff to be cooked to produce equal and even browning equivalent to that obtained by conventional rotisserie cooking in which the foodstuff is rotated relative to a stationary heat source. The oven may also be used in other heating modes such as pressurized cooking by containing the apparatus in a pressurized vessel with the heat sources consisting of inherent heat sources which will produce browning and crisping while heating in the pressurized mode.

Cooking apparatus employing a rotisserie mode with stationary food

In a strain gage weighing scale with a load platform, a plurality of foot structures support the platform. The invention is an improvement in each foot structure of a sandwich with a bottom support plate, a pair of spaced first cylindrical roller fulcrums on the plate, a floating beam plate on the first fulcrums and spaced above and coextensive with the bottom plate. A pair of differently spaced and equally offset second cylindrical roller fulcrums on the beam plate support the platform. Suitable strain gages are secured to the beam any place between the closer pair of fulcrums. The entire sandwich is held together by a deformable plastic housing that secures the plates and fulcrums together and is barb-connected to the platform. The strain gages are connected to conventional converting structure measuring the change in resistance under load and calibrated to read weight. The deformable plastic housing holding the sandwich is an integral molding with structural details reducing friction between the parts. The overall result is a lower profile scale for common household use.

Growing community of inventors

Orange, CT, United States of America

William D Ryckman