The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 01, 2001
Filed:
Apr. 30, 1999
Robert V. Myszka, Germantown, WI (US);
John Vancha, Kewaskum, WI (US);
James H. Utzerath, Dousman, WI (US);
Premark WB Holdings, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
An automatic breadmaker with improved thermal sensing, wiring, and a simplified assembly procedure. The breadmaker preferably includes a high voltage circuit board coupled to an interior wall of the breadmaker, the interior wall separating the baking chamber of the breadmaker from a component compartment. One or more thermal control devices electrically connected to the high voltage circuit board are disposed in a heat transfer relationship with the interior wall, thereby improving device accuracy and avoiding the need for leads to the thermal control devices. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the high voltage circuit board is coupled to the interior wall via a component mounting bracket which also holds the thermal control devices against the interior wall. Preferably, the breadmaker also has a low voltage circuit board connected to the high voltage circuit board via low voltage leads, thereby providing additional safety for users operating a control panel near the low voltage circuit board. In this case, the high voltage circuit board is a power board supplying power to the various breadmaker components, such as the motor, heater, and fan, and the low voltage circuit board is a logic circuit controlling breadmaker operations and being receptive to commands received from a user via the control panel. The high voltage circuit board and the thermal control devices can be pre-assembled in a single assembly for insertion into the breadmaker, thereby decreasing assembly time and cost.