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. 12, 2009
Filed:
Sep. 21, 2006
Jaideep Jayaram, Milford, MA (US);
Paul Powers, Grafton, MA (US);
Robert Sherwood, El Paso, TX (US);
Carlos Alberto Natividad, El Paso, TX (US);
Jaideep Jayaram, Milford, MA (US);
Paul Powers, Grafton, MA (US);
Robert Sherwood, El Paso, TX (US);
Carlos Alberto Natividad, El Paso, TX (US);
Sunbeam Products, Inc., Boca Raton, FL (US);
Abstract
A portable heater incorporates a housing, heating element, outlet for heat generated by the heating element, and diagnostic testing capabilities that test for defective or abnormal conditions of various safety features and report their status. The features include an object sensing or cover detect function, which operates to disconnect the heater from the primary power source in the event an object is detected that may obstruct the heater outlet, a tilt sensor, which detects whether the heater has been tilted, a fuse, and a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) breaker. The diagnostic testing function preferably receives power directly from the primary source of power to enable the status of the tests to be displayed whenever the heater is plugged in. Light emitting diodes preferably provide backlighting to icons representing the various features to indicate their status to the user.