Patent ID: 9737192
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: A47L,H02H

Claim:
1. An appliance comprising: a door having a closed position and an open position; a door circuit, wherein the door circuit is configured to cause the actuation of one or more relays when the door transitions from the closed position to the open position when the appliance is operating, and wherein the actuation of the one or more relays prevents one or more components of the appliance from being energized, wherein at least one of the one or more components is a water valve; a ground fault interrupter configured to detect current leakage occurring at the appliance and to provide a ground fault signal when the current leakage is detected; and a ground fault door trip circuit configured to receive the ground fault signal from the ground fault interrupter and to trip the door circuit when the ground fault signal is received such that the one or more relays are actuated; wherein the door circuit comprises one or more switching elements which cause power to flow from a direct current voltage source to one or more relay circuits when the door is in the closed position; the one or more relay circuits respectively control actuation of the one or more relays; and the one or more switching elements cause power not to flow from the direct current voltage source to the one or more relay circuits when the door is in the open position; wherein the ground fault door trip circuit trips the door circuit by operating the one or more switching elements; wherein the one or more switching elements comprise an NPN bipolar junction transistor with its collector electrically connected to the direct current power source and its emitter electrically connected to a ground; and the door circuit provides a door closed current to the gate of the NPN bipolar junction transistor when the door is in the closed position, such that the NPN bipolar junction transistor allows the flow of current from its collector to its emitter; and the flow of current from the collector to the emitter of the NPN bipolar junction transistor causes power to flow from the direct current voltage source to the one or more relay circuits.