Abstract:
A food waste disposer system includes a food waste disposer and an audio indicator operably connected to the food waste disposer. The audio indicator outputs a predetermined sound, such as a voice message or music, in response to activating the disposer.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/458,099, filed on Jun. 10, 2003, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to food waste disposers.  
         [0003]     Food waste disposers are used to comminute food scraps into particles small enough to safely pass through household drain plumbing. A conventional disposer includes a food conveying section, a motor section, and a grinding mechanism disposed between the food conveying section and the motor section. The food conveying section includes a housing that forms an inlet connected to a sink flange for receiving food waste and water. The food conveying section conveys the food waste to the grinding mechanism, and the motor section includes a motor imparting rotational movement to a motor shaft to operate the grinding mechanism.  
         [0004]     Conventional food waste disposers produce noise during operation. This is due, in part, by the operation of the motor as well as by the food impacting against the disposer body and grind components. Thus, the fact that an older disposer is “on” or running is obvious to a person in the vicinity of the disposer. However, several means have been developed and employed to reduce disposer noise. For example, sound insulating materials have been placed around the exterior housing of the disposer to reduce noise. A baffle may be provided between the disposer inlet and the drain opening, which keeps food waste from getting “kicked back” up through the drain opening when the disposer is operating and additionally prevents some of the noise from the disposer from traveling up through the sink to be heard by users. Still further, anti-vibration mounting systems have been used to reduce noise generated by the disposer motor vibrations and vibrations resulting from food impacting the inside of the disposer.  
         [0005]     Improved operating modes for disposers have further reduced noise. Common food waste disposers are typically single speed devices usually operated by a switch that is often mounted to a wall in near vicinity to the disposer (e.g., beside the sink to which the disposer is affixed). This may not be most advantageous, because a single grinding speed is not always optimal for grinding foods of different hardnesses or constituencies, and otherwise limits the functionality of the disposer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,652, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a food waste disposer which can operate at various speeds to either optimize grinding or perform other beneficial functions. The &#39;652 patent discloses an algorithm in which an idle mode detects whether food waste is present in the disposer, and drops the disposer&#39;s speed during periods when the food waste disposer is empty (such as when the user is walking back and forth between the dinner table and the disposer) to decrease the noise of the disposer.  
         [0006]     As noted above, the noise generated by older disposers makes it easy to discern whether a disposer is operating. A newer disposer, however, can be so quiet when operating that it is difficult to tell whether it is on. Conventional disposers provide the user with no indication of the disposer&#39;s operational status.  
         [0007]     The present application addresses shortcomings associated with the prior art.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     Some food waste disposer systems are so quiet when they are operating, a person in the vicinity of the disposer can forget it is on. Accordingly, a food waste disposer system is disclosed that includes a food waste disposer and an audio indicator operably connected to the food waste disposer. The audio indicator outputs a predetermined sound, such as a voice message or music, in response to activating the disposer.  
         [0009]     In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the audio indicator includes an audio circuit and a speaker. The audio indicator is situated within an enclosure housing the food waste disposer in some embodiments, and in other embodiments it is situated within an enclosure positioned remotely from the food waste disposer. The enclosure may include an electrical outlet for receiving an electrical plug of the food waste disposer, and may further include an electrical plug that is receivable by a household electrical outlet. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a food waste disposer system having a disposer mounted under a sink and coupled to a control information system.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates the control information system in further detail.  
         [0013]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate embodiments of disposer systems having audio indicators.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates a food waste disposer system having a disposer mounted under a sink and coupled to an audio indicator.  
         [0015]      FIGS. 6 and 7  are perspective views of an audio indicator housed in an enclosure.  
         [0016]      FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of an audio indicator system. 
     
    
       [0017]     While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a disposer  10  mounted under a sink  12 , and in electrical communication with a control information system  14 . The control information system  14  preferably communicates with the disposer  10  through the use of a conduit or bus  16 , which contains the wires that span between the disposer and the touch pad in accordance with a circuit schematic to be explained later. However, and as explained later, the control information system  14  and disposer can also communicate by a wireless link. The touch pad is illustrated as mounted to a wall  18 , but could also be attached to an adjacent countertop  20  as shown in dotted lines. As one skilled in the art will recognize, when routing the bus  16 , normal wiring considerations should be made to bypass the cabinetry and/or the wall.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  shows the control information system  14  in further detail in one embodiment. The control information system  14  includes a touch-sensitive switch area  30  and a status indicator area  40 . The switch area  30  includes various switches for controlling the operation of the disposer  10 . For example, in this embodiment, switch area includes three switches  41 ,  42 , and  43  for operating the disposer at respectively lower speed. Because the user may not particularly care what speed is chosen, but is more concerned with adequately grinding food waste of a particular constituency, these switches  41 - 43  are conveniently labeled as “soft,” “hard,” and “mix.” Of course, these switches could be alternatively labeled with motor speed (e.g., fast or slow, or with the actual motor rpm speed), but such technically-accurate information may not be as helpful to a lay user of the disposer  10 .  
         [0021]     The status indicator area  40  provides the user information concerning the status of the disposer  10 . For example, and as shown, the status indicator area  40  includes light, specifically light emitting diodes (LEDs)  45 - 48 , which indicate that the disposer has been turned on (LED  45 ), that water is running within the unit (LED  46 ), that the unit has stalled because of a jam (LED  48 ), and that metal (e.g., an eating implement) has been detected in the disposer (LED  47 ). A circuit controller controls the operation of the LEDs  45 - 48 , and receives input from the switches  41 - 43 .  
         [0022]     In addition to, or in place of, the LED  45  that indicates whether the disposer is on, the control information system  14  includes an audio output device such as a speaker  49  to provide an audible indication that the disposer is running. For example, the “Audio On Indicator” provides a pre-programmed audio message, sound or music, via the speaker  49  when the disposer is turned on. The person using the disposer can choose his favorite song, sounds, or spoken message. A volume control  44  allows setting the volume of the audio indicator at the desired level.  
         [0023]     In one embodiment, the control information system  14  is comprised of two parts: an electrical box  50  and an electrical box cover  51 . Both of these components are preferably of a standard size used in household electrical outlets, with the electrical box  50  measuring 1.75×2.75 inches and the electrical box cover  51  measuring 2.75×4.5 inches. Of course, other sizes for these components could be used.  
         [0024]     The switches  41 - 43  and volume control  44  could comprise many different type of actuating switches, including regular light switches, or spring action buttons, but are preferably touch sensitive bubble switches which are common in the appliance industry. Likewise, other types of indicators (conventional filament lights, gauges, etc.) could be used in lieu of LEDs  45 - 48 . Or, the status indicator area  40  could comprise a textual readout, for example, a liquid crystal display or dot matrix display which would spell out the status (“running,” “idle,” “jammed,” “high speed,” etc.). In this embodiment, the display could include several lines or areas to allow multiple statuses to be displayed if necessary (e.g., “jammed” and “metal in unit”). Other non-visual indicators could be used in addition to the “on indicator,” such as audible alarms which broadcast different noises or tones through the speaker  49 . The speaker  49  can further broadcast the status by playing a recorded voice, which would “speak” the relevant status.  
         [0025]     In a preferred embodiment, the electrical box  50  contains a single uniform layer of a plastic laminate over both the switches  41 - 44  and the LEDs  45 - 48 , as is common in the appliance industry. This construction allows the function for the switches and a description of the status indicators to be written onto the laminate layer, while also protecting the switches and indicators from damage and moisture. As the laminate layer is basically flat, it is easily cleaned by with a damp cloth.  
         [0026]     In some disposer installations, it is difficult or impractical to install the entire control information system  14 . However, an indicator to notify a user that the disposer has been actuated may still be required.  FIG. 3  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an alternative embodiment of an audio indicator  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, the indicator  100  is situated within the housing of the disposer  10  and is wired into the disposer&#39;s power supply  112 . Alternatively, the indicator  100  may be powered by a separate power supply. The indicator  100  includes power circuitry, if necessary, to adjust the received power as necessary to power an audio circuit and speaker  49 . The disposer  10  includes openings in its housing for the speaker  49  output and for access to the indicator  100  for programming the device.  
         [0027]     In  FIG. 4 , another embodiment is shown in which the indicator  100  is situated in a separate enclosure  120 . The speaker  49  and audio circuitry are situated inside the enclosure  120 . The indicator  100  may receive power from the disposer  10  as shown in  FIG. 4 , or a separate power supply could be used. The enclosure  120  can be installed in a convenient location, such as next to the disposer power switch in the wall or counter adjacent to the sink. Alternatively, to prevent the labor of cutting openings in the wall or counter and associated finish work, the enclosure  120  can be mounted inside the cabinet containing the disposer as shown in  FIG. 5 . Locating the enclosure  120  near a cabinet door  22  allows people to hear the sounds emitting from the speaker  49 .  
         [0028]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show perspective views of an audio indicator  100  that can be easily added to an installed disposer system. The audio indicator includes an enclosure  120  that has a standard AC outlet  210  on one side, and a standard electrical plug  212  on the opposite side. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the enclosure  120  further contains a power supply  220  connected to the outlet  210  and plug  212 . An audio mixer  222  and amplifier  224  provide an output to the speaker  49  and receive power from the power supply  220 .  
         [0029]     Rather than plugging the power cord  228  for the disposer&#39;s motor  230  directly into a switched outlet as in standard installations, the power cord  228  plugs into the outlet  210  of the audio indicator  100 , and the plug  212  is received by a switched outlet  232  that is connected to standard household power via a wall switch  234 . When the switch is closed to activate the disposer motor  230 , the indicator  100  is also activated to produce the audio indicator through the speaker  49 .  
         [0030]     The indicator  100  can be programmed to play a variety of sounds to provide an indication that the disposer is on, such as a pre-programmed voice message, sound or music. As noted herein, disposers without technology to reduce noise do not need a separate indicator because it is immediately evident that the disposer is operating from the noise it generates. Further, the generated noise is not particularly pleasant to most disposer users. The audio indicator  100  disclosed herein can make food preparation tasks and clean-up more pleasant for the consumer or cook by allowing them to hear pleasant sounds or their favorite music when the disposer is operating.  
         [0031]     The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.