Abstract:
A waterproof electronic kitchen timer having a casing that can withstand gentle washing under a kitchen faucet for removal by detergents of grease and other soils.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a waterproof electronic kitchen timer that is readily washable. It can withstand a gentle washing under a kitchen faucet, which greatly benefits in a kitchen environment where a timer is typically exposed to grease and various sorts of cooking and baking elements. 
     Prior kitchen timers currently in use have suffered from exposure to grease and other cooking and baking elements, which have been able to penetrate into the mechanical or other working elements within the timer casing. Endeavors to clean timers out after they have become soiled by the kitchen environment have often resulted in penetration of water and cleaning fluids into the timer interior shortening timer life. 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a kitchen timer which provides accurate electronic timing within a washable waterproof case, has a large easy-to-read time display and a loud extended alarm, and is capable of timing over an extended period. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a washable, waterproof timer having a non-slip base and an elevated viewing angle, and which can serve as a repeat timer operated by simple, one-finger setting. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a timer which may be safely held under a kitchen faucet to clean it, without damaging the special electronic timer circuitry or causing any other damage. 
    
    
     These and other examples of advantages and benefits of the timer in accordance with this invention will become apparent in the specification hereafter, and in the drawings, of which: 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a face view of one specific form of timer embodying feature of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows II—II which appear in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the timer illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows IV—IV which appear in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 5 is a view in side section, taken along the lines and arrows V—V which appear in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 6 is a rear view of the timer of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional side view taken along the lines and arrows VII—VII which appear in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional top plan view taken along the lines and arrows VIII—VIII which appear in FIG. 6 illustrating an internal battery casing which is a component of the timer of this invention. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 are sectional fragmentary views thereof, taken along the lines and arrows IX—IX and X—X, respectively. 
     FIG. 11 is a further sectional view taken along the lines and arrows B—B which appear in FIG. 5 illustrating the battery casing position in the timer. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Illustrated in the foregoing drawings, the number  21  designates the top cabinet, the number  22  designates the PCB, the number  23  designates the bottom cabinet,  24  is a screw and  25  designates the LCD support. The number  26  designates a sound generator for the timer, the number  27  designates an LCD and the number  28  designates magnetic rubber. A contact dome  29  is provided, while  30  designates a battery door (which, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, may comprise an access panel that may be a removable panel or a hinged door, for example),  31  a relay,  32  a battery contact plate (negative) and the number  33  a battery contact plate (positive). A battery here shown as (AAA) is shown in the battery housing appearing in FIG. 8 of the drawings, electrically connected to operate the timer sound, connected between the battery terminals  12 ,  13 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 5, the top cabinet  21  in accordance with the present embodiment is generally cup shaped in configuration defining an upper wall  40  and a continuous side wall  42  connected at a first end to the upper wall and extending radially outward therefrom and terminating at a second end by a continuous channel  44 . The bottom cabinet  23  in the present embodiment is generally planar in configuration and includes within an upper surface  46  a continuous wall  48  at its perimeter and a continuous channel  50  adjacent the wall  48  at the perimeter. On. assembly of the timer of the present embodiment, the top and bottom cabinets  21  and  23 , respectively are coupled by positioning the wall  48  of the bottom cabinet  23  into the channel  44  of the top cabinet  21 . In addition, preferably the top cabinet  21  also includes a continuous wall  52  adjacent its cavity which is received into the channel  50  provided in the bottom cabinet  23 . The connection between the top cabinet  21  and bottom cabinet  23  provides a waterproof seal. Where desired, an adhesive, such as glue or other suitable material can be applied between the top and bottom cabinets  21  and  23 . 
     As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, the bottom cabinet  23  further includes a bottom surface  54  and at least one, and in the present embodiment, three bosses  56   a - 56   c  extended from its bottom surface  54 . As should be understood, any number of bosses can be utilized for the purpose described below. In this embodiment, the bosses  56   a - 56   c  are generally hemispherical in cross section, however, it should be understood that other cross sectional shapes can also be utilized where desired, such as square. The bosses  56   a - 56   c  operate as a stabilizer when the timer is mounted on a surface by the magnetic rubber  28 . Specifically, the bosses  56   a - 56   c  limit pivotal rotation of the magnetic rubber  28 , in order that the face of the magnetic  28  will be maintained in engagement with the mounting surface. In the present embodiment, preferably at least one pair of the bosses  56   a - 56   c  are substantially aligned and positioned opposing one another. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminating ends  58  of the bosses  56   a - 56   c  and the terminating end  60  of the magnetic rubber  28  extending from the bottom cabinet  23  are preferably positioned substantially along the same plane for stabilization of the timer in use against a mounting surface. Similarly, in the present embodiment, preferably the terminating end  62  of the connector  34  distal the bottom cabinet  23  is positioned substantially along the same plane as the terminating ends  58  and  60  of the bosses and magnetic rubber  28 , respectively, for further stabilization. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the electronics are housed within the cavity provided between the top cabinet  21  and bottom cabinet  23 . The PCB  22  is general planar and includes most of the electronics for the timer in order to minimize space. As shown in FIG. 5, the display  66  of the LCD  27  in this embodiment is preferably positioned at a slight incline relative to the planar surface of the PCB  22 , which facilitates viewing of the display  66  by the user. For this purpose, the timer includes a platform  68  defining a bottom  70  end generally planar and seated against the planar surface of the PCB  22  and an incline  72  upon which the LCD display  66  is seated. In this embodiment, the platform  68  is generally rectangular in configuration with a central cavity, although other configurations can also be used for the same purpose. 
     It is important to observe that the timer in accordance with this invention is an electronic countdown timer, having a countdown time of 9 hours 59 minutes, for example. The LCD displays the count time, with three numeric digits as shown. There are three operating buttons providing settings for hours, tens of minutes and minutes. A start/stop button is provided, which can be operated by pressing and holding the reset counter. 
     The timer in accordance with this invention has watertight construction to provide environmental protection. It is important to observe that the housing of the timer is constructed of ABS, with a lexan overlay. The liquid crystal display is of 30×15.5 mm VA, and the ingress protection rating of the watertight structure of the timer is IP42. 
     The timer is connected to provide an extended timer “beep” sound of 80 decibels, for example, at 2 kHz after the designated time has elapsed. 
     With the construction shown and described herein, the timer can readily live up to a guaranteed usage of 10,000 cycles, assuming an average countdown duration of 2 hours and the use of an alkaline battery. Using the highly beneficial components employed in the timer, its storage temperature range is readily within the range of −20° C. to 55° C. 
     Operation 
     The operation of the timer in accordance with this invention is as follows: The user may press any key or insert a new battery to turn on the timer. The default initial display is “0:00,” flashing at 1 Hz. If the user does not press any key within two minutes, the electronic circuitry described in the drawings will automatically turn the unit off in order to save battery power. 
     The operator may use the “Hr” button or the “10s Min” button or the “Min” button to set the desired countdown duration. When the “Hr” button is pressed, only the left-most digit is scrolled to show that the hour is set. When the “10s Min” button is pressed, only the middle digit is scrolled to show that ten minutes is set. When the “Min” button is pressed, only the right-most digit is scrolled to show that the minutes are set. The operator may set any set value, which remains on display. As noted, if the user does not press any key within two minutes, the unit will auto-off in order to save battery power. 
     In order to start the countdown, when the start button is pressed, the counter starts and the corresponding indicating colon flashes for each second elapsed until “0:01” is reached, next starts the second count, and the display shifts to “0:59” and each second countdown is then rolled out on the display. 
     When the countdown time has reached zero, the alarm sounds for ten seconds while the original setting is displayed and flashes at 1 Hz. 
     The user may press the stop button once, and this stops the alarm sound and the flashing. During countdown, the three buttons “Hr,” “10s Min” and “Min” are disabled. 
     By pressing the stop button at any time the user may stop the countdown temporarily, and may press again to continue with the remaining countdown. During the timer pause, the three buttons are disabled. 
     The original setting remains on display as a standby mode after countdown. This original setting can be used as the next countdown setting if desired. This can be done by simply pressing the start button once, which causes the timer to use this setting to count down again. If the user does not press any key in standby mode for two minutes, the unit will turn auto-off. The set value can be changed at the standby mode. 
     In order to reset the timer, the user can simply press and hold the “START/STOP” button at any time for more than two seconds, which resets the counter immediately and the values set will be cleared from memory, back to default. If no further action from the user is taken within two seconds, the unit will auto-off to save battery energy. 
     A QC mode is available; the user may merely press and hold the “START/STOP” button and then power up the unit to enter the QC mode. In QC mode, the unit will turn on all the LCD segments for one second and then generate a beep sound. 
     It will accordingly be apparent that the washable electronic timer in accordance with this invention is provided with washable waterproof case, is large and easy to read, can provide a loud extended alarm, and can monitor time ranges up to 10 hours or more. It has a useful magnetic refrigerator mount, a non-slip base, an elevated viewing angle, and can be handled by simple one-finger setting in the usual way or as a repeat timer. The rubber gasketing operates in conjunction with the lexan coating and the watertight construction to provide excellent environmental protection, and easy cleaning for the timer, and the ingress protection rating of the watertight design is as high as IP42 or above. Accordingly, the timer in accordance with this invention can withstand rough usage and can be cleaned repeatedly to bring it back to its as-new appearance and function. 
     Although this timer has been described in conjunction with one specific example, it will be apparent that various modifications of individual components may be performed, without interfering with the important advantages recited in this specification.