Patent ID: 7762488

Claim:
An electric pepper can, comprising (a) a hollow shell for holding pepper, the shell having a dispensing outlet; (b) a grinding unit installed in the shell, the grinding unit being driven to grind pepper into pepper granules and make the pepper granules fall out through the dispensing outlet of the shell; (c) a rotary driving unit installed in the shell and coupled to the grinding unit for driving the grinding unit to grind pepper when activated; and (d) a controlling unit, the controlling unit including: two magnetic electricity-conducting pieces electrically coupled to the rotary driving unit, the electricity-conducting pieces each having an elastic portion, the elastic portions being disposed in spaced relationship one from the other; a hollow sealing sleeve positioned around the elastic portions of the magnetic electricity-conducting pieces; and a magnetic component positioned in correspondence with the sealing sleeve and being movable relative thereto responsive to an orientation of the shell, the magnetic component producing a magnetic force to attract the electricity-conducting pieces when positioned proximate to the sealing sleeve; whereby the electric pepper can has an in-use state and a not-in-use state, the in-use state being initiated when the shell is oriented with the dispensing outlet facing downwardly, the magnetic component being displaced responsive thereto to a position proximate to the sealing sleeve and thereby magnetically attract the elastic portions of the electricity-conducting pieces into contact with each other owing to magnetic attraction, the contact between the elastic portions of the electricity-conducting pieces turning on the rotary driving unit to drive the grinding unit for grinding pepper; the not-in-use state being initiated when the shell is oriented with the dispensing outlet facing upwardly, the magnetic component being displaced responsive thereto away from being proximate to the sealing sleeve, whereat the magnetic force of the magnetic component is incapable of attracting the elastic portions of the electricity-conducting pieces into contact with each other and thereby off the rotary driving unit.