Patent ID: 7066415

Claim:
A system, comprising: a food waste disposer having a motor with a plurality of energizable windings; an AC voltage input connectable to a source of AC voltage; a controller connected to the food waste disposer and the control panel, the controller including a signal processing circuit; a DC voltage generation circuit connected to the AC voltage input for converting received AC voltage to DC voltage; a dual voltage regulator connected to an output of the DC voltage generation circuit to regulate the DC voltage a voltage high enough to energize the windings of the motor, and to a voltage high enough to power the signal processing circuit a switching circuit connected to outputs of the signal processing circuit to control energization of the windings; and a control panel in communication with the disposer for allowing a user of the disposer to choose from a plurality of functions that the disposer can perform, the control panel including a first status indicator connected to an output of the signal processing circuit, wherein the signal processing circuit activates the first status indicator in response to current sensed at the switching circuit exceeding a predetermined level.