Patent ID: 8878104

Claim:
A cooktop, comprising: a gas burner; a hot surface igniter positioned proximate said gas burner; a gas flow controlling valve having a manually operable gas flow controlling stem; and a microswitch configured for concurrent operation with said gas flow controlling stem, wherein said microswitch comprises: a rotatable cam having an outer perimeter surface that includes a plurality of perimeter portions, the plurality of perimeter portions collectively having at least two different radial distances from a central pivoting point of the cam; a first stationary reed element positioned adjacent to a first side of the cam; a second stationary reed element positioned adjacent to a second side of the cam; and a pair of pivotable reed elements respectively positioned between the cam and the first and second stationary reed elements, the pair of pivotable reed elements being secured at an angle with respect to each other; wherein the pair of pivotable reed elements are pivotable between a first position and a second position, the first position providing electrical connection between the first stationary reed element and a first pivotable reed element of the pair of pivotable reed elements, and the second position providing electrical connection between the second stationary reed element and a second pivotable reed element of the pair of pivotable reed elements; wherein electrical connection between the first stationary reed element and the first pivotable reed element results in a first voltage being provided to the hot surface igniter; wherein electrical connection between the second stationary reed element and the second pivotable reed element results in a second voltage being provided to the hot surface igniter, the second voltage being lower than the first voltage; and wherein rotation of the cam causes one or more of the plurality of perimeter portions to respectively contact the pair of pivotable reed elements such that the pair of pivotable reed elements sequentially pivot between the first position and the second position.