Appliance timer having an auxiliary switching assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6486416
  • Patent Number
    6,486,416
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, September 18, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 26, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A timer for controlling an appliance includes a housing. The timer also includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The plurality of cam surfaces are positioned within the housing. The timer further includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. Moreover, the timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The auxiliary member is positioned outside of the housing. The timer yet further includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm. A method of controlling an appliance is also disclosed.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates generally to appliance timers, and more specifically to an appliance timer having an auxiliary switching assembly for increasing switching capacity.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Appliance timers are commonly used in many household appliances, such as dishwashers, clothes washers, and clothes dryers. The appliance timer controls operation of the appliance by actuating and deactuating switch assemblies which start and stop various work functions within the appliance such as a rinse function in the case of a clothes washer. The switch assemblies within the appliance timer are actuated and deactuated as a result of interaction between a number of a cam surfaces defined in a camstack of the appliance timer and a number of assemblies.




The switch assemblies are generally grouped into a number of switch blocks associated with the appliance timer. For example, one common switch block configuration includes eight switch assemblies. Moreover, each of the switch assemblies typically includes an upper circuit blade and a lower circuit blade, with an intermediate circuit blade positioned therebetween. The circuit blades are moved into and out of contact with one another in order to make and break, respectively, a number of circuits. In particular, if the circuit blade has a cam follower molded or otherwise secured thereto, the circuit blade may be moved into and out of contact with other circuit blades via cooperation with one of the cam surfaces defined in the camstack. Alternatively, if the circuit blade is configured without a cam follower, the circuit blade will remain stationary until another circuit blade associated with the switch assembly is moved into or out of contact therewith. One common switch assembly arrangement includes an upper and a lower switch blade each of which is configured without a cam follower. Actuation of the switch assembly occurs as an intermediate circuit blade, which has a cam follower secured thereto, is selectively lifted into contact with the upper circuit blade or dropped into contact with the lower circuit blade.




One way to categorize appliance timers is by the number of switch blocks included in the timer. For example, appliance timers may be categorized as either “single block” timers or “double block” timers. As their respective names suggest, a single block timer includes a single switch block (e.g. a single group of eight switch assemblies in operative contact with the camstack) whereas a double block timer includes two switch blocks (e.g. two groups of switch assemblies each having eight switch assemblies in operative contact with the camstack).




Single block timers advantageously have fewer components relative to double block timers thereby reducing costs associated with the appliance timer. Hence, a number of single block timers have heretofore been designed for use in many household appliances. Such single block timers are used in conjunction with appliances which do not require the additional switching capacity associated with double block timers. For example, it is known that approximately 85% of the clothes washer and dishwasher models available in the appliance market may be operated with a single block timer. Therefore, use of single block timers in such appliances provides the switching capacity necessary to operate the appliance without the additional costs associated with double block timers.




However, the remaining models, often referred to as “high-end” models, generally must be controlled with a more complex timing device such as a double block timer. This is true since such high-end models generally have additional features associated therewith thereby increasing the number of switches required for operation of the appliance. As alluded to above, while use of such double block timers increases the switching capacity associated with the timer, costs associated with the timer are also increased thereby disadvantageously increasing costs associated with the appliance.




What is needed therefore is an appliance timer which has greater switching capacity relative to single block timers which have heretofore been designed. What is further needed is an appliance timer which has greater switching capacity relative to single block timers which have heretofore been designed, but has fewer components relative to double block timers which have heretofore been designed.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a timer for controlling an appliance. The timer includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The timer includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. The timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The timer also includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm.




In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an appliance. The appliance includes a timer having (1) a camstack which includes a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein, (2) a switch block having a number of switch assemblies, (3) an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof, and (4) a number of switch arms positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. The method includes the step of rotating the camstack so as to cause the number of switch assemblies to cooperate with the plurality of cam surfaces so as to provide a first number of switching operations for the appliance. The method also includes the step of rotating the auxiliary member so as to cause the number of switch arms to cooperate with the circuit pattern so as to provide a second number of switching operations for the appliance.




In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a timer for controlling an appliance. The timer includes a housing. The timer also includes a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein. The plurality of cam surfaces are positioned within the housing. The timer further includes a switch block which cooperates with the plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance. Moreover, the timer includes an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof. Rotation of the camstack causes rotation of the auxiliary member. The auxiliary member is positioned outside of the housing. The timer yet further includes a first switch arm positioned in contact with the side of the auxiliary member. Rotation of the auxiliary member causes the circuit pattern to be advanced into contact with the first switch arm.




It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful timer for controlling an appliance.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved timer for controlling an appliance.




It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful method of controlling an appliance.




It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of controlling an appliance.




It is also an object of the present invention to provide an appliance timer that includes an auxiliary switching assembly for increasing the switching capacity associated with the timer.




It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide an appliance timer that utilizes fewer components relative to appliance timers which have heretofore been designed.




It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary switching assembly which may be retrofit to an existing timer thereby increasing the switching capacity associated with the existing timer.




The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an appliance which includes an appliance timer which incorporates the features of the present invention therein;





FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of the appliance timer of the appliance of

FIG. 1

(note that a number of the components associated with the appliance timer have been removed for clarity of description);





FIG. 3

is an enlarged perspective view of the side plate of the housing of the appliance timer of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is an enlarged top elevational view of the auxiliary member of the appliance timer of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 5

is an enlarged perspective view of the switch wafer assembly of the appliance timer of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 6

is an enlarged cross sectional view of the switch wafer assembly taken along the line


6





6


of

FIG. 5

, as viewed in the direction of the arrows;





FIG. 7

is an enlarged perspective view showing the exterior surface of the auxiliary cover of the appliance timer of

FIG. 2

; and





FIG. 8

is a view similar to

FIG. 7

, but showing the interior surface of the auxiliary cover of the appliance timer of

FIG. 2

; and





FIG. 9

is an enlarged perspective view of the camstack of FIG.


2


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the invention to the particular form 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.




Referring now to

FIG. 1

, there is shown an appliance


10


which is a clothes washing machine. The appliance


10


includes an appliance timer


12


. The appliance timer


12


is secured to a console


14


of the appliance


10


. The appliance timer


12


controls various work functions associated with the appliance


10


. Examples of such work functions include agitation, washing, spinning, drying, dispensing detergent or fabric softener, hot water filling, cold water filling, and water draining.




Referring now to

FIGS. 2-8

, there is shown the appliance timer


12


in more detail. The appliance timer


12


includes a housing member


16


, a side plate


18


, a top plate


20


, a switch block


22


, a camstack


24


, and an auxiliary switching assembly


26


. The housing member


16


, the side plate


18


, and the top plate


20


cooperatively define a housing of the appliance timer


12


.




The switch block


22


preferably includes a number of switch assemblies. More specifically, the switch block


22


includes an upper switch wafer


28


having a number of upper circuit blades


30


secured thereto, an intermediate switch wafer


32


having a number of intermediate circuit blades


34


secured thereto, and a lower switch wafer


36


having a number of lower circuit blades


38


secured thereto. The circuit blades


30


,


34


,


38


are preferably insert molded into the switch wafers


28


,


32


,


36


, respectively. One end of each of the circuit blades


30


,


34


,


38


protrudes outwardly from the switch wafers


28


,


32


,


36


, respectively, thereby defining electrical terminals


40


,


42


,


44


, respectively, as shown in FIG.


2


. The terminals


40


,


42


,


44


are electrically coupled to components associated with the appliance


10


such as a main machine motor (not shown) and a heater (not shown).




The camstack


24


is secured to a control shaft


46


. In particular, the camstack


24


includes a hub


47


having a central bore


48


defined therein. The control shaft


46


is received through the central bore


48


in order to be secured to the camstack hub


47


. One manner of securing the camstack hub


47


to the control shaft


46


is with a clutch mechanism (not shown). The camstack


24


rotates relative to the side plate


18


. In particular, the side plate


18


has an aperture


49


defined therein (see FIG.


3


). A first end of the camstack hub


47


is received through the aperture


49


thereby allowing the camstack hub


47


and hence the camstack


24


to rotate relative to the side plate


18


.




The camstack


24


also includes a number of drive blades


50


. Each of the drive blades


50


has a group of ratchet teeth


52


defined therein. The ratchet teeth


52


cooperate with a number of drive paws (not shown) in order to provide for rotation of the camstack


24


.




Moreover, the camstack


24


includes a number of program blades


54


. The program blades


54


have a number of cam lifts


56


and a number of cam drops


58


defined therein. The drive blades


50


are non-rotatably coupled to each of the program blades


54


. More specifically, rotation of any of the drive blades


50


causes rotation of each of the program blades


54


.




As shown in

FIG. 9

(see also FIG.


2


), the camstack


24


further includes a blade support portion


100


on which the drive blades


50


and the program blades


54


are supported. The camstack


24


further includes a hub wall


104


extending from the blade support portion


100


. The camstack


24


also defines a hub space


102


in which a first portion


106


of the hub


47


is located. Note that a second portion


108


of the hub


47


is located outside of the hub space


102


. As will be discussed in more detail below, an auxiliary member is secured to the hub


47


on the second hub portion


108


. The hub wall


104


is located in the hub space


102


.




Each of the intermediate circuit blades


34


has a cam follower


60


molded or otherwise secured thereto. The cam followers


60


cooperate with the program blades of the camstack


24


as the camstack


24


is rotated thereunder in order to selectively make and/or break a number of electrical circuits. For example, during rotation of the camstack


24


, one of the cam lifts


56


may be rotated into contact with a given cam follower


60


thereby causing the intermediate circuit blade


34


associated therewith to be lifted or otherwise urged into contact with a corresponding upper circuit blade


30


. Similarly, during rotation of the camstack


24


, one of the cam drops


58


may be rotated into contact with a given cam follower


60


thereby causing the intermediate circuit blade


34


associated therewith to be dropped or otherwise urged into contact with a corresponding lower circuit blade


38


.




The appliance timer


12


, as described, is a single block timer. More specifically, the camstack


24


is configured to include a predetermined number of the program blades


54


which are necessary to control a single switch block (i.e. the switch block


22


). It should be appreciated that if additional switch blocks are added to the appliance timer


12


, additional program blades


54


would likewise have to be added to the camstack


24


thereby undesirably increasing costs associated with the appliance timer


12


.




The auxiliary switching assembly


26


is included in the appliance timer


12


to provide additional switching capacity without the need for such an additional switch block. The auxiliary switching assembly


26


may be used in conjunction with a number of commercially available appliance timers. For example, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


may be used in conjunction with a model M620 Delta Timer having slight modifications thereto. The model M620 Delta Timer is commercially available from Mallory Controls of Indianapolis, Ind.




The auxiliary switching assembly


26


includes an auxiliary member


62


, an auxiliary switch wafer assembly


64


, and an auxiliary cover


66


. As shown in

FIG. 4

, the auxiliary member


62


is substantially circular in shape, and has an aperture


68


defined therein. Moreover, the auxiliary member


62


has a keying member or tab


70


defined therein. The aperture


68


and the keying tab


70


are provided to secure the auxiliary member


62


to the hub


47


of the camstack


24


(see FIG.


2


). In particular, the camstack hub


47


is received through the aperture


68


such that the keying tab


70


is secured within a keying member or slot


71


defined in the camstack hub


47


thereby non-rotatably securing the auxiliary member


62


to the camstack hub


47


. While the above keying configuration has numerous advantages associated therewith, certain of these advantages may be achieved with other keying configurations. For example, a keying slot may be defined in the auxiliary member


62


with a corresponding keying tab defined in the camstack hub


47


thereby allowing the auxiliary member


62


to be non-rotatably secured to the camstack


24


when the camstack hub


47


is received through the aperture


68


.




It should also be appreciated that securing the auxiliary member


62


to the camstack hub


47


via use of the keying tab


70


and the keying slot


71


causes the auxiliary member


62


to rotate dependently with the camstack


24


. More specifically, as the drive pawls (not shown) of the appliance timer


12


drive the camstack


24


at a predetermined speed, the auxiliary member


62


is likewise driven at the same predetermined speed. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the camstack


24


and the auxiliary member


62


are rotated the same distance over a given period of time. In particular, if the drive pawls of the appliance timer


12


drive the camstack


24


a distance corresponding to one complete revolution thereof, the auxiliary member


62


will likewise be driven a distance corresponding to one complete revolution thereof.




Moreover, it should be noted that the auxiliary member


62


is secured to the camstack hub


47


such that the auxiliary member


62


is positioned outside the housing (i.e. the housing member


16


, the side plate


18


, and the top plate


20


) of the appliance timer


12


. Conversely, the camstack


24


(except for the portion of the hub


47


which extends through the aperture


49


) is positioned inside the housing of the appliance timer


12


.




The auxiliary member


62


is preferably made of a common circuit board material, such as an epoxy or a phenolic resin, and has a circuit pattern


72


on a front side


73


thereof. The circuit pattern


72


may be printed and/or etched onto the auxiliary member


62


with copper or other suitable foil material. The copper foil of the circuit pattern


72


may have a thin layer of material plated or otherwise disposed thereon in order to prevent oxidation of the foil. For example, the copper foil may have a thin layer of nickel plating thereon, or may be coated with a thin layer of a protective lubricant.




As shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the switch wafer assembly


64


includes a number of copper switch blades or arms


74


, and an auxiliary base or wafer


76


. The switch arms


74


are secured in the auxiliary wafer


76


such that a first end


78


of each of the switch arms


74


is positioned within an open ended chamber


80


defined in the auxiliary wafer


76


, and a second end


82


of each of the switch arms


74


extends outwardly from an outer wall


84


of the auxiliary wafer


76


. The switch arms


74


may be secured to the auxiliary wafer


76


in a number of different manners. For example, the switch arms


74


may be insert molded into the auxiliary wafer


76


.




The first end


78


of each of the switch arms


74


defines an electrical terminal which may be electrically coupled to one of the various components associated with the appliance


10


. In the preferred embodiment, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


is configured to provide for the switching of a number of light duty circuits (e.g. circuits which carry a current of less than 2 amperes) associated with the appliance


10


. For example, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


may be used to provide switching operations for the circuits that operate a number of indicator lights (not shown) or electrically-actuated water valves (not shown) associated with the appliance


10


. Conversely, the switch assemblies associated with the switch block


22


, as alluded to above, provide for the switching of a number of standard or heavy duty circuits (e.g. circuits which carry a current of 13-15 amperes) associated with the appliance


10


. For example, the switch block


22


may be used to provide switching operations for the circuits that operate the main machine motor (not shown) or the heater (not shown) associated with the appliance


10


. It should however be appreciated that the auxiliary switching assembly


26


could alternatively be configured, with only slight modification thereof, to provide for switching of standard or heavy duty circuits.




Moreover, the first or terminal end


78


of each of the switch arms


74


is positioned relative to one another within the auxiliary wafer


76


such that the auxiliary wafer


78


may mate or otherwise be coupled to known, industry-standard “quick connecting” mating plugs (not shown) when the appliance timer


12


is electrically coupled to the appliance


10


. One mating plug which may be connected to the auxiliary wafer


76


is a model number 70058-0222 Mating Plug which is commercially available from Molex, Incorporated of Downers Grove, Ill.




The switch arms


74


are biased into contact with the front side


73


of the auxiliary member


62


during rotation thereof. In particular, the second end


82


of each of the switch arms


74


is formed so as to define a contact follower


86


. Each of the contact followers


86


contacts the front side


73


of the auxiliary member


62


in order to selectively position the switch arms


74


into and out of contact with the circuit pattern


72


as the auxiliary member


62


is rotated. In particular, each of the switch arms


74


is positionable between a pattern contact position and a pattern non-contact position. It should be appreciated that the contact follower


86


of the switch arm


74


contacts the circuit pattern


72


when the switch arm


74


is positioned in the pattern contact position, whereas the contact follower


86


of the switch arm


74


is spaced apart from the circuit pattern


72


when the switch arm


74


is positioned in the pattern non-contact position. Hence, a first switch arm


74


is electrically coupled to a second switch arm


74


if both the first switch arm


74


and second switch arm


74


are positioned in their respective pattern contact positions. However, if either of the first switch arm


74


or the second switch arm


74


is positioned in their respective pattern non-contact position, the first switch arm


74


is electrically isolated from the second switch arm


74


.




The circuit pattern


72


may be configured to selectively electrically couple and/or isolate the switch arms


74


from one another so as to define a switching program. Hence, by varying the configuration of the circuit pattern


72


, a number of different switching configurations may be created. For example, in the case of where eight (8) switch arms


74


are included in the switch wafer assembly


64


, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


may function as four (4) isolated switches, or seven (7) common single-pole-single-throw (SPST) switches.




As discussed above, in the preferred embodiment, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


provides for the switching of light duty circuits. Hence, the magnitude of the contact force necessary between the contact followers


86


and the front side


73


of the auxiliary member


62


is relatively small thereby facilitating manual setting of the appliance timer


12


. In particular, such small contact force allows the auxiliary member


62


to be rotated in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction without the need to lift or otherwise move the contact followers


86


out of contact with the front side


73


of the auxiliary member


62


thereby facilitating bi-directional manual setting of the appliance timer


12


. Moreover, such small contact force allows the contact followers


86


to move relative to the front side


73


of the auxiliary member


62


in a relatively quiet manner during manual setting of the appliance timer


12


thereby eliminating the need for a mechanism to lift or otherwise move the contact followers


86


out of contact with the auxiliary member


62


.




The auxiliary cover


66


aligns the switch arms


74


relative to the circuit pattern


72


. In particular, the auxiliary wafer


76


has a pair of locating members or tabs


88


defined therein, whereas the auxiliary cover


66


has a pair of locating members or notches


90


defined therein. Moreover, the locating tabs


88


are snap fit or otherwise secured within the locating notches


90


. In particular, each of the tabs


88


of the auxiliary wafer


76


has a ramped cavity


89


defined therein, whereas the auxiliary cover


66


has a pair of locking tabs


91


defined therein. As the locating tabs


88


are advanced into the locating notches


90


, the locking tabs


91


cooperate with the ramped cavities


89


so as to snap fit the auxiliary wafer


76


to the auxiliary cover


66


.




Thereafter, a number or attaching tabs


92


defined in the auxiliary cover


66


(see

FIGS. 7 and 8

) may be snap fit or otherwise secured within a corresponding number of attaching slots


94


(see

FIG. 3

) defined in the side plate


18


thereby securing the auxiliary cover


66


and hence the switch wafer assembly


64


to the side plate


18


. It should be appreciated that the position of (1) the locating tabs


88


relative to the locating notches


90


, and (2) the attaching tabs


92


relative to their respective attaching slots


94


is predetermined such that when the auxiliary switching assembly


26


is assembled (i.e. secured to the housing of the appliance timer


12


), the contact followers


86


of each of the switch arms


74


are aligned in their respective predetermined positions in order to be accurately located relative to the circuit pattern


72


as it is rotated thereunder. While the above locating configuration has numerous advantages associated therewith, certain of these advantages may be achieved with other locating configurations. For example, a number of locating notches may be defined in the auxiliary wafer


76


with a corresponding number of locating tabs defined in the auxiliary cover


66


thereby allowing the switch wafer assembly


64


to be aligned with the auxiliary member


62


when the auxiliary cover


66


and hence the switch wafer assembly


64


are secured to the side plate


18


.




As described above, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


increases the switching capacity associated with the appliance timer


12


without the need for an additional switch block (i.e. without the need for two (2) switch blocks


22


) to be present in the appliance timer


12


. Such an increase in switching capacity may be useful for future appliance timer designs which may have increased switching demands. In addition, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


may be a retrofit to existing single block timer designs, such as the model M620 Delta Timer available from Mallory Controls. The use of the auxiliary switching assembly


26


as a retrofit provides an appliance timer with increased switching capacity relative to an existing single block timer, without the costs associated with a double block timer.




While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.




It should be appreciated that although the auxiliary switching assembly


26


is herein described as being used in conjunction with a single block timer, the auxiliary switching assembly may also be used in conjunction with other types of timers. For example, the auxiliary switching assembly


26


may be used to increase the switching capacity of a double block timer.



Claims
  • 1. A timer for controlling an appliance, comprising:a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein, said camstack further having (i) a blade support portion configured to define a hub space, and (ii) a hub having a central bore defined therein; a control shaft received within said central bore; a switch block that cooperates with said plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance; an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof, wherein rotation of said camstack causes rotation of said auxiliary member; and a plurality of auxiliary switch arms each having (i) a first terminal end spaced apart from said auxiliary member, and (ii) a second contact end that is positioned in contact with said side of said auxiliary member, wherein rotation of said auxiliary member causes a first pair of auxiliary switch arms of said plurality of auxiliary switch arms to be switched between (i) an electrically isolated state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically isolated from each other, and (ii) an electrically coupled state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically coupled to each other, wherein said hub includes a first hub portion that is located within said hub space and a second hub portion that is located outside of said hub space, and wherein said auxiliary member is secured to said second hub portion.
  • 2. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said camstack further has a hub wall that is located within said hub space, and said hub wall extends from said blade support portion.
  • 3. The timer of claim 1, wherein said hub possesses a substantially cylindrical shape.
  • 4. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said second hub portion has a first keying portion, said auxiliary member has a second keying member, and said first keying member cooperates with said second keying member so as to cause said auxiliary member to rotate dependently therewith.
  • 5. The timer of claim 4, wherein:said first keying member includes a slot, and said second keying member includes a tab configured to be received within said slot.
  • 6. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said auxiliary member includes a circuit board, said circuit pattern includes a copper foil supported by said circuit board, and said second contact end of each of said plurality of auxiliary switch arms contacts said copper foil during rotation of said auxiliary member.
  • 7. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said blade support portion supports a plurality of program blades thereon, and said plurality of program blades defines said plurality of cam surfaces.
  • 8. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said auxiliary member has a central aperture defined therein, and said hub extends through said central aperture.
  • 9. The timer of claim 1, wherein:said auxiliary member has an inner surface that defines said central aperture, and said inner surface is positioned in contact with an outer surface of said second hub portion.
  • 10. A timer for controlling an appliance, comprising:a camstack having a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein, said camstack further having (i) a blade support portion configured to define a hub space, and (ii) a hub which includes a first hub portion that is located within said hub space and a second hub portion that is located outside of said hub space, said hub defining a central bore; a control shaft received within said central bore; a switch block that cooperates with said plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance; an auxiliary member secured to said hub and having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof, wherein rotation of said camstack causes rotation of said auxiliary member; and a plurality of auxiliary switch arms each having (i) a first terminal end spaced apart from said auxiliary member, and (ii) a second contact end that is positioned in contact with said side of said auxiliary member, wherein rotation of said auxiliary member causes a first pair of auxiliary switch arms of said plurality of auxiliary switch arms to be switched between (i) an electrically isolated state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically isolated from each other, and (ii) an electrically coupled state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically coupled to each other.
  • 11. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said camstack further has a hub wall that is located within said hub space, and said hub wall extends from said blade support portion.
  • 12. The timer of claim 10, wherein said hub possesses a substantially cylindrical shape.
  • 13. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said second hub portion has a first keying portion, said auxiliary member has a second keying member, and said first keying member cooperates with said second keying member so as to cause said auxiliary member to rotate dependently therewith.
  • 14. The timer of claim 13, wherein:said first keying member includes a slot, and said second keying member includes a tab configured to be received within said slot.
  • 15. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said auxiliary member includes a circuit board, said circuit pattern includes a copper foil supported by said circuit board, and said second contact end of each of said plurality of auxiliary switch arms contacts said copper foil during rotation of said auxiliary member.
  • 16. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said blade support portion supports a plurality of program blades thereon, and said plurality of program blades defines said plurality of cam surfaces.
  • 17. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said auxiliary member has a central aperture defined therein, and said hub extends through said central aperture.
  • 18. The timer of claim 10, wherein:said auxiliary member has an inner surface that defines said central aperture, and said inner surface is positioned in contact with an outer surface of said hub during rotation of said auxiliary member.
  • 19. A timer for controlling an appliance, comprising:a camstack having (i) a plurality of cam surfaces defined therein, and (ii) a hub having a central bore defined therein; a control shaft received within said central bore; a switch block that cooperates with said plurality of cam surfaces to provide switching operations for the appliance; an auxiliary member having a circuit pattern positioned on a side thereof, wherein rotation of said camstack causes rotation of said auxiliary member; and a plurality of auxiliary switch arms each having (i) a first terminal end spaced apart from said auxiliary member, and (ii) a second contact end that is positioned in contact with said side of said auxiliary member, wherein rotation of said auxiliary member causes a first pair of auxiliary switch arms of said plurality of auxiliary switch arms to be switched between (i) an electrically isolated state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically isolated from each other, and (ii) an electrically coupled state in which said first pair of auxiliary switch arms are electrically coupled to each other, wherein said auxiliary member has a central aperture defined therein, wherein said hub extends through said central aperture, and wherein said auxiliary member is secured to said hub.
  • 20. The timer of claim 19, wherein:said auxiliary member has an inner surface that defines said central aperture, and said inner surface contacts an outer surface of said hub during rotation of said auxiliary member.
Parent Case Info

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/526,236, filed on Mar. 15, 2000, and now abandoned which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/949,157, filed on Oct. 10, 1997 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,011).

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Continuations (2)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/526236 Mar 2000 US
Child 09/955386 US
Parent 08/949157 Oct 1997 US
Child 09/526236 US