Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6295410
-
Patent Number
6,295,410
-
Date Filed
Monday, February 7, 200025 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 25, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Wood, Herron & Evans, L.L.P.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 392 381
- 392 380
- 392 370
- 034 563
- 034 564
- 034 90
- 034 202
- 219 492
- 219 493
- 219 507
- 219 509
- 200 38 R
- 200 38 A
- 200 38 F
- 200 38 FA
- 200 38 FB
- 200 38 B
- 200 38 BA
- 200 38 C
- 200 38 CA
- 200 38 E
- 200 39 R
- 200 39 A
-
International Classifications
- F26B2304
- F24H300
- H01H4300
-
Abstract
A hand dryer timer having a switch in electrical communication with, and controlling the operation of a heater, a fan motor and a timer motor which are electrically connected to two nonneutral lines of a power source. A cam is mounted on a drive shaft of the timer motor such that the cam rotates with the drive shaft and also slides longitudinally over the drive shaft. The cam has a cam lobe adjacent an actuating arm of the switch. A biasing element is located between the timer motor and the cam and biases the cam to a first position aligning the cam lobe with the actuating arm of the switch. The switch includes two sets of switch contacts in a power circuit for the heater and fan motor, so that at the end of a drying cycle, the two sets of switch contacts are effective to electrically isolate the heater and fan motor from both non-neutral lines of the power source.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of appliance controls and, more particularly, to an improved pushbutton hand dryer timer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Timing mechanisms have been utilized for decades in the control of many different appliances. The present invention relates generally to electric dryers, and more particularly to a pushbutton hand dryer of the type commonly found in public rest rooms. With such a hand dryer, a user pushes a button or knob to start a drying cycle. During the drying cycle, a timing motor, a heater and a fan are turned on; and at the end of a drying cycle, as determined by the timing motor, the timing motor, heater and fan are automatically turned off. Such dryers must be simple, rugged and durable in construction and operate with great reliability over a long service life. To achieve such features, the hand dryer should have the fewest possible parts that operate in the simplest possible way.
As shown in
FIG. 6
, with known timer circuits, the heater H and fan motor FM are connected to the two non-neutral lines L
1
, L
2
of a 220 volt (“V”) source by a single switch S
1
. When the switch S
1
is open, one side of each of the heater H and fan motor FM is disconnected from one of the non-neutral lines L
1
; however, the other side of each of the heater H and fan motor FM remain connected to the other of the non-neutral lines L
2
. Therefore, any inadvertent electrical contact of the one side of the heater and/or fan motor to a ground, for example, the metal dryer housing or base etc., will result in 120 being applied thereto. Thus, the heater H and/or fan motor FM will be operated at half power. Such an inadvertent electrical contact with ground can result from a frayed, nicked or broken wire or other conductor accidently contacting a neutral or ground potential.
Therefore, there is a need to better isolate the heater and fan motor from the non-neutral wires of a power source.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved pushbutton hand dryer that reduces the probability of any inadvertent or uncommanded operation of the heater and fan motor. The improved pushbutton hand dryer reduces the chances that a frayed, nicked or broken wire or other electrical malfunction will result in the heater or fan motor operating at a reduced voltage. More specifically, the improved pushbutton hand dryer of the present invention provides an improved electrical isolation between the heater and fan motor and the non-neutral lines of a power source. Therefore, present invention has the advantage of providing a pushbutton hand dryer that operates more reliably with a longer service life.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention and in accordance with the described embodiments, the present invention provides a hand dryer operable with first and second nonneutral power wires having a voltage potential therebetween. The hand dryer includes a heater, fan motor and timer motor all rated to operate at the voltage potential. A first switch is operated by the timer motor and has a first side electrically connected to the heater and fan motor and an opposite side electrically connected to the timer motor and the first nonneutral power wire. A second switch is operated by the timer motor and has a first side electrically connected to the heater and the fan and timer motors and an opposite side electrically connected to the second nonneutral power wire.
In one aspect of the invention, the first switch includes first switch contacts that connect and disconnect the heater and fan motor respectively to and from the first nonneutral power wire, and the second switch includes switch contacts that connect and disconnect the heater and fan and timer motors respectively to and from the second nonneutral power wire. Thus, with two switches, the isolation of the heater and fan motor from the nonneutral wires is improved over hand dryers using only a single switch.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the first switch has an actuating arm switching a state of first electrical contacts at a consistent repeatable first time in response to operation of the timer motor, and the second switch has an actuating arm switching a state of second electrical contacts at a consistent repeatable second time in response to operation of the timer motor.
In one aspect of this further embodiment, the actuating arms are mechanically connected such that motion of the actuating arms causes the first switch to switch prior to the switching of the second switch. Therefore, the heater and fan motor will always be disconnected from the power source prior to disconnecting the timer motor, and both switches will always operate.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of operating a hand dryer in which a timer motor has a cam lobe initially engaged with an actuating arm of the first and second switches, thereby causing switch contacts to electrically disconnect the heater, fan motor and timer motor from the power source. The cam lobe is then disengaged from the actuating arm, thereby causing the first and second switches to electrically connect the heater, the fan motor and the timer motor to first and second nonneutral wires of the power source. Thereafter the timer motor moves the cam lobe into engagement with the actuating arm to operate the first switch and electrically disconnect the heater and fan motor from the first nonneutral wire. After that, the timer motor continues to move the cam lobe and actuating arm, thereby operating the second switch to electrically disconnect the timer motor, heater and fan motor from the second nonneutral wire.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description together with the drawings herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a side elevation view of the timer assembly in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a front elevation view of the timer assembly taken along line
2
—
2
of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a cross-sectional view taken generally along line
3
—
3
of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 4
is an end view of the microswitch illustrating the operation of the two switch modules.
FIG. 5
is a schematic circuit diagram of a pushbutton hand timer circuit in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
FIG. 6
is a schematic circuit diagram of a known pushbutton hand timer circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a timer assembly
20
includes a bracket
21
(
FIG. 2
) that includes a mounting or support plate
22
. The mounting bracket
21
is attached in a known manner within a pushbutton hand dryer
24
. A timing motor
26
of a known construction is mounted to the inner side
28
of the support plate
22
by means of threaded fasteners
30
. The fasteners
30
may be threaded into the plate
22
or pass through the plate
22
and secured by nuts (not shown). To maintain the timer motor
26
at a desired distance from the inner side
28
of the support plate
22
, the threaded fasteners
30
pass through tubular sleeves
32
of equal length. The motor
26
has an output or drive shaft
34
that preferably has a noncircular cross-sectional profile as shown in FIG.
2
.
A cam
36
includes a central longitudinal bore
38
having a noncircular cross-sectional profile similar to that of the output shaft
34
, so that the cam
36
can be slidably mounted on the output shaft
34
. Thus, any rotation of the output shaft
34
is transmitted directly to the cam
36
; however, the cam
36
can slide longitudinally along the output shaft
34
. The cam
36
has a main body portion
40
that is cylindrical in shape and extends through a clearance hole
42
(
FIG. 2
) in the mounting plate
22
. The clearance hole
42
includes diametrically opposed slots
43
that permit cam lobes
48
to pass through the support plate
22
. A flange
44
is mounted at an inner end
45
of the cam
36
and is larger than the clearance hole
42
, thereby restraining the inner end
45
of the cam
36
from fully passing through the clearance hole
42
. The flange
44
is pushed or biased against an inner surface
28
of the mounting plate
22
by biasing element, for example, a compression spring
46
thereby defining a first or outermost position of the cam
36
. In that outermost position, diametrically opposed cam lobes
48
on the cam
36
are aligned to contact or engage an actuating arm
50
of a first microswitch
52
. The microswitch
52
is mounted to the outer side
54
of the mounting plate
22
.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, the body portion
40
of the cam
36
includes peripheral tubular wall
56
that is connected by means of ribs
58
with a central tubular member
60
that includes the central longitudinal bore
38
. The interconnecting ribs
58
extend from an outer end
62
(
FIG. 1
) of the cam
36
longitudinally through the cam
36
to approximately the location of the cam lobes
48
. An annular opening
64
is formed within the cam
36
between the cylindrical inner surface of the peripheral wall
56
and the cylindrical inner surface of the inner tubular member
60
. The compression spring
46
is normally sized to be received within the annular opening
64
within the cam
36
. A top wall
65
located at the outer end
62
of the cam
36
covers the annular opening
64
.
The cam lobes
48
are generally L-shaped, and each lobe
48
has a lower leg or wall member
70
that is in a plane generally perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline
72
of the cam
36
and generally parallel to the plate
22
. The wall members
70
strengthen the respective cam lobes
48
. Further, each of the L-shaped cam lobes
48
has a side wall
74
extending substantially perpendicularly along a forward edge of the bottom wall
70
toward the outer end
62
of the cam
36
. Thus, the side wall
74
is generally perpendicular to the mounting plate
22
. As viewed from the outer end
62
of the cam
36
, the side wall
74
is curved and has a nonlinear cross-sectional profile in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline
72
of the cam
36
and generally parallel to the mounting plate
22
. The side wall
74
of each cam lobe
48
is formed by an inner side wall section
78
and an outer side wall section
76
. The inner side wall
78
preferably forms an included angle of approximately 21° with a line
77
bisecting the cam lobes
48
in a plane parallel to the plate
22
. The outer side wall
76
preferably forms an included angle of approximately 23° with the line
77
bisecting the cam lobes
48
in a plane parallel to the plate
22
. Further, a straight line passing through the distal end
80
of the outer side wall section
76
and the point at which the inner side wall section
78
joins the body portion
40
of the cam
36
does not pass through the centerline
72
of the cam
36
.
Referring to
FIGS. 2 and 4
, the microswitch
52
is comprised of a first switch module
81
and a second switch module
83
. The first switch module
81
has an actuating arm
50
that extends over a switch actuating button
87
. The switch module contacts
110
(
FIG. 5
) change state in response to the actuating arm
50
depressing the button
87
. The actuating arm
50
has a second actuating arm or paddle
85
rigidly connected to outer directed side
51
of the actuating arm
50
and is thus offset slightly from the arm
50
. The second arm
85
extends over a switch actuating button
89
for the second switch module
83
. Thus, motion of the actuating arm
50
and the paddle
85
depresses the button
89
causing the contacts
112
of the second switch module
83
to change state. It should be noted that the second arm
85
is rigidly attached to an outer side
51
the arm
50
, and hence, the arm
50
contacts the button
87
prior to the arm portion
85
contacting the button
89
. Therefore, as the actuating arm
50
and arm portion
85
are moved, the button
87
is consistently pushed prior to the button
89
; and the contacts
110
consistently change state prior to the contacts
112
changing state.
Referring to
FIG. 4
, the switch module
81
includes normally closed contacts
110
, and switch module
83
includes normally closed contacts
112
. One side
114
of the normally closed contacts
110
is connected to a first side or a first power connection of each of the fan motor
86
and heater
88
. The opposite side
116
of the contacts
110
is connected to one side or a first power connection of the timer motor
26
and the non-neutral line L
2
. The other non-neutral line L
1
is connected to one side
118
of the contacts
112
, and the other side
120
of the contacts
112
is connected to the other side or second power connection of each of the timer motor
26
, the fan motor
86
, and the heater
88
.
In use, in its quiescent or nonoperating state, referring to
FIG. 2
, the distal end
80
of an outer wall section
76
of one of the cam lobes
48
is in contact with a distal end
82
of the actuator arm
50
of the microswitch
52
. Further, the distal end
80
of the cam lobe
48
is applying sufficient pressure on the actuator arm
50
so as to actuate the switch modules
81
,
83
and hold the normally closed contacts
110
,
112
of
FIG. 4
in their open state. With the contacts
110
,
112
open, power cannot be applied to the timer motor
26
, fan motor
86
and heater
88
; and the timer motor
26
, fan motor
86
and heater
88
remain off. To operate the hand dryer
24
, a user depresses or pushes the knob or pushbutton
90
(
FIG. 1
) of the hand dryer
24
. The inner end
92
of the knob
90
contacts the outer end
62
of the cam
36
and moves the cam
36
to the left, as viewed in
FIG. 1
, over the shaft
34
of the timer motor
26
to a second position illustrated in phantom. As the cam
36
is moved along the output shaft
34
toward its second position, the cam lobe
48
disengages and loses contact with the actuator arm
50
of the switch
52
. After losing contact with the cam lobe
48
, the actuating arm
50
and its paddle
85
are then free to pivot to a second position illustrated in phantom in FIG.
2
. Upon the user releasing the pushbutton
90
, the cam
36
is returned by the biasing spring
34
to its original, first position as illustrated in FIG.
1
. Normally, the pushbutton
90
is mounted in the hand dryer
24
with its own return spring. Referring to
FIG. 2
, the unique shape of the side wall
74
of the cam lobe
48
reduces the potential for, and preferably eliminates interference between the cam lobe
48
and the actuator arm
50
as the cam
36
returns to its original position.
After the cam
36
loses contact with and releases the actuator arm
50
, the actuator arm
50
and its paddle
85
pivot to the position shown in phantom in
FIG. 2
, thereby changing the state of the switch modules
81
,
83
, and referring to
FIG. 4
, closing the normally closed contacts
110
,
112
. Closing the contacts
110
,
112
initiates a drying cycle by applying power to the timer motor
26
, the fan motor
86
and the heater
88
, thereby turning those devices on. Turning the timer motor
26
on causes the output shaft
34
and cam
36
to rotate in a clockwise direction as illustrated in FIG.
2
. The timer motor
26
, fan motor
86
and heater
88
continue to operate until rotation of the timer motor
26
causes the distal end
80
of a cam lobe
48
to again contact and depress, or move, the actuating arm
50
of the microswitch
52
.
With the present invention, the actuating button
87
of the switch module
81
is mechanically connected to the contacts
110
, and the actuating button
89
is mechanically connected to the contacts
112
. The relative positions of the arms
50
,
85
cause the actuating arm
50
to predictably and repeatably initially depress button
87
and first pickup, that is, open, the normally-closed contacts
110
. Opening the contacts
110
electrically disconnects one side of the fan motor
86
and heater
88
from one of the non-neutral leads L
2
of the power source. However, the timer motor
26
continues to run until the actuating arm portion
85
depresses the button
89
causing the normally-closed contacts
112
to consistently and predictably open after the opening of the contacts
110
. Opening the contacts
112
electrically disconnects the timing motor
26
, fan motor
86
and heater from the other non-neutral lead L
1
of the power source. Thus, the switch
52
is effective to electrically disconnect the fan motor
86
and heater
88
from both non-neutral leads L
1
and L
2
of the power source.
The output shaft
34
of the timer motor
26
rotates at an angular velocity such that a drying cycle of a desired duration is achieved during one-half of a full rotation of the output shaft
34
. Thus, the cam
36
contains two diametrically opposed cam lobes
48
and provides two full drying cycles for each rotation of the output shaft
34
and the cam
36
. As will be appreciated, the number of cam lobes
48
on the cam
36
may be changed to conform to different angular velocities of the output shaft
34
and different desired time periods for the drying cycle.
The hand dryer timer described with respect to
FIGS. 1-4
provides a substantial improvement over prior timer assembly designs. First, the timing motor circuit completely isolates the fan motor and heater from the non-neutral leads of the power source. Hence, in the event that the circuit through some failure becomes inadvertently connected to a neutral or grounded component, for example, the frame
21
or the metal housing
24
, no voltage will be applied to the fan motor
86
or heater
88
. Thus, the probability that the fan motor
86
or heater
88
will inadvertently be turned on is remote.
While the invention has been set forth by a description of the one embodiment in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those who are skilled in the art. For example, in the described embodiment, the main body
40
of the cam
36
is cylindrical and the cam lobes
48
extend radially therefrom; however, as will be appreciated, the cam
36
can have other shapes such as a multilateral shapes or even noncircular shapes in which the cam lobes
48
are mostly or fully integrated within the main body
40
of the cam
36
. As will be appreciated, the successful operation of the present invention is independent of the lower wall
70
on the cam lobes
48
, and therefore, the low wall
70
may be eliminated. The cam
36
is preferably injection molded from a glass reinforced
66
nylon material commercially available as “ZYTEL” 70G 33L nylon material from Du Pont Corporation. However, the cam
36
may be made from other materials consistent with the desired performance specifications. Further, while the cam
36
is preferably molded of a plastic material as shown herein, the cam
36
may have many other configurations, for example, a solid part, and may be made of other materials such as metal, ceramic, a fiber composition, etc.
As described herein, the noncircular cross-sectional profiles of the shaft
34
and bore
38
are multilateral, for example, square, triangular, hexagonal, etc. Alternatively, the noncircular cross-sectional profiles of the output shaft
34
and bore
38
may be elliptical, star-shaped, splined, etc. Further, as shown, the cross-sectional profile of the output shaft
34
and bore
38
are noncircular. Those cross-sectional profiles may be circular but interconnected such that the cam
36
rotates with the shaft
34
and is able to slide longitudinally with respect to the shaft
34
. Such mechanical interconnections are well known and include, for example, a slot and key or simply a diametric pin extending through the cam and a longitudinal slot in the output shaft
34
.
In the described embodiment, the cam
36
is slidably mounted directly on the drive shaft
34
of the timer motor
26
. However, as will be appreciated, the drive shaft
34
can be a spline or similar shaft, and the cam
36
slidably and rotationally mounted independent of the drive shaft
34
. The flange
44
of the cam
36
can also be formed with peripheral gear teeth that mesh with the spline or an intervening gear. Thus, the cam
36
can be mounted independent of the drive shaft
34
but be driven rotationally by the drive shaft spline and also slide longitudinally to operate identically to the cam assembly described herein.
In the described embodiment, the compression spring
46
extends into an annular opening
64
within the cam
36
. Alternatively, the compression spring
46
may be sized such that it does not fit within the annular opening
64
. In that embodiment, the inner end of the cam
36
may be molded with a protruding boss on which the spring
46
may be located.
Further, the timer assembly herein is part of a pushbutton hand dryer timer; however, as will be appreciated, hand dryers as used herein often have an adjustable output duct allowing the drying air to be directed to areas other than the hands, for example, the face and hair. The dryer timer assembly of the present invention is applicable to any “hand dryer” type of dryer which is manually turned on and automatically turns off, thereby operating in an identical or similar fashion to the hand dryer described herein.
As earlier described, the contacts
110
should consistently and predictably open before the contacts
112
. While the use of an offset actuating arm paddle
85
is one way of providing that capability, any other switch or mechanism for operating the switch that achieves the same result is consistent with the claimed invention. Further, if it is possible to provide a switch
52
in which the contacts
110
and
112
consistently and predictably open simultaneously, such a switch may be used in place of the switch described herein to practice the claimed invention. In addition, as will be appreciated, while the motors are connected to the 220 volts source, the motors may be rated at 120 volts and operated with a dropping resistor or other voltage dropping device.
Therefore, the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited to the specific detail shown and described. Consequently, departures may be made from the details described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims which follow.
Claims
- 1. A hand dryer operable with first and second nonneutral power wires having a voltage potential therebetween, the hand dryer comprising:a heater operatively connected to the voltage potential; a fan motor operatively connected to the voltage potential; a timer motor operatively connected to the voltage potential; a first switch operated by the timer motor having a first side electrically connected to the heater and fan motor and an opposite side electrically connected to the timer motor and the first nonneutral power wire; and a second switch operated by the timer motor and having a first side electrically connected to the heater and the fan and timer motor and an opposite side electrically connected to the second nonneutral power wire.
- 2. A hand dryer of claim 1 wherein the first switch comprises first switch contacts having a first state connecting the heater and fan motor to the first nonneutral power wire and a second state disconnecting the heater and fan motor from the first nonneutral power wire.
- 3. A hand dryer of claim 1 wherein the second switch comprises second switch contacts having a first state connecting the heater and fan and timer motor to the second nonneutral power wire and a second state disconnecting the heater and fan and timer motor from the second nonneutral power wire.
- 4. A hand dryer of claim 1 wherein the voltage potential is approximately 240 volts.
- 5. A hand dryer operable with first and second nonneutral power wires having a voltage potential therebetween, the hand dryer comprising:a heater operatively connected to the voltage potential and having first and second power connections; a fan motor operatively connected to the voltage potential and having first and second power connections; a timer motor having a cam and operatively connected to the voltage potential, the timer motor having first and second power connections; a first switch having a first contact in electrical communication with the first power connections of the heater and the fan motor and a second contact in electrical communication with the first power connection of the timer motor and the first nonneutral power wire, the first switch being mechanically operated by the timer motor and having a first state placing the first and second contacts of the first switch in electrical communication in response to operation of the hand dryer being initiated, and the first switch having a second state interrupting the electrical communication between the first and second contacts of the first switch in response to the cam on the timer motor actuating the first switch; and a second switch having a first contact in electrical communication with the second power connections of the heater and the fan and timer motors and a second contact in electrical communication with the second nonneutral power wire, the second switch being mechanically operated by the timer motor and having a first state placing the first and second contacts of the second switch in electrical communication in response to operation of the hand dryer being initiated, and the second switch having a second state interrupting the electrical communication between the first and second contacts of the second switch in response to continued operation of the timer motor after the cam actuates the first switch, the operation of the heater and timer and fan motors being started in response to the first and second switches being in the first state, the operation of the heater and fan motor being terminated in response to the first switch being in the second state and the second switch being in the first state, and the operation of the timer motor being terminated in response to the first and second switches being in the second state.
- 6. A hand dryer of claim 5 wherein the first and second contacts of the first switch is a pair of normally-closed contacts.
- 7. A hand dryer of claim 5 wherein the first and second contacts of the second switch is a pair of normally-closed contacts.
- 8. A hand dryer of claim 5 wherein the voltage potential is approximately 240 volts.
- 9. A hand dryer operable with first and second nonneutral power wires having a voltage potential therebetween, the hand dryer comprising:a heater electrically connected to the nonneutral power wires and rated to operate at approximately the voltage potential; a fan motor electrically connected to the nonneutral power wires and rated to operate at approximately the voltage potential; a timer motor electrically connected to the nonneutral power wires and rated to operate at approximately the voltage potential; a first switch mechanically operated by the timer motor and electrically connected between one of the nonneutral power wires and the heater and fan motor, the first switch having a first actuating arm switching a state of first electrical contacts at a consistent repeatable first time in response to operation of the timer motor; and a second switch mechanically operated by the timer motor and electrically connected between one of the nonneutral power wires and the fan motor, the second switch having a second actuating arm switching a state of second electrical contacts at a consistent repeatable second time in response to operation of the timer motor.
- 10. A hand dryer of claim 9 wherein the second actuating arm is connected to the first actuating arm.
- 11. A hand dryer of claim 10 wherein the second actuating arm switches the state of the second electrical contacts at a consistent repeatable second time in response to motion of the first actuating arm.
- 12. A hand dryer of claim 11 wherein the first and second actuating arms are mechanically connected such that motion of the actuating arm causes the first switch to switch at the first time prior to the second switch switching at the second time.
- 13. A method of operating a hand dryer comprising:providing a timer motor having a drive shaft with a cam lobe mounted thereon, the cam lobe being initially engaged with an actuating arm of first and second switches having contacts electrically disconnecting a heater, fan motor and timer motor from a power source; disengaging the cam lobe from the actuating arm, thereby causing the first and second switches to electrically connect the heater, the fan motor and the timer motor to first and second nonneutral wires of the power source; thereafter engaging and moving the actuating arm with the cam lobe to operate the first switch and electrically disconnect the heater and fan motor from the first nonneutral wire; and thereafter continuing to move the actuating arm with the cam lobe to operate the second switch and electrically disconnect the timer motor, heater and fan motor from the second nonneutral wire.
- 14. A method of operating a hand dryer comprising:providing a timer motor with a drive shaft having a cam lobe in contact with an actuating arm of first and second switches, the switches having contacts electrically disconnecting a heater, fan motor and the timer motor from a power source; moving the cam lobe out of engagement with the actuating arm, thereby permitting the actuating arm to move to a position operating the switches and connecting the heater, the fan motor and the timer motor to two nonneutral wires of the power source; moving the cam lobe into alignment with the cam lobe being rotated by the timer motor; and rotating the cam lobe into contact with the actuating arm, thereby operating the first switch to disconnect the heater and the fan motor from the first nonneutral wire and thereafter operating the second switch to disconnect the heater, the fan motor and the timer motor from the second nonneutral wire.
- 15. A method of operating a hand dryer comprising:providing a timer motor having a drive shaft with a cam slidably mounted thereon, the cam placing a cam lobe in contact with an actuating arm of first and second switches having contacts electrically disconnecting a heater, fan motor and the timer motor from a power source; moving the cam in a first direction to disengage the cam lobe from the actuating arm, thereby permitting the actuating arm to move to a position causing the first and second switches to electrically connect the heater, fan motor and timer motor to first and second nonneutral wires of the power source; moving the cam in an opposite direction to align the cam lobe with the actuating arm of the switches; rotating the cam lobe with the timer motor into contact with the actuating arm; moving the actuating arm with the cam lobe to operate the first switch and electrically disconnect the heater and fan motor from the first nonneutral wire; and continuing to move the actuating arm with the cam lobe to operate the second switch and electrically disconnect the timer motor, heater and fan motor from the second nonneutral wire.
US Referenced Citations (14)