GB2178910A - An appliance supported in electrical contact with a support - Google Patents

Abstract

Appliance support apparatus 10 having a body 40 providing walls to locate an appliance 11 in a position in which terminal pins of the appliance engage in electrical connector sockets in the body; arranged to prevent the appliance being toppled from the body; and having means 30 to enable the body to be secured to a work-surface. The anti-topple device comprises an inverted-U-shaped support rail 16 (fig. 1) or upstanding walls (64, fig. 2, not shown). The pin connectors and socket connectors are located by the shape of bodywork in the vicinity of the connectors. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electrical appliances This invention concerns electrical appliances, appliance support apparatus and other forms of electrical apparatus.

There is disclosed in our co-pending Patent application No. 8600087, electrical apparatus, comprising an electrical appliance provided with at least live and neutral terminal pins; and appliance support apparatus comprising locating means engageable by the appliance to locate the appliance in a predetermined position; live and neutral sockets to receive the live and neutral terminal pins; electrical conductors in said sockets; and switch means, actuable by the appliance being placed in said predetermined position, to make an electrical connection to at least one of said electrical conductors; and characterised in that the appliance support apparatus further comprises a displaceable member which projects into said sockets and is movable against a bias to actuate said switch means.In the example shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 of that application the appliance is an iron and the support apparatus is a stand, which iron and stand have co-operating guide surfaces, which surfaces extend upwards to facilitate the appliance being lowered onto the stand in a correct orientation to align the pins with the sockets, and which surfaces serve as locating means to locate the appliance in a predetermined position on the stand. There is also shown in FIGURE 5 an upstanding member secured to the stand so as to be alongside a sole plate of the iron so as to prevent the iron being tipped or toppling sole plate foremost relative to the stand; and a clamping knob member for use in securing a bracket or like device for clamping the stand to, for example, an ironing board or table.

Such locating means and anti-tipping or antitoppling members are useful with other forms of appliance.

Accordingly, the present invention provides electrical apparatus comprising an appliance and support apparatus; the appliance having electrical connectors in a base thereof to engage electrical connectors in the support apparatus, when the appliance is supported upon the support apparatus in a predetermined position, for supplying electrical power to the appliance via the support apparatus; and wherein the apparatus is provided with locating means to locate the appliance in said predetermined position and to hinder the appliance being toppled from the support apparatus.

The locating means is particularly advantageous in preventing an appliance, such as a water heating vessel, being tilted accidently whilst upon the support apparatus, for preventing spillage of hot water.

The locating means preferably extends upwards for at least 20% of the overall height of the appliance.

The support apparatus is preferably adapted to be secured to an article or surface, e.g. by a clamp device, fasteners or adhesive pads; or may be ballasted to provide a stable support for the appliance.

The locating means is preferably arranged so that the appliance must be lifted from said position by at least five centimetres before the appliance can be moved sideways from the support apparatus.

The invention includes a vessel for heating liquids having any novel part or feature disclosed herein; a support apparatus having any novel part or feature disclosed herein.

The invention will be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:~ FIGURE 1 shows a first embodiment of electrical apparatus of the invention in vertical cross-section; FIGURE 2 shows a lower portion of a second embodiment of apparatus of the invention, in vertical cross-section; and FIGURE 3 shows said lower portion, in plan.

In all embodiments the electrical apparatus comprises support apparatus 10 and an appliance 11. The apparatus 10 is provided with locating means, which locating means serves to guide the appliance as it is lowered to engage pins of plug connector 20 of the appliance 11 in electrical connector sockets (not shown) of a power supply switch provided below a raised and apertured central part 115 of the support apparatus, and serves to restrain the appliance against being toppled from the support apparatus. The apparatus 10 is further provided with holding means 30 to hold the apparatus upon a surface of an article such as worktop or table.

In the first embodiment, the appliance 11 is an iron having a sole plate 132 in which the mass of the iron is concentrated so that when the iron is in a predetermined position upon the support apparatus, as shown in FIGURE 1, the iron tends always to topple with the sole plate foremost so that an anti-topple part of the locating means can be confined to in front of the sole plate 12. The antitopple part is provided by an inverted-U-shaped metal rail 16 upstanding from a main moulded plastics body 15 of the support apparatus. The locating means further includes upstanding walls of the body 15 which provide guide surfaces 13 to engage co-operating surfaces 14 of the iron.

FIGURE 1 also shows various parts 103, 105, 120, 133, 140 and 141 of the power supply switch which is described in detail in our aforesaid co-pending application, and which is arranged to be actuated by said pins (including an earth pin 23) being inserted into the sockets so as to be held in an "on" condition by the presence of the appliance in said position on the support apparatus.

The holding means 30 comprises a clamp screw 34 having a knob 31 which provides adjustable clamping for a bracket 32 engageable below a worktop 33, such as an ironing board, to clamp the support apparatus down upon the upper surface of the worktop 33.

In the second embodiment, the appliance is a water boiling jug having a hollow moulded plastics body 40, an internal bottom 43 of which has a raised central portion 41 to provide an annular trough 42 around the central portion 41 and a downwardly open recess 44 below the central portion 41.

An immersion heater 45 is secured to and extends through the portion 41 so that a heating portion 46 of the heater is suspended in the trough above a metal heat shield 47 clamped in place by a head 48 of the heater. In the head is a switch which responds, to switch off the heater, upon overheating of the head 48 and upon a switch or control lever 49 being moved from the position shown to push a projecting switch actuating member 50 upwards.

The switch is incorporated in the plug connector 20 from which the pins project downwards, through a base member 51 of the jug, into the sockets provided by the power supply switch in a raised central portion 60 of a moulded plastics body 61 of the apparatus 10.

The locating means comprises an upstanding peripheral wall 62 of the body 61, which wall 62 may be interrupted at 63 to expose a water level indicator 52 set in the side of the jug 11, and which provides an internal guide surface 64 which co-operates with lower portions of a peripheral surface 53 of the jug.

The body 61 also provides an internal floor 65 on which rest base portions 54 of the jug. The vertical extent of the surface 64 is sufficient to prevent the jug being toppled from the body 61, e.g. it extends upwards for about 6 cm to co-operate with about 25% of the vertical extent of the surface 53.

However, if required, the locating means may comprise supplementary locating means in the form of one or more upstanding devices secured to the body 61 to engage the jug a few centimetres, e.g. up to ten centimetres, above the wall 62 in the event of the jug being tilted by more than a few degrees, e.g.

5% relative to the body 61. One, of a pair of such devices arranged to extend around more than 50% of the periphery of the jug, is indicated in broken lines in FIGURES 2 and 3 and is provided by an inverted U-shaped metal bar device 66, which can be held to the body by fasteners (not shown), inserted through apertures 67 of the holding means 30, to secure the support apparatus to a surface of an article such asashelforworktop.

The invention is not confined to details of the foregoing examples, and many variations are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the power supply switch may be of any suitable form, or may be omitted to leave only an electrical connector device in the support apparatus.

The appliance may be of other forms, e.g. a coffee maker, cooking utensil, warming dish, kettle, mixer, blender, grinder, incubator or like laboratory, household or kitchen appliance, particularly an appliance which may be utilised in a particular location to perform a power consuming operation and which is taken thereafter to another location to be used or for the contents therein to be extracted, used, examined or consumed.

Claims (8)

1. Electrical apparatus comprising an appliance and support apparatus the appliance having electrical connectors in a base thereof to engage electrical connectors in the support apparatus when the appliance is supported upon the support apparatus in a predetermined position, for supplying electrical power to the appliance via the support apparatus; and wherein the support apparatus is provided with locating means to locate the appliance in said predetermined position and to hinder the appliance being toppled from the support apparatus.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the locating means extends upwards for at least 20% of the overall height of the appliance.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the support apparatus is adapted to be secured to an article or surface by a clamp device, fasteners or adhesive pads.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the locating means is arranged so that the appliance must be lifted from said position by at least five centimetres before the appliance can be moved sideways from the support apparatus.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the appliance is a vessel for heating liquids.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support apparatus comprises a stand having a moulded body; wherein said body and the appliance provide cooperating guide surfaces, which surfaces extend upwards for locating the appliance in said position and are arranged to guide the appliance as it is lowered to or lifted from said position.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the support apparatus includes a locating or anti-topple member secured to said body.

8. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.