GB2130059A

GB2130059A - Slipping connector assembly for microwave oven

Info

Publication number: GB2130059A
Application number: GB08327539A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yuzi Ando
Original assignee: Sharp Corp
Current assignee: Sharp Corp
Priority date: 1982-10-15
Filing date: 1983-10-14
Publication date: 1984-05-23
Also published as: CA1216037A; AU550385B2; GB8327539D0; DE3337140A1; GB2130059B; DE3337140C2; AU2018283A; JPS5960410U

Abstract

Disclosed is a slipping connector assembly built in a microwave oven. In a slipping connector assembly connected to the output terminals of a temperature sensing probe that detects temperature of food being cooked on a turntable of a microwave oven, this slipping connector assembly is provided with movable contacts 6a, 7a that are connected to the output terminals 6b, 7b and stationary contacts 12a that come into contact with the movable contacts 6a, 7a, while the contact parts between the movable and stationary contacts are completely shielded by a shielding case 9. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Slipping connector assembly for application to microwave oven Background of the invention The present invention relates to a microwave oven, more particularly, to a slipping connector installed to the oven ceiling that supports the food temperature sensing probe of a microwave oven incorporating a turntable.

To uniformly heat food, there is an apparatus called "meet probe microwave oven", which uses a turntable in the cooking chamber and detects temperature of food during cooking via a temperature sensing probe in contact with food so that the heating can be controlled in responding to the temperature detected.

Such a microwave oven makes the temperature sensing probe in contact with food to rotate together with the turntable, while the output terminal of said temperature sensing probe is connected to the slipping connector that is secured to the ceiling of the microwave oven, and as a result, food temperature is detected during cooking by the electrically connected slipping connector and control circuit of the microwave oven unit.

However, in the conventional slipping connectors, for example, in the preceding art such as the one disclosed by the U.S. Patent 4,149,056 "Microwave Oven with Food Temperature Means", the contact part between the mobile and stationary contacts of the slipping connector has been exposed to peripheral atmosphere containing oil and impurities inside the microwave oven, and so if the microwave oven was used for a long time, contacts of both the mobile and stationary contact devices were obliged to be stained by oil and impurities arose from food being cooked. In other words, contact resistance between the mobile and stationary contacts eventually increased after the temperature sensing probe was used for a long time, thus causing the contacts to malfunction and so the food temperature could not be detected at all during cooking.

Object and summary of the invention In the light of such a disadvantage described above, the present invention thus provides a slipping connector that inhibits the contact resistance to grow at all even after using the temperature sensing probe for a long time. In summary, the present invention provides an airtight case that completely shields the contact parts of the mobile and stationary contacts in the microwave oven so that the contact parts can be completely shielded from atmosphere stained by oil and impurities in the cooking chamber by effectively inhibiting the contact resistance to increase even after using the microwave oven for a long period of time.

As described above, the slipping connector of a microwave oven as a preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an air-tight case that completely shields the contact part between the mobile and stationary contacts. As a result, the contact part is perfectly shielded from the atmosphere inside the cooking chamber of a microwave oven containing oily fume and impurities, thus enabling the entire detect mechanism to correctly and stably detect food temperature in the cooking chamber even after the microwave oven is used for a long period of time.

Brief description of the drawings The present invention will become better understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: Fig. 1 is a plane view of a slipping connector as a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view between positions A-A of a slipping connector shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a slipping connector as another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention Figures 1 and 2 respectively show a plane and an A-A sectional view of a slipping connector as a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

A cylindrical relay jack 3 that has a cylindrical lid 2 which is provided with concentric holes, is coupled to a cylindrical choke unit 1 from the upright position, while said cylindrical relay jack 3 incorporating a flange-type mobile contact at one end is supported by the bearing 5 set in the circumference of the hole of sleeve 4 which is in the inner wall of a lower part of the choke unit 1, and also by the lid 2.

A mobile contact 6a and the other mobile contact 7a are respectively installed concentrically to the upper position of said relay jack 3 via an insulator 8. Contact surface of a mobile contact 6a is on the surface which is in the level identical to the contact surface of the other mobile contact 7a that is tightly inserted in the inner surface of said relay jack 3 via the cylindrical insulator 8.

The lower parts of said mobile contacts 6a and 7a are respectively provided with terminals 6b and 7b that are in contact with the output terminals of the temperature sensing probe (not illustrated). A stationary contact base 9 that secures both the stationary contact components 11 and 12 makes up an air-tight case which tightly shields the contact part between said mobile contacts 6a and 7a, while said stationary contact base 9 is secured to the microwave oven (not illustrated) by two pieces of screw 1 0.

Stationary contact components 11 and 12 are respectively made of phosphorated bronze plates each being provided wiht conductivity and an optimum elasticity, which are secure to the stationary contact base 9 by holdfast units 1 3 via holes 9a and 9b. Said stationary contact base 9 provides holes 9a and 9b, through which said stationary contact components 11 and 12 respectively pass. To perfectly ensure the shielded effect at these holes, said stationary contact base 9 is made of an insulation material containing an expansion rate identical to that of the phosphrated bronze plates.

Said stationary contact components 11 and 12 are of the identical structure, where the contact parts of these respectively come into contact with the mobile contacts 6a and 7a. For example, said stationary contact parts 12 is composed of socalled carbon brush having its stationary contact 12-a in contact with the mobile contact 7a which is composed of annealed carbon lump. A spring 1 2b that presses the mobile contact 7a for a contact operation is provided in a position near the center of said stationary contact component 12. A terminal 1 2c which is connected to the control circuit of the microwave oven (not illustrated) is extended from a stationary contact component 11 has the structure identical to said stationary contact component 12.Stationary contact 1 2a of said stationary contact component 12 is in a position near the center of the sliding part of a circular plane of the mobile contact 7a, while the stationary contact (not illustrated) is also in a position near the center of the mobile contact 6a.

In the structure described above, when the temperature sensing probe (not illustrated) which is connected to said relay jack 3 rotates, said relay jack 3 also rotates, causing the stationary contacts of said stationary contact components 11 and 12 to respectively move on the mobile contacts 6a and 7a. As a result, electric signals from the temperature sensing probe are transmitted to terminals 11 c and 12e via the contact point of said mobile contacts 6a and 7a and the stationary contacts 11 a and 12a.

In the structure of a slipping connector thus described, the contact parts between the mobile and stationary contacts are completely shielded by said lid 2 and the stationary contact base 9 which concurrently makes up an air-tight shield case, thus permitting the contact parts to be completely shielded from the oily and stained atmosphere inside the cooking chamber of the microwave oven.

Consequently, contact parts between the mobile and stationary contacts are perfectly prevented from being exposed to even the slightest amount of oil and impurites arising from the food being cooked in the chamber. This permits the contact parts to constantly remain in a satisfactory conductivity without causing the contact resistance to increase.

Figure 3 shows another preferred embodiment of the presnt invention, in which, an air-tight shield case 9' which is concurrently with the stationary contact base is composed of a molded plastic product, which permits the contact parts between the mobile and stationary contacts to be completed shielded.

Structures of the preferred embodiments have been thus described, in which each two pairs of the mobile and stationary contacts are respectively provided. However, the present invention is not intended to limit the number of said contacts, but the slipping connector embodied by the present invention may provide more than two pairs of the mobile and stationary contacts.

Claims

1. A slipping connector assembly of a microwave oven comprising: mobile contacts connected to output terminals of a temperature sensing probe that comes into contact with food on a turntable of a microwave oven; and a shielding case that shields the contact parts between the mobile and stationary contacts which are provided by said slipping connector assembly.

2. A microwave oven having a connector assembly for receiving a plug of a temperature sensing probe which, in use, is located in a compartment of the oven, the assembly comprising a plug connector having first terminal means for electrically contacting said plug, the connector being rotatable to permit rotation of the plug and thus rotation of the probe in the oven compartment, and the connector further comprising second terminal means connected to said first terminal means and engaging stationary contact means provided to receive signals from said probe, the second terminal means and the stationary contact means being disposed in a closed chamber so as to prevent exposure thereof to atmospheric contamination in the oven.

3. A connector assembly for a temperature probe, the assembly being substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.