In machines of the type which include a motor adapted to be connected to a source of supply of power, and include a housing having a manually accessible opening formed therein for access into the interior of the housing to, for example, make adjustments or repair instrumentalities within the housing; it is the usual practise to provide safety control apparatus, operable in connection with an access door for covering and uncovering the opening, to automatically deenergize the motor when the door is opened. To guard against inadvertent operation of such safety control apparatus it has been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,662, issued Aug. 31, 1971, to Haller, that there be provided structure requiring the operator to perform a function other than opening or closing the door to guard against inadvertent operation of, for example, a washing machine. The complexity of the solution offered in the Haller patent not only increases the cost of manufacture of the machine to which it is applied, but adds additional structure subject to breakdown, thus raising the cost of maintenance of the machine.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a simplified structure for automatically deenergizing the motor of a machine when a manual access door is opened; and
Another object is to provide improved safety control apparatus in a machine having a manually accessible opening and a door for covering and uncovering the opening.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds