Automatic power interrupting apparatus for an electric appliance

摘要

An automatic switching apparatus for a hand-held electrically operated appliance, such as a pressing iron (10). The automatic switching apparatus is provided within a circuit board (24) located within the housing (14) of the iron. The automatic switching apparatus includes a first timing circuit (160) and a photosensitive switch circuit (270) including a photosensitive switch (272) which function in conjunction with one another such that when the user breaks contact with a photosensitive switch located on a handle (18) portion of the iron, the first timing circuit (160) is enabled to de-energize the heating element of the iron after contact has been broken with the photosensitive switch (272) for a predetermined period of time. A second timing circuit (180) is provided to disable the first timing circuit (160) for a second predetermined period of time when the iron (10) is initially plugged into the electrical socket outlet so as to permit the heating element to reach a temperature level suitable for ironing without necessitating the user to contact the photosensitive switch (272) when the heating element is initially energized. A temperature sensitive circuit (150) may also be provided to de-energize the heating element at a predetermined temperature.