Abstract: A ventilated litter box in which a lower pan removably receives an enclosing cover having a pet access opening, a ventilation opening, and a fan housing surrounding the ventilation opening which includes an electric fan positioned to withdraw air through the ventilation opening from an interior space while an exhaust outlet in the fan housing provides for escape of the air withdrawn from the space. An electronic circuit controls the operation of the fan. An apparatus for sensing the presence of a pet entering the interior space is provided with a capacitive pick-up in the form of a pair capacitive plates preferably located at or near either side of the access opening. The electronic circuit is responsive to the change of capacitance between the plates indicating the presence of the animal. A first time-out circuit delays the operation of the ventilating fan motor following the entrance of a pet into the interior of the box to avoid frightening the pet.

Abstract: A thermally actuatable electrical switch construction having a housing carrying an electrically insulating end plug provided with an opening passing therethrough and in which a portion of a conductive lead is disposed so that opposite ends of the lead extend beyond opposed ends of the plug and respectively define a fixed contact inside the housing and a terminal outside the housing, the portion of the lead being retained in the opening by a sealing compound disposed in the opening and extending around the portion of the lead and interlocking therewith to tend to prevent axial movement of the lead into the housing as well as to tend to prevent rotational movement of the lead relative to the end plug. The portion of the lead has a substantially unrecessed cylindrical peripheral surface throughout the entire length thereof and has a plurality of outwardly extending cog-like members that extend outwardly from the peripheral surface and interlock with the sealing compound in the opening of the end plug.