Abstract: An electric toothbrush is disclosed which includes an elongate body defining a handle, an elongate housing extending from the body and supporting a brush head at a distal end thereof, a drive shaft rotatably mounted within the housing and connected to the brush head, a motor disposed within the body and including a rotating output shaft, and a transmission assembly adapted to convert the rotational movement of the output shaft into reciprocating rotation of the drive shaft and brush head about a common axis of rotation.

Abstract: A detachable handle accessory is provided which permits a user to operate a portable, hand-held steam vacuum cleaner as an upright steam vacuum cleaner. The detachable handle accessory includes a support base, a handle portion extending upwardly from the support base and a wheel assembly affixed to the support base. The support base includes mounting structure which allows a nozzle of a hand-held steam vacuum cleaner to be located intermediate the support base and surface to be cleaned so as to permit an unobstructed flow of steam from the portable vacuum cleaner to the surface. The handle portion is used to control and steer the nozzle over the surface while the wheel assembly allows a user to roll the support base and steam vacuum cleaner over the surface from an upright position, and to engage a squeegee member at the distal end of the nozzle with the surface to be cleaned to facilitate gathering of liquid and enhance the suctioning process of the vacuum cleaner.

Abstract: The present invention features an electric, hair-curling apparatus. The hair curler is designed to prevent the heated wand from coming into unwanted contact with other surfaces and parts of the body. Its purpose is to prevent accidental injuries or burns to the body surfaces of a user or to furniture, etc. The electric hair-curler is fabricated having many insulative ribs that are periodically spaced apart and located along a longitudinal axis of the wand. These ribs are operative in shielding the heated surface of the wand from contact with unwanted surfaces, including parts of the user's body. Having a sinusoidally-shaped or undulating periphery, the ribs allow hair to easily flow into the interstitial wells between the ribs; hair flowing into the wells is free to contact the wand surface. The ribs are also designed with a wide, circumferential portion that is positioned substantially flush with the wand surface at the section of contact with the clamp.

Abstract: The present invention features a bread-making machine that has a kneading paddle which remains in the bucket after the baking cycle. The bread-making machine automatically entraps, or vertically constrains, the kneading paddle to the rotating drive shaft. Upon the initial rotation of the drive shaft, the paddle shifts backwardly with respect to the drive shaft under a reactive, inertial force. The paddle will rotate approximately twenty-five degrees in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the shaft. This is made possible by the looseness of the fit of the drive shaft within the paddle's bore. A lip positioned on the top of the drive shaft will engage the top surface of the paddle hub, when the paddle is caused to shift. This engagement will capture the paddle, causing it to become vertically constrained to the drive shaft. Upon completion of the baking cycle, the baked bread can be removed without the paddle, which remains affixed to the drive shaft.

Abstract: The present invention features an electrical, frying appliance that uniformly cooks food items placed within its frying basket. This frying appliance cyclically immerses and extracts the cooking basket into and out of a pan containing heated oil. In this fashion, the food in the basket is uniformly fried during the cooking cycle. The frying appliance contains a translationally moveable basket that operates by a parallel linkage driven by a gear train and worm drive mechanism. The translational movement of the basket allows the food in it to lie flat as it is immersed in the oil. The frying basket remains substantially horizontal during its movement between its immersed and non-immersed positions. In this fashion, the food items are prevented from shifting around in the frying basket. This allows the food to fry evenly within the basket and, when cycled, to be drained of oil periodically.

Abstract: An automatic switching apparatus for a hand held electrically operated appliance, such as a pressing iron, is provided within a circuit board located within the housing of the iron. The automatic switching apparatus includes a first timing circuit and a touch sensitive switch which function in conjunction with one another such that when the user breaks contact with the touch sensitive switch, located on the handle portion of the iron, the first timing circuit is enabled to de-energize the heating element of the iron after contact has been broken with the touch sensitive switch for a predetermined period of time. A second timing circuit is provided to disable the first timing circuit for a second predetermined period of time when the iron is initially plugged into the wall outlet so as to permit the heating element to reach a temperature level suitable for ironing without necessitating the user to contact the touch sensitive switch when the heating element is initially energized.

Abstract: An automatic switching apparatus for a hand held electrically operated appliance, such as a pressing iron. The automatic switching apparatus is provided within a circuit board located within the housing of the iron. The automatic switching apparatus includes a first timing circuit and a photosensitive switch which function in conjunction with one another such that when the user breaks contact with the photosensitive switch located on the handle portion of the iron, the first timing circuit is enabled to de-energize the heating element of the iron after contact has been broken with the photo-sensitive switch for a predetermined period of time. A second timing circuit is provided to disable the first timing circuit for a second predetermined period of time when the iron is initially plugged into the wall 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 when the heating element is initially energized.