logo  Final Project Idea...

Background

A food blender is a common household appliance in many homes. Most blenders on the market have built-in safety interlocks. The appliance cannot be turned on if the cup is not firmly locked in place. The appliance can however be powered on when the cup is not covered. This means blending can be carried out without the cover in place and is hence a potential safety hazard for the user. Apart from serious cuts, spillage can also occur when the cover is not used.

Brief Concept

For my final project, I plan to design and make a device that can be added onto any food blender that can serve as a safety interlock to ensure that the cover must be in place before the appliance can be powered on. My preliminary idea consists of 3 parts: A magnet, Reed switch with RF transmitter and a RF Receiver with Relay

The magnet is attached onto the cover. The reed switch circuit with RF transmitter is attached to the cup body or handle. When the magnet is aligned with the reed switch, the circuit will be closed and a signal will be sent to the RF receiver which in turn will turn on the relay to supply current to the appliance.

Project Idea

The magnet will be housed in a 3-D printed housing that can be attached to the cover with double-sided tape. The reed switch circuitry with RF transmitter will be housed in a 3-D printed housing that can be attached to the cup body or handle. using double-sided tape or custom-designed clips. The RF receiver and the relay circuitry will be housed in a smart plug that will be fabricated using 2-D laser cutting machine.