Patent attributes
A food grinder (10) makes a sound or vibrates with a frequency that changes between a first mode when the grinding mechanism (22, 24, 36) is performing a grinding operation while there is bulk food ingredient within the grinding chamber, and a second mode when the grinding mechanism (22, 24, 36) is performing a grinding operation while there is no bulk food ingredient within the grinding chamber, has a detector (44) for sensing the change in frequency and a controller (42) responsive to the detector (44) for controlling the application of electrical power to the grinding mechanism (22, 24 36). Power is first applied when a start grind switch is manually actuated and is later automatically removed in response to a timer (54) a preselected time period after the detector senses that the grinding chamber is empty of bulk food ingredient to be ground.
