Patents Examined by Omair Chaudhri
  • Patent number: 11548480
    Abstract: Described herein are sensor assembly cleaning apparatuses and methods of operation thereof that utilize a fluid such as pressurized air to cause dispersion of debris, rain droplets/water droplets from other sources, condensation, or any other environmental contaminant that may obscure a transparent surface such as a glass window of a camera housing from the glass window. In this manner, the pressurized air acts to clean the transparent surface, and as a result, improve the clarity of the field-of-view provided through that transparent surface to a camera housed in the camera housing. In addition, sensor assembly cleaning apparatuses described herein can include a water nozzle that is adapted to eject high pressure water onto the transparent surface as well as towards an air nozzle or an air vent that is adapted to eject the pressurized air. The water nozzle can thus be used to remove debris form the air nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Pony AI Inc.
    Inventor: Anatolii Vitanov
  • Patent number: 11540694
    Abstract: A method for setting a time of a release of a cleaning agent during a cleaning cycle in a household appliance includes obtaining an evolution over time of a local parameter inside the appliance, the local parameter comprising an acceleration induced by the cycle or a temperature inside the appliance; obtaining reference patterns of evolutions of the local parameter during a cycle comprising different cleaning steps including a step adapted for releasing the cleaning agent at a predetermined adapted time; comparing the evolution of the local parameter to the reference patterns and identifying a cleaning step within the cycle when a similarity between a reference pattern and the evolution is above a predetermined threshold, and setting the release of the agent at the predetermined adapted time within the identified cleaning step when the identified step corresponds to a step adapted for releasing the agent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: HENKEL AG & CO. KGAA
    Inventors: Arnd Kessler, Thomas Juckel, Rayko Enz, Volker Hoppe, Lars Zuechner, Robert Ruiz Hernandez, Wolfgang Wick, Ingo Hardacker
  • Patent number: 11518346
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for cleaning a sensor are provided. A sensor can include a housing. The housing can include a curved lens. The sensor can further include an inlet configured to receive a pressurized fluid. The sensor can further include a rotatable fluid distributor positioned within the housing. The rotatable fluid distributor can be configured to receive the pressurized fluid from the inlet. The sensor can further include a plurality of nozzles positioned around an exterior of the housing. Each of the plurality of nozzles can be configured to direct a flow of the pressurized fluid onto at least a portion of the curved lens. When the pressurized fluid is provided to the inlet, the rotatable fluid distributor can be configured to receive the pressurized fluid from the inlet and distribute the pressurized fluid to only a subset of the plurality of nozzles at any time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: UATC, LLC
    Inventors: Wesly Mason Rice, Owen Watt, Douglass Zhong, Robert Kip Terhune, Andrew Joseph Chellman, Aaron Gregory Burton
  • Patent number: 11511707
    Abstract: A vehicle cleaner system for cleaning an object to be cleaned, the vehicle cleaner system has a nozzle configured to inject a cleaning medium to the object to clean the object, and a nozzle holder having a holding portion for holding the nozzle and attached to a vehicle or the object. The nozzle has a held portion held by the holding portion. The nozzle is rotatably held with respect to the nozzle holder by press-fitting the held portion into the holding portion. A rotational direction of the nozzle with respect to the nozzle holder is restricted to a predetermined first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Takahiro Matsunaga
  • Patent number: 11513378
    Abstract: The present application discloses a display panel manufacturing device and a cleaning method. The display panel manufacturing device includes: a machine table, a working pipeline, a gas supply means and a liquid supply means; a detection means is provided on the machine table; a first automatic valve is provided on a gas supply pipeline; and a second automatic valve is provided on a liquid supply pipeline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignees: HKC CORPORATION, CHONGQING HKC OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY., LTD.
    Inventor: Chongyang Liu
  • Patent number: 11497377
    Abstract: A seal for a dish washer and a dish washer having the seal are provided. The seal has a side seal part, a radial seal part and a mounting part. The side seal part seals a gap between an inner side surface of a water tank of the dish washer and a door body of the dish washer. The radial seal part is connected to the side seal part and seals a gap between an upper surface of the water tank and the door body. The mounting part is connected to at least one of the side seal part and the radial seal part and is mounted to the door body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignees: FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA WASHING APPLIANCES MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Minyong Liu, Le Tian, Andong Fu, Shoubao Wu, Pingping Xu, Canhua Qiu, Jaekyoo Shin
  • Patent number: 11499261
    Abstract: A washing machine includes a casing, a tub, a drum, a pump, a gasket that is arranged between a case opening and a tub opening and that includes first nozzles and second nozzles, and a water pipe assembly that includes: first nozzle ports affixed to the first nozzles, second nozzle ports affixed to the second nozzles, a first conduit, and a second conduit. The gasket further includes port insertion pipes into which the first and second nozzle ports are inserted. Each of the first and second nozzle ports includes at least one press-fit protrusion that is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the nozzle supply port and that is configured to, in a state in which the nozzle supply port is inserted into a corresponding port insertion pipe, maintain contact with an inner circumferential surface of the port insertion pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Junghoon Lee, Kyungchul Woo, Jaehyun Kim, Myunghun Im, Hwanjin Jung
  • Patent number: 11497381
    Abstract: A basket for an appliance such as a dish washing appliance. A rack may be positionable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The rack may include a secondary rack positionable between a stowed position and a deployed position relative to the rack. The secondary rack may include the basket. The basket may be positionable to one or more walls of the dishwasher tub between a stowed position and a deployed position. The basket may be removable from one or more racks and/or the one or more walls of the dishwasher tub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Joel Boyer, Robert Digman
  • Patent number: 11497380
    Abstract: A detergent dispenser may be positioned to dispense detergent into a wash tub of a household appliance. The detergent dispenser may include a detergent cartridge. The detergent cartridge may include a detergent strip having a plurality of detergents. One or more ejection mechanisms may be used to expel the detergent from the detergent strip through an outlet of the detergent cartridge. One or more tablet ejection sensors may be used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Bassam Fawaz, Robert M. Digman, Joel Boyer, Russell Dietrich
  • Patent number: 11479214
    Abstract: A LiDAR sensor may include: a housing; a window cover installed on the housing; a motor mounted in the housing; a rotating shaft rotated by the motor; a guide connected to the rotating shaft and rotated along the surface of the window cover; and a brush mounted on the guide so as to face the window cover, contacted with the window cover, and washing the surface of the window cover with rotation of the guide. The guide may include: a first guide part connected to the rotating shaft; a second guide part rotatably connected to the housing; and a third guide part connected to the first and second guide parts, formed in a U-shape so as to face the window cover, and having the brush mounted thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sung Eun Jo, Kyung Rin Kim, Won Gyum Kim, Young Shin Kim
  • Patent number: 11471023
    Abstract: Provided is a dishwasher with a structure capable of improving ease of use. The dishwasher may be installed in a built-in type in a system kitchen including a cabinet having an accommodating space and a counter positioned on the cabinet and including an opening. The dishwasher may include: a tub including a front opening; a front door configured to open or close the front opening; a top door configured to open or close the opening; a basket positioned in the inside of the tub, the basket being taken out through the front opening; and an additional basket being taken out through the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sang Soo Choi, Sung Jin Kim, Chang Wook Lee, Seung Gee Hong
  • Patent number: 11458934
    Abstract: In a cleaning nozzle unit including an inner liquid passage guiding a cleaning solution, an inner air passage feeding air to an outlet of the inner liquid passage, and an injection port that mixes the cleaning solution guided by the inner liquid passage and the air fed by the inner air passage and injects a mixture of the cleaning solution and the air to a surface of an object, a plurality of the injection ports are provided, are disposed at predetermined intervals and inject the mixtures in directions such that the mixtures hits each other in the surface at a substantially predetermined angle in a front view of the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: CLARION CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji Morita, Hideyuki Tamura, Tetsuo Hata, Nobuhiro Sato, Nobuhiko Mochiji, Hiroshi Shojima, Norihiko Nakano, Hiroshi Aoki, Yukari Akiyama, Naohiro Noguchi, Hiroko Tsutsumi
  • Patent number: 11427163
    Abstract: A vehicle cleaner system includes: a window washer configured to clean a front window of a vehicle; a lamp cleaner configured to clean a headlamp; a sensor cleaner configured to clean a sensor that detects information outside the vehicle; and a cleaner control unit configured to operate at least one of the window washer, the lamp cleaner, and the sensor cleaner in accordance with input of a signal. The cleaner control unit is configured to operate the window washer, the lamp cleaner, and the sensor cleaner such that at least two or more of a number of operations of the window washer, a number of operations of the lamp cleaner, and a number of operations of the sensor cleaner are different in accordance with a predetermined number of signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akinobu Kubota, Masayuki Kondo, Kazuki Kawamura, Masaru Sakai
  • Patent number: 11408107
    Abstract: A method of controlling a washing machine that includes a tub, a drum rotatably disposed in the tub, at least one nozzle spraying water into the drum, a washing motor rotating the drum relative to the tub, and a circulation pump circulating water discharged from the tub, the method including: rotating the drum to cause laundry in the drum (i) to be raised with respect to a bottom of the drum and (ii) to fall downwards into the drum while water is supplied to the drum; spraying water through the at least one nozzle while the drum rotates; based on a first water level in the tub, controlling the circulation pump to rotate at a first rotation speed; supplying water to the drum to increase the water in the tub to a second water level; and controlling the circulation pump to rotate at a second rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Myunghun Im, Hwanjin Jung, Jaehyun Kim, Junghoon Lee, Kyungchul Woo
  • Patent number: 11401647
    Abstract: A drive assembly may transmit a driving force in a washing machine and comprise a stator and a rotor, a washing shaft connected to the rotor and to a pulsator of the washing machine, a spin-drying shaft surrounding the washing shaft and connected to an inner tub of the washing machine, a coupler provided to be vertically movable in an inner side of the spin-drying shaft to selectively connect the spin-drying shaft to and from the rotor, and a clutch providing power to move the coupler. A first bearing may support an upper outer circumferential surface of the washing shaft and a second bearing may support a lower outer circumferential surface of the washing shaft. The coupler may be provided between the first bearing and the second bearing in an axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Byungjae Choi, Gyeoungjin Jeon
  • Patent number: 11399689
    Abstract: A dishwasher, in particular household dishwasher, includes a dishwasher cavity for receiving an item to be washed, a rotatable fan wheel arranged in the dishwasher cavity and configured to draw in air and to blow out the air, and a motor operably connected to the fan wheel and operating at a rotational speed which is variable over time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
    Inventors: Stephan Lutz, Thomas Burggraf, Michael Georg Rosenbauer
  • Patent number: 11389046
    Abstract: Provided herein are cutlery racks, dishwashers, and associated methods for manufacturing and cleaning with the same. The dishwasher may include a cutlery rack having a first engaging portion, a second engaging portion, and a shelf. The first and second engaging portions may be respectively slidably attached to a first wall and a second wall of a dishwasher rack. The shelf may extend between the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, may slide in a longitudinal direction with respect to the first wall and the second wall, and may pivot with respect to the dishwasher rack between a working position and a stowed position. In the working position, a receiving surface of the shelf may align with the longitudinal direction, and in the stowed position, the receiving surface shelf may be pivoted out of alignment with the longitudinal direction and positioned adjacent ends of the first and second walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Justin D. Michal
  • Patent number: 11363935
    Abstract: A dishwashing appliance or variable spray assembly, as provided herein, may include a manifold body, a diverter valve, and a driver. The manifold body may define a fluid inlet, a first flow path, a second flow path, a first spray outlet, and a second spray outlet. The first and second flow paths may be downstream from the fluid inlet. The second flow path may be in fluid parallel to the first flow path. The second spray outlet may be spaced apart from the first spray outlet. The diverter valve may be mounted within manifold body and movable between a first zone position directing wash fluid to the first flow path and a second zone position directing wash fluid to the second flow path. The driver may be disposed outside of the manifold body to motivate the diverter valve between the first zone position and the second zone position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyle Edward Durham, Craig Curtis
  • Patent number: 11359318
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of controlling a washing machine comprising an outer tub containing water, an inner tub which accommodates laundry and is rotatably installed in the outer tub, a dispenser which supplies detergent into the inner tub, and a spray nozzle for spraying water into the inner tub, including the steps of: (a) supplying water into the inner tub via the dispenser; (b) supplying water into the inner tub through the spray nozzle, during when water is supplied into the inner tub via the dispenser; and (c) rotating the inner tub at a cloth wetting speed at which at least some of the laundry in the inner tub is adhered to an inner surface of the inner tub and can be rotated integrally with the inner tub, during when water is supplied through the spray nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Sangjun Lee, Youngjong Kim, Hyungkwan Jang
  • Patent number: 11350811
    Abstract: Dishwashing appliances and methods, as provided herein, may include features or steps such as detecting a pressure (P1) at a pressure sensor upstream from a pump while maintaining the pump in an inactive state and activating the pump from the inactive state for an activation period during which the pump remains active to motivate a continuous fluid flow. Dishwashing appliances and methods may further include features or steps for detecting a pressure (P2) at the pressure sensor upstream from the pump during the activation period and initiating a response sequence at the pump based on P1 and P2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyle Edward Durham, Christopher Brandon Ross, Craig Curtis, Mark Thomas Fryman