Patents by Inventor Hanks Hu

Hanks Hu has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230392796
    Abstract: A cooking appliance having a cabinet including an insert within the cabinet to define cooking chamber with an access opening and a door selectively closing/opening the access opening, the cooking appliance comprising at least one of a first cooling flow path through a back wall of the cabinet, over a top wall of the insert, and out a side wall of the cabinet, a second cooling flow path through a bottom wall of the cabinet, along the bottom wall of the cabinet, and out a side wall of the cabinet, and a third cooling flow path through a bottom wall of the cabinet, out a front wall of the cabinet, into the door, out of the door, into a front wall of the cabinet, and out of a side wall of the cabinet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: ALEXANDER L. CLAYTON, VINCE HUANG, XIANGXU LIU, KEN LEI, HANKS HU, JUAN CHEN, TRACY YU, JACK LI, ROY QIU, SETH HERNDON, DONALD JOHN GILMORE, CRISTIANO VITO PASTORE, DICK GE, PALLAVI MANJREKAR, BRUCE M. WIATRAK, ANDREA FERRISE, BLAKE CARTWRIGHT, RICHARD J. HUGHES, JOEL FLETTY, WYNDHAM F. GARY, JR., JOSHUA G. ABDOO, COLLIN A. STIPE, NICHOLAS BRENN, CASEY L. MCCUAN, CHRISTOPHER L. CARPENTER
  • Patent number: 11767983
    Abstract: An automatic oven having a controller and a sensor assembly for automatically determining a food type for a food item placed in a cooking chamber of the automatic oven, and cooks the automatically determined food item according to a cooking profile selected based on the determined food type, while optionally accommodating a user input on the determining of the food type, and the cooking profile, including an optional degree of doneness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2023
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander L. Clayton, Vince Huang, Xiangxu Liu, Ken Lei, Hanks Hu, Juan Chen, Tracy Yu, Jack Li, Roy Qiu, Seth Herndon, Donald John Gilmore, Cristiano Vito Pastore, Dick Ge, Pallavi Manjrekar, Bruce M. Wiatrak, Andrea Ferrise, Blake Cartwright, Richard J. Hughes, Joel Fletty, Wyndham F. Gary, Jr., Joshua G. Abdoo, Collin A. Stipe, Nicholas Brenn, Casey L. McCuan, Christopher L. Carpenter
  • Patent number: 11751295
    Abstract: An oven includes a plurality of walls, a fan, and a heating element. The plurality of walls defines an internal cavity in which food may be placed for cooking. A first of the plurality of walls defines a plurality of orifices that establishes fluid communication between the internal cavity and a fluid path. The fan is configured to direct air from the fluid path, through the plurality of orifices, and into the internal cavity. The heating element is disposed on the first of the plurality of walls and adjacent to the plurality of orifices. The heating element is configured to heat the air being directed from the fluid path, through the plurality of orifices, and into the internal cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Hanks Hu, Benny Huang, Youcheng Huang, Ryan Li, Ping Wu
  • Publication number: 20220272800
    Abstract: An oven includes a plurality of walls, a fan, and a heating element. The plurality of walls defines an internal cavity in which food may be placed for cooking. A first of the plurality of walls defines a plurality of orifices that establishes fluid communication between the internal cavity and a fluid path. The fan is configured to direct air from the fluid path, through the plurality of orifices, and into the internal cavity. The heating element is disposed on the first of the plurality of walls and adjacent to the plurality of orifices. The heating element is configured to heat the air being directed from the fluid path, through the plurality of orifices, and into the internal cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2021
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Hanks HU, Benny HUANG, Youcheng HUANG, Ryan LI, Ping WU
  • Publication number: 20220178549
    Abstract: A self-cleaning oven is provided. Responsive to initiating a self-clean operation, a heating plate in a cavity of the oven is powered to increase temperature of the heating plate. Responsive to the heating plate being heated to above a predefined start temperature for a predefined soak period of time, one or more nozzles are directed to introduce water onto the heating plate to generate superheated steam until the heating plate falls below a predefined reboot temperature. The power and watering operations are repeated according to a predefined number of clean cycles specified by the self-clean operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2020
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Inventors: Ermanno BUZZI, Hanks HU, Ryan LI, Ping WU
  • Publication number: 20210392724
    Abstract: A microwave oven includes a housing defining an interior cavity, a magnetron positioned within the housing and outside of the interior cavity and a micro-wave antenna in electrical communication with the magnetron and positioned adjacent a lower surface of the interior cavity. The microwave oven further includes a heating plate that includes a glass-ceramic substrate defining at least a portion of the lower surface of the interior cavity. The heating plate further includes a resistive-heating coating applied on a portion of the glass-ceramic substrate and defining at least one open micro-wave transmissive path from the micro-wave antenna to the interior cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Applicant: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hanks Hu, Ping Wu, Ryan Li, Shirley Mao, Tingting Yu, Muhammad Khizar
  • Publication number: 20210262670
    Abstract: An automatic oven having a controller and a sensor assembly for automatically determining a food type for a food item placed in a cooking chamber of the automatic oven, and cooks the automatically determined food item according to a cooking profile selected based on the determined food type, while optionally accommodating a user input on the determining of the food type, and the cooking profile, including an optional degree of doneness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: ALEXANDER L. CLAYTON, VINCE HUANG, XIANGXU LIU, KEN LEI, HANKS HU, JUAN CHEN, TRACY YU, JACK LI, ROY QIU, SETH HERNDON, DONALD JOHN GILMORE, CRISTIANO VITO PASTORE, DICK GE, PALLAVI MANJREKAR, BRUCE M. WIATRAK, ANDREA FERRISE, BLAKE CARTWRIGHT, RICHARD J. HUGHES, JOEL FLETTY, WYNDHAM F. GARY, Jr., JOSHUA G. ABDOO, COLLIN A. STIPE, NICHOLAS BRENN, CASEY L. MCCUAN, CHRISTOPHER L. CARPENTER
  • Patent number: 11047578
    Abstract: An automatic oven having a controller and a sensor assembly for automatically determining a food type for a food item placed in a cooking chamber of the automatic oven, and cooks the automatically determined food item according to a cooking profile selected based on the determined food type, while optionally accommodating a user input on the determining of the food type, and the cooking profile, including an optional degree of doneness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Inventors: Alexander L. Clayton, Vince Huang, Xiangxu Li, Ken Lei, Hanks Hu, Juan Chen, Tracy Yu, Jack Li, Roy Qiu, Seth Herndon, Donald John Gilmore, Cristiano Vito Pastore, Dick Ge, Pallavi Manjrekar, Bruce M. Wiatrak, Andrea Ferrise, Blake Cartwright, Richard J. Hughes, Joel Fletty, Wyndham F. Gary, Jr., Joshua G. Abdoo, Collin A. Stipe, Nicholas Brenn, Casey L. McCuan, Christopher L. Carpenter
  • Patent number: 10834789
    Abstract: An electronic door opening system for an appliance is provided. The door opening system includes a resilient member having a pin that moves in a linear direction to urge an appliance door open. The door opening system further includes a toothed gear member configured to engage with the resilient member. The gear member may be driven by a motor to move the resilient member to urge the door from a closed position to an open position. Accordingly, upon receipt of a door opening command received from a user interface, the motor drives the gear to engage with the resilient member and open the door. The door opening mechanism includes components that are free from contact with other systems of the appliance. For example, in a microwave oven, the door opening system components may be free from contact with a door latch and an interlock switch system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Hanks Hu, Winner Wang, Hui Wu, Rongcan Yu
  • Publication number: 20200217512
    Abstract: An automatic oven having a controller and a sensor assembly for automatically determining a food type for a food item placed in a cooking chamber of the automatic oven, and cooks the automatically determined food item according to a cooking profile selected based on the determined food type, while optionally accommodating a user input on the determining of the food type, and the cooking profile, including an optional degree of doneness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Inventors: ALEXANDER L. CLAYTON, VINCE HUANG, XIANGXU LI, KEN LEI, HANKS HU, JUAN CHEN, TRACY YU, JACK LI, ROY QIU, SETH HERNDON, DONALD JOHN GILMORE, CRISTIANO VITO PASTORE, DICK GE, PALLAVI MANJREKAR, BRUCE M. WIATRAK, ANDREA FERRISE, BLAKE CARTWRIGHT, RICHARD J. HUGHES, JOEL FLETTY, WYNDHAM F. GARY, JR., JOSHUA G. ABDOO, COLLIN A. STIPE, NICHOLAS BRENN, CASEY L. MCCUAN, CHRISTOPHER L. CARPENTER
  • Publication number: 20190191498
    Abstract: An electronic door opening system for an appliance is provided. The door opening system includes a resilient member having a pin that moves in a linear direction to urge an appliance door open. The door opening system further includes a toothed gear member configured to engage with the resilient member. The gear member may be driven by a motor to move the resilient member to urge the door from a closed position to an open position. Accordingly, upon receipt of a door opening command received from a user interface, the motor drives the gear to engage with the resilient member and open the door. The door opening mechanism includes components that are free from contact with other systems of the appliance. For example, in a microwave oven, the door opening system components may be free from contact with a door latch and an interlock switch system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Publication date: June 20, 2019
    Applicant: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hanks Hu, Winner Wang, Hui Wu, Rongcan Yu