Patents by Inventor Stephen Bernard Froelicher

Stephen Bernard Froelicher 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).

  • Patent number: 11703807
    Abstract: A dead-beat escapement break away assembly which consists of, a pallet engagement collet with at least one magnet attached thereto and a pallet alignment feature attached thereto; a pendulum crutch attachment mechanically coupled to the pallet engagement collet; a pallet which is adapted to be magnetically coupled to the pallet engagement collet so as to mechanically engage the pendulum crutch attachment to the pallet, thereby enabling the pallet to break away from the pallet engagement collet when sufficient force is applied to the pallet to overcome the magnetic force of the magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Inventors: Kevin Farrelly Nolan, Jeremy Michael Turner, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Publication number: 20220057756
    Abstract: A dead-beat escapement break away assembly which consists of, a pallet engagement collet with at least one magnet attached thereto and a pallet alignment feature attached thereto; a pendulum crutch attachment mechanically coupled to the pallet engagement collet; a pallet which is adapted to be magnetically coupled to the pallet engagement collet so as to mechanically engage the pendulum crutch attachment to the pallet, thereby enabling the pallet to break away from the pallet engagement collet when sufficient force is applied to the pallet to overcome the magnetic force of the magnet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Inventors: Kevin Farrelly Nolan, Jeremy Michael Tumer, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 11197353
    Abstract: A microwave appliance, as provided herein, may include an outer casing, an inner liner, a door, and an air handler. The outer casing may define an air inlet above a cooktop appliance. The outer casing may extend in a lateral direction between a first side end and a second side end. The inner casing may define a cooking chamber. The door may include a peripheral frame and a front window bounded by the peripheral frame. The peripheral frame may define an air outlet downstream from the air inlet and below the front window along the vertical direction. The air handler may be mounted within the outer casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may define an airflow curtain path extending outward from the outer casing in front of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Michael A. Funk
  • Publication number: 20210278117
    Abstract: An ice making assembly includes a central hub rotatably mounted within a chilled chamber. A mold assembly is attached to the central hub and includes an ice mold that is pivotally coupled to a yoke and defines a mold cavity for receiving water. A drive mechanism rotates the central hub by accelerating the central hub until the rotation speed reaches a target speed and periodically reducing the rotation speed of the central hub to a reduced speed before accelerating back to the target speed until an ice billet is formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2020
    Publication date: September 9, 2021
    Inventors: Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Brian Allgeier
  • Patent number: 10945356
    Abstract: Cooking exhaust systems for use with a cooktop appliance are provided herein. An exhaust system may include a casing, an image monitor, and an air handler. The casing may define an air inlet and an air outlet above the cooktop appliance. The image monitor may be supported on the casing. The air handler may be mounted within the casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may define an airflow curtain path extending outward from the casing in front of the image monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Michael A. Funk, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Publication number: 20210037619
    Abstract: A microwave appliance, as provided herein, may include an outer casing, an inner liner, a door, and an air handler. The outer casing may define an air inlet above a cooktop appliance. The outer casing may extend in a lateral direction between a first side end and a second side end. The inner casing may define a cooking chamber. The door may include a peripheral frame and a front window bounded by the peripheral frame. The peripheral frame may define an air outlet downstream from the air inlet and below the front window along the vertical direction. The air handler may be mounted within the outer casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may define an airflow curtain path extending outward from the outer casing in front of the door.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Publication date: February 4, 2021
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Michael A. Funk
  • Publication number: 20210003288
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a cooking chamber positioned within a cabinet and being defined at least in part by a chamber wall. A heating assembly is positioned outside the cooking chamber for heating the cooking chamber. The heating assembly includes a first plate and a second plate joined together to define a heater cavity containing a heating element. The first plate is spaced apart from the chamber wall to define an airgap therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2019
    Publication date: January 7, 2021
    Inventor: Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10820602
    Abstract: An indoor smoker includes a cabinet defining a discharge vent, a smoking chamber having a chamber outlet, and an exhaust assembly including an exhaust duct and a recirculation duct providing fluid communication between the chamber outlet and the discharge vent. An air handler urges a flow of smoke through a catalytic converter positioned within the exhaust duct to lower volatile organic compounds prior to discharging the smoke. A recirculation port may be defined between the recirculation duct and the exhaust duct upstream of the catalytic converter and a damper may direct the flow of smoke through the recirculation port when the smoke contains unacceptable levels of volatile organic compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Tomas Garces, Samuel Vincent DuPlessis, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10788222
    Abstract: An exhaust system for a cooking or cooktop appliance is provided herein. The exhaust system may include a casing, an image monitor, and an air handler. The casing may define an air inlet and an air outlet above the cooktop appliance. The image monitor may be supported on the casing above a cooktop surface. The image monitor may include an imagining surface extending in a lateral direction between a first edge and a second edge. The air handler may be mounted within the casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may be defined proximal to the first edge and defines a coolant airflow path extending along the lateral direction across the imaging surface from the first edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Bernard Froelicher, James Lee Armstrong, Michael Andrew Funk
  • Patent number: 10712018
    Abstract: A drawer assembly for an oven appliance is provided. The drawer assembly includes two slide assemblies mounted within a cooking chamber of the oven appliance for supporting a door and a rack assembly. The rack assembly includes a wire support frame for supporting a cooking tray and two support brackets for mounting the wire support frame to the slide assemblies. In this manner, a user may slide the rack assembly and cooking tray out of the cooking chamber by pulling on the door. The wire support frame may be formed from metal using computer numerically controlled machining and may be welded to the support brackets. In this manner, the rack assembly provides a simple, rigid construction that requires a minimal number of parts and is easy to manufacture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher James Adelmann, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10627118
    Abstract: A cooking engagement system and methods therefore are provided. The system includes a cooktop appliance and an interactive assembly positioned above the cooktop appliance. The interactive assembly includes an image monitor that presents various images and information to a user, e.g., recipes. The system includes a humidity sensor for detecting operation of the cooktop appliance. When the humidity sensor senses a humidity level that exceeds a threshold, a controller communicatively coupled thereto activates an air handler to move or motivate an airflow across or about the image monitor. In this way, the image monitor may be cooled and condensation is prevented from forming on the imaging surface of the image monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Andrew Funk, James Lee Armstrong, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Publication number: 20200041143
    Abstract: An exhaust system for a cooking or cooktop appliance is provided herein. The exhaust system may include a casing, an image monitor, and an air handler. The casing may define an air inlet and an air outlet above the cooktop appliance. The image monitor may be supported on the casing above a cooktop surface. The image monitor may include an imagining surface extending in a lateral direction between a first edge and a second edge. The air handler may be mounted within the casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may be defined proximal to the first edge and defines a coolant airflow path extending along the lateral direction across the imaging surface from the first edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Inventors: Stephen Bernard Froelicher, James Lee Armstrong, Michael Andrew Funk
  • Publication number: 20200041142
    Abstract: A cooking engagement system and methods therefore are provided. The system includes a cooktop appliance and an interactive assembly positioned above the cooktop appliance. The interactive assembly includes an image monitor that presents various images and information to a user, e.g., recipes. The system includes a humidity sensor for detecting operation of the cooktop appliance. When the humidity sensor senses a humidity level that exceeds a threshold, a controller communicatively coupled thereto activates an air handler to move or motivate an airflow across or about the image monitor. In this way, the image monitor may be cooled and condensation is prevented from forming on the imaging surface of the image monitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Inventors: Michael Andrew Funk, James Lee Armstrong, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10527339
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance is provided herein. The refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet, a door, a secondary liner, and a heat exchange case. The cabinet may include an internal liner defining a freezer chamber and a fresh food chamber. The door may be attached to the cabinet. The secondary liner may be attached to the cabinet and define a sub-compartment in fluid isolation from the freezer chamber and the fresh food chamber. The heat exchange case may be attached to the internal liner at the freezer chamber in conductive thermal communication therewith. The heat exchange case may at least partially define a convection compartment along a portion of the internal liner. The convection compartment may be defined in fluid isolation from the freezer and in fluid communication with the sub-compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Hunter, Stephanos Kyriacou, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Publication number: 20190380230
    Abstract: Cooking exhaust systems for use with a cooktop appliance are provided herein. An exhaust system may include a casing, an image monitor, and an air handler. The casing may define an air inlet and an air outlet above the cooktop appliance. The image monitor may be supported on the casing. The air handler may be mounted within the casing in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough. The air outlet may define an airflow curtain path extending outward from the casing in front of the image monitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Publication date: December 12, 2019
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Michael A. Funk, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10477867
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a cooking chamber disposed within a housing with an opening in the housing for accessing the chamber. A casing is disposed around the opening, and the casing includes an air curtain outlet configured to prevent smoke and other vapors from escaping the cooking chamber to the ambient atmosphere via the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Kevin Farrelly Nolan, Christopher James Adelmann
  • Publication number: 20190335772
    Abstract: An indoor smoker includes a cabinet defining a discharge vent, a smoking chamber having a chamber outlet, and an exhaust assembly including an exhaust duct and a recirculation duct providing fluid communication between the chamber outlet and the discharge vent. An air handler urges a flow of smoke through a catalytic converter positioned within the exhaust duct to lower volatile organic compounds prior to discharging the smoke. A recirculation port may be defined between the recirculation duct and the exhaust duct upstream of the catalytic converter and a damper may direct the flow of smoke through the recirculation port when the smoke contains unacceptable levels of volatile organic compounds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2018
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Inventors: Tomas Garces, Samuel Vincent DuPlessis, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10433558
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a cooking chamber disposed within a housing with an opening in the housing for accessing the chamber. A casing is disposed around the opening. An air flow restriction door for limiting air flow within the cooking chamber is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Christopher James Adelmann
  • Patent number: 10247425
    Abstract: An oven appliance has a reflector positioned within a housing above an upper heating element. An air distribution manifold defines an entrance proximate a cooking chamber of the housing. A catalytic smoke reducer is positioned above the reflector at the entrance of the air distribution manifold. An air handler is operable to draw air from above the reflector through the catalytic smoke reducer and the entrance of the air distribution manifold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Haier US Applicance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher James Adelmann, Stephen Bernard Froelicher
  • Patent number: 10247424
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a hinge assembly. The hinge assembly couples a door to slide assemblies such that the door is pivotable. The hinge assembly includes a hinge arm that extends through an opening of the door. The hinge arm has a plurality of rounded edges at the opening of the door. A gasket is mounted to the door at the opening of the door. The gasket extends around the hinge arm and contacts the hinge arm at the rounded edges of the hinge arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher James Adelmann, Stephen Bernard Froelicher, Christopher Nils Naber