Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm James E. Howard
  • Domestic appliance comprising a support system
    Patent number: 8123315
    Abstract: A cupboard-type domestic appliance is provided having an interior in which a height-adjustable support system is mounted. The support system includes a vertical rail provided with a plurality of snap-in recesses and a supporting arm that has a plurality of projections each of which engages with one of the snap-in recesses. The rail includes a profiled element that is immobilized on a wall via an at least one fastener and a strip is provided that can be vertically displaced in the profiled element between a position in which the at least one fastener is accessible through an opening on one side of the profiled element that faces away from the wall and another position in which the at least one fastener is concealed behind the strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignees: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH, Miele & Cie. KG
    Inventors: Fritz Hägele, Karl-Friedrich Laible, Frank Placke, Ulrich Schlander, Matthias Stahl, Ulrich van Pels
  • Method for the predictive closed-loop control of a linear drive or of a linear compressor and linear drive or linear compressor subject to predictive closed-loop control
    Patent number: 8125166
    Abstract: A method for closed-loop control of a linear drive including a stator, a rotor configured for reciprocating movement along a drive axis therein, and a drive coil through which coil current flows, in particular for a linear compressor including a piston housing and a compressor piston configured for reciprocating movement along a piston axis therein, and driven by the linear drive wherein the coil current is subject to closed-loop control, the method including the steps of determining a target coil current and applying an actual coil current wherein the actual coil current and the target coil current are substantially the same value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventor: Johannes Reinschke
  • Compressor arrangement
    Patent number: 8122733
    Abstract: A compressor arrangement comprises a mounting, an evaporation trough, which may be inserted in the mounting on a number of slide-in tracks up to a final position and a compressor, wherein the separation of the evaporation trough from the compressor is greater in the final position of each slide-in track than at least one other point on the slide-in track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventor: Alfred Raab
  • Refrigeration device
    Patent number: 8123314
    Abstract: A refrigerator includes a door having a pair of lateral spaced supports on an inside of the door, and a height-adjustable door storage compartment removably securable via a snap-in structure to the inside of the door at locations between the pair of supports at a plurality of different heights, and a support having a vertically extending guide compatibly configured with a corresponding portion of the door storage compartment. The vertically extending guide and the corresponding portion of the door storage compartment engaging one another for orienting the door storage compartment relative to the door in an installed position of the door storage compartment on the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventor: Christoph Becke
  • Refrigerator comprising a dispensing device
    Patent number: 8122734
    Abstract: A refrigerator is provided that includes a housing and a dispensing device for flowable and/or pourable chilled material, the dispensing device being located in a front recess of the housing. The front of the housing is covered at least in part by an adjustable decorative plate. The recess is accessible through a hole in the decorative plate while a case that is open towards the dispensing device and the hole of the decorative plate is adjustably mounted in the recess.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Buchstab, Irene Dumkow, Adolf Feinauer, Klaus Flinner, Bernd Heger, Peter Nalbach, Kasim Yazan
  • Dishwasher having sorption drying device
    Patent number: 8123869
    Abstract: A dishwasher comprising a washing container, devices for washing dishes by means of rinsing liquor, and a sorption drying device which is connected in an air-conducting manner to the washing container via an outlet of the washing container and an inlet of the washing container. The sorption drying device is provided with a sorption column encompassing reversibly dehydratable material. The outlet and the inlet of the washing container are connected to the sorption drying device without mounting an air duct therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Helmut Jerg, Kai Paintner
  • Built-in domestic appliance with hinge cover
    Patent number: 8104143
    Abstract: A built-in domestic appliance which comprises hinges for hinging a door to the furniture body of the built-in domestic appliance. The door is used to close an opening of the first furniture body. The hinges are adapted to perform a defined opening and closing movement of the door, a gap forming during this movement between the edge of the door and especially the front of a second furniture body adjoining the furniture body. In order to obviate the risk of injury caused for example by limbs being caught in the gap and any claims for damages resulting therefrom, a plate element in the area of the door and in a transitional area between the furniture body of the built-in domestic appliance and the second furniture body is mounted in such a manner that it covers the gap if possible across its entire length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Heger, Karl-Friedrich Laible, Roland Vetter
  • Ice preparation unit, tray and operational method therefor
    Patent number: 8104297
    Abstract: An ice-maker tray (1) has several compartments (4), which each have the form of a segment of a body of rotation. When the content of the compartments (4) is frozen, the tray (1) suspended in a frame (15) of an ice maker is pivoted about an axis, which is parallel to the axes of the segments of the body of rotation, until the openings of the compartments (4) face downwardly and the pieces of ice thawed by heating can slide out of the compartments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Heger, Nathan Wrench
  • Front-loading laundry treatment machine
    Patent number: 8099983
    Abstract: A washing machine includes a liquor container suspended for oscillating in a housing. A washing drum is rotatable within the liquor container. A material-elastic collar is connected for establishing a liquid tight seal on the edge of a front-side loading opening of the liquor container, connecting with a housing-side loading opening, and with a door mounted for sealing the housing-side loading opening. A filling element is located on the door and has a curved outward portion in the shape of a truncated cone. The filling element has a surface area with at least one recess commencing close to a largest diameter of the cone portion, and forms a rising surface of sickle shape in the direction of the interior of the drum and toward a smallest diameter of the cone on the surface area thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Galina Ballheimer, Bernhard Heym, Rainer Jurmann, Mark Sauer, Wilfried Wildung
  • Refrigerator with pressure equalization valve
    Patent number: 8099974
    Abstract: A refrigerator including a housing with a chassis and a door enclosing a chilled interior; and a pressure equalization valve extending through a wall of the housing thereby facilitating an inflow of air from the surroundings into the interior and thereby blocking an outflow of air from the interior into the surroundings, the refrigerator comprising, a wall having a throughbore formed therein in a parallel flow arrangement with the pressure equalization valve, through which air can pass in two directions, wherein the flow of air is less than that of the airflow through the pressure equalization valve in the throughflow direction and greater than that of the air leakage value of the pressure equalization valve in the blocked direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Jürgen Diebold, Karl-Friedrich Laible, Michaela Malisi
  • Timer for a gas cooking hob
    Patent number: 8100121
    Abstract: A gas cooking hob comprising a number of gas burners, each of which is connected to a main gas pipe via a gas pipe section, and a main switch. The main gas pipe or the gas pipe section is open to supply gas to the gas burners when the main switch is actuated while a gas supply to the gas burners is interrupted when the main switch is actuated once again. In order to be able to jointly interrupt gas supply to all gas burners even without the user acting directly upon the main switch, a timing member is assigned to the main switch in order to adjust an interval after which the main switch closes automatically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Stéphane Clauss, Andreas Gromer, Martin Oberhomburg
  • Fan apparatus for a cooking device
    Patent number: 8100656
    Abstract: A fan apparatus for a cooking device is provided having a fan impeller that is held on a drive shaft of a rotary drive by its hub and is pressed against a stop of the drive shaft in an axial direction by a screw nut. In order to ensure that the fan impeller is securely held on the drive shaft, the screw nut exerts a pressing force on the fan impeller in a radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Kellermann, Markus-Günter Lohr, Peter Mallinger, Achim Steinbrügge
  • Dishwasher with an automatically regulated drying process
    Patent number: 8101028
    Abstract: A dishwasher is provided having a washing container for retaining therein objects to be washed by the dishwasher and a system for drying objects to be washed. The system for drying objects to be washed includes a heat generator for heating at least part of the air present in the dishwasher and a humidity sensor that detects the humidity of at least part of the air present in the dishwasher, such that only the amount of energy that is actually required for optimal drying is supplied in the form of heat energy for drying.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Heinz Heiβler, Helmut Jerg, Michael Rosenbauer, Bernd Schessl
  • Refrigerating appliance with height-adjustable storage device
    Patent number: 8100488
    Abstract: A refrigerating appliance including a housing defining an internal space and the refrigerating appliance including a storage element retained in a height-adjustable manner by a plurality of arms pivotable about parallel and spaced apart first axes fixed with respect to the housing and the plurality of arms pivotable about parallel and spaced apart second axes fixed with respect to the storage element, the refrigerating appliance including a coupling device connecting the plurality of arms wherein the first and second axes of the arms are maintained in the same plane, thereby inhibiting pivoting of the arms in opposite directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Eisele, Ralph Staud, Thomas Tischer
  • Method for mechanical cleaning of textiles or solid objects utilizing an encapsulated enzyme
    Patent number: 8101562
    Abstract: Water-soluble detergents and enzymes are used for mechanically cleaning textiles or crockery. According to the invention, enzymes with a catalytic effect on typical stains are added to the washing or cleaning process, only for as long as their catalytic effect is desired. This avoids superfluous removal of the enzymes that have been used in a washing or cleaning process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventor: Egbert Classen
  • Cooktop
    Patent number: D651447
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Home Appliances Corporation
    Inventor: Graham Sadtler
  • Gas cooktop and/or grate thereof
    Patent number: D651464
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Home Appliances Corporation
    Inventors: Richard W. Funnell, Graham Sadtler
  • Vapor extraction hood
    Patent number: D651705
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventor: Sándor Klunker
  • Display for a dishwasher
    Patent number: D653821
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Ralf Grobleben, Thomas Knöller, Elena Leinmüller, Gerhard Nüssler
  • Washing machine
    Patent number: D653822
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
    Inventors: Johannes Geyer, Carsten Weber