Patents Examined by Michael E Barr
  • Patent number: 11523711
    Abstract: A mop washing bucket has a container with an interior volume defined by a bottom and a wall extending upwardly from the bottom, a fluid inlet affixed adjacent to the bottom of the container, and a fluid outlet formed on the container in a location above the fluid inlet. The fluid inlet is adapted to be connected to a water hose. The fluid inlet extends through the wall of the container so as to have one end in the interior volume of the container and another end exterior of the wall of the container. The fluid outlet is adapted to allow water from the interior volume of the container to flow outwardly of the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Inventor: Tim McDonald
  • Patent number: 11517948
    Abstract: One embodiment provides a rinse basin and blower system configured to clean a pipette including: a rinse basin comprising: a hollow tube enclosed at one end; wherein the hollow tube comprises an upper port and a lower port; and the lower port being tapered toward the hollow tube; and wherein the rinse basin is connected to a blower system; the blower system comprising: a waste reservoir that receives, from the rinse basin, a waste product comprising: air and liquid, wherein the waste reservoir separates the liquid from the air; a dryer that receives the air from the waste reservoir and further separates any remaining liquid from the air; and a blower that receives the air from the dryer and exhausts the air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.
    Inventors: Viatcheslav Pronkine, Dimitri Shishkin, Shriram Patel
  • Patent number: 11519131
    Abstract: Provided is a clothes care apparatus which includes: a main body including a care room accommodating clothes; a machine room positioned below the care room; and a steam generator positioned inside the machine room, and including a case and a water level sensor configured to sense a level of water stored in the case, wherein the water level sensor includes: a housing coupleable to and decoupleable from the case; a plurality of electrodes supported by the housing; and an electrode membrane including an electrode membrane body respectively surrounding each of the plurality of electrodes, and an electrode hole formed in the electrode membrane body to respectively expose the plurality of electrodes to an outside of the electrode membrane body, wherein the electrode hole is further spaced apart from one end of the electrode membrane body than from another end of the electrode membrane body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hakjae Lee, Hyeonjoo Kim, Jaeryong Park
  • Patent number: 11484177
    Abstract: A water valve bracket for a dishwasher appliance is provided. The dishwasher appliance includes a base rail having a curvilinear cross-sectional shape. The water valve bracket includes a curvilinear flange which is configured to mount on the base rail with the curvilinear flange in contact with the base rail. A curvature of the curvilinear flange of the water valve bracket conforms to the curvilinear cross-sectional shape of the base rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Kyle Joseph Brandewie, Jeremy Joseph Ryan
  • Patent number: 11486076
    Abstract: A clothes treating apparatus includes a cabinet, a steam generator configured to generate steam, and a solution storing container configured to store a solution. The clothes treating apparatus also includes a steam spraying portion that is coupled to the steam generator and that is configured to spray steam and a solution spraying portion that is coupled to the solution storing container and that is configured to spray the solution. The steam spraying portion is configured to spray steam to control air pressure at the outlet of the solution spraying portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Sungmin Ye, Sungho Song, Taehee Lee
  • Patent number: 11486073
    Abstract: A front-loading laundry-washing apparatus includes: a housing including a door in a front thereof for opening and closing; a washing tub rotatably supported inside the housing and shaped like a cylinder opened toward the door to load laundry therein; and a plurality of lifters arranged at predetermined intervals along a spinning direction of the washing tub on an inner circumferential surface of the washing tub, and including end portions extended toward a spinning center of the washing tub, wherein at least one lifter of the plurality of lifters is provided to alternate between a first state having a first height from the inner circumferential surface in a first section within a spinning section of the washing tub and a second state having a second height higher than the first height from the inner circumferential surface in a second section within the spinning section of the washing tub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ho Choi, Hooijoong Kim, Jaeik Park, Eungryeol Seo
  • Patent number: 11479899
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a washing machine to which a pulsator structure capable of preventing damage to a pulsator is applied. The washing machine includes a cabinet in which an opening for putting laundry is formed on a front side, a tub provided inside the cabinet, a drum rotatably provided inside the tub, a pulsator rotatably installed on the drum, and a cap coupled to the pulsator to cover at least a portion of a front surface thereof, wherein the cap includes a hole formed to discharge air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zoo Hyeong Kim, Jae Young Kim, Min Jea Choi, Ji Woong 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: 11464391
    Abstract: Provided herein are a spray arm assembly and associated dishwasher. The spray arm assembly may include a spray arm and a satellite arm. The spray arm may have a body defining an inlet opening and an outlet opening spaced along the body, and the body may receive washing fluid at the inlet opening and direct at least a portion of the washing fluid to an outlet opening. The body may further define one or more fluid supply channels extending between and fluidly communicating the inlet opening and the outlet opening. The satellite arm may be rotatably coupled to the spray arm at the outlet opening, and a portion of the one or more fluid supply channels may extend past the outlet opening to direct at least a portion of the washing fluid past the outlet opening and back towards the inlet opening before entering the outlet opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Inventors: Anders Haegermarck, Marie Hakkarainen, Elianne Lindmark
  • 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: 11412914
    Abstract: The stationary gasket used in all kinds of dishwashers and similar household appliances, characterized in that; it ensures the sealing not by being compressed but by stretching and ensures sealing in both ways with a single part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: SERDAR PLASTIK SANAYI VE TICARET ANONIM SIRKETI
    Inventor: Serdar Mustafa Tütek
  • Patent number: 11415019
    Abstract: Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure include a meta-stable detergent based foam generating device of a turbine cleaning system includes a manifold configured to receive a liquid detergent and an expansion gas, a gas supply source configured to store the expansion gas, and one or more aerators fluidly coupled with, and between, the gas supply source and the manifold. Each aerator of the one or more aerators comprises an orifice through which the expansion gas enters the manifold, and wherein the orifice of each aerator is sized to enable generation of a meta-stable detergent based foam having bubbles with bubble diameters within a range of 10 microns (3.9×10?4 inches) and 5 millimeters (0.2 inches), having a half-life within a range of 5 minutes and 180 minutes, or a combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Ambarish Jayant Kulkarni, Bernard Patrick Bewlay, Byron Andrew Pritchard, Jr., Nicole Jessica Tibbetts, Michael Edward Eriksen, Stephen Wilton
  • Patent number: 11413666
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for passing vertical travel robotic tank cleaning systems through openings while mounted to existing riser structures, the system can extend to the bottom of the tank and horizontally more than approximately 30 feet. Plural systems can be used within a tank to break down solid sludge by placing high-pressure nozzle(s) in close proximity to solid waste providing maximum coverage. A mechanical arm with a nozzle assembly utilizes high- and low-pressure fluid streams to fluidize and liquefy solids while directly moving them to a centrally located transfer pump. The systems work in highly radioactive, chemically aggressive, explosive, high temperature and low temperature environments through hydraulic actuation. Multiple axis of freedom allows the arm and nozzle assembly to navigate and clean around internal obstacles and reach close proximity for maximum nozzle impingement force. Systems can be remotely operated up to approximately 1000 feet away.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: AGI Engineering, Inc.
    Inventor: Alex G. Innes
  • Patent number: 11415757
    Abstract: The nozzle includes a nozzle body having a front end with a recess defining a recessed wall. The recess is elongate in a first direction. The recess receives a front-end section of a ferrule of a multi-fiber connector to define gap, wherein the front-end section has an elongate end face. The nozzle has first and second channels that are elongate in the first direction and have respective first and second front-end openings at the recessed wall. The first and second front-end openings are spaced apart in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A cleaning fluid flows from the first channel into the gap and then out the second channel, including over the ferrule end faces and end faces of optical fibers supported by the ferrule. A flow-disrupting feature on the recessed wall generates turbulent flow to enhance cleaning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Corning Optical Communications LLC
    Inventors: James Michael Brown, Elias Panides, Adam James Ruggles, Jingru Zhang Benner, Yi Zhang
  • Patent number: 11408109
    Abstract: A laundry treating apparatus includes: a drum defining a mounting slot and a lifter coupled to the mounting slot and disposed on an inner circumferential surface of the drum. A lifter frame includes: a frame base coupled to the inner circumferential surface; a frame upper plate; a frame sidewall that connects the frame upper plate to the frame base and that defines a lateral through-hole; and an insertion protrusion configured to be inserted into the mounting slot. The insertion protrusion includes a vertical portion that extends downward from a bottom surface of the frame base to the frame base and a catching portion that is curved from a lower end of the vertical portion toward an inside of the periphery of the frame base. A projection plane of the catching portion onto the frame base is positioned within a projection plane of the lateral through-hole onto the frame base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Min Soo Seo, Jun Young Kim, Hong Min Lee
  • 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: 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: 11399690
    Abstract: A dishwasher and method utilize a cam-based position sensor that is configured to sense multiple rotational positions for a discretely directable tubular spray element driven by a tubular spray element drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Joel Boyer, Robert M. Digman
  • Patent number: 11401650
    Abstract: A tub of a washing machine includes: a first case and a second case welded to each other; a first coupling surface formed along a circumference of the first case facing the second case; a second coupling surface formed along a circumference of the second case facing the first case and bonded to the first coupling surface; and a coupling protrusion that protrudes along the first coupling surface and includes a protruding end portion welded to the second coupling surface. The coupling protrusion includes: a main coupling protrusion protruding along the first coupling surface; and an auxiliary coupling protrusion protruding along the first coupling surface and outwardly spaced apart from the main coupling protrusion. Further, an opening for communicating a space between the auxiliary coupling protrusion and the main coupling protrusion to an outside of the tub is defined in a bottom of the tub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Hyunseung Lee, Sanghee Yoo, Cheolmin Jang
  • 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