Patents Examined by Spencer E Bell
  • Patent number: 12270139
    Abstract: A laundry treating apparatus includes a tub, a drum rotatably disposed inside the tub, a rotator that is rotatably disposed on a bottom surface of the drum and includes a pillar extending inside the drum and a plurality of blades spaced apart from each other along a circumferential direction of the pillar and inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction of the pillar, a motor for driving the drum and the rotator, and a controller that controls operation of the motor. A method for controlling the apparatus includes sensing an amount of clothes in the drum, sensing a washing load of the clothes including a moisture content from water supplied into the tub, and sensing a cloth material of the clothes. When the washing load corresponds to a normal washing load in the first cloth material sensing operation, a first washing process is performed according to the washing load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Sunho Lee, Youngjong Kim, Dongcheol Kim
  • Patent number: 12268231
    Abstract: A pesticide residue removal device for a refrigerator, and a refrigerator are provided. The pesticide residue removal device includes: an ozone generator configured to generate ozone; an ozone water container configured to store water therein, where the ozone water container communicates with the ozone generator, so that ozone is dissolved into water of the ozone water container to obtain ozone water; and an atomizer communicating to the ozone water container, receiving and atomizing the ozone water, and supplying the ozone water to a storage space of the refrigerator. The generated ozone water is atomized to fully fill the entire storage compartment of the refrigerator to achieve effective pesticide residue removal and sterilization; ozone water can be prepared on demand to reduce waste; and people are well prevented from getting harmed at an excessive ozone concentration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignees: QINGDAO HAIER REFRIGERATOR CO., LTD., HAIER SMART HOME CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tong Xu, Ming Wang, Wenchun Wang, Chunyang Li
  • Patent number: 12264061
    Abstract: A probe assembly for a closed transfer system is provided. The probe assembly includes a base having a base air inlet, a probe having a base end and a probe end, at least one primary valve positioned at the probe tip, and at least one secondary valve. The probe defines a hollow air channel extending from the base end to the probe end including a probe tip, the base end being coupled to the base such that the hollow air channel is in fluid communication with the base air inlet and the probe tip. The at least one secondary valve is positioned at the base air inlet and configured to selectively allow air into the hollow air channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Pentair Flow Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Ben Freeston
  • Patent number: 12264430
    Abstract: A laundry appliance system includes a cabinet operable between a lowered position and a plurality of raised positions. A first lift assembly is coupled to a first side of the cabinet. A second lift assembly is coupled to a second side of the cabinet. The first and second lift assemblies operate concurrently to adjust the cabinet between the lowered position and the plurality of raised positions. A user-interface assembly is operably coupled to the cabinet. The user-interface assembly is configured to receive a user input corresponding with a selected raised position of the plurality of raised positions. A controller is configured to operate the first and second lift assemblies to the selected raised position in response to the user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Brent M. Burgess, Scott E. Carpenter
  • Patent number: 12252836
    Abstract: A clothes treatment apparatus includes a cabinet, a door, and a steam unit. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a heat pump unit that is located in the cycle chamber and that is configured to circulate and condition air in the treatment chamber. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a water supply tank that is installed in the tank installation space, that is connected to the steam unit, and that is configured to supply water to the steam unit. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a drainage tank that is separably installed in the tank installation space, that is configured to store condensed water generated in at least one of the treatment chamber or the heat pump unit. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a water supply level sensor. The clothes treatment apparatus further includes a drainage level sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Sunghoo Park, Youngjin Doh, Hyoungsup Park
  • Patent number: 12252834
    Abstract: A detergent storage container for a laundry treating apparatus includes a detergent storage member that defines a storage space configured to store laundry detergent, and a residual amount detecting unit disposed at the detergent storage member and configured to detect a residual amount of laundry detergent stored in the detergent storage member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Sungwoon Jung, Hunjun Jang
  • Patent number: 12247745
    Abstract: A cleaning chemical assembly for a cooking appliance has a collection container, a pump, at least two ports for storage containers that contain different cleaning chemicals, and at least one device for identifying the cleaning chemical in the respective storage container. The device for identifying the cleaning chemical is a switching element that is designed to cooperate with a mechanical coding on the respective storage container. The switching element includes a plurality of microswitches at the ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: RATIONAL AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Christian Kufner, Filip Lindell, Manuel Ulmer
  • Patent number: 12239277
    Abstract: A household dishwasher includes a dishwasher cavity for accommodating an item to be washed held on or in a loading unit and at least one rotatable fan wheel arranged in the dishwasher cavity and designed to take in and blow out air, said at least one rotatable fan wheel being suspended movably, in particular pivotably, in particular at least relative to a vertical axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Stickel, Stephan Lutz, Thomas Burggraf
  • Patent number: 12234593
    Abstract: A method of operating a washing machine appliance is provided. The washing machine appliance includes a wash basket rotatably mounted within a wash tub and defining a wash chamber configured for receiving of a load of articles. A camera is positioned with a view of the wash chamber. The method includes obtaining one or more images of the wash chamber with the camera, analyzing the one or more images using a machine learning image recognition process to determine that the articles are tangled, and adjusting at least one operating parameter of the washing machine appliance in response to determining that the articles are tangled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Matthew Dillon, Matthew R. Hunter
  • Patent number: 12233822
    Abstract: A cleaning device for a vehicle sensor includes: a housing having an open first end, an open second end, and a passageway extending between the open first end and the open second end; and at least one nozzle at least partially positioned within the passageway of the housing. The at least one nozzle includes an outlet that provides at least one liquid stream through the open first end of the housing towards a lens or cover of the vehicle sensor. The housing is positioned such that air streams passing through the passageway pass through the open first end of the housing towards the lens or cover of the vehicle sensor with the at least one liquid stream. A sensor assembly and sensor system including the cleaning device are also disclosed herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Carlos Francisco Maciel Castellanos, Pablo Arturo Zuniga Perez
  • Patent number: 12228041
    Abstract: A system for cleaning a gas turbine engine may generally include a wash stand having a base frame and a plurality of fluid injection nozzles configured to be supported by the base frame relative to the gas turbine engine. The nozzles may be configured to inject a cleaning fluid through an inlet of the fan casing of the engine as the fan blades are being rotated in a rotational direction such that the cleaning fluid is directed past the rotating fan blades and into a compressor inlet of the engine. Additionally, each nozzle may be oriented at a positive tangential angle defined relative to the rotational direction of the plurality of fan blades. The system may also include a fluid source in flow communication with the wash stand for supplying the cleaning fluid to the plurality of fluid injection nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Lloyd Eric Rawson, Thomas Tracy Wallace
  • Patent number: 12221740
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a clothing processing device which, when using artificial intelligence or an algorithm provided by artificial intelligence, can cause a user to visually recognize same, and an online system comprising same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Minsoo Seo, Hyeonsik Lee, Taegyu Jang
  • Patent number: 12215453
    Abstract: A washing machine includes a casing, a tub, a drum, a pump for sending water discharged from the tub, a gasket connecting an input port of the casing to an opening of the tub and having nozzles for spraying water into the drum, and a nozzle water supply pipe configured to guide water introduced through the opening into a first sub-flow and a second sub-flow. The nozzle water pipe includes first nozzle water supply ports, formed on a first flow path to which the first sub-flow is guided, for supplying the first sub-flow to any two or more nozzles among the plurality of nozzles, and second nozzle water supply ports, formed on a second flow path to which the second sub-flow is guided, for supplying the second sub-flow to other two or more nozzles among the plurality of nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2025
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Hwanjin Jung, Myunghun Im, Junghoon Lee, Kyungchul Woo, Jaehyun Kim, Hyundong Kim
  • Patent number: 12201255
    Abstract: A domestic appliance includes: an appliance housing which provides an appliance compartment and has a loading opening for access to the appliance compartment; an appliance door mounted so as to be rotatable about a pivot axis for closing the loading opening; a motor unit in operative connection with the appliance door and by which the appliance door is transferrable from an open position to a closed position closing the loading opening; and a clutch device arranged between the motor unit and the appliance door and in operative connection with the motor unit on a drive side thereof and with the appliance door on a driven side thereof. The clutch device has a clutch that is switchable and transferrable from a disengaged position to an engaged position and vice versa, the clutch causing an automatic switching from the disengaged position to the engaged position during operation of the motor unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: MIELE & CIE. KG
    Inventors: Dirk Wegener, Volker Marks, Guenter Kroeger
  • Patent number: 12202021
    Abstract: A scarifying rig may be mounted on the surface of a floating roof to move about the perimeter of the roof. The rig comprises a trolley, one or more support rails fixed on the trolley, and a horizontal arm mounted on the support rails for controlled movement along the support rails. A vertical rail is attached substantially to the end of the horizontal arm for reciprocating vertical movement (up and down) about the end of the horizontal arm. A nozzle assembly is mounted to the vertical rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: Mac & Mac Hydrodemolition Inc.
    Inventors: Gerard J. MacNeil, Jesse MacNeil, Brett MacNeil, Gordon MacNeil, Vernon Bose
  • Patent number: 12202446
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a flow control valve for controlling the flow of a cleaning media, such as controlling the flow of cleaning media to a nozzle positioned to distribute the cleaning media to a vehicle surface. The nozzle is integrated with the flow control valve. Vehicles and systems incorporating a flow control valve are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: A. RAYMOND ET CIE
    Inventors: Urs Grether, Julien Friedl, Stéphane Baron, Larry M. Rachow
  • Patent number: 12193626
    Abstract: A beverage container washing system may utilize an auto-opening holder to laterally separate opposing grippers from one another when a housing is configured in a loading or unloading configuration to facilitate insertion and/or removal of a beverage container into or from the holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Robert M. Digman
  • Patent number: 12195908
    Abstract: A laundry washing machine equipped with a treating agents dispenser comprising a drawer having a compartment suitable to receive a unit dose package comprising a pre-measured amount of treating agent incorporated into a water-soluble pouch. The laundry washing machine has a control unit configured to convey a first amount of water to the compartment to wet the unit dose package, pause, then convey a second amount of water to the compartment for breaking the water-soluble pouch of the unit dose package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag
    Inventors: Marco Mariuzzo, Michela Gasparollo
  • Patent number: 12196342
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a flow control valve for controlling the flow of a cleaning media, such as controlling the flow of cleaning media to a nozzle positioned to distribute the cleaning media to a vehicle surface. The flow control valve includes a plunger and a flexible diaphragm which operate to open and close the a fluid passage through the valve. Vehicles and systems incorporating a flow control valve are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: A. RAYMOND ET CIE
    Inventors: Urs Grether, Julien Friedl, Stéphane Baron
  • Patent number: 12188168
    Abstract: A device for use in a household appliance is disclosed. The device includes at least one casing configured to be placed in a treatment chamber of a household appliance. The casing includes at least one output module configured to dispense at least one preparation into the treatment chamber of the household appliance and/or to trigger an output and at least one sensor module configured to determine sensor data characteristic of the condition of the treatment chamber of the household appliance (300) and/or of the device. The sensor module includes at least one acceleration sensor, wherein the sensor data at least partially represents data determined by the at least one acceleration sensor. The dispensing and/or triggering of the output of the preparation by the at least one output module is based at least partially on the sensor data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: HENKEL AG & CO. KGAA
    Inventors: Arnd Kessler, Lars Zuechner, Robert Ruiz Hernandez, Ingo Hardacker