Patents by Inventor James Lee Armstrong

James Lee Armstrong 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: 11906172
    Abstract: A method of operating a cooktop appliance in a precision mode includes monitoring a temperature with a temperature sensor and starting a vaporization timer when the monitored temperature enters a vaporization band. The method also includes freezing the precision mode when the vaporization timer expires and the monitored temperature is within the vaporization band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Omar Santana, James Lee Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20240035667
    Abstract: A method of operating a cooktop appliance in a precision mode includes monitoring a temperature with a temperature sensor and starting a vaporization timer when the monitored temperature enters a vaporization band. The method also includes freezing the precision mode when the vaporization timer expires and the monitored temperature is within the vaporization band.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Omar Santana, James Lee Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20230392797
    Abstract: A method for monitoring progress of a preheat cycle includes: at a start of a preheat cycle, receiving a baseline temperature measurement from a sensor; during the preheat cycle, receiving a plurality of current temperature measurements from the sensor; repeatedly calculating a progress indicator value for the preheat cycle from a baseline progress indicator value; and when a latest one of the plurality of current temperature measurements is less than an immediate prior one of the plurality of current temperature measurements, setting the baseline temperature measurement to the latest one of the plurality of current temperature measurements and setting the baseline progress indicator value to an immediate prior progress indicator value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2022
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Omar Santana, James Lee Armstrong
  • Patent number: 11782464
    Abstract: A method of operating a cooking appliance includes obtaining a set fluid temperature for a fluid within a cooking utensil, monitoring an actual fluid temperature via a first temperature sensor of a probe, determining a predicted air temperature above the fluid, monitoring an actual air temperature above the fluid via a second temperature sensor of the probe, comparing the actual air temperature to the predicted air temperature, and implementing a responsive action based on the comparison between the actual air temperature and the predicted air temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Omar Santana, James Lee Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20230301311
    Abstract: A bakeware assembly includes a cooking utensil defining a sidewall having a utensil aperture defined therethrough along an insertion direction. A probe adapter is mounted to the sidewall and includes an adapter wall defining an inner surface that is angled relative to the insertion direction to define a tapered channel positioned over the utensil aperture. A temperature probe includes a probe shaft sized for passing through the utensil aperture and a probe base positioned on the probe shaft and being configured for receipt within the tapered channel of the probe adapter, wherein the probe base engages the adapter wall when the temperature probe is in an installed position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2022
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Inventors: Michael Robin Blackwood, James Lee Armstrong
  • Patent number: 11747023
    Abstract: An oven appliance assembly includes an oven appliance having a cabinet defining an oven cavity, a heat source disposed within the oven cavity, and a port having a socket. The oven appliance assembly also includes at least one oven accessory comprising a probe, a plug, and at least one resistive element. The plug includes a unique configuration for engagement with the socket of the port. The oven appliance assembly also includes a controller communicatively coupled with the oven appliance and the oven accessory. As such, the controller has at least one processor for performing a plurality of operations, including but not limited to determining a type of the oven accessory engaged with the port of the oven appliance based on a resistance value of the at least one resistive element of the oven accessory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Omar Santana
  • Publication number: 20230270272
    Abstract: A chillable slab system includes a temperature sensor disposed within an interior chamber of the slab, and a controller. The controller is in communication with the temperature sensor such that a temperature of the slab is measurable by the controller via the temperature sensor. Additionally, one or both of a battery and a charging coil is disposed within the interior chamber of the slab.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2022
    Publication date: August 31, 2023
    Inventors: Kyle Andrew Kozinski, James Lee Armstrong, Sabrina Marie Hannah
  • Publication number: 20230228427
    Abstract: An automatic control system for a cooking appliance monitors and adjusts a cooking operation on the cooking appliance. The automatic control system includes at least one control knob assembly, an image capturing device, and a controller operably coupled to the at least one control knob assembly and the image capturing device. The controller is configured to perform a series of operations, including receiving a desired temperature of a food item; capturing a first image of the food item; analyzing, by one or more computing devices using a machine learning image recognition model, the first image to determine one or more features of the food item; generating an input state of the food item based on the first image analysis; and determining an output action via a reinforcement learning system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2022
    Publication date: July 20, 2023
    Inventors: Juan Manuel Huerta, Srikanth Raavi Venkata, Abdel Hamad, James Lee Armstrong, Steven Michael Recio
  • Publication number: 20230210118
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance is provided including a cabinet defining a chilled chamber and a climate control assembly for regulating a chamber temperature within the chilled chamber. A controller receives a command to perform a dough proofing cycle and a dough removal time, determines a temperature schedule to facilitate the dough proofing cycle, the temperature schedule ending at the dough removal time, and operates the climate control assembly to regulate a chamber temperature of the chilled chamber in accordance with the temperature schedule.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 24, 2022
    Publication date: July 6, 2023
    Inventors: Sabrina Marie Hannah, James Lee Armstrong, Kyle Andrew Kozinski
  • Publication number: 20230119147
    Abstract: An oven appliance includes a two or more cooking chambers positioned within a cabinet and a heating assembly for independently and selectively heating those chambers. A controller is configured to obtain a cooking time for each cooking chamber, determine preheat statuses for each chamber, and generate adjusted cooking times for each chamber based at least in part on their respective preheat statuses. The heating assembly then heats each cooking chamber for its adjusted cooking time such that the heating processes in all cooking chambers end simultaneously.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Paul Bryan Cadima, James Lee Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20220187859
    Abstract: A method of operating a cooking appliance includes obtaining a set fluid temperature for a fluid within a cooking utensil, monitoring an actual fluid temperature via a first temperature sensor of a probe, determining a predicted air temperature above the fluid, monitoring an actual air temperature above the fluid via a second temperature sensor of the probe, comparing the actual air temperature to the predicted air temperature, and implementing a responsive action based on the comparison between the actual air temperature and the predicted air temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Publication date: June 16, 2022
    Inventors: Omar Santana, James Lee Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20220082265
    Abstract: An oven appliance assembly includes an oven appliance having a cabinet defining an oven cavity, a heat source disposed within the oven cavity, and a port having a socket. The oven appliance assembly also includes at least one oven accessory comprising a probe, a plug, and at least one resistive element. The plug includes a unique configuration for engagement with the socket of the port. The oven appliance assembly also includes a controller communicatively coupled with the oven appliance and the oven accessory. As such, the controller has at least one processor for performing a plurality of operations, including but not limited to determining a type of the oven accessory engaged with the port of the oven appliance based on a resistance value of the at least one resistive element of the oven accessory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2020
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Omar Santana
  • Publication number: 20220057272
    Abstract: A battery-powered temperature probe for measuring the temperature of food products within a cooking utensil. The temperature probe includes a flexible arm that includes a flexible connector that extends between a first end and a second end, each of which include magnets to permit adjustable positioning of the flexible arm on the cooking utensil. In addition. the temperature probe includes a temperature sensor movably mounted to the first end of the flexible arm and being configured for measuring the temperature in the cooking utensil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2020
    Publication date: February 24, 2022
    Inventor: James Lee Armstrong
  • Patent number: 11202347
    Abstract: A microwave appliance, as provided herein, may include a cabinet, a door, and an air handler. The cabinet may extend in a lateral direction between a first side end and a second side end. The door may be movably mounted to the cabinet at the first side end or the second side end to move between an open position permitting access to a cooking chamber and a closed position restricting access to the 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 inlet and an air outlet downstream from the air inlet. The air outlet may be defined below the front window. The air handler may be mounted within the door in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: James Lee Armstrong
  • 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: 20210172610
    Abstract: An oven appliance, as provided herein, may include a cabinet, a ventilation fan, a sensor enclosure, a humidity sensor, and a sensor fan. The cabinet may define a cooking chamber and an oven vent downstream therefrom to direct an exhaust flow from the cooking chamber. The ventilation fan may be mounted to the cabinet downstream from the oven vent. The sensor enclosure may be mounted to the cabinet outside of the cooking chamber. The sensor enclosure may define an enclosed volume. The sensor enclosure may further define an active flow entrance and an active flow exit in fluid communication with the enclosed volume. The humidity sensor may be disposed within the enclosed volume. The sensor fan may be attached to the cabinet outside of the cooking chamber and upstream from the ventilation fan.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Inventors: James Lee Armstrong, Jordan Kyle Weidner
  • 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: 20210068211
    Abstract: A microwave appliance, as provided herein, may include a cabinet, a door, and an air handler. The cabinet may extend in a lateral direction between a first side end and a second side end. The door may be movably mounted to the cabinet at the first side end or the second side end to move between an open position permitting access to a cooking chamber and a closed position restricting access to the 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 inlet and an air outlet downstream from the air inlet. The air outlet may be defined below the front window. The air handler may be mounted within the door in fluid communication between the air inlet and the air outlet to motivate an airflow therethrough.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventor: James Lee Armstrong
  • 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
  • Patent number: 10845246
    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 an infrared sensor for detecting operation of the cooktop appliance. When the infrared sensor senses a temperature 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: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Andrew Funk, James Lee Armstrong