Abstract: An apparatus and method selectively resume an interrupted operation of a wirelessly powered appliance after an unintentional power loss. An interrupted operation may be selectively resumed, for example, based upon one or more of a detected movement (or lack of detected movement) of the wirelessly powered appliance, a detected temperature of and/or in the wirelessly powered appliance, and a detected fault in a wireless power transmitter and/or wireless power system that supplies power to the wirelessly powered appliance.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of locating a wireless power transmitter in which a variable load coupled to a wireless power receiver configured to receive a wireless power signal from the wireless power transmitter is controllably varied to maintain a harvested voltage of the wireless power signal within a predetermined range. By doing so, power supplied to a wirelessly powered appliance coupled to the wireless power receiver is maintained within an operational envelope of the wirelessly powered appliance.

Abstract: A laundry washing machine and method control a time or duration of a drain operation at least in part based upon a type of a load being washed in the laundry washing machine. By doing so, the amount of time in which a drain operation is performed may be customized for different types of loads, and in many instances, may reduce the amount of noise and/or energy consumption associated with draining a wash tub during a wash cycle.

Abstract: An under-cabinet wireless power system is mountable to an underside of a wall cabinet that is positioned over a countertop and includes a wireless power transmitter capable of powering a wirelessly powered appliance positioned proximate thereto.

Abstract: A leakage current compensation system may be used in an appliance such as a cooking appliance or another device utilizing a sheathed electrical heating element, and may sense a leakage current in one or more phases of a multi-phase power circuit that supplies the appliance or other device using a current transformer and generate a compensating current in a different phase of the multi-phase power circuit to compensate for the leakage current and thereby reduce the likelihood of a false GFCI trip in the multi-phase power circuit.

Abstract: A microwave oven container may include a body for containing a liquid, an agitator projecting through a bottom wall of the body to agitate the liquid contained in the body, where the agitator includes a first end located in the body and a second end located exterior to the body. The second end of the agitator is able to couple with a turntable drive of a microwave oven to power movement of the agitator in response to rotation of the turntable drive. The container may also include a cage located within the body that substantially surrounds the first end of the agitator and includes a plurality of openings to allow liquid contained in the body to pass through the cage.

Abstract: A cooking appliance includes: a gas cooking element; an igniter disposed adjacent to the gas cooking element to ignite the gas cooking element; a gas valve for regulating gas flow to the gas cooking element; a burner control mechanically coupled to the gas valve to vary the gas flow to the gas cooking element; a sensor for detecting the positioning of the burner control in an ignition range of positions; and a control circuit coupled to the igniter and the sensor and to activate the igniter in response to detected movement of the burner control into the ignition range of positions, the control circuit further configured to maintain activation of the igniter for a predetermined minimum length of time once activated.

Abstract: An under-cabinet wireless power system is mountable to an underside of a wall cabinet that is positioned over a countertop and includes a wireless power transmitter capable of powering a wirelessly powered appliance positioned proximate thereto.

Abstract: A beverage container washing system may be used for rapid washing and/or sanitizing of beverage containers, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages, among other applications. Separate entrance and exit openings may be provided in some instances to minimize employee interaction with unwashed customer beverage containers. A spray assembly may be used to spray wash fluid heated to a sanitizing temperature onto beverage containers and an ultraviolet sanitizing assembly may be used to emit ultraviolet light toward beverage containers. The spray assembly may also include a tank with first and second chambers and a cross-over with an inverted conduit fluidly coupling the first and second chambers.

Abstract: An Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) powered apparatus includes an input power receptacle capable of receiving the plug of an EVSE device to power the apparatus using power supplied by the EVSE device, and a user-actuatable control that may be used to transition the EVSE device from a connected but not charging state to a charging state after the plug has been inserted into the input power receptacle to cause the EVSE device to transition to the charging state and supply power through the plug. In some instances, one or more output power receptacles may be provided to enable various external electrically-powered devices to be plugged into the apparatus and powered by the EVSE device, while in other instances, the apparatus itself may be an appliance, tool, or other high power device, such that the apparatus is powered directly from the EVSE device.

Abstract: A microwave cooking appliance performs controlled beverage warming using a temperature sensor to capture a thermal image of a beverage in a cooking cavity. One or more sensing locations within the thermal image that are suitable for determining the temperature of the beverage are determined in part by ordering temperature readings from the thermal image by temperature to determine a temperature function and then determining locations in the thermal image that correspond to the beverage by calculating a derivative function over at least a portion of the temperature function.

Abstract: An Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) powered apparatus includes an input power receptacle capable of receiving the plug of an EVSE device to power the apparatus using power supplied by the EVSE device, and a user-actuatable control that may be used to transition the EVSE device from a connected but not charging state to a charging state after the plug has been inserted into the input power receptacle to cause the EVSE device to transition to the charging state and supply power through the plug. In some instances, one or more output power receptacles may be provided to enable various external electrically-powered devices to be plugged into the apparatus and powered by the EVSE device, while in other instances, the apparatus itself may be an appliance, tool, or other high power device, such that the apparatus is powered directly from the EVSE device.

Abstract: An undercounter kitchen appliance, for example a dishwasher, includes an enclosure with a top surface that is located near a lower surface of a countertop when the undercounter kitchen appliance is installed, and a wireless power transmitter located near the top surface of the undercounter kitchen appliance, where the power transmitter supplies power to a small kitchen appliance disposed on an upper surface of the countertop.

Abstract: A cooking appliance and method utilize a rotary burner control with a rotary control actuator, a position sensor, and an electronic burner control user interface to control an electromechanical valve unit that regulates gas flow to a gas burner.

Abstract: A cooking appliance that includes: a gas cooking element; an igniter located next to the gas cooking element to ignite the gas cooking element; a gas valve for regulating gas flow to the gas cooking element; a burner control coupled to the gas valve to vary the gas flow to the gas cooking element; and a control circuit coupled to the burner control and for activating the igniter when the burner control is positioned within a predetermined range of positions, where the control circuit detects when the burner control has been moved through the predetermined range of positions in less than a predetermined time, and in response to determining that the burner control has been moved through the predetermined range of positions in less than the predetermined time, generate an alert to a user.

Abstract: A laundry washing machine and method control a time or duration of a drain operation at least in part based upon a type of a load being washed in the laundry washing machine. By doing so, the amount of time in which a drain operation is performed may be customized for different types of loads, and in many instances, may reduce the amount of noise and/or energy consumption associated with draining a wash tub during a wash cycle.

Abstract: A beverage container washing system may be used for rapid washing and/or sanitizing of beverage containers, e.g., for use in a retail environment to wash and/or sanitize customer-provided beverage containers prior to filling the beverage containers with purchased beverages, among other applications. Separate entrance and exit openings may be provided in some instances to minimize employee interaction with unwashed customer beverage containers.

Abstract: A cooking appliance includes: a gas cooking element; an igniter disposed adjacent to the gas cooking element to ignite the gas cooking element; a gas valve for regulating gas flow to the gas cooking element; a burner control mechanically coupled to the gas valve to vary the gas flow to the gas cooking element; a sensor for detecting the positioning of the burner control in an ignition range of positions; and a control circuit coupled to the igniter and the sensor and to activate the igniter in response to detected movement of the burner control into the ignition range of positions, the control circuit further configured to maintain activation of the igniter for a predetermined minimum length of time once activated.

Abstract: A cooking appliance and method control the power consumption of a plurality of electrical loads in response to an ambient temperature sensed by a temperature sensor to maintain a combined power consumption within a temperature-dependent output capability of a low voltage power supply used in the cooking appliance.

Abstract: A leakage current compensation system may be used in an appliance such as a cooking appliance or another device utilizing a sheathed electrical heating element, and may sense a leakage current in one or more phases of a multi-phase power circuit that supplies the appliance or other device using a current transformer and generate a compensating current in a different phase of the multi-phase power circuit to compensate for the leakage current and thereby reduce the likelihood of a false GFCI trip in the multi-phase power circuit.