Patents by Inventor Louis A. Wantland

Louis A. Wantland 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).

  • Publication number: 20250033997
    Abstract: An under-counter water filtration assembly, including methods for performing the same, may include a filter housing, a filter element, and a powered water valve. The filter housing may define an inlet port, a filtered outlet port, and an unfiltered outlet port. The filtered outlet port and the unfiltered outlet port may be defined downstream from the inlet port. The filter element may be mounted within the filter housing upstream from the filtered outlet port. The filter element may be bypassed by the unfiltered outlet port. The powered water valve may be mounted within the filter housing in fluid communication between the inlet port and the unfiltered outlet port to selectively restrict a water flow therethrough.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2023
    Publication date: January 30, 2025
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Bradley Nicholas Gilkey, Charles Benjamin Miller
  • Publication number: 20250027350
    Abstract: A hinge assembly for a door-in-door refrigerator appliance door includes a case-side plate having a first aperture at the first end and a first radial slot extending from a periphery of the first aperture to an edge of the plate. A pivot pin having a central passage and a radial slot from the central passage to an edge of the plate is aligned with the first aperture. The hinge assembly also has a door-side plate having a second aperture at the first end and a third radial slot extending from a periphery of the second aperture to an edge of the plate. The second aperture receives the pivot pin for rotation, wherein the first radial slot and the third radial slot are rotationally offset when the case-side plate transverse axis and the door-side plate transverse axis are parallel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2023
    Publication date: January 23, 2025
    Inventor: Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20240367860
    Abstract: A pitcher assembly comprises a pitcher including a wall connected to a bottom defining a picture volume. The wall defines an opening at the top edge of the pitcher and a spout is formed at the top edge of the pitcher. A lid is removably fitted to the opening, the lid having a vertical wall extending from the skirt at the spout, and a second wall extending into the spout. The first and second walls cooperate with the spout and the skirt to at least partially block liquid from unintentionally splashing out of the pitcher volume. The lid may also include an energy-absorbing material disposed between a vertically displaceable float body and the lid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2023
    Publication date: November 7, 2024
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Bradley Nicholas Gilkey, Jeffrey Michael Colyer, Lokesha Kodigenahalli Chinnappa Reddy
  • Publication number: 20240300802
    Abstract: An autofill pitcher assembly having hidden venting is provided. The assembly includes a pitcher wall defining an opening at a top edge of the pitcher and a lid removably received in the opening. The lid includes a top wall, a skirt extending from a bottom surface of the top wall, a gasket disposed on the skirt, and a vent formed in the skirt between the gasket and the bottom surface of the top wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2023
    Publication date: September 12, 2024
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Bradley Nicholas Gilkey
  • Patent number: 11974530
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, a grow tower rotatably mounted within the liner and defining a root chamber, a sealed system including an evaporator, and a hydration system. The hydration system includes a supply conduit for providing a flow of liquid into the root chamber, a condensate collection tray positioned below the evaporator and defining a condensate collection reservoir for collecting condensate formed by the evaporator while the sealed system is operating, and a condensate return conduit fluidly coupling the condensate collection reservoir and the supply conduit for supplying the condensate into the supply conduit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20240008432
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow tower mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A hydration assembly is positioned within a root chamber and includes a nozzle support frame mounted at a top of the root chamber, the nozzle support frame comprising a plurality of support arms, at least one of the plurality of support arms being off-axis relative to the central axis of the grow tower, an upper nozzle mounted to the nozzle support frame proximate a top of the root chamber, a lower nozzle mounted to the nozzle support frame proximate a bottom of the root chamber, and a water supply for supplying a flow of fluid to at least one of the upper nozzle or the lower nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2022
    Publication date: January 11, 2024
    Inventors: Brian Allgeier, Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20240000029
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, a grow tower rotatably mounted within the liner and defining a root chamber, a primary water supply system for selectively providing freshwater into the root chamber, and an auxiliary water supply system comprising a wastewater tank for storing wastewater and selectively providing the wastewater into the root chamber. A controller is configured to determine that a hydration cycle needs to be performed to hydrate the one or more plant pods, determine that a freshwater supply limitation exists (e.g., an empty water supply tank or a full wastewater tank), and operate the auxiliary water supply system to provide the wastewater from the wastewater tank into the root chamber in response to determining that the freshwater supply limitation exists when the hydration cycle is needed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Brian Allgeier, Thibaut Viguier
  • Patent number: 11849681
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow tower mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A hydration assembly is positioned within a root chamber and includes a nozzle support frame mounted at a top of the root chamber, the nozzle support frame comprising a plurality of support arms, at least one of the plurality of support arms being off-axis relative to the central axis of the grow tower, an upper nozzle mounted to the nozzle support frame proximate a top of the root chamber, a lower nozzle mounted to the nozzle support frame proximate a bottom of the root chamber, and a water supply for supplying a flow of fluid to at least one of the upper nozzle or the lower nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Allgeier, Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20230354758
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, a grow tower rotatably mounted within the liner and defining a root chamber, a sealed system including an evaporator, and a hydration system. The hydration system includes a supply conduit for providing a flow of liquid into the root chamber, a condensate collection tray positioned below the evaporator and defining a condensate collection reservoir for collecting condensate formed by the evaporator while the sealed system is operating, and a condensate return conduit fluidly coupling the condensate collection reservoir and the supply conduit for supplying the condensate into the supply conduit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Inventor: Louis A. Wantland
  • Patent number: 11800841
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, a grow tower rotatably mounted within the liner and defining a root chamber, a hydration system comprising a water supply tank for storing water, a supply conduit fluidly coupling the water supply tank to a discharge nozzle, a supply pump for selectively urging the water through the discharge nozzle and a water level sensor operably coupled to the water supply tank. A controller obtains a water level of the water in the water supply tank using the water level sensor, determines a conservative water supply schedule based at least in part on the water level, and operates the hydration system to provide the water in accordance with the conservative water supply schedule, the conservative water supply schedule providing the water at a slower average hydration rate relative to the standard water supply schedule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Jordan Andrew Waymeyer, Kira Lynn Hartlage
  • Patent number: 11780722
    Abstract: An autofill pitcher system is provided that includes a removable pitcher, a dispenser, and a controller. The removable pitcher includes a magnet supported for rotation between a first position and a second position. The controller is configured to open a valve in the dispenser to direct water to the pitcher when a sensor in the dispenser detects the magnet and close the valve when the sensor does not detect the magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Lokesha Kodigenhalli Chinnappa Reddy
  • Patent number: 11730096
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow tower mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A hydration assembly is positioned within a root chamber and includes an upper nozzle mounted to a top wall of the root chamber, an inverted tripod mounted to the top wall of the root chamber for supporting a lower fluid conduit, a lower nozzle mounted on the lower fluid conduit proximate a bottom of the root chamber, and a valve assembly for selectively and independently regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Brian Allgeier, Andrew David Katz
  • Patent number: 11723326
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow module rotatably mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A grow module is provided for receiving pods within apertures of the grow module, which includes locking tabs configured for slidably engaging with slots, which are defined in each pod. The grow module and the pods have complementary tapered interfaces that form a seal when the locking tabs are slidably engaged with the slots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Allgeier, Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20230128612
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow tower mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A hydration assembly is positioned within a root chamber and includes an upper nozzle mounted to a top wall of the root chamber, an inverted tripod mounted to the top wall of the root chamber for supporting a lower fluid conduit, a lower nozzle mounted on the lower fluid conduit proximate a bottom of the root chamber, and a valve assembly for selectively and independently regulating the flow of fluid through the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Brian Allgeier, Andrew David Katz
  • Publication number: 20230124203
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a grow tower rotatably mounted within a liner, and defining a root chamber, a plurality of apertures defined through the grow tower for receiving plant pods, and a hydration system for periodically charging the root chamber with an aeroponic mist. A training pod is configured for receipt within at least one of the plurality of apertures and includes a frame defining a root containment chamber for receiving a root ball of hydroponic media, a media retention feature extending from the frame for engaging and securing the hydroponic media, and a water collection reservoir positioned adjacent the frame for collecting at least a portion of the aeroponic mist to hydrate the root ball of the hydroponic media.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Brian Allgeier
  • Patent number: 11629902
    Abstract: A refrigerator appliance, as disclosed herein, may include a cabinet, a door, a dispensing assembly, an ice-making assembly, and an ice storage bin. The door may define a dispenser recess having a transverse opening extending vertically from a top recess end to a bottom recess end and laterally from a first recess side to a second recess side. The dispensing assembly may be positioned within the dispenser recess and define an ice delivery passage. The ice-making assembly may be attached to the cabinet. The ice storage bin may include a bin body defining a storage cavity. The bin body may be selectively mounted to the door within the dispenser recess to receive ice from the dispensing assembly. The bin body may extend vertically from the top recess end to the bottom recess end and laterally from the first recess side to the second recess side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Benjamin Miller, Lauren Nicole Platts, Louis A. Wantland, Jarvis Ward, Bradley Nicholas Gilkey, Michael C. Watanabe
  • Publication number: 20230088481
    Abstract: A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, and a grow tower is positioned within the grow chamber and includes a module support frame rotatably mounted within the grow chamber and a grow module mounted to the module support frame to at least partially define a root chamber and defining an aperture for receiving a plant pod. One or more water collecting ribs extend from an inner surface of the grow module into the root chamber, the one or more water collecting ribs being oriented toward the aperture for directing collected condensation toward the aperture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2021
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Inventors: Brian Allgeier, Louis A. Wantland, Matthew R. Hunter
  • Publication number: 20230065573
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow module rotatably mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A grow module is provided for receiving pods within apertures of the grow module, which includes locking tabs configured for slidably engaging with slots, which are defined in each pod. The grow module and the pods have complementary tapered interfaces that form a seal when the locking tabs are slidably engaged with the slots.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventors: Brian Allgeier, Louis A. Wantland
  • Publication number: 20230014191
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a grow module positioned within a grow chamber for receiving one or more plant pods. The indoor gardening system includes a hydration system including a water supply for providing a flow of water into a mixing tank and a discharge nozzle for selectively discharging the flow of water into the grow chamber. The indoor gardening appliance further includes a cleaning assembly fluidly coupled to the hydration system for selectively discharging a cleaning agent into the flow of water to create a cleaning solution to facilitate a self-clean cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2021
    Publication date: January 19, 2023
    Inventors: Louis A. Wantland, Olivia Ryan Didat, Santosh Kumar, Brian Allgeier, Matthew R. Hunter
  • Patent number: 11528851
    Abstract: An indoor gardening appliance includes a liner defining a grow chamber and a grow module rotatably mounted within the grow chamber for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A moisture management system includes an evaporator plenum in fluid communication with the grow chamber and a fan assembly that recirculates air from the respective grow chambers and/or the ambient environment through an evaporator positioned within the evaporator plenum. In this manner, chamber humidity may be regulated while water is extracted from the air which may be used by a hydration system to hydrate plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew R. Hunter, Michael Goodman Schroeder, Louis A. Wantland, John Alexander Gardner, Brian Allgeier