Patents by Inventor Luther L. Clayton, JR.

Luther L. Clayton, JR. 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: 11953250
    Abstract: A method of cleaning an evaporator of an ice maker can include activating a switch of the ice maker in a first manual intervention of an overall cleaning procedure to initiate the overall cleaning procedure; sounding an audible alarm to alert a user that a second manual intervention is required; pouring a cleaning fluid into a tank of the evaporator case in the second manual intervention; automatically initiating and completing one of a cleaning stage and a sanitizing stage upon completion of the second manual intervention, automatically initiating the one of the cleaning stage and the sanitizing stage including operating a cleaning valve of a water circuit of the ice maker by a main controller of the ice maker; and automatically initiating and completing a rinsing stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Hoshizaki America, Inc.
    Inventors: Luther L. Clayton, Jr., Hideki Sakakibara, Abdul Waheed
  • Patent number: 11506438
    Abstract: An ice maker includes a dry compartment and a wet compartment adjacent to the dry compartment and including: an evaporator case sized to receive an evaporator, the evaporator case including: a plurality of interior panels joined to each other with snap-fit joints, each of the snap-fit joints including a tab and defining a slot, each of a plurality of seams formed between the interior panels defining a foam-tight seal and a water-tight seal; and a plurality of exterior panels, each of the plurality of exterior panels joined to a mating interior panel of the plurality of interior panels with slide joints, wherein the evaporator case is integrally insulated with blown foam insulation positioned between each of the plurality of exterior panels and a corresponding interior panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Hoshizaki America, Inc.
    Inventors: Sandra A. Huckaby, Matthew W. Wells, Kim Peterson, Luther L. Clayton, Jr., Hideki Sakakibara, Abdul Waheed, Timothy Perry, Glenn Melton, Jeremy Relova
  • Publication number: 20200041187
    Abstract: An ice maker includes a dry compartment and a wet compartment adjacent to the dry compartment and including: an evaporator case sized to receive an evaporator, the evaporator case including: a plurality of interior panels joined to each other with snap-fit joints, each of the snap-fit joints including a tab and defining a slot, each of a plurality of seams formed between the interior panels defining a foam-tight seal and a water-tight seal; and a plurality of exterior panels, each of the plurality of exterior panels joined to a mating interior panel of the plurality of interior panels with slide joints, wherein the evaporator case is integrally insulated with blown foam insulation positioned between each of the plurality of exterior panels and a corresponding interior panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Publication date: February 6, 2020
    Inventors: Sandra A. Huckaby, Matthew W. Wells, Kim Peterson, Luther L. Clayton, JR., Hideki Sakakibara, Abdul Waheed, Timothy Perry, Glenn Melton, Jeremy Relova