Patents by Inventor NICHOLAS C. FUGAL

NICHOLAS C. FUGAL 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: 20190194853
    Abstract: A laundry treating appliance having a tub defining an interior, a basket located within the interior and rotatably mounted within the tub and having an upper and lower basket base portion, a balance ring mounted to the upper edge of the basket peripheral wall, a clothes mover rotatably mounted within the basket, a drive system comprising a motor operably coupled to the basket and the clothes mover and configured to selectively oscillate or rotate the basket or the clothes mover and a first and second drive shaft, and a drive attachment mechanism configured to couple the basket to the second drive shaft, with the drive attachment mechanism comprising a bushing assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2019
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: ERIC K. FARRINGTON, STEVEN FRICKE, NICHOLAS C. FUGAL, CHRISTINE L. STRAIN, PHILIP R. THOMPSON, ROBERT C. WILLIAMS
  • Publication number: 20170327989
    Abstract: A laundry treating appliance having a tub defining an interior, a basket located within the interior and rotatably mounted within the tub and having an upper and lower basket base portion, a balance ring mounted to the upper edge of the basket peripheral wall, a clothes mover rotatably mounted within the basket, a drive system comprising a motor operably coupled to the basket and the clothes mover and configured to selectively oscillate or rotate the basket or the clothes mover and a first and second drive shaft, and a drive attachment mechanism configured to couple the basket to the second drive shaft, with the drive attachment mechanism comprising a bushing assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Publication date: November 16, 2017
    Inventors: ERIC K. FARRINGTON, STEVEN FRICKE, NICHOLAS C. FUGAL, CHRISTINE L. STRAIN, PHILIP R. THOMPSON, ROBERT C. WILLIAMS
  • Publication number: 20170268147
    Abstract: A vertical axis laundry treating appliance including a chassis defining a chassis interior, a tub disposed within the chassis interior and defining a tub interior, and a perforated wash basket disposed for rotation within the tub interior, wherein the tub includes a lower tub portion, an upper tub portion, and a flexible intermediate portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2016
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Inventors: BENJAMIN E. ALEXANDER, PRAKASH S. AMTE, BRENT M. BURGESS, MICHAEL K. CLUSKEY, NICHOLAS C. FUGAL, CHRISTOPHER A. JONES, DALE MUELLER, MICHELE A. PAUSTIAN, BRENNER M. SHARP
  • Publication number: 20170145616
    Abstract: A method of detecting high friction events in a laundry treating appliance includes rotating the drum, determining, during the rotation, a torque of the motor, an acceleration of the drum, a speed of the drum, and/or an angular position of the drum at each of multiple speeds, and repeatedly estimating with a parameter estimator, during the rotation, viscous friction, coulomb friction, and total friction based on the torque, acceleration, speed, and/or angular position of the drum. A high friction even is determined based on the estimated viscous friction, coulomb friction and/or total friction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2015
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Inventors: BRIAN P. JANKE, STEPHEN L. KERES, EROL D. SUMER, RAN ZHAO, BRADLEY D. MORROW, NICHOLAS C. FUGAL
  • Publication number: 20170145619
    Abstract: A method of estimating a water extraction profile in a laundry treating appliance includes accelerating rotation of the drum during a water extraction cycle, determining, during the accelerating rotation, a torque of the motor, an acceleration of the drum, a speed of the drum, and/or an angular position of the drum, and estimating with a parameter estimator, at multiple times during the accelerating rotation, inertia of a laundry load, based on the torque, acceleration, speed, and/or angular position of the drum to establish multiple inertia values. A water extraction profile is then estimated based on the inertia values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2015
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Inventors: NICHOLAS C. FUGAL, BRIAN P. JANKE, BRADLEY D. MORROW, EROL D. SUMER
  • Publication number: 20170030004
    Abstract: Methods of reducing a likelihood of contact between a rotating laundry-container, such as a basket or drum, located within a tub of a laundry treating appliance where the method includes accelerating a rotational speed of the rotating laundry-container during an extraction cycle speed ramp, monitoring the friction associated with the rotating laundry-container during the speed ramp and comparing to a threshold and altering the accelerating of the rotational speed of the rotating laundry-container when the comparing indicates the threshold is satisfied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
    Inventors: NICHOLAS C. FUGAL, BRIAN P. JANKE, STEPHEN L. KERES, BRADLEY D. MORROW, EROL D. SUMER, RAN ZHAO