Abstract: An indoor smoker includes a cabinet including an exhaust duct, a smoking chamber, a firebox, and a bypass duct extending between the firebox and the exhaust duct. A damper is movable between a first position for closing the smoking chamber when a firebox temperature is outside a desired range and a second position for blocking the bypass duct when the firebox temperature is within the desired range. The damper thus regulates the flow of smoke such that only good smoke is directed into the smoking chamber, while bad smoke is routed directly to the exhaust duct.

Abstract: An indoor smoker includes a cabinet including an exhaust duct, a smoking chamber, a firebox, and a bypass duct extending between the firebox and the exhaust duct. The indoor smoker further includes a system of dampers and check valves to regulate the flow of smoke and air within the indoor smoker. A controller may regulate these features to terminate a smoking process by asphyxiating the combustible material and evacuating the smoking chamber, to pause a process by evacuating the smoking chamber while permitting bleed air into the smoldering chamber, or to continue a normal smoking operation.

Abstract: A stand-alone ice making appliance is provided. The stand-alone ice making appliance may include an outer casing, a water tank, a pump, an ice maker, and a container. The outer casing may define an internal cavity that includes a primary opening. The water tank may define a storage volume to receive water. The pump may be in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to actively flow water therefrom. The ice maker may in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to receive water therefrom. The container may be disposed within the internal cavity. One or more insulated walls or sealing features may be further included herein.

Abstract: An active ice press is provided herein and may be utilized to reshape an initial ice billet as a sculpted ice nugget. The active ice press may include a mold body and an electric heater. The mold body may define an axial direction and a mold cavity within which the sculpted ice nugget is shaped. The mold body may include a first mold segment and a second mold segment. The first mold segment may define a first cavity portion of the mold cavity. The second mold segment may be movably positioned above the first mold segment along the axial direction. The second mold segment may define a second cavity portion of the mold cavity. The electric heater may be disposed within the mold body in conductive thermal engagement with the mold cavity.

Abstract: A cooking engagement system for a cooktop appliance is provided herein. The cooking engagement system may include a camera assembly, an image monitor, a lighting assembly, and a controller. The camera assembly may be mounted above the cooktop appliance along a vertical direction and directed at a cooktop surface. The image monitor may be mounted above the cooktop appliance and directed away from the cooktop surface. The lighting assembly may be mounted to the casing above the cooktop appliance. The lighting assembly may include a light source directed at the cooktop source to emit a light thereto. The controller may be in operable communication with the camera assembly and the image monitor to initiate an interactive cooking operation.

Abstract: A cooling device for cooling beverage containers and their contents, such as, but not limited to, twelve-ounce aluminum cans. The device comprises a cylindrical body open at its top and having a bottom, where said cylindrical body includes an inner wall as well as an outer wall so as to form a plurality of compartments. In use, a beverage container is inserted into the innermost compartment surrounded by the inner wall while a solvent is added to the annular compartment between the inner and outer walls which contains a salt coolant. The dissolution of said salt in said solvent induces an endothermic chemical reaction capable of instantly cooling the beverage container as well as its contents via contact with said inner wall. Separation of the solvent from said salt coolant allows for subsequent reuse of the cooling device.

Abstract: Presented here is a system for automatic conversion of data between various data sets. In one embodiment, the system can obtain a data set, can analyze associations between the variables in the data set, and can convert the data set into a canonical data model. The canonical data model is a smaller representation of the original data set because insignificant variables and associations can be left out, and significant relationships can be represented procedurally and/or using mathematical functions. In one embodiment, part of the system can be a trained machine learning model which can convert the input data set into a canonical data model. The canonical data model can be a more efficient representation of the input data set. Consequently, various actions, such as an analysis of the data set, merging of two data sets, etc. can be performed more efficiently on the canonical data model.

Abstract: Presented here is a system for automatic conversion of data between various data sets. In one embodiment, the system can obtain a data set, can analyze associations between the variables in the data set, and can convert the data set into a canonical data model. The canonical data model is a smaller representation of the original data set because insignificant variables and associations can be left out, and significant relationships can be represented procedurally and/or using mathematical functions. In one embodiment, part of the system can be a trained machine learning model which can convert the input data set into a canonical data model. The canonical data model can be a more efficient representation of the input data set. Consequently, various actions, such as an analysis of the data set, merging of two data sets, etc. can be performed more efficiently on the canonical data model.

Abstract: A refrigerator appliance and method of operation during Jewish holidays is provided herein. The refrigerator appliance may include a cabinet defining a refrigerated chamber, a sealed cooling system, and a controller. The sealed cooling system may be in operable communication with the refrigerated chamber and include a compressor. The controller may be operatively coupled to the sealed cooling system. The controller may be configured to selectively control the refrigerator appliance according to an operation routine for a Jewish holiday.

Abstract: Stand-alone ice making appliances are provided. An appliance includes a container defining a first storage volume for receipt of ice, a water tank defining a second storage volume for receipt of water, and a pump in fluid communication with the second storage volume. The appliance further includes an ice maker which is in fluid communication with the pump for receiving water from the pump. The appliance further includes a filter, the filter including a filter medium operable to remove contaminants from water flowing through the filter medium, the filter positioned upstream of the ice maker in a flow direction of water from the second storage volume to the ice maker.

Abstract: Increased sensitivity and specificity of characterizing patient-specific variations as mutations that are indicative of a cancer or other disease by identifying patient-specific tumor mutations by comparing tumor and normal sequence reads from the patient and filtering for mutations that are unique to the tumor. By comparing tumor sequence to a normal sequence from the same patient, false-positive mutation calls are minimized in the analysis.

Abstract: A packaged terminal air conditioner unit is provided. The packaged terminal air conditioner unit can include a heater bank jumper configured to couple one or more heater banks to a controller associated with the packaged terminal air conditioner unit. The heater bank jumper can be selectively configurable to provide at least one shunt line to couple at least one contact point associated with the controller to at least one contact point associated with the one or more heater banks. In this manner, the heater bank jumper can be configured based at least in part on an amount of current provided to the packaged terminal air conditioner unit by an electric service.

Abstract: A stand-alone ice making appliance is provided. The stand-alone ice making appliance may include a container, a water tank, a pump, a reservoir, an ice maker, and a primary drain line. The container may define a first storage volume to receive ice. The water tank may define a second storage volume to receive water. The pump may be in fluid communication with the second storage volume to actively flow water from the water tank. The reservoir may define a third storage volume that is in fluid communication with the pump to receive water that is actively flowed from the water tank. The ice maker may be in fluid communication with the third storage volume to receive water from the reservoir. The primary drain line may be in downstream fluid communication with the second storage volume and bypass the reservoir to selectively drain water from the second storage volume.

Abstract: In a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the system comprises a first device, a second device, a communications link, and a memory. The memory stores instructions that when executed by the system perform a method of communications link training. This method comprises requesting a speed change to a second speed for the first device communicating with the second device at a first speed via the communications link. A saved set of parameters are accessed for at least one of the first device and the second device. A first training cycle is performed for the first device and the second device at the second speed using the saved set of parameters for the at least one of the first device and second device. The reuse of parameters from a previous successful equalization training cycle reduces the time required to perform equalization training.

Abstract: Stand-alone ice making appliances are provided. An appliance includes a container defining a first storage volume for receipt of ice, a water tank defining a second storage volume for receipt of water, and a pump in fluid communication with the second storage volume. The appliance further includes an ice maker which is in fluid communication with the pump for receiving water from the pump. The appliance further includes a filter, the filter including a filter medium operable to remove contaminants from water flowing through the filter medium, the filter positioned upstream of the ice maker in a flow direction of water from the second storage volume to the ice maker.

Abstract: An air conditioner unit and methods of operating the same is provided. The air conditioner unit may include a refrigeration loop having a variable speed compressor, an electronic expansion valve, an indoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor heat exchanger. An indoor fan and an outdoor fan may be configured to urge air through the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers, respectively. A bulkhead may be disposed between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger to define an indoor portion and an outdoor portion of the unit. A vent aperture may be defined in the bulkhead, and the indoor and outdoor fans may be configured to urge make-up air from the outdoor portion through the vent aperture to the indoor portion. In addition, an auxiliary fan may be disposed within the vent aperture to provide additional “boost” make-up air, and a heating bank may be used to heat make-up air if desired.

Abstract: A microprocessor within a processing unit is configured to manage to operation of a finite state machine (FSM) that, in turn, manages the operation of a data connector. The FSM may be a hardwired chip component that adheres to a communication protocol associated with the data connector. The microprocessor is configured to execute a software application in order to (i) apply configuration changes to the processing unit during state transitions initiated by the FSM and (ii) cause the FSM to initiate specific state transitions.

Abstract: A redirecting server generates interstitial web pages that redirect requests from user devices for alias URLs to corresponding destination URLs. The interstitial web pages tag user devices. In some embodiments the interstitial web pages include commands that provide cookies to the user devices. In some embodiments the interstitial web pages acquire ID characteristics from user devices. The cookies may persist on the user devices for some time and may cause information, for example in the form of banner advertisements to be displayed on the user devices. The information may be related to information contained in a resource identified by the destination URL. Some embodiments compile databases of concepts, keywords and/or key phrases represented in resources identified by the destination URLs. In such embodiments the concepts, keywords and/or key phrases may be associated with the alias URLs.

Abstract: A packaged terminal air conditioner unit is provided. The packaged terminal air conditioner unit can include a heater bank jumper configured to couple one or more heater banks to a controller associated with the packaged terminal air conditioner unit. The heater bank jumper can be selectively configurable to provide at least one shunt line to couple at least one contact point associated with the controller to at least one contact point associated with the one or more heater banks. In this manner, the heater bank jumper can be configured based at least in part on an amount of current provided to the packaged terminal air conditioner unit by an electric service.

Abstract: Increased sensitivity and specificity of characterizing patient-specific variations as mutations that are indicative of a cancer or other disease by identifying patient-specific tumor mutations by comparing tumor and normal sequence reads from the patient and filtering for mutations that are unique to the tumor. By comparing tumor sequence to a normal sequence from the same patient, false-positive mutation calls are minimized in the analysis.