Patents by Inventor Stephen Michael Bischoff

Stephen Michael Bischoff 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: 11377296
    Abstract: A method of forming a packaging brace for a washing machine appliance includes providing a flat blank. The method also includes folding a left side panel and a right side panel of the flat blank inwards towards each other. The method further includes positioning a bottom panel of the blank above an opening in a cabinet of the washing machine and inserting the bottom panel into a basket of the washing machine through the opening whereby a contoured profile of the opening urges the blank to fold and form a packaging brace for the washing machine appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Bischoff, Austin Colby Specter
  • Publication number: 20210139230
    Abstract: A method of forming a packaging brace for a washing machine appliance includes providing a flat blank. The method also includes folding a left side panel and a right side panel of the flat blank inwards towards each other. The method further includes positioning a bottom panel of the blank above an opening in a cabinet of the washing machine and inserting the bottom panel into a basket of the washing machine through the opening whereby a contoured profile of the opening urges the blank to fold and form a packaging brace for the washing machine appliance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Bischoff, Austin Colby Specter
  • Patent number: 9404683
    Abstract: Refrigerator appliances are provided. A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber and including a mullion extending between and defining the fresh food chamber and freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet for accessing the fresh food chamber, the door including an inner surface and an outer surface, the door further including an ice container mounted thereon. The refrigerator appliance further includes a hinge connecting the mullion and the door, and a freezer door connected to the cabinet for accessing the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a drain assembly for draining a liquid from the ice container, the drain assembly providing a flow path through the hinge and the mullion to an exhaust location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Benjamin Miller, Alan Joseph Mitchell, Stephen Michael Bischoff
  • Patent number: 9297572
    Abstract: An appliance is provided. The appliance includes a cabinet, a door mounted to the cabinet and a handle. The appliance also includes features for pivotally mounting the handle to the door and for urging the door away from the cabinet when the handle pivots. The features can also assist with limiting or reducing a gap between the handle and the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Bischoff, Eugenio Gomez, Sanjay Pallipurath Sreenarayanan, Sandip Kashinathappa Shetty
  • Publication number: 20150292793
    Abstract: An appliance is provided. The appliance includes a cabinet, a door mounted to the cabinet and a handle. The appliance also includes features for pivotally mounting the handle to the door and for urging the door away from the cabinet when the handle pivots. The features can also assist with limiting or reducing a gap between the handle and the door.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2014
    Publication date: October 15, 2015
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Stephen Michael Bischoff, Eugenio Gomez, Sanjay Pallipurath Sreenarayanan, Sandip Kashinathappa Shetty
  • Publication number: 20150108886
    Abstract: Refrigerator appliances are provided. A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber and including a mullion extending between and defining the fresh food chamber and freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet for accessing the fresh food chamber, the door including an inner surface and an outer surface, the door further including an ice container mounted thereon. The refrigerator appliance further includes a hinge connecting the mullion and the door, and a freezer door connected to the cabinet for accessing the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a drain assembly for draining a liquid from the ice container, the drain assembly providing a flow path through the hinge and the mullion to an exhaust location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Publication date: April 23, 2015
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Charles Benjamin Miller, Alan Joseph Mitchell, Stephen Michael Bischoff