Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

General Electric Company

Chad Michael Helms

Jeff Donald Drake

Michael F Finch

Jerrod Aaron Kappler

Steven Keith Root

Todd Elliott Greenwood

John Keith Besore

Natarajan Venkatakrishnan

Eric Kent Watson

Joshua Stephen Wiseman

Darin Franks

William Everette Gardner

Daniel Stephen Frazer

Irena Jozic McDowell

Abdelghani Elfarra

Arnold Estravillo

Eric K Watson

John K Besore

Joshua S Wiseman

A domestic appliance includes a cabinet forming a receiving space; a control panel attached to the cabinet, the control panel including one or more control inputs; a wireless transmitter provided within the control panel to emit a signal; a wireless communication module provided within the control panel, the wireless communication module establishing a wireless connection between the appliance and a remote terminal; and a controller provided within the control panel, the controller being configured to perform a series of operations. The series of operations includes emitting, via the first wireless communication module, the signal, wherein the signal contains a predetermined code to identify the domestic appliance and retrieve an input sequence for altering an operational mode of the domestic appliance.

Service mode initiation instruction for domestic appliances

An appliance includes a wireless communication module in wireless communication with a remote server through an external network and a controller operably coupled to the wireless communication module. A method of ensuring that the appliance is using the latest operating software includes detecting a software verification trigger (such as the replacement or maintenance of a control board), obtaining a current software version and a latest software version, determining that the current and latest software versions do not match, and initiating a software update process to update the controller to the latest software version.

System and method for ensuring an appliance is using the latest operating software

A method for operating an appliance, the appliance including a user interface and a wireless connection module. The method includes establishing a wireless connection between the appliance and a wireless network via the wireless connection module, determining that the appliance is communicating with a remote server via the wireless connection module in response to establishing the wireless connection, and disabling a disconnect button on the user interface for disconnecting the appliance from the wireless connection in response to determining the communication between the appliance and the remote server.

Disabling WiFi disconnect on internet enabled appliances

A method for cook time synchronization includes synchronizing a cook time in one of a plurality of cooking appliances to a user selected remaining cook time from one of the other of the plurality of cooking appliances. The method also includes: (1) transmitting, to the one of the plurality of cooking appliances, a remaining cook time from each of the other of the plurality of cooking appliances over a network; and/or (2) requesting, at the one of the plurality of cooking appliances, the remaining cook time from each of the other of the plurality of cooking appliances over the network in response to a user input at the one of the plurality of cooking appliances.

Method for cook time synchronization

Methods for commissioning a domestic appliance, as provided herein, may include the transmission and receiving of signals between the domestic appliance, a previously-commissioned appliance, a remote user-interface device, and a remote server such that a network credential for a local wireless network is transmitted from the previously-commissioned appliance to the domestic appliance.

Domestic appliance commissioning

A domestic appliance, as provided herein, may include a cabinet, a user input positioned on an exterior of the cabinet, and a controller configured to initiate a commissioning operation. The commissioning operation may include opening a connection channel at a wireless access point on the domestic appliance according to a predetermined initial timeout period. The commissioning operation may further include establishing communication between a remote user interface device and the wireless access point via the open connection channel within the predetermined initial timeout period. The commissioning operation may still further include, in response to establishing communication, maintaining the connection channel between the user device and the wireless access point according to a predetermined extended timeout period.

Systems and methods for obtaining a location of an appliance are provided. In particular, the systems and methods include features for automatically obtaining a location of an appliance, e.g., for registration purposes. In one example aspect, a system includes an appliance that includes features for providing a local appliance network, a user device for connecting to the local appliance network, and a remote computing device communicatively coupled with the user device. To obtain the location of the appliance, the user device first connects with the local appliance network. The user device then obtains data indicative of the geographic location of the user device while connected to the appliance network and routes the data to the remote computing device. As the range of the local appliance network is limited, the location of the user device while connected to the local appliance network is assumed as the geographic location of the appliance.

Systems and methods for obtaining a location of an appliance

A clothes washer is provided comprising one or more power consuming functions and a controller in signal communication with an associated utility. The controller can receive and process a signal from the associated utility indicative of current state of an associated utility. The controller operates the clothes washer in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode in response to the received signal. The controller is configured to change the power consuming functions by changing the duty cycling profile of the heater and/or mechanical action of the basket in the energy savings mode.

Clothes washer demand response by duty cycling the heater and/or the mechanical action

A clothes washer is provided comprising one or more power consuming functions and a controller in signal communication with an associated utility. The controller can receive and process a signal from the associated utility indicative of current state of an associated utility. The controller operates the clothes washer in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode in response to the received signal. The controller is configured to change the power consuming functions by adjusting one or more of an operation schedule, an operation delay, an operation adjustment, and a selective deactivation of at least one of the one or more power consuming functions to reduce power consumption of the clothes washer in the energy savings mode.

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Chad Michael Helms