Whirlpool Corporation

Devinder Singh

Jim J Pastryk

Sheryl L Farrington

John W Euler

Kenneth B Austin

Steven John Kuehl

Donald E Janke

Anthony H Hardaway

Mark Bradley Kovich

Jeffrey L Burk

Phalguni S Roy

James R Peterson

Michael S Kauffman

Li Gong Ling

Richard C Spears

Gregory Gene Hortin

Daryl Lee Harmon

Mark H Nelson

Andrew M Oltman

Tracy M Smart

A refrigerator having a cabinet defining a freezer compartment having an access opening and a closure member for closing the access opening. An ice maker is disposed within the freezer compartment for forming ice pieces and an ice storage bin is removably mounted to the closure member below the ice maker for receiving ice from the ice maker. The ice storage bin has an upper portion which is transparent and has a bottom opening. An ice discharge chute extends through the closure member below the bottom opening of the ice storage bin. A motor is mounted on the closure member. An auger is vertically disposed within the ice storage bin and is drivingly connected to the motor. Upon energization of the motor, the auger moves ice pieces from the ice storage bin through the bottom opening to the ice discharge chute for dispensing ice pieces from the ice storage bin.

Ice delivery system for a refrigerator

A refrigerator having a middle fresh food compartment and a relatively large bottom freezer compartment arranged below the fresh food compartment and a relatively small freezer compartment arranged above the fresh food compartment. The bottom freezer compartment preferably supports a drawer including a frame and a removable bin. Cool air can be supplied to the compartments of the refrigerator by employing a two fan control system such that no electromechanical baffles are required. Alternatively, cool air can be directed to the compartments of the refrigerator by use of a baffle which requires only a single electromechanical device to control air flow into three different compartments. The baffle includes a main rotary damper which can be positioned to provide proportional amounts of chilled air to the three separate compartments based on the degree of cooling required.

Multi-compartment refrigeration system

A refrigerator having a middle fresh food compartment and a relatively large bottom freezer compartment arranged below the fresh food compartment and a relatively small freezer compartment arranged above the fresh food compartment. The bottom freezer compartment preferably supports a drawer including a frame and a removable bin. Cool air can be supplied to the compartments of the refrigerator by employing a two fan control system such that no electro-mechanical baffles are required. Alternatively, cool air can be directed to the compartments of the refrigerator by use of a baffle which requires only a single electro-mechanical device to control air flow into three different compartments. The baffle includes a main rotary damper which can be positioned to provide proportional amounts of chilled air to the three separate compartments based on the degree of cooling required.

A wash system is provided having a rotatable wash basket for receiving fabric items disposed within an imperforate wash tub. A quantity of wash liquid is initially applied to the fabric items while the fabric items are tumbled within the wash basket until the fabric items are saturated with wash liquid and have had a chance to roll-up. The washing liquid is then extracted from the fabric items and the extracted wash liquid is stored for later use in a holding tank. A portion of the stored wash liquid is reintroduced from the holding tank to a mixing tank and mixed with detergent to form a wash liquor having a detergent concentration within a predetermined range. This wash liquor is then continuously passed through the fabric items while the wash basket rotates at a speed to maintain the fabric items against a peripheral wall of the wash basket.

High performance washing system for a horizontal axis washer

A vertical axis washer is provided with a rotatable wash basket that has one or more inwardly directed baffles, but no central agitator structure. Surfaces are provided in association with the baffles, which may be in the form of ramps on the bottom wall of the basket, to cause the fabric load within the washer to move up the side of the basket wall and to slide along the baffles in a swirling motion as the basket is accelerated and decelerated during the washing cycle, which causes the fabric to be flexed and rearranged in the basket. This washer construction is particularly suited to be used in conjunction with a concentrated detergent solution wash cycle.

Vertical axis washer

In an automatic washer including a perforate wash basket, valves are provided which restrict the fluid flow through the perforations during portions of the wash cycle when the basket is stationary or slowly rotating or oscillating, but permit extraction and fluid flow therethrough during higher spin speeds. These valves may take the form of individual elastomeric sheet-like components which are attached around the basket, or they may be grouped into functional units occupying larger areas, such as bands or sheets of elastomeric material. The valve openings are formed as slits or cuts in the elastomeric material.

Slit valve for automatic washer

A reciprocating laundry basket for an automatic washer is provided in which the basket has a peripheral wall, a bottom wall contiguous with the peripheral wall, a post mounted within the basket for rotation with the basket, a spray device mounted on the post for spraying wash liquid into the interior of the wash basket and spray inlets and vertical fins positioned adjacent the peripheral wall for enhancing agitation of the fabric load.

Reciprocating laundry basket for an automatic washer

A centrally mounted spray inlet is provided for an automatic washer laundry basket in which the basket has a vertical axis rigid post mounted therein to rotate with the basket and a spray inlet is carried on a post to rotate relative to the post about an axis of rotation. A liquid conduit extends along the post for carrying wash liquid to the spray inlet. The post and spray inlet may be concentrically mounted about an axis of rotation of the wash basket with the spray inlet mounted at the top of the post. The spray inlet provides a fan of spray in a vertical orientation so that the entire height of the wash basket will be sprayed by the spray inlet.

Centrally mounted spray inlet for automatic washer laundry basket

An apparatus for laundering a textile wash load that includes an imperforate wash tub having a sump at its lower end. A perforate wash basket that is adapted to receive a load of textile materials to be laundered is disposed concentrically within the wash tub. The wash basket includes an inner surface upon which are disposed a plurality of agitator vanes. A fluid conducting tower is disposed along the central longitudinal axis of the wash basket. The tower includes a nozzle assembly that is adapted to spray liquid onto the wash load. The tower also includes a mixing tank that receives wash additive.

Agibasket washer with centrally located premixing chamber

A method of washing fabric in a washer having a wash chamber rotatable about a vertical axis and charged with a detergent solution is provided. The wash chamber is rotated about its vertical axis a number of revolutions sufficient to cause the fabric and detergent solution within the wash chamber to rotate at a speed approximately the same as the wash chamber. The wash chamber is periodically decelerated to cause the fabric and detergent solution to move relative to the wash chamber due to rotational inertia of the fabric and detergent solution. The fabric is caused to tumble within the wash chamber by impinging the fabric on structures in the wash chamber as the fabric is moving relative to the wash chamber. The steps of rotating, decelerating, and tumbling are repeated for a predetermined first period of time. A recirculating spray of concentrated detergent solution is directed on to the fabric during the first period of time as the fabric is rotating with and tumbling in the wash chamber. Finally, the detergent solution is removed from the fabric by spinning and draining the wash chamber.

Method of washing fabric articles in a vertical axis washer

A valve is provided for use in an automatic washer which is positioned in a liquid conduit for directing a flow of wash liquid to a first spray jet during a first predetermined condition of the washer and for directing a flow of wash liquid to a second spray jet during a second predetermined condition of the washer. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the valve is a centrifugal valve and the predetermined conditions of the washer are the rotational speeds of the basket. When the basket rotates at a relatively slow speed, such as during agitation, liquid is directed to a spray jet which enhances agitation. When the wash basket is rotated at a high speed, such as during spin, the wash liquid is directed to a spray jet which enhances the rinsing of the wash load.

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St. Joseph, MI, United States of America

Devinder Singh