Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Ark-les Corporation

Illimois Tool Works, Inc.

Eric K Larson

Juan J Barrena

William Dante Chatelle

David Charles Gill

Mark A Romo

Robert Kellicker

Mark Edward Brewer

Jeffrey L Prunty

Andy W Tucker

Jarod Michael Sulik

Edward J Claprood

James M Maloof

Andrew Tucker

Matthew C Webster

Jian Hong Kang

Dharman B Kothari

James J MacDonald, Jr

Matthew J Grimes

Jason A Dides

An ice making device provides an ice tray and a frame to hold the ice tray. The frame has a proximal end with a motor and a distal end with a circular opening. An insert positioned in the circular opening with a projection provides a vibrating motion to dislodge ice cubes from the ice tray. An ice tray includes an integrated heating circuit for sensing capacitance and releasing frozen ice cubes. An ice tray also includes a raised flange to prevent water from splashing out of the ice tray.

Hybrid ice maker

An ice-tray for ice-making machines is formed by modular fabricated cups that can assembled together within a frame to create an ice-tray of arbitrary dimensions allowing a sharing of components among a variety of ice-tray sizes. Individual cups may include ice formation sensors or heaters or may be heated by an induction heating system.

Smart ice machine with separately fabricated cups for the ice tray

An icemaker employs a thermoformed ice tray that may have preprinted conductors providing for heating elements in capacitive sensing. Capacitive sensing may be used to control a water fill level and/or to detect complete freezing of the ice cubes and/or to detect complete ejection of the ice cubes.

Icemaker with thermoformed ice tray providing heating and phase change sensing

A refrigerator damper system employs a fluidic valve providing switching of air between refrigerated compartments without the need for a movable valve plate such as can be obstructed by ice. In one embodiment, a bidirectional fan provides switching from a first compartment to a second compartment and then from a second compartment to a first compartment with change of fan direction.

Refrigerator diverter valve using fluidic circuit

An ice maker is provided that may include cooperating primary and secondary coils arranged on opposite sides of a freezer cabinet wall for wirelessly transmitting electrical power through the freezer cabinet wall to energize various ice maker components. During the wireless electrical power transmission, a data/control signal may be superimposed on the electrical power waveform to allow wireless transmission of the control signal, which can be processed by a logic circuitry for implementing component control methodologies.

Harness free ice maker system

An ice-maker () provides a weight-sensing ice bin () that provides multiple levels of ice measurement thereby allowing improved control strategies that reduce ice making or ice making rate in accordance with anticipated ice usage to eliminate energy costs and the need to discard stale ice cubes. The weight sensor may be an induction sensor where the coil also serves a heating function for defrosting.

Ice-maker with weight-sensitive ice bin

An ice maker mechanism provides a position sensor sensing the position of the ice tray to allow control of absolute position of the ice tray without the need for motor stalling such as generates heat and wastes energy. An ice maker mechanism provides two motors for rotating the ice tray adapted for high torques low-speed rotation and low torque high-speed rotation the latter used for agitation of the water during freezing.

Ice-maker motor with integrated encoder and header

An integrated line voltage converter and microprocessor-controlled tone generator allow advanced alarm features to be implemented in standard appliances as powered by a high-voltage line power. An integrated switch may also be used to allow the addition of alarm features to standard appliances as a drop-in replacement for door switches.

Modulated audio annunciator providing stand-alone high voltage compatibility

An assembly for high-powered LEDs provides a direct attachment of the LED to a ceramic thermal conductor/electrical insulator sealed in a housing with a compression element between a portion of the housing and ceramic heat sink to provide a predetermined range of biasing force locating the ceramic heat sink against the portion of the housing with dimensional changes in the ceramic heat sink caused by thermal expansion of the ceramic heat sink.

Heat-sink/connector system for light emitting diode

An optical-interrupter provides a mechanically integrated electric light source and electric light sensor positioned across a gap to transmit a light beam across the gap that may be interrupted with an opaque vane. The optical-interrupter uses conventional LEDs for both the light source and a light receiver. An integrated circuit comparator may be used to provide an adjustable threshold for the determination of whether the light beam is blocked.

Optical interruption sensor with opposed light emitting diodes

A control circuit for a blender provides low-cost power conditioning through the use of a high resistance which provides temporary power for operation of low-voltage logic circuitry and low-voltage switches for a time sufficient to switch the motor on, and a lower resistance which provides sufficient power for maintaining the motor on state indefinitely as instructed by the low-voltage logic circuitry. Low average power dissipation is provided by powering the low-voltage logic circuitry and low-voltage switches using the high resistance in a standby mode and switching in the lower resistance only when the motor is activated.

Low cost blender control permitting low actuation force switches

An automatic temperature control for a washing machine or the like may adopt in a first embodiment a single triac switched between a hot-water valve and cold-water valve by mechanical switch elements to provide for a range of temperature control via a microprocessor receiving a temperature command input. In a second embodiment two triacs may be used to permit a range of temperature controls to be effected by voltage signals generated by low-voltage low current switches implemented on an integrated circuit board.

Automatic temperature control with simplified microprocessor interface

A shaft of a rotary switch, for example, useful as a control for an appliance, such as a washing machine, incorporates an LED at the end of the shaft and projecting light laterally from the shaft to provide an indication of the rotary position of the corresponding knob with respect to printed indicia on a console. The LED may be powered by slip rings incorporated into the rotary switch and communicating directly with line power as controlled by the limiting resistor and the shaft may include a controlled breakage feature providing LED conductors that are recessed within the shaft in the event of shaft breakage to reduce the chance of operator contact with line voltage.

Appliance control knob providing illuminated setting indication

A water level control for a washing machine provides an integrated unit that may replace standard mechanical water level controls with a microprocessor-based circuit that may provide for more sophisticated water management in a standard washing machine using a non-microprocessor cycle timer.

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Cumberland, RI, United States of America

Eric K Larson