Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

General Electric Company

Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.

Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd.

Gregory Sergeevich Chernov

Andrew Reinhard Krause

Sharath Chandra Prasad

Sharath Chandra

Allamneni Naga Tejaswini

Bradley Nicholas Gilkey

Somak Chatterjee

Syed Moin Ahmed

Koncha Chandra Sekhar

Bradford Gasior

Naresh Suthar

Alan Joseph Mitchell

Natarajan Venkatakrishnan

Charles Benjamin Miller

Matthew R Hunter

Danister Abeygunawardana

Srinivas Pasham

Praveena Alangar Subrahmanya

Ryan John Prince

Balaji Srinivasan

Brent Alden Junge

Michael Goodman Schroeder

Bo Yan

Jianwu Li

Kevin Farrelly Nolan

Samuel Vincent DuPlessis

Richard DeVos

Jordan Andrew Waymeyer

Timothy Ray Jackson

Jonathan Charles Crosby

Gregory Scott Carr

Ronald Gary Foster

Ansuraj Seenivasan

Yayu Song

Michael C Watanabe

Katherine Michelle Jansen

Sean Simpson

Daniel Joseph Russell

Gaurav Kumar Verma

Jose Rafael Padron

David C McCalpin

Anirban Roy

Anthony William Simpson

Kenneth Maurice Jackson

Paul Haney

Sasikumar Madanagopal

Santhosh Kandi

Moinuddin Mohd Bilal

Vinoth Chandran

Trent Daniel Jacobi

A stand-alone ice making appliance, includes a casing. A water tank, an ice maker, and a pump are disposed within the casing. The pump is operable to circulate water from the water tank to the ice maker. An auxiliary water reservoir is disposed outside of the casing. The auxiliary water reservoir is in fluid communication with the water tank such that water within the auxiliary water reservoir is flowable to the water tank. A filter is disposed within the auxiliary water reservoir.

Stand-alone ice making appliance with a side tank filter

A free-standing appliance may include a cabinet, a water source, an icemaker, an ice bin, a cold water line, and one or more other features. The icemaker may be mounted within the cabinet downstream from the water source to receive water therefrom. The ice bin may be disposed within the cabinet downstream from the icemaker to receive ice therefrom. The cold water line may be mounted to the cabinet and define a cold water outlet downstream from the water source in fluid isolation from the icemaker.

Free-standing ice or beverage dispensing appliance

Leak detection sensors, appliances configured to detect leaks and methods of detecting leaks are provided. The leak detection sensor is a self-powered leak detection sensor. The leak detection sensor includes a water-permeable medium and at least one electrochemical cell. The electrochemical cell can include a first electrode and a second electrode, and an electrolyte disposed between the electrodes, wherein in a dormant state, the electrolyte is in a solid, dry state. The electrochemical cell can enter an active state when exposed to water. The electrochemical cell can be configured to generate electrical power in the active state. The leak detection sensor can further include a peripheral electronic component configured to receive electrical power produced by the electrochemical cell. The self-powered leak detection sensor is configured for, and related methods include, detecting exposure to water in response to electrical energy generation of the electrochemical cell.

Self-powered leak detection sensor

A water filter assembly may include a filter body having vertical side walls that defines a cavity within which one or more filter layers may be housed, the filter body further including a plurality of vertical barriers that define a plurality of flow paths that converge on an outlet hole, the vertical barriers further including a plurality of cutouts defining alternative overflow paths permitting water therethrough, and each filter layer including a plurality of vertical barriers that define a plurality of flow paths.

Water filtering and recycling system for ice making appliance

An indoor gardening appliance includes a grow module that is rotatably mounted within a grow chamber and that defines pod apertures for receiving a plurality of plant pods. A nutrient cartridge assembly includes a manifold defining a cartridge receptacle for receiving a nutrient cartridge. The manifold defines a follower pin for engaging a track system on the nutrient cartridge such that a user simply pushes the nutrient cartridge into the cartridge receptacle to install the cartridge. When the nutrient cartridge needs to be removed, the user pushes the nutrient cartridge again and the track system/follower pin cause relative rotation between the nutrient cartridge and the follower pin to a circumferential orientation from which it can slide out of the cartridge receptacle.

Indoor garden center with a nutrient cartridge system

A dispense control system for filling a container using a dispensing assembly of a refrigerator appliance and a method for operating the same are provided. The dispense control system includes an emitter for generating a beam of energy and a scanning assembly for selectively directing the beam of energy along a scan path comprising a plurality of scan positions. A receiver detects the beam of energy reflected by the container or the liquid at each of the plurality of scan positions and a controller determines a height of the container or the liquid at each of the plurality of scan positions along the scan path based at least in part on a travel time of the beam of energy between the emitter and the receiver.

Dispense control system for a refrigerator appliance

A contaminant measurement system is provided. The system is operable to detect and measure a concentration level of a preselected contaminant, e.g., lead, in water disposed within a chamber of the system. The system includes a detection agent that is operable to interact with the preselected contaminant in the water. The detection agent can be a plurality of polymeric beads or a membrane, for example. The system has a sensing circuit that includes a pair of electrodes spaced from one another and both at least partially disposed in the water. A controller is communicatively coupled with the sensing circuit and is configured to receive one or more electric signals from the sensing circuit. The controller determines a parameter indicative of the concentration level of the preselected contaminant based on the one or more electrical signals. The controller then determines and outputs the concentration level of the preselected contaminant.

Water contaminant measurement system and methods for measuring concentration levels of contaminants in water

A plumbing system for an ice maker may include a supply line extending to a dispense point and a dispense valve coupled to the supply line. An ice maker is coupled to the recirculation line, and a pump is also coupled to the recirculation line. The pump is operable to recirculate liquid through the ice maker via the recirculation line. The plumbing system also include features for draining water from the recirculation line.

Drained plumbing system for an ice maker

A quick connect fitting kit includes a chuck having a threaded end. The chuck defines a channel. A collar has a threaded end and a sloped inner surface. The threaded end of the collar is meshable with the threaded end of the chuck to mount the collar to the chuck. A collet has a sloped outer surface. The collet is positioned within the collar such that the sloped outer surface of the collet is positioned on the sloped inner surface of the collar. The collet defines a passage. The passage of the collet is sized for receipt of a pipe. The pipe is in fluid communication with the channel of the chuck when the collet is compressed against the pipe and the collar is mounted to the chuck.

Quick connect fitting kit for a plumbed appliance

A filter assembly that includes one or more features that enhance installation, inspection, and replacement of the filter is provided. In one exemplary aspect, the filter assembly includes a manifold and a filter media assembly that includes a filter media and an end cap attached thereto. The end cap and manifold include features that provide for secure mounting of the filter media assembly with the manifold so as to facilitate inspection, installation, and removal of the filter assembly.

Point of entry water filter assembly

A system and method are directed to detecting the presence of heavy metals in a flowing fluid, such as a drinking water supply. The system includes a first chamber for receiving a filtered portion of the fluid and a second chamber for receiving an unfiltered portion of the fluid. A test device measures electrical properties of the filtered fluid in the first chamber and the unfiltered fluid in the second chamber, such as an electric potential difference, and a controller can use the measured electrical properties to detect the presence or quantity of one or more heavy metals within the fluid, such as lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, and/or copper.

System and method for detecting heavy metals in a fluid

A system and method are directed toward the synthesis of polymeric capsules using a phase inversion process by extrusion of polymeric droplets through a syringe-needle assembly or an iris-shutter mechanism. The polymeric solution may be prepared by dissolving PAN (polyacrylonitrile) polymer in DMF (Dimethyl Formamide) solvent at high temperature through continuous stirring. Following preparation of the capsules, further treatment was initiated using triethylamine in gelation bath to make the final product an efficient removal agent of water hardness.

System and method for synthesizing polymeric capsules for water softening

A dispense control system for a dispensing assembly of a refrigerator appliance and a method for operating the same are provided. The dispensing assembly defines a base plane for receiving a container. A dispense control system includes an emitter for directing a beam of energy toward the container and the base plane and a receiver for detecting a projection of the beam of energy in an image plane of the receiver. The dispense control system may be configured to obtain a measured displacement of the projection when the container is positioned on the base plane, and an actual height of the container or a liquid level within the container may be determined from the measured displacement of the projection.

A filter assembly with features for improved filter cartridge placement and detection are provided. The filter assembly includes a filter cartridge and a filter housing for receiving the filter cartridge. A contact member extends from the filter housing for engaging the filter cartridge when the filter cartridge in the installed position. A first contact is mounted to the contact member and a second contact is mounted to the filter cartridge such that the first contact and the second contact establish an electrical connection when the filter cartridge in the installed position.

Filter assembly for improved filter cartridge placement and detection in a refrigerator appliance

A filter cartridge includes a casing. A filter medium is disposed within the casing. A radio-frequency identification, RFID, tag is positioned on the casing. A leak detection pad is positioned on the casing. The RFID tag is in communication with the leak detection pad. The RFID tag is configured to transmit a leak detection signal in response to a liquid at the leak detection pad.

Filter assembly with leak detection features

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Gregory Sergeevich Chernov