General Electric Company

Luis E Prada

Gregory Owen Miller

Wenfeng Lu

Christopher Raymond Geisen

Julius B Horvay

Kenneth M Holet

Paul R Buda

Joseph J Zampini

A latch assembly includes a handle, a handle retainer, and a keeper. The keeper includes a biasing mechanism and a head comprising a catch, a lock release projection, and a switch actuator. The keeper biasing member configured to facilitate engaging the catch with the door. The handle biasing member configured to facilitate maintaining the handle in a first position. The handle includes a contact surface slidingly coupled to the lock release projection to facilitate coupling the door to the tub assembly.

Methods and apparatus for securing a dishwasher door

A latch assembly for a dishwasher which enables one step initiation of dishwasher operations is described. The latch assembly also provides that the dishwasher does not operate when the dishwasher door is, or can be, opened. In one embodiment, the latch assembly is configured for use in connection with a dishwasher including a door, a tub, and a keeper secured to the tub. The keeper includes a catch and a lock release projection. The latch assembly includes a handle and at least one switch. The handle includes a latch and has a closed position and an open position. The latch is configured to engage the keeper catch when the door is closed and to disengage from the keeper catch when the handle is in the open position. The latch assembly further includes a switch actuator configured to actuate the switch so that the switch is in a conducting state when the door is substantially closed and so that the switch is in a non-conducting state when the handle is substantially in the open position. The switch is electrically connected to other components of the dishwasher so that dishwasher operations are prevented when the switch is in the non-conducting state and so that dishwasher operations are enabled when the switch is in a conducting state.

Snap latch assembly for a dishwasher

There is provided a method of assembling an anti-sweat heater in a refrigerator cabinet that includes forming the outer case of the cabinet with a sidewall and front face having a right angle corner therebetween and a flange spaced from the corner and inwardly turned from the front face with a depending lip extending towards and spaced from the cabinet sidewall. A heater retainer member is formed and has a portion thereof in cross section view with a front end shaped to receive the heater, a straight center section and two flexible wings, one on each side of the center section and diverging from the center section away from the front end, and also a rear end. The anti-sweat heater is placed in the front end of the retainer member and the heater and front end and center section including the wings of the retainer member are inserted through the space between the depending lip of the flange and the cabinet sidewall. The heater is held in the corner with the front end of the retainer member and a wing of the retainer member is positioned under and in contact with the depending lip of the flange, thereby exerting force against the heater to retain it in the corner. In this manner, the anti-sweat heater is retained in the corner which is its proper position for effective prevention of condensate on the cabinet and is maintained in the corner during subsequent placement of insulating material in the cabinet.

Method of assembling an anti-sweat heater in a refrigerator cabinet

Apparatus for controlling opening and closing movement of a door including manual actuation for opening the door and then biasing the door toward its closed position. A device for slowing and impeding movement of the door in the closing direction includes a flexible sealed container with a high viscosity fluid arranged to reciprocate in one direction responsive to opening the door and in the opposite direction to closing the door. A channel has a first section and a second section with the side walls and a sloping bottom wall between the sections providing a roller guide. A roller in contact with the sealed container is freely movable and has rotary and reciprocating motion within the roller guide of the stationary channel upon engagement with the flexible sealed container. Movement of the door to its open position will move the roller into the first channel section and movement of the door to its closed position moves the roller into the second section causing the sealed container to be deformed by the roller and movement of the door to its closed position is slowed and impeded by reason of viscosity of the material in the sealed container.

Door control device with closure regulator

The present refrigeration apparatus includes a single condenser and compressor, two evaporators, and more particularly an electronically controlled valve system that delivers refrigerant to one evaporator in preference to the other, but will cause the valve system to deliver refrigerant to the other evaporator after a predetermined amount of time.

Apparatus and method of controlling air temperature of a two-evaporator

A refrigerator including a cabinet having storage compartment, an electrical anti-sweat heating means for arming a portion of the cabinet, refrigerating means including a compressor and an evaporator for cooling the compartment, and temperature sensing means to energize the compressor at one predetermined temperature and de-energize the compressor at a second lower temperature. There is provided a switch associated with the temperature sensing means to apply full electrical power to the electrical anti-sweat heating means when the compressor is energized and apply half electrical power to the electrical anti-sweat heating means when the compressor is not energized.

Household refrigerator including anti-sweat heater control circuit

A fail-safe electronically controlled defrost system is provided for use in a frost-free refrigerator suitable for home use. The defrost cycle, in the interests of power conservation, is made subject to plural input electronic control in a circuit in which the intrinsic reliability of the defrost system is specifically designed to revert to a non-power conservation mode in the event of failure of the electronics. Compressor time, door openings and user (vacation mode) settings are typical inputs for control of the period between defrosts.

Fail-safe electronically controlled defrost system

A switch operable by either one or both of two adjacent doors of a two-door refrigerator-freezer to control the lights therein. When both doors are closed, the lights in both compartments are deenergized and when either or both doors is open, the lights in either or both are energized respectively.

Refrigerator door switch

An ice dispenser storage assembly for use in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator including a motor-driven ice dispenser. There is provided a cover secured to the inside of the freezer compartment and an ice storage receptacle movable from a first ice storage position to a second ice transfer position along and below the cover. Provision is made to stop the ice storage receptacle in the second ice transfer position and provision to energize the ice dispenser when the ice storage receptacle is in the second position and deenergize the ice dispenser when the ice storage is not in the second position.

Ice dispenser storage assembly

A magnet and one or more magnetic field responsive switches, preferably Hall effect sensors, are respectively mounted in alignment on opposing edges of a two door refrigerator in one preferred embodiment. Movement out of alignment of either the magnet or switch generates a door ajar signal to activate visual and/or audio alarms. Embodiments employing mono-polar and bipolar Hall effect sensors are shown. A single door embodiment is shown with the magnet held in a fixed position opposite the sensor mounted on the door edge.

Appliance door position sensor arrangement

A device for controlling the opening and closing movement of a duct seal door of an automatic ice maker which requires a regulator for slowing down the closing of the door. The movement of the door about its rotational axis is transmitted via connecting linkages to the closure regulator which comprises a rotor positioned within a stator housing. The rotor's movement is coupled to the connecting linkages via a one-way clutch which decouples the rotor when the door is being opened, and causes positive coupling therebetween when the door is being closed. Disposed within the stator housing in a fixed-volume compartment is a viscous fluid, such as silicone gum. The rotor and stator include opposed rippled surfaces between which the viscous fluid is coactively disposed. The fluid acts as an impedance to the motion of the rotor, which motion occurs only upon the closing of the door, to thereby provide a controlled slow closure thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Luis E Prada