General Electric Company

Martin Marietta Corporation

Mark Edward Dausch

Vivek Venugopal Badami

Walter Whipple

Piero Patrone Bonissone

David Anthony Schneider

Youssef El-Shoubary

Bang M Kim

Donald Thomas McGrath

Dwight William Jacobus

Seth Alexander Capello

Joseph Duane Tobbe

Gregory Owen Miller

Andrew Joseph Spanyer

Donald Richard Dickerson, Jr

Terry Clifford Cooper

James Baldwin Comly

Paul A Siemers

Thomas R Payne

Robert P Alley

Yu-To Chen

Richard E Hornung

James A White

Nicolas Wadih Chbat

John M Smith

Mark David Osborn

Norman Zethward Shilling

Roger L Hoffman

Bernard J Carey

Harold John Jenkins, Jr

Barbara D Molnar

Cynthia Fanning Forester

Kenneth Hsin-Chao Chiang

There is provided a central site system for communicating with at least one remote site equipment monitor, the at least one remote site equipment monitor collecting operational data concerning remote site equipment. The central site system includes a data transfer system adapted for receiving the operational data from the at least one remote site equipment monitor. The central site system also includes an operational data access system which receives the operational data from the data transfer system and stores the operational data in a data storage unit of the operational data access system. The central site system also includes a notification distribution system which receives data based on the operational data and distributes the data based on the operational data to a destination according to a predefined schedule.

Central site architecture for remote service delivery

The appliance comprises a container for receiving the soiled articles, a circulation pump for distributing a hot liquid to the container, a drain positioned in the container and connected to the pump for emptying the liquid from the container upon completion of a cycle and a hydroclone connected to the drain and the pump, for removing soil from the liquid such that about ninety percent (90%) of the liquid distributed to the container during one cycle can be utilized during at least one subsequent cycle. Another embodiment includes a dishwasher having a normal operating cycle, the dishwasher comprising a container for accommodating a plurality of articles, a circulation pump for delivering a liquid to the container and for circulating the liquid within the container, a diverter connected to the circulation pump for diverting at least a portion of the circulating liquid to a hydroclone while returning at least about ninety percent (90%) of the liquid diverted to the hydroclone to the circulating liquid, the returned liquid having at most about 0.02% solids contained therein.

Reduced energy cleaning appliance

A system and method for providing flow rate compensation in a washing machine. This invention provides flow rate compensation by monitoring the flow rate of the inlet liquid and the agitator load while agitating. A controller uses a flow rate compensation algorithm to compensate for the varying flow rate of the inlet liquid and an adaptive fill algorithm to determine an optimal level of liquid to be added to the washer basket and washer tub during a wash cycle operation.

System and method for providing flow rate compensation in a washing

A system and method for sensing the dryness of clothing articles in a clothes dryer. In one embodiment, the clothes dryer uses a temperature sensor and a phase angle sensor to determine the dryness of the clothing articles as a function of the heated air temperature and the motor phase angle. In another embodiment the clothes dryer uses a humidity sensor to determine the dryness of the clothing articles as a function of the humidity of the heated air temperature. In a third embodiment the clothes dryer uses a temperature sensor, a phase angle sensor, and a humidity sensor to determine the dryness of the clothing articles as a function of the heated air temperature, the motor phase angle, and the humidity of the heated air temperature.

System and method for sensing the dryness of clothing articles

A temperature sensor system for a household appliance, such as a microwave oven, that provides for a non-contact self-calibrating measurement of the temperature of an object disposed in a chamber of the appliance. The system comprises an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver, as well as a distribution apparatus for coupling the transmitter and receiver to the appliance chamber. A scan pattern of infrared radiation is provided for the chamber and the detected infrared radiation from the chamber is used by a processor to generate an accurate measure of the temperature of the object in the chamber.

Infrared non-contact temperature measurement for household appliances

A fuzzy logic controller is compiled into values in a look-up table such that the table may be used for adjusting a process dependent upon the state variables. The look-up table may be generated by use of a Mean of Maxima (MOM) technique for defuzzification. Alternately, an approximate Height Method (HM) may be used to provide defuzzification. The MOM and HM techniques allow fuzzy logic control without executing any rules in run-time. A further alternative uses an exact height method and minimizes the number of rules which are executed in run time.

Compilation of rule bases for fuzzy logic control

This invention provides a system and method for determining a level of liquid to be supplied for a wash cycle operation in a washing machine given a clothes load and clothes type. The liquid level setting is determined by measuring the time to fill the washer basket and the washer tub with a predetermined initial level of liquid, measuring a change in the level of liquid in the tub and basket after soaking for a predetermined time, and applying a fuzzy logic algorithm to the measured values.

System and method for determining a liquid level setting in a washing

A variable volume oven that can be modified to adjust its volume according to the cooking load. The volume of the oven is able to be adjusted by providing a heating element that is vertically adjustable within the oven to a position that provides better convective and radiative heating to the cooking load.

Variable volume oven

A method and apparatus for detecting the relative proportion of various fabric types present in a clothes load in a clothes washer are provided, in which a set of fuzzy logic membership functions is defined at each clothes load weight across a range of expected load weights to be handled by the clothes washer, with the set of membership functions representing various fabric types that might be present in the clothes load. The membership functions are defined at least in part by a washer operating state that is to be sensed during initial washer operation, and the method includes obtaining a value for the clothes load weight, sensing a value of the washer operating state, and determining a degree of fulfillment of the sensed value in each of the membership functions defined for that given clothes load. The degree of fulfillment represents the relative proportion of the various fabric types for which membership functions are defined, and the information regarding the resultant degrees of fulfillment may be employed in controlling the operation of the washer for optimal performance. The apparatus constitutes a washer controller having a microprocessor that receives signals corresponding to the weight of the clothes load, the sensed value of the predetermined washer operating state, and has stored therein the data necessary to generate the set of membership functions for each clothes load weight.

Clothes fabric type blend detection method and apparatus

A fuzzy logic supervisory control architecture for aircraft engines includes a series of fuzzy proportional integral controllers each designed for a specific operating range and a fuzzy logic hierarchical controller for combining the fuel flow derivative outputs of the individual controllers. The hierarchical controller utilizes fuzzy logic on the input space fuzzified to linguistic values for engine temperature, power turbine speed and spool acceleration to determine a weighting to be given to each of the controller outputs for fuel flow derivative.

Fuzzy hierarchical controller for a turboshaft engine

The present invention discloses a device and method for separating lint particles in a clothes dryer. In the present invention, the device and method use a cyclone to separate the lint particles. The cyclone includes a housing container having an inlet port and an outlet port. A screen is positioned about the inlet port. A tubing extends through the outlet port into the housing container. A drawing means draws moisture and lint laden air from the clothes dryer through the screen. A circulating means circulates the moisture and lint laden air in the housing container about the tubing. A removing means removes the moisture and lint laden air from the housing container and retains any lint particles within the housing container. The cyclone improves upon the efficiency of accumulating lint particles without compromising the passage of air flow in the exhaust duct and improves upon the passage of air flow without decreasing the amount of lint particles being trapped.

Device and method for separating lint particles in a clothes dryer

An energy efficient washing machine includes a control system that provides a cleansing fluid level that is optimized for effective cleaning of the soiled articles and includes a closed loop adaptive water level controller that controls the addition of water into the machine. The adaptive water level controller includes an agitator load signature monitor and an agitator work-determining processor, the processor being coupled to the agitator load signature monitor and a cleansing fluid supply system and adapted to generate a fluid supply control signal in correspondence with an agitator work signal, which signal is generated by the processor in correspondence with iterative respective agitator load signature values corresponding to strokes of the agitator. A method of determining the optimal fill level for the cleansing fluid in a washing machine includes the steps of operating an agitator disposed in the washer basket to displace articles to be cleansed; determining a plurality of respective agitator load signature values during the operation of the agitator; processing the respective agitator load signature values to determine an agitator minimal work point signal; and generating a cleansing fluid supply system control signal in correspondence with the agitator minimal work point signal to provide the optimal cleansing fluid fill level for the articles to be cleansed that are disposed in the washing machine.

Adaptive water level controller for washing machine

An energy efficient washing machine includes a cleansing fluid supply system, a washer basket having an agitator device for displacing the articles to be cleansed within the basket, and a closed loop water level controller coupled to the cleansing fluid supply system and to the drive system for the agitator. The fluid supply system includes a fill nozzle designed to provide a clothes-positioning spray pattern that serves to maintain the articles evenly distributed in the basket to enables the load sensing systems of the closed loop adaptive water level controller to function to accurately provide the optimal water level for cleansing. To accomplish this positioning of the articles to be cleansed, the fluid fill nozzle typically provides a fan discharge of fluid passing therethrough and is disposed at a cant angle with respect to the direction of rotation of the basket such that the fan discharge covers an area between the agitator assembly and the sidewall of the basket.

Washing machine fill control system

A turbidity sensing mechanism for a dishwasher is connected in the fluid circulation conduit between the pump and the spray mechanism. The mechanism includes a hollow housing enclosing a hollow transparent tube connected in fluid flow relationship with the conduit. A source of electromagnetic radiation and a radiation-to-frequency sensor are positioned inside the housing on opposite sides of the tube.

Growing community of inventors

Latham, NY, United States of America

Mark Edward Dausch