Whirlpool Corporation

Muhammad Khizar

Ermanno Buzzi

Vincent D Csapos

Philip J Czarnecki

Mateusz Michal Wolowicz

Charles R Cravens

Maria Paola Pirovano

Mario J Godinho

Ping Wu

Alberto Cigada

Tingting Yu

Gabriele Candiani

Luigi De Nardo

Fabio Andrea Cigada

Chris A Lundberg

Hanks Hu

Matteo Parnisari

Hua Guo

Ryan Li

David Edwards

Andrea Olivani, Jr

Raymond Thompson

Mehmet Ali Acar

Hongzhen Zhao

Andrea Cesaroni

Townsley R Curtis

Tolga Gonulluleroglu

Massimo Gobbetti

Jordan Sahs

Mark E Ecklund

Nitin Minocha

Shirley Mao

Jingjing Tong

A liner for a crisp plate includes ceramic nanoparticles and a polymer material combined with the ceramic nanoparticles to provide a mixture. A network of carbon nanotubes is embedded within the mixture to form a composite matrix, wherein the carbon nanotubes are unidirectionally aligned within the composite matrix.

Hybrid nanoreinforced liner for microwave oven

An electromagnetic cooking device includes a cavity in which a foodstuff is placed. A plurality of radio frequency feeds are configured to introduce electromagnetic radiation into the cavity for heating the foodstuff. A radio frequency signal generator is configured to generate a low power radio frequency signal where a high power amplifier is coupled to the radio frequency signal generator where the high power amplifier is configured to amplify the low power radio frequency signal to a high power radio frequency signal. A heat sink is coupled to the high power amplifier where the heat sink includes a flat base coupled to a plurality of fins which extend perpendicularly from a first side of the flat base. A thin metal plate includes a plurality of perforations where the perforations are filled with an epoxy resin having a carbon nanotube loading.

Nano-cooling in solid-state cooking microwave ovens

A dishwasher includes a housing having walls defining a tub having an outlet and inlet for humid air to flow out from and into the tub, respectively. A drying system contacts at least one wall of the tub. The drying system includes an inlet conduit fluidly connected to the outlet and an outlet conduit fluidly connected to the inlet with the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit forming an inverted V-shaped air circuit defining an airflow path therethrough. The drying system also includes at least one adsorbent component having an adsorbent material positioned along the airflow path, and at least one gate check valve blocking airflow from the tub to the adsorbent material during a wash cycle. The adsorbent material is regenerated via heat transfer through the at least one wall from the tub during a wash cycle when the gate check valve is closed.

Dish drying system with adsorbent material regeneration

A microwave oven includes a housing defining an interior cavity, a magnetron positioned within the housing and outside of the interior cavity and a micro-wave antenna in electrical communication with the magnetron and positioned adjacent a lower surface of the interior cavity. The microwave oven further includes a heating plate that includes a glass-ceramic substrate defining at least a portion of the lower surface of the interior cavity. The heating plate further includes a resistive-heating coating applied on a portion of the glass-ceramic substrate and defining at least one open micro-wave transmissive path from the micro-wave antenna to the interior cavity.

Microwave oven with integrated lower surface heating plate

A dishwasher includes a tub with an outlet for humid air to flow out from the tub, and an inlet for dry air to flow into the tub; and a drying system with an air circuit and an adsorbent component disposed between an air inlet and an air outlet in the air circuit. The adsorbent component includes a water harvesting nanomaterial for absorbing water from the humid air and releasing water upon regeneration. During a drying cycle, the air circuit draws humid air from the tub such that the adsorbent component absorbs moisture from the humid air to form a dry air stream, and during a subsequent wash cycle, the air circuit is blocked from receiving air flow such that latent heat can be transferred to the adsorbent component via conduction, convection, or both, to regenerate the water harvesting nanomaterial.

Dish drying system with water harvesting hybrid nanomaterial

A microwave heating appliance includes a housing having interior walls with interior surfaces defining a cooking chamber for heating food, a microwave heating source configured to generate microwave radiation for heating the food, and a rapid heating plate disposed in the cooking chamber. The rapid heating plate includes a substrate having a hybrid coating disposed on thereon, with the hybrid coating configured to generate heat upon application of a magnetic field and upon absorption of the microwave radiation from the microwave heating source. The hybrid coating includes ferromagnetic nanowires and ferritic carbon nanotubes dispersed in a polymer to generate heat for transferring to food placed on the rapid heating plate in the cooking chamber.

Tunable nanowires blended rapid heating plate

A refrigerator includes a cabinet coupled to one or more doors forming a storage compartment and an air purifying duct system positioned in the storage compartment. The air purifying duct system includes an air duct in fluid communication with the storage compartment; a fan configured to circulate air between the storage compartment and air duct; a photocatalyst disposed on a portion of the interior surface; one or more LEDs positioned to project light across the air duct and onto the photocatalyst; and an air circulation path configured to direct pathogens within the storage compartment into the air duct using the fan and circulate purified air into the storage compartment.

Antimicrobial air ducts

A dishwasher includes a housing having walls defining a tub with an outlet for humid air to flow out from the tub and an inlet for dry air to flow into the tub. The dishwasher also includes a drying system with a fluidized bed containing an adsorbent material, and an air circuit for supplying air to fluidize the adsorbent material via an air inlet, with at least a portion of the air inlet in contact with at least one wall of the tub such that heat is transferred from the tub to the air. During a regeneration cycle, the air circuit supplies heated ambient air to the fluidized bed to regenerate the adsorbent material. During an adsorption cycle, the air circuit receives hot humid air from the tub to be dried by the adsorbent material through the fluidized bed and returned as dry air to the tub.

Drying system with fluidized adsorbent

A microwave-heating crisp plate includes a body defining a food-supporting surface and an outer surface opposite the food-supporting surface, and a coating applied over at least a portion of the outer surface. The coating includes a base polymer material defining a matrix, carbon nanotubes, and ferrite particles. The carbon nanotubes and the ferrite particles are dispersed throughout the matrix in a predetermined relative ratio and in a predetermined dispersal ratio with respect to the matrix.

Phase-gate hybrid coating crisp plate

A household appliance liner includes a first polymeric capping layer and a polymeric base layer. The first polymeric capping layer includes a first pigment additive. The polymeric base layer is coupled to the first polymeric capping layer. The polymeric base layer includes one or more polymers, a second pigment additive, and a natural fiber. The natural fiber can be present at a concentration of at least 50% by weight of the polymeric base layer. Methods of producing the household appliance liner are also disclosed.

Appliance liner having natural fibers

A household appliance includes a treating chamber and a liquid sump. A liquid circuit fluidly couples the liquid sump and the treating chamber. An immersible laminate heater is located within the liquid sump. The immersible laminate heater includes a pair of electrodes and a structure including at least a first layer and a second layer.

Household appliance with immersible heater

A refrigerator is disclosed for improved food storage capability. The refrigerator comprises an internal cavity having a membrane that at least partially covers a portion of the walls of the internal cavity.

Refrigerator having a membrane

A method of making a liner for an appliance is provided that includes: mixing a polymeric capping layer precursor and a pigment additive; forming the capping layer precursor and the pigment additive into a capping layer at a capping layer formation temperature; and rolling the capping layer, a barrier layer and a polymeric base layer together to form a liner, each of the capping layer, the barrier layer and the base layer at about the capping layer formation temperature. Further, the liner comprises a capping region, a barrier region and a base region, the capping region comprising the pigment additive.

Pigmented monolayer liner for appliances and methods of making the same

An electric cooking appliance includes a glass-ceramic substrate having a top surface for supporting cookware for heating thereon, and a bottom surface opposite the top surface. The electric cooking appliance includes a plurality of thermoresistive heating elements disposed and spaced apart on the bottom surface of the glass-ceramic substrate, with each of the plurality of thermoresistive heating elements including graphene nanoparticles embedded in a ceramic matrix for generating heat upon application of electric current to the respective thermoresistive heating element. Each thermoresistive heating element is electrically connected to a power supply such that one or more of the plurality of thermoresistive heating elements are selectively activated to receive electric current to heat localized areas of the glass-ceramic substrate.

Segmented thermoresistive heating system

A dishwasher includes a housing having walls defining a tub having an outlet for humid air to flow out from the tub, an inlet for dry air to flow into the tub, and a door for closing the tub to an exterior environment, and a drying system contacting at least one wall of the tub. The drying system includes an inlet conduit fluidly connected to the outlet and an outlet conduit fluidly connected to the inlet with the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit forming an inverted V-shaped air circuit defining an airflow path therethrough. The drying system also includes at least one adsorbent component having an adsorbent material positioned along the airflow path, and at least one gate check valve blocking airflow from the tub to the adsorbent material during a wash cycle. The adsorbent material is regenerated via heat transfer through the at least one wall from the tub during a wash cycle when the gate check valve is closed.

Growing community of inventors

St. Joseph, MI, United States of America

Muhammad Khizar