Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

Srikanth Raavi Venkata

Abdel Hamad

Susheel Kumar Panda

Gaurav Kumar Verma

Rafi Shaik Mahammed

Nithin Naga Venkata Yalamanchili

Nabil Alhaffar

A knife station includes a knife block defining a plurality of slots for receiving a plurality of cutlery objects. A locking assembly selectively locks the cutlery objects in their respective slot, e.g., using a locking pin that passes through an aperture in the blade. A controller is operably coupled to an audio device, such as a microphone, for receiving voice commands. The voice commands are converted to text commands using AI-based speech recognition technology and the text commands are compared to a database of text commands to identify a target cutlery object from the cutlery objects in the knife block. The controller may then illuminate a light emitting diode next to the target cutlery and unlock only that piece of cutlery so that the user may withdraw it from the knife block.

Knife station with speech recognition

A pill dispenser includes a housing and a slidable drawer with a dispenser cup therein. A storage cup is fixed within the housing. The pill dispenser also includes a movable probe, a flexible tip on the probe, and a suction pump in fluid communication with the flexible tip. The pill dispenser may be configured for and/or methods of operating the pill dispenser may include rotating the probe a position above the storage cup, translating the probe downward into the storage cup, and activating the suction pump. While the suction pump is active, the probe is translated to the position above the storage cup, rotated to a position above the dispenser cup, and translated downward into the dispenser cup. The suction pump is deactivated when the flexible tip is within the dispenser cup.

Pill dispenser for refrigerator appliance

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Srikanth Raavi Venkata