Whirlpool Corporation

Yen-Hsi Lin

Andrew Michael Tenbarge

Xi Shan

Gregory Gene Hortin

Vincent D Csapos

Cristian A Soto

Charles R Cravens

Kevin J Cox

Clayton A Maas

Steven John Kuehl

Alberto Regio Gomes

Michael J Bauman

James C Guarino

Paul B Allard

Lakshya J Deka

Brian K Culley

Christopher L Carpenter

Steven C Drees

Gilius A Gaska

Daniel A Altenritter

Lisa R Schneider

A grilling device includes a housing includes a fixed lower heating plate and a rotatable swing arm disposed at a primary pivot positioned proximate a rear end of the housing. An operable upper heating plate is coupled to the swing arm such that an intermediate portion of the swing arm rotationally engages a central portion of the upper heating plate at a secondary pivot to define an adjacent face-up position, a stacked face-up position and a face-down position. A leveling mechanism maintains the upper heating plate in parallel with the lower heating plate as the swing arm operates about at least a portion of the primary pivot.

Multi-function grilling device with rotationally operable upper heating plate

An ice making module for an appliance includes a conductive ice tray having an ice forming cavity. An electrical circuit is in electrical communication with the conductive ice tray and includes a power source in electrical communication with the conductive ice tray and a switch. The switch releases an electromagnetic pulse through the conductive ice tray. A water dispensing mechanism disposes water into the ice forming cavity and a cooling apparatus cools the water to form at least one ice piece that is in electromagnetic communication with the conductive ice tray. The electromagnetic pulse released through the conductive ice tray generates an induced electrical current through the ice piece and a repelling electromagnetic force between the conductive ice tray and the ice piece, wherein the repelling force biases the ice piece away from the conductive ice tray, thereby ejecting the ice piece from the ice forming cavity.

Ice maker with heatless ice removal and method for heatless removal of ice

An ice maker is provided that includes a tray having recesses that can include ice-phobic surfaces. The ice-phobic surfaces may include ice-phobic coatings, textured metal surfaces, hydrophobic coatings or other surfaces configured to repel water and ice. The tray can be formed from metal material and may exhibit a fatigue limit greater than about 150 Megapascals (MPa) at 10cycles. The ice maker further includes a frame body coupled to the tray, and a driving body that is rotatably coupled to the tray. The driving body is further adapted to rotate the tray in a clockwise and/or counter-clockwise cycle such that the tray presses against the frame body in a manner that flexes the tray to dislodge ice pieces formed in the recesses of the tray.

Heater-less ice maker assembly with a twistable tray

Twistable tray for heater-less ice maker

Combined refrigerator/freezer appliances with dampers having ice prevention treatments are disclosed. An example combined refrigerator/freezer appliance includes a cabinet having a first compartment and a second separate compartment, a refrigeration system including a compressor, a single evaporator and a condenser, the single evaporator being associated with the first compartment to lower temperatures of the first and second compartments, and a damper having a first position in which air is prevented from flowing from the first compartment to the second compartment, and a second position in which air is permitted to flow from the first compartment to the second compartment, wherein at least a portion of the damper is treated to prevent ice buildup from forming on the at least portion of the damper when the damper is in the first position.

Combined refrigerator/freezer appliances with dampers having ice prevention treatments

A domestic appliance such as a refrigerator, washing machine, and dryer is disclosed. The appliance may include a piezoelectric device. The piezoelectric device may be configured to supply electrical power to various electrically-powered elements in the appliance, such as a light source, a drive status sensor, and active balancing components.

Domestic appliance including piezoelectric components

An ice maker includes, among other things, an ice cube mold, an ice cube remover and a force sensor comprising a piezo dielectric elastomer (PDE). The ice cube mold has at least one cavity for receiving liquid. The ice cube remover is configured to apply a removal force to either the mold or an ice cube. The force sensor is provided on either the mold or the remover and provides an output indicative of the removal force. Upon the removal of an ice cube from the cavity, the ice cube remover applies a removal force to the mold or the ice cube to effect the removal of the ice cube from the cavity and the force sensor outputs a signal indicative of the removal force.

Ice maker with piezo dielectric elastomer sensor

A gas burner assembly may include a gas burner and a burner cap. The burner may include a distribution cavity fluidly coupled with a gas inlet and a plurality of gas discharge ports. The burner cap may have a glass body characterized by a peripheral edge, and a metal element encapsulating the peripheral edge. The glass body may overlie at least a portion of the distribution cavity, and the metal element may shield the peripheral edge.

Glass and metal burner cap and method of making the same

An ice maker assembly is provided that includes a tray having a plurality of ice-phobic recesses. The recesses may possess a total water volume of 70 cc or greater. The tray comprises metal material and can be formed with a substantially uniform strain distribution. The ice maker further includes a frame body coupled to the tray, a driving body that is rotatably coupled to the ice-forming tray, and a processor that is operatively coupled to the driving body. The processor controls the driving body to rotate the tray in a manner that flexes the tray to dislodge ice pieces formed in the recesses.

Twistable tray for heater less ice maker

An ice maker includes an ice tray which is moveably mounted to a housing and operable between ice forming and ice harvesting positions. The ice tray comprises a generally planar body portion having a plurality of ice forming cavities disposed thereon. A harvesting mechanism, including retractable or fixed contacting members, is adapted to engage and deform the ice tray when the ice tray is in the ice harvesting position for facilitating release of formed ice structures during an ice harvesting process. The ice tray is a thin mold ice tray which is flexibly resilient, such that the ice tray is adapted to return to an at-rest position from a deformed position when the ice tray is no longer being urged to the deformed position by the harvesting mechanism.

Thin mold ice harvesting

A method of making clear ice spheres includes a providing a mold apparatus having a first mold portion and a second mold portion having mold cavity segments which define one or more mold cavities when the mold apparatus is assembled in an ice forming position. The mold apparatus includes a water jacketing system which is adapted to keep water in continuous circulation within the mold cavities to ensure clear ice is formed. Water is injected into the mold cavities and where a portion of the water is frozen to form a clear ice structure and a portion of the water enters the water jacketing system. Water may remain circulating in the water jacketing system, or may be expelled from the mold apparatus. The circulating water of the water jacketing system facilitates directional solidification of clear ice structure across a thermal gradient of the mold apparatus.

Clear ice hybrid mold

An ice making module includes a conductive ice tray having a bottom surface and a barrier coating on at least a portion of the conductive ice tray. An electrical circuit in electrical communication with the conductive ice tray includes a power source and a capacitor. A switch is configured to move between a charging position, wherein the capacitor stores an electrical charge, and a pulse position, wherein the capacitor releases the electrical charge. A conductive material disposed proximate the conductive ice tray is in selective electromagnetic communication with the conductive ice tray. The electrical charge released by the capacitor generates an induced electrical current through the conductive material and a repelling electromagnetic force between the conductive ice tray and the conductive material. A water dispensing mechanism disposes water into the conductive ice tray. A cooling apparatus decrease the temperature of the water in the conductive ice tray.

Growing community of inventors

St. Joseph, MI, United States of America

Yen-Hsi Lin