The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 14, 2009
Filed:
Jan. 07, 2003
Jan D. Behrens, Kellogg, IA (US);
Nedra A. Herr, Newton, IA (US);
Kimberly J. Hood, Mitchellville, IA (US);
Kristi R. Lafrenz, Newton, IA (US);
Brian L. Ness, Newton, IA (US);
Brett C. Oleson, Newton, IA (US);
Stephen D. Schober, Newton, IA (US);
Lashelle D. Woods, Newton, IA (US);
Jan D. Behrens, Kellogg, IA (US);
Nedra A. Herr, Newton, IA (US);
Kimberly J. Hood, Mitchellville, IA (US);
Kristi R. Lafrenz, Newton, IA (US);
Brian L. Ness, Newton, IA (US);
Brett C. Oleson, Newton, IA (US);
Stephen D. Schober, Newton, IA (US);
Lashelle D. Woods, Newton, IA (US);
Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, MI (US);
Abstract
A laundry appliance can be selectively operated in either manual or automatic modes of operation. In the automatic mode, a laundering operation is initiated upon receiving a single cycle input parameter from the user, preferably through a LCD touch screen display, while relying on additional operating cycle parameters established by factory preset settings or prior consumer established preferences. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a consumer need merely select a single cycle parameter, such as a type of stain adapted to be removed, and the appliance will start based on temperature and other setting parameters taken from memory. However, even with the automatic start feature activated, the user will still be able to adjust pre-established cycle parameters by changing default values after the cycle has started.