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AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsPatrick J. Glotzbach, Richard A. McCoy, David M. Williams
Estimating the term…
A method identifies whether a component in an appliance is original with the manufacture of the appliance or replaced after manufacture of the appliance. The component will have one or more indicators. The method includes setting the indicator of each component when the components are made to indicate that the components are replacements, and setting the indicator of each component installed in the appliance when the appliance is made to indicate that the component is original. Thus, any component installed in the appliance after the appliance is made will have an indicator indicating it as a replacement.
A method of identifying whether a component in an appliance is original with the manufacture of the appliance or replaced after manufacture of the appliance wherein the component has at least one indicator, the method comprising:
An appliance comprising at least one component, wherein the at least one component has an indicator with one of only two values representing the at least one component as original and replacement where if the at least one component is original, the value was set when the appliance was made and if the at least one component is replacement, the value was set when the component was made.
An appliance comprising at least one component, wherein the at least one component has an indicator indicating whether it is original with the appliance or a replacement, and the identifier is stored in memory.
A method of servicing an appliance using an appliance internal network comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.