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US 2014/0174489 A1Published application
Household appliance having antennas
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsNICHOLAS J. COTTRELL, JASON R. GRIES, VINCE A. IRELAND, GREGORY S. LIETO, DANIEL PLACH, ROBERT E. PORTER, BLAYNE C. SMITH
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A household appliance for treating an item according to at least one automatic cycle of operation includes multiple antennas for transmitting and receiving data with an external network. The multiple antennas can be coupled with a radio also located within the appliance.
Claims19
A household appliance for treating items according to at least one automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
- a housing;
- a treating chamber within the housing for receiving items for treatment according to the at least one automatic cycle of operation;
- a first antenna proximate to the housing and defining a first artificial boundary;
- a second antenna proximate to the housing in spaced relationship to the first antenna, the second antenna defining a second artificial boundary such that the first and second artificial boundaries define a bound area therebetween;
- and
- a radio having a first cable connected to the first antenna and a second cable connected to the second antenna, wherein the radio lies within the bound area.
3 more elements
A household appliance for treating items according to at least one automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
- a treating chamber for receiving items for treatment according to the at least one automatic cycle of operation;
- a housing supporting the treating chamber and having a front and a rear and having an azimuth plane extending through the front and rear of the housing;
- at least one controllable component configured to implement the at least one automatic cycle of operation;
- a controller coupled to the at least one controllable component and configured to control the at least one controllable component according to the at least one automatic cycle of operation;
- and
- a radio system in communication with the controller for transmitting and receiving data and having a first antenna with a first radiation pattern and a second antenna with a second radiation pattern, wherein the first and second radiation patterns collectively form a combined radiation pattern;
- wherein the first and second antennas are located on the household appliance such that a substantially spherical coverage pattern is provided, with the first antenna providing approximately a first hemisphere of coverage and the second antenna providing approximately a second hemisphere of coverage.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.