Household appliance and method of opening the same
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorBENJAMIN E. ALEXANDER
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of opening a door of a household appliance having a cabinet with an open face providing access to a treating chamber where an article is received for treatment according to a useful cycle of operation is provided. The method includes: sensing a presence of at least a portion of a person, visually indicating and automatically opening the door in response to the sensed presence.
Claims20
A household appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a treating chamber with an open face;
- a door moveably mounted to the cabinet for movement between an opened condition and a closed condition to selectively close the open face and where the door is without an externally visible handle;
- a door opening mechanism for automatically releasing the door;
- and
- a proximity sensor configured to sense a presence of at least a portion of a person adjacent the door, within a predetermined range of the door, and out of contact with the door when the door is in the closed condition;
- wherein when the proximity sensor senses the presence, the door opening mechanism releases the door from the closed condition such that the door is ajar.
A household appliance comprising:
- a cabinet defining a treating chamber with an open face;
- a door moveably mounted to the cabinet for movement between an opened condition and a closed condition to selectively close the open face and where the door is without an externally visible handle;
- a door opening mechanism for automatically releasing the door;
- a proximity sensor configured to sense a presence of at least a portion of a person adjacent the door, within a predetermined range of the door, and out of contact with the door when the door is in the closed condition;
- and
- a visual indicator configured to provide an indication of the proximity sensor sensing the presence;
- wherein when the proximity sensor senses the presence, the door opening mechanism releases the door from the closed condition such that the door is ajar.
A method of opening a door of a household appliance having a cabinet with an open face providing access to a treating chamber where an article is received for treatment according to a useful cycle of operation, the method comprising:
- sensing a presence of at least a portion of a person adjacent the household appliance, within a predetermined range of the household appliance, and out of contact with the household appliance and wherein the door is without an externally visible handle when the door is in a closed position;
- and
- releasing the door from the closed position in response to the sensed presence such that the door is ajar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.