Back to results
US 2022/0178734 A1Published application
Appliance with sensing for load determination
AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
InventorsVineeth Vijayan, Choon Jae Ryu, Matthew R. Hunter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator appliance with sensing for load determination including a shelf and shelf support with a resilient member positioned so as to be compressed by the weight of food items placed on the shelf. Changes in pressure or flowrate of a fluid in the resilient member are used to detect changes in the weight of food items. The appliance can be configured to execute one or more events based on the detected changes.
Claims19
A refrigerator appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a chamber for the receipt of food items;
- a door rotatably supported by the cabinet to provide selective access to the chamber;
- a shelving assembly comprising
- a shelf positioned in the chamber and configured for receipt of food items;
- a shelf support configured to support the shelf and food items placed thereon;
- a resilient member positioned in mechanical communication with the shelf such that food items place on the shelf causes the resilient member to be compressed, the resilient member including a sealed chamber containing a fluid;
- and
- a pressure sensor in communication with the fluid and configured to measure the pressure of fluid in the sealed chamber.
5 more elements
A refrigerator appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a chamber for the receipt of food items;
- a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet to provide selective access to the chamber;
- a shelving assembly comprising
- a shelf positioned in the chamber and configured for receipt of food items;
- a shelf support configured to support the shelf;
- a resilient member positioned in mechanical communication with the shelf such that food items placed on the shelf causes the resilient member to be compressed, the resilient member defining a sealed chamber containing a fluid within a loop;
- a pump for circulating fluid within the loop defined by the resilient member;
- and
- a flow meter for providing flow rate measurements on the flow of fluid within the loop of the resilient member.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.