Appliance Design articles from April 2007

Appliance Design archives from April 2007

Shipments.(Electric and Electronic appliances)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2007... SHIPMENTS Product Jan. '07 Jan. '06 % Chg. MAJOR APPLIANCES TOTAL 4,026,200 4,493,700 -10.4% CLEANUP--TOTAL 939,400 969,600 -3.1% Compactors ...

Forecasts.(Shipment data: DVD Players, Residential Gas Water Heaters, Air Conditioners, Disposers, Refrigerators)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2007... FORECASTS DVD PLAYERS/RECORDERS--Shipments (Thousands of Units) Qtr: 2006 2007 2008 1 2,115.3 2,419.9 2,874.8 2 4,045.8 4,442.3 5,179.7 3 5,003.6 5,443.9 5,982.8 4 ...

DOE behind with setting standards, but has plan.(NEWS WATCH)(United States. Department of Energy )
April 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of Energy DOE) has missed 34 congressional deadlines for setting energy efficiency standards for 20 product categories, and has only completed rules for three of these products, according to a study by the General Accounting...

New single-brew machine.(NEWS WATCH)(from Breville, the Australian appliance company)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Breville, the Australian appliance company, and Keurig, Boston-area developers of brewing technology, agreed to develop Breville's first single-serve gourmet home brewer, using Keurig's patented technology. The coffee maker, expected to launch...

Handheld roll-up display.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... The Readius from Polymer Vision features a flexible LED screen that unrolls to 12.7 cm. The company, a division of Royal Phillips Electronics, says that the high-contrast black-and-white screen is as readable as printed paper, and can play...

Submersible keyboard.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Seal Shield Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., released the Seal Shield Medical Grade Washable Keyboard and Mouse. According to the company, the keyboard and mouse are submersible in water and dishwasher safe. Recent studies have shown the computer...

Middleby gets jaded.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... The Middleby Corp. of Elgin, Ill., has agreed to acquire Jade Products Co. from Whirlpool Corp., which Whirlpool picked up as part of its acquisition of Maytag Corp. The acquisition was expected to close on April 2. Jade makes cooking...

Bosch acquires heat pump maker.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... As a part of Germany-based Bosch's strategy to strengthen its Thermotechnology division and gain better access to the growing U.S. market for electric geothermal heat pumps, Bosch has acquired FHP Mfg. Co. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. FHP will be...

Metrology challenges.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... A new report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says a "strategic, long-term approach" is needed to meet more than 700 measurement challenges faced by U.S. companies. The report, "An Assessment of the United States...

Danfoss combines.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Danfoss, a global manufacturer of components for HVAC/R, combined its commercial compressor factories in Lawrenceville, Ga., and its scroll technologies in Arkadelphia, Ark., into a single organization. Carlos Zamudio, who is based in...

Encourage A/C upgrades.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) called on Congress to change federal tax policy to make it easier for building owners with older, inefficient heating and cooling equipment to upgrade to more efficient products. ARI...

Power tool demand grows.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Power tool demand in the U.S. is projected to rise to more than 8.95 billion by 2011. The increases will result from product innovations, especially the development of higher-voltage, cordless electric tools such as wrenches, clamps, saws,...

Candy buys Susler.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... The Candy Group, based in Italy, has acquired 99 percent of Doruk Ltd.--STI, owner of the Susler brand, which manufactures home appliances in Turkey. Company founder, Metin Suler, keeps the symbolic holding of 1 percent. The company specializes...

Cryogenic refrigerator.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... A new cryogenic refrigerator has been demonstrated at NIST that operates at twice the usual frequency and combines small size, rapid cooling, low temperatures and high efficiency. The cryocooler could be used to chill instruments for space and...

Senior handset made simple.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Emporia Telecom, an Austrian company, introduced a new handset for the growing "grey market." The handset features a big screen, big key pad and easy-to-use menu. It has no digital camera, Internet access or instant messaging capabilities, but...

Powder-sized tags.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Japanese-based Hitachi Ltd., has introduced RFID chips that are 0.002 in. square and look like bits of powder. They are thin enough to be embedded in a piece of paper and are 60 times smaller their predecessors, the Hitachi Mu-chips, but can...

Palm identification.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Fujitsu Ltd. has implemented its PalmSecure biometric palm vein authentication system at the Hospital for Charged Particle Therapy at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) in Japan. It is used to control access to electronic...

Reader response.(NEWS WATCH)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... I read with interest your editorial tided "Minding the Metals" (March, page 5). As I reached the end of your article I was surprised by how you ended. Instead of ending your editorial with "engineers... will need to keep metals on their...

Making water safe.(NEWS WATCH)(drinking water research)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... University of Delaware researchers have developed a non-chlorine-based technology that can remove harmful microorganisms, including viruses, from drinking water. The technology, developed by researchers in the College of Agriculture and Natural...

A quick bite.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Japanese consumers can now buy a Big Mac from McDonald's using their mobile phones. Under a new partnership, subscribers to NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile telephone operator, can use their handsets at McDonald's 3,800 restaurants in Japan...

Ipods get fit.(NEWS WATCH)
April 1, 2007... Schiller Park, Ill.-based Life Fitness is developing exercise equipment with seamless iPod integration. This connectivity makes it possible for iPod users to plug in and charge their iPods, watch video on the equipment's LCD screen and control...

Meetings.(NEWS WATCH)(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... APRIL NAMA Spring Expo April 11-13, Las Vegas, Nev. Contact: 312/346-0370 Email: saizenberg@vending.org Website: www.namaexpo.org AHAM Annual Meeting April 15-16, Washington D.C. Contact: 202/872-5955 ...

Stylish innovations.(IBS HIGHLIGHTS)(International Builders' Show in Orlando)
April 1, 2007... A sampling of appliances displayed at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Feb. 7-10. Viking Range A portable, 1,800 W, single-element induction cooking unit is targeted for consumers who want the performance and efficiency of...

Emerging concepts: Novel motors will lead to more innovative appliances.(MOTORS)
April 1, 2007... Many areas of appliance design have experienced significant changes during the past 10 years. Electronic controls and electronically controlled and commutated motors have proliferated. Modern clothes washers come with DVD instructions and they...

Efficiency controller: device improves appliance efficiency.(MOTORS)
April 1, 2007... Many appliance motors operate inefficiently. Single-phase AC induction motors, particularly in the fractional horsepower range, are naturally inefficient. Furthermore, most manufacturing techniques used to improve natural motor efficiency (iron...

Single-chip solutions: microcontrollers help develop high-performance sinusoidal drives.(MOTORS)
April 1, 2007... Electric motors are by far the biggest consumers of energy produced in the world. According to the Department of Energy, of the total energy produced in the U.S., about 60 percent to 65 percent is consumed by electric motors. Among the largest...

Compressors conserve: variable capacity devices cut energy use.(COOLING TECHNOLOGIES)
April 1, 2007... The drive to improve energy efficiency of cooling systems is fueling greater interest in variable capacity technologies where the cooling capacity of the system varies with the load. The compressor is typically the focus of achieving such...

Second step: steps up efficiency: condensing ejector for second-step compression boosts efficiency.(COOLING TECHNOLOGIES)
April 1, 2007... A novel, vapor-compression cycle for refrigeration and air-conditioning may deliver 25 percent higher efficiency by employing regenerative use of the potential energy of two-phase flow expansion, which in traditional systems is lost in...

To dye for: process decorates plastics in three dimensions.(DECORATION)(Cover story)
April 1, 2007... How big a market might there be for a teakettle with the image of a lion? Zebra stripes on a waffle maker? Flowers on a cell phone or Christmas scenes on a crockpot? Most likely, not very big. But a new, old technology, may make it affordable...

Metallic mask: hot-stamping foils give brushed metal look to plastic parts.(DECORATION)
April 1, 2007... The look of metal continues to be a hot trend across a diverse array of applications, large and small. For many cases, however, the use of a solid metal part is impractical or cost prohibitive. One commonly used method to achieve an affordable...

Frugal flusher: CFD software speeds design of innovative flush valve.(FLUID HANDLING)
April 1, 2007... The Denali Flushometer is a unique flush valve in that it delivers a fixed volume of water independent of the position of the restriction on the rolling diaphragm that is randomly installed at various positions during the valve assembly. The...

CO alarms should be in every home.(ASSOCIATION REPORT: GAMA)
April 1, 2007... Ongoing developments in heating-appliance technology and appliance standards by GAMA member companies have made everybody's daily life more comfortable, more convenient, and safer. One example of this is the fact that, at a time when the...