Appliance Design articles from March 2008

Appliance Design archives from March 2008

Lights in the fog.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
March 1, 2008... What do you call a "lighting consultant" who knows little about lighting? A common fixture. Unfortunately, that's more of a lament than a joke. While browsing lighting stores for a new reading lamp, I found that none of the sales people could...

Shipments.(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... SHIPMENTS Product Dec. '07 Dec. '06 % Chg. MAJOR APPLIANCES TOTAL 5,851,900 6,581,800 -11.1% CLEANUP--TOTAL 1,224,000 1,359,800 -10.0% ...

Forecasts.(Statistical table)
March 1, 2008... FORECASTS MAJOR HOME APPLIANCES--Shipments (Thousands of Units) Qtr: 2007 2008 2009 1 19,314.9 18,496.7 19,316.2 2 22,742.2 20,436.1 21,514.3 3 16,788.8 16,768.3 17,795.8...

Electronics show energizes.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show was the biggest in history with a record 1.85-million net square feet of exhibit space that was filled with more than 20,000 new products. The show, held in Las Vegas Jan. 7 to 10,...

Restructuring Sears.(NEWS WATCH)(Sears Holdings Corp.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Sears Holding Corp., Hoffman Estates, has named a new interim president and CEO and restructured its organization and operating model. The company named W. Bruce Johnson to be interim CEO and president. He had been executive vice president,...

Aware but confused.(NEWS WATCH)(Survey)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... That is the result of two surveys that looked at how aware U.S. television owners were of next year's switch to digital TV. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) survey showed consumer awareness had reached 79 percent, which is more...

Pay fare by phone.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) is testing the use of cell phones to pay for a rider's fare. The $200,000 pilot program outfitted 230 riders with customized Sprint wireless cell phones. The phones have a near-field communication...

Record results.(NEWS WATCH)(Financial report)
March 1, 2008... Whirlpool Corp., Benton Harbor, Mich., reported record annual net sales of $19.4 billion, an increase of 7 percent from the prior year. This includes 4th quarter revenue of $5.3 billion, which is an increase of more than 7 percent from the $5...

Pacemaker safe.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... A report in the journal, BioMedical Engineering OnLine refutes claims that portable music players, such as Apple's iPod, can interfere with pacemakers. A team of scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration measured the magnetic fields...

Phone, GPS, Web.(NEWS WATCH)(Global Positioning Systems)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Garmin International of New York, a manufacturer of global positioning systems, introduced the nuvifone, a touch-screen mobile phone with a web browser and GPS system built in. Its interface features three primary icons, call, search and view...

PV Group formed.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... A new group was formed to support the global photovoltaic industry. SEMI, the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International association, formed the SEMI PV Group (www.pvgroup.org), which has members in Europe, North America, Korea,...

Global demand.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... World demand for major household appliances is projected to increase 3.1 percent annually through 2012 and exceed 480 million units, according to a recent study by the Freedonia Group, Cleveland, Ohio. Demand in the Asia/Pacific region, Africa...

Gige gets going.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... The IEEE has formed a task force to draft a standard for 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s technology. The task force, IEEE P.8023ba, is working to complete the standard by 2010. In July 2007, the Higher Speed Study Group, which recommended the task force...

Double digit growth.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... BSH Home Appliances Corp. of Huntington Beach, Calif., recorded double-digit growth in 2007 and says it has shown record growth since 2003. The company attributes its growth to the 37 new products launched in that time including built-in wall...

Recycle call answered.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., Atlanta, reported a 12 percent increase in the collection of rechargeable batteries and cell phones. More than 6.3 million pounds of batteries were recycled in the U.S. and Canada through its...

Vacuums on the ball.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... Dyson introduced two new Dyson Ball upright vacuums, which feature Dyson's ball technology that allows the machine to pivot. The ultra-light DC24 weighs less than 12 lbs. and the DC25 weighs 16 lbs. The DC 24 has a quick-draw Telescope...

Meetings.(NEWS WATCH)(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... MARCH NAMA Spring Expo March 26-28, Las Vegas, Nev. Contact: 312/346-0370 Email: rlinde@vending.org Website: www.namaexpo.org WESTEC 2008 Exposition & Conference March 31-April 3, Los Angeles, Calif. ...

Recycling rates raised.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... Japan is considering raising mandatory minimum recycling rates of clothes washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, according to the Kyodo News. Under the new requirements, the recycling rates for washing machines would be raised to...

Islandaire sold.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... Fedders Corp. of Liberty Corner, N.J., sold the assets of its Fedders Islandaire Inc. subsidiary to Robert Hansen Jr., president of Islandaire. The sale was completed Jan. 18, a day after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing Fedder's Chapter 11...

A buying spree.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Spurred by incentives from the Chinese government, rural residents of China have gone on a buying spree of TVs, refrigerators and mobile phones. The government offered a 13 percent subsidy for household appliances in an effort to stimulate...

Arcelik aquisitions.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... Arcelik, the Turkey-based manufacturer of household appliances, says it projects sales growth in 2008 and plans to keep growing via acquisitions. Foreign sales were expected to grow 23 percent in 2008. Growth in 2007 is estimated at 28 percent....

Print without ink.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... A new mobile photo printer from Polaroid can print without ink. Designed by ZINK Imaging of Bedford, Mass., the ZINK printer concept doesn't require ink cartridges or dye rolls. It uses dye crystals embedded in ZINK's paper, which is secured...

UL in Saudi Arabia.(NEWS WATCH)(Underwriters Laboratories)(Saudi Arabian Standards Organization)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) have agreed to promote the use of UL Standards in the ongoing development of national safety standards in Saudi Arabia. The agreement establishes formal...

EBM expands.(NEWS WATCH)(ebm Papst Inc.)(Argus Vision B.V. Co)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The ebm-papst company, which has North American operations in Farmington, Conn., has acquired a 50 percent stake in The Netherlands-based Argus Vision B.V. Co. Argus makes burner controls and the acquisition makes it possible for ebm-papst to...

New way to shine.(NEWS WATCH)(American Trim LLC)(DuPont CoatingSolutions)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The American Trim company of Lima, Ohio, has purchased a physical vapor deposition chamber (PVD) unit from DuPont CoatingSolutions. The PVD unit allows for the processing of a chrome-like finish without the use of hexavalent chrome. It employs...

Trade in quality.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Enhancing trade between the United States and the European Union (EU) while helping ensure the safety and quality of goods sold in both markets is the goal of a collaborative agreement signed in December 2007 between the European Commission...

Improve medical devices.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2008... IMPROVE MEDICAL DEVICES. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, say that the approval process for medical devices is not as rigorous as it is for pharmaceuticals. After a device achieves FDA approval, a technology...

Patio heaters targeted.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Patio heaters warm the pub and cafe patrons around it, but they also release climate-damaging CO2 into the atmosphere and should be banned, according to a European Parliament report. According to the Parliament's statistics, outdoor heaters...

A new appliance arrives: novel residential units produce both heat and electricity.(POWER)(Cover story)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A rare event is occurring in the home appliance cosmos--the birth of a new star. The thing is not just an improved product that is smaller, faster, more powerful or more efficient. Nor is it just an upgraded product...

Combined protection: new device helps guard against over-current, over-voltage, and over-temperature events.(POWER)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) are typically used for transient over-voltage suppression in AC line voltage applications. Lightning, inductive load switching, or capacitor bank switching may cause transient...

Active efficiency: hybrid controller saves energy in active mode.(POWER)
March 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] While most domestic appliances and office equipment items are plugged directly into wall outlets and powered from high-voltage alternating current (AC), nearly all of their internal circuitry requires a low-voltage...

Taming the Li-ion: new battery-management ICs aid design of high-voltage, Li-ion battery packs.(POWER)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the past, high-voltage, battery-operated products depended upon large, heavy lead-acid type batteries to deliver the necessary power. The size and weight of lead-acid battery packs often limited the range of...

Semiconductor solution: IC protects relay in cooking temperature controller.(SWITCHES & RELAYS)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The electric skillet, as we know it, was first designed more than 54 years ago using a bi-metal thermostat and heating coil or element embedded in the pan. The low input power heater, combined with the thermal mass...

Optimizing objectives: new polyurethane system delivers improved efficiency and high productivity.(INSULATION)
March 1, 2008... [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] When evaluating polyurethane (PU) systems for household appliance applications, short demold times have typically forced PU processors to choose between strong insulation performance and higher productivity levels. ...

Flashy finish: bold colors and special effects increase design options.(METALS)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Using an eye-catching finish has become an increasingly used method to differentiate products from the competition and excite the consumer's interest. For OEMs using prefinished metals for either cabinets or trim...

Are you ready for sustainability?(ASSOCIATION REPORT: AHAM)
March 1, 2008... Sustainability and its related practices are receiving a great deal of attention by consumers, government, business and the media. What exactly does sustainability mean? An often-cited definition of sustainability, attributed to the Brundtland...