ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,286,741, issued on April 29, was assigned to Haier US Appliance Solutions Inc. (Wilmington, Del.).

"Methods and systems for laundry assembly control" was invented by Jose Efren Rodriguez Munoz (Louisville, Ky.), Evan Gentry (Louisville, Ky.), Collin Dietz (Louisville, Ky.) and Jason Meurer (Louisville, Ky.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A laundry appliance or method of coordinating engagement with a laundry appliance may provide a cabinet and a motor in mechanical communication with a rotating element disposed within the cabinet. The method may include receiving an owner input defining a time period of a restricted state and holding the l...