ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,448,717, issued on Oct. 21, was assigned to Whirlpool Corp. (Benton Harbor, Mich.).
"Laundry appliance with a deflector" was invented by Darryl C. Bodine (St. Joseph, Mich.), Donald E. Erickson (Stevensville, Mich.), Gregg P. Fitzgerald (Eau Claire, Mich.), Stephen D. Ostdiek (St. Joseph, Mich.), Marcel Schmidt (Poprad, Slovak Republic) and Todd J. Tunzi (St. Joseph, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A laundry appliance includes a cabinet defining an aperture in a front surface thereof. A drum is disposed within the cabinet. The drum defines an access opening that aligns with the aperture. A door is coupled to the cabinet and is opera...