Appliance Design - February 2009 - (Page 9)

NEWS WATCh ous improvement of products with environmental attributes. Since 1996, for instance, BSH has implemented the Product Environmental Analysis program that tracks the environmental impact of a product’s lifecycle beginning at an early stage of development. BSH was also called a recycling pioneer for its use of recyclable materials that are free from harmful substances. green CE purchase within the next two years. For more information on the study, Going Green: An Examination of the Green Trend and What it Means to Consumers and the CE Industry, visit www.CE.org. ELECTROLUX IN SINGAPORE. GE hALTS SPIN OFF. GREEN ELECTRONICS DESIRED. More consumers expect their consumer electronics devices to be environmentally friendly, according to new data released by the Consumer Electronics Association, Arlington, Va. The CEA found that 89 percent of households want their next TV to be more energy efficient. Although awareness of “green” CE offerings lags behind sectors like household products and appliances, 33 percent of consumers say they expect to make some type of General Electric has delayed its plans to sell or spin-off its appliance business and will continue to operate GE Consumer & Industrial, Louisville, Ky. The unit includes GE Appliances, GE Lighting, and GE Industrial. The company reportedly still wants to break off the business unit, but the current “challenging economic environment” makes a spin-off or sale difficult. The company has not indicated when it might pursue divesting itself of the division. In December, GE began laying off salaried workers at the division as part of a 5 percent reduction in Consumer & Industrial’s global workforce of about 45,000. Electrolux, Stockholm, Sweden, has opened new headquarters and regional innovation design center in Singapore. In addition, Electrolux established a national design competition called the Asian Dream Kitchen. The competition aims to develop new concepts and products for future commercialization. Another collaboration will have Electrolux design experts mentoring young Singapore designers. ELECTROLUX LAYOFFS. Electrolux plans to layoff more than 3,000 staff worldwide, or about 5 percent of its total workforce of 57,000. The slow economy was blamed for the decision. Consumer demand in Europe and North America has been declining for some time and fell sharply in the second half of November and in December. Electrolux believes it will fall short of its previous forecast of an operating profit for the Allegro’s Integrated Solutions for Appliances Motor and LED Drivers Proximity and Current Sensors • LED drivers for digital displays • Motor current monitoring and AC input current detection including three-phase current detectors for vector control • Wheel encoders • Ice tray and dust box position sensing • Low water indicator • Door and lid open/close detection Features ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Power-saving features enable energy-efficient design High reliability, contact-less proximity sensing Speed and direction sensing Nearly lossless electrical current sensing Tiny packages, including 3 x 3 mm QFN For more information, please visit: www.allegromicro.com/promo555 115 Northeast Cutoff, Worcester, MA 01606 USA ■ 508.853.5000 High-Performance Power ICs and Hall-Effect Sensors AD10084Alle.indd 1 www.applianceDESIGN.com applianceDESIGN 9/2/08 11:17:59 9 February 2009AM http://www.CE.org http://www.allegromicro.com/promo555 http://www.allegromicro.com/promo555 http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - February 2009 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Force-Sensing Technology Offers Designers an Alternative Approach to Creating Touch-Control Interfaces A Flammable Vapor Sensing Technology that was Originally Developed for use in Water Heaters has Evolved for use in a Broader Array of Applications Latches, Hinges, and Slides Must Reliably Secure Parts Together, Sometimes for Hundreds of Thousands of Cycles. Beyond their Utilitarian Functions, They Can Also Change Consumer Perceptions Elastomeric Electrical Connectors Can Solve Space Constraint Problems in Electronic Products and Provide Some Cost Advantages as Well A Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor with a Novel Electrode Design Can Suppress Electromagnetic Interference, Improve Circuit Performance, and Reduce the Number of Needed Components Design Marts Association Report: AHRI Advertisers’ Index

Appliance Design - February 2009

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