The present invention relates generally to refrigeration devices with ice makers and ice storage bins.
Refrigeration appliances with having ice making mechanisms, and bins for storing ice made by the ice making mechanisms are well known, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,545,217, 6,050,097, 6,286,324, 6,351,958, 6,438,976 and 6,442,954.
In several of these patents, the ice bin is located in the door of a freezer compartment, and in some patents, a light beam sensor system is used to determine when the ice bin is full. The emitter and receiver components are mounted on opposite side walls of the freezer compartment, and when the door is closed, the light beam passes through an open portion of the bin, located near a top of the bin.
In other refrigeration appliance constructions, particularly where the freezer compartment is located in a lower compartment, sometimes referred to as a bottom mount freezer, the ice bins have typically been installed in movable baskets or other storage compartments, such that the ice bin takes up only a portion of the width of the freezer compartment. In these constructions, the movable basket is pulled out of the front of the compartment when the user desires access to either the ice bin or items stored in the movable basket. Since it is desired to shut off ice production when the ice bucket is full, a mechanical bail arm has typically been used to physically sense the ice level and shut off the ice maker when the ice bin is full.
This method of sensing the ice level has the potential for the bail arm to rake the cubes rearward off the top of the ice bin due to the physical contact of the bail arm and the ice in the bin, and then into the rest of the storage area when the ice bin and storage basket are moved forward for access to the ice cubes or other food items. When this occurs, return of the basket to its normal closed position may be prevented, or unusual noises may be generated upon returning the basket to its closed position, generating service calls by the user.
Further, movement of the ice bin every time the storage basket is moved results in unnecessary movement of the ice bin and requires the user to use more force than necessary to move the storage basket, both undesirable occurrences.
It would be an improvement in the art if a refrigeration appliance were provided with an ice maker and an ice storage bin occupying less than a full width of a freezer compartment and an ice level sensor not requiring contact with the ice in the ice bin.
In an embodiment of the invention, a refrigeration appliance is provided with a freezer compartment accessible through an openable door which opens as a drawer, the freezer compartment extending between two side walls. An ice bin is slidably mounted in the freezer compartment occupying a width of the freezer compartment, less than a full width between the two side walls. A food storage compartment is slidably mounted in the freezer compartment with at least a portion horizontally adjacent to the ice bin, and slidable independently of the ice bin, as well as independently slidable relative to the opening of the compartment drawer. A non-contact ice level sensing apparatus having an emitter component and a receiver component is provided, with one of the components mounted between the ice bin and the food storage compartment and the other of the components mounted on an opposite side of the ice bin from the food storage compartment.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a refrigeration appliance including a freezer compartment having a plurality of walls and an access opening. The refrigeration appliance further includes an ice making mechanism disposed within the freezer compartment and an ice bin mounted in the freezer compartment below the ice making mechanism. A first structural member is secured in the freezer compartment and a first track is attached to the first structural member. A second structural member is secured in the freezer compartment and a second track is attached to the second structural member. The ice bin is mounted on the first and second track to slide into and out of the access opening. An emitter component is attached to the first structural member to emit a beam of light across an upper portion of the bin and a receiver component is attached to the second structural member opposite the emitter component to receive the beam of light.
The refrigeration appliance may comprise a first refrigeration compartment, being a fresh food compartment, and a second refrigeration compartment being the freezer compartment. The compartments may be separate from one another, such as by having a wall therebetween. Both compartments may be accessible through openable doors, which may be separate doors for each compartment.
The emitter component and the receiver component may be part of an ice level sensing apparatus.
In an embodiment, one of the first and second structural members is mounted to a side wall of the freezer compartment.
In an embodiment, one of the first and second structural members is mounted between side walls of the freezer compartment.
In an embodiment, the ice bin has side walls with open areas therein to allow passage of the light beam from the emitter component to the receiver component.
In an embodiment, the second structural member includes a third sliding rail to support a sliding storage compartment. In an embodiment, a fourth sliding rail is carried on a side wall of the freezer compartment to support the sliding storage compartment.
These and other aspects and details of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the detailed description and a review of the accompanying drawings. Specific embodiments of the present invention are described herein. The present invention is not intended to be limited to only these embodiments. Changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiments and yet fall within the scope of the present invention.
The present invention finds particular utility in a domestic refrigerator having a fresh food compartment located above a freezer compartment, however, the invention can be used in other refrigeration appliances having different configurations. In order to provide a disclosure of the invention, the embodiment of a refrigeration appliance with a freezer compartment located below a fresh food compartment is shown and illustrated, it being understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to such an arrangement.
In some configurations, the fresh food compartment 40 and the freezer compartment 42 may use separate tubs or liners or a single liner. In some configurations, the two compartments may be accessible through a single door. In other alternative configurations, the refrigeration appliance 20 may contain only a freezer compartment.
The refrigeration appliance 20 further includes an ice making mechanism 52 which may be disposed within the freezer compartment 42 and an ice bin 54 mounted in the freezer compartment below the ice making mechanism. As shown in
A non-contact ice level sensing apparatus 61 has an emitter component 62 (
In an embodiment, one of the first 56 and second 58 structural members is mounted to a side wall 34 of the freezer compartment 42.
In an embodiment, one of the first 56 and second 58 structural members is mounted between the side walls 34 of the freezer compartment 42, that is not abutting either wall, but rather, intermediate the two walls.
In an embodiment, as shown in
As illustrated, the second structural member 58 carrying the receiver component 64 is mounted between the ice bin 54 and the food storage compartment 76, and the emitter component 62 is mounted on an opposite side of the ice bin from the food storage compartment, although the positions could be reversed.
As shown in
A pair of horizontal tabs 90 support the first track 57 which may be attached to the body 80 by fasteners, such as screws. The first track 57 may provide for a friction sliding of the ice bin 54 on the track, or the track may contain friction reducing elements, such as ball bearings, or other well known friction reducing elements to allow for easier sliding movement of the ice bin. A manually pivotable switch 91 may be carried on the body portion 80 such that a manually engagable end 92 may be moved up and down to selectively move a shutter portion 93 into and out of a blocking position relative to the beam of light 63 being emitted by the emitter 62. In this manner, the user may manually turn the ice maker off, even without removing the ice bin 54, by moving the switch 91 into a light beam blocking position.
As shown in
The present invention has been described utilizing particular embodiments. As will be evident to those skilled in the art, changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments and yet fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, various components could be utilized separately or independently in some embodiments without using all of the other components in the particular described embodiment. The disclosed embodiment is provided only to illustrate aspects of the present invention and not in any way to limit the scope and coverage of the invention. The scope of the invention is therefore to be limited only by the appended claims.
As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding specification and description. It should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20070204644 A1 | Sep 2007 | US |