Patent Application
20160131408
1. Technical Field
The application relates generally to an ice making system for a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice making and storage system in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator wherein an ice storage bin is mounted to a refrigerator door.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, ice making systems include an ice maker mounted within the freezer compartment of a refrigerator and an ice storage receptacle or bin supported beneath the ice maker for receiving the formed ice from the ice maker. The ice maker is commonly mounted within the freezer compartment adjacent the side or rear wall of the freezer compartment such that water and power can be readily supplied to the ice maker.
Often, the ice storage receptacle is supported by a shelf structure beneath the ice maker within the freezer compartment. The ice storage receptacle generally extends across the freezer compartment and has a front end adjacent the freezer door. A sensor is commonly provided for sensing the level of ice disposed in the ice storage bin such that ice pieces are produced when insufficient ice is in the storage bin and ice pieces are not produced when the ice storage bin is filled.
Typically, ice making and dispensing systems occupy a relatively large amount of freezer space. In particular, the ice storage bin extends across the freezer compartment and occupies a large amount of freezer compartment space. This is usually perceived as a disadvantage by many consumers who generally prefer to have more available shelf and storage space.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some example aspects described in the detailed description.
A refrigerator having a compartment includes a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the compartment, an ice making assembly disposed within the compartment, the ice making assembly having an ice maker for forming ice pieces, and a cover rotatably hinged to the ice marker, wherein the cover is moveable between an unrestricting position in which ice is discharged, to a restricting position in which ice does not discharge; and an ice storage unit removably mounted to the door for receiving ice from the ice making assembly, wherein at least a portion of the ice storage unit is configured to be positioned under the ice making assembly when the door is in a closed position.
The refrigerator has a bail arm rotatable mounted to the ice maker for sensing the level of ice within the ice storage unit and the bail arm is operatively configured to inhibit the ice maker from forming ice pieces when the ice storage unit is full.
The cover is rotatably hinged to a side wall of the ice maker. The cover rotates about a horizontal axis relative to the ice maker. The cover in the unrestricting position engages a top edge of the ice storage unit.
A storage chamber is positioned behind the ice maker, the storage chamber having a tray slidably mounted to the storage chamber. The tray has a curved guide configured to slidably engage with the storage chamber, the curved guide being disposed along a side wall of the tray. The curved guide defines a curved path when the tray slides in and slides out of the storage chamber.
An ice making system for a refrigerator includes an ice maker for forming ice pieces configured for being disposed within the refrigerator; a cover rotatably mounted to the ice marker, the cover being rotatable between a restricting position in which ice does not discharge and an unrestricting position in which ice is discharged; and an ice storage unit removably mounted to the door for receiving ice from the ice maker, wherein at least a portion of the ice storage unit is configured to be positioned under the ice maker.
A bail arm is rotatably mounted to the ice maker for sensing the level of ice within the ice storage unit. The bail arm is operatively configured to inhibit the ice maker from forming ice pieces when the ice storage unit is full.
A refrigerator having a compartment includes a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the compartment; an ice maker disposed within the compartment for forming ice pieces; a bail arm rotatably mounted to the ice maker for sensing the level of ice within the ice storage unit; a cover rotatably mounted to the ice maker, the cover being rotatable between a restricting position in which ice does not discharge when the door is in an open position and an unrestricting position in which ice is discharged when the door is in a closed position; and an ice storage unit removably mounted to the door for receiving ice from the ice maker, wherein at least a portion of the ice storage unit is configured to be positioned under the ice maker when the door is in a closed position.
A storage chamber is arranged behind the ice maker, the storage chamber having a tray slidably mounted to the storage chamber for extension and retraction of the tray to store refrigerated items. The tray has a pair of curved guide disposed along opposing side wall of the tray, the curved guides defining a curved path for the tray to slide in and slide out of the storage chamber without interfering with the ice maker. The tray has a front edge adapted to serve as a handle for defining a curved path when the tray slides in and slides out of the storage chamber.
A refrigerator having a compartment includes a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the compartment, an ice making assembly disposed within the compartment, the ice making assembly having an ice maker for forming ice pieces; an ice storage unit removably mounted to the door for receiving ice from the ice making assembly, wherein at least a portion of the ice storage unit is configured to be positioned under the ice making assembly when the door is in a closed position; and a slidable tray defining a storage space behind the ice making assembly, the tray being slidable from a closed position for storing items behind the ice making assembly and an accessible position allowing access to the chamber.
This summary is not an extensive overview of the features and systems discussed herein. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of such features and systems. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description.
The foregoing and other aspects of the described embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Examples will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which example embodiments are shown. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. However, aspects may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Turning to
Although
The cover 40 can be pivotally connected to the sides of the ice maker 42 such that it pivots about an axis X. When the freezer door 20 is in an open position, the cover 40 can be configured to, for example, inhibit ice harvesting. Additionally, the cover 40 may inhibit ice from harvesting when the ice bucket 28 is removed from the door 20. When a user opens the freezer door 20 or removes the ice bucket 28 from the freezer door 20, the cover 40 is released from the edge of the ice bucket 28 causing the cover 40 to swing about the horizontal axis into a freely hanging position below the icemaker 42, thus inhibiting additional ice from being harvested.
Turning now to
In
In operation, the bail arm 30 transitions between an ice sensing position and an ice harvest position for ice harvest by the ice maker. When the freezer door 20 is in a closed position, the bail arm 30 rotates into the ice bucket 28 to determine if the ice bucket 28 is full and/or if harvesting of ice is necessary. Upon sensing the level of the ice, Ice cubes may fall directly into the ice bucket 28 from the ice maker 42 during harvesting if the bail arm 30 determines that the ice bucket 28 is not full. If the bail arm 30 determines that the ice bucket 28 is full, the bail arm signals the icemaker to stop harvesting ice. The bail arm may swing up and into a lock position to inhibit ice from harvesting. If the ice bucket 28 is not in place when the freezer door 20 is closed, the cover 40 will not be pushed aside causing the cover 40 to block the bail arm 30 so that the ice maker 42 will be inhibited from harvesting ice.
The tray 52 includes a pair of curved guides 54 located along opposing side walls of the tray. The curved guides 54 slidably engage guide tracks 56 formed along the sidewalls of the storage chamber 50. By this arrangement the tray 52 is slidably supported in both its accessible and closed positions. The curved guides 56 define a curved path enabling the tray 54 to follow the curved path when pulled out. The curved path enables the tray 54 to slide downward and underneath the ice maker 42 as it is pulled out. The front surface 58 of the tray 54 can be adapted to serve as a handle for pulling out and pushing in the tray 54. The front surface can have an upwardly opening C shape defined by an opening for facilitating access to items in the tray.
The present disclosure has been described with reference to the example embodiments described above. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. Example embodiments incorporating one or more aspects of the invention are intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims.
