1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of ice making in refrigerators and, more particularly, to a variable ice storage assembly within a refrigerator, as well as its method of use.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Automatic ice making systems for use in domestic refrigerators is well known. A typical ice making system includes an ice maker mounted within the freezer compartment of the 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. The ice storage receptacle is supported by a shelf or other structure arranged beneath the ice maker within the freezer compartment. The ice storage receptacle generally extends across a significant portion of the freezer compartment and has a front end adjacent the freezer door. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,979 to Linstromberg et al. is an example of a prior art ice making system.
It is known to prevent an ice maker assembly from sending ice cubes to a storage bin when the storage bin is not positioned to receive ice. In one proposed solution as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,976, a bin detection sensor, such as an inductive or optical sensor, is used to sense the presence of the storage bin.
Another aspect of conventional ice making systems is that they produce a fixed quantity of ice pieces. This leads to the problem of ice staleness for consumers who have relatively low ice consumption needs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,978 to Cole discloses a common means used to limit the quantity of ice formed by the ice maker. In Cole, an ice quantity sensor, constituted by a sensing arm, is periodically lowered into the ice storage receptacle for sensing the amount of ice supplied into the storage receptacle. An alternative ice sensing method is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,097 to Nelson et al., which discloses the use of an electronic optical system for sensing the presence of ice pieces within an ice bucket. However, Cole and Nelson et al. only provide single fixed level sensing systems, which results in a set volume of ice being produced and stored in an ice bucket.
To actually avoid the problem of ice staleness, it is desirable to limit the amount of ice available based on individual consumers ice consumption. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,619,858 and 4,719,762 illustrate past efforts to provide flexibility in the amount of ice produced and supplied to an ice bin.
The present invention addresses the need for easy delivery of fresh ice remotely from the refrigerator by providing a method and apparatus for selectively limiting the amount of ice dispensed into a variable ice storage assembly.
The present invention is directed to a variable ice storage assembly for a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes an ice maker within a freezer compartment of the refrigerator, and a variable ice storage assembly including a storage cavity adapted to receive ice dispensed from the ice maker, with the amount of ice stored being selectively adjustable. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, an inductive sensor is positioned in the refrigerator to indicate the presence of the storage assembly in the freezer compartment in order to control the formation and dispensing of ice.
The storage assembly includes first and second insert portions positioned adjacent respective opposing side walls of the storage assembly. The storage assembly can be utilized in a non-reflecting configuration when the first and second insert portions remain empty, or a reflecting configuration when first and second mirrored inserts are positioned in the first and second insert portions respectively. The storage assembly is positioned between an infrared (IR) emitter located on a first inside wall of the refrigerator and a receiver positioned on an opposing inside wall of the refrigerator. When the storage assembly is in the non-reflecting configuration, an emitted IR beam travels in a direct line to the receiver of the overall IR sensor. Any interruption of the beam by ice at a particular level within the storage assembly signals the ice maker to stop ice production. When the storage assembly is in the reflecting configuration, the first and second mirrored inserts direct the IR beam in a circuitous path that effectively lowers the level of ice sensed by the IR sensor within the storage assembly. More specifically, the emitted IR beam reflects off the first mirrored insert and is directed to a first reflecting plate within the storage cavity. The first reflecting plate directs the beam across the storage cavity to a second reflecting plate which, in turn, directs the beam to the second mirrored insert, where the beam is finally reflected toward the receiver. Multiple angled slot pairs within the respective first and second insert portions allow a user to insert the first and second mirrored inserts at a variety of angles within the storage assembly. Various angles correspond to distinct ice volume levels within the storage assembly, allowing a user to selectively limit the amount of ice available based on the user's ice consumption.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
a is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the variable ice storage assembly of the present invention; and
b is a perspective view of the variable ice storage assembly of
With initial reference to
An ice making assembly 22 is disposed within the freezer compartment 16, such as being mounted to the inside surface of a top wall 24 of the freezer compartment 16 as shown. Regardless, at this point, is should be recognized that ice making assembly 22 can be mounted at a wide range of locations in freezer compartment 16. Preferably, ice maker assembly 22 is a conventional ice making apparatus which forms crescent shaped ice pieces as depicted in
An ice dispensing system 26, mounted to the freezer door 20, is provided below the ice making assembly 22 for receiving ice pieces. The ice dispensing system 26 includes a variable ice storage assembly 28. In the first embodiment shown in
The ice maker assembly 22 is designed to prevent ice harvesting when the storage assembly 28 is full of ice pieces, when the door 20 is open, or when ice storage bin 29 is removed from the door 20. The need for this function is well recognized in the ice maker art and a means for providing this function is described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,649,717 and 5,160,094, which are incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, an inductive sensor is utilized in order to sense the presence of storage assembly 28 on door 20. In the embodiment shown in
As best seen in
Storage assembly 28 may be utilized with an auger-type ice dispensing system, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,259, also incorporated herein by reference. Turning to
Additionally, storage assembly 28 may be utilized in conjunction with different ice-sensing systems, including the infrared sensing system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,745 incorporated herein by reference. In general, light (electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength) is used to sense the presence of ice pieces. More specifically, an optical ice level sensing system takes advantage of the fact that ice pieces formed by a conventional ice maker, as described above, have a cloudy core which is due to air bubble entrapment caused during the freezing process, and water impurities among other things. This cloudy core of the ice pieces blocks a wide range of wave lengths that are generated and sensed by many standard infrared (IR) radiation products. In a preferred embodiment shown, storage assembly 28 includes apertures 80 and 81, which provide a clear line of sight between a light emitter 90 and a receiver 92 of an ice level sensor. Light emitter 90 is preferably mounted on side wall 21 of the freezer compartment 16 adjacent the top of the storage assembly 28, while the receiver 92 is mounted to a side wall 23 of the freezer compartment 16 opposite from the emitter 90. A microprocessor (not shown) controls the operation of the ice level sensing system.
Reference will now be made to
Turning now to
When a user wishes to utilize removable insert 130, the user simply positions insert 130 within a storage cavity 230 of ice bucket 140. As depicted in
b depicts the storage assembly in a reflecting configuration, wherein mirrored inserts 210 and 211 are placed into respective insert portions 200 and 206. When insert 130 is positioned within storage cavity 230, apertures 260 and 261 of ice bucket 140 align with respective apertures 203 and 209 of insert 130. With this configuration, an IR beam originating from emitter 90 has a clear path to mirrored insert 210. In this configuration, IR radiation generated by light emitter 90 is directed along a circuitous path 270. More specifically, IR radiation reflects off mirrored insert 210 and is directed to stationary reflecting plate 202, where it is reflected across storage cavity 60′ to stationary reflecting plate 208. In turn, stationary reflecting plate 208 reflects the IR radiation up to mirrored insert 211 where it is reflected toward light receiver 92. It should be understood that stationary reflecting plates 202 and 208 are configured to reflect IR radiation when mirrored inserts 210 and 211 are in any of the various, possible angled positions. Each angled position of mirrored inserts 210 and 211 allows for a different reflected height of IR radiation through storage cavity 60′, thereby enabling a user to choose the optimal amount of ice stored in the storage assembly. In other words, this configuration essentially lowers the effective height of the sensor within storage cavity 60′, thereby signaling ice maker 22 to stop ice production with a smaller volume of ice present in ice bucket 140 then when the system is in the non-reflecting configuration.
Although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, although shown only in conjunction with the first embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that the inductive sensing system discussed above may also be utilized with alternative embodiments of the present invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090211292 A1 | Aug 2009 | US |