Patent Application
20080041073
With initial reference to
Freezer compartment 14 is provided with a door assembly 40 including a door member 42 provided with a handle 44. Door assembly 40 is selectively shifted outward from cabinet shell 4 to provide access to shelves (not shown) suspended from door member 42. That is, in a manner known in the art, door member 42 serves as a support for various shiftable shelves for supporting objects within freezer compartment 14. Finally, in a manner also known in the art, refrigerator 2 is shown to include a kick plate 49 positioned below freezer compartment 14.
In accordance with the invention, refrigerator 2 includes a water product dispensing system 60 having a dispenser 64 for delivering a water product, for example, water and/or ice, to a consumer without requiring accessing fresh food compartment 12 or freezer compartment 14. Actually, dispenser 64 is associated with fresh food compartment 12, yet still enables dispensing of ice cubes. In any case, dispenser 64 includes a dispensing portion 67, having an activating mechanism 69 and a control portion 72 having associated therewith a control panel 75 that is provided with a plurality of control elements 78 and a display 81.
As best shown in
In addition to the first plurality of control elements 79, control panel 75 includes a second plurality of control elements 80 that are associated with the operation of dispenser 64. More specifically, control elements 80 include a pair of water product selection buttons 98 and 99 for selecting between water dispensing and ice dispensing respectively. In addition, second plurality of control elements 80 include a light control portion 100 that selectively activates a light (not shown) associated with dispenser 64 and an associated indicator light 105. Light control portion 100 enables a consumer to activate the light (not shown) associated with dispenser 64 continuously or automatically. When in automatic mode, a light sensor 109 activates the light (not shown) associated with dispenser 64 based upon available ambient light conditions. Finally, second plurality of control buttons 80 includes a lock button 112 that, when activated, prevents operation of buttons 79 and 80. That is, when activated, lock button 112 ensures that, for example, a small child does not inadvertently play with dispenser 64, such as changing various settings for refrigerator 2.
In further accordance with the invention, refrigerator 2 includes a controller 115 that, upon sensing a demand for a water product through, for example, activation mechanism 69, activates a water delivery system 120 that includes a valve 143 which controls a flow of water from a water feed line 146, through a water filter 149, to dispenser 64. Valve 143 also enables water to flow to an icemaker 160 upon sensing a demand for ice. More specifically, upon activation of activation mechanism 69, controller 115 opens valve 143 allowing water to flow through water filter 149 to dispenser 64. In a similar manner, an icemaker control (not shown) activates valve 143 to deliver water to icemaker 160. The actual operation and plumbing of the dispensing system does not form part of the present invention and thus, will not be discussed more fully herein. A more detailed description of the water system can be found in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,120,685 and 6,303,031 which are incorporated herein by reference. In any event, valve 143 is operatively connected to a sensor 170 which, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, includes a timer 180 that senses an on time of valve 143 or, in accordance with another aspect of the invention, includes a flow meter 185 that can determine a flow rate through valve 143. In either case, sensor 170 determines an amount of water passing through water filter 149 in order to predict an operational life of water filter 149.
Over time, the ability of water filter 149 to remove impurities from the water will degrade. Thus, to ensure continued proper filtration, water filter 149 must be replaced. Accordingly, sensor 170 provides controller 115 with a signal indicating an amount of use of water filter 149. Controller 115 then determines whether water filter 149 is approaching an end of a useful service life and thus, will soon require replacement. When controller 115 determines that water filter 149 should be replaced, an alarm screen 180 (see
In accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, controller 115 presents fault condition 190 on alarm screen 180 only upon activation of water product delivery system 120. Preferably, fault condition 190 remains on alarm screen 180, and alarm screen 180 remains active on display 81, for a period of approximately 30 seconds following de-activation of water delivery system 120 or completion of a dispensing operation. For example, controller 115 will activate alarm screen 180 and present fault condition 190 upon display 81 upon activation of activating mechanism 69, triggering activation of valve 143, to release water through dispenser 64. In addition to presenting fault condition 190, alarm screen 180 could present other alarm conditions such as door open or temperature alarms. Finally, when presenting fault condition 190, a backlight associated with display 81 can be activated. For further emphasis, fault condition 190 flashes on alarm screen 180. In this manner, fault condition 190 is presented to the consumer only when the consumer is utilizing dispenser 64.
Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment 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, while shown in connection with a French-style door refrigerator, the present invention could also be employed in other models such as top mount, side-by-side models and the like. In addition, it should be understood that the fault condition need not be limited to indicating a need for replacement of a water filter but could also present additional information regarding the dispensing system to the consumer such as, for example, a faulty valve, faulty sensor and icemaker fault conditions. Finally, the fault condition could also be presented on the display upon dispensing ice from the dispenser. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
