U.S. patent application number 12/618236 was filed with the patent office on 2011-05-19 for ice maker for a refrigerator.
Invention is credited to Wayne E. Lawson, Alan Joseph MITCHELL.
Application Number | 20110113810 12/618236 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43989556 |
Filed Date | 2011-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110113810 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MITCHELL; Alan Joseph ; et
al. |
May 19, 2011 |
ICE MAKER FOR A REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
An automatic ice maker for a refrigerator includes an ice mold
body, an ice stripper and an ice rake. The ice mold body has front,
back, and end sides, a top peripheral rim and a plurality of ice
chambers. Each ice chamber has a top opening having a frontal
portion adjacent the front side and a back portion adjacent the
back side. The ice stripper is sealingly disposed on the top
peripheral rim, has a unitary one-piece construction and forms
extensions of the front, back and end sides. The ice stripper
extends over the frontal portion of the top openings and extends
over the back portion of the top openings to prevent spillage. The
ice rake is disposed between the front and back sides and includes
a rotatable shaft, and rake fingers extending outward from the
shaft for moving ice cubes out of the respective ice chambers and
onto the ice stripper.
Inventors: |
MITCHELL; Alan Joseph;
(Louisville, KY) ; Lawson; Wayne E.; (LaGrange,
KY) |
Family ID: |
43989556 |
Appl. No.: |
12/618236 |
Filed: |
November 13, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25C 5/22 20180101; F25C
2400/10 20130101; F25C 2500/06 20130101; F25C 1/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/340 |
International
Class: |
F25C 1/00 20060101
F25C001/00 |
Claims
1. An automatic ice maker for a refrigerator, comprising: an ice
mold body having a front side, a back side, end sides, a top
peripheral rim and a plurality of ice chambers for containing water
therein for freezing into ice cubes, each ice chamber having a top
opening having a frontal portion adjacent the front side and a back
portion adjacent the back side; an ice stripper sealingly disposed
on the top peripheral rim, the ice stripper being of unitary
one-piece construction and forming extensions of the front side,
back side and end sides, the ice stripper being configured to
extend over the frontal portion of the top opening of each ice
chamber and extend over the back portion of the top opening of each
ice chamber; and an ice rake disposed between the front side and
the back side, the ice rake comprising a rotatable shaft, and a
plurality of rake fingers extending outward from the shaft for
moving ice cubes out of the respective ice chambers and onto the
ice stripper.
2. The automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice stripper
comprises a plurality of stripper fingers and a cover extending
between adjacent fingers, the stripper fingers extending inward
further than the cover.
3. The automatic ice maker of claim 2, wherein each ice chamber
includes a curved inner surface, each rake finger being disposed
between two respective adjacent stripper fingers and having a
length so that a tip of the rake finger is disposed adjacent the
curved inner surface for contacting an end of a respective ice cube
for moving the respective ice cube onto the stripper, the stripper
fingers and cover being raised so as to not interfere with a
rotation of the rake fingers.
4. The automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice mold body
includes a curved bottom wall and end side walls, the ice stripper
including side walls and a back wall, the side walls being disposed
above the end side walls to form an extension thereof and the back
wall being disposed along the back side of the ice mold body to
form an extension of the curved bottom wall, the back wall
extending over the back portions of the plurality of ice
chambers.
5. The automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice stripper
further includes a water inlet element having a unitary one-piece
construction with the ice stripper, the water inlet element having
an aperture that opens into an interior of the ice mold body where
the water inlet element substantially forms a funnel for directing
water into the ice chambers.
6. The automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice stripper
includes a plurality of stripper fingers depending from a front of
the ice stripper, each stripper finger includes first and second
guide portions that form a substantially V-shaped finger with an
apex disposed between the front side and the rotatable shaft.
7. The automatic ice maker of claim 6, wherein each stripper finger
includes a central portion, running a length of the stripper
finger, and edges disposed on either side of the central portion,
the central portion being raised relative to the edges so that a
crown is formed on each of the stripper fingers.
8. The automatic ice maker of claim 7, wherein a tip of each
stripper finger is disposed adjacent the rotatable shaft and being
configured to prevent ice from passing between the stripper finger
and the rotatable shaft.
9. The automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice stripper
includes an integral water inlet element configured to direct water
into the ice chambers.
10. A refrigerator comprising: a main body defining therein a food
storage compartment with a frontal opening; a door rotatably
attached to the main body for selectively closing the frontal
opening of the food storage compartment; an ice compartment on the
door, the ice compartment comprising a front wall which faces the
interior of the food storage compartment when the door is closed;
and an automatic ice maker disposed in the ice compartment, the ice
maker comprising: an ice mold body having a front side, a back
side, end sides, a top peripheral rim and a plurality of ice
chambers for containing water therein for freezing into ice cubes,
each ice chamber having a top opening having a frontal portion
adjacent the front side and a back portion adjacent the back side;
an ice stripper sealingly disposed on the top peripheral rim, the
ice stripper being of unitary one-piece construction and forming
extensions of the front side, back side and end sides, the ice
stripper being configured to extend over the frontal portion of the
top opening of each ice chamber and extend over the back portion of
the top opening of each ice chamber; and an ice rake disposed
between the front side and the back side, the ice rake comprising a
rotatable shaft, and a plurality of rake fingers extending outward
from the shaft for moving ice cubes out of the respective ice
chambers and onto the ice stripper.
11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice stripper
comprises a plurality of stripper fingers and a cover extending
between adjacent fingers, the stripper fingers extending inward
further than the cover, wherein the frontal portion of the top
opening of each ice chamber is covered by the cover.
12. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein each ice chamber includes
a curved inner surface, each rake finger being disposed between two
respective adjacent stripper fingers and having a length so that a
tip of the rake finger is disposed adjacent the curved inner
surface for contacting an end of a respective ice cube for moving
the respective ice cube onto the stripper, the stripper fingers and
covers being raised so as to not interfere with a rotation of the
rake fingers.
13. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice mold body
includes a curved bottom wall and end side walls, the ice stripper
including side walls and a back wall, the side walls being disposed
above the end side walls to form an extension thereof and the back
wall being disposed along the back side of the ice mold body to
form an extension of the curved bottom wall, the back wall
extending over the back portions of the plurality of ice
chambers.
14. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice stripper further
includes a water inlet element having a unitary one-piece
construction with the ice stripper, the water inlet element having
an aperture that opens into an interior of the ice mold body where
the water inlet element substantially forms a funnel for directing
water into the ice chambers.
15. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice stripper includes
a plurality of stripper fingers depending from a front of the ice
stripper, each stripper finger includes a crowned first and second
guide portions that form a substantially V-shaped finger with an
apex disposed between the front side and the rotatable shaft.
16. An ice stripper for an automatic ice maker of a refrigerator,
the automatic ice maker including an ice mold body having a front
side, a back side and end sides forming a peripheral top rim, a
plurality of ice chambers and partial partition walls disposed
between adjacent ice chambers, the ice stripper comprising: a front
wall; a back wall extending over a back portion of the ice chambers
for substantially preventing water spillage from the back portion;
end side walls connecting the front and back walls, the end side
walls being configured to substantially prevent water spillage from
the end sides of the ice mold body, where the front, back and end
side walls form a peripheral interface rim configured to engage the
peripheral top rim for sealingly connecting the ice stripper to the
ice mold body; a plurality of raised stripper fingers depending
from the front wall and extending over respective ones of the
partition walls; and a cover extending between adjacent stripper
fingers, the cover being configured to extend over a frontal
portion of the ice chambers for substantially preventing water
spillage from the frontal portions; wherein the ice stripper is
formed in a unitary one-piece construction.
17. The ice stripper of claim 16, wherein the stripper fingers
extend inward further than the cover.
18. The ice stripper of claim 16, wherein the ice stripper further
comprises a water inlet element formed with a unitary one-piece
construction on the back wall, the water inlet element having an
aperture that opens into an interior of the ice mold body where the
water inlet element substantially forms a funnel for directing
water into the ice chambers.
19. The ice stripper of claim 16, wherein each stripper finger
includes a first and second guide portions that form a
substantially V-shaped finger with an apex disposed inward of the
front wall.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The disclosed embodiments relate generally to an ice maker
for a refrigerator. More particularly, the aspects of the disclosed
embodiments relate to an automatic ice maker for use on a door of a
refrigerator.
[0002] A refrigerator generally includes a freezer compartment and
a fresh food compartment. The compartments are partitioned from
each other to store various foods at different temperatures in
appropriate states for a relatively long time. The freezer
compartment is also used to make and store ice.
[0003] It is now common practice in the art of refrigerators to
provide an automatic ice maker. In a "bottom freezer" type
refrigerator where the freezer compartment is arranged below or
beneath a top mounted fresh food compartment, convenience
necessitates that the automatic ice maker be disposed in a
thermally insulated ice compartment mounted or formed on the door
for the top mounted fresh food compartment. Ice is delivered
through an opening on the door for the fresh food compartment. In a
"side by side" type refrigerator, where the freezer compartment is
arranged next to the fresh food compartment, the automatic ice
maker can be disposed on the door for either one of the freezer
compartment or the fresh food compartment. Ice is delivered through
an opening formed on the door of the respective compartment.
[0004] Positioning the automatic ice maker on the door of a
refrigerator presents a number of challenges. One of such
challenges is water spillage. When the door is opened or closed
while water in the ice maker is not frozen, the unfrozen water can
spill out of the ice mold body of the ice maker. This is because
the frontal opening of each ice chamber is not completely covered
by the ice stripper. Such water spilling is not desirable.
Additionally, the spilled water will likely fall into the ice
storage bin positioned below the ice maker, causing the ice cubes
in the ice storage bin to clump together.
[0005] It would be advantageous to provide an automatic ice maker
which has a water spillage arrangement that not only prevents
unfrozen water from escaping the ice mold body so that the water
can be frozen into ice cubes, but also allows the ice cubes to be
properly ejected from the ice mold body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] As described herein, the exemplary embodiments of the
present invention overcome one or more of the above or other
disadvantages known in the art.
[0007] One aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to an
automatic ice maker for a refrigerator. The automatic ice maker for
a refrigerator includes an ice mold body, an ice stripper and an
ice rake. The ice mold body has a front side, a back side, end
sides, a top peripheral rim and a plurality of ice chambers for
containing water therein for freezing into ice cubes. Each ice
chamber has a top opening having a frontal portion adjacent the
front side and a back portion adjacent the back side. The ice
stripper is sealingly disposed on the top peripheral edge and has a
unitary one-piece construction. The ice stripper forms extensions
of the front side, back side and end sides and is configured to
extend over the frontal portion of the top opening of each ice
chamber and extend over the back portion of the top opening of each
ice chamber. The ice rake is disposed between the front side and
the back side and includes a rotatable shaft, and a plurality of
rake fingers extending outward from the shaft for moving ice cubes
out of the respective ice chambers and onto the ice stripper.
[0008] Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to a
refrigerator which includes a main body defining therein a food
storage compartment with a frontal opening, a door rotatably
attached to the main body for selectively closing the frontal
opening of the food storage compartment, an ice compartment on the
door, the ice compartment comprising a front wall which faces the
interior of the food storage compartment when the door is closed,
and an automatic ice maker disposed in the ice compartment. The ice
maker includes an ice mold body, an ice stripper and an ice rake.
The ice mold body has a front side, a back side, end sides, a top
peripheral rim and a plurality of ice chambers for containing water
therein for freezing into ice cubes. Each ice chamber has a top
opening having a frontal portion adjacent the front side and a back
portion adjacent the back side. The ice stripper is sealingly
disposed on the top peripheral rim and has a unitary one-piece
construction. The ice stripper forms extensions of the front side,
back side and end sides and is configured to extend over the
frontal portion of the top opening of each ice chamber and extend
over the back portion of the top opening of each ice chamber. The
ice rake is disposed between the front side and the back side and
includes a rotatable shaft, and a plurality of rake fingers
extending outward from the shaft for moving ice cubes out of the
respective ice chambers and onto the ice stripper.
[0009] Still another aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to
an ice stripper for an automatic ice maker of a refrigerator. The
automatic ice maker includes an ice mold body having a front side,
a back side and end sides forming a peripheral top rim, a plurality
of ice chambers and partition walls disposed between adjacent ice
chambers. The ice stripper includes a front wall, a back wall
extending over a back portion of the ice chambers for substantially
preventing water spillage from the back portion, end side walls
connecting the front and back walls. The end side walls are
configured to substantially prevent water spillage from the end
sides of the ice mold body, where the front, back and end side
walls form a peripheral interface rim configured to sealingly
engage the peripheral top rim of the mold body for mounting the ice
stripper to the ice mold body. A plurality of raised stripper
fingers depend from the front wall and extend over respective ones
of the partition walls. A web cover extends between adjacent
stripper fingers configured to extend over a frontal portion of
respective ones of the ice chambers for substantially preventing
water spillage from frontal portion. The ice stripper is formed in
a unitary one-piece construction.
[0010] These and other aspects and advantages of the disclosed
embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed
description considered in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are
designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a
definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference
should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are
not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise
indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the
structures and procedures described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] In the drawings:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary "bottom
freezer" refrigerator;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a simplified, perspective view of the refrigerator
of FIG. 1 with the access doors of the fresh food compartment being
in an open position and the drawer for the freezer compartment
being removed for clarity;
[0014] FIG. 3 schematically shows an exemplary ice maker and a
secondary temperature control circuit used in the refrigerator of
FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ice maker of FIG. 3;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view along line A-A in FIG.
4;
[0017] FIG. 6 is another perspective view of the ice maker of FIG.
4;
[0018] FIGS. 7 and 8 are partial perspective views of the ice maker
of FIG. 4; and
[0019] FIGS. 9A through 9F are cross sectional views, illustrating
an exemplary operation of the ice maker of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE
INVENTION
[0020] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary refrigerator 100 that
includes food storage compartments, such as a fresh food
compartment 102 and a freezer compartment 104. The refrigerator 100
is coolable by a conventional vapor-compression temperature control
circuit (not shown). Although the refrigerator 100 is shown as the
"bottom freezer" type, the aspects of the disclosed embodiments are
applicable to other types of refrigeration appliances, including
but not limited to, side-by-side refrigerators. The aspects of the
disclosed embodiments are therefore not intended to be limited to
any particular type or configuration of a refrigerator.
[0021] The freezer compartment 104 and the fresh food compartment
102 are arranged in a bottom mount configuration where the freezer
compartment 104 is disposed or arranged beneath or below the fresh
food compartment 102. The fresh food compartment 102 is shown with
French doors 134 and 135. However, a single access door can be used
instead of the French doors 134, 135. The freezer compartment 104
is closed by a drawer or an access door 132.
[0022] The fresh food compartment 102 and the freezer compartment
104 are contained or defined within a main body 106 of the
refrigerator 100. The main body 106 includes a top wall 230 and two
sidewalls 232. A mullion 235, best shown in FIG. 2, connects the
two sidewalls 232 to each other and separates the fresh food
compartment 102 from the freezer compartment 104. The main body 106
also has a bottom wall 234, which connects the two sidewalls 232 to
each other at the bottom edges thereof, and a back wall (not
shown).
[0023] The access door 132 and the French doors 134, 135 close
frontal access openings of the freezer compartment 104 and the
fresh food compartment 102, respectively.
[0024] Each French door 134, 135 is mounted to the main body 106 by
a top hinge 136 and a corresponding bottom hinge 137, thereby being
rotatable about its outer vertical edge between an open position
for accessing the respective part of the fresh food compartment
102, as shown in FIG. 2, and a closed position for closing the
respective part of the fresh food compartment 102, as shown in FIG.
1.
[0025] Similarly, when an access door 132 is used for the freezer
compartment 104, it is rotatably mounted to the main body 106 in a
known fashion. When a drawer is used for the freezer compartment
104, it is slidably received in the freezer compartment 104 in a
known fashion.
[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 2, an ice making assembly 200 is
mounted on the interior surface of the access door 134 of the fresh
food compartment 102. The ice making assembly 200 could
alternatively be mounted on the access door 135. The ice making
assembly 200 includes a substantially thermally insulated ice
compartment 204 mounted or formed on the access door 134, and an
exemplary automatic ice maker 202 in accordance with the present
invention. The ice maker 202 is disposed in the ice compartment
204. Water is provided to ice chambers of the ice maker 202 through
a water supply conduit (not shown) extending from the main body 106
of the refrigerator 100 to the ice maker 202, and then is frozen
into ice cubes. It is noted that while the term "ice cube" is used
herein, the pieces of ice may have any suitable shape. For example,
in the embodiments described herein the ice cubes 960 (FIG. 9A-D)
have a semicircular or crescent shape which when viewed from the
side have a cord 960C and an arc segment 960S. "Ends" of the ice
cubes 960 are defined herein as the points where the cord 960C
meets the arc segment 960S. The ice cubes are usually discharged
from the ice maker 202 and stored in an ice storage bin 206 until
needed by a user. The ice storage bin 206 is disposed in the ice
compartment 204, below the ice maker 202. The ice cubes may be
withdrawn by accessing the ice compartment 204 through an access
door 208 which faces the fresh food compartment 102 when the access
door 134 is closed. However, the ice cubes are typically withdrawn
by using an ice dispenser (not shown) installed in the access door
134 through an opening 203 (shown in FIG. 1) formed on the exterior
surface of the French door 134. The opening 203 faces away from the
fresh food compartment 102 when the access door 134 is closed and
is formed at a height facilitating convenient access to the ice.
These are known in the art and therefore will not be discussed in
detail here.
[0027] Because the ice compartment 204 is located in the fresh food
compartment 102, which normally has a temperature higher than the
freezing point of water, warming of the interior of the ice
compartment 204 occurs. In one example, to counter this warming, a
secondary temperature control circuit 140 is used to circulate a
working medium to and from the ice maker 202 and/or the ice
compartment 204. As shown in FIG. 3, when the working medium is a
liquid, such as a food safe liquid in the nature of, for example, a
mixture of propylene glycol and water, the secondary temperature
control circuit 140 includes a first heat exchanger 141 disposed in
the freezer compartment 104, a second heat exchanger 142 thermally
coupled to or formed as part of the ice mold body of the ice maker
202, a supply conduit 143 and a return conduit 144 between the
first and second heat exchangers 141, 142. A working medium moving
device, such as pump 145, is used for circulating the working
medium in the secondary temperature control circuit 140. The
working medium is cooled when it passes through the first heat
exchanger 141. The pump 145 forces the cooled working medium to
pass through the second heat exchanger 142 to keep the temperature
of the ice maker 202 below the freezing point of water. Such a
secondary temperature control circuit is discussed in greater
detail in commonly owned application Ser. No. 11/958,900, filed
Dec. 18, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated herein
by reference.
[0028] When the working medium is air, the secondary temperature
control circuit includes a supply conduit (not shown) and a return
conduit (not shown) between the freezer compartment 104 and the ice
compartment 204. A working medium moving device such as fan (not
shown) causes cooling air in the freezer compartment 104 to flow to
the ice compartment 204 via the supply conduit, and air in the ice
compartment 204 to flow back to the freezer compartment 104 via the
return path. This configuration is known in the art, and therefore
will not be discussed further here. It should be understood that
the ice making assembly 200 could, in other examples, be mounted on
the access door or drawer 132 in the freezer compartment 104 in
which case a secondary temperature control circuit may not be
needed.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, the ice maker 202 includes a motor 410
and an ice mold body 411. The ice mold body 411 has a front side
411F, a back side 411B, and two opposing end sides 411E1, 411E2.
One of the end sides 411E1 is attached to the motor 410, and the
other end side 411E2 is disposed remote from the motor 410. At
least one of the end sides 411E1, 411E2 may be configured to
substantially rotatably support an ice rake or ejector 422 (FIG. 5)
within the ice mold body 411 as described below.
[0030] Referring also to FIG. 5, the ice mold body 411 also has a
bottom wall 412 with a curved inner surface 413 extending generally
longitudinally along the length of the ice mold body 411, and a
plurality of partial partition walls 414 extending transversely
across the ice mold body 411 to define a plurality of ice chambers
415. As is known in the art, ice cubes are formed in these ice
chambers 415. Each partial partition wall 414 preferably has a
recessed upper edge portion (not shown) through which water flows
successively from one ice chamber to the next to fill all of the
ice chambers 415. The partial partition walls 414 are configured to
form a track or guide way for guiding ice cubes as the ice cubes
are ejected out of the ice maker 202.
[0031] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each ice chamber 415 preferably
has a generally semi-circular or otherwise curve shaped top opening
420 terminating at a top surface 411T of the ice mold body 411. In
this embodiment, each top opening 420 has a substantially
semi-circular frontal portion 420F adjacent the front side 411F and
a substantially semi-circular back portion 420B adjacent the back
side 411B.
[0032] The ice maker 202 also includes an ice stripper 421 having a
unitary one-piece construction, which includes a plurality of
raised stripper fingers 421F, a front wall 421D, a back wall 421B,
end side walls 421E1, 421E2 and a water inlet element 416. In one
example the ice stripper 421 is molded of plastic by any suitable
molding technique such as injection molding. In other examples the
ice stripper can be constructed of any suitable material in any
suitable manner. The ice stripper 421 is configured to sealingly
mate with the ice mold body 411 so as to form a substantially
continuous inner wall surface between the ice mold body 411 and the
ice stripper 421. For example, the end side walls 421E1, 421E2 of
the ice stripper 421 form extensions of the ice mold body 411 end
side walls 411E1, 411E2 for substantially preventing or
substantially reducing water spillage (i.e., unfrozen water flowing
out of the ice maker 202) from the sides of the ice maker 202 when
the door 134 (and/or 135) is opened or closed. In this example, the
end side walls 421E1, 421E2 are substantially straight and in-line
with the end side walls 411E1, 411E2. In other examples, the walls
421E1, 421E2 may be angled or curved relative to the end side walls
411E1, 411E2. The back wall 421B has an inner surface 421BS that
extends generally longitudinally along the length of the ice mold
body 411 to form an extension of the curved inner surface 413 of
the ice mold body for substantially preventing or substantially
reducing water spillage from the back portions 420B when the door
134 (and/or 135) is opened or closed. The inner surface 421BS is
generally contoured to follow a curvature of the curved inner
surface 413. In alternate embodiments the back wall may also
includes a plurality of ribs that extend from the inner surface
where each rib in the plurality of ribs is generally aligned with,
and substantially contacts, a corresponding one of the partial
partition walls of the ice mold body. The front wall 421D generally
extends adjacent to and along at least a portion of the front 411F
of the ice mold body 411.
[0033] The plurality of stripper fingers 421F extend from the front
wall in a generally inward direction towards the ice rake shaft
422S. Each of the stripper fingers 421F includes a first guide
portion 550 and a second guide portion 551. The first guide portion
550 includes a proximate end depending from the front wall 421D and
a distal end disposed remote from the front wall 421D. The first
guide portion 550 extends at an angle .theta. (FIG. 9A) upward and
inward from a top of the front wall 421D towards the ice rake shaft
422S. The angle .theta. may be any suitable angle such that the
stripper fingers 421F (and covers 421W--described below) are raised
to allow for the rotation of rake fingers 422F, which each have a
predetermined length L (FIG. 9A), within the ice maker 202, without
interference from the ice stripper 421. The second guide portion
551 includes a proximate end and a distal end. The proximate end of
the second guide portion 551 depends from the distal end of the
first guide portion 550. The second guide portion 551 extends
inwardly from the distal end of the first guide portion 550 in a
generally downward direction. The distal end (e.g. the tip 421T of
the stripper finger 421F) of the second guide portion is disposed
adjacent the ice rake shaft 422S so as to substantially prevent ice
from getting stuck under the stripper finger 421F as the ice is
ejected from the ice maker 202. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5,
the first and second guide portions 550, 551 form a substantially
V-shaped finger with an apex 910 (FIG. 9A) disposed between the
front wall 421D and the shaft 422S of the ice rake 422. Each of the
stripper fingers 421F includes a central portion 572, running a
length of the stripper finger 421F, and edges 571 disposed on
either side of the central portion 572. The central portion 572 is
raised relative to the edges 572 so that a crown 570 is formed on
each of the stripper fingers 421F. The adjacent crowned stripper
fingers 421F form channels therebetween for ice cubes to travel
along during ejection from the ice maker 202.
[0034] The stripper fingers 421F are generally longitudinally
spaced apart from each other so that each of the stripper fingers
421F is substantially aligned with, for example, corresponding ones
of the partial partition walls 414 so as to form a channel for
directing ice out of the ice maker 202. The spacing of the stripper
fingers 421F is such that the gap between adjacent fingers is wider
than the rake elements but narrower than the width of the ice cubes
so as to guide the cubes ejected from the mold without interfering
with the operation of the rake. A web or cover 421W extends over
the frontal portions 420F between each adjacent stripper fingers
421F for preventing or limiting spillage over front wall 421D when
the door 134 (and/or 135) is opened or closed, without interfering
with an operation of the ice rake 422. The stripper fingers 421F
project inwardly beyond cover 421W.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 6, the water inlet element 416 is
integrally formed (e.g. unitary one-piece construction) on, for
example, the back wall 421B of the ice stripper 421. In this
example, the water inlet element 416 substantially forms a funnel
for directing water from the water supply conduit through an
aperture 600 disposed at the bottom the water inlet element. The
aperture 600 opens into the interior of the ice mold body 411 for
directing water into the ice chambers 415.
[0036] The ice stripper 411 forms a partially opened hood for
substantially preventing water from escaping or spilling from the
ice maker 202 when, for example the door 134 (and/or 135) is opened
and closed. As can be clearly seen in FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 8, the ice
stripper 421 sealingly engages the ice mold body 411. The ice
stripper 421 includes an interface rim including a front rim
portion 501 (adjacent the front wall 421D), a back rim portion 502
(adjacent the back wall 421B) and side rim portions (not
shown--adjacent the end side walls 421E1, 421E2). The interface rim
of the ice stripper 421 is configured to substantially contact the
top peripheral rim of the ice mold body 411 for forming a
substantially water tight seal between the ice mold body 411 and
the ice stripper 421. The top peripheral rim of the ice mold body
411 includes a front rim 510, back rim 511 and side rims (not
shown) that are configured to interface with corresponding rim
portions of the ice stripper interface rim. A suitable grease, such
as a silicone grease, or a gasket or other suitable sealing member
or material, may also be provided between the interfacing rims of
the ice stripper 421 and ice mold body 411. The ice stripper 421
may be held on the ice mold body 411 in any suitable manner. In the
exemplary embodiment the ice stripper 421 includes resilient
members 700 extending from, end side walls 421E1, 421E2. The ice
mold body 411 includes receptacles 710 configured to accept the
resilient members 700 such that the resilient members "snap" into
the receptacles 710 for securing the ice stripper 421 to the ice
mold body 411. In other examples, the resilient members 700 and the
receptacles 710 may be disposed on any suitable sides of the ice
stripper 421 and ice mold body 411. Also in the exemplary
embodiment, the ice stripper 421 includes tabs 730 extending
therefrom. The tabs 730 include apertures 730A configured to allow
a screw 740 or other fastener to pass through a respective tab 730.
The ice mold body 411 may include corresponding tabs having
threaded apertures (not shown) for accepting the screw 740 of a
respective tab 730 for securing the ice stripper 421 to the ice
mold body 411.
[0037] Referring also to FIGS. 9A-9F, the ice rake or ejector 422
has a rotatable shaft 422S disposed preferably slightly above the
ice chambers 415 and at approximately midway between the frontal
portions 420F and the back portions 420B. A plurality of rake
fingers 422F extend radially outward from the shaft 422S and over
the respective ice chambers 415. In this embodiment, each rake
finger 422F has a predetermined length L. The predetermined length
of each rake finger 422F is such that each tip 422T is disposed
adjacent the curved inner surface 413 of the ice mold body 411 to
allow the rake finger 422F to contact a respective ice cube 960
substantially at an end of the ice cube 960 for pushing the ice
cube 960 out of the ice maker 202. During rotation of the ice rake
422, the rake fingers 422F extend into the gap formed between
respective adjacent stripper fingers 421F, but do not come into
contact with the respective cover 421W when the shaft 422S rotates
360 degrees.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 4, in the exemplary embodiment, one end of
the shaft 422S is coupled to the motor 410 and the opposite end of
the shaft 422S is supported by, for example, end side 411E2. End
side 411 E2 is a suitable bearing or support surface. As is known
in the art, when the motor 410 is activated, the shaft 422S
rotates, and the rake fingers 422F move ice cubes 960 from the
respective ice chambers 415 to the ice stripper 421 during ice
harvesting. In this embodiment, the motor 410 is an AC motor, and
the shaft 422S rotates approximately 360 degrees in an ice
harvesting cycle. As shown in FIG. 5, the ice maker 202 preferably
has at least one heating element 580 disposed along the bottom 412
of the ice mold body 411. The heating element 580 is used to heat
the ice mold body 411 when the ice harvesting cycle begins in order
to slightly melt the ice cubes 960 within the ice chambers 415 to
allow the ice cubes 960 to be more easily released from the ice
chambers 415. A heating element guard 585 is disposed adjacent a
respective one of the heating elements 580. The heating element
guard 585 is operative to insulate each heating element 580 in
order to substantially prevent heat transfer from the heating
element 580 into, for example, the freezer compartment 104 (FIG.
2), fresh food compartment 102 (FIG. 2), or any other suitable
compartment of the refrigerator, depending on where the ice mold
body 411 is located.
[0039] In operation, water enters the ice mold body 411 and settles
into the ice chambers 415 where the water freezes into ice cubes
960. After the ice cubes 960 are formed, a harvest cycle begins and
the motor 410 (FIG. 4) causes the ice rake 422 to rotate in the
direction of arrow A for moving the ice cubes 960 out of the ice
chambers 415 and into the ice stripper 421. The raised orientation
of the stripper fingers 421F (e.g. the second guide portion 551
forms an incline relative to the path of the ice cube 960 as the
ice cube travels through the ice stripper 421) causes the ice cubes
960 to be ejected from the ice maker "up-hill". The ice cubes 960
travel up the incline formed by the second guide portion 551 of the
stripper fingers 421F and the ice cubes 960 have a tendency to
slide off the rake fingers 42F and fall back into the ice mold body
411. The curvature of the back wall 421B substantially follows the
path of the rake fingers 422F to substantially prevent the ice
cubes 960 from sliding off the rake fingers 422F as the ice cubes
are moved up and over the inclined second guide portion 551 of the
stripper fingers 421F. The crown 570 (FIG. 5) on the stripper
fingers may also center the ice cubes 960 between respective
stripper fingers 421F for stabilizing the ice cubes relative to a
respective rake finger 422F. Once over the apex 910 of the stripper
fingers 421F the ice cubes substantially slide down the first guide
portion 550 of the stripper fingers 421F and are ejected out of the
ice maker 202.
[0040] While the invention has been described in terms of various
specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that
the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit
and scope of the claims. For example, features of various
embodiments/variations can be combined. Thus, while there have
shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the
invention as applied to various specific embodiments thereof, it
will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and
changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated and in
their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without
departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is
expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or
method steps which perform substantially the same function in
substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within
the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that
structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or
described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of
the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or
described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of
design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only
as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
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