Ice Dispenser For A Household Refrigerator

Abstract

An ice dispenser comprising a receptacle for storing ice pieces and having a discharge opening in the front wall thereof contains a dispensing means that includes a rotatable feed section having the front end thereof positioned adjacent the discharge opening. The feed section comprises a collar containing a double-blade screw auger which forms with the inner surface of the collar two diametrically opposed helical passages for conveying ice pieces entering the rear end of the feed section to the discharge opening upon rotation of the feed section. The feed section is so designed that the passages are of a gradually increasing cross section from the inlet or rear ends thereof to the discharge or front ends thereof in order to prevent internal wedging of ice pieces which have entered the passages.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an ice piece dispenser for a conventional household refrigerator and more specifically to an ice dispenser of the type disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,994 notable issued Jan. 21, 1969 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,244 Alvarez et al. issued Apr. 8, 1969. Briefly described, such a dispenser comprises a receptacle for receiving and storing ice pieces from an automatic icemaker and dispensing means rotatably supported in a horizontal position within the receptacle so that, upon operation thereof, ice pieces will be automatically dispensed through a discharge opening in the front end of the receptacle. The dispensing means comprises a feed section for feeding ice pieces to the discharge opening and a conveying section connected to the feed section and rotatable therewith. The feed section comprises a cylindrical collar containing a conveyor screw or auger rotatable with collar and the discharge opening is positioned relative to the outlet of the feed section so that the lower edge of the opening forms the top of a dam overlying the lower front end of the feed section. Thus as the feed section rotates, ice pieces picked up at the inlet end of the feed section travel in single file through a helical passage formed by the auger but are not discharged from the front or outlet end of the feed section until the leading ice piece has been rotated upwardly by its supporting auger blade to a point at which the front edge of the blade is level with the discharge opening.

In the operation of an ice dispenser of this type it has been found that the ice pieces passing through the feed section occasionally wedge and thereby prevent a uniform batch-by-batch dispensing of ice pieces through the discharge opening. In addition ice pieces may occasionally become pinched or wedged between the front end of the receptacle and the adjacent steeply inclined surface of an auger blade with resultant stalling of the dispensing means drive motor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to certain improvements in the feed section of an ice dispenser of the above-described type which, individually and collectively, improve the operation of the dispenser and particularly prevent a wedging of ice pieces within the feed section which may stall the dispenser drive motor or prevent uniform discharge of ice pieces in the desired manner.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the ice dispenser of the present invention comprises a receptacle for receiving and storing ice pieces and including a discharge opening in an upper portion of the front wall thereof through which ice pieces are periodically discharged under control of the user. The receptacle contains a rotatable motor driven dispensing means horizontally supported in the receptacle and including a rotatable feed section having an upper portion of the front or outlet end thereof positioned adjacent the discharge opening. The feed section comprises a cylindrical or tubular member and a 360.degree. double-helix conveyor or auger coaxially arranged within the tubular member and having a blade pitch such that the blades in combination with the tubular member form spirally passages or flutes for transferring ice pieces in a single file through the feed section to the discharge opening. The cylindrical member or at least its inner surface gradually increases in diameter from the inlet to the outlet ends thereof. By this construction, the helical passages or flutes are also of constantly increasing cross section with the result that the problem of wedging of ice pieces traveling through these passages is substantially eliminated.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the feed section is provided with a metal inlet blade which partially restricts the passage entrances thus further assuring that once an ice piece has passed this entrance point, it will flow freely through the feed section. The inlet blade also is provided with a somewhat sharp square leading edge which aids in breaking any clumps or clusters of ice pieces and shaves off irregular projections which may be present on the ice pieces. As a further means for assuring trouble-free operation of the dispenser, the forward or discharge end of the feed section is provided with an outlet blade portion forming a tipoff platform which spaces the steeply inclined surfaces of the blades from the front wall of the receptacle to minimize the chances of cube pinch between the blades and the portion of the front wall below the discharge opening which may result in motor stall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a portion of the freezer compartment of a household refrigerator including the ice dispensing means of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, of the ice dispensing means illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the feed section portion of the ice dispensing means, with portions thereof in section, illustrating certain details of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the dispenser illustrating certain additional details thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, there is illustrated a household refrigerator comprising a freezer compartment 1 having an access opening at the front thereof closed by a door 2. Within the upper portion of the freezer compartment 1, there is mounted an automatic icemaker 3 which may be of the well-known types presently provided in household refrigerators for the automatic production of ice pieces, generally referred to as ice cubes regardless of their particular shapes. These ice pieces are discharged into a storage bin or receptacle 4 which serves not only to store the manufactured ice pieces at subfreezing temperatures but also forms part of an ice dispenser designed to automatically dispense the stored ice pieces are required by the user.

The receptacle 4, which is removably supported on a supporting shelf 5 below the icemaker 3, is relatively wide and relatively shallow and includes vertical front and rear walls 9 and 10 and an arcuate or concave bottom wall 11. The front wall 9 of the receptacle 4 is provided with a dispensing opening 14 above and spaced from the lowest portion of the bottom wall 11 and is shown in FIG. 4 of the drawing. In other words, the portion 12 of the front wall below the opening 14 forms a dam blocking the lower front end of the feed section, the function of which will become apparent hereinafter.

For the purpose of conveying ice pieces stored in the receptacle 4 to the discharge opening 14, there is provided within the receptacle 4 a dispensing means generally indicated by the number 15. It extends lengthwise of the receptacle 4 adjacent the lowermost portion of the arcuate bottom wall 11 and in alignment with the discharge opening 14 and is pivotally supported in a horizontal position on the front and rear walls 9 and 10 of the receptacle 4 for rotational movement about its horizontal axis. It essentially comprises a feed section 16 at the front end thereof and a conveyor section 17 connected to the feed section and forming the rear portion of the dispensing means.

The conveyor section 17 comprises an open coil of wire spaced from the feed section and designed to convey ice pieces to the feed section and also agitate and circulate the ice pieces stored with the receptacle 4. The rear end of the conveyor section 17 is connected to a shaft 18 forming part of a motor and speed reduction drive means 19 mounted on the rear portion of the shelf 5 and adapted to rotate the dispensing means in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

The feed section 16, as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, comprises an open-ended sleeve or collar 20 containing a conveyor screw in the form of two auger blades 21 which forms within the collar 20 two diametrically opposed helical passages or flutes 22 of a cross-sectional area such that ice pieces entering the rear or inlet end of the feed section advance in a single file arrangement through the passages or flutes 22 during rotation of the feed section. The feed section is of a length such that during normal operation of the dispenser, a plurality of ice pieces are stored within each of the passages 22 so that a controlled number of ice pieces are stored within each of the passages 22 so that a controlled number of ice pieces can be discharged through the discharge opening 14 upon each half revolution of the feed section in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the front end thereof.

In accordance with the present invention, the collar 20 is of a tapered cylindrical shape, that is, it tapers from the front to the rear end thereof or in other words flares from the rear to the front end thereof as illustrated particularly in FIG. 2 of the drawing. Preferably also the hollow hub portion 24 of the auger 21 is provided with a taper which is the reverse of that of the collar 20; that is the hub tapers from the rear to the front end thereof.

The collar and auger components of the feed section are preferably fabricated as a one piece plastic molding. In addition to facilitating the molding of this unitary part, the reverse tapering of the collar 21 and the hub 24 provides a product in which the helical passages or flutes 22 are of constantly increasing cross section from the rear to the front end thereof. This constantly increasing cross section of the passages 22 has been found to substantially prevent internal wedging of ice pieces traveling through the passages.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided at the inlet end of the feed section 16 a somewhat sharp but substantially square edge inlet blade 27, preferably of metal, engaging and overlapping the inlet or rear edges 28 of the auger blades 29. The inlet blade 27 is positioned relative to the rear edges 28 of the auger blades so that its edges in effect lead the auger blade edges 28 during rotation of the feed section to provide a relatively sharp means for engaging and breaking cube clumps and shaving off irregular projections on ice pieces as these clumps or individual ice pieces try to enter the rear of the feed section under the advancing effect of the conveyor section 15. In addition, since the blade 27 overhangs or leads the inlet edges 28 of the blades 29, this overhang restricts the effective inlet area of the passages 22 and further assures that once an ice piece has passed this point and entered the feed section, it will flow freely through the feed section.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, the plastic auger blades 21 terminate short the front end 31 of the collar 20, that is, within the collar 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing and there is provided within the remaining portion of the collar a diametrically extending metal outlet blade 32 which is coextensive with forward edges of the blades 21. The slope of the ice contacting surfaces 33 of the outlet blade 32 is substantially smaller than the slope of the adjacent surfaces of blades 21 and in effect spaces the steeply inclined auger blades from the dam 12. The blade 32 is of a width less than the smallest dimension of an ice piece so that the forward ends of the auger blades 29 are spaced a sufficient distance from the front of the receptacle as to minimize the chances of ice pieces being pinched between the more inclined surfaces of the auger blades and dam portion 12 of the receptacle during rotation of the feed section. To this same end, the hub portion 33 of blades 31 is conical and flares outwardly to a diameter at the front end thereof about equal to the diameter of the front bearing area 34 of the receptacle.

In accordance with what is presently considered to be the commercially preferred form of the ice dispenser and as is taught in the aforementioned Alvarez U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,994, the feed section 16 is supported by a bearing 35 in bearing area 34 of the front end of the receptacle and is positioned in a shallow arcuate depression 36 in the bottom wall of the receptacle. The lower part of collar 20 is spaced a short distance from this depression 36 and the depression is of a depth such that the inner surface of the collar is in substantially the same plane or slightly below the adjacent surface portion 37 of the receptacle bottom wall rearwardly of the feed section 16 to facilitate entrance of ice pieces into the feed section. As ice chips or fragments tend to collect in this depression 36, the outer surface of the collar 20 is also preferably provided with an external helical rib 38 having a pitch opposite to that of the blades 29. Thus during rotation of the feed section to advance ice pieces through the feed section to the outlet 14, the reverse pitch of the exterior ribs 38 sweeps ice chips and fragments rearwardly to maintain the space between the feed section 16 and the arcuate depression 36 substantially free of such chips and fragments.

During operation of the dispenser by energization of the drive means 19, ice pieces stored in the receptacle 9 are continuously conveyed by the conveyor 17 to the inlet or rear end of the feed section 20. As the inlet end of one of the helical passages 22 rotates below the level of ice at this point in the receptacle, ice pieces are picked up by the inlet blade 27 and pass or drop into one of the passages. Any ice piece which can enter the restricted inlet to a passage will then flow freely to the outlet end of the feed section. Also as has been previously described, the leading edge of the inlet blade 27 is hard enough and sharp enough to aid in breaking up ice piece clusters and to shave off any irregularities or projections or an ice piece which might otherwise interfere with its entering the feed section.

Ice pieces which have entered the feed section are continuously advanced by the rotating auger and internal wedging of ice pieces flowing through the passages 22 is prevented by the constantly increasing cross section of the passages. However these passages from their inlet to their outlet ends are also small enough to prevent ice pieces from passing one another or attaining a side-by-side positioning thereof within the passages.

Since the discharge opening 14 communicates with only the upper portion of the feed section, or in other words, since the lower part of the feed section outlet is closed by the dam 12, ice pieces cannot exit from the feed section until the surface of a passage as represented by a surface 33 of outlet blade 32 is level with the upper edge of the dam 12 as illustrated in FIG. 4 of the drawing. In other words, the dam 12 prevents any ice piece from being discharged to the discharge opening 14 until the foremost or front ice piece within the passage such as the ice piece indicated by the numeral 40 has been raised by the feed section to a point clearing the edge of the dam 12. At this point, this ice piece and any ice piece such as the ice piece 41 which is immediately behind it, and which is still on a downwardly sloping portion of an auger blade 21 will also be discharged through the opening 14. Thus it is seen that the height of the dam 12 relative to the outlet end of the feed section controls the number of ice pieces periodically discharged by the dispensing means.

Also, as has been indicated hereinbefore, the outlet blade 32, forming a less inclined extension of feed section auger, prevents ice pieces such as the ice piece 40 from becoming pinched or jammed between the feed section and the dam 12. It also spaces the more inclined surfaces of the auger blades 29 from the dam to increase the effective discharge storage area at the front end of the feed section. In other words, the width of the outlet blade 32 and the height of the dam 12 both determine the number of ice pieces which will be discharged through the discharge opening 14 during each half revolution of the feed section.

While the restriction of the inlet ends of the helical passages by the inlet blade 27, the constantly increasing cross section of the passages 22 from the rear of the forward end of the feed section and provision of the outlet blade 32 each individually contribute to a trouble-free operation of the dispensing means, they collectively have been found to assure a positive transfer of ice pieces through the feed section and a substantially uniform discharge of batches of ice pieces during each half-revolution of the feed section.

While there has been shown and described a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that it is not limited thereto and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An ice dispenser comprising:

a receptacle for storing ice pieces and including a front wall having a discharge opening therein;

dispensing means horizontally supported in said receptacle and including a rotatable feed section having the front end thereof positioned adjacent said opening;

said feed section comprising a cylindrical collar and double-blade screw auger within said collar forming with the inner surface of said collar two diametrically opposed helical passages for conveying, in single file arrangement, ice pieces entering the rear end of said feed section through said passages and to said opening upon rotation of said feed section;

the diameter of said inner surface of said collar gradually increasing from the rear to the front end thereof whereby the cross-sectional areas of said passages gradually increase in the same direction to facilitate flow of ice pieces through said passage; and

a metal blade at the inner end of said feed section adjacent to and overhanging the inlet ends of said auger blades for initial engagement with ice pieces entering said feed section.

2. An ice dispenser comprising:

a receptacle for storing ice pieces and including a front wall having a discharge opening therein;

dispensing means horizontally supported in said receptacle and including a rotatable feed section having the front end thereof positioned adjacent said opening;

said feed section comprising a cylindrical collar and double-blade screw auger within said collar forming with the inner surface of said collar two diametrically opposed helical passages for conveying, in single file arrangement, ice pieces entering the rear end of said feed section through said passages and to said opening upon rotation of said feed section;

the diameter of said inner surface of said collar gradually increasing from the rear to the front end thereof whereby the cross-sectional areas of said passages gradually increase in the same direction to facilitate flow of ice pieces through said passages;

the front ends of the blades of said auger being spaced from the front end of said collar; said feed section including a metal outlet blade bridging the space; said outlet blade having ice piece engaging surfaces of a lesser slope than the slope of the adjacent ice engaging surfaces of said auger blades.

3. The dispenser of claim 2 including a metal blade at the inlet end of said feed section overlapping the inlet ends of said auger blades for initially engaging ice pieces entering said feed section said inlet blade partially restricting the inlet ends of said passage.

4. An ice dispenser comprising:

a receptacle for storing ice pieces and including a front wall having a discharge opening therein;

dispensing means 15 horizontally supported in said receptacle and including a rotatable feed section having the front end thereof positioned adjacent said opening;

said feed section comprising a cylindrical collar and a double-blade screw auger within said collar 20 and forming with the inner surface of said collar two diametrically opposed helical passages within said collar for conveying, in single file arrangement, ice pieces entering the rear end of said feed section through said passages and to said opening upon rotation of said feed section;

and an inlet blade of metal forming an extension of the inlet ends of said auger blades said inlet blade partially restricting the entrances to said helical passage.

5. An ice dispenser comprising:

a receptacle for storing ice pieces and including a front wall having a discharge opening therein;

dispensing means horizontally supported in said receptacle and including a rotatable feed section having the front end thereof positioned adjacent said opening;

said feed section comprising a cylindrical collar and a double-blade screw auger within said collar and forming with the inner surface of said collar two diametrically opposed helical passages within said collar 20 for conveying, in single file arrangement, ice pieces entering the rear end of said feed section through said passages and to said opening upon rotation of said feed section;

said discharge opening having a lower edge portion preventing discharge of ice pieces from substantially the lower half of said feed section

the blades of said auger terminating within said collar short of the forward end of said collar; and

an outlet blade extending forwardly from the forward ends of said auger blades, said outlet blade having ice engaging surfaces forming an extension of the surfaces of said auger blades, said surfaces of said outlet blade having a slope substantially less than the slope of the adjacent ice engaging surfaces of said auger blades.