Refrigerator dispenser control including integrated dispense level input sensor
AssigneeMidea Group Co., Ltd.
InventorsMichael Gaunt, Gregory Butorin, Eric L. Scalf
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator dispenser may include a dispenser control that includes an integrated dispense level input sensor through which a user can indicate a desired dispense level for an automatic dispense operation performed with the refrigerator dispenser. With such a dispenser control, a user may, for example, direct user input to the dispense level input sensor to select a selected position along a substantially vertical direction, such that an automatic dispense operation may dispense a controlled level of dispense product corresponding to the selected position into a container.
Claims20
A refrigerator, comprising:
- a cabinet including one or more food compartments and one or more doors closing the one or more food compartments;
- a dispenser mounted to the cabinet to dispense a dispense product through a dispenser outlet positioned over a dispenser recess;
- a dispenser control positioned below the dispenser outlet and along a rear wall of the dispenser recess, the dispenser control including a dispense level input sensor disposed thereon and extending in a substantially vertical direction along at least a portion of the dispenser control;
- and
- control logic coupled to the dispenser and the dispenser control and configured to perform an automatic dispense operation by receiving user input directed to the dispense level input sensor that selects a selected position along the substantially vertical direction and controlling the dispenser to dispense a controlled level of dispense product corresponding to the selected position into a container disposed below the dispenser outlet;
- wherein the control logic is further configured to perform a manual dispense operation by receiving user input directed to the dispenser control and controlling the dispenser to activate and deactivate dispensing of the dispense product in response to the user input directed to the dispenser control.
A refrigerator, comprising:
- a cabinet including one or more food compartments and one or more doors closing the one or more food compartments;
- a dispenser mounted to the cabinet to dispense a dispense product through a dispenser outlet positioned over a dispenser recess;
- a dispenser control positioned below the dispenser outlet and along a rear wall of the dispenser recess, the dispenser control including a dispense level input sensor extending in a substantially vertical direction along at least a portion of the dispenser control;
- and
- control logic coupled to the dispenser and the dispenser control and configured to perform an automatic dispense operation by receiving user input directed to the dispense level input sensor that selects a selected position along the substantially vertical direction and controlling the dispenser to dispense a controlled level of dispense product corresponding to the selected position into a container disposed below the dispenser outlet;
- wherein the control logic is configured to determine the controlled level of dispense product corresponding to the selected position by adding a predetermined offset to a selected level disposed substantially at the selected position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.