Method and apparatus for forming asymmetrical ice cubes
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsGUOLIAN WU, KEVIN MICHAEL CHASE, MARCUS ROLAND FISCHER
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A refrigerator includes a freezer compartment provided with an automatic icemaker incorporating a mold configured to produce truncated, crescent-shaped ice cubes. With this arrangement, the icemaker produces cubes that are shorter than full, standard crescent-shaped cubes. The reduced mold size advantageously enables the icemaker to take less space in a freezer compartment, without a significant reduction in ice cube volume.
Claims11
A refrigerated appliance comprising:
- a cabinet including at least one refrigerated compartment;
- a refrigeration system in communication with the at least one refrigerated compartment for lowering the at least one refrigerated compartment to below freezing temperatures;
- a door mounted for movement relative to the cabinet for providing selective access to the at least one refrigerated compartment;
- and
- an automatic icemaker including an ice mold configured to produce truncated, crescent-shaped ice cubes in the at least one refrigerated compartment.
A refrigerated appliance comprising:
- a cabinet including at least one refrigerated compartment;
- a refrigeration system in communication with the at least one refrigerated compartment for lowering the at least one refrigerated compartment to below freezing temperatures;
- a door mounted for movement relative to the cabinet for providing selective access to the at least one refrigerated compartment;
- and
- means for producing truncated, crescent-shaped ice cubes in the at least one refrigerated compartment.
An automatic icemaker for a refrigerator comprising:
- an ice mold configured to produce truncated, crescent-shaped ice cubes.
A method of forming ice cubes comprising:
- supplying water to an ice mold located in a refrigerated compartment;
- directing the water to fill mold cavities which are truncated, crescent-shaped;
- freezing the water;
- and
- ejecting truncated, crescent-shaped ice cubes from the mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.