# US 2014/0150486 A1 · Refrigerator with ice mold chilled by air exchange cooled by fluid from freezer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0150486 A1 - Document ID: US20140150486A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/691,883 - Filed: 2012-12-03 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-12-03 - Assignees: Whirlpool Corporation - Applicants: Whirlpool Corporation - Inventors: Patrick J. Boarman; Gregory Gene Hortin - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140150486A1 ## CPC - F25D 17/065: {with compartments at different temperatures} - F25B 21/02: using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect - F25B 21/04: reversible - F25C 1/04: by using stationary moulds - F25C 5/08: by heating bodies in contact with the ice - F25C 5/182: Ice bins therefor - F25C 5/22: {particularly adapted for household refrigerators} - F25D 11/02: with cooling compartments at different temperatures - F25D 23/028: {Details} - F25D 23/126: {Water cooler} - F25B 2321/0212: of electric power, current or voltage - F25B 2321/0251: by a gas - F25D 2317/061: through special compartments - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - F25C: PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE ## Abstract A refrigerator that has a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, and a door that provides access to the fresh food compartment is disclosed. An icemaker is mounted remotely from the freezer compartment. The icemaker includes an ice mold. A thermoelectric device is provided and includes a warm side and an opposite cold side. A flow pathway is connected in communication between the cold side of the thermoelectric device and the icemaker. A fan is operatively positioned to move air from the fresh food compartment across the warm side of the thermoelectric device. A pump moves fluid from the cold side of the thermoelectric device to the icemaker. Cold air, such as from the refrigerator compartment, is used to dissipate heat from the warm side of the thermoelectric device for providing cold fluid to and for cooling the ice mold of the icemaker. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refrigerator that has a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, and a door that provides access to the fresh food compartment, the refrigerator comprising: an icemaker mounted remotely from the freezer compartment, the icemaker including an ice mold; an air supply pathway in communication between the icemaker and the fresh food compartment; a fan positioned to move air from the fresh food compartment through the air supply pathway; a heat exchanger positioned in the fresh food compartment in communication with the air supply pathway; a flow pathway in communication between the heat exchanger and the freezer compartment. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising an air return pathway in communication between the icemaker and the heat exchanger for exhausting air from the icemaker to the heat exchanger. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the air supply pathway comprises an air flow loop in communication between the icemaker and the heat exchanger. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein flow pathway comprises a fluid loop in communication between the heat exchanger and the freezer compartment for supplying cold fluid to the heat exchanger. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the flow pathway comprises a fluid loop in communication between the heat exchanger and a freezer evaporator. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: an insulated compartment on the door; an ice storage bin in the insulated compartment positioned to receive ice harvested from the ice mold; and the heat exchanger in thermal communication between the insulated compartment and the freezer compartment for supplying cold air to the insulated compartment. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising a secondary air supply pathway in communication between a sub-zero cooling application in the fresh food compartment and the heat exchanger for supplying cold air to the sub-zero cooling application. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising a secondary heat exchange interface in the flow pathway from the freezer compartment for supplying cold to a sub-zero cooling application in the fresh food compartment. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising an air return pathway in communication between the icemaker and the fresh food compartment for exhausting air from the icemaker to the fresh food compartment. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising an air return pathway in communication between the icemaker and the freezer compartment for exhausting air from the icemaker to the freezer compartment. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: an insulated compartment on the door; an ice storage bin in the insulated compartment positioned to receive ice harvested from the ice mold; and the air supply pathway in communication between the fresh food compartment and the insulated compartment for supplying air to the insulated compartment. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the icemaker is mounted on the fresh food compartment door. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a water reservoir or line connected in fluid communication with the icemaker; and the air supply pathway in communication between the fresh food compartment and the water reservoir or line for chilling the water supplied to the icemaker. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The refrigerator of claim 13 further comprising a water dispenser in fluid communication with the water reservoir or line for dispensing chilled water from the water dispenser. ### Claim 15 A refrigerator that has a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, and a door that provides access to the fresh food compartment, the refrigerator comprising: a heat exchanger disposed in the fresh food compartment; an air supply pathway between the heat exchanger and the icemaker for supplying cold air to a cooling application on the fresh food compartment door; a fluid supply pathway between the heat exchanger and the freezer compartment for supplying cold fluid to the heat exchanger. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The refrigerator of claim 15 wherein the cooling application comprises an ice mold in an icemaker mounted remotely from the freezer compartment. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The refrigerator of claim 15 further comprising: an insulated compartment comprising the cooling application on the door; an ice storage bin in the insulated compartment positioned to receive ice harvested from the ice mold; and the heat exchanger in thermal communication between the insulated compartment and the freezer compartment for supplying cold air to the cooling application. ### Claim 18 A refrigerator that has a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, and a door that provides access to the fresh food compartment, the refrigerator comprising: an icemaker mounted remotely from the freezer compartment, the icemaker including an ice mold; an air pathway in communication between the icemaker and the fresh food compartment; a heat exchanger positioned in the fresh food compartment in communication with the air pathway; a fluid flow pathway in communication between the heat exchanger and the freezer compartment. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The refrigerator of claim 18 further comprising a fan positioned to move air from the heat exchanger through the air pathway to the icemaker. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The refrigerator of claim 19 wherein the air pathway comprises an air supply pathway in communication between: a. a sub-zero cooling application on the fresh food compartment door; b. a sub-zero cooling application on in the fresh food compartment.