Ice maker for dispensing soft ice and related refrigeration appliance
AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
InventorsAlan Joseph Mitchell, Andrew Reinhard Krause
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ice-making assembly for a refrigeration appliance includes an ice maker for making ice cubes. An ice cube storage bin receives ice cubes from the ice maker. The ice cube storage bin is maintained at a temperature above the freezing temperature of water. A drain in communication with the ice cube storage bin for receives water melted from ice cubes located in the storage bin. A related refrigeration appliance is disclosed.
Claims20
An ice-making assembly for a refrigeration appliance, comprising:
- a sealed system operable to generate cooled air at one or more evaporators of the sealed system;
- one or more fans operable to circulate the cooled air;
- an ice maker operable to make ice cubes, the ice maker chillable by the cooled air during operation of the sealed system such that liquid water within the ice maker is chilled to a temperature less than a freezing temperature of water;
- an ice cube storage bin positioned for receiving the ice cubes from the ice maker, the ice cube storage bin and the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin exposed to the cooled air such that the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin are maintained at a temperature greater than the freezing temperature of water by the cooled air and the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin melt while stored within the ice cube storage bin;
- and
- a pump operable to flow the liquid water melted from the ice cubes located in the ice cube storage bin.
A refrigeration appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet having a fresh food portion and a freezer portion;
- a sealed system operable to generate cooled air at one or more evaporators of the sealed system;
- one or more fans operable to circulate the cooled air within the cabinet;
- an ice maker positioned within the cabinet, the ice maker operable to make ice cubes, the ice maker chillable by the cooled air during operation of the sealed system such that liquid water within the ice maker is chilled to a temperature less than a freezing temperature of water;
- an ice cube storage bin positioned below the ice maker within the cabinet such that the ice cube storage bin receives the ice cubes from the ice maker, the ice cube storage bin and the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin exposed to the cooled air such that the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin are maintained at a temperature greater than the freezing temperature of water by the cooled air and the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin melt while stored within the ice cube storage bin;
- and
- a pump operable to flow the liquid water melted from the ice cubes located in the ice cube storage bin.
A method for operating a refrigerator appliance having a cabinet that defines a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment, comprising:
- forming ice cubes with an ice maker of the refrigerator appliance;
- depositing the ice cubes within an ice cube storage bin of the refrigerator appliance;
- maintaining the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin at a select temperature, the select temperature being greater than a freezing temperature of water such that the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin melt during said step of maintaining;
- and
- pumping liquid water from the ice cubes within the ice cube storage bin to another location within a cabinet of the refrigerator appliance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.