Ice in bucket detection for an icemaker
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAlexander Pinkus Rafalovich, Robert Catlett, John Kenneth Hooker, Toby Whitaker
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Abstract
In an embodiment of the invention, a refrigerator comprising an ice storage bucket and a cooling system in thermal communication with the ice storage bucket is shown. A first transmitter is configured in the ice storage bucket. A first pulse signal is transmitted from the first transmitter. A first receiver is configured in the ice storage bucket and is further configured to receive the first pulse signal. A first pre-signal response from the first receiver is generated before the first pulse signal. A first pulse signal response from the first receiver generated during the first pulse signal.
Claims13
An ice storage compartment comprising:
- an ice storage bucket;
- a cooling system in thermal communication with the ice storage bucket for cooling the ice storage bucket;
- an optical system disposed proximal a bottom surface of the ice storage bucket for determining whether or not there is a volume of ice in the ice storage bucket;
- and
- means for enabling the cooling system if ice is detected in the ice storage bucket for maintaining the ice in a frozen state.
A refrigerator having a fresh food compartment and a frozen food compartment, comprising:
- an ice storage compartment disposed in a door of the fresh food compartment, the ice storage compartment including,
- an ice storage bucket;
- a cooling system in thermal communication with the ice storage bucket for cooling the ice storage bucket;
- an optical system disposed proximal a bottom surface of the ice storage bucket for determining whether or not there is a volume of ice in the ice storage bucket;
- and
- means for enabling the cooling system when ice is detected in the ice storage bucket for maintaining the ice in a frozen state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.