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US 8,984,899 B2Granted
Refrigerator appliance with ice dispenser
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorAlan Joseph Mitchell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to an ice bucket for a refrigerator and methods of using the same. The ice bucket is mounted on a door of the refrigerator and includes a platform that is movable along a vertical axis from a lowered position at a bottom portion of the ice bucket to a raised position at a top portion of the ice bucket.
Claims18
A refrigerator comprising:
- a door configured to permit selective access to a compartment of the refrigerator;
- an ice maker;
- and
- an ice storage assembly disposed on the door, the ice storage assembly comprising:
- an ice bucket configured to receive ice from said ice maker, said ice bucket defining a non-circular cross-section having a concave region;
- a platform movable along a vertical axis from a lowered position at a bottom portion of said ice bucket to a raised position at a top portion of said ice bucket, a shape of said platform being complementary to a shape of said ice bucket;
- a threaded screw coupled to said platform such that said threaded screw adjusts said platform from the lowered position to the raised position during rotation of said threaded screw;
- an ice chute positioned adjacent said ice bucket at said concave region and configured to receive ice from the top portion of said ice bucket;
- and
- a sweep arm mounted to said threaded screw such that said sweep arm is vertically fixed relative to said threaded screw, said sweep arm positioned at the top portion of said ice bucket such that said sweep arm rotates with said threaded screw at the top portion of said ice bucket during rotation of said threaded screw.
7 more elements
A method for dispensing ice, the method comprising:
- creating ice in an ice maker of a refrigerator;
- receiving the ice from said step of creating in an ice bucket on a door of the refrigerator;
- rotating a threaded screw within the ice bucket in order to raise a platform of the ice bucket along a vertical axis from a lowered position at a bottom portion of the ice bucket to a raised position at a top portion of the ice bucket, the platform not rotating within the ice bucket during said step of rotating due to the ice bucket defining a non-circular cross-section with a concave region and a shape of the platform being complementary to a shape of the ice bucket;
- and
- transferring the ice from the top portion of the ice bucket to an ice chute positioned at the concave region during said step of rotating with a sweep arm fixed to the threaded screw, the sweep arm mounted to the threaded screw such that the sweep arm is vertically fixed relative to the threaded screw.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.