628 results about "Icemaker" patented technology

Disclosed is a refrigerator with an improved structure for supplying ices at an outside of a dispenser provided at a door. The refrigerator includes a supplementary freezer, a cavity, an icemaker and a dispenser. The supplementary freezer is provided in a cooling chamber of the refrigerator. The cavity is provided in the door and is connected with the supplementary freezer when the door is closed. The icemaker produces ices using cool air in the cooling chamber. The dispenser is connected with the cavity provided at the door. In this case, the icemaker is provided in the supplementary freezer or in the cavity.

An icemaking compartment is provided in the refrigerator compartment of a bottom mount refrigerator. An icemaker is within the icemaking compartment. A cold air duct supplies cold air from the freezer compartment to the icemaker. The cold air duct is formed in the rear wall of the refrigerator. A fan controls the flow of air through the cold air duct. A return air duct is provided to direct a portion of the air from the icemaker back to the freezer compartment. An air vent in the icemaker directs another portion of air into the refrigerator compartment.

Refrigerator with an icemaker including a cabinet having a mullion wall for compartmentalization of a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber, a case provided to a door on the refrigerating chamber, having a cavity therein, a first duct for supplying cold air from a neighborhood of an evaporator in the freezing chamber to the cavity, the icemaker in the cavity for producing ice, an ice container in the cavity for storing the ice, and a dispenser in the door in communication with the cavity, thereby having ice supplied to a user at an outside of the refrigerator through a dispenser provided to the door.

An ice dispensing system is provided for a refrigerator having a bottom freezer. The system includes an ice maker in the freezer compartment and an ice bucket in the refrigerator compartment. A shuttle carries ice from the ice maker to the bucket through a tube extending upwardly through the dividing wall between the freezer and refrigerator compartments. The bucket includes an auger in communication with an ice dispensing opening in the refrigerator door for ice on demand by a user. The shuttle is raised and lowered by a motor-driven cable.

The icemaker presented here may use a microcontroller, and solid state refrigeration and heat transfer elements to create ice cube qualities ranging from “clear ice” to “fast ice” in a smooth, user selectable continuum. In one embodiment, this may be accomplished by fitting a standard, high production volume icemaker mold with (1) thermoelectric coolers operated in a controlled fashion to heat or cool the mold, (2) a mold temperature sensor (such as a thermistor), and (3) a microcontroller to monitor the process and to adjust the growth rate of ice forming in the mold by adjusting heat transfer rates to optimize particular cooling phases.

In accordance with the present disclosure, an icemaker combination assembly is provided and comprises a refrigerator having a freezer compartment and a fresh food compartment. The freezer compartment can have a freezer door assembly and the fresh food compartment can have a fresh food door assembly. The icemaker combination further comprises a first icemaker having a first ice cube storage bin disposed within the freezer compartment and a second icemaker having a second ice cube storage bin disposed within the fresh food compartment. The first and second icemakers having a production activation level selected from the group consisting of the first icemaker active only, the second icemaker active only, the first and the second icemakers both active, and the first and the second icemakers both inactive. The first and second icemakers can selectively and simultaneously produce and independently store ice.

A compact refrigerator has a split cabinet defining insulated refrigerator and clear ice maker sections. Its refrigeration system includes one external compressor and condenser and two evaporators, one for each section. The condenser is coupled to the inlet of the ice maker evaporator by a capillary tube and the evaporators are connected in series via a line having a refrigerator valve. The compressor receives return refrigerant from the outlet side of either the refrigerator evaporator or the ice maker evaporator depending on the state of a bypass valve, which is closed when the refrigerator valve is open, and vice versa. Refrigerant is thus routed to the ice maker evaporator to make ice and to both the ice maker and refrigerator evaporators when the refrigerator needs cooling. A hot gas bypass valve allows pre-condensed refrigerant exiting the compressor to bypass the condenser and be routed to the ice maker evaporator for harvesting the clear ice cubes.

An ice making and dispensing system suitable for making and dispensing ice through the refrigerator compartment door of a bottom freezer refrigerator. The ice maker and ice cube storage bin can be positioned in an insulated module in the refrigerator compartment opposite an ice dispenser positioned on the refrigerator compartment door. The insulated module is maintained at temperatures below 0° C. for forming and storing ice cubes. Air ducts from the evaporator compartment or an auxiliary ice maker evaporator can be provided to maintain below 0° C. temperatures in the insulated module.

An improved icemaker is provided for a refrigerator. The improvements include tilting the ice mold to assure that the ice cavity nearest the thermostat is filled with water; controlling air flow to the mold to promote rapid freezing of water in the mold cavities; raising the perimeter walls of the mold to minimize water spillage; and providing hooks on the mold for routing electrical wires.

In the related art refrigerator, its structure for supplying water to a dispenser and water tank was complicated. In addition, since an icemaker is installed in a refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator, there is a problem in that the water supplied into the icemaker is frozen. Furthermore, if the icemaker is installed in the freezing chamber of the refrigerator in which the refrigerating chamber is formed at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber is formed at an upper portion thereof, there is another problem in that it is difficult to control the temperature in the refrigerating chamber or ice-making capability of the icemaker is lowered. The present invention is directed to a refrigerator. According to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems, there is provided a refrigerator including a refrigerating chamber formed at a relatively upper portion of a refrigerator body and a freezing chamber formed at a relatively lower portion of the refrigerator body, which comprises an ice-making chamber which is partitioned in the refrigerating chamber by means of insulating walls and includes an icemaker for making ice and an ice storage for storing the ice made in the icemaker, a first heat exchanger for generating cold air to regulate the temperature in the ice-making chamber, and a second heat exchanger for generating cold air to regulate the temperature in the freezing and refrigerating chambers, wherein the first and second heat exchanger are components of a heat exchange cycle. According to the refrigerator of the present invention so configured, there are advantages in that the temperature in the refrigerating chamber can be accurately controlled, the loss of cold air can be minimized and the structures for supplying water into the icemaker and the dispenser can be simplified.

A method of controlling temperature for forming ice within an icemaker compartment of a refrigerator is disclosed. The method includes the steps of activating at least one of the compressor and the coolant pump during an icemaking cycle to provide cooling to the icemaker compartment sufficient to make ice at a first rate, and increasing operation of at least one of the compressor and the coolant pump to provide cooling to the icemaker compartment sufficient to make ice at a second rate, which is faster than the first rate. A related refrigerator is also disclosed.

A refrigerator / freezer with an ice maker having an ice cube tray in which are formed multiple ice cube recesses. The ice cube tray is movable between a fill position and a harvest position. The ice cube tray has a composite construction comprising a base layer and a top layer, with the base layer being made of a flexible material and the top layer being made of a low friction material. The ice cubes are harvested by deflecting or deforming the ice cube recesses to expel the ice cube therefrom when the tray is moved into the harvest position.

The present invention relates to an icemaker in which an ice cube tray is twisted by rotation of an actuator to easily and effectively release ice from the ice cube tray.The icemaker comprising an ice cube tray formed with cube compartments; an actuator rotating the ice cube tray; and a stopper coming into contact with the ice cube tray being rotated and allowing the ice cube tray to be twisted, the cube compartments being diagonally arranged with respect to a lengthwise direction of the ice cube tray. With this configuration, the present invention provides an icemaker in which an ice is easily released from an ice cube tray and minimally cracked or broken while being released.

An ice bank of an ice-making device for a refrigerator is disclosed, for smooth crush and discharge of ice, which includes a housing for storing ice made in an icemaker, and provided rotatably to apply the power to the stored ice at a rotation direction; an ice discharger having at least one hole through which the ice is discharge to the external; a crusher provided in the inside of the housing, the crusher guiding the stored ice to the hole of the ice discharge and crushing the ice as a predetermined size before discharging the ice to the hole according to a user's select; and rotating means for rotating the housing. Also, the crusher includes fixed crushing means fixed to the inside of the housing, and rotation crushing means rotated for being synchronized with the housing so as to crush the ice before discharging the ice to the external according to a user's select.

Disclosed is a refrigerator having an improved structure for supplying ice to an outside through a dispenser provided at a door. A cabinet includes a freezer and a cooling chamber. A case having a cavity therein is provided at the door opening and closing the cooling chamber. A first duct is provided in the cabinet for supplying cool air generated around the evaporator to the cooling chamber and a second duct is provided in the cabinet for supplying the cool air to the cavity. The icemaker is provided at the cavity for producing ice and the ice container is provided at the cavity for storing the ice. The dispenser is provided at the door in communication with the cavity for supplying the ice to a user outside.

An icemaker assembly disposed within a refrigerator is configured for continuous freezing of water and continuous harvesting of ice. The icemaker assembly includes a rotating ice mold having a plurality of ice forming compartments. A water distributor is operably disposed above the ice mold for supplying water individually to each of the plurality of ice forming compartments. The water distributor supplies the water at a flow rate which is dependent on a rotational speed of the ice mold. The rotating ice mold is rotatable such that each ice forming compartment is movable to a first position for receiving water from the water distributor and movable to a second position for harvesting ice. At the first position, each ice forming compartment is at a first temperature for rapidly freezing the water received from the water distributor. At the second position, each ice forming compartment is at a second, higher temperature for releasing the ice therein.

Disclosed is a dispenser of an icemaker in a refrigerator for maximizing an inner space when a total size is the same, and for minimizing the total size when the inner space is the same. The dispenser of the icemaker in the refrigerator includes an ice chute being a passage through which the ice produced from the icemaker is discharged; and a container supporter provided at an outer case and disposed to be perpendicular to an outer surface of the outer case when the ice is discharged outside through the ice chute, the contain supporter allowing a container seated thereon to receive the ice discharged from the ice chute. The ice chute is closed and not exposed outside when the ice-discharging process is finished, and the container supporter is not exposed to the outer surface of the outer case.

A refrigerator icemaker assembly includes a bin having a bottom wall, as well as first and second pairs of opposing side walls. One of the first pair of opposing side walls includes an opening within which is movably mounted a coupler. The coupler is provided with a recessed portion having formed therein an aperture and a cog member. An auger is rotatably mounted in the bin and includes a first end portion that extends through the aperture of the coupler. A drive member extends into the coupler and drives the auger in a first direction to dispense ice cubes and in a second direction to dispense crushed ice. The driver engages with the cog member when being rotated in the first direction and directly engages the first end of the auger when being driven in the second direction.

A control system for an icemaker for an ice / beverage dispenser is responsive to both a sensed level of ice in an ice bin of the dispenser and to a customer ice usage profile to operate the icemaker at such times as to build ice for the ice bin just before and in sufficient time and quantity to meet an anticipated demand for ice. The control system may be programmed manually or automatically through use of adaptive algorithms, with ice usage patterns that identify the days and times of day when demands for ice will occur, and the control system then operates the icemaker in accordance with such ice usage patterns.

A refrigerator / freezer with an ice maker having an ice cube tray in which are formed multiple ice cube recesses. The ice cube tray is movable between a fill position and a harvest position. The ice cube tray has a composite construction comprising a base layer and a top layer, with the base layer being made of a flexible material and the top layer being made of a low friction material. The ice cubes are harvested by deflecting or deforming the ice cube recesses to expel the ice cube therefrom when the tray is moved into the harvest position.

A refrigerated appliance includes a cabinet including a drawer and a refrigeration system having at least a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. An icemaker unit is mounted in the drawer and includes a housing and an ice cube mold. The evaporator includes a coil mounted below the housing proximate to the ice cube mold. A mounting plate is attached to the housing with the evaporator coil sandwiched therebetween. With this arrangement, the evaporator coil is selectively operated to provide freezing temperatures to form ice cubes in the ice cube mold and establish refrigerated temperatures in the refrigerated compartment. That is, the refrigeration system is selectively operated to chill the evaporator in both an ice production mode and a refrigeration mode.

Icemaker in a refrigerator for making ice automatically is disclosed. The icemaker in includes an ice tray provided to a door on the refrigerator for holding water, an ejector fitted adjacent to the ice tray so as to be rotatable by a motor for ejecting ice from the ice tray, means for detecting a rotation angle of the ejector, and a control part for controlling a rotation direction of the ejector based on information detected at the means.

An icemaker for a refrigerator having a cabinet with a refrigerated compartment and an unrefrigerated machine compartment includes a body portion formed with an inlet, an outlet and an opening. A flexible mold is positioned in the opening. A water supply is positioned to provide water to the flexible mold. A fluid supply circuit, including a pump mounted in the machine compartment, a first fluid conduit connected between the pump and the inlet, and a second fluid conduit connected to the outlet, provides warm fluid to the body portion. The icemaker forms ice during an ice production cycle and the fluid warmed in the machine compartment is used to partially melt and aid in releasing the ice which is then deposited in a ice storage bin during a harvest cycle.

An ice maker, a refrigerator including the ice maker, and an ice making method are provided. The ice maker includes a tray having a predetermined length and to which water is supplied to make ice. The ice maker is configured to mechanically separate the ice from the tray by using pistons which are driven by being pressed by structures. This allows the ice maker to have a reduced size, and a small occupation area, thereby implementing a slim configuration of a refrigerator. Furthermore, since an installation height of the ice maker is lowered, a path for supplying cool air may be shortened. This may prevent loss of cool air being supplied to the ice making chamber. Since the ice maker has a simplified configuration and precise operation controls, the fabrication costs may be reduced, and inferiority of the ice maker due to malfunctions may be prevented.

Disclosed is an ice supply system provided at a door and freezer in a refrigerator. The ice supply system of the refrigerator of the present invention includes an icemaker, a container, a crusher and an ice discharger. The icemaker produces the ice by using cool air of the freezer and drops the ice to a lower part of thereof. The container is provided at a lower part of the icemaker, enabling to be inserted into and withdrawn from the door. In this case, the container includes an open top, a first opening provided at a side thereof, a transfer device rotating and transferring the ice to the first opening, and an outlet for discharging the ice. The crusher crushes the ice transferred by the transfer device and the ice discharger is provided for discharging the ice to an ice chute provided at the door by controlling an opening and closing amount of the outlet.