Patent ID: 11879680
Assignee: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 9:
10. An ice-making compartment for an appliance, comprising:
a housing including an upper wall and a bottom wall extending between a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposing the first sidewall, the housing defining an inlet aperture in the first sidewall and an outlet aperture, wherein the housing is configured to be disposed in said appliance;
an inlet duct in fluid communication with the inlet aperture and configured to direct air into the housing, wherein the inlet duct includes a deflector portion that extends along the upper wall, curves to extend along the second sidewall toward the bottom wall, and extends at an angle away from the second sidewall;
an outlet duct in fluid communication with the outlet aperture and configured to direct the air out of the housing; and
ice trays positioned at different heights within an interior of the housing relative to the bottom wall of the housing, wherein the ice trays are staggered across the housing, and wherein the inlet duct is configured to direct air across the ice trays, and wherein the deflector portion extends between the upper wall and an uppermost one of the ice trays to direct the air over the uppermost one of the ice trays, curves to extend between the second sidewall and the ice trays to direct the air around the ice trays, and extends toward a top of an ice bin at the angle away from the second sidewall to direct the air between a lowermost one of the ice trays and the ice bin disposed in the housing and through the ice bin to the outlet aperture.