Patent ID: 9234690
Filing Date: 2016-01-12
CPC Classification: F25B,F25C,F25D,Y02B

Claim Text:
1. A refrigeration appliance comprising: a fresh food compartment for storing food items in a refrigerated environment having a target temperature above zero degrees Centigrade; a freezer compartment for storing food items in a sub-freezing environment having a target temperature below zero degrees Centigrade; an ice maker disposed within the fresh food compartment for freezing water into ice pieces, the ice maker comprising a removable ice bin with an interior volume defined between a front cover and a plurality of walls for storing the ice pieces produced by the ice maker, the ice bin further comprising an ice dispensing aperture sized for the ice pieces to pass therethrough; a rotatable auger positioned within the ice bin and configured to drive the ice pieces through the ice dispensing aperture and out of the ice bin via a driving force applied in a first direction, wherein the rotatable auger extends along a longitudinal axis; and a latch configured to apply a resisting force to the ice bin along a second direction generally opposed to the first direction sufficient to counteract the driving force, wherein the resisting force is less than a removal force applied by a user to remove the ice bin from the ice maker, wherein the latch comprises a latch pin with at least one resilient finger that projects at least partially into the interior volume of the ice bin via a through hole extending through one of the plurality of walls of the ice bin, and the at least one resilient finger is biased into contact with the through hole to provide the resisting force, the at least one resilient finger comprising a first ramped geometry extending along a first angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the auger that facilitates insertion into the through hole of the ice bin, and a second ramped geometry extending along a second angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the auger that inhibits removal from the through hole, the second angle being less than the first angle so that the user can overcome the resisting force to remove the ice bin from the ice maker, wherein the latch pin and through hole are located spaced apart from the front cover and ice dispensing aperture of the ice wherein the distance between the first ramped geometry and the front cover is less than the distance between the second ramped geometry and the front cover when the ice bin is positioned within the fresh food compartment.