Patent Publication Number: US-9903632-B2

Title: Ice well diverter wedge for ice container

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No. 13/747,693, filed on Jan. 23, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to refrigerators. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a crushing assembly of an ice container of a refrigerator that is configured to mitigate or prevent ice cubes from passing through the crushing assembly uncrushed. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Bottom mount refrigerators include a freezer compartment on the bottom, with the fresh food or refrigerator compartment above the freezer compartment. One or more doors provide access to the fresh food compartment, and a separate door provides access to the freezer compartment. The freezer door or doors may be drawer-type doors that are pulled out, or they may be hingedly connected similar to the refrigerator compartment doors, such that they are rotated to provide access within. 
     Ice makers may be included with the refrigerators. In general, the ice maker includes a water source, a cooling source, a mold, and an ejecting mechanism. Water is added to the mold, and the cooling source removes heat from the water to lower the temperature below freezing, at which time ice cubes are formed. Once the cubes have formed, the ejecting mechanism operates to remove or eject the formed cubes from the molds, at which point new water can be added and the process repeated. 
     The ejected ice cubes are generally directed towards an ice container or ice storage bin. The ice container is located generally adjacent to the ice maker so that the formed ice cubes do not have to travel a long distance from the ice maker. Furthermore, the cooled air of the cooling source may be used to direct cold air to the ice container to keep the ice cubes in the ice container below freezing to prevent the cubes from melting. The ice container may include an optional ice crushing assembly positioned either in or adjacent the ice container. The ice crushing assembly is used to crush the formed ice cubes during or prior to dispensement from a dispenser of the refrigerator. 
     With traditional ice crushing assemblies, there is a fixed set of crushing blades and a set of rotating crushing blades. The crushing blades are configured for a crescent-shaped ice cube. When the desire for different shapes and sizes of ice cubes arise, there is a problem crushing smaller cubes with the existing ice crushing set-up. As the rotating crushing blades do not generally extend to the outer perimeter of the ice container, there can exist a gap between the rotating crushing blades and the perimeter. On occasion, smaller ice cubes have the capability of passing through the crusher blades on the outer perimeter of the ice container without being crushed. 
     Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved ice crushing assembly that can be used with any size or shape of formed ice cubes to ensure that the ice cubes are crushed by the assembly, when the crushing method has been selected. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus that overcomes the deficiencies in the art. 
     It is another object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a crushing assembly that ensures that all sizes and shapes of ice cubes are crushed by a crushing assembly. 
     It is yet another object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a diverter wedge near the fixed crusher blades of an ice crushing assembly to move the ice cubes toward the rotating crusher blades. 
     It is still another object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide an item that can be added or removed to an ice crushing assembly based upon the configuration of ice cubes formed by an ice maker of the refrigerator. 
     It is a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide crusher blades for an ice crushing assembly that include a diverter section. 
     It is still a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide an ice container with an improved ice crushing assembly. 
     It is yet a further object, feature, and/or advantage of the present invention to provide a more efficient ice crushing assembly to work with a more universal selection of ice cube geometries. 
     These and/or other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention is not to be limited to or by these objects, features and advantages. No single embodiment need provide each and every object, feature, or advantage. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, a refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, and an ice container positioned within the cabinet. A crushing assembly is operatively connected to the ice container. The crushing assembly comprises a plurality of fixed crushing blades, a plurality of rotating crushing blades positioned adjacent the fixed crushing blades, and a diverter wedge positioned at an edge of the fixed crushing blades configured to divert cubes towards the crushing blades. 
     The diverter wedge is included to aid in the crushing method of the crushing assembly. The wedge, which can be a separate component or formed integrally with the fixed crushing blades, provides a wedge-like member to kick or manipulate ice cubes towards the rotating crusher blades such that the ice cubes will not pass through the crushing assembly without being crushed. Therefore, the diverter wedge allows the ice crushing assembly to be used with generally any size, shape, or geometry of ice cube to ensure that the cubes are crushed, when so selected. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, at least one compartment within the cabinet, at least one door providing access to within the compartment, an icemaker positioned within the compartment, and an ice container positioned adjacent the icemaker. A crushing assembly is positioned within the ice container and comprises a plurality of fixed blades and a plurality of rotating crushing blades alternated in the container. The plurality of fixed blades includes a diverter wedge positioned at an edge of the fixed blades configured to divert cubes towards the crushing blades. 
     According to yet another aspect of the invention, an ice container is provided. The ice container includes a storage area defined by a floor and walls extending from the floor. A crushing assembly is positioned within the storage area, and comprises a plurality of fixed blades and a plurality of rotating crushing blades alternated along the height of the assembly. A diverter wedge extends along the height of the blades and positioned at an edge of the fixed blades configured to divert cubes towards the crushing blades. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of a bottom mount refrigerator. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the refrigerator of claim  1 , with doors opened to show an interior of the refrigerator. 
         FIG. 3  is a side sectional view of an ice container having an ice crushing assembly therein. 
         FIG. 4  is a top plan view of an ice crushing assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective sectional view of the ice crushing assembly shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a diverter wedge according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the diverter wedge of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of a bottom mount refrigerator  10 . The bottom mount refrigerator  10  includes a cabinet  12  encapsulating the compartments of the refrigerator  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the upper compartment is a refrigerator or fresh food compartment  14 . First and second doors  16 ,  17  provide access to the interior of the refrigerator compartment  14 . A dispenser  20  is positioned on one of the doors  16 ,  17  of the refrigerator compartment  14 . The dispenser  20  may be a water dispenser, ice dispenser, other beverage dispenser, or some combination thereof. Furthermore, the dispenser  20  may be placed on any door of the refrigerator  10 , or the dispenser  20  may be placed within one of the compartments of the refrigerator  10 . For example, the dispenser  20  may be placed at one of the interior walls of the refrigerator compartment  14 , thus being part of the cabinet  12 . The placement of the dispenser  20  is not to limit the present invention. 
     Positioned generally below the refrigerator compartment  14  is a freezer compartment  18 . The freezer compartment  18  is generally set to be at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit, while the refrigerator compartment  14  is set to be at a warmer temperature so as to prevent freezing of the items stored therein. A freezer door  19  provides access to within the freezer compartment  18 . The freezer door  19  of  FIG. 1  is shown to be a drawer type door. However, the present invention contemplates that the freezer door  19  may be a drawer, a hinged door, multiple doors or drawers, or some combination thereof. 
     It should also be appreciated that while the figures show a bottom mount style refrigerator  10 , the present invention contemplates that any style of refrigerator may be included as part of the invention. The figures merely depict examples of a type of refrigerator that can be used with the present invention. For example, additional drawers or compartments, such as pantry compartments, may be included below, above, or between the refrigerator and freezer compartments shown in  FIG. 1 . In addition, other types of compartments, as well as other types of refrigerators, are intended to be included as part of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the refrigerator  10  of  FIG. 1  having the refrigerator door  17  opened and the refrigerator door  16  closed to show a partial interior of the refrigerator  10  and interior portion of the door  17 . Positioned on the interior of the door  17  are an ice maker  22  and ice container  24 . The ice maker  22  may be any type of ice maker as is known in the art. Therefore, the ice maker  22  is connected to a water source, such that water is directed to the ice maker  22 . The water stored in ice molds of the ice maker  22  is then cooled to remove heat therefrom to form ice. The formed ice of the ice maker  22  is then ejected into the ice container  24 . Furthermore, at the lower end or a portion of the ice container  24  may be a discharge zone  36 . The discharge zone  36  can be connected to the dispenser  20  shown in  FIG. 1 . Therefore, ice stored and contained in the ice container  24  can be discharged through the discharge zone  36  and dispensed out of the dispenser  20 . 
       FIGS. 3-5  are sectional views of an ice container  24  including a crushing assembly  40  according to an aspect of the present invention. The ice container  24  shown in  FIGS. 3-5  includes generally a storage area  26  defined by a floor  28  and a plurality of walls  30  extending generally upward from floor  28 . The ice container  24  may comprise generally any shape and size, and can be configured accordingly to work with any type of refrigerator to provide a large storage area  26  for containing ice, while not extending into the refrigerator compartment  14  such that the refrigerator compartment  14  maintains a large storage capacity. An ice aperture  32  is formed through at least a portion of the floor  28  of the ice container  24 . An aperture cover or lid  34  may be positioned at the aperture  32 . The aperture cover or lid  34  may include an aperture therethrough to allow ice to selectively be passed from the storage area  26  and into the discharge zone  36 , which includes the crushing assembly  40 . Furthermore, a stir stick  38  may be included in the storage area  26  of the ice container  24 . The stir stick  38  is configured to rotate and/or oscillate to move the ice cubes towards the ice aperture  32  and also to prevent the formed ice cubes from melting and freezing to one another such that a large block of ice is formed within the ice container  24 . However, it should be appreciated that the stir stick  38  can take other forms, and also need not be required in all embodiments. 
     As discussed,  FIGS. 3-5  include a crushing assembly  40  positioned generally adjacent the storage area  26  of the ice container  24 . The crushing assembly  40  is shown to be positioned at the discharge zone  36  of the ice container  24 , such that ice passing from the storage area  26  through the discharge zone  36  can be selectively crushed by the crushing assembly  40 . However, it should be appreciated that not all the ice moved from the storage area through the discharge zone need be crushed. Instead, a user may selectively decide to dispense fully formed ice or crushed ice from the dispenser based upon a user interface (not shown) at the dispenser  20  on the door  17  of the refrigerator  10 . 
     The crushing assembly  40  shown in the figures comprises a plurality of fixed crushing blades  42  having blade teeth  44  thereon, and a plurality of rotating crushing blades  46  having rotating blade teeth  48  thereon. As shown best in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the fixed blades  42  and the rotating blades  46  are alternated along the height of the discharge or crushing zone  36 . The alternating of the blades in the crushing assembly  40  provides for a better chance that a formed ice cube will be crushed through the zone  36  and will not be dispensed as a whole cube. The teeth  44 ,  48  of the blades  42 ,  46  also provide for better crushing mechanisms such that they will crush the hardened, formed ice cubes. A motor  52  is connected to the stir stick  38 , as well as the rotating crushing blades  46  to provide rotation thereof. The stir stick  38  and the crushing blades  42 ,  46  may all share a common axis such that the components are rotated about the common axis. In addition, the stir stick may include separate rotating means, such as a cam, gear, or other component, such that it need not rotate when the crushing assembly is activated. Furthermore, when the crushing assembly  40  is not activated, the stir stick  38  may still be separately rotated such that it breaks up ice in the storage area  26  of the ice container  24 , while not crushing the ice passing therethrough and to the dispenser  20 . 
     As best shown in  FIG. 4 , the ice aperture  32  comprises a wall having a wall perimeter  50  or diameter. The diameter of the wall perimeter  50  may be larger than the length of the rotating crushing blades  46 . This creates a gap, shown as the arrow  58  in  FIG. 4 . When the ice maker  22  of the refrigerator  10  is configured to produce non-crescent shaped cubes, or other smaller shaped cubes, this gap  58  may be large enough such that cubes can pass through without being crushed by the crushing assembly  40 . Therefore, the present invention provides for a diverter wedge  60  to be attached to or formed integrally with the fixed crushing blades  42  of the crushing assembly  40 . 
     The diverter wedge  60  as shown in the figures comprises an arcuate or sloped portion  62  at a forward end  64  of the wedge  60 , and an attachment area or base area  66 . When the diverter wedge  60  is a separate component than the fixed crushing blades  42 , the attachment portion  66  may include a plurality of slots  68  corresponding with the number of fixed crushing blades  42  along the height of the crushing assembly  40  and an edge  56  of the fixed blades  42  can be inserted into the slots  68  of the diverter wedge  60  and either temporarily or permanently affixed therein. However, as mentioned, the diverter wedge  60  may also be formed integrally with the fixed crushing blades  42  such that the blades and the wedge comprise one singular piece that is attached to the rest of the crushing assembly  40 . 
     The fixed crushing blades  42  and diverter wedge  60  do not rotate during crushing or non-crushing uses of the ice container. In addition, the diverter wedge  60  extends generally from the floor  28  of the ice container  24  to the bottom of the discharge zone  36 . Thus, the diverter wedge  60  extends along the full height of the fixed and rotating crushing blades  42 ,  46 . Therefore, the diverter wedge  60  for use with the crushing assembly  40  of the present invention works as follows. Ice is formed in the ice maker  22  and ejected into the storage area  26  of the ice container  24 . When a user chooses to dispense ice from the dispenser  20 , the user also selects whether to have the formed ice cubes crushed. If the ice cubes are not to be crushed, the crushing assembly  40  is not activated, and the cubes are allowed to pass through the discharge zone  36  in full configuration. 
     However, when it is desired that the cubes be crushed, the crushing assembly  40  is activated prior to opening the aperture  32  to allow ice to pass from the storage area  26  to the discharge zone  36 . The rotating crushing blades  46  begin to rotate in the direction generally shown by the arrow  70  in the figures. It should be noted that the direction of rotation coincides with the front face of the teeth  48  of the blades  46 . The fixed blades  42  include teeth  44  that are oriented to generally opposite that of the rotating crushing blades such that the ice cubes will be crushed between the mating teeth of the blades  42 ,  46 . 
     When the formed cubes are non-crescent shape, or are smaller in size, they may move generally outward towards the wall perimeter  50  of the discharge zone  36 , which would move them outside the outer edge of the rotating crushing blades  46 . However, the arcuate or sloped portion  62  of the diverter wedge  60  will block the cubes from passing through the crushing assembly  40  without being crushed and will kick the cubes in the direction generally shown by the arrow  72  of the figures back towards the center or axis of the blades such that the cubes will be forced between the mating teeth of the fixed and rotating crushing blades  42 ,  46 . Therefore, the diverter wedge  60  according to the present invention provides better efficiency of crushing different size and shape configurations of ice cubes. The diverter wedge  60  will ensure that the ice is crushed when so desired. 
     Other options may be included with the ice container  24 . For example, stir stick  38  may be configured to rotate and/or oscillate such that the ice cubes are not clumped together before passing through the discharge zone  36  of the crushing assembly  40 . In addition, while the figures show that the rotating crushing blades  46  may include different lengths extending from the axis thereof, the diverter wedge may have a changing thickness along its height to correspond for this difference in length of the blades. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the rotating blades are shown to be shorter as moving from top to bottom. Therefore, it is contemplated that the diverter wedge  60  will get wider at the lower end thereof to accommodate or account for this shorter rotating blade length. However, it is also contemplated that the diverter wedge  60  includes a generally uniform width or thickness along the height of the wedge. In addition, as stated above, it is contemplated that the diverter wedge  60  either be a separate component that is attached to the fixed crushing blades  42 , or that it be integrally formed with the fixed blades such that the form one single piece. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are perspective and top plan views of an embodiment of the diverter wedge  60  according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention. As state, the diverter wedge  60  can include a sloped or arcuate portion  62  at generally the forward end  64  of the wedge  60 . At the opposite end is an attachment portion  66 . The attachment portion  66  is thicker to account for the gap  58  as discussed above. In addition, the attachment zone  66  may include a plurality of slots  68  matching the number of fixed crushing blades  42 . Thus, the diverter wedge  60  may be selectively added to the crushing assembly  40  by simply inserting the fixed crushing blades through the slots  68  of the diverter wedge  60 . The arcuate or sloped portion  62  allows ice cubes to be easily moved along the sloped portion  62  such that the cubes are moved towards the center of the crushing assembly  40  between the rotating and fixed crushing blades. The gentle slope and curvature of the arcuate portion provides for an efficient way to move the cubes without causing the cubes to become blocked or positioned between the blades in a manner that prevents the crushing blades from rotating. 
     Other aspects of the diverter wedge may be varied according to use with types, sizes, and configurations of ice cubes. For example, the size of the diverter wedge  60  may be varied according. In addition, as mentioned above, the width may be generally uniform along the height of the diverter wedge, or may be tapered one way or the other to account for a varying thickness of the gap  58  between the rotating blades and the outer wall of the discharge zone. It is contemplated that the diverter wedge comprises a plastic or other rigid material that may be molded. The molded plastic diverter wedge  60  will provide a sturdy component for aid in crushing ice cubes, while being relatively easily to manufacture. The molding of the diverter wedge will also allow for various other changes to be changed according to the type of refrigerator, type of ice assembly, type of storage container, type of ice cubes, and the like. Therefore, the present invention contemplates that other variations to the diverter wedge be contemplated as part of the present invention. The diverter wedge shown in the figures is but an exemplary embodiment of the diverter wedge  60 . 
     The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. It is contemplated that other alternative processes obvious to those skilled in the art are considered to be included in the invention. The description is merely examples of embodiments. It is understood that many other modifications, substitutions, and/or additions may be made, which are within the intended spirit scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of the stated objectives.