Abstract:
A clear ice maker unit has a clear ice maker mechanism with a cascading water evaporator configured to make clear ice during ice making cycles. A controller uses fuzzy logic to control the clear ice maker and determine whether to initiate a next ice making cycle based on input signals from a thermistor in the ice storage bin. The controller will prevent initiation of an ice making cycle when the ice bin is at or below a threshold temperature. The controller will also prohibit ice making when the ice bin is at or below a second, slightly higher temperature for more than a prescribed period of time. In this way, the clear ice maker can recognize an uneven distribution of ice and maintain an optimal amount of ice in the bin.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/862,340 filed on Oct. 20, 2006, and entitled “Ice Maker with Ice Bin Level Control,” hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to the manufacture of ice, and particularly to automated clear ice maker units. 
         [0004]    A conventional ice maker forms ice cubes by depositing water in a mold attached to an evaporator and allowing the water to freeze in a sedentary state. Such an approach results in clouded ice cubes resulting from air and impurities present within the frozen water. 
         [0005]    It is also known to form ice by flowing water over a freezing surface to allow the air and impurities to separate from the water before freezing layer-by-layer to form the ice cube. This eliminates the clouding associated with sedentary freezing. These “clear ice” makers using such a flowing process have typically been used in commercial applications. One example of a clear ice maker is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,439, issued Dec. 24, 1996 to Schlosser et al. In that patent, water flows over a vertically disposed evaporator plate whose surface defines pockets. The water flows over the pockets, and an ice cube is formed in each pocket. The ice cubes are harvested by passing hot vaporous refrigerant through the evaporator in place of the cold refrigerant. 
         [0006]    It is conventional for harvested ice cubes to fall into an ice bin where the ice cubes are stored until they are used. The ice bin can properly store a certain maximum amount of ice cubes, and ice making must be stopped when the ice bin is full to prevent overfilling the ice bin. Overfilling the ice bin can cause ice to spill out of the ice maker when the ice maker door is opened. Overfilling the ice bin can also lead to ice building up in the ice making assembly which can result in water traveling down the built-up ice into the ice bin thereby melting the ice stored therein. 
         [0007]    The ice level in the ice bin can be sensed to control the production of ice and to prevent overfilling the ice bin. If the ice bin is refrigerated, a mechanical arm or a light sensor can sense the ice level in the bin and shut off power to the ice making assembly when the ice reaches a certain level. The mechanical arm is pushed up by the ice thereby throwing a switch that shuts down the ice making assembly. Optical mechanisms can have a light source, light sensor, and/or reflector that shut down the ice making assembly when the path of travel of the light is disrupted by the ice. If the ice bin is not refrigerated, a thermostat located in the ice bin can interrupt the power supply to the ice making assembly when the thermostat drops below a certain temperature. 
         [0008]    In some clear ice makers, the ice can fall out of the ice making assembly as slabs of cubes. Usually, the slab falls into the ice bin and breaks into individual cubes when the slab hits the bin or ice stored in the bin. Sometimes, however, the slab does not break apart upon impact with the bin or the stored ice. Slabs tend to fail to break apart when the ice bin is more full, and the slab does not fall very far before hitting the stored ice. The slabs can then stack up to a side of the ice bin so that the ice is not stored uniformly in the ice bin (e.g., a side of the bin is full of stacked slabs and another side is empty). Mechanical arm, optical, and thermostat ice level sensors will detect the improperly stacked ice and prevent more ice from being produced even though storage space in the ice bin is actually available. Thus, the amount of ice produced and the amount of ice stored in the bin is negatively impacted. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a clear ice maker with a controller that can determine improperly stacked ice. 
         [0010]    Specifically, in one aspect the invention provides an ice maker unit having an ice maker mechanism disposed in an ice maker chamber of an insulated cabinet, the ice maker mechanism being capable of producing ice during a plurality of ice making cycles and depositing the ice into an ice bin within the cabinet. The ice maker unit includes a sensor disposed in the cabinet to sense the temperature at the ice bin and an electronic control having clock circuitry and fuzzy logic programming for controlling the ice maker mechanism. The control is electrically coupled to the sensor to receive an input signal from the sensor associated with a bin temperature. The control uses the fuzzy logic programming to determine whether to initiate a next ice making cycle based on the bin temperature sensed by the sensor. The control initiates the next ice making cycle only if first and second conditions are met. The first condition is that the bin temperature is above a first threshold temperature and the second condition is that the bin temperature is not below a second threshold temperature for a prescribed time period. 
         [0011]    The sensor can be disposed at a height corresponding to a maximum ice level in the ice bin. The second condition can correspond to an uneven ice distribution condition in which ice is disposed in the ice bin at or above the maximum ice level at only a portion of the ice bin. 
         [0012]    The first threshold temperature can be essentially 33 degrees Fahrenheit and wherein the second threshold temperature can be essentially 34 degrees Fahrenheit. 
         [0013]    The prescribed time period can be set according to a time needed to complete a prescribed number of ice making cycles. The prescribed number of ice making cycles can be three. 
         [0014]    The ice maker unit can include a user input connected to the controller, wherein the first threshold temperature can be set by the user input. 
         [0015]    The ice maker unit can be a clear ice maker unit with a clear ice maker mechanism disposed in the ice maker chamber and capable of cascading water over a vertically disposed evaporator during a plurality of ice making cycles, each ice making cycle resulting in the production of a quantity of clear ice. 
         [0016]    The ice bin can not be cooled by a refrigeration system. 
         [0017]    In another aspect, the present invention provides a clear ice maker unit with a cabinet defining an ice maker chamber and an ice storage bin. The ice maker includes a clear ice maker mechanism disposed in the ice maker chamber and capable of cascading water over a vertically disposed evaporator during a plurality of ice making cycles, each ice making cycle resulting in the production of a quantity of clear ice. A controller is configured to control the clear ice maker, the controller configured to determine whether to initiate a next ice making cycle. A sensor is connected to the controller and disposed in the ice storage bin for sensing a bin temperature. The controller is configured to prevent the initiation of the next ice making cycle when the bin temperature is not above a first temperature and is less than or equal to a second temperature for a prescribed time period, wherein the second temperature is greater than the first temperature. 
         [0018]    The evaporator can have a plurality of pockets therein, and the clear ice maker mechanism can be capable of cascading water over the evaporator during the plurality of ice making cycles and depositing clear ice formed on the evaporator into the ice storage bin. 
         [0019]    The sensor can be disposed at a height corresponding to a maximum ice level in the ice bin. 
         [0020]    The second temperature can be associated with an uneven ice distribution condition in which ice is disposed in the ice bin at or above the maximum ice level at only a portion of the ice bin. 
         [0021]    The prescribed time period can be set according a time needed to complete a prescribed number of ice making cycles. 
         [0022]    The first temperature can be essentially 33 degrees Fahrenheit, the second temperature can be essentially 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and the prescribed time period can be essentially one hour. 
         [0023]    The clear ice maker can include a user input connected to the control so that the first temperature can be set by the user input. 
         [0024]    The sensor can be a thermistor. 
         [0025]    The ice storage bin can not be cooled by a refrigeration system. 
         [0026]    In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for making clear ice in a clear ice maker unit having a clear ice maker mechanism disposed in an ice maker chamber of an insulated cabinet, the clear ice maker mechanism being capable of cascading water over a vertically disposed evaporator during a plurality of ice making cycles and depositing clear ice formed on the evaporator into an ice bin within the cabinet. The method includes detecting an uneven ice distribution in the ice bin in which ice is disposed in the ice bin at or above a maximum ice level at only a portion of the ice bin and prohibiting a next ice making cycle following detection of an uneven ice distribution condition. 
         [0027]    The method can also include sensing an ice bin temperature at a maximum ice level in the ice bin before initiation of the next ice making cycle, prohibiting initiation of the next ice making cycle if the bin temperature is less than or equal to a first temperature, and prohibiting initiation of the next ice making cycle if the bin temperature is less than or equal to a second temperature for more than a prescribed period of time. 
         [0028]    These and still other features of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a clear ice maker unit having the features of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view thereof similar to  FIG. 1  albeit with its cabinet door open so that the interior of the cabinet is visible; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a clear ice maker evaporator of the ice maker unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a partially filled ice bin with an uneven ice distribution; 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view of a partially filled ice bin with an even ice distribution; 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  is a sectional view of a filled ice bin with an even ice distribution; 
           [0037]      FIG. 9  is diagram of the refrigeration system of the ice maker unit of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0038]      FIG. 10  is a schematic of the control system of the ice maker unit of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0039]      FIG. 11  is a flow chart for determining whether to initiate a next ice making cycle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0040]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-2 , a clear ice maker  30  includes a cabinet  32  with an upper forward opening  34  and an interior  36 . The opening  34  is closed by a door  38  that is hinged to the cabinet  32 . The interior  36  includes an ice making area  40  in the upper portion of the cabinet  32  and a bin area  42  below the ice making area  40 . The ice making area  40  includes a clear ice maker assembly  44 . As discussed below, the clear ice maker assembly  44  is electrically connected to a controller  46  and connected to a refrigeration system  48 . The bin area  42  includes a rectangular ice bin  50 . The bin area  42  and ice in the ice bin  50  are not cooled by the refrigeration system  48 . Both the cabinet  32  and the door  38  are formed of inner molded plastic members and outer formed metal members with the space filled with an insulating layer of foam material, all of which is well known in the art. Thus, ice in the ice bin  50  is insulated from the ambient air. 
         [0041]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2-5 , the clear ice maker assembly  44  is positioned in the ice making area  40 . The clear ice maker assembly  44  includes a metal evaporator grid  70  mounted in a plastic shroud  72 . The evaporator grid  70  has a series of vertical and horizontal dividers  70   a  and  70   b , respectively, which extend from a rear wall  74  and between lateral edges to divide the evaporator grid  70  into a series of pockets. As best shown in  FIG. 3 , the horizontal dividers  70   b  slope towards the bottom front of the evaporator grid  70 . 
         [0042]    The shroud  72  is formed of a plastic material such as a polypropylene or ABS and is molded about the evaporator grid  70 . The shroud  72  has a continuous bulbous edge which engulfs the edges of the evaporator grid  70 . The shroud  72  has laterally extending wing portions  76  projecting from each end of the evaporator grid  70 . A bib portion  80  of the shroud  72  is disposed beneath the bottom edge of the evaporator grid  70  and contains integral projecting deflector fins  82 . Each deflector fin  82  is aligned with the center of a column of pockets in the evaporator grid  70 . 
         [0043]    The shroud  72  also includes an inclined roof  86  disposed above the evaporator grid  70 . A water distributor  88  is attached to the shroud wings  76  above the roof  86 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the distributor  88  has a floor  90  with a central well  92  at one edge. Spaced upright barriers  94   a  and  94   b  extend from the floor  90  beyond the well  92 . A second series of spaced barriers  96   a ,  96   b , et seq. extend between the barriers  94   a  and  94   b  and a rear edge  98  of the floor  90 . Water deposited in the well  92  will be directed by the barriers  94  and  96  to flow uniformly over the rear edge  98  and on to the inclined roof  86 . The water will thereafter flow over the roof  86  of the shroud  72 , and into and over the surfaces of the pockets in evaporator grid  70 . Uniform distribution of the water is further ensured by a guide  100  that has a top opening  102  that receives an end of a water tube  103  and a cylindrical wall section  104  that fits around a portion of the well  92 . The guide  100  fixes the water tube  103  at the middle of the distributor  88 . The water tube is also secured in place by a rivet connection to the top of the cabinet  32 . 
         [0044]    An ice maker evaporator  108  is attached to the rear wall  74  of the evaporator grid  70 . The ice maker evaporator  108  is a part of the refrigeration system  48  shown schematically in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0045]    Referring now to  FIG. 9 , the refrigeration system  48  includes a compressor  120 , an accumulator  122 , the ice maker evaporator  108 , a hot gas bypass  124 , a condenser  126 , a condenser fan  128 , and a dryer  130 . The compressor  120 , condenser  126  and condenser fan  128  are located at the bottom of cabinet  32  beneath the insulated portion, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The evaporator  108  has an outlet line  132  that passes through the accumulator  122  to the compressor  120 . The output of the compressor  120  is connected to an inlet of the condenser  126  having an outlet line  134  connected to the dryer  130 . A capillary tube  136  leads from the dryer  130  to an inlet of the evaporator  108 . As is known, the compressor draws refrigerant from the evaporator  108  and accumulator  122  and discharges the refrigerant under increased pressure and temperature to the condenser  126 . The hot refrigerant gas entering the condenser  126  is cooled by air circulated by the condenser fan  128 . As the temperature of the refrigerant drops under substantially constant pressure, the refrigerant in the condenser  126  liquefies. The capillary tube  136  maintains the high pressure in the condenser  126  and at the compressor outlet while providing substantially reduced pressure in the evaporator  108 . The substantially reduced pressure in the evaporator  108  results in a large temperature drop and subsequent absorption of heat by the evaporator  108 . 
         [0046]    The hot gas bypass valve  124  is disposed in a line  138  between the outlet of the compressor  120  and the inlet of the evaporator  108 . When the hot gas bypass valve is opened, hot refrigerant will enter the evaporator  108 , thereby heating the evaporator  108  and evaporator grid  70 . 
         [0047]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3-5 , a water sump  140  has a trough portion  142  extending beneath the evaporator grid  70 . The trough  142  extends along the one side wall of the cabinet  32 , along a rear wall, and to an opposite side wall of the cabinet  32 . The bottom of the trough portion slopes downwardly to the level of a well  144  in which an inlet  146  of a water pump  148  is mounted. An outlet of the water pump  148  is connected to the well  144  in the distributor  88 . A removable stand pipe  152  extends into the sump  140  and leads to an overflow pipe  154 . The stand pipe  154  opens to a drain  156  in the bottom of the bin area  42  in the cabinet  32 . The drain can be connected to a drain in the home plumbing. Alternatively, the drain may lead to an overflow collector in the space beneath the insulated portion of the cabinet  32 . Fresh water from an external source may be provided periodically to the sump  140  through a water fill valve. 
         [0048]    In general operation, water from the sump  140  is pumped by the pump  148  to the distributor  88  which delivers a cascade of water over the surfaces of the evaporator grid  70 . When the evaporator  108  is connected to receive liquefied refrigerant from the condenser  126 , the water cascading over the surfaces of the evaporator grid  70  will freeze in layers and build up to form cubes of ice in the pockets. The pure water freezes first and impurities in the water will be left in suspension in the flowing water. Once the ice cubes are formed, the hot gas bypass valve  124  is opened and heated refrigerant is delivered to the evaporator  108 , thereby warming the surface of the evaporator grid  70  until the ice cubes dislodge from the evaporator plate grid  70 . The dislodged ice cubes will fall into the bin  50  and are directed away from the trough portion  142  of the sump  140  by the fins  82 . Not all water cascading over the surface of the evaporator plate will freeze. The excess water is collected in the trough  142  and returned to the well  144  where it is re-circulated to the distributor  88  by the pump  148 . During ice harvest (after each freezing cycle), a charge of fresh water is delivered to the sump  140  by the water fill valve to dilute the water and flush impurities through the overflow pipe  152  and out the drain. 
         [0049]    Referring now to  FIG. 10 , the clear ice maker  30  includes an electrical system  170  for controlling the operation of the compressor  120 , a solenoid  172  for the hot gas bypass valve  124 , a solenoid  174  for the water fill valve, condenser fan  128 , and the water pump  148 . The controller  46  is a microprocessor that operates by programmed logic and in response to sensor and user inputs. The electrical system  170  includes a bin thermistor  176  and a liquid line thermistor  178  disposed in the outlet line of the condenser  126 . The bin thermistor  176  is mounted to the ice bin  50  at a bin thermistor height  180  as discussed hereinafter. The thermistors are commercially available conventional parts. A user interface control unit  182  mounted near the top of the clear ice maker  30  receives user commands. The control unit  182  includes a display panel  184 , a power input  186 , a warmer input  188 , a cooler input  190  and a light input  192 . 
         [0050]    Upon initial start-up or restarting with the temperature of the bin thermistor  172  above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, the controller  46  energizes the hot gas bypass solenoid  172  and the water inlet valve solenoid  174  for a period of time. This will fill the sump  140  with fresh water to the level of the overflow pipe  152 . Thereafter, the compressor  120 , the condenser fan  128  and the water circulation pump  148  are energized. After a short period of time, such as ten seconds, the water fill inlet valve solenoid  174  and the hot gas bypass solenoid  172  are de-energized. The ice maker  30  is now in a freeze cycle of an ice making cycle. 
         [0051]    After a certain predetermined period of time into the freeze cycle, such as four minutes, a reading of the liquid refrigerant temperature sensed by the thermistor  178  is taken. This temperature reading will determine the remaining length of time for the freeze cycle and may also be used to set or adjust the duration of the ice harvest cycle. The higher the temperature of the liquid refrigerant, the longer the freeze cycle. For example, if the liquid refrigerant temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the total freeze time will be about 14 minutes. If the sensed temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the total freeze time will be about 22 minutes. At a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the freeze time will be about 30 minutes. 
         [0052]    The controller  46  is programmed so that once an ice making cycle has been initiated, the ice making cycle will continue to completion through ice harvest regardless of the temperature reading of the bin thermistor  176 . This prevents the ice making cycle from terminating prematurely thereby ensuring that full-sized ice cubes are formed. When the freeze time has elapsed, controller  46  causes the clear ice maker  30  to enter ice harvest mode in which the compressor  120  remains energized while the water pump  148  and condenser fan  128  are de-energized and the solenoids for the hot gas bypass valve  124  and the water inlet valve  160  are energized. The hot refrigerant gas flowing through the ice maker evaporator  120  will loosen the ice formed in the pockets of the evaporator grid  70  so that the ice can fall into the ice bin  50 . A typical harvest cycle lasts approximately 2-3 minute. The length of the ice harvest cycle can be dependent upon the reading of the liquid line thermistor  178 . The length of the harvest cycle would thus be adjusted inversely based upon the first sensed temperature of the liquid line thermistor. For example, if the sensed temperature of the liquid line thermistor  178  is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a harvest cycle of 2 minutes would be used. If the temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above, the harvest cycle will be reduced in time to 1.5 minutes. The harvest cycle can also be made constant for a range of temperatures or entirely independent of the temperature of liquid line thermistor  178 . 
         [0053]    At the conclusion of the harvest cycle, the controller  46  determines whether to initiate another ice making cycle based on the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176 , which indicates the level of the ice in the ice bin  50 . The ice bin  50  is not cooled by the refrigeration system  50 ; therefore, the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176  is determined by the ice in the ice bin  50 . As the ice fills the ice bin  50 , the ice approaches the bin thermistor  176 , which causes the bin thermistor  176  to be cooled. When ice is adjacent to the ice bin thermistor  176  and the bin  50  is uniformly filled with ice, the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176  will be at its lowest. Thus, the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176  can be used to control the height of the ice in the ice bin  50  by stopping the production of ice when the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176  indicates that ice is adjacent to the bin thermistor  176 . The ice bin thermistor height  180  can be set to equal the maximum desired ice level in the bin  50  in order to ensure that the bin  50  is not overfilled and to maximize ice production. 
         [0054]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , when the ice fills the ice bin  50  uniformly, the ice level is at or minimally above the bin thermistor height  180  and ice is adjacent the ice bin thermistor  176 , the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  will be equal to or less than a temperature T 1 . The temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  may also be equal to or less than temperature T 1  when the ice fills the ice bin  50  non-uniformly but the ice is stacked against the wall of the bin  50  to which the bin thermistor  176  is attached. The controller  46  can be programmed to prohibit the initiation of further ice making cycles when the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 1 . The temperature T 1  can vary depending on the configuration of the ice maker  30  and/or environmental conditions. In an embodiment, T 1  can be set to 33 degrees Fahrenheit. 
         [0055]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 , it is possible that ice will not also stack up uniformly across the ice bin  50 . This can be caused if the slabs of ice are not broken apart into ice cubes when the slabs fall into the bin  50 . When the ice does not stack up uniformly across the ice bin  50 , it is possible that the ice will reach the maximum desired ice level on one or more sides of the ice bin, but the ice will not be positioned adjacent the ice bin thermistor  176 . Thus, the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176  will not reach a temperature below temperature T 1 , which means that ice production would not be halted and more ice would be produced. Additionally, the ice may stack up non-uniformly across the ice bin  50  so that ice may be adjacent the bin thermistor  176 , but the volume of ice adjacent the bin thermistor  176  may not be large enough to cool the bin thermistor  176  sufficiently to reach a temperature below T 1 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the bin  50  has more room for ice, but would overfill after more than a few further ice making cycles without the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176  reaching temperature T 1 . The temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176  may not reach a temperature below temperature T 1 , but the temperature of the ice bin thermistor  176  will reach a temperature near temperature T 1  as the bin  50  fills up with ice. To prevent overfilling the bin  50  when the ice is not stacked correctly in the bin  50 , the controller  46  can use fuzzy logic to prohibit the initiation of further ice making cycles when the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 2  for a period of time X. A temperature T B  of thermistor  178  below temperature T 2  indicates that the bin  50  is nearly full of ice and/or the ice is not stacked uniformly, which means that the bin  50  has room for more ice, but not too much more ice. The length of the period of time X can be set to allow for the appropriate number of further ice making cycles. The temperature T 2  and the period of time X can vary depending on the configuration of the ice maker  30  and/or environmental conditions. In one embodiment, for example, the temperature T 2  can be set to 35 degrees Fahrenheit and the period of time X can be set to one hour to allow for three more ice making cycles, which maximizes ice production and minimizes the risk of overfilling the bin  50 . 
         [0056]    During operation of the ice maker  30 , the controller  46  monitors the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176 , and logs into memory the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176 , and the time the temperature reading was taken so that the controller  46  can analyze the historical temperature data to calculate the time that the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176  is below temperature T 2 . Alternatively, the controller  46  can be configured to track the period of time that the temperature T B  of the ice bin thermistor  176  is below temperature T 2 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 11  shows a decision making process  200  of determining whether to initiate an ice making cycle  202 . Beginning with an ice making cycle completion  204 , the controller  46  determines at decision block  206  whether the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 1 . If the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 1 , the controller  46  does not initiate the ice making cycle  202  and the controller  46  stays in decision block  206 . If the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is greater than temperature T 1 , the controller  46  determines at a decision block  208  whether the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 2  for more than the period of time X. If the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is less than or equal to temperature T 2  for more than the period of time X, the controller does not initiate next ice making cycle  202  and returns to decision block  206 . If the temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  is greater than temperature T 2  for more than the period of time X, the controller  46  initiates the next ice making cycle  202 . At the end of the ice making cycle  202 , the controller  46  returns to ice making cycle completion  204  and restarts the decision making process  200 . In an embodiment, the temperature T 1  can be 33 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature T 2  can be 34 degrees Fahrenheit, and the period of time X can be one hour. 
         [0058]    In order to adapt the ice maker  30  to different environments, running conditions and user preferences, the temperature T 1  can be set by a user. For example, the ice maker  30  can be run until the ice bin  50  has a user desired level of ice. The user can then access the current temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  and set temperature T 1  to be equal to the current temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176 . The controller  46  is configured so that the user can set temperature T 1  through the control unit  182 . The user can access current temperature T B  of the bin thermistor  176  through the control unit  182 . Temperature T 2  can be set to equal temperature T 1  plus two degrees. Alternatively, the user can also set temperature T 2 . 
         [0059]    It should be appreciated that merely a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above. However, many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.