Patent ID: 8424323

Claim:
An ice level sensing system for an appliance having a cavity with a cavity wall, an ice storage bin disposed within the cavity and an ice maker disposed within the cavity, the ice storage bin being configured to hold ice discharged from the ice maker, the ice level sensing system comprising: a transmitter disposed on the cavity wall for transmitting a light beam; a detector disposed on the cavity wall for detecting the light beam; and a reflector disposed relatively remote from the transmitter, wherein the transmitter is operative to project the light beam toward the reflector, and the transmitter and the detector are angled relative to each other so that the light beam reflected by the reflector is directed toward the detector, wherein the ice storage bin is disposed within a freezer drawer, the freezer drawer being disposed within the cavity and movable between an open position and a closed position such that a spatial relationship between the transmitter and the reflector changes as the freezer drawer is moved from the closed position, causing the light beam to be directed away from the reflector so that the light beam is not detected by the detector when the drawer is in the open position.