Patent ID: 8220283

Claim:
An ice crushing mechanism comprising: a housing having a first chamber and a second chamber, a rotatable spindle positioned in the housing extending essentially vertically through both the first and second chambers and defining a vertical rotational axis, the first chamber formed in the housing and defined by a first bottom wall with an opening therein, the second chamber formed below the first chamber in the housing and defined on top by the first bottom wall of the first chamber and also by a second wall with an opening therein angularly offset relative to the vertical axis from the first bottom wall opening, the second chamber forming a passage from the opening in the first bottom wall to the opening in the second wall, at least one ice crushing blade rotatably carried on the spindle and positioned in the first chamber, and a wiper rotatably carried on the spindle and positioned in the second chamber, said wiper being configured to have an arm portion positioned between the opening in the second wall and the opening in the first bottom wall, to block the passage between the opening in the second wall and the opening in the first bottom wall in all rotational positions of the wiper.