Patent ID: 7430873

Claim:
A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment being configured to maintain operating temperatures that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment; an ice compartment located within the refrigerating compartment and defined by insulating walls, the insulating walls being configured to facilitate maintenance of an operating temperature of the ice compartment that is lower than the operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment; an ice maker located within the ice compartment and configured to freeze liquid water into ice; a first refrigerator door configured to open and close a first portion of the refrigerating compartment, the first refrigerator door covering at least a portion of the ice compartment when the first refrigerator door is in a closed position and exposing the ice compartment when the first refrigerator door is in an open position; a second refrigerator door configured to open and close a second portion of the refrigerating compartment, the second portion of the refrigerating compartment including a portion of the refrigerating compartment other than the portion covered by the first refrigerator door when the first refrigerator door is in the closed position; a dispenser, at least a portion of which being located on the first refrigerator door, configured to dispense ice made by the ice maker; an ice storage bin located within the ice compartment and configured to store ice made by the ice maker; an outlet that is provided in at least one of the insulating walls that define the ice compartment and that is configured to enable passage of ice from the ice storage bin through the at least one of the insulating walls; and an ice transporting mechanism located within the ice compartment and configured to promote movement of ice stored in the ice storage bin through the outlet and along a path from the ice storage bin to the dispenser, wherein the first refrigerator door, the second refrigerator door, and the ice compartment have a relative orientation that enables removal of at least a portion of the ice compartment from the refrigerating compartment when the first refrigerator door is in the open position and the second refrigerator door is in a closed position, the portion of the ice compartment including at least the ice storage bin and the at least one of the insulating walls in which the outlet is provided.