Patent ID: 8661843

Claim:
An ice pusher for removing ice from an evaporator plate of an ice-making machine, comprising: a housing; a motor mounted to the housing, the motor having a rotatable drive shaft; a cam carried by the housing, the cam coupled to the motor and rotatable relative to the housing with the drive shaft; a linear actuation arrangement in contact with a cam surface of the cam such that the linear actuation arrangement moves linearly relative to the housing upon rotation of the cam; wherein the linear actuation arrangement comprises a coupling shaft slidably connected to a coupling body, the linear actuation arrangement further comprising a biasing element interposed between the coupling shaft and the coupling body such that the biasing element biases the coupling shaft axially away from the coupling body; wherein the coupling shaft, biasing element, and coupling body are movable to a retracted position relative to the housing upon rotation of the cam in a first direction, and wherein the coupling shaft, biasing element, and coupling body are movable to an extended position relative to the housing upon rotation of the cam in a second direction opposite the first direction; wherein the coupling body extends from a bottom wall of the housing a first distance in the retracted position, and a second distance in the extended position, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance; and wherein the coupling shaft and biasing element are movable relative to the housing and relative to the coupling body to a fail-safe position upon rotation of the cam in the second direction, such that an abutment surface of the flange of the coupling shaft is in abutted contact with a first end of the coupling body.