Patent ID: 8820100

Claim:
A method of automatically turning off an electrically-powered ice dispensing actuator in an interior of a cabinet of a food-storing refrigeration appliance upon detection of an unwanted condition at or near a distal opening of a conduit or pathway leading from an external ice dispensing station towards the actuator on a door to the interior of the cabinet comprising: a. turning the actuator on; b. sensing the presence of one or more objects at or near the distal opening of the conduit or pathway comprising non-contact sensing at least substantially across the distal opening in at least one direction; c. calibrating a sensor for the sensing at or near the distal opening to i. be sensitive to and turn the actuator off if the sensed presence of an object is indicative of the one or more objects blocking the conduit or pathway or entering the conduit or pathway through the distal opening, but ii. be insensitive to objects moving through the conduit or pathway towards the distal opening by gravity; iii. wherein the calibration comprises a cumulative time value, the cumulative time value measured by a timer that cumulates incremental time beginning at first sensing of an object by a sensor and continuously or periodically sensing for presence of that object, the cumulative time value correlated to either (a) size of object exceeding maximum size of ice pieces normally expected to be dispensed or (b) clogging of the conduit or pathway with ice pieces, wherein the actuator is disabled when the cumulative time value exceeds a threshold, the threshold being approximately 1 to 2 second(s).