Patent ID: 7677053

Claim:
A refrigeration appliance having a surface in which is located a recess containing a dispensing unit, the recess comprising an upper surface and a rear surface, and the dispensing unit comprising: at least one of a dispensing outlet for dispensing a fluid and a dispensing outlet for dispensing ice, the at least one of a dispensing outlet for dispensing a fluid and a dispensing outlet for dispensing ice being located at the upper surface of the recess and arranged so that the dispensing of the at least one of the fluid and the ice is directed substantially downwardly within the recess; at least one emitting source for emitting a beam of light and a respective receiver for receiving the beam of light from each of the at least one emitting source, each of the at least one emitting source and the respective receiver comprising a light couple, the emitting source of each light couple being located at one of the upper surface and the rear surface of the recess and the receiver of the light couple being located at the other of the one of the upper surface and the rear surface of the recess, with the one of the emitting source and the receiver that is located at the rear wall of the recess being located downwardly of the other of the emitting source and the receiver that is located at the upper wall of the recess, and the emitting source and receiver of each light couple being arranged so that the beam of light passing between the emitting source and the receiver passes substantially vertically beneath at least one of the dispensing outlet for dispensing a fluid and the dispensing outlet for dispensing ice.