Patent ID: 8225960

Claim:
A method of dispensing ice from an ice bin having an ice outlet and an agitator for moving ice in the bin through the outlet and into an upper ice inlet to an ice dispense chute having an ice flow path extending between its inlet and a normally closed lower ice outlet from the chute, said method comprising the steps of: dispensing a selected quantity of ice from the chute by opening the chute outlet for a selected one of a plurality of different dispense times to dispense from the chute a quantity of ice in accordance with the duration of the dispense time for which the chute outlet is opened; refilling the chute with ice, in response to performance of said dispensing step, by operating the bin agitator for a refill time having a duration determined by the dispense time and during and throughout which refill time a quantity of ice substantially equal to the quantity dispensed is moved through the bin outlet and into the inlet to the chute; monitoring, using a controller, the quantity of ice dispensed from the chute in performance of said dispensing step and the quantity of ice introduced into the chute during performance of said refilling step; determining, using the controller, the quantity of ice present in the chute at any given time during performance of said dispensing and refilling steps; and inhibiting, using the controller, performance of a subsequent ice dispensing step until said determining step determines that the quantity of ice in the chute is at least equal to the quantity of ice to be dispensed.