US-12618599-B2 - Ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance

US12618599B2US 12618599 B2US12618599 B2US 12618599B2US-12618599-B2

Abstract

An ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance includes a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water, a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes, a fixed ejector positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the resilient mold is movable relative to the fixed ejector, and a drive mechanism for moving the resilient mold to engage the fixed ejector and deform the resilient mold to raise the one or more ice cubes.

Inventors

Vineeth Vijayan
Alan Joseph Mitchell

Assignees

HAIER US APPLIANCE SOLUTIONS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230516

Claims (17)

1 . An ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance, the ice making assembly defining a vertical direction and comprising: a stationary frame; a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water and being movable relative to the stationary frame; a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes; a fixed ejector positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the fixed ejector is fixed and immovable relative to the stationary frame, and wherein the resilient mold is movable relative to the fixed ejector; a drive mechanism for moving the resilient mold to engage the fixed ejector and deform the resilient mold to raise the one or more ice cubes; and a resilient element mechanically coupled to the resilient mold for urging the resilient mold into an undeformed position, wherein the resilient element is a mechanical spring.
2 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the resilient mold is positioned in a mold frame and the drive mechanism is configured to move the mold frame along the vertical direction toward or away from the fixed ejector.
3 . The ice making assembly of claim 2 , wherein the mold frame is an aluminum heat exchanger.
4 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the resilient element is positioned between the fixed ejector and a bottom of a mold frame.
5 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises: a motor mechanically coupled to an offset pin; and a scotch yoke mechanism mechanically coupling the offset pin and a mold frame such that rotating the motor moves the mold frame along the vertical direction.
6 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises at least one of a crank and connecting rod mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, or a screw and nut mechanism.
7 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises: a motor mechanically coupled to a rotating cam; and a roller that rides against the rotating cam to move the resilient mold between a lowered position and a raised position.
8 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , wherein the fixed ejector is a dome-shaped member.
9 . The ice making assembly of claim 1 , further comprising: a sweep assembly positioned over the resilient mold and being movable between a retracted position and an extended position to push the one or more ice cubes out of the resilient mold.
10 . The ice making assembly of claim 9 , wherein the drive mechanism is operably coupled to the sweep assembly to selectively slide the sweep assembly to discharge the one or more ice cubes.
11 . The ice making assembly of claim 9 , further comprising: a water supply spout for providing a flow of water, the water supply spout being positioned above the resilient mold and the sweep assembly such that the sweep assembly may move between the extended position and the retracted position without contacting the water supply spout.
12 . A refrigerator appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, comprising: a cabinet defining a chilled chamber; a door being rotatably mounted to the cabinet to provide selective access to the chilled chamber; an icebox mounted to the door and defining an ice making chamber; and an ice making assembly positioned within the ice making chamber, the ice making assembly comprising: a stationary frame; a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water and being movable relative to the stationary frame; a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes; a fixed ejector positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the fixed ejector is fixed and immovable relative to the stationary frame, and wherein the resilient mold is movable relative to the fixed ejector; a drive mechanism for moving the resilient mold to engage the fixed ejector and deform the resilient mold to raise the one or more ice cubes; and a resilient element mechanically coupled to the resilient mold for urging the resilient mold into an undeformed position, wherein the resilient element is a mechanical spring.
13 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 12 , wherein the resilient mold is positioned in a mold frame and the drive mechanism is configured to move the mold frame along the vertical direction toward or away from the fixed ejector.
14 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 12 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises: a motor mechanically coupled to an offset pin; and a scotch yoke mechanism mechanically coupling the offset pin and a mold frame such that rotating the motor moves the mold frame along the vertical direction.
15 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 12 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises at least one of a crank and connecting rod mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism, or a screw and nut mechanism.
16 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 12 , wherein the fixed ejector is an dome-shaped member fixed to the stationary frame of the ice making assembly.
17 . An ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance, the ice making assembly defining a vertical direction and comprising: a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water; a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes; a mold lifter positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the resilient mold and the mold lifter are movable relative to each other; a drive mechanism for moving at least one of the resilient mold or the mold lifter to deform the resilient mold and raise the one or more ice cubes; and a resilient element mechanically coupled to the resilient mold for urging the resilient mold into an undeformed position, wherein the resilient element is a mechanical spring.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliances, and more particularly to ice making assemblies for refrigerator appliances. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Refrigerator appliances generally include a cabinet that defines one or more chilled chambers for receipt of food articles for storage. Typically, one or more doors are rotatably hinged to the cabinet to permit selective access to food items stored in the chilled chamber. Further, refrigerator appliances commonly include ice making assemblies mounted within an icebox on one of the doors or in a freezer compartment. The ice is stored in a storage bin and is accessible from within the freezer chamber or may be discharged through a dispenser recess defined on a front of the refrigerator door. However, conventional ice making assemblies are large, inefficient, and experience a variety of performance related issues. For example, conventional twist tray icemakers include a partitioned plastic mold that is physically deformed to break the bond formed between ice and the tray. However, these icemakers require additional room to fully rotate and twist the tray. In addition, the ice cubes are frequently fractured during the twisting process. When this occurs, a portion of the cubes may remain in the tray, thus resulting in overfilling during the next fill process. Conventional crescent cube icemakers use a sweep arm to pass through the ice mold and eject the ice cubes. However, water may freeze in locations that cause the sweep arm to jam, resulting in an ejection failure and a stall in the ice making process. Certain conventional icemakers include a harvest heater that helps to release ice cubes from the mold, but the use of a heating element increases energy consumption and requires additional costly components. Moreover, both twist tray and crescent cube icemakers typically have large footprints and eject ice from a bottom of the icemaker, thus requiring a shorter ice storage bin with less storage capacity and lost space within the chamber or icebox. Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance with features for improved ice dispensing would be desirable. More particularly, an ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance that is compact, efficient, reliable, and resistant to clogging or jamming would be particularly beneficial. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. In one exemplary embodiment, an ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance is provided. The ice making assembly defines a vertical direction and includes a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water, a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes, a fixed ejector positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the resilient mold is movable relative to the fixed ejector, and a drive mechanism for moving the resilient mold to engage the fixed ejector and deform the resilient mold to raise the one or more ice cubes. In another exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction. The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a chilled chamber, a door being rotatably mounted to the cabinet to provide selective access to the chilled chamber, an icebox mounted to the door and defining an ice making chamber, and an ice making assembly positioned within the ice making chamber. The ice making assembly includes a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water, a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes, a fixed ejector positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the resilient mold is movable relative to the fixed ejector, and a drive mechanism for moving the resilient mold to engage the fixed ejector and deform the resilient mold to raise the one or more ice cubes. According to another exemplary embodiment, an ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance is provided. The ice making assembly includes a resilient mold defining a mold cavity for receiving water, a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze the water and form one or more ice cubes, a mold lifter positioned below the resilient mold, wherein the resilient mold and the mold lifter are movable relative to each other, and a drive mechanism for moving at least one of the resilient mold or the mold lifter to deform the resilient mold and raise the one or more ice cubes. These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, i