US-12624877-B2 - Climate regulating features for a refrigerator icebox

Abstract

An ice making assembly mounted on a door of a refrigerator appliance includes an icebox mounted on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber, an ice storage bin positioned below the icebox for storing ice, wherein an intake slot is defined between the icebox and the ice storage bin, a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening, a drive motor operably coupled to the damper, and a controller in operative communication with the drive motor for selectively pivoting the damper between the open position and the closed position.

Inventors

• Choonjae RYU
• Alan Joseph Mitchell

Assignees

• HAIER US APPLIANCE SOLUTIONS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240305

Claims (20)

1. 1 . 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 on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber; a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening; and a controller configured to open the damper during a first portion of an ice making process and close the damper during a second portion of the ice making process.
2. 2 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: an ice storage bin positioned below the icebox for storing ice, wherein an intake slot is defined between the icebox and the ice storage bin.
3. 3 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , wherein the icebox opening is defined in a top wall of the icebox.
4. 4 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: a drive motor operably coupled to the damper; and a controller in operative communication with the drive motor for selectively pivoting the damper between the open position and the closed position.
5. 5 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to: determine that a dehumidification cycle is needed; and open the damper for a predetermined amount of time to purge humid air from the ice making chamber.
6. 6 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 5 , wherein the determination that the dehumidification cycle is needed is based on an elapsed time since commencing an ice making process.
7. 7 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: a heating assembly in thermal communication with the icebox for selectively heating the icebox.
8. 8 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 7 , wherein the heating assembly comprises a resistive heater.
9. 9 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 7 , further comprising a controller configured to: turn on the heating assembly when the damper is in the closed position and an icebox temperature falls below a predetermined threshold.
10. 10 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: a temperature sensor positioned in thermal communication with the icebox.
11. 11 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: a craft icemaker positioned within the icebox.
12. 12 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , wherein the chilled chamber is a freezer compartment of the refrigerator appliance.
13. 13 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerator appliance is a side-by-side refrigerator appliance.
14. 14 . An ice making assembly mounted on a door of a refrigerator appliance, the ice making assembly comprising: an icebox mounted on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber; an ice storage bin positioned below the icebox for storing ice, wherein an intake slot is defined between the icebox and the ice storage bin; a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening; a drive motor operably coupled to the damper; and a controller in operative communication with the drive motor for selectively pivoting the damper between the open position and the closed position, wherein the controller is configured to: determine that a dehumidification cycle is needed; and open the damper for a predetermined amount of time to purge humid air from the ice making chamber.
15. 15 . The ice making assembly of claim 14 , wherein the icebox opening is defined in a top wall of the icebox.
16. 16 . The ice making assembly of claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to open the damper during a first portion of an ice making process and close the damper during a second portion of the ice making process.
17. 17 . The ice making assembly of claim 14 , wherein the determination that the dehumidification cycle is needed is based on an elapsed time since commencing an ice making process.
18. 18 . The ice making assembly of claim 14 , further comprising: a heating assembly in thermal communication with the icebox for selectively heating the icebox, wherein the controller is configured to turn on the heating assembly when the damper is in the closed position and an icebox temperature falls below a predetermined threshold.
19. 19 . 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 on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber; a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening; a heating assembly in thermal communication with the icebox for selectively heating the icebox; and a controller configured to turn on the heating assembly when the damper is in the closed position and an icebox temperature falls below a predetermined threshold.
20. 20 . The refrigerator appliance of claim 19 , further comprising: an ice storage bin positioned below the icebox for storing ice, wherein an intake slot is defined between the icebox and the ice storage bin.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliances, and more particularly to door-mounted icemakers 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. It may be desirable to place craft icemakers on the freezer door for forming craft ice cubes (e.g., such as balls of ice greater than 2 inches in diameter), which are typically large cubes made by a conventional twist tray icemaker. Ideally, such an icemaker reliably produces high quality ice if the ambient temperature is maintained at a temperature elevated relative to the typical freezer compartment in which the icebox is located. Maintaining temperatures above this level may produce high-quality cubes with no cracks or surface bumps. In addition, these cubes may be easy to release from the icemaker mold. However, due to their positioning within the freezer compartment, door-mounted craft icemakers are typically maintained at too low a temperature, resulting in poor ice quality, poor harvest reliability, and consumer dissatisfaction. In addition, these compartments may prevent warm air from escaping, resulting in trapped humidity inside the compartment when water is added. Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance with features for improved ice making would be desirable. More particularly, a refrigerator appliance with a door-mounted craft icemaker that is maintained at a temperature and humidity to produce high quality craft ice 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, a refrigerator appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction is provided, including 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 on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber, and a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening. In another exemplary embodiment, an ice making assembly mounted on a door of a refrigerator appliance is provided. The ice making assembly includes an icebox mounted on the door and defining an ice making chamber and an icebox opening to the ice making chamber, an ice storage bin positioned below the icebox for storing ice, wherein an intake slot is defined between the icebox and the ice storage bin, a damper mounted over the icebox opening and being movable between an open position to permit a flow of air through the icebox opening and a closed position to prevent the flow of air through the icebox opening, a drive motor operably coupled to the damper, and a controller in operative communication with the drive motor for selectively pivoting the damper between the open position and the closed position. 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, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures. FIG. 1 provides a perspective view of a refrigerator appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 2 provides a perspective view of the exemplary refrigerator appliance of FIG. 1, with the doors of the fresh food chamber and freezer chamber shown in an open position. FIG. 3 provides a side cross-sectional view of an icebox and ice making assembly for use with the exemplary refrigerator appliance of FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 4 provides a front view of an icebox and ice making assembly for use with the exemplary refrige