Freezer compartment in this case means the compartment of the refrigerator which is commonly known as the freezer, in which the temperature is substantially lower than OoC, and in which there are placed frozen and/or deep-frozen foods, which can be kept at low temperatures for long periods of time. The present invention also relates to (vertical or horizontal) freezers which do not have a refrigeration cell with a temperature close to OoC. In the door inside the freezer area, on average a temperature of-120C is obtained, which is suitable for preservation of ice cream.

The nutritional properties of ice cream, both of the industrial and home made type, are well known. In both cases, the user preserves the ice cream in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. This gives rise to the disadvantage, when the ice cream is removed from the freezer, of obtaining a product which is hard, and must be allowed to soften on the exterior, before it can be served.

For many years, there have been available on the market ice cream makers with a motorised agitator, which make it possible to prepare ice cream at home, starting with ingredients such as cream, milk, fruit, flavourings, etc.

These machines for"home made"production of ice cream have a purchasing price which is somewhat high, since they are provided-with an autonomous refrigeration unit which keeps the cylindrical container in which the mixing and subsequent whisking takes place at a suitable temperature,

which is lower than OoC. Ice cream makers of a more economical type exist, in which a refrigeration unit is not present, and in which the container in which the ingredients of the ice cream are mixed and whisked is kept at a low temperature, by means of brines which are prepared by the user, and are in contact with the outer walls of the container. The use of these economical ice cream makers is somewhat complicated since, in addition to the preparation on each occasion of the brine, which is normally based on ice cubes and kitchen salt, in order to obtain a satisfactory final result, the user must keep both the container and the ingredients for a certain time in the freezer, before they are used.

By means of the characteristics described in the attached claims, by using the refrigerator according to the invention, it is possible to obtain an ice cream maker which is substantially incorporated in the refrigerator, without an increase in the final cost of the refrigerator which is comparable to the cost of an ice cream maker, since it is not necessary to have an appropriate refrigeration unit with a compressor, condenser and evaporator, as the low-temperature environment of the freezer cell is used. In other words, with an increase in the final cost of the refrigerator which is limited, and is comparable to the cost of an ice cream maker of the aforementioned economical type, it is possible to obtain greater ease of use, and results which are identical to, if not better than, those obtained by means of ice cream makers of the domestic type, which are provided with a refrigeration unit. In addition, it is possible to convert into an ice cream maker other devices which are already present in some refrigerators, for example agitators for trays which are associated with ice producers. In this case, the user can select on each occasion the accessory to be fitted in the freezer, each time using the same drive and the same motor.

Further advantages and characteristics of a refrigerator according to the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: -figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to the invention; -figure 2 is a detail of figure 1, in a configuration in which the freezer compartment is open; and -figure 3 is a view on an enlarged scale, and in cross- section, according to line III-III in figure 2.

With reference to the drawings, 10 indicates as a whole a refrigerator of the so called side by side type, with a door 12 which closes a refrigeration compartment (at a temperature which is normally between Oo and 4oC), and has a door 14, adjacent to the door 12, which closes a freezer compartment F, which is commonly known as a freezer.

The door 14 of the freezer F has an inner wall 16 made of polymer material, which is commonly known as the"inner door", in which, in addition to the conventional seats for products, bottles etc., there is provided a hollow lower seat 18 and an upper seat 20 in the form of a circular sunken part, which can permit accommodation of a cylindrical container 22 for the production of ice cream.

In the lower seat 18, which is closed by an appropriate cover 18a, there is accommodated an electric motor 23, which is connected to a reduction gear 23a, which transmits motion to a vertical drive shaft 24, which is supported such as to rotate in a tubular seat 25 provided in the expanded material P which defines the structure and insulation of the door 14. At its upper end 24a, the shaft 24 has a first connection element 26, of a known type, which can co-operate with a corresponding second connection element (not illustrated), which is present at the lower

end of an agitator 28, which is supported such as to rotate in a projecting manner from the cylindrical container 22.

The latter is provided with a circular base wall 22a, which can be removed from the container 22, and in the centre of which the central pin of the agitator 28 is supported in a sealed manner, by means of an appropriate bush 30. Both the system for detachable connection of the shaft 24 to the agitator 28, and the fitting (for example by means of a screw) of the base wall 22a to the container 22 are of a known type, for example of the type used for connection of beakers to the base of mixers, blenders or similar household appliances, and will therefore not be described in detail.

The cylindrical container 22 also has a cover 22b, and can easily be removed and reinserted in the corresponding seat 20. The user can therefore extract the container 22 from its seat 20 in the door 14, and introduce the ingredients which are necessary for preparation of the ice cream. After the container 22 has been reinserted in the door 14, by means of an appropriate switch C (figure 1) located on the exterior of the door 14, the user activates the electric motor 23, which rotates at the required speed the agitator 18, which mixes the ingredients and subsequently whisks and/or homogenises the ice cream. The switch C can also comprise a regulator, in order to permit regulation of the speed of the agitator 28, in relation to the type of ingredients, and thus to the type of ice cream (cream or fruit). When a satisfactory level of consistency has been obtained, an appropriate maximum torque sensor (not illustrated) interrupts the supply to the electric motor 23, thus completing the process for production of the ice cream, without requiring intervention by the user. The system also has a timer, which at regular intervals turns, agitates"and whisks the consistency of the mixture, in order to guarantee that it is homogeneous. The temperature which exists in the freezer compartment F will guarantee

correct preservation of the ice cream for a considerable period of time, without any risk of a bacteriological type.

The container 22, the agitator 28 and the cover 22b can easily be removed in order to allow them to be washed.

In the example illustrated in the drawings, the refrigerator according to the invention also comprises an automatic cold water and ice distributor 30, which is provided on the door 14, and is associated with an ice producer 32, which is disposed inside the freezer compartment F, and can supply by dropping the cubes, a tray 33 for ice cubes, which is installed in the inner door 16, and is provided with a motorised agitator, to prevent the cubes from becoming joined to one another.

According to a preferred embodiment, the seat 20 of the container 22 can also be used to accommodate an agitated container for ice cubes, of the type illustrated and described in US patent 6,082,130 by the applicant, to which reference is made here. In this patent, there is also described a system for connection between the motor and the agitator for the ice, which can also be used for the technical solution according to the invention. Simply by means of replacement of the container 22 with a tray for the ice (which also has an agitator, although this is of a type substantially different from that of an ice cream producer), it is possible to change the function of the motor 23 and of the seat 20.

According to a variant of the invention, the container 22 can be provided with a base aperture (not illustrated), which communicates with an ice cream distributor tap, of a known type, which can be activated by the user at the ice distributor 30. In addition, the container 22 can advantageously be used to homogenise and/or keep at the required consistency other types of foodstuffs products, for example yoghurt and drinks made of crushed ice and

syrup.

Although the example described relates to a refrigerator with two preservation compartments (refrigeration cell and freezer cell), the effects of the present invention extend both to vertical or horizontal freezers which have a single cell, and refrigerators in which the freezer cell is adjacent to a plurality of cells.