ICE MAKER

The present invention relates to an ice maker for a refrigeration appliance. More particularly, it relates to an ice maker comprising a frame adapted to be mounted in the refrigeration appliance, an ice-making container supported by the frame, and an ice-releasing system for separating the formed ice from the ice-making container.

Ice makers are well known in the technical field of domestic refrigeration appliances. They are usually installed on a wall of a freezing chamber of the refrigerator (freezer) and therefore they are not subject to movement which could cause spill of water when ice is not already formed in the ice-making container or ice tray. This traditional construction has the drawback of requiring means for conveying ice cubes from the ice maker in the freezing chamber into a storage container in the door of the refrigerator where the user can collect ice from the outside through an ice dispenser. Moreover the traditional location of ice makers requires an automatic water supply device which increases the overall cost of the appliance. Moreover it is clear that the installation in the cavity of the freezer of the ice maker reduces the space for storing frozen food. No appliance producer has up to now proposed a mounting of the ice maker in a door of the freezer, mainly because the movement of the door during opening and closing thereof could cause water spill from the ice maker when the ice is not already formed. An object of the invention is to provide an ice maker of the type mentioned at the beginning of the description which can be installed within the door of the appliance without any water spill problems. Another object is to provide an ice maker having a low cost since it does not need automatic and costly water supply devices. A further object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker which can easily work either with an automatic or manual drive system for removing ice from the ice-making container.

The above objects are reached thanks to the features listed in the appended claims.

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 is a perspective view of an ice maker according to a first embodiment of the invention;

figure 2 is a partially exploded view of the ice maker of figure 1 ; figure 3 is a perspective view similar to figure 2 and shows a variant of the ice maker of figures 1-2; figure 4 is a perspective view of an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the invention; figure 5 is a partially exploded view of the ice maker of figure 5; figure 6 is a perspective view similar to figure 4 and shows a variant of the ice maker of figure 4-5; figure 7 is a cross sectional view along line VII-VII of figure 4; and figure 8 is a cross sectional view similar to figure 7 and shows the ice maker in a configuration in which the ice is discharged from the ice maker.

With reference to figure 1 , with 10 is indicated an ice maker having a base 12, an ice-making container 14 and a cover 16. According to the embodiment shown in figures 1 and 2, the base 12 contains a drive unit and can be mounted in a cantilevered way to a wall of a door of the freezer compartment of the refrigerator (not shown). The ice-making container 14, which is fixed to the base 12, has an a semi-circular or half moon cross section and is formed of metal or polymeric material. The cover 16 has a semi-circular cross section corresponding to the cross section of the ice-making contaienr 14, and it is rotatably mounted on the ice-making container so that it can assume a first configuration (shown in figure 1 ) where it covers in a water-tight manner the ice-making container 14, and, by rotation along the arrow R in figure 1 , a second configuration below the ice-making container 14, so that ice cubes can be removed from the ice-making container 14. The rotation of the cover 16 can be done either manually by the user or it can be driven by the drive unit in the base 12.

Coaxially with the semi-cilindrical ice-making container 14, it is rotatably mounted an ice releasing lever 18 for releasing ice from the ice-making container 14. The ice-releasing lever 18 has one end connected with the drive unit and the other hand supported by the ice-making container 14; it is formed with a plurality of ice releasing arms 18a spaced apart at a predetermined interval from one another. The cover 16 is fixed to the lever or auger 18 so that they rotate simultaneously.

The cover 16 is also provided with a longitudinal slot 16a wich is useful for loading water in the ice-making container 14 and for allowing circulation of cold air under the cover 16 for showing a quicker formation of the ice cubes having a cross section in the form of a half moon.

Once the ice-making container 14 has been filled with water, any movement of the ice maker 10 caused by the movement of the door where it is preferably installed does not cause any spill of water since the internal surface of the tile- shaped cover 16 is in contact with the edges of the tile-shaped container 14. Once the ice is formed, the cover 16 is rotated along arrow R, under the ice- making container, and the lever 18 is rotated as well in order to remove ice cubes from the container 14. Of course the movement of the lever 18 and of the cover 16 can be made independent one from the other as well. The cover 16 is intended to house ice tray and provides a seal so that if non-iced water is present when the icemaker is moved, no water spill occurs. The shape of the cover 16 ensures that when it rotates, any ice formation due to water sprinkled by movement is removed from the housing. The ice maker cover 16 is designed so that ice maker can be placed in areas where it can be subject to movement (for example in the door).

In figure 3 is shown a modification of the ice maker of figures 1-2, in which the movement of the ice-releasing lever 18 is driven manually by a knob 20. The cilyndrical shape of the ice maker according to the embodiment shown in figures 1-3 is particuarly useful for a mounting in a reduced space as in a counter-door of a freezer compartment.

In figures 4 and 5 it is shown a second embodiment of the ice maker according to the invention. Similar components of such embodiment are indicated with the same reference numerals of the first embodiment incremented by 100. According to figures 4 and 5, the base 112 is integral with the cover 116 and contains a drive unit 115. The ice-making container 114 is rotatably mounted below the cover 116 and presents a plurality of half moon shaped cavities 117 for forming ice cubes. The ice-making container 114 is made of flexible material so that it can be warped in order to cause the detachment of ice cubes. In figure 7 it is shown a configuration of the ice maker 110 in which the edges of the ice-making container 114, rindicated with

reference numerals 114a, are in a water-tight contact with a cilyndrical internal surface 116b of the cover 116. In this configuration, which allows a water loading through the longitudinal slot 116a, any movement of the ice maker 110 does not cause any water spill. The cover 116 is intended to serve as support for ice maker components and to provide a seal so that if non iced water is present when the icemaker is moved, the water will not come out of the ice-making container. The shape of the cover 116 ensures that when the ice tray rotates, any ice formation due to water sprinkled by movement is removed from the housing. In figure 8 it is shown a second configuration of the ice maker 110 in which the drive unit 115 has caused a predetermined rotation of the ice-making container 114. In this configuration an end of the container 114 opposite to the drive unit abuts a corresponding end portions of the cover 116 so that any further rotation of the drive unit 115 causes a warp or twist of the ice-making container as shown in dotted lines in figure 8. This warping of the container causes the fall of ice cubes from the ice-making container 114.

Instead of having a drive unit, the ice maker 110 according to the second embodiment of the invention can also have a knob 120 (figure 6) for rotating the ice-making container and warping it in order to discharge ice cubes. The realization of the ice maker according to the invention is flexible enough to provide fixation points to be placed anywhere inside a refrigerated compartment or to be part of a sub-assembly in order to facilitate fixation.