WO2014081991A1

WO2014081991A1 - Ice maker with bucket filling feature

Info

Publication number: WO2014081991A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/071359
Authority: WO
Inventors: Steven Trulaske; John Broadbent
Original assignee: True Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Priority date: 2012-11-21
Filing date: 2013-11-21
Publication date: 2014-05-30

Abstract

An ice storage bin having a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall. The front wall defines a top opening that is covered by a door. The front wall also has a recess wall that defines a recessed area in the front wall. This recessed area can accommodate a portable receptacle, such as a bucket, within the recessed area. The recessed area and the front wall define a lower opening for providing access to an interior of the ice storage bin. In this manner, ice from the interior of the ice storage bin may be directed by a user to the lower opening to transfer the ice to the receptacle rather than requiring the user to lift the ice out of the ice storage bin through the upper opening.

Description

ICE MAKER WITH BUCKET FILLING FEATURE

The present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/729,222, filed November 21, 2012.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to ice makers generally and in particular to an ice maker that comprises an improved bucket filling design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ice cube makers employing gridded freeze plates forming lattice-type cube molds and having gravity water flow and ice harvest are well known and in extensive use. Such machines have received wide acceptance and are particularly desirable for commercial installations such as restaurants, bars, motels and various beverage retailers having a high and continuous demand for fresh ice.

In these ice makers, water is introduced at the top of a freezing grid which directs the water in a tortuous path toward a sump. The frozen product collects on the freezing grid and is sensed by suitable means to defrost the grid whereupon the frozen product is discharged into a bin. Control means associated with the bin are provided to control the operation of the device to insure a constant supply of frozen product. A refrigeration system incorporating a compressor, condenser, evaporator and expansion valve is common. The evaporator is in direction physical connection with the freeze plate in order to freeze the ice.

Ice must generally be retrieved from the ice maker by opening the door, reaching into the ice storage bin, and moving ice into a bucket or other container that is sitting on the floor. Even when the ice storage bin is near full, but particularly when it is low, one must lean over into the machine and lift the ice out with a scoop or other tool. This process can be time-consuming and involves bending over numerous times. Ice and/or water are often spilled onto the floor during this process, which can create a hazard. Reaching into the machine can be difficult, particularly for someone of short stature, and repetitively lifting scoops of ice from the machine can be difficult or uncomfortable.

Ice makers that provide for filling of an ice bucket have been attempted in the past. For example, in U.S. patent number 5,887,758 to Hawkes, a sliding baffle or gate can be pulled to allow ice to fall via gravity out of the bin and into a bucket or cart. In the Hawkes design, ice is pulled off the bottom of the bin such that the ice is removed in a first-in, first-out (FIFO) sequence. On the contrary, for the ice maker of the present invention ice is provided in a last-in, first-out (LIFO) sequence. That is, the ice which is at the top of the bin and was produced most recently is the first ice to exit through the opening into the bucket. Hawkes does not allow the opening of successive doors to accommodate low ice levels within the ice storage bin. The present design is simpler and more inexpensive to fabricate, and the present design is simple to disassemble for cleaning. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an ice maker that provides for a simplified manner of filling a bucket or other receptacle from the machine and provides for less ice spillage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an ice storage bin comprising a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall. The front wall defines a top opening that is covered by a door. The front wall also comprising a recess wall that defines a recessed area in the front wall. This recessed area can accommodate a portable receptacle, such as a bucket, within the recessed area.

The recessed area and the front wall define a lower opening for providing access to an interior of the ice storage bin. In this manner, ice from the interior of the ice storage bin may be directed by a user to the lower opening to transfer the ice to the receptacle rather than requiring the user to lift the ice out of the ice storage bin through the upper opening.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention according to an embodiment thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective section view of the present invention according to an embodiment thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention according to an embodiment thereof. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a commercial type ice storage bin 10 of the present invention provides a design for filling a bucket 12 placed on the floor with less effort and spillage.

More specifically, the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises an ice storage bin 10 having a recessed area 16 on the front 18 of the ice storage bin 10 for accommodating the bucket 12 and a door 19 for closing the bin 10.

Referring to Figs. 2, an opening 20 near the bottom of the ice storage bin 10 in this recessed area 16 is located so that it is above a bucket 12 placed underneath the ice storage bin 10. Ice that is directed into this opening 20 will drop through the opening 20 into the bucket 12. One or more swinging channel walls 24, 26 located above opening 20 are located to keep the ice from accidentally falling through the opening 20. These channel walls 24, 26 are closed when the bucket-filling feature is not in use to prevent ice from falling through the opening 20. When the bucket filling feature is in use, these channel walls 24, 26 can swing open as needed to make it easier to scoop or push ice into the opening 20 as the level of ice in the ice storage bin 10 drops.

Referring to Fig. 3, to prevent air from flowing through the opening 20 when not filling a bucket 12 and when the ice storage bin 10 is closed, a raised portion or channel cover 30 of bin door 19 is located to seal against channel walls 26 when that door 19 is in the closed position. This channel cover 30 of door 19 fulfills the requirements of section 5.1.1 of NSF/ANSI 12-2009 "Automatic Ice Making Equipment" which says that, "Equipment shall be designed and manufactured to prevent the harborage of vermin and the accumulation of dirt and debris, and to permit the inspection, maintenance, servicing, and cleaning of the equipment and its components." By having channel cover 30 close against channel wall 26 when the bin is closed, the area above opening 20 is sealed both to prevent unwanted cold air from leaking from bin 10 and also prevents vermin from gaining access to the food zone of bin 10.

The steps for using this new feature are as follows:

1. Open the access door of the ice storage bin 14.

2. Move the ice:

a) If the ice storage bin 10 is full, a user simply scrapes the ice towards the opening so that it falls through the opening 20 into the bucket 12 located on the floor.

b) If ice storage bin 10 is not full, the user simply opens one or more of the swinging doors 24, 26, and then scrapes the ice towards the opening 20. 3. Close the door of the ice storage bin 14.

4. Take the bucket full of ice to its intended location.

The above example shows that the invention, as will be defined by the claims, has far ranging application and should not be limited merely to the embodiment shown and described in detail. Instead the invention should be limited only to the explicit words of the claims, and the claims should not be arbitrarily limited to the embodiment shown in the specification. The scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims, and the Examiner should examine the application only on that basis.

Claims

We claim:

1. An ice storage bin comprising:

a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall and a bottom wall, the front wall defining a top opening that is covered by a door;

the front wall comprising a recess wall for defining a recessed area in the front wall to accommodate a portable receptacle within the recessed area, the recessed area with the front wall defining a lower opening for providing access to an interior of the ice storage bin such that ice from the interior of the ice storage bin may be directed by a user to the lower opening transfer the ice to the receptacle through the lower opening.

2. The ice storage bin of claim 1 further comprising one or more channel walls located above the recess wall and defining a channel with the front wall.

3. The ice storage bin of claim 2 wherein the channel walls are removably attached to the ice storage bin.

4. The ice storage bin of claim 2 wherein the channel walls are hingedly attached to the ice storage bin such that the walls be moved to vary the length of the channel define by the channel walls to accommodate higher or lower levels of ice within the ice storage bin.

5. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the recess wall is arcuate in shape to accommodate a bucket having a circular profile.

6. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the channel walls are arcuate in shape.

7. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the channel walls are arcuate in shape.

8. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the door is hingedly attached to the ice storage bin along a top edge of the door such that the door may be opened by raising the door upwardly.

9. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the door is hingedly attached to the ice storage bin along a bottom edge of the door such that the door may be opened by lowering the door downwardly.

10. The ice storage bin of claim 1 wherein the door further comprises a channel cover that extends from an interior wall of the door to substantially cover the lower opening.

11. The ice storage bin of claim 2 wherein the door further comprises a channel cover that extends from an interior wall of the door to substantially cover an upper opening of the channel.

12. The ice storage bin of claim 3 wherein the door further comprises a channel cover that extends from an interior wall of the door to substantially cover an upper opening of the channel.

13. The ice storage bin of claim 4 wherein the door further comprises a channel cover that extends from an interior wall of the door to substantially cover an upper opening of the channel.

14. The ice storage bin of claim 1 further comprising an icemaker disposed above the ice storage bin such that when the ice marker ejects ice from the ice maker, the ice falls directly into the ice storage bin, the ice maker comprising an evaporator, a condenser and a compressor.