US3926007A

US3926007A - Ice level sensing arm retractor

Info

Publication number: US3926007A
Application number: US490760A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ralph S Braden; Cecil C Pugh; Ralph R Rigg
Original assignee: General Motors Corp
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1974-07-22
Filing date: 1974-07-22
Publication date: 1975-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-16

Abstract

An automatic ice maker with a gravity pivoted storage bin ice level sensing arm in combination with an automatic shut-off and torsion spring torque rod with the rod biased to retain the arm in its retracted position causing switch means to stop operation of the ice maker. The integral torque rod, which extends between the ice maker side walls, includes a U-shaped portion and a Vshaped portion lying in transverse intersecting planes and pivoting on one side wall at a common pintle and on the other side wall by a pair of offset separate free end pintles and thereby resiliently permits the torsion rod V-shaped portion to be cammed by the inserted bin urging the U-shaped portion in a first direction into the bin allowing the sensing arm to fall to its ice sensing position within the bin, while withdrawal of the bin urges the U-shaped portion in a second direction to engage and rotate the arm to its upper retracted position.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Braden et al.

[ Dec. 16, 1975 1 ICE LEVEL SENSING ARM RETRACTOR [75] Inventors: Ralph S. Braden, Bellbrook; Cecil I C, Pugh; Ralph R. Rigg, both of Dayton, all of Ohio [73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation,

Primary Examiner-William E. Wayner Assistant Examiner-William E. Tapolcai, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmEdward P. Barthel {57] ABSTRACT An automatic ice maker with a gravity pivoted storage bin ice level sensing arm in combination with an automatic shut-off and torsion spring torque rod with the rod biased to retain the arm in its retracted position causing switch means to stop operation of the ice maker. The integral torque rod, which extends between the ice maker side walls, includes a U-shaped portion and a V-shaped portion lying in transverse intersecting planes and pivoting on one side wall at a common pintle and on the other side wall by a pair of offsetseparate free end pintles and thereby resiliently permits the torsion rod V-shaped portion to be cammed by the inserted bin urging the U-shaped portion in a first direction into the bin allowing the sensing arm to fall to its ice sensing position within the bin, while withdrawal of the bin urges the U-shaped portion in a second direction to engage and rotate the arm to its upper retracted position.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet20f2 3,926,07

ICE LEVEL SENSING ARM RETRACTOR This invention relates to automatic ice makers and in particular to an ice level sensing and shutoff arm retractor torque rod operative to automatically raise the arm out of the ice storage bin upon removal of the bin from the freezer compartment of a domestic refrigerator.

It is an object of this invention to provide a reliable, low cost, improved retractor torsion spring or torque rod for an ice level sensing and shutoff arm mechanism pivoted on the front and rear walls of the frame of an automatic ice maker. The torque rod has integral U- shaped and V-shaped portions lying in intersecting transverse planes and is supported to resiliently pivot from opposite side walls of the frame by means of a common intermediate pintle in one side wall and a pair of end pintles in the other side wall, whereby the rod is subjected to torsional counterclockwise stress lowering the U-shaped portion into the bin upon the V-shaped portion being cammed upwardly by the bin rear wall upon the insertion of the ice storage bin beneath the ice maker. Assuming the storage bin has not been filled to capacity, the configuration of the U-shaped portion allows the sensing and shutoff arm to pivot by gravity to its ice sensing position within the bin. Upon withdrawal of the bin torsional clockwise stress developed in the rod automatically pivots the U-shaped portion upwardly engaging and rotating the sensing arm out of the bin to its retracted shutoff position.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical side elevational view of the automatic ice maker showing the ice sensing arm in its raised shutoff position, constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 of the automatic ice maker with parts broken away;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the ice maker and the upper portion of the seated ice piece storage bin with portions thereof removed to show the operating mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the ice sensing arm in its lowered position within the bin;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the electrical control circuit; and

FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram of the commutator plate.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawings, an icemaker generally designated 10, is shown which is adapted to be housed in the freezer section of a household refrigerator and comprises a mold or tray 11 defining a plurality of pockets such as the two rows of pockets 12 shown containing four blocks in each row, and has an upwardly flanged rim 13 extending around the short and long sides with the tray adapted to receive water to be frozen into a plurality of ice pieces as described in US. Pat. No. 3,540,227 to Eyman, et al, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. The ice maker is provided with a wide U-shaped frame 18 which surrounds the tray 11 while seated directly below the frame is a rectangular bin 20 for receiving and storing the frozen cubes or ice pieces ejected from the tray 11.

At the rear of the tray 11 is an integrally molded boss 22 provided with a recess (not shown) for tightly receiving the flattened cylindrical portion 26 of the pivot pin 30 having a bearing portion 32 of reduced size fitting a bearing aperture in the rear wall of the frame 18. The pivot pin 30 bearing portion located outside the frame is provided with an annular groove 34 around which is wrapped a portion of a tension coil spring 36 which spring has one end hooked to a hook 38 projecting from the groove with its opposite end hooked to a punched-out tab 102 on the rear wall of the frame adjacent horizontally disposed slot 104. The frame also has a stop 106 which is punched out of its side wall at aperture 107 for extending into the path of movement of the adjacent portion of the tray rim 13 to stop the tray rotation in a horizontal position in the direction of the turning force applied by the tension spring 36. The frame also has a stop 108 which is punched out of its side wall and extends into the path of movement of the tray rim 13 in the direction opposite to the pull of the spring 36 to limit the inverting movement of the rear of the tray to about l22 /z of rotation as explained in the above-mentioned Eyman et al. patent.

To further insure the complete ejection of the frozen liquid from the tray 11 during the second twist a spring detent 110 is provided, the details of which are shown and described in copending US. Pat. application Ser. No. 420,360, filed Nov. 30, l973 and assigned to the assignee of the present application the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

For accessibility, all the mechanism controls of the ice maker are located at the front of the refrigerator freezer compartment with the tray rotating and twisting mechanism and control system being located in the rear housing 127 while an electric driving motor 129 and wiring are located in a front housing partially indicated at 131 in FIG. 2. Both of the housings are formed of suitable plastic material while substantially the entire operating and control mechanism is mounted upon an irregular plastic upright dividing wall 133 which divides the interior of the housing 127 and 131 into rear compartment 135 and front compartment 137. The front compartment 137 contains the drive motor 129 with the details of the motor drive shaft and driving gear arrangement shown and described in the above mentioned Eyman et al. patent.

An eccentrically located crank pin, located on a driving gear shown in phantom at 149 in FIG. 3, extends into an elongated irregular loop 150 of the upright yoke 151 molded integrally with horizontal rack bar 153. The yoke loop 150 forms cams which cooperate with the crank pin 149 to reciprocate the rack bar 153 in a manner similar to a scotch yoke mechanism. As explained in the Eyman patent, the difference from the true yoke scotch yoke mechanism is that the surface of the yoke contacted by the crank pin 149 are not all perpendicular to the rack bar 153 and in particular the yoke includes a curved cam surface 155 in the side opposite the bar 153 and a curved and inclined surface 157 on the side adjacent the bar 153 The rack bar includes nine full teeth 159 adjacent to the yoke 151. Between the nine full teeth 159 and the yoke there is a single half tooth which is cut off substantially at the pitch line.

The rack bar 153 is slidably mounted in a horizontal groove 154 provided in the adjacent wall 128 of the rear housing 127. The rack bar 153 and its teeth 159 cooperate with an interrupted pinion 167, provided on the front end of a coaxial sleeve 169, which sleeve is rotatably mounted in a bearing provided in the rear housing 127. This sleeve 169 has a coaxial rearward hollow projection (not shown) provided with a flattened upper surface which fits within a boss 175 located between the front pockets of the mold 11 and containing a recess receiving the projection. The rack bar 153 is held in engagement with the pinion 167 by an adjustable eccentric 177 contacting its bottom surface which may be rotated to maintain the teeth 159 in the proper meshing and contacting relationship with the teeth 179 and interrupted surface 183 on the pinion 167.

The crank pin 149, as explained in the Eyman patent, cooperates with the cam surface 155 to apply at the left end of its stroke through the rack bar 153 and the rack teeth a maximum torque for applying an initial reverse twist of about l7 /2 to the front end of the tray 11, indicated in phantom at 187 in FIG. 4, and a subsequent inverting of the tray 11 until after 140 the rear of the ray 11 engages the stop 108 and rotation continues to finally twist the mold until it completes a l7 /z twist opposite to the initial twist.

A sensing arm holder member 200 includes a radially extending cam finger 201 and integral switch probe 202 positioned normal to the cam finger 201. The holder 200 has a hub 203 pivotally received in a circular opening in the base 128 of housing 127 and a forward shank 204 with a spindle 205 pivotally received in wall 133. A transverse bore extends through the hub 203 for receiving the front radial leg 21 1 of an ice level sensing and shutoff arm 210 and retained by an adjusting set screw 212. The rearward axial end 214 of the arm 210 is pivotally mounted in the rear wall of the frame 18 by means of a plastic bushing 216 inserted in the aperture 109 such that the end 214 is in axial alignment with the hub 203. A removable retaining washer 218 is inserted on the sensing arm free end 214 for permitting the removal thereof.

As seen in FIG. 3, as the rack bar 153 moves to the right it engages extended cam finger 201 portion of holder 200 and rotates the shutoff arm 210 and holder about 30 from its gravity biases solid-line position to its broken-line upper retracted position. A flexible angled blade 206, retained on the base 128 by post 221, flexes to the right from its stop post 222 to its biased vertical free position away from spring biased switch operator means or detent button 207 of a reset and ice level micro switch 208. At the same time the ice tray 11 is rotated counterclockwise to its ice cube release position allowing the ice cubes to fall from the tray into the collecting bin 20.

As the rack bar 153 is moved to the left by means of the crank pin 149 and the yoke 151 arrangement, returning the tray to its horizontal position the sensing arm 210 is allowed to rotate by gravity in a downward are from its retracted upper position to its solid line lower position in the bin 20. If the ice piece accumulation in the bin has reached a predetermined maximum level the sensing shutoff arm 210 is stopped by the ice pieces, therefore preventing the sensing arm holder switch probe 202 from contacting and moving flexing blade 206 and depressing switch button 207 to its inner position and actuating the reset and ice level micro switch 208. Thus, the ice maker cannot now initiate a harvest cycle until the sensing arm 210 is free to drop or fall to its full line position and actuate the switch 208. The ice maker can be manually reset when there is no water in the tray 11 or the tray thermostat is not sufficiently warmed up by raising the sensing arm 210 for about 15 seconds.

The circuit for the ice maker, shown and described in the above-mentioned Bright patent application, and shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, is carried on the mounting plate 133. After the tray 11 has been filled hydraulic thermostatic switch 233, described in the Eyman patent, has its movable contact 234 close to its contact I on a rising predetermined water temperature, sensed by the end portion of volatile fluid filled tube 287 extending into a coaxial cavity 289 (FIG. 3) in the boss of the tray 11 between the two front pockets 12. Tube 287 is connected to a bellows 290 for normally mounting movable contact 234 contacting contact-I at a temperature at or above about 19 F. 1 F., which means that there is no continuity via line 235 from thermostat terminal contact III to movable contact 236 of reset and ice level switch 208, fixed switch contact 239, line 240 to post A of delay switch arm 252 rendering the motor circuit incomplete. When the liquid is frozen into a solid ice mass in the front pockets, the thermostat sensing tube 287 drops to a predetermined low temperature, which in the disclosed form is about 16 F. 1- 10 F., the thermostat movable contact 234 closes to fixed terminal contact III (cold position) initiating the ice harvest cycle.

The operation of a harvest cycle will now be described with the collecting bin 20 having a quantity of ice pieces less than its design maximum ice level, indicated by dashed line 21 in FIG. 3. Thus, with the sens ing arm 2 10 in its down location with room for more ice pieces in the bin, the button 207 of the ice level switch 208 is in its depressed position with movable contact 236 contacting normally open contact 239.

A commutator plate, shown at 250 in the wiring diagram of FIG. 6 and the cycle diagram of FIG. 7, is carried on a large gear and driven directly off a motor pinion gear shown in the mentioned Eyman patent. Thus, whenever the unidirectional electric motor 129 runs the commutator 250 must also rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed by the arrow in FIG. 7. With the commutator plate 250 in its harvest start position current from L flows through the plate 250 to terminal post A via delay arm 252 and line 240 to the micro switch closed contact 239, movable contact 236 and line 235 to thermostat post III, movable contact 234, line 247, motor 129, line 248 to terminal post E and then to the line L to start the motor 129. Shortly after the motor 129 starts the hold switch arm 254 contacts plate 250 to short out the thermostat switch 233 and the ice level switch 208 via line 255 so that the motor will continue to run irrespective of the condition of either

switches

208 or 233.

At the same time the large gear crank pin 149 starts to move the rack bar 153 slightly to the left to reverse twist the tray 11 and then to its dashed-line position (FIG. 4) engaging the cam finger 201 to pivot the sensing arm 210 to its raised dashed-line position allowing the micro switch button 207 to move out placing the micro switch 208 in its free state with movable contact 236 as shown in FIG. 6. As the cycle continues the ice is harvested into bin 20 and the tray 1 1 is returned to its upright position, the fill switch arm 258 on post F contacts plate 250 to energize water fill solenoid 260 and fill tray 11 causing the thermostat movable contact 234 to close to its contact 'I or normal warm position. With the holding switch arm 252 having dropped off the plate 250 the motor circuit is now complete through the stop switch arm 256, line 259, contact 234 and line 247 and the motor runs about 5 seconds until arm 256 drops off plate 250 to complete the cycle.

As disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,751,939, issued to J. A. Bright and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, the thermostat 233 is preferably volatile liquid or gas operated having a positive temperature coefficient thermistor heater 270 positioned adjacent the bellows 290 of the thermostat which heater provides a small amount of heat to insure the operating temperatures of the thermostat are controlled by the temperature of the thermostat sensing tube 287 rather than being controlled by the temperatures of the bellows casing. The heater 270 is connected by line 272 and arm 274 to line post D continuously closed to the commutator plate 250 and line 276 to line post E.

The ice level sensing arm 210, which is shown in the above-mentioned US. Pat. application Ser. No. 420,360, includes a first oblique portion 330 extending rearwardly from front radial leg 211 and a second oblique portion 331 extending forwardly from sensing arm rear radial leg 332 (FIG. 1) and joined by a longitudinally extending linear midportion or ice sensing bar 333 defined by rounded angular junctures with the

oblique portions

330 and 331.

To provide for automatic shutoff of the ice maker when the bin is withdrawn from the freezer compartment applicants invention involves an integral torsion spring or torque rod 340 operative to retract the ice level sensing arm upon the operator sliding or pulling the bin a short distance outward from its normal position beneath the ice maker. The torque rod 340 includes a symmetrical U-shaped portion defined by a first transverse portion. 342 extending from a second free or distal end pintle 343 and a second transverse portion 344 extending from a first common pintle 345 aligned on a common transverse pivotal axis 349 with the second free end pintle 343. The portions 342 and 344 are joined by transverse midportion or cradle bar 350 which moves in a path generating -a portion of a right cylinder about the axis 349. Suitable retaining and bearing means such as sleeve bearings 346 are provided to rotatably secure the pintles 343 and 345 in left-hand side wall 347 and right-hand side wall 348 respectively, of the U-shaped frame 18.

The torsion spring rod incorporates camming means in the form of an asymmetrical V-shaped portion defined by a first short transverse leg portion 352 having an upwardly turned bight portion 353 extending at right angles from the common pintle 345. A second long transverse leg portion 354 extends from a skewed bight portion 355 turned from a third free or distal end pintle portion 356 rotatably received in an opening in the left-hand side wall 347. It will be noted in FIGS. 2 and 4 that the torque rod third free end pintle 356 is offset rearwardly from its second free end pintle 343 a predetermined distance while the adjacent offset pintles 343 and 356 are located in a common horizontal plane. Also, it is seen from the drawings that the U- shaped portion and the V-shaped portion of the torque rod 340 each lie in transverse first and second intersecting planes respectively which, in the preferred form, intersect at an angle of about 75 while the line defined by the intersecting planes lies approximately on the pivotal axis 349.

As viewed in FIG. 1 with the bin removed the V- shaped cam portion of the torque rod is resiliently biased in its down position forming an angle of about 75 with the horizontal while the U-shaped portion is biased in its upper substantially horizontal position wherein its first transverse portion 342 engages the second or rear oblique portion 331 of the sensing arm 210 to retain the arm 210 in its retracted ice maker shutoff position.

Upon insertion and partial rearward travel of the bin 20 its rear wall 360 upper ridge engages the V-shaped portion. Continued rearward movement of the bin causes the rear wall 360 to cam the torque rod V- shaped portion rearwardly and upwardly, thus urging the torque rod 340 in a counterclockwise direction. As the V-shaped portion is rotated to its rearwardmost position, shown in FIG. 5, the rod U-shaped portion is also pivoted in a counterclockwise direction through an angle of about into a substantially vertical plane causing disengagement between the rods first transverse portion 342 and the sensing arm second oblique portion 231 allowing the arm 210 to fall by gravity to its ice piece sensing position within the bin as shown in FIG. 5. It will thus be seen that the U-shaped transverse midportion 350 of the torque rod is positioned to underlie the sensing arm second oblique portion 331 in spaced relation so as not to interfere with the normal ice level feeler pivotal movement of the sensing arm.

The torsion or hairpin-spring action of bight portion 353 of the torsion spring rod 340 twists resiliently resulting in pivotal movement about offset pintle 356. The counterclockwise stress developed in bight portion 355 thereby resiliently permits the rotational movement of the U-shaped portion of the spring rod to its lowered non-contacting location. The amount of stress given to the torque rod is readily controlled by the length of the bight portion 353, the amount of offset of the first and third pintles 343 and 356 and the stiffness characteristics of the material of which the torsion spring is composed. In the illustrated embodiment the offset torsion rod spring 350 is arranged to maintain the sensing arm 210 substantially horizontal with the bin removed whereby limited free pivotal movement of the torsion rod on its pintles results from insertion of the bin.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

We claim:

1. An automatic ice maker for use in a refrigerated freezer compartment comprising a frame, an ice mold on said frame, means for ejecting ice from said mold, an open top box-shaped bin for receiving ice pieces ejected from said mold located below said mold, a longitudinally extending ice level sensing shut-off arm pivotally received on said frame for movement between a gravity biased lower ice sensing operative position in said bin and an elevated ice maker inoperative position above said bin, the improvement residing in operating means for normally retracting said arm from its lowered operative position in the bin to its operative retracted position in which said arm is pivoted out of said bin upon said bin being moved a predetermined distance outwardly from the freezer compartment, said operating means comprising an integral transversely extending sensing arm retractor torque rod pivotally received on said frame including an arm engaging portion and a bin engaging portion, said torque rod providing torsional stress normally pivoting said torque rod in one direction causing said arm engaging portion to engage and raise said sensing arm into its elevated retracted position deenergizing said ice maker upon said predetermined outward movement of said bin from said freezer compartment, said bin upon being moved rearwardly into its ice receiving position beneath said ice maker engaging said bin engaging portion imparting pivotal movement to said torque rod in the opposite direction, whereby said arm engaging portion disengages said sensing arm and allows said arm to gravitationally pivot to its position within said bin such that said ice maker is energized if said arm senses a quantity of ice pieces therein below a predetermined level.

2. An automatic ice maker for use in a refrigerated freezer compartment comprising a frame, an ice mold on said frame, means for ejecting ice from said mold, an open top box-shaped bin for receiving ice pieces ejected from said mold located below said mold, a longitudinally extending ice level sensing shut-off arm pivotally received on said frame for movement between a gravity biased lower ice sensing operative position in said bin and an elevated ice maker inoperative position above said bin, the improvement residing in operating means for normally urging said arm from its lowered operative position in the bin to an inoperative elevated position in which said arm is pivoted out of said bin upon said bin being moved a predetermined distance outwardly from the freezer compartment, said operating means comprising an integral transversely extending sensing arm retractor torque rod pivotally received on said frame including a U-shaped sensing arm engaging portion located in a first plane and a V-shaped bin engaging portion located in a second plane, said first and second planes intersecting substantially on the pivotal axis of said torque rod, said torque rod providing torsional stress causing pivotal movement of said U- shaped portion in one direction engaging and biasing said sensing arm into its elevated retracted position deenergizing said ice maker upon said predetermined outward movement of said bin from said freezer compartment, said bin upon being moved rearwardly into its ice receiving position beneath said ice maker engaging said V-shaped portion imparting pivotal movement to said U-shaped portion in the opposite direction, whereby said U-shaped portion disengages said sensing arm and allows said arm to gravitationally pivot to its position within said bin such that said ice maker is energized if said arm senses a quantity of ice pieces therein below a predetermined level.

3. An automatic ice maker for use in a refrigerated compartment comprising a frame, an ice mold on said frame, means for ejecting ice from said mold, a bin for receiving ice pieces ejected from said mold located below said mold, a longitudinally extending ice level sensing arm pivotally received on said frame for movement between a gravity biased lower ice sensing position in said bin and an elevated ice maker shut-off position above said bin, the improvement residing in an integral sensing arm retractor torque rod including a U- shaped portion and a V-shaped portion each in separate planes which planes intersect at a common transverse pivotal axis, said U-shaped and V-shaped portions having first ends terminating in a common first pintle portion and connecting bight portion, said common pintle portion aligned on said transverse pivotal axis rotatably received in one side wall of said frame and said bight portion in the plane of said V-shaped portion, the free end of said U-shaped portion terminating in a second pintle portion aligned with said common first pintle portion for pivotal reception in the opposite side wall of said frame, the free end of said V- shaped portion terminating in a third pintle portion rotatably received in said frame opposite side wall offset from said second pintle portion, said rod torsional stress normally causing pivotal movement of said U- shaped portion in a clockwise direction engaging and biasing said sensing arm into an elevated position within the frame deenergizing said ice maker upon a predetermined outward movement of said bin, said bin upon being moved rearwardly into said freezer compartment beneath said ice maker engaging said V- shaped portion for pivotal movement in a counterclockwise direction, whereby said U-shaped portion is pivoted from its elevated position through an angle of about into a substantially vertical plane disengages said sensing arm and allows said arm to gravitationally pivot to its ice sensing position within said bin such that said icemaker is energized if said arm senses a quantity of ice pieces therein below a predetermined level.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE QERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent 2 926 007 Dated December 16. 1975 Inventor(s) Ralph S- Braden et al- It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 42, "biases" should read: biased Column 6, line 30, "355" should read 353 -"o Column 6, line 58, second occurrence, "operative" should read inoperative Signed and Scaled this twenty-fifth Day of May 1976 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks

Claims

2. An automatic ice maker for use in a refrigerated freezer compartment comprising a frame, an ice mold on said frame, means for ejecting ice from said mold, an open top box-shaped bin for receiving ice pieces ejected from said mold located below said mold, a longitudinally extending ice level sensing shut-off arm pivotally received on said frame for movement between a gravity biased lower icE sensing operative position in said bin and an elevated ice maker inoperative position above said bin, the improvement residing in operating means for normally urging said arm from its lowered operative position in the bin to an inoperative elevated position in which said arm is pivoted out of said bin upon said bin being moved a predetermined distance outwardly from the freezer compartment, said operating means comprising an integral transversely extending sensing arm retractor torque rod pivotally received on said frame including a U-shaped sensing arm engaging portion located in a first plane and a V-shaped bin engaging portion located in a second plane, said first and second planes intersecting substantially on the pivotal axis of said torque rod, said torque rod providing torsional stress causing pivotal movement of said U-shaped portion in one direction engaging and biasing said sensing arm into its elevated retracted position deenergizing said ice maker upon said predetermined outward movement of said bin from said freezer compartment, said bin upon being moved rearwardly into its ice receiving position beneath said ice maker engaging said V-shaped portion imparting pivotal movement to said U-shaped portion in the opposite direction, whereby said U-shaped portion disengages said sensing arm and allows said arm to gravitationally pivot to its position within said bin such that said ice maker is energized if said arm senses a quantity of ice pieces therein below a predetermined level.

3. An automatic ice maker for use in a refrigerated compartment comprising a frame, an ice mold on said frame, means for ejecting ice from said mold, a bin for receiving ice pieces ejected from said mold located below said mold, a longitudinally extending ice level sensing arm pivotally received on said frame for movement between a gravity biased lower ice sensing position in said bin and an elevated ice maker shut-off position above said bin, the improvement residing in an integral sensing arm retractor torque rod including a U-shaped portion and a V-shaped portion each in separate planes which planes intersect at a common transverse pivotal axis, said U-shaped and V-shaped portions having first ends terminating in a common first pintle portion and connecting bight portion, said common pintle portion aligned on said transverse pivotal axis rotatably received in one side wall of said frame and said bight portion in the plane of said V-shaped portion, the free end of said U-shaped portion terminating in a second pintle portion aligned with said common first pintle portion for pivotal reception in the opposite side wall of said frame, the free end of said V-shaped portion terminating in a third pintle portion rotatably received in said frame opposite side wall offset from said second pintle portion, said rod torsional stress normally causing pivotal movement of said Ushaped portion in a clockwise direction engaging and biasing said sensing arm into an elevated position within the frame deenergizing said ice maker upon a predetermined outward movement of said bin, said bin upon being moved rearwardly into said freezer compartment beneath said ice maker engaging said V-shaped portion for pivotal movement in a counterclockwise direction, whereby said U-shaped portion is pivoted from its elevated position through an angle of about 90* into a substantially vertical plane disengages said sensing arm and allows said arm to gravitationally pivot to its ice sensing position within said bin such that said icemaker is energized if said arm senses a quantity of ice pieces therein below a predetermined level.