A safety device for an ice machine comprising a cover-type body (1), with a spherical cap shape, which is articulated on one of the ends (1a) thereof, while on the other end (1b) thereof it has a floating character and incorporates protuberances (1c) that make up the arrangement of an elastic closure (2) responsible for fastening said body to the ice machine (10); and wherein electronic means (3) are located adjacently to the body (1) in the placement area of an end of the elastic closure (2), which are responsible for detecting the change in position or opening of said body (1) and sending machine stop and breakdown warnings.

A safety device for an ice machine comprising a cover-type body (1), with a spherical cap shape, which is articulated on one of the ends (1a) thereof, while on the other end (1b) thereof it has a floating character and incorporates protuberances (1c) that make up the arrangement of an elastic closure (2) responsible for fastening said body to the ice machine (10); and wherein electronic means (3) are located adjacently to the body (1) in the placement area of an end of the elastic closure (2), which are responsible for detecting the change in position or opening of said body (1) and sending machine stop and breakdown warnings.

A system and method for managing the distribution of ice is provided. Generally, the system and method of the present disclosure are designed to easily and conveniently produce and distribute ice to users who pay a fee. The system generally comprises an ice maker, a processor operably connected to at least one of a weight measuring device and a motor, a distributor operably connected to the motor, a power supply, a nozzle, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the processor and having instructions stored thereon. In another preferred embodiment, a Point-of-Sale interface may be operably connected to the processor. A user may operate the system by compressing the trigger mechanism of the nozzle and pointing the nozzle at the container in which the user desires to fill with ice. The user may decompress the trigger when the desired amount of ice has been distributed.

A solid-production system for producing a solid on demand is disclosed herein. In some aspects, the solid-production system includes a cooling block arranged to interact with one or more fluid molds to reduce a first temperature of a fluid dispensed in each of the one or more fluid molds to a second temperature, the second temperature being lower than the first temperature, to solidify the fluid in each of the one or more fluid molds; wherein the cooling block has a thermal mass operable to absorb and store thermal energy transferred by the fluid in each of the one or more fluid molds so as to reduce the first temperature of the fluid to the second temperature.

A solid production system for producing a solid on demand is provided herein. In some aspects, the solid-production system includes a solid ejector arranged to loosen a solid in each of one or more fluid molds indexed into an ejection position relative to the solid ejector, the one or more fluid molds including a bottom surface and side surfaces extending therefrom, wherein the solid ejector is actuatable so as to be urged into contact with and to apply pressure to at least one of the side surfaces of the fluid mold indexed into the ejection position so as to loosen the solid within the fluid mold in preparation for dispensing the solid from the fluid mold.

A solid-production system for producing a solid on demand is provided herein. In some aspects, the solid-production system includes a conveying mechanism; a fluid-dispensing mechanism; a pressure plate arranged to urge the fluid mold into interaction with a cooling block to form a solid; a solid-dispensing mechanism arranged to dispense the solid loosened by a solid ejector to a user; and processing circuitry configured to implement a master state machine, and slave state machines for respective ones of the fluid-dispensing mechanism, conveying mechanism, pressure plate and solid-dispensing mechanism, wherein the master state machine is configured to send commands to the slave state machines based on states of the slave state machines, and the slave state machines are configured to execute the commands to control the respective ones of the conveying mechanism, fluid-dispensing mechanism, pressure plate, and solid-dispensing mechanism.

A method of controlling a refrigerator includes detecting opening/closing of an ice dispensing duct, through which ice is taken out, and storing an opening time of the ice dispensing duct per time interval. Each time interval is classified as a use time when the opening time of the ice dispensing duct is equal to or greater than a reference time and each time interval is classified as a non-use time when the opening time of the ice dispensing duct is less than the reference time.

An example of a system for touchlessly dispensing ice into a receptacle includes a dispense chute configured to direct dispensed ice therethrough to a dispense area. A visual feedback device is configured to present a visual indication of an operational status of the system. A sensor is configured to produce a beam within the dispense area and to provide a signal indicative of a proximity of an object within the beam to the sensor. A controller is configured to receive the signal and to determine the proximity of the object to the sensor from the signal. The controller is configured to operate the system to initiate a dispense of ice through the dispense chute based upon the determined proximity of the object. The controller is configured to operate the visual feedback device to present a visual indication of the initiated ice dispense.

A domestic refrigeration appliance includes a refrigerator compartment set to a first target temperature by a regulation or control unit, an ice maker compartment being separated from the refrigerator compartment by an inner insulation layer and set to a second target temperature by the regulation or control unit and an ice maker in the ice maker compartment. The regulation or control unit can switch between a normal ice making mode and a reduced-power ice making mode in which the target temperature in the ice maker compartment lies between the target temperature in the refrigerator compartment and the target temperature in the ice maker compartment in the normal ice making mode.

A valve device for an ice dispensing conduit includes a bearing structure having a passage to be coupled with the conduit, an obturator mounted rotatable in the bearing structure between a closed position and an opened position, and a motor for rotating the obturator between the closed position and the opened position. A wire made of a shape-memory material, capable of shrinking when an electric current flows therethrough, has one end anchored to the bearing structure and the other end coupled with the obturator through a transmission mechanism. A flow of an electric current in the shape-memory wire causes a shrinking thereof and a consequent rotation of the obturator towards the opened position, and an interruption of such current allows the shape-memory wire to re-expand and the obturator (12) to return towards its closed position.