A stand-alone ice making appliance is provided. The stand-alone ice making appliance may include a container, a water tank, a pump, a reservoir, an ice maker, and a primary drain line. The container may define a first storage volume to receive ice. The water tank may define a second storage volume to receive water. The pump may be in fluid communication with the second storage volume to actively flow water from the water tank. The reservoir may define a third storage volume that is in fluid communication with the pump to receive water that is actively flowed from the water tank. The ice maker may be in fluid communication with the third storage volume to receive water from the reservoir. The primary drain line may be in downstream fluid communication with the second storage volume and bypass the reservoir to selectively drain water from the second storage volume.

A refrigerator includes a cabinet including a refrigerating compartment and an evaporation chamber, a first door, a housing in the first door, an ice making room defining a cool air inflow hole and a cool air discharge hole, a chiller room defining a cool air discharge hole, a second door connected to the first door, a partition wall defining the ice making room, the chiller room, and a communication hole, a damper opening and closing the communication hole, a cool air supply duct connecting an outlet of the evaporation chamber and the cool air inflow hole to supply cool air of the evaporation chamber to the ice making room, and a cool air return duct having a first inlet connected to the cool air discharge hole of the ice making chamber and a second inlet connected to the cool air discharge hole of the chiller room.

A refrigerator appliance includes an ice maker provided within a cabinet of the appliance, the ice maker including a plurality of walls forming a receiving space, a conductive ice mold provided within the receiving space, the conductive ice mold defining an internal cavity and an exterior surface, a primary water supply positioned below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice-building spray of water to the conductive ice mold, a heat exchanger disposed on the conductive ice mold to draw heat therefrom, and a secondary water supply provided adjacent the exterior surface of the conductive ice mold. The secondary water supply dispenses ice-melting water over the exterior surface of the conductive ice mold.

A method of making clear ice includes circulating a refrigerant through a refrigerant loop. A portion of the refrigerant loop is in contact with a mold body. Thus, the refrigerant chills the mold body. The method also includes spraying a first volume of liquid water into a mold cavity of the mold body. As a result, a first volume of ice is formed in the mold cavity. The method also includes spraying a second volume of liquid water into the mold cavity after the first volume of ice has formed. Thus, a portion of the first volume of ice is melted and a second volume of ice is formed in mold cavity. The clear ice includes an unmelted portion of the first volume of ice and the second volume of ice.

A water purifier includes a water purification unit, and an ice making unit. The water purification unit includes: a water filter for filtering introduced raw water to provide the purified water and unfiltered living water; a purified water tank including a first storage for storing unfiltered water, a second storage for storing the purified water discharged from the water filter, and a separation membrane formed of an impermeable material which independently partitions the first storage and the second storage and has elasticity, wherein the second storage shrinks when the first storage expands, and the first storage shrinks when the second storage expands; a flow channel connecting the water filter, the purified water tank, and the ice making unit to provide a passage through which the raw water, the living water, and the purified water flow; and a valve unit including a plurality of valve modules.

A batch ice maker can execute a pulsed fill routine in which a control system pulses water from a water supply into the sump until the sump reaches a predefined freeze routine starting level. Pulsing may begin after continuously filling the sump to a fill-approach level. A batch ice maker can execute a differential freeze routine in which the control system circulates water from a sump to an ice formation device until water level decreases by a predefined differential amount from a high control water level based on the water level in the sump at a point in time after the sump was filled to a freeze routine starting level. The high control water level can be set based on water level in the sump when sump water temperature reaches a predefined pre-chill temperature. The predefined pre-chill temperature can be associated with a switchover from sensible cooling to latent cooling.

Provided is an ice-maker including an upper tray made of an elastic material, and having a plurality of upper chambers defined therein, a lower tray made of an elastic material, and having a plurality of lower chambers defined therein in contact with the plurality of upper chambers to define a plurality of spherical ice chambers, respectively, each ejector-receiving opening defined in the upper tray and opened to each of the plurality of upper chambers, an upper ejector disposed above the upper tray, wherein the upper ejector is configured to pass through the ejector-receiving opening and remove each ice from each ice chamber, a water supply for supplying water for ice-making through the ejector-receiving opening, and a driver for pivoting the lower tray, wherein a side wall extending upward along a perimeter of the plurality of lower chambers is formed on top portions of the plurality of lower chambers, wherein a chamber wall extending downward along a perimeter of the plurality of upper chambers is formed on bottom portions of the plurality of upper chambers, wherein the chamber wall is inserted into an internal space of the side wall when the lower tray is closed, and wherein a groove is defined in an outer face of the chamber wall to maintain pieces of ice frozen along a perimeter of the chamber wall in an attached state.

A food preservation system including a refrigerator and a freezer, wherein the refrigerator and freezer are independent from each other; the refrigerator comprising a fresh food compartment; the freezer including an icemaker and means for receiving filtered water; a water filter located in the fresh food compartment; a water supply line leading into an inflow side of the water filter; a refrigerator inlet valve connected to an inlet side of the water filter and a water distribution valve, wherein the water distribution valve comprises an auxiliary icemaker water valve, the distribution valve connected to an outflow side of the water filter; tubing connecting an outflow side of the auxiliary icemaker water valve to the icemaker; and a refrigerator main controller, wherein the refrigerator main controller is in operable communication with the refrigerator inlet valve and the auxiliary icemaker water valve is provided, Methods to make ice with filtered water are also provided.

An ice maker includes: an upper tray defining an upper chamber that is a portion of an ice chamber, where an upper opening is provided in an upper side of the upper tray; a lower tray defining a lower chamber that is another portion of the ice chamber; a lower support supporting the lower tray and provided with a lower heater; and a control unit configured to operate the lower heater in an ice making process. The control unit variably controls an output of the lower heater so that bubbles included in water in the ice chamber are gathered in a lowermost section in the ice making process.

An ice making assembly for a refrigerator appliance includes a resilient mold defining a mold cavity and a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the resilient mold to freeze water and form one or more ice cubes therein. The ice making assembly also includes a lifter mechanism positioned below the resilient mold for selectively deforming the mold and raising the ice cubes formed therein. A resilient seal is sealingly engaged with the lifter mechanism and the heat exchanger, whereby an air-tight seal is formed between the lifter mechanism and the resilient seal and between the heat exchanger and the resilient seal.