Refrigerator with intermediate temperature icemaking compartment

Abstract

An icemaking compartment is provided in the refrigerator compartment of a bottom mount refrigerator. An icemaker is within the icemaking compartment. A cold air duct supplies cold air from the freezer compartment to the icemaker. The cold air duct is formed in the rear wall of the refrigerator. A fan controls the flow of air through the cold air duct. A return air duct is provided to direct a portion of the air from the icemaker back to the freezer compartment. An air vent in the icemaker directs another portion of air into the refrigerator compartment.

Claims

1. A bottom mount refrigerator, the bottom mount refrigerator comprising: a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment, and a wall between the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment; an air pathway having: a. an automatic icemaker having an ice mold, the icemaker located in a portion of the air pathway having a temperature of 32 F. or less and located remote from the wall and in the fresh food compartment; b. an inlet in communication with a source of below freezing air in the freezer compartment; c. one or more outlets, at least one of the outlets in communication with the source of below freezing air in the freezer compartment; d. a fan for moving air through the air pathway from the source of below freezing air; and e. an ice storage area for receiving ice from the ice mold and dispensing ice through one of the one or more outlets, wherein the air inlets and the air outlets to and from the freezer compartment are provided with controlled air grates and each of the air inlet and air outlet is connected with an air duct.

2. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: an ice making compartment housing the portion of the air pathway in the fresh food compartment and having the temperature of 32 F. or less in the fresh food compartment.

3. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 wherein the air pathway comprises a cold air loop wherein the inlet and at least one outlet originate and terminate at the source of below freezing air.

4. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: an impingement duct disposed within the air pathway for directing air from the source of below freezing air over the ice mold.

5. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a cold air duct housing at least a portion of the air pathway and extending between the source of below freezing air and the icemaker.

6. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a return air duct housing at least a portion of the air pathway spaced apart from the fresh food compartment door and extending between the source of below freezing air and the ice maker.

7. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a vent housing at least a portion of the air pathway and extending between the icemaker and the fresh food compartment.

8. A refrigerator, comprising: a freezer compartment having a freezer door; a fresh food compartment located over the freezer compartment and having a fresh food compartment door with an ice dispenser; a wall between the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment; an air pathway comprising: a. an automatic icemaker located in a portion of the air pathway spaced from the wall in the fresh food compartment and having a temperature of 32 F. or less; b. a cold air inlet in communication with the freezer compartment to supply a source of below freezing air to the portion the air pathway spaced from the wall; c. one or more outlets in the portion of the air pathway spaced from the wall, at least one of the outlets in communication with the freezer compartment and another one of the at least one outlets in communication with the ice dispenser, wherein the air inlets and the air outlets to and from the freezer compartment are provided with controlled air grates and each of the air inlet and air outlet is connected with an air duct; and d. a fan for moving air through the air pathway from the freezer compartment.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8 further comprising: an ice storage area housing at least a portion of the air pathway for receiving ice from an ice mold and dispensing ice through one of the one or more outlets.

10. The refrigerator of claim 8 wherein the portion of the air pathway having a temperature of 32 F. or less is housed in the fresh food compartment.

11. The refrigerator of claim 8 further comprising: a cold air duct housing at least a portion of the air pathway and extending between the freezer compartment and the icemaker.

12. The refrigerator of claim 8 further comprising: at least one wall of the fresh food compartment housing at least a portion of the air pathway.

13. The refrigerator of claim 8 further comprising: an insulated intermediate temperature compartment housing the portion of the air pathway spaced from the wall, behind the fresh food compartment, and having a temperature of 32 F. or less.

14. The refrigerator of claim 8 further comprising: a return air duct housing at least a portion of the air pathway spaced apart from the fresh food compartment door and extending between the source of below freezing air and the ice maker.

15. A bottom mount refrigerator, comprising: a freezer compartment; a freezer compartment door providing access to the freezer compartment; a fresh food compartment: a. separated from the freezer compartment by a wall; b. located above the freezer compartment; c. having a fresh food compartment door with an ice dispenser; d. having an air duct comprising: i. an automatic icemaker located in the fresh food compartment in a portion of the air duct spaced from the wall and having a temperature of 32 F. or less; ii. a cold air inlet in communication with the freezer compartment to supply a source of below freezing air to the portion of the air duct spaced from the wall; and iii. a return air outlet in the portion of the air duct spaced from the wall and in communication with the freezer compartment, wherein the air inlets and the air outlets to and from the freezer compartment are provided with controlled air grates and each of the air inlet and air outlet is connected with an air duct; and a fan for moving air through the air duct.

16. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 15 further comprising: an ice storage area for receiving ice from an ice mold and dispensing ice to the ice dispenser.

17. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 15 further comprising: an ice making compartment housing: a. the cold air inlet; b. the return air outlet; and c. at least a portion of the air duct having a temperature of 32 F. or less.

18. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 15 wherein the air duct houses the fan at the icemaker.

19. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 15 wherein at least a portion of the air duct is disposed in at least one upright wall of the fresh food compartment.

20. The bottom mount refrigerator of claim 15 wherein the freezer compartment comprises a cold air outlet in communication with the cold air inlet and a return air inlet in communication with the return air outlet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom mount refrigerator according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom mount refrigerator having the doors removed.

(3) FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the cold air duct and return air duct for the icemaking compartment.

(4) FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the bottom mount refrigerator of the present invention with the doors open, and illustrating the cold air and return air ducts.

(5) FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

(6) FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 4.

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the icemaker positioned within the icemaking compartment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(8) A bottom mount refrigerator is generally designated in the drawings by the reference numeral 10. The refrigerator 10 includes a refrigerator or fresh food compartment 12 and a freezer compartment 14. Doors 16 are provided for the refrigerator compartment or fresh food compartment 12 and a door 18 is provided for the freezer compartment 14. One of the doors 16 includes an ice dispenser 20, which may also include a water dispenser.

(9) An icemaking compartment or intermediate compartment 22 is provided in the refrigerator compartment 12. The icemaking compartment 22 is shown to be in one of the upper corners of the refrigerator compartment 12, but other locations are also within the scope of this invention. The icemaking compartment 22 has a front cover 23 that is insulated to prevent the cold air of the icemaking compartment 22 from passing into the refrigerator compartment and opening 21 is provided that mates with chute 19 of the ice dispenser 20. A seal may be provided between the opening 21 and chute 19 to prevent cold air from passing from the icemaking compartment to the refrigerator compartment 12. Additionally, the flipper door that operates by a solenoid may be placed at the opening 21 to prevent cold air from leaving the icemaking compartment 22 and entering into the refrigerator compartment. Preferably, the icemaking compartment 22 includes a conventional icemaker that forms ice in an environment that is below freezing. Other types of icemakers can be utilized.

(10) The icemaking compartment 22 may be integrally formed adjacent the refrigerator compartment 12 during the liner forming process and insulation filling process. Alternatively, the icemaking compartment 22 may be made remote from the fresh food compartment and slid into the refrigerator compartment 12 by overhead rails (not shown) or other mounting.

(11) The refrigerator 10 includes an evaporator 24 which cools the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 14. Normally, the refrigerator compartment 12 will be maintained between 34-40 F. and the freezer compartment 14 will be maintained at approximately 0 F. The icemaking compartment is maintained at a temperature of 32 F. or less in order to form ice, but is not as cold as the freezer compartment 14. The walls of the icemaking compartment are insulated to facilitate temperature control. Grates or air vents 26 are provided in the wall 28 between the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 14 to allow air circulation between the compartments.

(12) A cold air duct 30 extends between the freezer compartment 14 and the icemaking compartment 22. More particularly, the cold air duct 30 has a lower air inlet 32 within the freezer compartment 14 and an upper outlet end 34 connected to a fan 36 mounted on the back wall of the icemaker 22. The fan 36 draws cold air from the freezer compartment and forces the cold air into the icemaker 22 so as to facilitate icemaking. It is understood that the fan 36 may be located at the inlet end 32 of the cold air duct 30. The fan 36 controls the air flow from the freezer compartment 14 to the icemaking compartment 22 and may be a variable speed fan. The fan is actuated by conventional means. The cold air duct 30 preferably resides within the rear wall of the refrigerator 10, as seen in FIG. 5. The arrow 35 designates the air flow through the cold air duct 30.

(13) The refrigerator 10 also includes a return air duct 38 having an upper end 40 connected to the icemaker 22, and a lower end 42 terminating adjacent one of the air grates 26. Alternatively, the lower end 42 of the return air duct 38 may extend into the freezer compartment 14. Preferably, the return air duct 38 resides within the rear wall of the refrigerator 10, as seen in FIG. 6.

(14) The icemaking compartment 22 also has an air vent for discharging air into the refrigerator compartment 14. Thus, a portion of the air from the icemaking compartment 22 is directed through the return air duct 38 to the freezer compartment 14, as indicated by arrow 43 in FIG. 3, and another portion of the icemaking compartment air is vented through the opening 44 into the refrigerator compartment 12, as indicated by arrows 45 in FIG. 3.

(15) As seen in FIG. 4, the ice is discharged from the icemaker 22 in any conventional manner. Similarly, the ice dispenser 20 functions in a conventional manner.

(16) As seen in FIG. 7, an icemaker 50 is positioned within the icemaking compartment 22 with the ice storage area 54 with auger (not shown) removed for clarity. The icemaker 50 is mounted to an impingement duct 52. The impingement duct receives freezer air coming from the freezer compartment through the cold air duct 30 and the fan assembly 36. The opening 44 vents air into the refrigerator compartment 12. The auger assembly (not shown) is provided beneath the icemaker 50 along with an ice storage bin with an insulated cover 23.

(17) A control system is provided that utilizes the icemaking compartment 22, the cold air supply duct 30, the return air duct 38, the variable speed icemaking fan 36, icemaking impingement air duct 52, an icemaking compartment thermistor (not shown), an icemaking compartment electronic control damper, fresh food air return ducts 26, and a fresh food compartment thermistor (not shown). The above components are controlled by an algorithm that prioritizes the making of ice unless the fresh food temperature exceeds the set point temperature. This prioritization is achieved as follows: i. When ice is a priority, the fresh food damper is closed and the fan runs at optimum speed. In this way, supply air from the freezer compartment 14 is discharged through the impingement air duct 52, through the ice storage area 54, and through the icemaking compartment return air duct 38. As a result of this air flow, ice is made at the highest rate. ii. When the refrigerator compartment 12 is above set point, the electronic control damper opens and the fan runs at optimum speed. The supply air to the icemaking compartment is routed almost entirely into the fresh food compartment which forces the warmer air to return to the evaporator coil of the refrigerator. This achieves a rapid return to the fresh food set point after which the damper closes and the icemaking resumes. iii. When the ice bin is full and the fresh food temperature is satisfied, the icemaking fan runs at minimum speed to produce energy consumption, reduce sound levels, and to minimize sublimation of ice.

(18) The above control system permits precision control of both the icemaking compartment 22 and the refrigeration compartment 12 separately, yet minimizes the complexity and the number of component parts necessary to do so.

(19) A thermoelectric unit (not shown) may replace the impingement duct 52 with some concessions. Preferably the thermoelectric unit would contour about the icemaker as it effectively pulls heat out of the water. Additionally, the thermoelectric unit would require a heat sink outside of the icemaking compartment 22 to dissipate heat. A careful balance is required between the voltage of the thermoelectric unit and the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 12 if the heat sink is in the refrigerator compartment 12. For example, the higher the voltage, the more heat will be generated that will be required to be removed from the refrigerator compartment 12. A portion of the heat generated by the thermoelectric unit may be removed by venting freezer compartment air to the thermoelectric unit.

(20) Applicant's co-pending provisional application, Ser. No. 60/613,241 filed Sep. 27, 2004 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application and the provisional application both relate to a refrigerator with a bottom mount freezer and an icemaking compartment for making ice at a location remote from the freezer.

(21) The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.