Storage bin-type ice dispenser
US4969583A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 25, 1989 |
| Grant date | Nov 13, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 25, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25C5/24
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A storage bin type ice dispenser includes a storage bin having front and rear walls, opposed side walls, a bottom wall and an inclined wall formed between a lower end of the front wall and a front end of the bottom wall to form a semicylindrical internal surface extending upward from an internal surface of the bottom wall. The bin is formed therein with a guide groove which is located at the center portions of the bottom and inclined walls in a lateral direction and extends upward from the bottom wall to a lower part of the front wall. The guide groove is formed at a front part thereof with a dispensing opening which opens downward through the inclined wall. The ice dispenser further includes an agitator having a rotary shaft rotatably mounted within the bin and positioned laterally in parallel with the semicylindrical internal surface of the inclined wall. A finger assembly is mounted on the center of the shaft to rotate along the guide groove. A pair of axially opposed helical wire augers is provided on the shaft in a reverse pitch to push the ice cubes in the bin toward the finger assembly from the side walls during rotation of the shaft.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.