Ice maker and ice storage compartment air flow system

Abstract

A refrigerator has an air duct that brings a supply of chilled air to an air flow pathway that leads to an ice maker. A low profile impeller within the pathway forces the chilled air toward the ice maker. A curved vane guides the flow of air towards the ice maker. An impinger with a plurality of nozzles focuses the air flow from the impeller onto the ice maker.

1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet;   an air duct in the cabinet containing a supply of chilled air;   a housing mounted in the cabinet to receive chilled air from the air duct, the housing having an airflow pathway for providing air to an ice maker;   an air moving device in the housing for forcing the chilled air towards the ice maker; and   a vane within the housing down stream from the air moving device to direct chilled air received from the air moving device towards a portion of the ice maker.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1  wherein the housing includes at least one insulated wall that defines a portion of an ice compartment containing the ice maker. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one insulated wall insulates the ice compartment from a fresh food compartment that is maintained at a temperature above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the vane has a curved surface to direct an air flow from the air moving device towards the portion of the ice maker in a generally laminar flow. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the vane directs an air flow from the air movement device towards the portion of the ice maker without substantial turbulence. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the ice maker is located remotely from a temperature sensor at the ice mold. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , further comprising an impinger between the vane and the ice maker. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 , wherein the impinger comprises a plurality of nozzles for focusing an air flow from the air moving device on the ice maker. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the ice maker is mounted within the cabinet and an ice bin is located on a door attached to the cabinet;   an ice pathway permits ice to move from the ice maker to the ice bin; and   the ice pathway permits air flow from the ice maker to the ice bin.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the air moving device is a low-profile radial-flow impeller that has a generally vertical axis of rotation. 
     
     
         11 . A refrigerator comprising an air flow pathway from an air duct containing chilled air to an ice maker, the air flow pathway including an impeller for drawing chilled air from the air duct and impelling the chilled air towards the ice maker, wherein the impeller is a low-profile impeller. 
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein a vane is located in the air flow pathway downstream from the impeller to guide the chilled air towards the ice maker in a desired flow pattern. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein an impinger is located in the air flow pathway between the vane and the ice maker, the impinger comprising nozzles that focus air flow on the ice maker. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the vane directs chilled air towards a portion of the ice maker that is remote from a temperature sensor associated with the ice maker and away from a portion of the ice maker that is near to the temperature sensor. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the vane has a curved surface to direct air flow from the impeller towards the ice maker in a generally laminar flow. 
     
     
         16 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , further comprising an ice storage compartment in communication to the ice maker through an ice passageway, the ice passageway further providing a pathway for air flow from the ice maker to the ice storage compartment. 
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , further comprising a return duct in communication between the ice storage compartment and the air duct. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 17 , wherein the ice maker is mounted in an insulated ice compartment within the refrigerator cabinet and the ice storage compartment is mounted on a refrigerator door. 
     
     
         19 . A refrigerator of the type including an ice maker that freezes water into ice by forcing a flow of chilled air across the ice maker, the refrigerator comprising:
 a temperature sensor located at a portion of the ice maker; and   a flow guidance member located in the flow of chilled air upstream from the ice maker such that an air flow rate at the portion of the ice maker where the temperature sensor is located is lower than other portions of the ice maker.   
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 19 , wherein the temperature sensor is a thermistor.