Eaton Corporation

David W Troscinski

George Obermann

Donald W Fries

An icemaker for a refrigerator having a motorized cam actuated switch for controlling the water fill valve and motor hold switch. The cam tracks for each switch has an undercut radial step. The switches each have a lower contact blade and upper contact blade with an intermediate blade of longer length. A spacer attached to the upper or lower contact blade maintains a predetermined minimum spacing therebetween. The lower contact blade drops first over the step allowing the upper blade to close against the intermediate blade energizing the water valve and opening the lower contact set. The intermediate blade then drops over the step, closing the lower contact blade set and the spacer holds the upper contact set open for deenergizing the water valve. A similar fast action switch is employed as a motor hold switch during periods when the ice sensing thermostat is open.

Making ice in a refrigerator

An icemaker for a refrigerator having a stationary tray with plural curved-bottom cavities for molding crescent ice. An electrical heater melts the ice surface of the tray bottom to permit freeze embedded ejector tine of a rotary harvesting means to sweep the crescent ice from the tray. A stationary stripper cam surface forces the ice radially from the ejector tine which has wedging surfaces thereon to facilitate fracture of the ice for harvesting into half-crescent sections.

A fluid bulb-sensing type thermostat having a capillary tube from the sensing bulb connected to an inlet port of a fluid pressure sensing chamber defined in part by an expansible diaphragm which moves in response to fluid pressure in the chamber from the bulb to actuate a snap-acting switch. The diaphragm is mounted on a plate which is cantilevered from the thermostat housing, and the at-rest position of the plate with respect to the housing is adjustable by a cam against which the free end of the plate is biased, for calibrating the thermostat.

Growing community of inventors

Woodridge, IL, United States of America

David W Troscinski