Standalone ice dispenser
First Claim
1. A dispenser comprising:
- a housing having an interior bounded by at least one wall and a chute extending from the interior and through the wall;
a drum having an internal cavity and an upwardly oriented mouth, the drum rotatably disposed within the interior of the housing;
an advancing fin disposed on an inner surface of the internal cavity of the drum;
an ice maker attached to the housing such that the ice maker is adapted to receive water and turn the water into ice, the produced ice gravitationally falling from the ice maker into the mouth of the drum; and
wherein when the device is activated, the drum rotates such that the advancing fin causes the ice disposed within the internal cavity of the drum to advance out of the mouth and fall into the chute and such that when a sufficient quantity of ice has been dispensed from the drum, the drum discontinues rotating.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A standalone ice dispenser delivers ice in either bagged form or bulk form to a user. The device uses a cone-shaped drum with an upwardly oriented mount that receives and stores the ice which ice is gravitationally delivered to the drum from an ice maker. When ice is to be dispensed, a motor rotates the drum such that a fin within the drum cause ice therein to advance toward and eventually out of the mouth of the drum into either a bagging system or directly out of the device via a chute. Weight sensors attached to the drum determine whether the drum is relatively empty or relatively full and control operation of the ice maker as a result and/or a proximity sensor measures the volume of ice in the drum and controls the operation of the ice maker.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A dispenser comprising:
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a housing having an interior bounded by at least one wall and a chute extending from the interior and through the wall; a drum having an internal cavity and an upwardly oriented mouth, the drum rotatably disposed within the interior of the housing; an advancing fin disposed on an inner surface of the internal cavity of the drum; an ice maker attached to the housing such that the ice maker is adapted to receive water and turn the water into ice, the produced ice gravitationally falling from the ice maker into the mouth of the drum; and wherein when the device is activated, the drum rotates such that the advancing fin causes the ice disposed within the internal cavity of the drum to advance out of the mouth and fall into the chute and such that when a sufficient quantity of ice has been dispensed from the drum, the drum discontinues rotating. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A dispenser comprising:
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a housing having an interior bounded by at least one wall and a chute extending from the interior and through the wall; a drum having an internal cavity and an upwardly oriented mouth rotatably disposed within the interior of the housing; an advancing fin disposed on an inner surface of the internal cavity of the drum; a motor that is operationally connected to the drum; an ice maker attached to the housing such that the ice maker is adapted to receive water and turn the water into ice, the produced ice gravitationally falling from the ice maker into the mouth of the drum; a weight sensor connected to the drum; and wherein when the device is activated, the drum rotates such that the advancing fin causes the ice disposed within the internal cavity of the drum to advance out of the mouth and fall into the chute and such that when a sufficient quantity of ice has been dispensed from the drum, the drum discontinues rotating and such that the weight sensor measures the weight of the drum so that when the weight of the drum is below a lower limit, the ice maker is activated and when the weight of the drum is above an upper limit, the ice maker is deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A dispenser comprising:
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a housing having an interior bounded by at least one wall and a chute extending from the interior and through the wall; a drum having an internal cavity and an upwardly oriented mouth rotatably disposed within the interior of the housing; an advancing fin disposed on an inner surface of the internal cavity of the drum; a motor that is operationally connected to the drum; an ice maker attached to the housing such that the ice maker is adapted to receive water and turn the water into ice, the produced ice gravitationally falling from the ice maker into the mouth of the drum; a proximity sensor located proximate the mouth of the drum; and wherein when the device is activated, the drum rotates such that the advancing fin causes the ice disposed within the internal cavity of the drum to advance out of the mouth and fall into the chute and such that when a sufficient quantity of ice has been dispensed from the drum, the drum discontinues rotating and such that the proximity sensor measures the volume of ice in the drum so that when the volume of ice in the drum is below a lower limit, the ice maker is activated and when the volume of ice in the drum is above an upper limit, the ice maker is deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification