US 11,709,009 B2
Ice bucket agitator and refrigerator appliance
Yayu Song, Shanghai (CN); Qianmao Zhou, Shanghai (CN); Bo Yan, Shanghai (CN); Lixin Zhou, Shanghai (CN); Jun Teng, Shanghai (CN); Xiaoyang Jiang, Shanghai (CN); Jin Wu, Shanghai (CN); and Robert Charles Pfaffinger, Jr., Louisville, KY (US)
Assigned to Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US)
Appl. No. 16/936,614
Filed by Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US); and Qianmao Zhou, Shanghai (CN)
PCT Filed May 7, 2020, PCT No. PCT/CN2020/088954
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 23, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/223149, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 11, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0129406 A1, Apr. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. F25C 5/182 (2018.01); F25C 5/20 (2018.01)
CPC F25C 5/182 (2013.01) [F25C 5/22 (2018.01); F25C 2300/00 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An ice bucket for a refrigerator appliance, the ice bucket comprising:
a bucket body;
an auger provided inside the bucket, the auger comprising
an auger shaft rotatable about a first shaft axis; and
a collet at a first end of the auger shaft and including an axially beveled surface formed circumferentially around the auger shaft; and
an agitator provided in the bucket in mechanical communication with the auger, the agitator comprising
an agitator shaft rotatable about a second shaft axis non-parallel to the first shaft axis;
a plurality of first tines extending radially from the agitator shaft within the bucket body to engage ice therein; and
a projection that extends perpendicularly from the agitator shaft opposite the plurality of tines, wherein the projection is configured to engage with the axially beveled surface.