Household refrigerator with through-the-door ice service

摘要

A refrigerator having a freezer compartment with a primary door and an automatic motor-driven ice dispenser within the freezing compartment. The ice dispenser includes an ice mold, an ice ejecting arrangement, a receptacle for receiving ice pieces from the mold, and a rotatable dispensing means positioned within the receptacle for moving the ice pieces through the receptacle and discharging the ice pieces from an opening in the receptacle. There is provided a passage through the primary door for receiving the ice pieces from the receptacle outlet when the primary door is closed. A recess is in communication with the passage and has an opening in the exterior surface of the primary door. The recess has a secondary door hingedly secured to the primary door that seals the opening on the exterior surface of the primary door. An arrangement for actuating the dispenser cooperates with the secondary door to energize that dispenser during the opening of the secondary door whereupon ice pieces are delivered through the receptacle outlet, the primary door passage, and into the recess.