Patents by Inventor Duane H. Harris

Duane H. Harris has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4680943
    Abstract: A low cost automatic ice cube maker of simplified construction for use in the freezer compartment of a domestic refrigerator. The ice maker includes a one-piece, molded plastic bail or sensing arm for monitoring the level of ice cubes in an underlying storage bin. The movable bail includes fingerlike resilient projection extending radially from one of the end portions of the bail. The distal end of the projection engages a portion of the ice maker fixed in position relative to the movable bail wherein the resilient projection functions as a springlike member biasing the bail toward a lowermost position. The ice maker also includes a pivotally mounted ice tray that can be easily snapped out of its ice making position for removal and cleaning at a location outside the freezer compartment. An externally accessible mechanism for actuating a test switch of the internal control circuit of the ice maker is provided to facilitate servicing of the ice maker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1986
    Date of Patent: July 21, 1987
    Assignee: White Consolidated Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Harold S. Mawby, Duane H. Harris
  • Patent number: 4635444
    Abstract: A low cost automatic ice cube maker of simplified construction for use in the freezer compartment of a domestic refrigerator. The ice maker includes a onepiece, molded plastic bail or sensing arm for monitoring the level of ice cubes in an underlying storage bin. The movable bail includes a fingerlike resilient projection extending radially from one of the end portions of the bail. The distal end of the projection engages a portion of the ice maker fixed in position relative to the movable bail wherein the resilient projection functions as a springlike member biasing the bail toward a lowermost position. The ice maker also includes a pivotally mounted ice tray that can be easily snapped out of its ice making position for removal and cleaning at a location outside the freezer compartment. An externally accessible mechanism for actuating a test switch of the internal control circuit of the ice maker is provided to facilitate servicing of the ice maker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1986
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1987
    Assignee: White Consolidated Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Harold S. Mawby, Duane H. Harris
  • Patent number: 4632280
    Abstract: An ice cube storage bin located beneath an automatic ice maker of a domestic refrigerator contains a pair of elongated ice dispensing rams that reciprocate along parallel lines, one of the rams moving toward the front of the bin, as the other moves toward the rear. The rams are interconnected by a pulley mounted belt that pulls one ram to the rear of the bin, as the other ram is pushed toward the front of the bin by a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism includes a pair of cam discs eccentrically mounted in opposed relation on a common motor shaft located outside of the bin adjacent its rear wall. A pair of resilient lever arms, having their top ends pivotally mounted to the outside of the rear wall of the bin and their bottom ends pivotally connected to the rearward ends of the rams which extend from the interior of the bin, are engaged at their intermediate portions by the rotating cam discs wherein the rams are alternately pushed by the bottom ends of the lever arms toward the front of the bin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1986
    Assignee: White Consolidated Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Harold S. Mawby, Duane H. Harris, Myrne E. Fryover
  • Patent number: 4628699
    Abstract: A low cost automatic ice cube maker of simplified construction for use in the freezer compartment of a domestic refrigerator. The ice maker includes a one-piece, molded plastic bail or sensing arm for monitoring the level of ice cubes in an underlying storage bin. The movable bail includes a fingerlike resilient projection extending radially from one of the end portions of the bail. The distal end of the projection engages a portion of the ice maker fixed in position relative to the movable bail wherein the resilient projection functions as a springlike member biasing the bail toward a lowermost position. The ice maker also includes a pivotally mounted ice tray that can be easily snapped out of its ice making position for removal and cleaning at a location outside the freezer compartment. An externally accessible mechanism for actuating a test switch of the internal control circuit of the ice maker is provided to facilitate servicing of the ice maker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 16, 1986
    Assignee: White Consolidated, Inc.
    Inventors: Harold S. Mawby, Duane H. Harris