Ice maker appliance temperature detection

Abstract

An ice maker appliance includes a mold body with a mold cavity configured to receive a fill of liquid water and form an ice piece. Additionally, the ice maker appliance includes a non-contact-based sensing device configured to generate data indicative of a temperature within the mold cavity. Moreover, the ice maker appliance includes a controller operatively coupled to the non-contact-based sensing device. The controller is configured to determine the temperature of a water target within the mold cavity based on the data generated by the non-contact-based sensing device. The water target corresponds to the liquid water or the ice piece. Moreover, the controller is configured to initiate a control action associated with the ice maker appliance based on the determined temperature of the water target.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for operating an ice maker appliance, the method comprising: 
 directing, with a controller, liquid water into a mold cavity of a mold body of the ice maker appliance;   receiving, with the controller, non-contact-based sensing device data indicative of a temperature within the mold cavity;   determining, with the controller, the temperature of a water target within the mold cavity based on the received non-contact-based sensing device data, the water target corresponding to the liquid water or an ice piece formed within the mold cavity; and   initiating, with the controller, a control action associated with the ice maker appliance based on the determined temperature of the water target.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 determining, with the controller, a length of time for the liquid water within the mold cavity to be formed into an ice piece based on the determined temperature of the water target.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising: 
 comparing, with the controller, the determined length of time for the liquid water to be formed into the ice piece to a threshold length of time range;    initiating, with the controller, the control action associated with the ice maker appliance in response to the determined length of time falling outside of the threshold length of time range.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising: 
 determining, with the controller, the threshold length of time range, the threshold length of time range corresponding to a plurality of previously determined lengths of time for liquid water to form into ice pieces.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein initiating the control action comprises: 
 initiating, with the controller, a notification to an operator of the ice maker appliance of suggested maintenance of the ice maker appliance based on the determined length of time for the liquid water to be formed into the ice piece.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein initiating the notification to the operation comprises: 
 displaying the notification to the operator of the ice maker appliance on a display of a control panel of the ice maker appliance or a refrigerator appliance.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein initiating the notification to the operation comprises: 
 displaying the notification to the operator of the ice maker appliance on a user interface of a remote device.   
     
     
         8 . A method for operating an ice maker appliance, the method comprising: 
 directing, with a controller, liquid water into a mold cavity of a mold body of the ice maker appliance;   receiving, with the controller, non-contact-based sensing device data indicative of a temperature within the mold cavity;   determining, with the controller, a length of time for the liquid water within the mold cavity to be formed into an ice piece based on the received non-contact-based sensing device data; and   initiating, with the controller, a control action associated with the ice maker appliance based on the determined length of time.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining the length of time comprises: 
 determining, with the controller, the temperature of a water target within the mold cavity based on the received non-contact-based sensing device data, the water target corresponding to the liquid water or an ice piece formed within the mold cavity; and   determining, with the controller, the length of time for the liquid water within the mold cavity to be formed into an ice piece based on the determined temperature of the water target.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising: 
 comparing, with the controller, the determined length of time for the liquid water to be formed into the ice piece to a threshold length of time range; and   initiating, with the controller, the control action associated with the ice maker appliance in response to the determined length of time falling outside of the threshold length of time range.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 determining, with the controller, the threshold length of time range, the threshold length of time range corresponding to a plurality of previously determined lengths of time for liquid water to form into ice pieces.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein initiating the control action comprises: 
 initiating, with the controller, a notification to an operator of the ice maker appliance of suggested maintenance of the ice maker appliance based on the determined length of time for the liquid water to be formed into the ice piece.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein initiating the notification to the operation comprises: 
 displaying the notification to the operator of the ice maker appliance on a display of a control panel of the ice maker appliance or a refrigerator appliance.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein initiating the notification to the operation comprises: 
 displaying the notification to the operator of the ice maker appliance on a user interface of a remote device.   
     
     
         15 . An ice maker appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, comprising: 
 a mold body with a mold cavity defined therein, the mold cavity configured to receive a fill of liquid water and form an ice piece therein;    a non-contact-based sensing device configured to generate data indicative of a temperature within the mold cavity; and   a controller operatively coupled to the non-contact-based sensing device, the controller configured to: 
 determine the temperature of a water target within the mold cavity based on the data generated by the non-contact-based sensing device, the water target corresponding to the liquid water or the ice piece; and 
 initiate a control action associated with the ice maker appliance based on the determined temperature of the water target. 
   
     
     
         16 . The ice maker appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the non-contact-based sensing device is configured as an infrared-based sensing device. 
     
     
         17 . The ice maker appliance of  claim 15 , wherein the mold cavity comprises an open end, the open end oriented upwards. 
     
     
         18 . The ice maker appliance of  claim 17 , wherein the non-contact-based sensing device is positioned over the open end of the mold cavity so that the non-contact-based sensing device has a temperature detection range within the mold cavity.