Claims:We claim:
1. An ice box (10) comprising:
? at least one ice making tray (18) to receive a liquid and to produce ice cubes from said liquid;
? an ice collecting tray (20) placed below said at least one ice making tray (18) adapted to receive and store said produced ice cubes;
said characterized in that:
? at least one slot (12) made on each side (24) of said ice box (10) to accommodate at least one cool pack (14).
2. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, further comprises at least one cover (16) adapted to close said at least one slot (12) of said ice box (10) after said at least one cool pack (14) is inserted in said slot (12) of said ice box (10).
3. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one cover (16) is fitted to said at least one slot (12) using a fitting technique like an ultrasonic welding or a snap fitting technique or the like.
4. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one cool pack (14) is inserted into corresponding said slot (12) during preassembly of components of said ice box (10).
5. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one slot (12) is made in said icebox (10) on an outer surface (22) of a side wall (24) of said icebox (10).
6. The ice box as (10) claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one slot (12) is made in said icebox (10) on an inner surface (26) of said side wall (24) of said icebox (10).
7. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one cool pack (14) is placed in said at least one slot (12) of said ice box (10) in such a way that, said cool pack (14) is not visible to a user of said icebox (10).
8. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one cool pack (14) retains coolness in said ice box (10) when an electric power to said ice box (10) is discontinued.
9. The ice box (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one slot (12) having at least one cool pack (14) is formed in proximity to said at least one ice making tray (18) and said ice collecting tray (20).
, Description:Field of the invention
[0001] This disclosure relates to an ice box. More particularly, it relates to ice box of a refrigerator or an ice making device, with integrated cool packs.

Background of the invention:
[0002] Many modern household refrigerators feature automatic icemakers including a receptacle in the freezer compartment for receiving and storing a supply of ice pieces at below freezing temperatures. During a power cut or discontinuation of the power to the icemaker, the cool pack or ice packs present in the freezer compartment helps to retain coolness in the compartment. Generally, the cool pack is kept in the freezer compartment as it acts as a cooling back up in case of a power cut. The cool pack(s) can be placed in any location in the freezer compartment.
[0003] A WO patent application 2013156839 discloses a cooling element for refrigerator. A direct cool refrigeration system comprising a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. The freezer compartment comprising an evaporator plate in contact with a plurality of coils or tubes with refrigerant circulating there within. A plurality of cooling elements are provided inside the refrigerator, at least one of them being in contact with the evaporator plate. The cooling element comprises a phase change material (PCM) having freezing point lower than 0°C and higher than the average evaporator plate temperature, enclosed in a flexible case.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0004] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings;
[0005] Figure 1 illustrates an ice box in accordance with an embodiment of this invention; and
[0006] Figure 2 illustrates an ice box in accordance with an embodiment of this invention.

Brief description of the invention:
[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide an ice box with integrated cool pack.
[0008] It is also an object of the invention to have an ice box with at least one integrated slot having a cool pack on each side wall of the ice box.
[0009] The objects are solved by an ice box having the features according to claim 1.
[0010] The invention relates to an ice box with integrated cool packs. The ice box comprises at least one ice making tray to receive a liquid and to produce ice cubes from the liquid. An ice collecting tray is placed below at least one ice making tray to receive and store the produced ice cubes. The ice box comprises at least one slot made on each side of the ice box adapted to accommodate at least one ice pack in the slot.
[0011] The invention discloses another feature of the ice box with integrated cool pack. The ice box comprises at least one cover adapted to close at least one slot of the ice box after at least one ice pack is inserted in each slot of the ice box. The slot having the cool pack is made in proximity to the ice making tray and the ice collecting tray in such a way that, the cool pack helps in retaining the coolness when the electric power is discontinued to the ice box.
[0012] Further, the cool pack integrated in the ice box provides rigidity to the ice maker frame. It provides a low cost solution to retain the coolness during a power cut. The cool pack helps in holding the ice cubes longer in the ice box when there is no power provided to the ice box. The ice box having integrated cool pack utilizes the space in the freezer compartment effectively as it avoids taking extra space. The design of the slot and the cover is made in such a way that, the cool pack is not visible to user, thus increasing the aesthetic look of the ice box.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0013] Figure 1 illustrates an ice box 10 according to one embodiment of the invention. The ice box 10 comprises at least one ice making tray 18 to receive a liquid and to produce ice cubes from the liquid. An ice collecting tray 20 placed below at least one ice making tray 18 is adapted to receive and store the produced ice cubes. The ice box 10 comprises at least one slot 12 made on each side 24 of the ice box 10 to accommodate at least one cool pack 14 in the corresponding slot 12.
[0014] The ice box 10 comprises a housing 11 on which the slots 12 are made on either sides 24. The housing 11 comprises multiple ice making trays 18 and the ice collecting tray 20 is placed below the ice making trays 18. The ice box 10 further comprises a cover 16 adapted to close at least one slot 12 of the ice box 10 after at least one cool pack 12 is inserted in the slot 12 of the ice box 10. The cover 16 is in a form of a thin plate like structure to cover the slot 12 of the ice box 10. For instance, the ice box 10 has two slots 12 and two cool packs 14 are inserted in corresponding slots 12., The ice box 10 has two covers 16 to close each slot 12, after the cool pack 14 is inserted into each slot 12. The cover 16 is fitted at the free end of the slot 12, i.e., the end which is visible to the user. The cover 16 is fitted to the slot 12 using a fitting technique like an ultrasonic welding or a snap fitting technique or the like. The cool pack 14 is inserted into the corresponding slot 12 during preassembly of components of the ice box 10.
[0015] In one embodiment, the slot 12 is made on either sides 24 of the ice box 10 i.e., on an outer surface 22 of each side wall 24 of the ice box 10. In another embodiment, the slots 12 are made on an inner surface 26 of each side wall 24 of the icebox 10. The cool pack 14 is inserted in corresponding slot 12 of the ice box 10 in such a way that, the cool pack 14 is not visible to a user of the icebox 10. The cool pack 14 retains coolness in the ice box 10 when an electric power to the ice box 10 is discontinued, since, the slot 12 is formed in proximity to at least one ice making tray 18 and the ice collecting tray 20 of the icebox 10.
[0016] During preassembly, the cool packs 14 are inserted in corresponding slots 12 of the icebox 10. The slot 12 is sealed with the cover 16 using any one of fitting techniques. The slot 12 is made on either side 24 of the housing of the ice box 10. During assembling, the ice making trays 18 and the ice collecting tray 20 are placed in the housing 11. In one embodiment, the cool pack 14 is inserted in the slot 12 formed in the housing and is sealed with the cover 16. The slot 12 and the housing 11 are formed as a one-piece body. Even though the slot 12 and the cover 16 are made of a number of different materials, the illustrated slot 12 with the cover 16 is made of a flexible material which can withstand the cool temperatures of a freezer compartment.
[0017] The ice making trays 18 are initially filled with water in a manner that is well known in the art. The ice making trays 18 are placed in a freezer of a refrigerator or an ice maker apparatus for the ice cubes to form. During electric power cut, the cool packs 14 which are placed in either sides 24 of the ice box 10 retains the coolness for some time and helps in avoiding the melting of the ice cubes and thus retaining shape and form of the ice cubes. The cool pack 12 is filled with a phase change material that helps in retaining the coolness in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator or the ice making apparatus. The material that is filled in the cool pack is chosen from a group of materials like refrigerant gel or water or sodium polyacrylate or the like.
[0018] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.
List of Reference Signs
10 Ice box
11 housing
12 at least one slot
14 cool pack
16 cover
18 ice making tray
20 ice collecting tray
22 outer surface
24 sidewall
26 inner surface