The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 23, 2006
Filed:
Sep. 24, 2004
Si-yeon an, Gimhae, KR;
Seong-ook Kim, Chinju, KR;
Oh-chul Kwon, Changwon, KR;
Bum-sik Lee, Busan, KR;
Dong-yeol Yoo, Seoul, KR;
Si-Yeon An, Gimhae, KR;
Seong-Ook Kim, Chinju, KR;
Oh-Chul Kwon, Changwon, KR;
Bum-Sik Lee, Busan, KR;
Dong-Yeol Yoo, Seoul, KR;
LG Electronics Inc., Seoul, KR;
Abstract
The present invention relates to a heater controller and a heater control method of a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a heater controller and a heater control method of a refrigerator, which control a heater mounted in a refrigerator dispenser. In the present invention, a dispenser of a refrigerator door is provided with a water tank. In order to prevent water in the water tank from being frozen over, the heater is mounted at an outside of the water tank. In addition, by measuring an outer surface temperature of the water tank and then recognizing a water temperature in the water tank based on the outer surface temperature of the water tank, the heater is controlled to be turned on/off based on a range of the water temperature in the water tank. Furthermore, in the present invention, an ambient temperature at a position of the refrigerator is measured, and then, the heater outputs heat energy according to a range of the ambient temperature. Then, the heat energy of the heater is transmitted to the water tank. As a result, the water temperature in the water tank is properly controlled, so that the water tank is prevented from being frozen over.