# US 11,079,155 B2 · Refrigerator and control method thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,155 B2 - Document ID: US11079155B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/288,745 - Filed: 2019-02-28 - Published: 2019-08-29 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-28 - Assignees: LG Electronics Inc. - Applicants: LG Electronics Inc. - Inventors: Yonghyun Kim; Siyeon An - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079155B2 ## CPC - F25C 5/185: with freezing trays - F25C 1/04: by using stationary moulds - F25C 5/187: with ice level sensing means - F25D 11/02: with cooling compartments at different temperatures - F25D 17/065: {with compartments at different temperatures} - F25D 17/067: {Evaporator fan units} - F25D 23/04: with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners - F25D 29/00: Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices - F25B 2600/0253: with variable speed - F25C 2400/10: Refrigerator units - F25C 2600/04: Control means - F25C 2700/02: Level of ice - F25D 2317/068: characterised by the fans - F25D 2700/122: of freezer compartments - Y02B 40/00: Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers - F25C: PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS ## Abstract A refrigerator includes: a cabinet including a freezing chamber; an evaporator located at one side of the freezing chamber; a freezing chamber fan configured to supply cool air to the freezing chamber; an ice maker located in the freezing chamber and configured to perform ice-making; an ice bin located below the ice maker and separates and stores ice made in the ice maker; an ice detection device which detects whether or not the ice stored in the ice bin is full; and a control unit configured to control the freezing chamber fan according to a detection signal of the ice detection device. The control unit is configured to turn off the freezing chamber fan when ice-fullness is detected by the ice detection device and turn on the freezing chamber fan when the ice-fullness is not detected by the ice detection device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet that defines a freezing chamber; an evaporator located at a side of the freezing chamber; a freezing chamber fan configured to supply cool air generated by the evaporator to the freezing chamber; an ice maker located inside of the freezing chamber and configured to perform ice-making based on cool air supplied by the freezing chamber fan; an ice bin located vertically below the ice maker and configured to store one or more ice pieces made by the ice maker; an ice detector that is configured to detect an amount of the one or more ice pieces stored in the ice bin and that is configured to generate a detection signal based on whether the amount of the one or more ice pieces in the ice bin is greater than or equal to a threshold amount; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the freezing chamber; and a controller configured to control driving of the freezing chamber fan based on the detection signal, wherein the controller is configured to: turn on the freezing chamber fan based on the amount of the one or more ice pieces in the ice bin being less than the threshold amount, vary an operation speed of the freezing chamber fan based on the ice detector detecting that the amount of the one or more ice pieces in the ice bin corresponds to an ice-fullness, and turn off the freezing chamber fan based on the temperature of the freezing chamber being less than a predetermined temperature after the ice-fullness is detected by the ice detector. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to, before the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the freezing chamber, turn on or off the freezing chamber fan based on the detection signal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: based on receiving the detection signal from the ice detector, determine the temperature of the freezing chamber through the temperature sensor, and turn on the freezing chamber fan based on the temperature of the freezing chamber being greater than or equal to a reference temperature. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to, based on the amount of the one or more ice pieces in the ice bin being less than the threshold amount, drive the freezing chamber fan to rotate at a speed that is less than a maximum rotation speed of the freezing chamber fan. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a grill pan that covers the evaporator, the grill pan defining a discharge port configured to discharge cool air to the freezing chamber and an opening configured to discharge cool air to the ice maker, wherein the freezing chamber fan is located inside the grill pan. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to, based on the amount of the one or more ice pieces in the ice bin being less than the threshold amount, drive the freezing chamber fan to rotate at a predetermined rotation speed. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to drive the freezing chamber fan to rotate at a rotation speed between a minimum rotation speed and a maximum rotation speed, and wherein the predetermined rotation speed is in a range between a first speed that is greater than the minimum rotation speed by 30% of the minimum rotation speed and a second speed that is less than the maximum rotation speed by 30% of the maximum rotation speed. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to vary the rotation speed of the freezing chamber fan based on the temperature of the freezing chamber. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to, based on (i) a reception of the detection signal from the ice detector and (ii) a determination that the temperature of the freezing chamber is greater than or equal to a reference temperature, vary the rotation speed of the freezing chamber fan according to a load of the freezing chamber. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to drive the freezing chamber fan to rotate at a rotation speed between a minimum rotation speed and a maximum rotation speed, and wherein the predetermined rotation speed is between the minimum rotation speed and the maximum rotation speed of the freezing chamber fan. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The refrigerator according to claim 6, further comprising an inverter compressor configured to supply refrigerant to the evaporator, wherein the controller is further configured to control operation of the inverter compressor and to vary an operation frequency of the inverter compressor according to a load of the freezing chamber.