Temperature control apparatus for electric refrigerator

An electric refrigerator comprising:

• (a) a housing defining therein a freezer and a refrigeration chamber which are thermally insulated from each other;
• (b) first and second coolers independently arranged in said freezer and said refrigeration chamber, respectively;
• (c) compressor means for delivering a refrigerant;
• (d) valve means for switching a refrigerant channel, which is formed to include said first and second coolers, between a first refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows only in said first cooler and a second refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows in said first and second coolers;
• (e) first control circuit means for causing said valve means to form said first refrigerant flow path for a predetermined interval of time and energizing said compressor means, so as to deenergize said compressor means when a freezer temperature and a refrigeration chamber temperature are respectively lower than first and second reference temperatures after the predetermined time interval has elapsed, and so as to continuously energize said compressor means and cause said valve means to form said chamber temperature is higher than the second reference temperature;
• and
• (f) second control circuit means, connected to said valve means, for independently detecting a temperature of said second cooler and the air temperature in said refrigerator chamber, and for causing said valve means to switch the refrigerant channel to said first refrigerant flow path when, while the temperature of said second cooler is lowered from a third reference temperature to a fourth reference temperature, the air temperature in said refrigeration chamber is kept higher than a predetermined fifth reference temperature falling within a range between the third and fourth reference temperatures.