Patent ID: 7013657
Filing Date: 2006-03-21
Classification: F25C

Abstract:
1. An ice maker powered by electricity, comprising: first and second pulleys installed to be spaced apart from each other; a drive unit to rotate the first and second pulleys, said drive unit including a motor; an ice making conveyor wrapped around the first and second pulleys, and having a plurality of ice making parts which are concavely formed to contain water therein; and an ice storage tray provided under the ice making conveyor to store ice cubes dropping from the ice making parts; and an ice level sensing unit movably connected to the drive unit of the ice maker to sense a level of the ice cubes stored in the ice storage tray, wherein the ice level sensing unit includes a switch electrically connected to the motor; a sensing lever having a first end and a second end and the ends moving up and down in a see-saw manner between a first position wherein the first end is moved upward by a predetermined amount of ice in the ice storage tray and the second end is moved towards the switch, and a second position wherein the first end is moved downward and the second end is moved away from the switch; a cam rotated by a force transmitted from the drive unit to directly contact and urge the second end of the sensing lever down to press against the switch, when the sensing lever is in the first position and turn off the electricity to the ice maker, wherein the switch shuts off the electricity, when the switch is pressed by the sensing lever over a predetermined period.