Patent ID: 7343749

Claim:
A method of operating an auger ice-making machine having: a refrigeration casing for freezing ice on an inner wall surface of the casing; an auger screw, rotatably disposed inside the casing, for feeding, while scraping, the ice frozen on the casing inner wall surface; a stocker for storing/retaining the ice fed by the auger screw; and stored-ice detection means for detecting a high level, and a low level, of a quantity of ice stored within the stocker; wherein ice is discharged to an exterior of said ice-making machine when an ice discharge port formed in the stocker is opened; and said method comprising the ordered steps of: allowing the control means to judge that a block of ice has occurred in the stocker when a total ice discharge time of the ice discharged from the ice discharge port reaches or exceeds a previously set required time required for discharging a greater quantity of ice than a reference ice storage quantity of the ice stored during a time from detection of the low level to that of the high level, provided that the high level is detected by the stored-ice detection means, and then allowing the ice-making operation to be restated when the control means judges, during a stopped state of the ice-making operation, that a block of ice has occurred in the stocker, provided that the stored-ice detection means has detected the low level.