| 摘要 |
Disclosed are an apparatus and a method for controlling lamps which are provided in a dispenser and a backlight of a manipulation button array. According to the present invention, at least one lamp is provided in the dispenser and an illumination sensor for sensing the surrounding brightness of a refrigerator or a sensor for detecting a user approaching the refrigerator is also provided. There is also provided a memory unit for previously storing a reference luminous intensity, the value of which is capable of being changed by the user. There is also provided a lamp driving unit for selectively controlling the brightness of the lamp by controlling the output signal thereof according to a driving control signal of a control unit. According to the present invention, the user can easily take ice or water from the dispenser because the lamp is turned on. In addition, because the reference luminous intensity can be changed and stored in relation to the surrounding brightness of the refrigerator, it is possible to control the condition for turning on or off the lamp according to the surrounding environment or the user's taste. Moreover, because the dispenser and the backlight are normally illuminated with the minimum brightness, it is easy to use the dispenser, and because the dispenser and the backlight are illuminated with the maximum brightness for a predetermined length of time and then the illumination is gradually returned to the minimum brightness or turned off, it is possible to efficiently use the dispenser.
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