CN109619374B

CN109619374B - Thawing device

Info

Publication number: CN109619374B
Application number: CN201710931722.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁静娜; 田红荀; 王霁昀; 王德馨
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-09
Filing date: 2017-10-09
Publication date: 2022-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-09
Also published as: CN109619374A

Abstract

The invention provides a thawing device. The thawing device comprises a shell limited with a thawing chamber, a device door body used for opening and closing a taking and placing opening of the thawing chamber, an ultrasonic wave generation module and an ultrasonic wave vibrator electrically connected with the ultrasonic wave generation module. The ultrasonic vibrator is configured to generate corresponding ultrasonic waves in the unfreezing chamber according to the ultrasonic signals generated by the ultrasonic generating module and unfreeze the object to be treated. The unfreezing device also comprises a metal unfreezing disc for containing the object to be processed, and the metal unfreezing disc is arranged in the unfreezing chamber. The unfreezing tray for containing the objects to be treated is made of metal materials, so that the energy loss of ultrasonic waves at the unfreezing tray is reduced, the speed of unfreezing the objects to be treated is increased, and the time required for unfreezing is shortened.

Description

Thawing device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of food thawing, in particular to an ultrasonic thawing device.

Background

The food freezing preservation is an efficient food preservation method, can keep high-quality food quality, does not pollute the food, and is widely applied to daily life. However, China families generally require thawing to an easy-cutting state (about-5 ℃) during cooking, and it is a problem that people pay attention to how to quickly and uniformly raise the temperature of food to be thawed from a frozen state (about-18 ℃) to the easy-cutting state.

However, in the prior art, the time consumption for air thawing and water thawing is long, the air thawing and water thawing is easily polluted by microorganisms and bacteria, the loss of nutrient components is more, the temperature difference between the inside and the outside is large, and the thawing progress is not easy to control; the heating wires and the heating pipes are quick to thaw, but juice is seriously lost and unfreezes unevenly, usually, the outside of the food is heated and cooked thoroughly, and the inside of the food is still in a frozen state; the microwave thawing has the advantages of high thawing speed, low probability of being polluted by microorganisms and bacteria, less loss of nutrient components, nonuniform thawing and easy occurrence of local scorching. In general terms, a thawing device with uniform thawing is required in design.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a thawing apparatus which is highly efficient.

A further object of the invention is to improve the thawing uniformity.

In particular, the present invention provides a thawing apparatus comprising:

a housing defining therein a thawing chamber having a top side opening for placing an object to be treated;

the device door body is arranged at the top opening of the unfreezing chamber and used for opening and closing the top opening;

an ultrasonic generation module configured to generate an ultrasonic signal; and

the ultrasonic vibrator is electrically connected with the ultrasonic generating module so as to generate corresponding ultrasonic waves in the unfreezing chamber according to the ultrasonic signals and unfreeze the object to be treated;

the unfreezing tray is arranged in the unfreezing chamber and comprises a unfreezing tray body used for containing the object to be processed; and is

The thawing tray is made of a metal material to reduce energy loss of ultrasonic waves at the thawing tray.

Optionally, the ultrasound generating module is configured to:

axial wave signals at first time and radial wave signals at second time are alternately generated.

Optionally, the first time is 25-35 s;

the second time is 15-25 s.

Optionally, the ultrasonic vibrator is mounted on the bottom surface of the thawing tray to uniformly transmit the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator to the object to be treated through the thawing tray, thereby improving the speed and uniformity of thawing the object to be treated.

Optionally, the defrosting pan is made of titanium alloy; and is

The thickness of the unfreezing tray body is 0.8-1 mm, so that materials are saved, and the unfreezing tray body is prevented from being damaged due to vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator.

Optionally, the defrosting pan is made of stainless steel; and is

The thickness of the unfreezing plate body is 0.6-0.8 mm, so that the unfreezing plate body is prevented from being damaged due to vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator while materials are saved.

Optionally, the thawing tray body is provided with a bottom plate and four circumferential side plates which are combined with the bottom plate at the respective bottom ends and are opposite to each other in pairs so as to form a containing space with an upward opening for containing the object to be treated;

the unfreezing tray further comprises a mounting portion, the mounting portion is arranged to extend from the top end of each circumferential side plate to a vertical central axis deviating from the unfreezing tray body, and the mounting portion is used for mounting the unfreezing tray;

the unfreezing device further comprises a support frame which is placed in the unfreezing chamber, and the mounting part is fixedly connected with the top of the support frame; and is

A gap is reserved between the bottom surface of the bottom plate of the unfreezing tray body and the upper surface of the bottom wall of the unfreezing chamber, so that the influence on the shell when the ultrasonic vibrator vibrates is reduced.

Optionally, the thickness of installation department is unfreeze 1.2 ~ 2 times of the thickness of dish body, in order to improve the installation of unfreezing dish with stability on the support frame, and avoid the unfreezing dish because of ultrasonic vibrator's vibration damages.

Optionally, the bottom plate and the circumferential side plate of the thawing tray body, and the circumferential side plate and the mounting portion are in smooth transition connection, so that the strength of the thawing tray is improved.

Optionally, an elastic damping material is arranged between the mounting portion and the supporting frame to reduce the influence of the ultrasonic vibrator on the supporting frame and the shell during vibration.

The unfreezing tray for containing the objects to be treated is made of metal materials, so that the energy loss of ultrasonic waves at the unfreezing tray is reduced, the speed of unfreezing the objects to be treated is increased, and the time required for unfreezing is shortened.

Further, the inventor of the present application has conducted an intensive study on the thawing characteristics of ultrasonic waves, and creatively found that, in the thawing process, by alternately generating an axial wave signal and a radial wave signal, the ultrasonic vibrator correspondingly generates an axial ultrasonic wave and a radial ultrasonic wave in the thawing chamber to thaw the object to be treated in the thawing chamber, not only does not cause a phenomenon of weakening of interference of different acoustic waves, but also increases the energy density of the acoustic waves transmitted in the object to be treated, generates a beneficial abnormal wave, shortens the time required for thawing compared with thawing the object to be treated by using ultrasonic waves in a single direction, and increases the temperature uniformity of the object to be treated.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Some specific embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter, by way of illustration and not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar elements or components. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thawing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the bottom surface of a defrosting tray mounted with multiple transducers according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in which a thawing apparatus is provided in a freezing compartment of the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire box according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire box according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a time-temperature change curve of an object to be treated according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a progress display area according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a defrosting apparatus and an electrical connection of the defrosting apparatus to a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a detailed flowchart of an ultrasonic thawing control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thawing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, the thawing apparatus 100 may include a case 110, an apparatus door 120, an ultrasonic wave generation module 190, and an ultrasonic wave vibrator. Specifically, the housing 110 defines a thawing chamber 111 for placing the object to be processed. The door 120 may be disposed at the access port of the thawing chamber 111, and is configured to open and close the access port of the thawing chamber 111. In order to facilitate the user to access the object to be processed, the thawing chamber 111 may have a top side opening at which the access port of the thawing chamber 111 is disposed at a top side thereof and the door body 120 is disposed at the top side opening. The ultrasonic generation module 190 is used to generate ultrasonic signals (generally, acoustic signals with a frequency higher than 20 KHz). The ultrasonic generating module 190 is preferably disposed outside the housing 110 to facilitate maintenance. The ultrasonic vibrator may be disposed to be electrically connected to the ultrasonic generation module 190 to generate corresponding ultrasonic waves in the thawing chamber 111 according to the ultrasonic signal and thaw the object to be processed. In the invention, the frequency of the ultrasonic signal is preferably 30-100 kHz, such as 30kHz, 65kHz or 100kHz, and the frequency has stronger penetrating power, so that the speed of unfreezing the object to be treated can be improved, and the internal and external temperatures of the object to be treated are uniform. The power of the ultrasonic signal is preferably 15-70W, for example 15W, 35W, 50W or 70W, so that the thawing device 100 has low energy consumption and simultaneously realizes excellent thawing effect.

In particular, the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 is configured to generate ultrasonic wave signals with a plurality of propagation directions during the thawing process, for example, the propagation directions of the ultrasonic waves are at an angle of 0 °, 30 °, 60 °, 90 ° or the like with respect to the vertical direction of the thawing apparatus 100. The inventor of the present application has conducted intensive studies on thawing characteristics of ultrasonic waves to creatively thaw an object to be treated in the thawing chamber 111 by using ultrasonic waves of a plurality of propagation directions during thawing, and compared to thawing the object to be treated by using ultrasonic waves of a single direction, the time required for thawing is shortened, and the temperature uniformity of the object to be treated is improved.

In some preferred embodiments, the ultrasonic signals of the plurality of propagation directions may include axial wave signals and radial wave signals. The ultrasonic vibrator may include a first transducer 131 and a second transducer 132. Wherein the first transducer 131 is configured to generate axial vibration in response to the axial wave signal, thereby generating axial ultrasonic waves in the thawing chamber 111, and the second transducer 132 is configured to generate radial vibration in response to the radial wave signal, thereby generating radial ultrasonic waves in the thawing chamber 111. The ultrasonic generation module 190 may be further configured to alternately generate an axial wave signal and a radial wave signal during the thawing process. In the present invention, the axial ultrasonic wave is an ultrasonic wave whose propagation direction is perpendicular to the mounting surface of the first transducer 131, and the radial ultrasonic wave is an ultrasonic wave whose propagation direction is parallel to the mounting surface of the second transducer 132. In some embodiments, the first transducer 131 may be made of a magnetostrictive material. The second transducer 132 is made of a piezoceramic material. In the embodiment, the frequency of the axial wave signal generated by the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 is preferably 40-50 kHz, the power is preferably 30-40W, and the frequency of the radial wave signal is preferably 50-70 kHz, the power is preferably 15-25W, so that the corresponding transducer is ensured to have a long service life, and a good thawing effect is achieved.

Through a large number of experimental creativity discoveries, the inventor of the application alternately generates axial wave signals and radial wave signals in the unfreezing process, so that the ultrasonic vibrator correspondingly generates axial ultrasonic waves and radial ultrasonic waves in the unfreezing chamber 111, the phenomenon of weakening of interference of different sound waves is avoided, the energy density of the sound waves transmitted in the object to be processed is improved, beneficial special-shaped waves are generated, the time required by unfreezing is further shortened, and the temperature uniformity of the object to be processed is improved.

During thawing, the time for generating the axial wave signal each time can be preferably 25-35 seconds, such as 25s, 30s or 35 s. The time for each generation of the radial wave signal may preferably be 15-25 seconds, for example 15s, 20s or 25 s. The axial ultrasonic wave and the radial ultrasonic wave can form proper beneficial special-shaped waves, and the unfreezing effect is enhanced.

In some preferred embodiments, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 may be further configured to adjust the direction of the ultrasonic wave signal once every a preset interval time to avoid causing damage to the mounting surface of the ultrasonic vibrator. The interval time is preferably 1 to 3 seconds, for example, 1s, 2s or 3s, to shorten the time required to thaw the object to be treated while ensuring that the mounting surface of the ultrasonic vibrator is not damaged.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the bottom surface of a defrosting tray 140 mounted with multiple transducers according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 2, the number of the first transducer 131 and/or the second transducer 132 may be plural to improve the efficiency of thawing the treatment object. The plurality of first transducers 131 may be disposed on the same mounting plane and located on the same side of the mounting plane, so as to prevent the ultrasonic waves generated by the plurality of first transducers 131 from interfering with each other. The second transducers 132 are disposed on the same mounting plane and located on the same side of the mounting plane, so as to prevent the ultrasonic waves generated by the second transducers 132 from interfering with each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the first transducer 131 and the second transducer 132 are two in number and are disposed on the same mounting plane. And when the mounting plane is divided into four regions by the central axes of the length direction and the width direction thereof, one transducer is disposed in each region.

In some preferred embodiments, when the number of the first transducers 131 is plural, the models of the plural first transducers 131 are all the same. And the plurality of first transducers 131 may be configured to operate synchronously, i.e., simultaneously start operating and simultaneously stop operating, according to the axial wave signal to prevent damage to the mounting surfaces of the first transducers 131. The plurality of first transducers 131 can be uniformly distributed on the installation surface, so that when the installation surface is divided into a plurality of regions with equal areas, one first transducer 131 is arranged in each region, the ultrasonic waves can be prevented from being unevenly distributed in a plane parallel to or coincident with the installation surface, the local energy is too little, and the temperature uniformity of the object to be treated is prevented from being unfrozen. The distance between the axes of any two first transducers 131 perpendicular to the mounting plane is an integral multiple of the wavelength of the axial wave signal to avoid the mutual interference of the ultrasonic waves generated by the plurality of first transducers 131. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, since the plurality of first transducers 131 operate according to the axial wave signal generated by the ultrasonic wave generating module 190, the frequency, power, phase, etc. of the ultrasonic waves generated by the plurality of first transducers 131 are the same.

Similarly, when the number of the second transducers 132 is plural, the models of the plural second transducers 132 are all the same. And the plurality of second transducers 132 may be configured to operate synchronously, i.e., simultaneously, on and off, in response to the axial wave signal to avoid damage to the mounting surfaces of the second transducers 132. The plurality of second transducers 132 can be uniformly distributed on the mounting surface, so that when the mounting surface is divided into a plurality of regions with equal areas, one second transducer 132 is arranged in each region, the condition that the ultrasonic waves are not uniformly distributed in a plane parallel to or coincident with the mounting surface, the local energy is too little, and the temperature uniformity of the object to be processed is unfrozen can be prevented. The distance between the axes of any two second transducers 132 perpendicular to the mounting plane is an integral multiple of the wavelength of the axial wave signal to avoid the ultrasonic waves generated by the plurality of second transducers 132 from interfering with each other.

In some embodiments, the thawing apparatus 100 may further include a thawing tray 140 disposed in the thawing chamber 111 for containing the object to be processed. The thawing disk 140 may be made of a metal material to reduce energy loss of the ultrasonic waves at the thawing disk 140. In some preferred embodiments, the ultrasonic vibrator may be installed at the bottom surface of the thawing tray 140 to amplify the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic vibrator through the thawing tray 140 and uniformly transmit the ultrasonic waves to the object to be treated, thereby improving the speed and uniformity of thawing the object to be treated. The ultrasonic vibrator may be preferably attached to the bottom surface of the thawing tray 140 by a coupling agent to improve stability of the ultrasonic vibrator and reduce ultrasonic loss.

In some further preferred embodiments, the defrosting tray 140 may include a defrosting tray body and a mounting portion. The unfreezing tray body can be enclosed by a bottom plate and four circumferential side plates which are opposite pairwise, and the bottom plate and the four circumferential side plates jointly form a containing space with an upward opening. The mounting portion may be configured to extend from the top end of each circumferential side plate toward a vertical central axis away from the defrosting tray body for mounting the defrosting tray 140. The thawing apparatus 100 may further include a support frame 150 disposed in the thawing chamber 111, and the mounting portion is configured to be fixedly coupled to a top portion of the support frame 150. And a gap is left between the bottom surface of the bottom plate of the thawing tray body and the upper surface of the bottom wall of the thawing chamber 111 to reduce the influence of the ultrasonic vibrator on the case 110 when vibrating. The bottom plate and the circumferential side plate of the unfreezing tray body and the circumferential side plate and the mounting part can be in smooth transition connection, so that the strength of the unfreezing tray 140 is improved. In the present invention, the mounting portion and the supporting frame 150 may be fixedly connected by a fastener. An elastic vibration damping material may be disposed between the mounting portion and the supporting frame 150 to reduce an influence on the supporting frame 150 and the housing 110 when the ultrasonic vibrator vibrates.

In some further preferred embodiments, the defrosting pan 140 may be made of titanium alloy. The thickness of dish body unfreezes can be 0.8 ~ 1mm, for example 0.8mm, 0.9mm or 1mm to when material saving, avoid the dish body that unfreezes to damage because of the vibration of ultrasonic vibrator. In yet further preferred embodiments, the defrosting pan 140 may be made of stainless steel. The thickness of the unfreezing disc body can be 0.6-0.8 mm, such as 0.6mm, 0.7mm or 0.8mm, so that the unfreezing disc body is prevented from being damaged due to vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator while materials are saved. The thickness of installation department can be 1.2 ~ 2 times of the thickness of the dish body that unfreezes, for example 1.2 times, 1.5 times or 2 times to improve the stability on the dish 140 installation of unfreezing and the support frame 150, and avoid the dish 140 that unfreezes because of the vibration damage of ultrasonic vibrator.

In some embodiments, the thawing apparatus 100 may further include a protective case 170 covering the ultrasonic vibrator and fixed to the bottom surface of the thawing tray 140 to prevent the ultrasonic vibrator from being damaged. The protective case 170 may be provided with a plurality of grid holes penetrating therethrough in a thickness direction thereof to facilitate heat dissipation of the ultrasonic vibrator. The lower portion of the housing 110 may be formed with a wire passing hole 112. The electric connection wires of the ultrasonic transducer are led out from the grid holes and electrically connected to the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 through the wire through holes 112. In this embodiment, a gap may be left between the bottom surface of the protective case 170 and the upper surface of the bottom wall of the thawing chamber 111 to reduce the influence on the case 110 when the ultrasonic vibrator vibrates.

In some embodiments, the thawing apparatus 100 may further comprise a detection module 160. The detection module 160 may include a temperature sensor for sensing a surface temperature of the object to be processed within the thawing chamber 111. The temperature sensor may be configured to sense the surface temperature of the object to be treated in the thawing chamber 111 every 2 to 5 minutes, for example, 2min, 3min, 4min or 5 min. The thawing apparatus 100 may be configured to determine whether thawing of the object to be treated is completed based on a temperature value (i.e., a surface temperature of the object to be treated) sensed by the temperature sensor: if the temperature value sensed by the temperature sensor is greater than or equal to a preset target temperature, judging that the object to be processed is thawed; if the temperature value sensed by the temperature sensor is less than the target temperature, it is determined that the object to be processed is not thawed, and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 continues to generate the ultrasonic wave signal with the power being the thawing power. In the present invention, the target temperature may be-5 to-3 deg.C, such as-5 deg.C, -4 deg.C or-3 deg.C.

The thawing apparatus 100 may be further configured to send out a visual and/or audible signal within a preset reminding time to remind the user that thawing is completed when it is determined that thawing of the object to be treated is completed, so that the object to be treated can be taken out from the thawing chamber 111; the visual and/or audible signal ceases to be emitted when the object to be treated is removed from the thawing chamber 111 within the reminder time. In other words, when the object to be treated is taken out within the reminding time or is not taken out beyond the reminding time, the reminding signal is stopped from being sent to the user.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerator 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a thawing apparatus 100 is provided in a freezing compartment 213 of the refrigerator 200. Referring to fig. 3, the refrigerator 200 may generally include a cabinet 210 defining a compressor compartment 214 and at least one storage compartment, compartment door bodies for respectively opening and closing access ports of the respective storage compartments, and a thawing apparatus 100 provided to one storage compartment. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of thawing devices 100 is one. The number of the storage compartments of the refrigerator 200 may be three, and the storage compartments are respectively a refrigerating compartment 211, a temperature-changing compartment 212, and a freezing compartment 213, and a refrigerating door 221, a temperature-changing door 222, and a freezing door 223 for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment 211, the temperature-changing compartment 212, and the freezing compartment 213, respectively. To optimize the storage space of the refrigerator 200, the refrigerating compartment 211 and the freezing compartment 213 are generally partitioned into a plurality of thin receiving spaces by partitions and/or drawers 240.

Furthermore, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the refrigerating compartment 211 is a storage compartment for preserving food materials at a temperature of 0 to +8 ℃; the freezing chamber 213 is a storage chamber with the preservation temperature of food materials of-20 to-15 ℃; the temperature-changing chamber 212 is a storage chamber capable of changing the storage temperature in a wide range (for example, the adjustment range can be above 4 ℃ and can be adjusted to above 0 ℃ or below 0 ℃), and the storage temperature can generally span the refrigeration temperature, the soft-freezing temperature (generally-4 to 0 ℃) and the freezing temperature, and is preferably-18 to +5 ℃.

The compressor chamber 214 may include a compressor, a main control panel 230 for controlling the operation of the refrigerator 200, and an external power line for supplying power for the operation of the refrigerator 200. In some preferred embodiments, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 may be configured to be electrically connected to the main control board 230 to obtain electric power from the main control board 230. The thawing apparatus 100 may further comprise a selection module. The selection module may be disposed to be electrically connected to the ultrasonic wave generation module 190, the first transducer 131 and the second transducer 132, respectively, and configured to conduct a circuit between the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 and the first transducer 131 and to block a circuit between the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 and the second transducer 132 when the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 generates an axial wave signal, so that the first transducer 131 generates an axial ultrasonic wave in the thawing chamber 111 according to the axial wave signal; when the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 generates the radial wave signal, the circuit between the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 and the second transducer 132 is turned on, and the circuit between the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 and the first transducer 131 is turned off, so that the second transducer 132 generates the radial ultrasonic wave in the thawing chamber 111 according to the radial wave signal.

In some preferred embodiments, the ultrasonic generation module 190 may be disposed outside of a foam layer of the case 210 to facilitate heat dissipation of the ultrasonic generation module 190. In some embodiments, the ultrasound generation module 190 may be disposed within the compressor compartment 214 to facilitate servicing of the ultrasound generation module 190 and to facilitate electrical connection of the ultrasound generation module 190 to the main control board 230. In this embodiment, the selection module may be disposed directly above the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 and at a position corresponding to the housing 110, so as to facilitate electrical connection between the selection module and the ultrasonic wave transducer and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190. In other embodiments, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 may be disposed at a position corresponding to the case 110 outside the rear wall of the foam layer to facilitate electrical connection of the ultrasonic vibrators (the first transducer 131 and the second transducer 132). The back plate of the case 210 may have a receiving groove 215 recessed forward, and the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 is disposed in the receiving groove 215, so that the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 can be maintained. The housing 210 may also include a receiving cover. The receiving cover plate is detachably disposed at the opening of the receiving groove 215 to prevent the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 from being damaged, and to improve the aesthetic property of the refrigerator 200. In this embodiment, the selection module and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 may be disposed together in the accommodation groove 215, so as to facilitate electrical connection between the selection module and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190.

In some embodiments, the thawing device 100 can be controllably moved in the front-to-rear direction of the refrigerator 200 to facilitate the access of the object to be processed. The refrigerator 200 may also include a wire box 250. The wire box 250 may be disposed on an inner container wall of the storage compartment where the housing 110 is located, and an accommodating space for accommodating at least a portion of the electrical wires led out from the housing 110 is defined therein. The wire box 250 may be respectively provided with a wire inlet 251 and a wire outlet 252, and the electrical connection wire led out from the housing 110 may be set to enter the accommodating space through the wire inlet 251 and be led out through the wire outlet 252 to be electrically connected with the refrigerator 200, so as to prevent the electrical connection wire from being damaged when the housing 110 moves in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 200. The horizontal central axis of the wire inlet 251 is preferably coincident with the horizontal central centerline of the wire through hole 112 of the housing 110 to avoid the electrical wires from being jammed during movement.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire cassette 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 4, in some preferred embodiments, portions of the electrical wires disposed in the wire box 250 may be formed in a spiral shape to be deformed in tension when the housing 110 moves forward and to be deformed in compression when the housing 110 moves backward, thereby preventing the electrical wires from being damaged. A guide shaft 253 extending in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 200 may be provided in the wire box 250, and an electrical connection wire provided in the wire box 250 may be provided to extend spirally around the guide shaft 253 to define the electrical connection wire as being stretchable or compressively deformable only in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 200. The wire box 250 may be a cylindrical case 110 to further define the electrical connection to be only tensilely or compressively deformable in the front-rear direction of the refrigerator 200. The wire inlet 251 of the wire box 250 may be disposed on a peripheral wall of the wire box 250 and may be disposed to extend in a front-rear direction of the refrigerator 200, so as to improve smoothness of compression deformation of the electric connection wire when the case 110 moves backward, i.e., smoothness of the electric connection wire between the ultrasonic vibrator and the wire inlet 251 entering the wire box 250. The length of the wire inlet 251 may be a maximum distance that the thawing device 100 moves in the front and rear direction of the refrigerator 200. An outlet 252 of the wire box 250 may be opened in the rear end plate thereof. The spiral radius of the electrical connection in the most compressed state may be 4-6 mm, for example 4mm, 5mm or 6 mm.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire cassette 250 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 5, in other preferred embodiments, the wire cassette 250 may have a square shape. The part of the electrical connection line may be disposed to be fixedly connected to the wire box 250 at a position of the wire box 250 adjacent to the outlet port 252, and the electrical connection line between the part of the electrical connection line fixed to the wire box 250 and the ultrasonic vibrator may be disposed to be drawn out from the inlet port 251 of the wire box 250 with the forward moving portion of the case 110 and to enter the receiving space in the wire box 250 from the inlet port 251 of the wire box 250 with the backward moving portion of the case 110. The wire inlet 251 and the wire outlet 252 may be respectively opened on the front and rear side plates of the wire box 250, so that the electrical connection wire led out from the wire outlet 252 is electrically connected to the ultrasonic wave generating module 190. The wire inlet 251 and the wire outlet 252 are preferably disposed at the top of the side plates at the front and rear sides of the wire box 250, so that the electric wires between the outside of the housing 110 and the wire inlet 251 move into the wire box 250 more smoothly by the gravity of the electric wires between the wire inlet 251 and the wire outlet 252.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of an inner wall of an accommodating space provided with a wire cassette 250 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 6, in yet other preferred embodiments, the wire cassette 250 may be square. The part of the electrical connection line may be disposed to be fixedly connected to the wire box 250 at a position of the wire box 250 adjacent to the outlet port 252, and the electrical connection line between the part of the electrical connection line fixed to the wire box 250 and the ultrasonic vibrator may be disposed to be drawn out from the inlet port 251 of the wire box 250 with the forward moving portion of the case 110 and to enter the receiving space in the wire box 250 from the inlet port 251 of the wire box 250 with the backward moving portion of the case 110. The inlet 251 and the outlet 252 may be opened at a forward side plate of the wire box 250 to reduce the space occupied by the wire box 250. The wire inlet 251 is preferably positioned above the wire outlet 252 so that the electrical connection between the outside of the housing 110 and the wire inlet 251 moves more smoothly into the wire box 250 by the gravity of the electrical connection between the wire inlet 251 and the wire outlet 252.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a time-temperature change curve of an object to be treated according to an embodiment of the present invention (in the figure, the abscissa is a thawing time t of the object to be treated, and the ordinate is a surface temperature Td of the object to be treated); fig. 9 is a schematic view of the thawing apparatus 100 and the electrical connection of the thawing apparatus 100 and the refrigerator 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 7 and 9, the detection module 160 may further include a gravity sensor, and/or a range finder, and/or an image input device. The gravity sensor may be disposed on the support frame 150 for sensing the weight of the object to be processed. The rangefinder may be an ultrasonic rangefinder or a laser range sensor. The distance meter is disposed on the top wall of the thawing chamber 111, and is configured to sense a distance between the distance meter and the top edge of the food material for calculating a thickness of the object to be processed. The thawing apparatus 100 may obtain the thickness of the object to be processed by calculating the distance between the distance meter obtained in advance and the upper surface of the bottom plate of the thawing tray 140, and the difference from the distance sensed by the distance meter. The image input apparatus may be a camera device or an infrared imaging device. The image input device is disposed on the top wall of the thawing chamber 111, and is configured to acquire an image of the object to be processed for calculating a projected area of the object to be processed on the thawing tray 140.

The thawing apparatus 100 may further include an information acquisition module and a time setting module. The information acquiring module may be configured to acquire physical information such as the weight and/or thickness and/or projected area of the object to be processed detected by the detecting module 160, and the current surface temperature. The time setting module may be configured to acquire a thawing completion time set by a user. The main control board 230 may be configured to match a thawing time required to thaw the object to be processed according to physical information of the object to be processed. The ultrasonic wave generation module 190 may be configured to start generating the ultrasonic wave signal when the time interval between the current time and the completion time is equal to the thawing time, so that the ultrasonic wave transducer generates the corresponding ultrasonic wave in the thawing chamber 111 according to the ultrasonic wave signal. If the time interval between the current time and the completion time is less than the thawing time, the thawing apparatus 100 sends a visual and/or audible signal to prompt the user that the thawing cannot be completed at the set thawing completion time. The thawing apparatus 100 may also be provided with a thawing switch for controlling the start or stop of the thawing process. The information acquisition module may be configured to start acquiring physical information of the object to be processed when the thawing switch is turned on. During the thawing process, the user may terminate the thawing process by turning off the thaw switch.

The main control board 230 may be further configured to match a corresponding thawing time required for thawing the object to be processed in a preset thawing time table according to the thawing information of the object to be processed. And a time-temperature change curve corresponding to different physical information obtained through testing in advance is stored in the unfreezing time table. The required unfreezing time for unfreezing the object to be processed is on a time-temperature change curve, and the difference value of the time value corresponding to the target temperature minus the time value corresponding to the surface temperature of the current object to be processed is obtained. In some alternative embodiments, the thawing time required for thawing the object to be treated may be calculated from an empirical functional relationship between the thawing time and various physical information.

In some preferred embodiments, the thawing schedule also stores the optimal thawing power corresponding to different physical information previously obtained through tests. When the time interval between the current time change and the completion time is equal to the thawing time, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 generates an ultrasonic wave signal having the power of the optimal thawing power. Specifically, the optimal thawing power corresponding to different physical information may include an optimal axial power and an optimal radial power. When the time interval between the current time change and the completion time is equal to the thawing time, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 alternately generates an axial wave signal with the power of the optimal axial power and a radial wave signal with the power of the optimal radial power.

In some illustrative embodiments, the current time is 13:00, the thawing completion time set by the user through the time setting module is 15:00, the thawing apparatus 100 obtains, through the information obtaining module, that the current surface temperature of the object to be treated placed by the user is-18 ℃, the weight is 300g, the thickness is 3cm, and the projected area is 100cm2, the main control board 230 of the refrigerator 200 matches the corresponding optimal thawing power and time-temperature variation curve according to the physical information, and calculates the thawing time required for thawing the object to be treated according to the calculation formula to be 28min, and then when the current time is 14:32, the ultrasonic wave generating module starts to alternately generate the axial wave signal with the optimal axial power and the radial wave signal with the optimal radial power.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a progress display area 260 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 8, the progress display region 260 may include a first numerical region 261 for displaying the remaining thawing time of the object to be treated, a second numerical region 262 for displaying the total thawing time of the object to be treated, and a progress display bar 263 in which the display state may be gradually changed. In the illustrated embodiment, the total thawing time is 28 minutes and the remaining thawing time is 11 minutes and 17 seconds.

Specifically, the total thawing time for thawing the object to be treated displayed in the second digital area 262 is the corresponding thawing time required for thawing the object to be treated matched in the preset thawing time table by the main control board 230 according to the thawing information of the object to be treated. The remaining thawing time for thawing the object to be treated, which is displayed in the first digital zone 261, may be calculated from the surface temperature of the object to be treated sensed by the temperature sensor and the target temperature in combination with the corresponding time-temperature change curve. The current residual thawing time of the object to be treated can be a difference value obtained by subtracting a time value corresponding to the surface temperature of the object to be treated from a time value corresponding to the target temperature on a time-temperature change curve corresponding to the physical information of the object to be treated. First digital section 261 may be configured to display the real-time remaining thawing time of the treatment after determining the remaining thawing time of the current treatment in a countdown. The temperature sensor recalculates the remaining thawing time of the object to be treated after sensing the surface temperature of the object to be treated each time, i.e. the remaining thawing time displayed in the first digital region 261 is corrected after the temperature sensor senses the surface temperature of the object to be treated each time, so as to improve the accuracy of the displayed remaining thawing time. The progress display bar 263 may be configured to change a display state according to a remaining thawing time for thawing the object to be processed. The ratio of the length of the portion of the progress display bar 263 in the display state to the length of the progress display bar 263 is a ratio of a difference obtained by subtracting the remaining thawing time from the total thawing time to the total thawing time. In the present invention, the progress display bar 263 changes the display status from dark to light. The second digital area 262 in the progress display area 260 may be configured to start displaying the total thawing time when the user completes the setting of the thawing completion time through the time setting module, and the first digital area 261 and the progress display bar 263 start displaying the thawing progress when the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 starts to operate; when the thawing of the object to be treated is completed, the progress display area 260 stops displaying the thawing progress.

In some preferred embodiments, the housing 110 and the door body 120 of the thawing apparatus 100 may be made of sound-absorbing and heat-insulating materials, or the inner surfaces of the housing 110 and the door body 120 may be provided with sound-absorbing and heat-insulating layers, so as to reduce the influence of thawing on the storage space outside the thawing region and ensure the thawing rate of the object to be treated. An air inlet 181 and an air outlet 182 may be respectively disposed on a circumferential side wall of the housing 110, and a gap is left between each of the air inlet 181 and the air outlet 182 and an inner container wall of the storage compartment where the housing 110 is located, so that the gas outside the housing 110 enters the thawing chamber 111 through the air inlet 181, and the gas inside the thawing chamber 111 is discharged outside the housing 110 through the air outlet 182.

In some embodiments, the thawing apparatus 100 can be disposed within the temperature-changing compartment 212. An air intake fan 183 may be further disposed at the air inlet 181 to provide power for the air outside the housing 110 to enter the thawing chamber 111. The intake fan 183 may be configured to controllably operate according to the preservation temperature of the temperature changing compartment 212 when thawing is completed and the object to be treated is not taken out from the thawing zone, to maintain the temperature of the thawed object to be treated at the target temperature: when the preservation temperature of the temperature-changing chamber 212 is greater than or equal to a preset first temperature value, the operation does not occur; when the preservation temperature of the temperature-changing chamber 212 is less than or equal to a preset second temperature value, the power is operated at a first power; and when the preservation temperature of the temperature changing chamber 212 is lower than the first temperature value and higher than the second temperature value, the operation is carried out at the second power. The first temperature value is greater than the target temperature and greater than the second temperature value, and the first power is less than the second power. The first power may be 30-60%, such as 30%, 45% or 60%, of the second power.

In other embodiments, the thawing apparatus 100 may be disposed within the freezing compartment 213. The ultrasonic wave generating module 190 may be configured to generate an ultrasonic wave signal having a power of a preset conserving power when the thawing of the object to be processed is completed and is not taken out of the thawing chamber 111, and the conserving power is smaller than the power of the ultrasonic wave signal generated by the ultrasonic wave generating module 190 at the time of thawing. The conserving power can be 4-8W, such as 4W, 6W or 8W, so as to maintain the temperature of the object to be treated at the target temperature after thawing. In alternative embodiments, the air inlet 181 and the air outlet 182 may be provided with an air inlet door and an air outlet door, respectively. The air inlet door and the air outlet door are configured as follows: when the thawing is completed and the object to be treated is not taken out from the thawing chamber 111, controllably closing to maintain the surface temperature of the object to be treated at the target temperature, thereby facilitating the user to take at any time; when the object to be processed is taken out of the thawing chamber 111, it is controllably opened to use the thawing compartment for storing fresh or frozen foods, so as to improve the space utilization of the storage space in the refrigerator 200.

For a further understanding of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to more specific examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

TABLE 1

Description of the test: the thawing effect test was performed using the apparatus of thawing parameters of example 1 and comparative examples 1 to 6, respectively, using an initial temperature of-18 ℃, a weight of 300g, and a size of 12.5cm × 8cm × 3cm frozen pork, and a target temperature of-5 ℃. The unfreezing effect specifically comprises unfreezing time, internal and external temperature difference and juice loss degree, wherein the unfreezing time is the time consumed for unfreezing the frozen pork from-18 ℃ to-5 ℃, the internal and external temperature difference is the absolute value of the difference value between the average value of the temperature of each corner of the frozen pork and the temperature of the central point of the corner after unfreezing is completed, and the juice loss degree is obtained by visual observation.

The results of the thawing effect test according to example 1 and comparative examples 1 to 6 are shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

	Time of thawing	Internal and external temperature difference	Degree of juice loss
				Example 1	28min	3.2℃	Is less
Comparative example 1	31min	24.6℃	Much more
				Comparative example 2	35min	2.6℃	Is less
Comparative example 3	20min	5.5℃	Is less
				Comparative example 4	7min	7℃	Blood-fluid in the body
Comparative example 5	26min	11.7℃	More and watery blood
				Comparative example 6	42min	8℃	More and watery blood

According to the test results of the example 1 and the comparative examples 3 to 6 in the table 2, the temperature uniformity and the quality of the object to be treated which are thawed by adopting the thawing parameters in the preferred embodiment of the invention are obviously superior to those of the electromagnetic waves, the heating wires and the water thawing in the prior art.

As can be seen from the test results of example 1 and comparative examples 1-2 in table 2, the thawing method using the present invention in which the axial ultrasonic waves and the radial ultrasonic waves are alternately generated provides excellent results in various indexes of thawing effect, has a faster thawing rate, a higher temperature uniformity, and less juice loss, compared to thawing the object to be treated using only ultrasonic waves in a single direction.

Fig. 10 is a detailed flowchart of an ultrasonic thawing control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 10, the ultrasonic thawing control method of the present invention may further include the following detailed steps:

step S1002: judging whether the unfreezing switch is turned on, if so, executing step S1004; if not, go to step S1002.

Step S1004: physical information of the object to be processed and completion time set by a user are acquired.

Step S1006: according to the physical information of the object to be treated, the preferred thawing power for thawing the object to be treated and the time-temperature change curve are matched in the thawing information table.

Step S1008: the thawing time required for thawing the object to be treated is calculated and displayed in the second numerical region 262.

Step S1010: judging whether the time interval between the current time and the finishing time is greater than or equal to the matched unfreezing time or not, if so, executing a step S1014; if not, go to step S1012.

Step S1012: a visual and/or audible signal is emitted to alert the user that thawing cannot be completed at the set completion time.

Step S1014: judging whether the time interval between the current time and the finishing time is equal to the matched unfreezing time or not, if so, executing the step S1016; if not, go to step S1014.

Step S1016: the ultrasound generation module 190 begins operating at the preferred thawing power.

Step S1018: the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 generates an axial wave signal.

Step S1020: the first time is delayed and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 stops working. In this step, the first time is 30 s.

Step S1022: delayed by the interval time, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 generates a radial wave signal. In this step, the interval time is 2 s.

Step S1024: the first time is delayed and the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 stops working. In this step, the first time is 20 s.

Step S1026: delaying the interval time, the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 generates a radial wave signal, and returns to step S1020. In this step, the interval time is 2 s.

When it is determined in step S1014 that the time interval between the current time and the completion time is equal to the matched thawing time, the following steps may be further performed:

step S1028: and acquiring the surface temperature of the current object to be processed.

Step S1030: judging whether the surface temperature of the current object to be processed is greater than or equal to a preset target temperature, if so, executing step S1032 and step S1034; if not, go to step S1040.

Step S1032: a visual and/or audible signal is emitted to prompt the user that thawing is complete.

Step S1034: judging whether the object to be processed is taken out from the unfreezing chamber 101, if so, executing a step S1036; if not, step S1034 and step S1038 are performed.

Step S1038: the power of the ultrasonic signal generated by the ultrasonic wave generation module 190 is adjusted to the storage power, and step S1018 and the subsequent steps are performed. In this step, the conserving power was 5W.

Step S1040: and calculating the residual thawing time of the object to be treated according to the time-temperature change curve.

Step S1042: the first numerical region 261 and the progress display bar 263 respectively display thawing progress information of the corresponding object to be treated.

Step S1044: first numerical region 261 counts down and displays for 5min, and returns to step S1028. In this step, the temperature sensor senses the surface temperature of the object to be treated every 5 min.

Thus, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention may be directly determined or derived from the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be understood and interpreted to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A thawing apparatus, comprising:

the unfreezing tray is arranged in the unfreezing chamber and comprises a unfreezing tray body used for containing the object to be processed; wherein,

the thawing tray is made of a metal material, and the ultrasonic vibrator is mounted on the thawing tray to reduce energy loss of ultrasonic waves at the thawing tray; and the ultrasonic wave generation module is configured to:

2. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

The first time is 25-35 s;

the second time is 15-25 s.

3. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

The ultrasonic vibrator is arranged on the bottom surface of the unfreezing tray so as to uniformly transmit ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator to the object to be treated through the unfreezing tray, and further, the speed and uniformity of unfreezing the object to be treated are improved.

4. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

The unfreezing disc is made of titanium alloy; and is

5. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

The thawing tray is made of stainless steel; and is

6. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein

The unfreezing tray body is provided with a bottom plate and four circumferential side plates which are combined with the bottom plate at the bottom ends of the bottom plates and are opposite in pairs, so that a containing space with an upward opening for containing the objects to be treated is formed;

7. The thawing apparatus of claim 6, wherein

The thickness of installation department does 1.2 ~ 2 times of the thickness of the dish body that unfreezes, in order to improve the dish installation of unfreezing with stability on the support frame, and avoid the dish that unfreezes because of ultrasonic vibrator's vibration damage.

8. The thawing apparatus of claim 6, wherein

The bottom plate and the circumferential side plate of the unfreezing tray body and the circumferential side plate are in smooth transition connection with the mounting part, so that the strength of the unfreezing tray is improved.

9. The thawing apparatus of claim 6, wherein

The installation department with be provided with elastic damping material between the support frame, in order to alleviate during the vibration of ultrasonic vibrator to the support frame reaches the influence of casing.