CN114593541B

CN114593541B - Refrigerator, thawing device and thawing method

Info

Publication number: CN114593541B
Application number: CN202210332024.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘家尧; 林晨; 大森宏; 刘和成
Original assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; GD Midea Air Conditioning Equipment Co Ltd; Guangdong Midea White Goods Technology Innovation Center Co Ltd
Current assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; GD Midea Air Conditioning Equipment Co Ltd; Guangdong Midea White Goods Technology Innovation Center Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-30
Filing date: 2022-03-30
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2042-03-30
Also published as: WO2023185135A1; CN114593541A

Abstract

The invention discloses a refrigerator, a thawing device and a thawing method, wherein the thawing device comprises: the thawing chamber is internally provided with a thawing cavity, the thawing cavity comprises a thawing area for placing food to be thawed, and the wall surface of the thawing area is a flexible heat conducting piece; and the vacuumizing assembly is communicated with the defrosting cavity and is used for vacuumizing the defrosting cavity. The technical scheme provided by the invention aims to solve the technical problem of how to realize rapid thawing and nutrient preservation.

Description

Refrigerator, thawing device and thawing method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of electrical equipment, in particular to a refrigerator, a thawing device and a thawing method.

Background

Along with the improvement of the living standard of people, people put higher demands on the nutrition and quality of foods. Freezing is an effective means of preserving food products, but requires thawing prior to processing or consumption. In daily life, people usually adopt a natural thawing or hydrolytic thawing method. However, the natural thawing time is long, and the time for thawing the meat is usually 3 to 4 hours. Compared with natural thawing, the water-thawing speed is slightly increased, but the use of tap water for soaking easily causes the outflow of juice in food, the loss of nutrients such as protein, vitamins and the like, and meanwhile, the breeding of bacteria on the surface of the food easily causes the influence on the edible safety.

The most straightforward method of rapid thawing is to perform rapid heating of the food product, including microwave thawing, ultrasonic thawing, infrared thawing, etc. Such methods convert electromagnetic or mechanical waves into thermal energy that is absorbed by the food, causing the ice crystals within the food to melt rapidly, thereby effecting thawing. Such thawing methods, while capable of greatly reducing thawing rate, typically raise the internal temperature of the food product and even cause the food to cook. The nutritional value of food can be directly destroyed in the thawing process, and meanwhile, the higher temperature can promote the breeding of microorganisms on the surface of the food and accelerate the spoilage.

The existing mass transfer enhanced thawing method is to directly enhance the mass transfer process of ice crystals to improve the thawing speed, including high-voltage electrostatic thawing, vacuum thawing and the like. The principle of high-voltage electrostatic thawing is that the high-voltage electrostatic field accelerates the breaking of hydrogen bonds in the ice layer structure, so that the ice layer can quickly realize transition to a small molecular water state. And vacuum thawing utilizes the principle that the escape speed of water molecules is increased in a low-pressure environment, so that ice crystals are sublimated rapidly at low temperature, and rapid thawing is realized. However, the equipment required by the mass transfer enhanced thawing method has the defects of high energy consumption and complex structure, and particularly, the high-voltage electrostatic thawing equipment has a dangerous source and has a relatively high safety risk.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the invention is how to realize quick thawing and nutrient preservation.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a thawing apparatus, which includes:

the thawing chamber is internally provided with a thawing cavity, the thawing cavity comprises a thawing area for placing food to be thawed, and the wall surface of the thawing area is a flexible heat conducting piece; and

and the vacuumizing assembly is communicated with the defrosting cavity and is used for vacuumizing the defrosting cavity.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing chamber includes a first flexible heat-conducting member and a second flexible heat-conducting member spaced apart from the first flexible heat-conducting member;

the thawing area is a gap between the first flexible heat conducting piece and the second flexible heat conducting piece.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first flexible heat conducting member and the first flexible heat conducting member are both plate-shaped structures, and the middle part of the first flexible heat conducting member and the middle part of the second flexible member arch in directions away from each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing chamber further comprises a first housing provided with an opening and a second housing hinged to the first housing, the second housing being capable of covering the opening of the first housing;

a first window is arranged on the first shell, and the first flexible heat conduction piece covers the first window;

the second shell is provided with a second window, and the second flexible heat conduction piece covers the second window.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing chamber further comprises a sealing ring disposed on a side of the second housing facing the first housing, the sealing ring surrounding the second window;

the sealing ring is used for sealing a gap between the first shell and the second shell when the second shell is covered on the opening of the first shell, and the first flexible heat conducting piece, the first shell, the second flexible heat conducting piece, the second shell and the sealing ring enclose the thawing cavity.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first flexible heat conducting member and the first flexible heat conducting member are each a flexible vapor chamber, a flexible heat pipe, a flexible polymer heat conducting film, or a flexible metal film.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing apparatus further comprises a fan disposed outside the thawing chamber, the fan for blowing air to the thawing chamber.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing apparatus further comprises a water injection assembly in communication with the thawing chamber for injecting water into the thawing chamber to fill a gap between the flexible heat-conducting members and the food to be thawed when the thawing chamber is in a vacuum state.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing apparatus further comprises a controller electrically connected to the water injection assembly, the fan, and the evacuation assembly;

the controller is configured to drive the fan to blow air to the thawing chamber, and alternately drive the vacuumizing assembly to vacuumize the thawing chamber and drive the water injection assembly to inject water into the thawing chamber.

In an exemplary embodiment, the controller is configured to alternately evacuate the defrost chamber and fill the defrost chamber with water for a preset softening period, and then drive the evacuation assembly to continue evacuating the defrost chamber.

In an exemplary embodiment, the vacuumizing assembly comprises a vacuum pump, an exhaust pipe with two ends respectively communicated with the vacuum pump and the defrosting cavity, and a first valve arranged on the exhaust pipe;

the water injection assembly comprises a water storage box, a water injection pipe, two ends of which are respectively communicated with the water storage box and the thawing cavity, and a second valve arranged on the water injection pipe;

the controller is electrically connected with the first valve, the second valve and the vacuum pump;

when the defrosting cavity is vacuumized, the controller opens the first valve, closes the second valve and drives the vacuum pump to operate;

and when water is injected into the defrosting cavity, the controller closes the second valve and opens the first valve.

The invention also provides a refrigerator which comprises the thawing device and a refrigerating chamber for accommodating the thawing chamber.

The invention also provides a defrosting method, which comprises the following steps:

blowing air into the thawing chamber, wherein the thawing chamber comprises a thawing cavity, the thawing cavity comprises a thawing area for accommodating food to be thawed, and the wall surface of the thawing area is a flexible heat conducting piece;

vacuumizing the defrosting cavity and filling water into the defrosting cavity alternately until the current defrosting time is longer than the preset softening time;

and continuously vacuumizing the defrosting cavity until the current defrosting time is longer than the set defrosting time.

In an exemplary embodiment, alternately evacuating the defrosting chamber and filling the defrosting chamber comprises:

and vacuumizing the defrosting cavity, and stopping vacuumizing the defrosting cavity and filling water into the defrosting cavity when the air pressure in the defrosting cavity is smaller than the preset air pressure or the time of vacuumizing is longer than the preset time threshold.

In one exemplary embodiment, the water injection amount of water injected into the thawing cavity at a time is 1-2 mL.

When the thawing device is used for thawing, food to be thawed is only required to be placed in a thawing area of the thawing cavity, the vacuum pump is driven to vacuumize the thawing cavity so that the air pressure in the thawing cavity is reduced, and the flexible heat conducting piece is flexible and clings to the food to be thawed under the action of external air pressure, so that the heat in the refrigerating chamber can be quickly conducted to the surface of the food to be thawed by the flexible heat conducting piece, and the food to be thawed can be quickly thawed. The thawing speed of the food to be thawed is much higher than its natural thawing speed. Meanwhile, the vacuum environment in the thawing cavity can reduce food oxidation in the thawing process, and is beneficial to preserving the nutritional value of the food. Since the heat required for thawing the food to be thawed comes from the internal energy of the air, no additional energy is required, and the thawing apparatus has low energy consumption.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are required in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and other drawings may be obtained according to the structures shown in these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a vacuum assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a water injection assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a thawing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals illustrate:

100. a refrigerator; 1. a thawing device; 11. a thawing chamber; 111. a thawing chamber; 1111. a thawing zone; 1112. an extraction opening; 1113. a water filling port; 112. a first flexible heat conductive member; 113. a second flexible heat conductive member; 114. a first housing; 115. a second housing; 116. a seal ring; 117. a buckle; 118. a mounting bracket; 12. a vacuum pumping assembly; 121. an exhaust pipe; 122. a vacuum pump; 123. a first valve; 124. a pressure sensor; 13. a water injection assembly; 14. a fan; 131. a water injection pipe; 132. a second valve; 133. a water storage box; 2. a refrigerating chamber; 21. an insulation box; 211. a first through hole; 212. a second through hole; 22. a box door.

The achievement of the objects, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in conjunction with the embodiments.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are only some, but not all embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

It should be noted that all directional indicators (such as up, down, left, right, front, and rear … …) in the embodiments of the present invention are merely used to explain the relative positional relationship, movement, etc. between the components in a particular posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the particular posture is changed, the directional indicator is changed accordingly.

Furthermore, descriptions such as those referred to as "first," "second," and the like, are provided for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implying an order of magnitude of the indicated technical features in the present disclosure. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" means at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the present invention, unless specifically stated and limited otherwise, the terms "connected," "affixed," and the like are to be construed broadly, and for example, "affixed" may be a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral body; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly, through intermediaries, or both, may be in communication with each other or in interaction with each other, unless expressly defined otherwise. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

In addition, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention may be combined with each other, but it is necessary to be based on the fact that those skilled in the art can implement the technical solutions, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be implemented, the combination of the technical solutions should be considered as not existing, and not falling within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the present embodiment proposes a refrigerator 100. The refrigerator 100 includes a refrigerating compartment 2 and a thawing apparatus 1. The temperature in the refrigerating chamber 2 is in the range of 0 to 7 ℃. The refrigerating compartment 2 includes an incubator 21 and a door 22. The side of the incubator 21 is provided with an opening through which a user can take food. The box door 22 is hinged to the heat preservation box 21, and the box door 22 can open and close an opening of the heat preservation box 21. The top of the incubator 21 is provided with a first through hole 211.

The defrosting apparatus 1 includes a defrosting chamber 11 and a vacuum drawing assembly 12. The thawing chamber 11 is provided in the refrigerating chamber 2. A thawing chamber 111 is provided in the thawing chamber 11. The thawing chamber 111 comprises a thawing zone 1111, the thawing zone 1111 being adapted to receive food 3 to be thawed. The wall of the thawing zone 1111 is a flexible heat conducting member 112, 113. The flexible heat conductive members 112 and 113 are good conductors of heat. The flexible heat conductive members 112, 113 may be flexible soaking plates, flexible heat pipes, flexible polymer heat conductive films, or flexible metal films. The flexible heat conductive members 112 and 113 are flexible and can be deformed to some extent by bending. An air suction port 1112 is provided in the wall surface of the thawing chamber 111, and the air suction port 1112 communicates with the thawing chamber 111.

As shown in fig. 2, the evacuation assembly 12 includes an evacuation tube 121 and a vacuum pump 122. The vacuum pump 122 may be disposed outside the refrigerating compartment 2 to reduce the occupation of the volume of the refrigerating compartment 2. The vacuum pump 122 may be provided on the top of the incubator 21. The air extraction pipe 121 penetrates through the first through hole 211 of the heat preservation box 21, one end of the air extraction pipe 121 is connected to the air extraction opening 1112 of the defrosting cavity 111, and the other end of the air extraction pipe 121 is connected to the vacuum pump 122. Vacuum pump 122 is in communication with defrosting chamber 111 via suction tube 121. The vacuum pump 122 is used to evacuate the thawing chamber 11.

When the refrigerator 100 is used for thawing, only the food 3 to be thawed is placed in the thawing zone 1111 of the thawing cavity 111, the vacuum pump 122 is driven to vacuumize the thawing cavity 111 so that the air pressure in the thawing cavity 111 is reduced, the flexible heat conducting pieces 112 and 113 are clung to the food 3 to be thawed under the action of external air pressure due to the flexibility of the flexible heat conducting pieces 112 and 113, and the flexible heat conducting pieces 112 and 113 can quickly conduct heat in the refrigerating chamber 2 to the surface of the food 3 to be thawed, so that the food 3 to be thawed can be thawed quickly. The thawing speed of the food 3 to be thawed is much higher than its natural thawing speed. Meanwhile, the temperature in the refrigerating chamber 2 is usually low and is usually 0-7 ℃, so that the temperature of the food 3 to be thawed is not higher than the temperature in the refrigerating chamber 2 in the thawing process, the breeding of microorganisms is reduced, and meanwhile, the nutritive value of the thawed food is also preserved to the greatest extent. The vacuum environment in thawing chamber 111 reduces oxidation of the food during thawing, which is beneficial to preserve the nutritional value of the food. The thawing chamber 11 is provided in the refrigerating chamber 2 of the refrigerator 100, a chamber for thawing does not need to be separately provided on the refrigerator 100, space is saved, and the layout of the refrigerator 100 is more compact. The heat required for thawing the food 3 to be thawed is from the internal energy of the air in the refrigerating chamber 2 and the external heat leakage, so that the additional energy consumption is not needed, and meanwhile, the food 3 to be thawed provides cold for the refrigerating chamber 2 in the thawing process, so that the heat load of the refrigerator 100 is reduced, and the energy consumption of the refrigerator 100 is reduced.

In one illustrative embodiment, the flexible thermally conductive members 112, 113 are flexible vapor panels. The vapor chamber is a heat conducting plate adopting the heat pipe principle, and has a very good heat conducting effect. The wall surface of the soaking plate is internally provided with a defrosting cavity, cooling medium is filled in the defrosting cavity, when the temperature difference exists between the two opposite surfaces of the soaking plate, heat is transferred to the liquid cooling medium on the heated surface of the soaking plate, so that the cooling medium is heated and evaporated, and the gaseous cooling medium is condensed into liquid state and gives off heat after contacting with the colder surface of the soaking plate, so that the heat can be rapidly transferred from one side of the soaking plate to the other side.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing chamber 11 includes a first flexible thermally conductive member 112 and a second flexible thermally conductive member 113. The first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the second flexible heat conducting member 113 are arranged at intervals, one plate surface of the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and one plate surface of the second flexible heat conducting member 113 are arranged opposite to each other, and the thawing zone 1111 is a gap between the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the second flexible heat conducting member 113.

Thus, when the food 3 to be thawed is placed in the thawing zone 1111, after the vacuum pump 122 vacuumizes the thawing chamber 111, the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the second flexible heat conducting member 113 cover the surface of the food 3 to be thawed from opposite sides of the food 3 to be thawed, the contact area between the food 3 to be thawed and the flexible heat conducting member is as large as possible, and the thawing speed of the food 3 to be thawed is faster.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first and second flexible heat conductive members 112 and 113 have a plate-like structure, and a middle portion of the first flexible heat conductive member 112 arches toward a side facing away from the second flexible heat conductive member 113, and the second flexible heat conductive member 113 arches toward a side facing away from the first flexible heat conductive member 112.

In this way, the middle parts of the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the second flexible heat conducting member 113 are arched in opposite directions, the thawing area 1111 between the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the second flexible heat conducting member 113 has a larger volume, and can accommodate a larger volume of food 3 to be thawed. Meanwhile, when the defrosting cavity 111 is vacuumized, the first flexible heat conducting piece 112 and the second flexible heat conducting piece 113 with the structures can be attached to the surface of the food 3 to be defrosted, and defrosting of the food 3 to be defrosted can be further accelerated.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing chamber 11 further comprises a mounting bracket 118, a first housing 114, a second housing 115, and a sealing ring 116. The first housing 114 and the second housing 115 are each of a rigid structure. The first through hole 211 is provided on the first housing 114. The first housing 114 is provided with a first window 1141, and the first window 1141 is disposed in the middle of the first housing 114. The first housing 114 arches upward, and the bottom of the first housing 114 is provided with a downward opening. The mounting bracket 118 is provided between the first housing 114 and the inner wall of the incubator 21. The mounting bracket 118 may be disposed between the top wall of the incubator 21 and the top of the first housing 114. The mounting bracket 118 is connected to the first housing 114 and the incubator 21, and the mounting bracket 118 fixes the first housing 114 to the incubator 21. The first flexible heat conductive member 112 covers the first window 1141, and an edge of the first flexible heat conductive member 112 is connected to the first housing 114.

The second housing 115 is disposed at the bottom of the first housing 114. The edge of the second housing 115 is hinged to the edge of the first housing 114. The second housing 115 may open and close an opening at the bottom of the first housing 114. A second window 1151 is provided in the second housing 115. The first window 1141 is coaxial with the second window 1151 when the second housing 115 is overlaid over the opening of the first housing 114. The second window 1151 may be provided at a middle portion of the second housing 115. The second window 1151 is covered by the second flexible heat conductive member 113, and an edge of the second flexible heat conductive member 113 is connected to the second housing 115.

The seal ring 116 has elasticity, and the seal ring 116 may be a rubber seal ring or a silica gel seal ring. A seal ring 116 is provided on a side of the second housing 115 adjacent to the first housing 114. The seal 116 surrounds the second window 1151. The seal ring 116 can seal a gap between the first housing 114 and the second housing 115 when the second housing 115 is fitted over the opening of the first housing 114.

The sealing ring 116, the first housing 114, the second housing 115, the first flexible heat conductive member 112 and the second flexible heat conductive member 113 enclose the thawing chamber 111.

In an exemplary embodiment, a catch 117 is also provided on the second housing 115. The catch 117 is arranged on the side of the second housing 115 facing away from the second housing 115, which is hinged to the first housing 114. The catch 117 can be hung on the first housing 114 such that the second housing 115 is connected to the side of the first housing 114 facing away from the mutual hinge.

When the second housing 115 covers the opening of the first housing 114, the buckle 117 can hang on the first housing 114, so that the thawing chamber 11 is not easy to be opened, and the sealing state of the thawing chamber 11 is maintained.

In one illustrative embodiment, a first slot 1142 is provided on the first housing 114. The first slot 1142 is configured as a ring, and an opening of the first slot 1142 faces inward. The first slot 1142 is disposed on a side of the first housing 114 facing away from the second housing 115 and surrounds the first window 1141. The first flexible heat conductive member 112 is inserted into the first slot 1142.

A second slot 1152 is provided in the second housing 115. The second socket 1152 is configured in a ring shape, and an opening of the second socket 1152 faces inward. The second slot 1152 is disposed on a side of the second housing 115 facing away from the first housing 114 and surrounds the second window 1151. The second flexible heat conductive member 113 is inserted into the second insertion groove 1152.

In this way, the first flexible heat conducting member 112 is inserted into the first housing 114, so that the assembly between the first flexible heat conducting member 112 and the first housing 114 is more convenient, and the first flexible heat conducting member 112 is also easy to detach from the first housing 114 for cleaning. The second flexible heat conducting member 113 is inserted onto the second housing 115, so that the second flexible heat conducting member 113 and the second housing 115 are assembled more conveniently, and the second flexible heat conducting member 113 is also easy to detach from the second housing 115 for cleaning.

In an exemplary embodiment, the defrosting apparatus 1 further comprises a fan 14. A fan 14 is provided in the refrigerating compartment 2, and the fan 14 may be suspended from the top of the incubator 21. A fan 14 is provided at one side of the thawing chamber 11. The fan 14 blows air towards the thawing chamber 11.

The fan 14 blows air to the thawing chamber 11 to force convection of air, so as to accelerate heat exchange between the flexible heat conducting member and the air in the refrigerating chamber 2, and further accelerate thawing process of the food 3 to be thawed.

In one illustrative embodiment, the evacuation assembly 12 further includes a pressure sensor 124 and a first valve 123. The pressure sensor 124 may be provided on the suction pipe 121. The pressure sensor 124 is used to measure the air pressure in the defrosting chamber 111. The first valve 123 may be a solenoid valve. A first valve 123 is provided on the exhaust pipe 121 between the pressure sensor 124 and the vacuum pump 122. The first valve 123 may switch off and on the suction pipe 121.

When the first valve 123 is opened, the vacuum pump 122 may pump out the gas in the defrosting chamber 111 so that the air pressure in the defrosting chamber 111 is in a negative pressure state. After the first valve 123 and the vacuum pump 122 are closed, the air pressure in the defrosting chamber 111 can be maintained in a negative pressure state.

In an exemplary embodiment, a second through hole 212 is also provided in incubator 21. The second through hole 212 may be provided on the top wall of the incubator 21. The first housing 114 is also provided with a water filling port 1113. The water filling port 1113 is connected to the thawing chamber 111.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the thawing apparatus 1 further comprises a water injection assembly 13. The water injection assembly 13 is connected to the defrosting chamber 111. The water injection assembly 13 is used for injecting water into the defrosting cavity 111.

The water injection assembly 13 includes a water injection pipe 131, a water storage tank 133, and a second valve 132. The water injection pipe 131 penetrates through the second through hole 212 of the insulation box 21. The water storage box 133 is used for holding water, and the bottom of play water box is provided with the delivery port. One end of the water injection pipe 131 is communicated with a water injection port 1113 on the thawing chamber 11, and the other end of the water injection pipe 131 is communicated with a water outlet of the water storage box 133. The water storage tank 133 can be connected to the thawing chamber 111 through the water injection pipe 131. The second valve 132 is provided on the water injection pipe 131 to cut off and switch on the water injection pipe 131.

Because the food 3 to be thawed is usually a hard block with irregular shape, even if the thawing cavity 111 is vacuumized, the surface of the food 3 to be thawed cannot be guaranteed to be completely clung to the flexible heat conducting member, a gap is formed between a part of the surface of the food 3 to be thawed and the flexible heat conducting member, the second valve 132 is opened, and the water injection assembly 13 can inject a certain amount of water into the thawing cavity 111 to fill the gap between the flexible heat conducting member and the food 3 to be thawed, so that heat conduction between the food 3 to be thawed and the flexible heat conducting member is accelerated, and the thawing speed of the food 3 to be thawed is accelerated. In particular, when the thawing chamber 111 is in a negative pressure state, the water injected into the thawing chamber 111 by the water injection assembly 13 is vaporized into water vapor under a low pressure environment, and the water vapor can infiltrate into a gap between the flexible heat conducting member and the food 3 to be thawed, and condense and release heat on the surface of the food 3 to be thawed, thereby further accelerating the thawing process.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thawing device 1 further comprises a controller. The controller is electrically connected to the first valve 123, the second valve 132, the vacuum pump 122, the fan 14, and the pressure sensor 124.

The present embodiment also proposes a thawing method implemented based on the thawing apparatus 1 described above, the thawing method comprising:

step S1: the controller receives a defrosting starting instruction, drives the vacuumizing assembly 12 to vacuumize the defrosting cavity 111 and drives the fan 14 to blow air to the defrosting cavity 11, and enters step S2 when the air pressure in the defrosting cavity 111 is smaller than the preset air pressure or the vacuumizing time is longer than the preset time threshold;

after placing the food 3 to be thawed into the thawing chamber 111, the user gives a start thawing instruction to the refrigerator 100, which may be given by pressing a corresponding button on a control panel on the refrigerator 100.

The controller drives the vacuum pump 122 of the evacuation assembly 12 to evacuate the thawing chamber 111 so that the flexible heat-conducting member is in close proximity to the food 3 to be thawed. At the same time, the controller drives the fan 14 to operate, and the fan 14 blows air to the thawing chamber 11 to accelerate the heat exchange between the flexible heat conducting members and the air.

When the air pressure in the thawing chamber 111 is less than the preset air pressure, the flexible heat conducting member is already closely attached to the food 3 to be thawed, and at this time, the vacuum pump 122 can be controlled to stop vacuumizing. The value range of the preset air pressure is 1-600 Pa.

In order to avoid that the air pressure in the defrosting cavity 111 cannot be lower than the preset air pressure for a long time due to air leakage of the defrosting cavity 111, the vacuum pump 122 is continuously operated for a long time, and the vacuum pump 122 is controlled to stop vacuumizing after the operation time of the vacuum pump 122 reaches a preset time threshold. The preset time threshold is greater than the time required for vacuum pump 122 to reduce the air pressure in defrosting chamber 111 below the preset air pressure under normal conditions.

Step S2: the controller stops driving the vacuumizing assembly 12 to vacuumize the defrosting cavity 111, and drives the water injection assembly 13 to inject water into the defrosting cavity 111, and the step S3 is performed;

the controller drives the second valve 132 to open, and water stored in the water storage box 133 is sucked into the thawing chamber 111 along the water injection pipe 131 due to the negative pressure in the thawing chamber 111. The water injection amount of the water injection assembly 13 can be 1-2 mL each time.

When the thawing chamber 111 is in a negative pressure state, the water injected into the thawing chamber 111 by the water injection assembly 13 is vaporized into water vapor in a low pressure environment, the water vapor can infiltrate into a gap between the flexible heat conducting member and the food 3 to be thawed and condense and release heat on the surface of the food 3 to be thawed, and meanwhile, the water can fill the gap between the flexible heat conducting member and the food 3 to be thawed to improve heat transfer between the flexible heat conducting member and the food 3 to be thawed, so that the thawing process can be quickened.

Step S3: the controller judges whether the current defrosting time is longer than a preset softening time, the preset softening time is longer than a preset time threshold, if yes, the step S4 is carried out, and if not, the step S1 is carried out;

the current defrosting duration is the duration from the time when the defrosting starting instruction is received to the current time. When the current defrosting time is longer than the preset softening time, the surface of the food 3 to be defrosted is partially defrosted and softened, the food 3 to be defrosted is well contacted with the flexible heat conducting member, and water does not need to be injected into the defrosting cavity 111.

The preset softening time length is in a proportional relation with the set thawing time length, and the ratio of the preset softening time length to the set thawing time length is smaller than 1. The set thawing time period can be set by a user, and the value range of the set thawing time period is 30-50 min for thawing the expected time of the current food 3 to be thawed, which is also the total working time period of the thawing device 1.

Step S4: the controller drives the vacuumizing assembly 12 to vacuumize the defrosting cavity 111, and the step S5 is performed;

step S5: the controller judges whether the current defrosting duration is longer than the set defrosting duration, if so, the step S6 is entered, otherwise, the step S4 is entered;

when the current defrosting duration does not reach the set defrosting duration, the defrosting cavity 111 is continuously vacuumized, so that the flexible heat conducting piece and the food 3 to be defrosted are clung to each other, and heat conduction between the flexible heat conducting piece and the food 3 to be defrosted is faster.

Step S6: the controller stops the operation of the vacuum assembly 12 and the fan 14.

When the current defrosting time period reaches the set defrosting time period, the vacuum pump 122 and the fan 14 are turned off, and the defrosting apparatus 1 stops operating.

Before the surface of the food 3 to be thawed is softened, the thawing chamber 111 is alternately evacuated and the thawing chamber 111 is filled with water to improve the contact of the flexible heat-conducting members with the food 3 to be thawed. After the surface of the food 3 to be defrosted is softened, the defrosting cavity 111 is continuously vacuumized, and the flexible heat conducting piece and the food 3 to be defrosted are kept to be clung to each other until the current defrosting time reaches the set defrosting time, so that the food 3 to be defrosted is completely defrosted. In the above process, the fan 14 continuously conveys the air flow to the flexible heat conducting member to exchange heat with the flexible heat conducting member, so that the food 3 to be thawed can be thawed quickly, and the thawing speed of the food 3 to be thawed can reach 3 to 5 times or more of the natural thawing speed thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, step S1 includes steps S11-S16.

Step S11: the controller receives a defrosting starting instruction and enters step S12;

step S12: the controller drives the fan 14 to blow air to the thawing chamber 11, and the process goes to step S13;

step S13: the controller opens the first valve 123 and closes the second valve 132, drives the vacuum pump 122 to vacuumize the defrosting cavity 111, and proceeds to step S14;

step S14: the controller detects the air pressure in the defrosting chamber 111 by the pressure sensor 124, and proceeds to step S15;

step S15: the controller judges whether the air pressure in the defrosting cavity 111 is smaller than the preset air pressure, if yes, the step S2 is carried out, and if not, the step S16 is carried out;

step S16: the controller judges whether the current vacuumizing time length is greater than a preset time threshold, if so, the step S2 is entered, and if not, the step S13 is entered.

In the process of vacuumizing, the first valve 123 is in an opened state, the vacuum pump 122 is communicated with the thawing chamber 111 through the air extraction pipe 121, the second valve 132 is in a closed state, the water injection pipe 131 is cut off, and water in the water storage box 133 cannot be injected into the thawing chamber 111.

In an exemplary embodiment, step S2 includes steps S21-S2

Step S21: the controller stops driving the vacuum pump 122 to vacuumize, opens the second valve 132 and closes the first valve 123, and proceeds to step S22;

step S22: the controller judges whether the time for which the second valve 132 is opened is longer than the preset water injection time period, if yes, the step S23 is entered, otherwise, the step S22 is entered;

step S24: the controller drives the second valve 132 to close, and the process proceeds to step S3.

During the water filling process, the first valve 123 is in a closed state, the air suction pipe 121 is sealed, air cannot be reversely filled into the defrosting cavity 111 from the air suction pipe 121, and meanwhile, after the second valve 132 is opened, water in the water storage box 133 is sucked into the defrosting cavity 111 along the water filling pipe 131. After the second valve 132 is opened for a predetermined period of time, the second valve 132 is closed to control the amount of water to be filled into the defrosting chamber 111. The preset water injection duration can be in a value range of 0.1-2 s, preferably 1s.

The foregoing description is only of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and all equivalent structural changes made by the specification and drawings of the present invention or direct/indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A defrosting apparatus, comprising:

the vacuumizing assembly is communicated with the defrosting cavity and used for vacuumizing the defrosting cavity;

the fan is arranged outside the defrosting chamber and used for blowing air to the defrosting chamber so as to accelerate the heat exchange between the flexible heat conducting piece and the air; and

the water injection assembly is communicated with the defrosting cavity and used for injecting water into the defrosting cavity when the defrosting cavity is in a vacuum state so as to fill a gap between the flexible heat conducting piece and food to be defrosted.

2. The thawing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thawing chamber comprises a first flexible conductive member and a second flexible conductive member spaced apart from the first flexible conductive member;

3. The defrosting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the defrosting chamber further comprises a first housing provided with an opening and a second housing hinged to the first housing, the second housing being capable of covering the opening of the first housing;

4. A defrosting apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the defrosting chamber further comprises a seal ring provided on a side of the second housing facing the first housing, the seal ring surrounding the second window;

5. The defrosting apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a controller electrically connected to the water injection assembly, the fan, and the evacuation assembly;

6. The defrosting apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to alternately evacuate the defrosting chamber and fill the defrosting chamber with water for a preset softening period, and then drive the evacuation assembly to continue evacuating the defrosting chamber.

7. The defrosting apparatus of claim 6, wherein the evacuation assembly comprises a vacuum pump, an evacuation tube having both ends respectively connected to the vacuum pump and the defrosting chamber, and a first valve provided on the evacuation tube;

8. A refrigerator comprising the thawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and a refrigerating compartment accommodating the thawing compartment.

9. A defrosting method, characterized in that it is carried out based on a defrosting device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising:

10. The thawing method as defined in claim 9, wherein alternately evacuating the thawing chamber and filling the thawing chamber with water comprises:

11. The thawing method according to claim 9, wherein the water injection amount of water into the thawing chamber is 1-2 mL each time.