CN217447428U - Cooking device with self-suction and automatic drainage functions - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the specification discloses a cooking device, which comprises a liquid storage tank and a pipeline system communicated with the liquid storage tank; the piping system includes: a first pipeline; a second pipeline; a vacuum pump disposed between the first and second pipelines; one end of the water pump is connected with the first pipeline, and the other end of the water pump is connected with an inlet of the vacuum pump; wherein the first pipeline is communicated with an inlet of the vacuum pump, and the second pipeline is communicated with an outlet of the vacuum pump; the inlet end of the first pipeline is communicated with the outlet part of the liquid storage tank, and the outlet end of the second pipeline is communicated with the inlet part of the liquid storage tank.

Description

Cooking device with self-suction and automatic drainage functions

Technical Field

The specification relates to the technical field of cooking appliances, in particular to a cooking device with self-suction and automatic drainage functions.

Background

Modern cooking presents a new cooking and food preservation mode, namely vacuum low-temperature cooking; sous-vide cooking allows chefs or users to store the food they are doing and then heat up again without compromising any delicate flavor and texture of the food; with sous-vide cooking, the user can heat the food to the exact desired temperature and for the exact desired time, and it is also important that the heating be sufficiently uniform so that each portion of the food can reach the same temperature, which requires precise control of the core temperature and thus the flavor and texture of the food.

As can be understood from the above-mentioned principle of sous-vide cooking, the temperature and time are the core factors affecting the flavor and texture of food, and in order to pursue the flavor and texture of food and ensure the repeatability of cooking results, it is always the technical difficulty faced by sous-vide cooking devices to ensure that the sous-vide cooking device can provide a low-temperature cooking environment with stable and uniform temperature and maintain the stability and uniformity of temperature in the cooking environment for a long period of time.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

One of the embodiments of the present specification provides a cooking apparatus, which includes a liquid storage tank and a pipeline system communicated with the liquid storage tank; the piping system includes: a first pipeline; a second pipeline; a vacuum pump disposed between the first and second conduits; one end of the water pump is connected with the first pipeline, and the other end of the water pump is connected with an inlet of the vacuum pump; the first pipeline is communicated with an inlet of the vacuum pump, and the second pipeline is communicated with an outlet of the vacuum pump; the inlet end of the first pipeline is communicated with the outlet part of the liquid storage tank, and the outlet end of the second pipeline is communicated with the inlet part of the liquid storage tank.

Drawings

The present description will be further explained by way of exemplary embodiments, which will be described in detail by way of the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are not intended to be limiting, and in these embodiments like numerals are used to indicate like structures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a cooking device according to some embodiments of the present description;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary schematic structural diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments herein;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic structural diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments herein;

FIG. 4A is an exemplary schematic structural diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments herein;

FIG. 4B is an exemplary schematic structural diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments herein;

FIG. 5A is an exemplary schematic structural diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments herein;

FIG. 5B is an exemplary perspective view of a piping system shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description;

FIG. 5C is an exemplary perspective view from another angle of the piping system shown in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of a connection of an energy transfer tube to a second conduit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is a schematic view of a connection of a port of an energy transfer tube to a silicone tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6C is a schematic view of a clamp according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the inlet and outlet portions of a tank according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Description of reference numerals: 100. a cooking device; 102. a heating or cooling component; 110. a control component; 120,720, a liquid storage tank; 122,722, an inlet portion; 124,724, an outlet part; 130,230,330,430,530, a piping system; 140,240,340,440,540, a first conduit; 150,250,350,450,550, a second conduit; 160,260,360,460,560, vacuum pump; 170,470,570, a water pump; 241,341,441,541, an inlet end; 251,351,451,551, an outlet end; 381,481,581, a first exhaust valve; 390,590,690, an energy transfer tube; 395,595, a one-way valve; 472,572,672, transition line; 531. a left half region; 533. a right half region; 540-1, straight section; 540-2, a curved segment; 542. horizontally distributing sections; 562. a water inlet pipeline of a vacuum pump; 564. a vacuum pump outlet conduit; 582. a first exhaust valve conduit; 583. a second exhaust valve; 584. a second exhaust valve conduit; 691. a silicone tube; 692. clamping a hoop; 722-1, a lower inlet; 722-2, upper inlet; 723. an inlet channel; 724-1 and a lower outlet; 724-1-1 and a first lower outlet; 724-1-2 and a second lower outlet; 724-2 and an upper outlet; 725. an outlet channel; 725-1, a first outlet channel; 725-2, a second outlet channel.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only examples or embodiments of the present description, and that for a person skilled in the art, without inventive effort, the present description can also be applied to other similar contexts on the basis of these drawings. Unless otherwise apparent from the context, or stated otherwise, like reference numbers in the figures refer to the same structure or operation.

It should be understood that "system", "apparatus", "unit" and/or "module" as used herein is a method for distinguishing different components, elements, parts, portions or assemblies at different levels. However, other words may be substituted by other expressions if they accomplish the same purpose.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms "a," "an," "the," and/or "the" are not intended to be inclusive in the singular, but rather are intended to be inclusive in the plural, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In general, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" merely indicate that steps and elements are included which are explicitly identified, that the steps and elements do not form an exclusive list, and that a method or apparatus may include other steps or elements.

Flow charts are used in this description to illustrate operations performed by a system according to embodiments of the present description. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations are not necessarily performed in the exact order in which they are performed. Rather, the various steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Meanwhile, other operations may be added to the processes, or a certain step or several steps of operations may be removed from the processes.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a cooking device 100 according to some embodiments of the present description. As shown in fig. 1, the cooking apparatus 100 mainly includes a liquid storage tank 120 and a pipe system 130. Wherein the reservoir 120 is used to store liquid. The pipe system 130 is used for communicating with the liquid storage tank 120, guiding the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 out of the liquid storage tank 120, and returning the liquid to the liquid storage tank 120 after passing through the pipe system 130, so as to realize the circular flow of the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120.

In some embodiments, piping system 130 includes a first pipe 140 and a second pipe 150, and tank 120 includes an inlet portion 122 and an outlet portion 124. First conduit 140 is in communication with outlet portion 124 of tank 120, second conduit 150 is in communication with inlet portion 122 of tank 120, and liquid in tank 120 flows out of tank 120 into conduit system 130 via communication of outlet portion 124 with first conduit 140 and then flows back into tank 120 via communication of second conduit 150 with inlet portion 122, such that liquid in tank 120 forms a circulating fluid path between conduit system 130 and tank 120.

In some embodiments, the cooking device 100 may also include a heating or cooling assembly 102 for heating or cooling the liquid in the tank 120. For example only, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may heat or cool the liquid within the tank 120 by heating or cooling the liquid in the piping system 130, which brings energy back to the tank. In some embodiments, the heated or cooled liquid in the tank 120 can heat or cool the food material placed in the liquid. Such as a slow cooker or a rice cooker.

In some embodiments, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may include components that directly heat or cool the liquid in the tank 120. For example, the liquid is heated using a metal heating rod or wire placed in the liquid in the tank 120. As another example, the liquid may be refrigerated using a refrigeration pill placed in the liquid in the tank 120. In some embodiments, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may include components that directly heat or cool the reservoir 120. Such as a heating or cooling base placed at the bottom of the tank 120. In some embodiments, a heating or cooling assembly 102 may also be disposed in the piping system 130, i.e., to heat or cool the liquid in the piping system 130. The liquid flowing into the pipe system 130 is heated or cooled by the heating or cooling assembly 102, and the heated or cooled liquid flows back into the liquid storage tank 120 from the pipe system 130 and is mixed with the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 is heated or cooled. For example, when the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 is heated by the heating or cooling module 102, the temperature of the liquid entering the piping system 130 from the liquid storage tank 120 is low, and after the heating or cooling module 102 (e.g., a heating pipe) in the piping system 130 is heated, the temperature of the liquid flowing back to the liquid storage tank 120 from the piping system 130 is high. The liquid with higher temperature flows back to the liquid storage tank 120 and then is mixed with the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120, the heated liquid brings heat back to the liquid storage tank 120, and the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 circularly flows between the pipeline system 130 and the liquid storage tank 120, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 is heated.

In some embodiments, the cooking device 100 may further include a control assembly 110 for controlling the relevant components of the conduit system 130. For example, the control assembly 110 may control the associated operating state of the power plant of the piping system 130, such as the associated operating state of the water pump 170. In some embodiments, the relevant operating conditions of the water pump 170 include, but are not limited to, start or stop of the water pump 170, liquid pumping speed, and the like. As another example, the control assembly 110 may control the associated operating state of the heating or cooling assembly 102 of the piping system 130. The relevant operating conditions of the heating or cooling assembly 102 include, but are not limited to, activation or deactivation of the heating or cooling assembly 102, operating power of the heating or cooling assembly 102, and the like. The control assembly 110 is operable to control the heating or cooling assembly 102 to heat or cool the liquid in the tank 120.

In some embodiments, the control component 110 may include a processor. In some embodiments, the control component 110 may include a single chip Microcomputer (MCU) control system. In some embodiments, the control component 110 may include, but is not limited to, a programmable chip, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a cell phone mobile terminal, an iPad mobile terminal, and the like.

In some embodiments, piping system 130 further comprises a power plant for pumping the liquid in tank 120 to piping system 130 and driving the flow of the liquid in piping system 130 (e.g., first piping 140, second piping 150). In some embodiments, the power plant may include, but is not limited to, a pump-type power plant. In some embodiments, the pump-type power plant includes, but is not limited to, a water pump 170. The water pump 170 refers to a device that can deliver or pressurize a liquid. In some embodiments, the water pump 170 includes, but is not limited to, a vane pump, a positive displacement pump, a jet pump, and the like. The vane type water pump includes a centrifugal pump, a vortex pump and the like. The positive displacement water pump includes a plunger pump and the like. The jet water pump includes a water jet pump and the like.

In some embodiments, when the centrifugal water pump is used in the pipe system 130 of the cooking apparatus 100 to drive the flow of the liquid in the pipe and the heating or cooling module 102 is used to circulate the liquid in the tank 120, residual liquid may exist in the pipe of the pipe system 130 and the water pump after the operation of the liquid circulation heating or cooling of the cooking apparatus 100 is finished. The long-term storage of the residual liquid in the pipe system 130 may cause the deterioration and odor, and when the operation of heating or cooling the liquid circulation of the cooking apparatus 100 is performed again (i.e., the cooking apparatus 100 is used next time), the deteriorated and odor liquid may flow into the liquid storage tank 120 through the pipe system 130, thereby affecting the quality of the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120, and thus the residual liquid in the pipe system 130 may need to be discharged.

In some embodiments, by providing the vacuum pump 160 in the pipe system 130, the vacuum pump 160 can exhaust at least a portion of the residual liquid in the pipe system 130, thereby preventing the residual liquid from flowing into the liquid storage tank 120 when the cooking apparatus 100 is used next time, and affecting the quality of the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120.

In some embodiments, a vacuum pump 160 may be included in the piping system 130 of the cooking apparatus 100. A vacuum pump 160 is disposed between the first and second conduits 140 and 150. A vacuum pump 160 is in communication with the first and second conduits 140, 150. After the circulation heating or cooling process of the cooking apparatus 100 is completed, the water pump 170 stops operating and the liquid is not circulated any more. At this time, the vacuum pump 160 may be activated, and when the vacuum pump 160 is in an operating state, the residual liquid in the pipe system 130 may be discharged to the tank 120 through the pipe system 130 by a self-priming function. The self-priming function of the vacuum pump 160 may refer to: the vacuum pump 160 is capable of performing suction during operation to form a vacuum in the pipeline system 130, and the residual liquid in the pipeline system 130 is discharged under the action of the vacuum. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump 160 may work in conjunction with a valve structure to effect the evacuation of residual liquid in the piping system 130. The valve structure may be a structure that is capable of communicating a location in the piping system 130 to the atmosphere. In some embodiments, the valve structure includes, but is not limited to, a vent valve.

In some embodiments, after the vacuum pump 160 evacuates the residual liquid in the piping system 130, an air gap is formed in the piping system 130. When an air section is formed in the pipeline system 130, the air section is also present inside the water pump 170, resulting in that the water pump 170 is not filled with liquid, which may make the water pump 170 unable to suck liquid or suck liquid slowly, thereby affecting the normal operation of the cooking apparatus 100. In this case, the vacuum pump 160 may be started before the water pump 170 of the cooking apparatus 100 is operated, and a negative pressure after vacuum is formed in the pipe system 130 by the self-suction function of the vacuum pump 160, so as to generate a suction force to suck air in the pipe system 130, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 can be filled or partially filled with the water pump 170, and thus the water pump 170 or the cooking apparatus 100 can be operated normally.

By providing the vacuum pump 160 in the cooking apparatus 100, on one hand, after the liquid circulation heating or cooling process of the cooking apparatus 100 is finished, the residual liquid in the pipeline system 130 can be discharged to the tank 120 by using the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 160, thereby ensuring that no liquid remains in the pipeline system 130. On the other hand, before the liquid circulation heating or cooling process of the cooking apparatus 100 starts (i.e., the water pump 170 is started), the vacuum pump 160 generates a suction force by its self-suction function, so as to suck the air in the pipe system 130, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 can flow into the water pump 170 through the pipe system 130, thereby ensuring the normal operation of the water pump 170. Reference may be made elsewhere in this specification to the vacuum pump 160 and the valve structure for more.

In some embodiments, when the cooking apparatus 100 includes the vacuum pump 160, the outlet portion 124 of the tank 120 may be flexibly positioned, for example, the outlet portion 124 of the tank 120 may be positioned at the bottom of the tank 120 or at the sidewall of the tank 120.

In some embodiments, cooking device 100 may include, but is not limited to, a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and the like. The embodiments of the present disclosure relating to the piping system 130 and/or the reservoir 120 may also be applied to devices other than the cooking device 100. The liquid in the tank 120 also includes, but is not limited to, water or other liquids. For convenience of explanation, the pipeline system 130, the liquid storage tank 120 and the pipeline system 130 in the cooking apparatus 100 are exemplarily described below by using a low-temperature slow cooker as an example.

Fig. 2, 3, 4A, and 4B are schematic diagrams of exemplary configurations of piping systems according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the piping system 230 as shown in FIG. 2 may include only the vacuum pump 260, and the piping system 330 as shown in FIG. 3 may include only the vacuum pump 360. In some embodiments, the piping system 430 shown in fig. 4A and 4B may also include a vacuum pump 460 and a water pump 470.

In one or more embodiments herein, a vacuum pump (e.g., vacuum pump 260, vacuum pump 360, vacuum pump 460, etc.) may be understood to be a variety of devices capable of extracting a gas. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump may include a device or apparatus for obtaining a vacuum by mechanically, physically, chemically, or physico-chemically evacuating the evacuated container. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump may include a gas transfer pump and a gas capture pump. The gas transfer pump is used for sucking gas by continuously sucking and discharging the gas. The gas capture pump is designed to draw gas by reducing the number of gas molecules in the container by causing the gas molecules to be adsorbed or condensed on the internal surfaces of the pump. In some embodiments, the gas transfer pump includes, but is not limited to, a diaphragm pump, a piston vacuum pump, a rotary-vane vacuum pump, a molecular vacuum pump, an ejector vacuum pump, a diffusion ejector pump, and an ion transport pump. In some embodiments, the gas trapping pumps include, but are not limited to, sorption pumps, getter ion pumps, and cryogenic pumps.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the vacuum pump 460 at least has a gas pumping function (pumping function). The air-pumping function of the vacuum pump 460 can suck the air in the pipeline system 430 away, so that the water pump 470 can be filled with liquid, and the water pump 470 can work normally. As shown in fig. 4A and 4B, when the vacuum pump 460 has only a pumping function, the pipe system 430 further includes a water pump 470 for driving the flow of the liquid in the pipe system 430. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump 460 may also have both pumping and liquid pumping functions (liquid pumping function), for example, the vacuum pump 460 may be a water ring vacuum pump. The liquid pumping function is understood to mean that the vacuum pump is capable of driving a liquid flow in the piping system 430. The piping system 430 may also include both the vacuum pump 460 and the water pump 470, and when the water pump 470 is activated, the vacuum pump 460 is deactivated to prevent the liquid pumped from the reservoir by the vacuum pump 460 from merging with the liquid pumped by the water pump 470 to the heating or cooling assembly for heating or cooling, thereby affecting the temperature of the liquid flowing back to the reservoir via the outlet end 451 of the second piping 450.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, when a pumping device is included in the pipeline system, the vacuum pump 260 (and the vacuum pump 360) may have both the pumping function and the liquid pumping function, and the vacuum pump 260 (and the vacuum pump 360) may be used to pump gas or be used as a water pump to drive liquid to flow in the pipeline.

As shown in fig. 2, the piping system 230 may include a first pipe 240, a second pipe 250, and a vacuum pump 260 disposed between the first pipe 240 and the second pipe 250. The first conduit 240 communicates with an inlet of a vacuum pump 260 and the second conduit 250 communicates with an outlet of the vacuum pump 260. The first pipe 240 may be regarded as an inlet pipe of the pipe system 230, and the second pipe 250 may be regarded as an outlet pipe of the pipe system 230. The outlet portion of the reservoir communicates with a first conduit 240 and the inlet portion of the reservoir communicates with a second conduit 250. The liquid in the reservoir flows from the outlet portion of the reservoir through a first conduit 240 into the conduit system 230, through the inlet of the vacuum pump 260, out the outlet of the vacuum pump 260, and through a second conduit 250 from the inlet portion of the reservoir back into the reservoir.

In some embodiments, the first conduit 240 has an inlet end 241 and the second conduit 250 has an outlet end 251. The inlet end 241 may be considered the port on the first conduit 240 into which the liquid flows. The outlet end 251 can be considered as the port on the second line 250 from which the liquid flows out. The inlet of the vacuum pump 260 is connected to an end of the first conduit 240 remote from the inlet end 241 and the outlet of the vacuum pump 260 is connected to an end of the second conduit 250 remote from the outlet end 251.

The vacuum pump 260 in fig. 2 may have both a pumping function and a pumping function. The pumping function of the vacuum pump 260 is understood to mean that when the vacuum pump 260 pumps gas in the pipeline system 230, liquid in the pipeline system 230 flows under the action of suction. For example, when the vacuum pump 260 pumps gas in the pipe system 230, the liquid in the liquid storage tank can flow into the pipe system 230 under the action of suction force (the process corresponds to the exhaust process of the pipe system 230). For another example, when the vacuum pump 260 pumps the gas in the pipeline system 230, the liquid in the pipeline system 230 can flow and flow out of the pipeline system 230 under the effect of the pressure difference (the process corresponds to the liquid discharging process of the pipeline system 230). In some embodiments, after the pipeline system 230 stops the liquid circulation, residual liquid may exist in the pipeline system 230, and in order to discharge the residual liquid from the pipeline system 230, the vacuum pump 260 operates to form a negative pressure in the vacuum pump 260, so that the residual liquid in the pipeline system 230 (particularly, the residual liquid in the pipeline between the inlet of the vacuum pump 260 and the inlet end 241 of the first pipeline 240) flows into the vacuum pump 260 under the action of the negative pressure and further is discharged out of the pipeline system 230 through the outlet end 251 of the second pipeline 250. It will be appreciated that the conduit system 230 may be assisted by a vent valve and/or a one-way valve during the draining process, wherein the vent valve is in communication with the outside atmosphere to ensure a certain pressure differential in the conduit system 230, and the one-way valve is capable of restricting the flow direction of the liquid in the conduit system. Specific descriptions of the exhaust valve and the one-way valve may be found elsewhere in this specification. In some embodiments, after the residual liquid in the pipeline system 230 is exhausted, an air segment is formed in the pipeline system 230, when the pipeline system 230 is started again, the vacuum pump 260 operates to draw air in all the pipelines (e.g., the first pipeline 240) between the inlet of the vacuum pump 260 and the reservoir, a negative pressure is formed in the pipelines to generate a suction force, the liquid in the reservoir enters the first pipeline 240 under the action of the suction force, and then enters the vacuum pump 260, and the vacuum pump 260 drives the liquid to flow in the pipeline system 230. It will be appreciated that the piping system 230 (e.g., the inlet/outlet portion of the side wall of the tank, the inlet/outlet pipe of the tank, the inlet end 241 of the first piping 240, the outlet end 251 of the second piping 250, and the connections between the pipes in the piping system 230, etc.) is sealed when the vacuum pump 260 pumps air in all the pipes between the inlet of the vacuum pump 260 and the tank.

The piping system 330 of fig. 3 is substantially the same as the piping system 230 of fig. 2, for example, the piping system 330 includes a first pipe 340, a first pipe inlet end 341, a second pipe 350, a second pipe outlet end 351, and a vacuum pump 360. The difference is that the piping system 330 in fig. 3 further includes a power transmission pipe 390, a check valve 395, and a first exhaust valve 381. The energy transfer tube 390 may be used to heat or cool the liquid in the piping system 330. A one-way valve 395 may be used to control the flow of liquid in the tubing 330. For example, liquid in the conduit system 330 can only flow from the first conduit 340 to the second conduit 350 under the control of the one-way valve 395. The first exhaust valve 381 may cooperate with the vacuum pump 360 to enable exhaust and drainage of the piping system 360 by the vacuum pump 360. In some embodiments, the connection position of the first exhaust valve 381 and the first pipeline 340 (i.e., the position of the point a in fig. 3) and the outlet portion of the tank may have a height difference, and when the first exhaust valve 381 is in an open state, there is a pressure difference between the air pressure at the position of the point a and the water pressure of the liquid in the tank, so that the liquid at the position of the point a to the inlet end 341 section of the first pipeline 340 is disconnected from the liquid in the tank, and the liquid at the position of the point a to the inlet end 341 section of the first pipeline 340 can flow back to the tank under the action of the pressure difference and the gravity of the liquid itself. Further details regarding the energy transfer tube 390, the one-way valve 395, and the first exhaust valve 381 may be found elsewhere in this specification.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the piping system 430 includes a vacuum pump 460 and a water pump 470. At this time, the water pump 470 has a liquid pumping function, and the vacuum pump 460 has at least a gas pumping function, i.e., the vacuum pump 460 may only have a gas pumping function, and the vacuum pump 460 may also have both a liquid pumping function and a gas pumping function. In some embodiments, conduit system 430 further includes a transition conduit 472. A transition line 472 is disposed between first line 440 and second line 450 for water pump 470 to transfer liquid in first line 440 to second line 450. In some embodiments, a one-way valve (not shown) may be disposed in transition conduit 472 and configured to prevent the backflow of liquid from second conduit 450 to first conduit 440, thereby ensuring an effective circulation flow of liquid in conduit system 430. It will also be appreciated that by providing a one-way valve in the transition line 472, ineffective liquid circulation between the transition line 472 and the vacuum pump 460 line juxtaposed to the transition line 472 can be prevented.

In some embodiments (e.g., the embodiments shown in fig. 4A, 4B), an inlet of the water pump 470 is connected to the first conduit 440, and an outlet of the water pump 470 is connected to an inlet of the vacuum pump 460 and the second conduit 450. In the piping system 430, a branch is made from the first piping 440 to the water pump 470, the first branch being such that the outlet of the water pump 470 is connected to the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 and the outlet of the vacuum pump 460 is connected to the second piping 450. The second branch is that the outlet of the water pump 470 is connected to the transition pipe 472, and the transition pipe 472 is connected to the second pipe 450. When the vacuum pump 460 is activated, the air pumping function of the vacuum pump 460 can pump out all the pipes from the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 to the tank (e.g., the first pipe 440) and the air in the water pump 470 to the tank, so that a vacuum is generated in the pipes to generate a suction force, so that the liquid in the tank enters the pipe system 430 and enters the water pump 470 under the action of the suction force, after a certain amount of liquid enters the water pump 470, the water pump 470 starts to operate, and the vacuum pump 460 stops operating immediately or within a certain period of time (e.g., 2 seconds). The water pump 470 is operated to pump the liquid from the first pipe 440 to the second pipe 450 through the second branch, thereby realizing a circular flow of the liquid. It will be appreciated that when the vacuum pump 460 pumps liquid in all lines between the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 to the tank, the one-way valve can prevent liquid and air from flowing from the second line 450 to the first line 440, thereby providing a suitable working environment for the vacuum pump 460 to pump gas in the lines.

In some embodiments, vacuum pump 460 may include a diaphragm pump. The diaphragm pump comprises a diaphragm, the diaphragm is divided into two parts by the diaphragm, and the diaphragm is driven back and forth to change the volumes of two sides of the diaphragm when the diaphragm pump works, so that the pressure intensity of two sides of the diaphragm is changed to realize the pumping of liquid/gas. When the diaphragm pump works, water does not need to be poured, the self-priming capability is strong, the diaphragm pump can work for a long time without water, and the damage degree of the pump caused by the water-free work is low. And the diaphragm pump has small volume, light weight and low difficulty in installation and disassembly.

In some embodiments, the water pump 470 may include a centrifugal pump. The centrifugal pump utilizes the rotation of the impeller to enable water to generate centrifugal motion, so that the water is thrown to the outer edge of the impeller and flows into a pipeline through a flow passage to achieve the pumping purpose. The centrifugal pump has the advantages of simple structure, few parts, low failure rate, small pulse during liquid pumping and good conveying continuity. In some embodiments, the water pump 470 may also include other types of pumps, such as a plunger pump or the like.

When the pumping function of the pump body (e.g., the water pump 470 or the vacuum pump 460 having the pumping function) is stopped, the circulation of the liquid between the reservoir and the piping system 430 is stopped, and the liquid in the reservoir is not introduced into the piping system 430 any more. At this time, the liquid in the pipe system 430 that is higher than the liquid level of the liquid in the liquid storage tank and is not bent can flow to the liquid storage tank under the action of gravity, and besides, the liquid in the rest of the pipe system 430 cannot flow into the liquid storage tank, so that the liquid residue is formed. In some embodiments, the evacuation function of the vacuum pump 460 in combination with the valve design may be used to at least partially evacuate residual liquid in the piping system 430 from the piping system 430. The valve may comprise any device capable of communicating with the outside atmosphere. Valves include, but are not limited to, exhaust valves. By providing a valve at a location in the piping system 430 such that the location in the piping system 430 is in communication with the atmosphere, and then using the pumping function of the vacuum pump 460, the atmospheric pressure at some location in the piping system 430 is adjusted, so that the residual liquid is discharged along the piping system 430 under the effect of the atmospheric pressure. In some embodiments, the valve may further comprise a one-way valve capable of preventing the flow of liquid and air from the second conduit 450 to the first conduit 440, thereby ensuring a flow direction of the liquid in the conduit system 430 and an air pressure environment.

In some embodiments, a valve may be disposed in first conduit 440 and/or second conduit 450. In some embodiments, the valve may include a first vent valve 481. The first vent valve 481 is connected to the first pipe 440 and/or the second pipe 450. In some embodiments, the first vent valve 481 may be connected only to the first conduit 440 (e.g., fig. 4B). In some embodiments, the first vent valve 481 may also be connected only to the second conduit 450 (e.g., fig. 4A). In some embodiments, the first vent valve 481 may also be connected to both the first conduit 440 and the second conduit 450. In some embodiments, the operational state (e.g., closed, open) of the vent valve 481 is related to the state of the tubing system 430 (e.g., drain, vent, hydronic heating/cooling).

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4B, the first exhaust valve 481 is connected to the first pipe 440, the vacuum pump 460 starts to operate when the pipe system 430 performs the exhaust (i.e. the residual liquid in the pipe system 430 is exhausted), the first exhaust valve 481 is in an open state, the connection position a of the first pipe 440 with the first exhaust valve 481 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the liquid in the liquid storage tank (e.g. the liquid in the outlet pipe of the liquid storage tank) and the inlet end 441 of the pipe system 430 and the pipe portion from the inlet end 441 to the connection position a form a pressure balance system. Due to the fact that the first exhaust valve 481 is communicated with atmospheric pressure and the liquid storage tank water outlet pipe is vertically arranged upwards, water in the liquid storage tank water outlet pipe can fall downwards (until the water level in the liquid storage tank is flush), so that the inlet end 441 and liquid in the liquid storage tank form a liquid disconnecting state, and liquid in a pipeline from the connecting position A to the inlet end 441 can flow back to the liquid storage tank through the inlet end 441 due to self gravity. In some embodiments, when the pipeline system 430 performs the draining, the first exhaust valve 481 is connected to the first pipeline 440, and the vacuum pump 460 can also suck a part of the fluid in the first pipeline 440 (for example, a part of the first pipeline 440 between the vacuum pump 460 and the connection position) by a self-sucking action, and the fluid sucked by the vacuum pump 460 can be discharged to the second pipeline 450 through the outlet pipe of the vacuum pump, and further discharged out of the pipeline system 430 through the outlet end 451.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4A, the first vent valve 481 is connected to the second conduit 450, and when the conduit system 430 is draining, the vacuum pump 460 is started, similar to fig. 4B, and the first vent valve 481 is opened, a "liquid off" state is formed between the liquid in the reservoir (e.g., the liquid in the inlet conduit of the reservoir) and the outlet end 451 of the second conduit 450, and the liquid in the conduit connecting the position a to the outlet end 451 can flow back to the reservoir through the outlet end 451 due to its own weight. The liquid in the part of the pipeline between the vacuum pump 460 and the connection point a is discharged to the second pipeline 450 through the outlet pipe of the vacuum pump by the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 460, and further discharged out of the pipeline system 430 through the outlet end 451. It should be noted that the above-mentioned liquid discharging process may also be performed by a check valve (not shown) which can block the reverse flow of liquid and air from the second pipe 450 to the first pipe 440, so as to provide proper working conditions for the liquid discharging of the vacuum pump 460.

In some embodiments, when the pipeline system 430 performs liquid discharge, the number of the first air discharge valves 481 may be two, and the first air discharge valves are respectively connected to the first pipeline 440 and the second pipeline 450 to respectively perform liquid discharge of the corresponding pipelines.

In some embodiments, when the pipeline system 430 performs the exhaust (i.e., the vacuum pump 460 sucks the gas), the first exhaust valve 481 is in a closed state, the connection position of the pipeline (the first pipeline 440 or the second pipeline 450) and the first exhaust valve 481 is not communicated with the external atmosphere to ensure the tightness of the pipeline system 430, the vacuum pump 460 works to suck the air in the pipeline (e.g., the first pipeline 440) between the vacuum pump 460 and the liquid storage tank and the water pump 470, so that a negative pressure is formed in the pipeline and a suction force is generated, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank enters the water pump 470 through the first pipeline 440 under the action of the suction force. In some embodiments, when the piping system 430 is used to circulate heating/cooling fluid, the first vent valve 481 is in a closed state.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4A, 4B, the first vent valve 481 can be connected to the first conduit 440 or the second conduit 450. The connection position of the first exhaust valve 481 to the first pipe 430 is illustrated as a point a of the first pipe 430 in fig. 4B. The connection position of the first exhaust valve 481 and the second line 450 is illustrated as a point a on the second line 450 in fig. 4A. During normal operation of the conduit system 430, the first vent valve 481 is closed. When the piping system 430 is out of service and the fluid in the piping system 430 needs to be at least partially drained, the first vent valve 481 is in an open state. The normal operation of the pipeline system 430 may be understood as the pump body with the liquid pumping function (for example, the water pump 470 or the vacuum pump 460 with the liquid pumping function) in the pipeline system 430 is in an operating state. The pipeline system 430 is shut down, which may be understood as the pump body (e.g., the water pump 470 or the vacuum pump 460) with the pumping function in the pipeline system 430 is shut down. When the piping system 430 stops operating, the circulation of the liquid between the liquid tank and the piping system 430 stops. After the circulation of the liquid between the liquid storage tank and the pipeline system 430 is stopped, the pumping of the liquid by the vacuum pump 460 for draining does not belong to the normal operation in the pipeline system 430. In some embodiments, the first venting valve 481 is disposed above the conduit of the conduit system 430, and the first venting valve 481 is located at the highest point of the conduit system 430, as described with reference to the first venting valve 581 in fig. 5A-5C.

In some embodiments, when the pipeline system 330 includes only the vacuum pump 360, for example, as shown in fig. 3, the first exhaust valve 381 may be connected to the first pipeline 340, and the connection position of the first exhaust valve 381 to the first pipeline 340 is the position of point a on the first pipeline 340. After the pipe system 330 stops working, the liquid in the liquid storage tank stops entering the pipe system 330, the first exhaust valve 381 is opened and is communicated with the outside, that is, the position on the first pipe 340 connected with the first exhaust valve 381 (the position of the point a on the first pipe 340) is communicated with the outside atmosphere, the liquid in the first pipe 340 from the position of the point a to the inlet end 341 section of the first pipe 340 is disconnected from the liquid in the liquid storage tank, and the liquid in the pipe section (that is, the position of the point a in the first pipe 340 to the inlet end 341 section of the first pipe 340) can flow out of the pipe system 330 from the inlet end 341 of the first pipe 340. In some embodiments, after the liquid in the segment of the line is disconnected from the liquid in the tank, the liquid in the segment of the line may flow out of the line system 330 under the action of atmospheric pressure and gravity, in which case the level of the liquid in the tank needs to be lower than the level of the inlet end 341 of the first line 340. In some embodiments, the reason why the liquid in the pipe is disconnected from the liquid in the liquid storage tank may be that the pressure of the external atmosphere on the liquid in the first pipe 340 near the liquid storage tank is greater than the pressure of the liquid in the liquid storage tank on the same pipe, and an air section is formed after the two pressures are balanced, so that the liquid is disconnected from the pipe. In some embodiments, the liquid in the length of tubing may also be disconnected from the tank due to the tubing 330 being physically disconnected from the tank, e.g., the tubing 330 is disconnected from the tank. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump 360 is operated such that fluid in the conduit between the point a on the first conduit 340 and the inlet of the vacuum pump 360 is drawn into the vacuum pump 360 by the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 360, and fluid drawn into the vacuum pump 360 can flow from the outlet of the vacuum pump 360 to the second conduit 350 and exit the conduit system 330 through the outlet end 351 of the second conduit 350.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4B, the pipeline system 430 comprises a vacuum pump 460 and a water pump 470, the first vent valve 481 is connected to the first pipeline 440, and the connection position of the first vent valve 481 and the first pipeline 440 is the position a on the first pipeline 440. Similar to the description of fig. 3, after the tubing system 430 is deactivated and the first vent valve 481 is opened, fluid in the conduit between the point a on the first conduit 440 and the inlet end 441 of the first conduit 440 is disconnected from fluid in the reservoir, and fluid in that segment of the conduit can flow out of the tubing system 430 (e.g., under the force of gravity). The vacuum pump 460 is operated to draw liquid from the point a on the first conduit 440 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 to the vacuum pump 460 by the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 460. In addition, the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 460 can also draw the liquid in the section from the second pipeline 450 to the transition pipeline 472 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 into the vacuum pump 460. During the process of the vacuum pump 460 sucking the liquid in the section from the second pipeline 450 to the transition pipeline 472 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 460, the one-way valve (not shown) disposed between the vacuum pump 460 and the second pipeline 450 not only can prevent the liquid from flowing from the second pipeline 450 to the first pipeline 440, but also can block air, so that the pressure in the section of pipeline is lower than the pressure in the pipeline communicated with the first exhaust valve 481, and the vacuum pump 460 can suck the liquid in the section of pipeline by using a self-sucking function. Liquid drawn into the vacuum pump 460 with the vacuum pump 460 self priming function can flow from the outlet of the vacuum pump 460 into the second conduit 450, thereby causing the liquid to exit the conduit system 430 from the outlet end 451 in the second conduit 450.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4A, when the tubing system 430 includes a vacuum pump 460 and a water pump 470, a first vent valve 481 may also be connected to the second tubing 450. Similar to fig. 4B, after the water pump 470 of the piping system 430 is stopped, the liquid in the reservoir stops entering the piping system 430, the first vent valve 481 is opened, so that the position a of the second piping 450 connected to the first vent valve 481 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, the liquid in the piping between the outlet end 451 of the second piping 450 and the position a is disconnected from the liquid in the reservoir, and the liquid in the piping can flow out of the piping system 430 from the outlet end 451 of the second piping 450 (e.g., under the action of gravity). The vacuum pump 460 is operated, and the vacuum pump 460 can pump the liquid in the pipeline between the point a on the second pipeline 450 and the inlet of the vacuum pump 460 along the transition pipeline 472 to the vacuum pump 460 through the self-priming function; in addition, since the liquid in the pipeline close to the inlet end 441 of the first pipeline 440 is disconnected from the liquid in the liquid storage tank, the vacuum pump 460 can also pump the liquid in the pipeline from the first pipeline 440 to the water pump 470 to the vacuum pump 460 through the self-priming function into the vacuum pump 460, and the liquid sucked into the vacuum pump 460 under the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 460 can flow to the second pipeline 450 through the first branch, and then is discharged out of the pipeline system 430 from the outlet end 451 of the second pipeline 450. It will be appreciated that during this draining process, the one-way valve (not shown) not only prevents the flow of liquid from the second conduit 450 to the first conduit 440, but also acts as a barrier to air to ensure that the vacuum pump 460 can draw liquid from the corresponding conduit. It should be noted that in order to avoid the problem of liquid in the tank entering the piping system 430 from the inlet port 441 of the first piping 440 during the liquid discharge of the vacuum pump 460, in some embodiments, a switch or valve may be provided at the inlet port 441, and when the vacuum pump 460 of the piping system 430 discharges, the switch or valve is controlled so that the liquid in the tank does not enter the first piping 440 any more.

To more clearly describe the specific structure and layout of the relevant elements (e.g., the first vent valve 481) in the piping system 430, it will be described below in conjunction with a perspective view.

Referring to fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, fig. 5A is an exemplary structural schematic diagram of a piping system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, fig. 5B is an exemplary perspective view of a piping system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and fig. 5C is an exemplary perspective view of another angle of the piping system shown in fig. 5B.

As shown in fig. 5B and 5C, in a perspective view of the conduit system 530, the first conduit 540 includes a straight section 540-1 and a curved section 540-2. Wherein the axial direction of the pipes of the straight section 540-1 is parallel or substantially parallel to the height direction of the liquid storage tank (the straight section 540-1 is also referred to as a vertical row section); the plane in which the tubes of the curved segment 540-2 lie is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the tubes of the straight segment 540-1 (the curved segment 540-2 is also referred to as a horizontal curved segment). In some embodiments, the first conduit 540 may communicate with the outlet of the tank through the straight section 540-1. For example, the straight section 540-1 may include two sections of tubing that are positioned on either side of the port of the curved section 540-2. Wherein, one end of the first section of pipeline is connected with the second pipeline 550, and the other end of the first section of pipeline is connected with one port of the bending section 540-2; one end of the second length of tubing is connected to the other port of the curved segment 540-2 and the other end of the second length of tubing serves as the inlet end 541 of the first tubing 540. The first pipeline 540 is connected with the outlet part of the liquid storage tank through the inlet end of the second pipeline. In some embodiments, the first conduit 540 may also be connected to the outlet portion of the tank by a curved segment 540-2. For example, where the straight section 540-1 of the first conduit 540 comprises only a first section of conduit, the outlet portion of the tank may be arranged in an upwardly heightened and turning configuration so that the outlet portion of the tank can interface with the curved section 540-2 of the first conduit 540. In some embodiments, the water pump 570 is arranged in parallel with the pipes of the straight section 540-1 of the first pipe 540. In other words, the height direction of the liquid container in the water pump 570 is parallel or substantially parallel to the axis of the straight section 540-1 pipe.

In some embodiments, the portion of the tube in the first conduit 540 near the inlet end 541 is a horizontal bend (i.e., bend 540-2); the portion of the first conduit 540 near the water pump 570 is a vertical row of cloth (i.e., the straight section 540-1). After the straight section 540-1 of the first pipeline 540 is connected with the water pump 570, the pipeline connected with the outlet of the water pump 570 comprises a horizontal distribution section 542, as shown in fig. 5A. At some point (e.g., an intermediate location or other suitable location) of the conduits of the horizontal distribution segment 542, there are communicated a vacuum pump inlet conduit 562, a vacuum pump 560, and a vacuum pump outlet conduit 564. A transition pipeline 572 and a second pipeline 550 are communicated with the right end (the end far away from the water pump 570) of the pipeline of the horizontal distribution section 542. In some embodiments, transition conduit 572 and second conduit 550 may be two conduits in communication with each other. In some embodiments, the transition conduit 572 and the second conduit 550 may also be one pipe running through. Transition conduit 572 and second conduit 550 also include vertically distributed segments and horizontally curved segments if transition conduit 572 and second conduit 550 are considered as one piece. In some embodiments, the straight and curved sections of the integrated conduit of the transition conduit 572 and the second conduit 550 are disposed corresponding to the straight and curved sections 540-1 and 540-2 of the first conduit 540, and further are symmetrically disposed. Thus, the piping system 530 may be divided into two regions corresponding to (or symmetrical to) the left and right: left half area 531 and right half area 533, as shown in fig. 5B. The left half 531 includes a first pipe 540, a water pump 570, a vacuum pump 560, and a first exhaust valve 581 provided on the first pipe 540 in order. The right half area 533 comprises a second pipeline 550, a transition pipeline 572 and a vacuum pump 560 which are communicated in sequence. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 is connected to the second conduit 550/transition conduit 572, and fluid in the vacuum pump 560 can flow into the second conduit 550/transition conduit 572 through the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564. The vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 can be viewed in parallel relationship with the left and right half regions 531, 533. In some embodiments, the right half area 533 may further include at least one of an energy transfer tube 590, a one-way valve 595, and a second exhaust valve 583, as described in further detail herein.

In some embodiments, the first vent valve 581 can be positioned above the highest point of the fluid level in the left half 531 (as shown in FIG. 5B). The first venting valve 581 being disposed at the highest point of the liquid level in the left half area 531 may mean that the interface between the first venting valve 581 and the first pipeline 540 is higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the left half area 531. In some embodiments, the point a on the first tubing 540 that connects with the first vent valve 581 is higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the left half 531 of the tank and tubing system 530 (as shown in fig. 5B, 5C). In some embodiments, the interface on the first vent valve 581 connected to the first conduit 540 is located above the highest point of the liquid level in the left half 531. In some embodiments, the first venting valve 581 may be an electronic switch, the state of which is controlled by a chip of the motherboard. In some embodiments, the first vent valve 581 further has a physical switch, for example, a control switch, when the control switch is in a closed state, the first vent valve 581 is not communicated with the external atmosphere, and when the control switch is in an open state, the first vent valve 581 is communicated with the external atmosphere. In some embodiments, the control switch of the first vent valve 581 may be higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the left half 531. In some embodiments, the control switch of the first exhaust valve 581 may be higher than a position on the first conduit 540 connected to the first exhaust valve 581, such as point a. By the relative positioning of the first vent valve 581 in one or more of the above embodiments, the liquid in the reservoir or the liquid in the piping system 530 can not reach the first vent valve 581 or the control switch of the first vent valve 581, thereby preventing the liquid from leaking from the first vent valve 581. In some embodiments of the present description, the liquid level maximum may refer to a physical maximum position of the liquid level in the piping system 530.

In some embodiments, the conduit system 530 may further include a first vent valve conduit 582, the first vent valve 581 connected to the first conduit 540 via the first vent valve conduit 582. One end of the first exhaust valve conduit 582 is connected to the first exhaust valve 581, and the connection position is illustrated as point C shown in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C. The other end of the first exhaust valve line 582 connects to the first line 540 at point a. The first exhaust valve conduit 582 is primarily used to communicate the first exhaust valve 581 with the conduit system 530. In some embodiments, the connection point C of the first vent valve 581 and the first vent valve conduit 582 may be higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the tank and conduit system 530 (as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C).

It should be noted that, in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the length of the pipeline or the pipe may be understood as the length of the pipeline or the pipe in the expanded state, except for the specific description.

In some embodiments, when the tubing system 530 includes a vacuum pump 560 and a water pump 570, the tubing system 530 may further include a vacuum pump inlet 562, one end of the vacuum pump inlet 562 being connected to an inlet of the vacuum pump 560, and the other end of the vacuum pump inlet 562 being connected to an outlet of the water pump 570. The vacuum pump intake 562 is capable of communicating the water pump 570 with the vacuum pump 560 such that the vacuum pump 560 is capable of pumping fluid from the reservoir to the water pump 570 to provide the water pump 570 with the conditions required to start operation (i.e., the water pump 570 has fluid therein).

In some embodiments, the connection of the vacuum pump inlet line 562 to the first line 540 may be below a minimum level of liquid in the water pump 570 to facilitate the outflow of liquid from the water pump 570. The connection position of the vacuum pump inlet 562 and the first pipeline 540 can be understood as the connection position between the pipeline connected with the outlet of the water pump 570 and the vacuum pump inlet 562, such as the position D in fig. 5A, 5B and 5C. The minimum liquid level within the water pump 570 may be understood as the level at which the water pump 570 is intended to operate normally with the minimum amount of liquid that needs to be filled within the water pump. The high-low comparison between the connection of the vacuum pump inlet line 562 to the first line 540 and the lowest level of liquid in the water pump 570 refers to a physical positional relationship comparison.

In some embodiments, when the conduit system 530 comprises the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570, the conduit system 530 may further comprise a vacuum pump outlet conduit 564, one end of the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 is connected to an outlet of the vacuum pump 560, and the other end of the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 is connected to an end of the second conduit 550 away from the outlet 551, so that the vacuum pump 560 can pump the pumped liquid and/or gas to the liquid storage tank connected to the outlet 551, thereby forming a complete closed loop liquid circulation loop.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiment only includes a part of the basic components of the pipeline system 530, and the pipeline system 530 may also be provided with components with other functions, such as a check valve, an exhaust valve, a heating device, a refrigeration device, and the like.

In some embodiments, the piping system 130 may also be provided with a heating or cooling assembly 102 for heating or cooling the liquid in the piping system 130. Such as the piping systems shown in fig. 3, 5A, 5B, 5C.

In some embodiments, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may be a component disposed in the piping system 130. For example, heating or cooling assembly 102 may include heating wires disposed within the interior of the conduit. Also for example, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may be a heating and/or cooling tube (e.g., the energy transfer tube 590 mentioned later in fig. 5A-5C) having heating and/or cooling functions, etc. in communication with the conduit.

In other embodiments, the heating or cooling assembly 102 may also be an external device separate from the piping system 130. In some embodiments, the off-board device may be a heating element and/or a cooling element disposed outside of a section of tubing of the tubing system 130. For example, the heating element may include a heating wire, a heating sheet, or the like; the cooling element may comprise a cooling fin, a cooling belt, or the like. In some embodiments, the off-board device may also be a device that provides a heated environment or a cooled environment. For example, the external device may be a refrigerator, or the external device may be a container containing hot water or dry ice. The heating or cooling assembly 102 is described more below in connection with the various embodiments shown in fig. 3 and 5A-5C.

Referring to fig. 3, in some embodiments, when the conduit system 330 includes only the vacuum pump 360 and not the water pump 370 (in which case the vacuum pump 360 has both pumping and evacuating functions), an energy transfer conduit 390 may be disposed between the first conduit 340 and the vacuum pump 360. One end of the energy transfer tube 390 may be connected to the first line 340, and the other end of the energy transfer tube 390 is connected to an inlet of the vacuum pump 360. At this time, the first pipeline 340, the energy transfer pipe 390, the vacuum pump 360, and the second pipeline 350 are sequentially connected, the liquid in the liquid storage tank 320 enters the energy transfer pipe 390 for heating or refrigeration after entering the first pipeline 340, and the processed liquid enters the second pipeline 350 through the vacuum pump 360 and finally returns to the liquid storage tank 320. In other embodiments, the energy transfer tube 390 may also be disposed between the vacuum pump 360 and the second pipeline 350, and the specific configuration and operation process are similar to the configuration of the energy transfer tube 390 disposed between the first pipeline 340 and the vacuum pump 360, and are not described herein again.

In other embodiments, when the piping system includes a vacuum pump and a water pump, the energy transfer pipe may also be disposed between the water pump and the vacuum pump. One end of the energy transfer tube may be connected to an outlet of the water pump and the other end of the energy transfer tube may be connected to an inlet of the vacuum pump. At the moment, the first pipeline, the water pump, the energy transfer pipe, the vacuum pump water inlet pipeline, the vacuum pump water outlet pipeline and the second pipeline are sequentially connected, after liquid in the liquid storage tank enters the first pipeline, the liquid enters the energy transfer pipe through the water pump to be heated or refrigerated, the processed liquid enters the second pipeline through the vacuum pump, and finally the processed liquid returns to the liquid storage tank. In some embodiments, an energy transfer tube may also be disposed between the first conduit and the water pump. The energy transfer tube is now similar in construction to energy transfer tube 390 and will not be described further herein.

Referring to fig. 5A-5C, in some embodiments, heating or cooling assembly 102 may include an energy transfer tube 590 and a heating element and/or a cooling element disposed outside of energy transfer tube 590. One end of the energy transfer pipe 590 is connected to the first pipeline 540, the other end of the energy transfer pipe 590 is connected to the second pipeline 550, and the liquid discharged from the first pipeline 540 enters the energy transfer pipe 590, and finally enters the liquid storage tank through the second pipeline 550 after the energy transfer pipe 590 is heated by the heating element (or cooled by the cooling element). In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5A-5C, when the piping system 530 includes the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570, the connection between the vacuum pump 560, the water pump 570, and the energy transfer tube 590 may also be understood as: the vacuum pump 560 is connected in series with the water pump 570; the energy transfer tube 590 is connected in series with the water pump 570; the energy transfer tube 590 is connected in parallel with the vacuum pump 560.

The energy transfer tube 590 is primarily used to transfer energy between the liquid in the conduit system 530 and the outside heating and/or cooling elements. For example, when a heating element is disposed outside the energy transfer tube 590, after the liquid enters the energy transfer tube 590, the heat of the heating element can be transferred to the liquid through the energy transfer tube 590, so as to heat the liquid. When the cooling element is arranged outside the energy transfer pipe 590, after the liquid enters the energy transfer pipe 590, the heat of the liquid is transferred to the cooling element through the energy transfer pipe 590, so that the liquid loses heat, and the liquid is cooled.

In some embodiments, since the heating element and/or the cooling element are disposed outside the energy transfer tube 590, in order to enhance the efficiency of energy transfer between the liquid in the energy transfer tube 590 and the heating element and/or the cooling element and reduce the loss during energy transfer, the material of the energy transfer tube 590 may include a material that has good thermal conductivity and does not react with the transfer liquid. For example, when the transfer fluid is water, the material of the energy transfer tube 590 may comprise copper.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, when the pipeline system 530 includes the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570, one end of the energy transfer tube 590 may be connected to an outlet of the water pump 570, and the other end of the energy transfer tube 590 may be connected to the second pipeline 550. At this time, the first pipe 540, the water pump 570, the energy transfer pipe 590, and the second pipe 550 are sequentially connected to heat or refrigerate the liquid drawn from the liquid storage tank, and then, to return the liquid to the liquid storage tank. Meanwhile, the outlet of the water pump 570 is also connected to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560 through the vacuum pump inlet conduit 562, and the second pipeline 550 is connected to the outlet of the vacuum pump 560 through the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564. That is, the energy transfer tube 590 is connected in parallel with the vacuum pump 560. At this time, the first pipe 540, the water pump 570, the vacuum pump inlet pipe 562, the vacuum pump 560, the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564, and the second pipe 550 are connected in sequence. When the water pump 570 is operating normally, the liquid in the reservoir flows from the first conduit 540 through the water pump 570, the energy transfer tube 590 to the second conduit 550 and back to the reservoir to complete the circulation pumping of the liquid. Wherein, when the water pump 570 is normally operated, the vacuum pump 560 is in a closed state. In some embodiments, the portion of the conduit in which the vacuum pump 560 is in the off state (the conduit formed by the vacuum pump inlet conduit 562, the vacuum pump 560, and the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564) does not have liquid flowing through it.

With continued reference to fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, when the pipeline system 530 is applied to the cooking apparatus 100, after a cooking process is finished, the water pump 570 stops working, the liquid in the liquid storage tank is no longer pumped to the pipeline system 530, and the stopping of the water pump 570 may prevent the original liquid in the pipeline system 530 from being pumped back to the liquid storage tank, resulting in liquid residue in the pipeline system 530. To drain the remaining liquid in the piping system 530, the piping system 530 may be drained by a vacuum pump 560. In some embodiments, when the pipeline system 530 performs the draining operation, the first vent valve 581 and the second vent valve 583 are both open, the liquid in the first pipeline 540 from the point a to the inlet end 541 section of the first pipeline 540 is cut off from the liquid in the liquid storage tank, and the liquid in the pipeline (i.e., the liquid in the first pipeline 540 from the point a to the inlet end 541 section of the first pipeline 540) can flow out of the pipeline system 530 from the inlet end 541 of the first pipeline 540. The line in the first line 540 from the point a to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560 and the liquid in the water pump 570 can enter the vacuum pump 560 through the vacuum pump inlet line 562 and be discharged from the vacuum pump outlet line 564 to the second line 550 under the suction force of the vacuum pump 560. Liquid in the line from the point E of the second line 550 (the connection of the second exhaust valve 583 and the second exhaust valve line 584) to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560 can enter the vacuum pump 560 through the vacuum pump inlet line 562 and be discharged from the vacuum pump outlet line 564 to the second line 550 under the suction force of the vacuum pump 560. The fluid in second conduit 550 from the point where check valve 595 is connected to second conduit 550 to the exit end 551 of second conduit 550 is also disconnected from the reservoir, and the fluid in that conduit (including the fluid exiting vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 into second conduit 550) is able to flow out of conduit system 530 by gravity. The function of the check valve 595, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 in the process will be described in detail with reference to the check valve and the exhaust valve.

In some embodiments, after the residual liquid in the pipe system 530 is discharged, an air segment is formed in the pipe system 530 and the water pump 570. When the next cooking process is performed, the vacuum pump 560 is needed to exhaust air from the inlet 541 of the first pipeline 540 to the water pump 570, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank can enter the water pump 570, and after a certain amount of liquid enters the water pump 570, the water pump 570 is operated to realize the circulation heating of the liquid. When the vacuum pump 560 sucks and exhausts the gas from the inlet 541 of the first pipeline 540 to the section of the water pump 570, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 are closed, the water pump 570 is closed, the vacuum pump 560 sucks the air in the pipeline to form a vacuum negative pressure in the pipeline so as to generate suction, and the liquid in the liquid storage tank is sucked into the water pump 570 through the first pipeline 540 under the action of the suction. When the vacuum pump 560 is operated for a certain time, and after the water pump 570 is filled with a certain amount of liquid, and the cooking apparatus 100 starts to heat the liquid in the liquid storage tank through the pipe system 530, the vacuum pump 560 is turned off, the water pump 570 is turned on, and the water pump 570 is operated to enable the liquid to circulate in the liquid storage tank and the pipe system 530, so that the liquid in the liquid storage tank is heated to cook food. The reason that the vacuum pump 560 needs to be shut down when the water pump 570 is started may be to prevent the liquid pumped by the vacuum pump 560 from the reservoir from affecting the temperature of the liquid pumped by the water pump 570 to the energy transfer tube 590 for heating. The water pump 570 in normal operation can pump the liquid to the liquid storage tank along the first pipeline 540, the water pump 570, the energy transfer pipe 590 and the second pipeline 550, and at the same time, the liquid is continuously pumped from the liquid storage tank into the first pipeline 540 and continuously pumped to the liquid storage tank along the above-mentioned pipelines, so as to realize the circulation pumping of the liquid (in one or more embodiments of the present specification, this process can be referred to as a liquid circulation process). When the water pump 570 is filled with liquid or partially filled with liquid, the vacuum pump 560 may be turned off immediately when the water pump 570 is turned on, or may be turned off after a period of time (e.g., the vacuum pump 560 may be turned off after the water pump 570 is turned on for 1-3 seconds to purge the water pump 570 of air).

In some embodiments, when the vacuum pump 560 removes residual liquid from the conduit system 530, the conduit system 530 may include a one-way valve 595 to ensure that a portion of the liquid in the second conduit 550 does not flow back into the first conduit 540.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 5A-5B, a one-way valve 595 can be positioned between first conduit 540 and second conduit 550. One end of the check valve 595 may be connected to the first conduit 540, for example, one end of the check valve 595 is connected to the first conduit 540 through the energy transfer tube 590. The other end of check valve 595 may be connected to second conduit 550. The direction of the check valve 595 is from one end of the check valve 595 (the end connected to the first conduit 540) to the other end of the check valve 595 (the end connected to the second conduit 550), i.e. the direction of the check valve 595 is from the first conduit 540 to the second conduit 550, so as to ensure that liquid can only flow from the first conduit 540 to the second conduit 550, thereby avoiding liquid backflow.

In some embodiments, when the vacuum pump 560 discharges the fluid in the conduit system 530, and the vacuum pump 560 pumps the fluid in the conduit between the point E of the second conduit 550 (the connection point of the second exhaust valve 583 and the second exhaust valve conduit 584) and the inlet of the vacuum pump 560, the fluid in the conduit from the outlet end 551 of the second conduit 550 to the end of the check valve 595 far away from the energy transfer tube 590 is prevented from being pumped into the energy transfer tube 590 due to the check valve 595, and the discharge process is not affected.

As shown in fig. 5A, 5B and 5C, in some embodiments, when the pipeline system 530 includes the energy transfer pipe 590, the check valve 595 may be disposed between the energy transfer pipe 590 and the second pipeline 550, and the check valve 595 is in a direction from the energy transfer pipe 590 to the second pipeline 550, and the check valve 595 can prevent the heated or cooled liquid from flowing back to the energy transfer pipe 590, thereby improving the temperature measurement accuracy of the liquid in the tank. Meanwhile, the check valve 595 may further cooperate with the vacuum pump 560 and a second exhaust valve disposed in the second pipeline 550 to complete the operation of exhausting the residual liquid in the pipeline system 530, which is described in detail with reference to the second exhaust valve 583.

In some embodiments, the one-way valve 595 may be further disposed at other positions, such as at the inlet of the energy transfer tube 590 or at the outlet of the vacuum pump 560, etc., to ensure one-way flow of the liquid and prevent backflow of the liquid.

As shown in fig. 5B and 5C, in some embodiments, when the conduit system 530 includes the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570, the one-way valve 595 can be disposed at a height higher than or equal to the height of the connection position of the second conduit 550 and the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564, i.e., along the direction from the inlet to the outlet end 551 of the second conduit 550, the one-way valve 595 has an inclined conduit between the second conduit 550 and the one-way valve 595, and the connection position of the second conduit 550 and the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564 is at the upper end and the lower end. Therefore, when the piping system 530 stops working and the vacuum pump 560 exhausts the residual liquid in the piping system 530, the liquid in the inclined piping can automatically flow to the outlet of the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564 under the gravity and be pumped out by the vacuum pump 560, thereby reducing the residual liquid amount in the piping system 530.

Referring to fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, in some embodiments, when the conduit system 530 includes the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570, the conduit system 530 may further include a second exhaust valve 583, and the second exhaust valve 583 may be disposed between the one-way valve 595 and the energy transfer tube 590. When the water pump 570 is deactivated, the circulation of fluid from the reservoir to the fluid system 530 is stopped, and fluid in the reservoir no longer enters the fluid system 530, but the fluid system 530 remains in communication with the water pump 570. At this time, when the liquid is discharged from the pipeline system 530, the first air discharge valve 581 and the second air discharge valve 583 may be opened and communicated with the outside atmosphere, the end of the first pipeline 540 connected to the liquid storage tank is bent toward the liquid storage tank, at this time, the liquid in the passage between the inlet end 541 of the first pipeline 540 and the position of the point a will return to the liquid storage tank from the inlet end 541 of the first pipeline 540 under the action of pressure and gravity, the end of the second pipeline 550 connected to the liquid storage tank is bent toward the liquid storage tank, and the liquid in the passage between the point B and the outlet end 551 of the second pipeline 550 will enter the liquid storage tank from the outlet end 551 of the second pipeline 550 under the action of pressure and gravity. After the vacuum pump 560 starts to work, the vacuum pump 560 can suck the liquid in the pipe from the point a on the first pipeline 540 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560 and the water pump 570 into the vacuum pump 560, and the pipe from the end of the check valve 595 close to the energy transfer pipe 590 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560 and the liquid in the energy transfer pipe 590 into the vacuum pump 160 by a self-priming function, and can deliver the sucked residual liquid to the second pipeline 550 through the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564 and finally to the tank.

In some embodiments, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 are both open when the tubing system 530 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 560. The first vent valve 581 is opened, the connection position (e.g., the position of the a point) of the first vent valve 581 and the first pipeline 540 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and there is a pressure difference between the air pressure at the position of the a point and the water pressure of the liquid in the liquid storage tank, so that the liquid at the position of the a point to the inlet end 541 section of the first pipeline 540 is disconnected from the liquid in the liquid storage tank, and the liquid at the position of the a point to the inlet end 341 section of the first pipeline 340 can flow back to the liquid storage tank under the action of the pressure difference and the gravity of the liquid itself. The residual liquid in the position a along the first pipe 540 to the vacuum pump inlet pipe 562 passes through the outlet of the vacuum pump 560 under the self-priming action of the vacuum pump 560, and enters the liquid storage tank along the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564 and the second pipe 550. The second exhaust valve 583 is in an open state, the connection position (for example, the position B) of the second exhaust valve 583 and the transition pipeline 572 is communicated with the outside atmosphere, and the residual liquid in the position B to the vacuum pump inlet pipeline 562 passes through the outlet of the vacuum pump 560 and enters the liquid storage tank along the vacuum pump outlet pipeline 564 and the second pipeline 550 under the self-priming effect of the vacuum pump 560. In some embodiments, when the vacuum pump 560 draws liquid from the line between the connection location of the second vent valve 583 and the transition line 572 to the inlet of the vacuum pump 560, the one-way valve 595 not only prevents liquid from flowing from the second line 550 to the energy transfer tube 590, but also prevents gas from flowing from the second line 550 to the energy transfer tube 590, thereby also preventing gas in the line from creating inefficient gas circulation in the transition line 572, the energy transfer tube 590, and the vacuum pump 560 juxtaposed to the transition line 572.

In the draining mode, the check valve 595 prevents the liquid output from the outlet conduit 564 of the vacuum pump from flowing to the energy transfer tube 590 during the process of draining the residual liquid in the piping system 530 by the vacuum pump 560 (i.e., the draining process).

As shown in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, in some embodiments, the connection location of the second exhaust valve 583 to the conduit in the conduit system 530 may be disposed on the conduit between the check valve 595 and the energy transfer tube 590 (as shown at point B in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C). In some embodiments, the physical location of point B may be higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the tank and the piping system 530, so that the liquid in the tank or the liquid in the piping system 530 cannot reach the second exhaust valve 583, thereby preventing the liquid from leaking from the second exhaust valve 583. Meanwhile, the height difference between the second exhaust valve 583 and the vacuum pump 560 can be increased as much as possible by the arrangement, so that the initial pressure difference between the second exhaust valve 583 and the vacuum pump 560 is increased, and the vacuum pump 560 can conveniently exhaust air from the second exhaust valve 583. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a comparison of a point location to a highest point of a liquid level of the piping system 530 may be understood as a physical location comparison. For example, the pipe system 530 or the cooking apparatus 100 is placed on a certain placing plane, in which state a certain point position is compared with the highest point of the liquid level in the pipe system 530 in the direction perpendicular to the placing plane.

With continued reference to fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, in some embodiments, the conduit system 530 may further include a second exhaust valve conduit 584, one end of the second exhaust valve conduit 584 may be connected to a second exhaust valve 583 (the connection position is illustrated as point E in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C), and the other end of the second exhaust valve conduit 584 may be connected to a point B on the conduit between the check valve 595 and the energy transfer tube 590. Second exhaust valve line 584 is primarily used to communicate second exhaust valve 583 with line system 530.

Similar to the position of the first vent valve 581, in some embodiments, the connection position of the second vent valve 583 and the second vent valve 584 (e.g., the position E in fig. 5A) may be higher than the highest point of the liquid level in the tank and pipe system 530. In some embodiments, the control switch of the second vent valve 583 is above the highest point of the liquid level in the tank and piping system 530 (or right half 533). In some embodiments, the control switch of the second exhaust valve 583 is above the B point position in the piping system.

In some embodiments, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 may be different exhaust valves. In some embodiments, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 may be the same exhaust valve. For example, in some embodiments, the same vent valve may have a first port connected to the first conduit 540 (e.g., point a on the first conduit 540) and a second port connected to the conduit between the check valve 595 and the energy transfer tube 590 (e.g., point B on the transition conduit 572). For another example, the same exhaust valve has only one port, and the ports of the exhaust valve are connected to the first conduit 540 and the transition conduit 572 between the check valve 595 and the energy transmission pipe 590, respectively, by a tee.

As shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments, when the pipeline system 330 only includes the vacuum pump 360 and does not include a water pump, the vacuum pump 360 may have both air pumping and liquid pumping functions, the first pipeline 340, the vacuum pump 360, the energy transmission pipe 390, the one-way valve 395, and the second pipeline 350 may be sequentially communicated, the first exhaust valve 381 may be disposed on the first pipeline 340, and the second exhaust valve may not be disposed. When the pipeline system 330 works, the first exhaust valve 381 is closed, the vacuum pump 360 is started, the liquid in the liquid storage tank is pumped into the first pipeline 340, the liquid enters the energy transfer pipe 390 after passing through the first pipeline 340 and the vacuum pump 360 in sequence, the liquid in the energy transfer pipe 390 can complete energy transfer (heating/refrigerating), the liquid discharged from the energy transfer pipe 390 enters the second pipeline 350 after passing through the one-way valve 395, and finally returns to the liquid storage tank to complete one cycle. When the vacuum pump 360 stops working, the liquid circulation of the liquid storage tank and the pipeline system 330 stops, the liquid in the liquid storage tank does not enter the pipeline system 330 any more, the first exhaust valve 381 is opened and is communicated with the outside, and at the moment, the liquid in the passage from the inlet end 341 of the first pipeline 340 to the position of the A point returns to the liquid storage tank from the inlet end 341 of the first pipeline 340 under the action of gravity. The vacuum pump 360 works to pump the liquid in the first pipeline 340 of the section between the point a and the inlet of the vacuum pump 360 through the self-priming function, so as to extract the residual liquid in the first pipeline 340 of the section between the point a and the inlet of the vacuum pump 360, and the liquid finally enters the liquid storage tank through the vacuum pump 360, the energy transfer pipe 390, the one-way valve 395 and the second pipeline 350, thereby finishing the discharge of the residual liquid in the pipeline system 330.

With continued reference to fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, after the liquid in the pipe system 530 is drained out of the pipe system 530 by the vacuum pump 560, an air section is formed in the pipe system 530 and the water pump 570, and when the cooking apparatus is started again to cook, the cooking apparatus enters a liquid suction mode to drain the air and introduce the water into the water pump 570, so that the water pump 570 can operate. At this time, air in a portion of the pipe system 530 (e.g., a pipe between the inlet end 541 of the first pipe 540 and the water pump 570) and the water pump 570 may be exhausted by the exhaust function of the vacuum pump 560. When the vacuum pump 560 is used for exhausting, the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 are closed, then the vacuum pump 560 is started (at this time, the water pump 570 is still in a closed state), the pipeline between the inlet end 541 of the first pipeline 540 and the water pump 570 and the air in the water pump 570 are sucked into the vacuum pump 560 and exhausted to the liquid storage tank by using the self-priming function of the vacuum pump 560, so that the pressure in the pipeline is lower than the liquid pressure in the liquid storage tank, the vacuum pump 560 generates a suction force on the liquid in the liquid storage tank, the liquid in the liquid storage tank is pumped into the water pump 570 through the first pipeline 530 under the suction force (i.e., a liquid suction mode), and the water pump 570 is filled with a certain amount of liquid (e.g., is filled or reaches a preset liquid volume). The self-priming process of the vacuum pump 560 may include drawing air out of the tubing before the water pump 570, and then drawing the liquid in the reservoir from the reservoir under negative pressure through the outlet portion of the reservoir into the first tubing 540 of the tubing system 530 and into the water pump 570. In some embodiments, the duration of the self-priming process of the vacuum pump 560 is between 5 seconds and 12 seconds. In some embodiments, the duration of the self-priming process of the vacuum pump 560 is between 8 seconds and 10 seconds. For example, the duration of the self-priming process of the vacuum pump 560 is 8 seconds.

When the water pump 570 is filled with liquid or is filled with a part of liquid, that is, the self-priming process of the vacuum pump 560 is finished, the cooking apparatus enters the operation mode, the water pump 570 is started, the vacuum pump 560 may be immediately turned off, or may be turned off after continuously operating for a period of time (for example, the vacuum pump 560 may be turned off after the water pump 570 is started for 1 second to 3 seconds, so as to completely pump air in the water pump 570). The energy transfer tube 590 is activated at the same time the water pump 570 is activated or 3 seconds to 15 seconds (e.g., 5 seconds) after the water pump 570 is activated. In some embodiments, the energy transfer tube 590 is activated at the same time the water pump 570 is activated or 5 seconds to 10 seconds after the water pump 570 is activated. In some embodiments, the energy transfer tube 590 is activated at the same time the water pump 570 is activated or 6 seconds to 8 seconds after the water pump 570 is activated. After the water pump 570 filled with liquid or partially filled with liquid is started, the water pump 570 can flow the liquid in the liquid storage tank along the first pipeline 540, the water pump 570, the energy transfer pipe 590, the check valve 595 and the second pipeline 550 (which may be called as an effective liquid path), so as to flow back to the liquid storage tank, thereby realizing the liquid circulation between the liquid storage tank and the pipeline system 530. The energy transfer pipe 590 is arranged in the effective liquid path, so that liquid flowing through the effective liquid path can be heated or refrigerated, the heated or refrigerated liquid is discharged into the liquid storage tank, the liquid in the liquid storage tank is heated or refrigerated, the temperature of the liquid in the liquid storage tank is accurately controlled in the circulating heating or refrigerating process, and the food materials (such as steak, chicken, shrimp and the like) placed into the liquid storage tank can be slowly cooked at low temperature. The reason that the vacuum pump 560 needs to be shut down when the water pump 570 is started may be to prevent the liquid pumped by the vacuum pump 560 from the reservoir from affecting the temperature of the liquid pumped by the water pump 570 to the energy transfer tube 590 for heating. In some embodiments, even if the vacuum pump 560 is turned off, a small portion of the fluid may be returned to the tank via the first conduit 540, the water pump 570, the vacuum pump inlet conduit 562, the vacuum pump 560, the vacuum pump outlet conduit 564, and the second conduit 550 (which may be referred to as a dead tank). In some embodiments, a valve may be additionally disposed on the vacuum pump inlet 562 and/or the vacuum pump outlet 564, and when the control module receives a signal that the vacuum pump 560 is stopped, the control valve is closed to prevent the liquid from directly returning to the liquid storage tank through the vacuum pump inlet 562, the vacuum pump 560, the vacuum pump outlet 564, and the second pipeline 550 without performing a heating or cooling process on the energy transfer pipe 590. In some embodiments, a corresponding compensation algorithm may also be added to the control algorithm of the piping system 530 to achieve precise control of the temperature of the liquid in the tank.

When the cooking apparatus enters the drain mode, the water pump 570 stops operating, and the vacuum pump 560 operates. When the water pump 570 stops, the liquid circulation between the reservoir and the piping system 530 stops, and the liquid in the reservoir no longer enters the piping system 530. At the same time as the water pump 570 stops operating or after a preset time interval, the vacuum pump 560 is turned on in a closed state, and the exhaust valve is opened to perform drainage. The first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 are opened, and the position a and the position B of the pipeline system 530 are respectively communicated with the outside atmosphere. At this time, the liquid in the passage from the inlet 541 of the first pipeline 540 to the point a is returned to the tank from the inlet 541 of the first pipeline 540 under the action of pressure and gravity, and the liquid in the passage from the point B to the outlet 551 of the second pipeline 550 enters the tank from the outlet 551 of the second pipeline 550 under the action of pressure and gravity, for the details of the two different situations of the liquid entering the tank, please refer to the description of the inlet channel 723 and the outlet channel 725 in fig. 7. When the vacuum pump 560 is operated, it can pump the liquid by the self-priming function, so as to pump the liquid in the first pipeline 540 between the point A and the point D; while the vacuum pump 560 may also draw residual liquid from the section of the pipeline between points B and D (note that the energy transfer tube 590 may be disposed in the conduit between points B and D). The pumped liquid enters the second pipeline 550 through the vacuum pump inlet pipe 562, the vacuum pump 560 and the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564, and is finally delivered to the liquid storage tank, so as to complete the discharge (i.e. the liquid discharge process) of the residual liquid in the pipeline system 530.

In some embodiments, the tubing system (e.g., tubing system 130 or 530) may further comprise a stent (not shown), and at least one of the vacuum pump (e.g., vacuum pump 160 or 560), and the energy delivery tube (e.g., energy delivery tube 590) is located on the stent. The support can provide mounting platform for pipe-line system to carry out fixed support to pipe-line system. Meanwhile, the support is arranged, so that the pipeline of the pipeline system can be conveniently shaped and arranged, and the difficulty of routing arrangement of the pipeline is reduced.

Referring to fig. 5B-5C, in some embodiments, the tubing in the tubing system 530 may be connected to the tubing, to the water pump 570 and/or the vacuum pump 560 by way of silicone tubing. The sealing connection of the piping system 530 may be achieved by silicone tubing connections between different structures and/or pipes. Illustratively, the connection of the components in the piping system 530 will be described below by taking the connection structure of the energy transmission pipe 590 in the piping system 530 as an example. Referring to fig. 6A, fig. 6B and fig. 6C, fig. 6A is a schematic view of a connection structure of an energy transfer tube and a second pipeline according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, fig. 6B is a schematic view of a connection structure of an energy transfer tube port and a silicone tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and fig. 6C is a schematic view of a structure of a clamp according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 6A, 6B and 6C, in some embodiments, energy transfer tube 690 is positioned in the same location as energy transfer tube 590. The inlet and/or outlet of the energy transfer tubing 690 may each be connected to the transition conduit 672 via silicone tubing 691. Silicone tubing 691 fits over the inlet (and outlet) of energy transfer tubing 690 and is secured by clamp 692 (as shown in fig. 6C). The connection of the silicone tube 691 to the transition conduit 672 may be referred to as the connection of the silicone tube 691 to the inlet and/or outlet of the energy transfer tube 690. Energy transfer pipe 690 is connected through silicone tube 691 and clamp 692 between transition pipeline 672, can realize the sealing connection between piping system energy transfer pipe 690 and transition pipeline 672.

In some embodiments, the single-sided interference between the silicone tubing and the tubing may comprise 0.3mm to 1 mm. In some embodiments, the single-sided interference between the silicone tubing and the tubing may comprise 0.5mm to 1 mm. In some embodiments, the single-sided interference between the silicone tubing and the tubing may comprise 0.6mm to 0.8 mm. The interference fit's of silicone tube and pipeline setting can make the connection of silicone tube and pipeline more firm, be difficult for droing on the one hand, and on the other hand also can strengthen the leakproofness of being connected between silicone tube and the pipeline, reduces the risk that liquid leaked from the junction.

Referring to fig. 1, in some embodiments, an inlet end of first conduit 140 may be in communication with outlet portion 124 of tank 120 and an outlet end of second conduit 150 may be in communication with inlet portion 122 of tank 120. The outlet portion 124 of the tank 120 may be understood as the port of the tank 120 through which liquid flows out of the tank 120. The inlet portion 122 of the reservoir 120 may be understood as the port of the reservoir 120 through which liquid flows into the reservoir 120. The liquid in tank 120 may flow out through outlet 124 of tank 120, enter piping system 130 from the inlet end of first pipe 140, pass through vacuum pump 160, enter second pipe 150, and flow out of the outlet end of second pipe 150, enter tank 120 through inlet 122 of tank 120 to complete a liquid cycle.

In some embodiments, the first pipeline 140 may be detachably connected to the outlet portion 124 of the liquid storage tank 120, and the second pipeline 150 may be detachably connected to the inlet portion 122 of the liquid storage tank 120, so that both the inlet end and the outlet end of the pipeline system 130 may be freely detached from the liquid storage tank 120, on one hand, the pipeline system 130 may be more conveniently installed and replaced, on the other hand, the pipeline system 130 may be more flexibly connected, and the pipeline system 130 may extract the liquid in different liquid storage tanks 120 or transport the liquid to different liquid storage tanks 120 according to different situations. In some embodiments, the detachable connection includes, but is not limited to, snap-fit, threaded, bolted, etc.

In some embodiments, first pipe 140 may be hermetically connected to outlet portion 124 of tank 120, and second pipe 150 may be hermetically connected to inlet portion 122 of tank 120, so as to ensure the sealing between tank 120 and piping system 130, thereby reducing the risk of liquid leakage in piping system 130, and isolating liquid in piping system 130 from the external environment, so as to reduce the possibility of liquid in piping system 130 being contaminated or denatured by the external environment. Meanwhile, the sealing connection is arranged, so that the interior of the pipeline system 130 can have better sealing performance, and a suitable working environment is provided for the vacuum pump 160, and the vacuum pump 160 can vacuumize the interior of the pipeline system 130, so that the liquid at the outlet portion 124 of the liquid storage tank 120 connected with the inlet end of the first pipeline 140 is sucked into the pipeline system 130 for pumping and transporting the liquid. In some embodiments, the sealing connection may include, but is not limited to, the provision of a gasket, a glue seal, and the like.

The overall layout of the cooking apparatus 100 is more flexible because the arrangement of the vacuum pump (e.g., the vacuum pump 160 or 560) can provide a plurality of possibilities for the relative positional relationship between the piping system (e.g., the piping system 130 or 530) and the liquid storage tank (e.g., the liquid storage tank 120). The location where the piping system (e.g., piping system 130 or 530) is disposed may not be limited to the bottom of the tank. For example, the piping system 130 of FIG. 1 may be disposed on the side of the tank 120, in which case the piping system 130 may be connected to the tank 120 via the inlet portion 122 and the outlet portion 124 on the side wall of the tank 120. Also for example, the piping system 130 of FIG. 1 may be at least partially disposed on the side of the tank 120. For example, the first pipe 140 of the pipe system 130 in fig. 1 may be disposed at the bottom of the liquid storage tank 120, and the vacuum pump 160 and the second pipe 150 may be disposed at the side of the liquid storage tank 120. In this case, outlet portion 124 of tank 120 may be disposed at a bottom wall of tank 120 and communicate with first conduit 140, and inlet portion 122 may be disposed at a sidewall of tank 120 and communicate with second conduit 150.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1, the connection between the reservoir 120 and the pipe system 130 may be a detachable connection, which includes but is not limited to a threaded connection, a snap connection, etc., and the detachable connection may be configured to facilitate the replacement and connection of the pipe system 130. In other embodiments, the connection between the tank 120 and the piping system 130 may be other connection methods, such as gluing, integral molding, etc. The specific connection between the tank 120 and the piping system 130 can be described with reference to the first piping 140 and the second piping 150.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the inlet and outlet portions of a tank according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, in some embodiments, the outlet portion 724 and the inlet portion 722 may be disposed in a sidewall of the tank 720. In some embodiments, the outlet portion 724 may be disposed on the same sidewall of the tank 720 as the inlet portion 722. In other embodiments, the outlet portion 724 and the inlet portion 722 may be disposed on different sidewalls. In some embodiments, the outlet portion 724 and the inlet portion 722 may also be disposed at the bottom of the tank 720.

In some embodiments, the outlet portion 724 may be used to allow liquid to flow from within the tank 720 and the inlet portion 722 may be used to allow liquid to flow into the tank 720. In some embodiments, the number of outlets of the outlet portion 724 and inlets of the inlet portion 722 may be one or more. And the number of outlets of the outlet portion 724 and the inlet portion 722 may be the same or different. Illustratively, there may be three outlets from the outlet portion 724 and two inlets from the inlet portion 722.

In some embodiments, outlet portion 724 may include a lower outlet 724-1, an upper outlet 724-2, and an outlet passage 725 that communicates between lower outlet 724-1 and upper outlet 724-2. The upper outlet 724-2 may be in communication with a first line of a line system. The liquid in the reservoir 720 enters the outlet passage 725 from the lower outlet 724-1 and enters the first line through the upper outlet 724-2.

In some embodiments, the lower outlet 724-1 may include a first lower outlet 724-1-1 and a second lower outlet 724-1-2, the outlet passage 725 includes a first outlet passage 725-1 and a second outlet passage 725-2; the first outlet channel 725-1 communicates the first lower outlet 724-1-1 with the upper outlet 724-2; the second outlet passage 725-2 communicates the second lower outlet 724-1-2 with the upper outlet 724-2. The liquid in the reservoir 720 enters the first outlet channel 725-1 from the first lower outlet 724-1-1 and the second outlet channel 725-2 from the second lower outlet 724-1-2, and finally the liquid in the first outlet channel 725-1 and the second outlet channel 725-2 enters the first pipeline through the upper outlet 724-2.

In some embodiments, the first outlet channel 725-1 and the second outlet channel 725-2 partially overlap to make the outlet channel 725 have a Y-shape, so that the first outlet channel 725-1 and the second outlet channel 725-2 can share one upper outlet 724-2, so that the number of the upper outlets 724-2 does not need to be multiple, and meanwhile, the first pipeline of the pipeline system only needs to be provided with one corresponding inlet end, which not only reduces the processing difficulty of the liquid storage tank 720, but also makes the layout and the arrangement of the pipeline system more convenient and simpler.

In some embodiments, the inlet portion 722 may include a lower inlet 722-1, an upper inlet 722-2, and an inlet passage 723 that communicates the lower inlet 722-1 with the upper inlet 722-2. The upper inlet 722-2 may be in communication with an outlet end of a second tube of the tubing system. Liquid entering the conduit system from the outlet portion 724 of the reservoir 720 is pumped by the pump, discharged from the second conduit, enters the inlet passage 723 through the upper inlet 722-2, and enters the reservoir 720 through the lower inlet 722-1, thereby completing a liquid cycle.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, in some embodiments, when the inlet portion 722 and the outlet portion 724 are both disposed on the same sidewall of the tank 720, at least a portion of the inlet passage 723 is positioned between the first outlet passage 725-1 and the second outlet passage 725-2, such that the inlet passage 723 and the outlet passage 725 are integrally distributed, reducing the space occupied by the inlet passage 723 and the outlet passage 725, facilitating the processing of the tank 720.

In some embodiments, when the inlet portion 722 and the outlet portion 724 are both disposed on the same sidewall of the tank 720, the lower inlet 722-1 of the inlet portion 722 may be located below the lower outlet 724-1 of the outlet portion 724 to better mix the liquid after treatment transferred through the piping system 130 with the liquid before treatment while reducing interference between the feed liquid of the lower inlet 722-1 and the exit liquid of the lower outlet 724-1.

The cooperation between the piping system 530 and the reservoir 720 will be described with reference to fig. 5A-5C and fig. 7. Referring to fig. 5A, 5B, 5C and 7, when the water pump 570 stops working and the liquid circulation of the liquid storage tank 720 and the pipeline system 530 stops, the liquid in the liquid storage tank 720 does not enter the pipeline system 530 any more, and the first exhaust valve 581 and the second exhaust valve 583 are opened. Since the first vent valve 581 is connected to the atmospheric pressure, the liquid in the first pipeline 540 between the outlet portion 724 (corresponding to the inlet end 541 of the first pipeline 540) and the point a flows back into the outlet channel 725 through the inlet end 541 under the action of pressure and gravity, and the liquid in the outlet channel 725 falls into the tank 720 until the liquid level in the outlet channel 725 is flush with the liquid level in the tank 720, so that the liquid communication between the outlet channel 725 of the tank 720 and the inlet end 541 of the pipeline system 530 is interrupted, but the tank 720 and the inlet end 541 of the pipeline system 530 are still in a sealed connection state. Similarly, since the second exhaust valve 583 is connected to the atmospheric pressure, the liquid in the pipe between the inlet portion 722 (corresponding to the outlet end 551 of the second pipeline 550) and the point B will flow into the inlet channel 723 through the outlet end 551 under the action of pressure and gravity, and then flow back to the liquid storage tank, and the liquid in the inlet channel 723 will fall to a level equal to the liquid level in the liquid storage tank 720. Since the point B is higher than the highest point of the liquid levels in the tank 720 and the piping system 530, and the second exhaust valve is opened so that the atmospheric pressure at the point B is higher than the pressure of the tank 720 to the piping, the liquid will be in a "liquid-off" state between the outlet 551 of the piping system 530 and the inlet channel 723 of the tank 720, and the liquid will flow back to the tank 720 under the action of gravity. When the vacuum pump 560 is activated, the vacuum pump 560 can pump the liquid in the first pipeline 540 in the section between the points a and D and the liquid in the transition pipeline 572 in the section between the points B and D by the self-priming function, and the pumped liquid enters the inlet channel 723 through the vacuum pump 560, the vacuum pump outlet pipe 564, the second pipeline 550, the outlet end 551 (inlet 722) and enters the liquid storage tank 720.

Referring to fig. 1 for illustration, the present specification further provides a piping system 130, which mainly comprises a first pipe 140, a second pipe 150 and a vacuum pump 160. Wherein the vacuum pump 160 is disposed between the first pipeline 140 and the second pipeline 150; the first conduit 140 communicates with an inlet of a vacuum pump 160 and the second conduit 150 communicates with an outlet of the vacuum pump 160. For further descriptions of the pipeline system 130, the first pipeline 140, the second pipeline 150 and the vacuum pump 160, reference is made to the related descriptions of the pipeline system 130 in other parts of the present specification, and no further description is given here.

Referring to fig. 1 for illustration, the present specification also provides another cooking apparatus 100, the cooking apparatus 100 including a tank 120 and a piping system 130 in communication with the tank 120. The piping system 130 includes a first pipe 140, a second pipe 150, and a first pump body. The first pump body is disposed between the first and second conduits 140, 150. The first pipe 140 is connected to the inlet of the first pump, and the second pipe 150 is connected to the outlet of the first pump. In some embodiments, the first pump body may include the vacuum pump 160 described above. In some embodiments, to prevent the liquid temperature (e.g., high temperature) from affecting the activation of the vacuum pump 160, the high temperature liquid may be controlled not to flow through the vacuum pump 160 during the cooking process. For example, a valve may be placed in a branch of the vacuum pump 160 and before the inlet of the vacuum pump 160, which when closed may prevent fluid flow through the vacuum pump 160. In some embodiments, to prevent the liquid temperature (e.g., high temperature) from affecting the start-up of the vacuum pump 160, the vacuum pump 160 may be selected to have a relatively high heat resistance.

In some embodiments, the operational state of the valve disposed before the inlet of the vacuum pump 160 is determined by the operational state of the vacuum pump 160. For example, when the vacuum pump 160 is running, the valve may be in an open state; the valves may be closed when the vacuum pump 160 is not running. In some embodiments, when the vacuum pump 160 is not running, a small amount of liquid may flow through the vacuum pump 160, and at this time, the valve before the inlet of the vacuum pump 160 may be controlled to be in a closed state, thereby preventing the liquid from flowing through the vacuum pump 160.

In some embodiments, the ratio between the water circulation flow rate of the pipe system 130 and the volume of the tank 120 may range from 1:6 to 1:1, so that the entire liquid in the tank 120 may be processed through the pipe system 130 in a short time. In some embodiments, the ratio between the water circulation flow rate of the piping system 130 and the volume of the tank 120 may range from 1:5 to 1: 2.5. In some embodiments, the ratio between the water circulation flow rate of the piping system 130 and the volume of the tank 120 may range from 1:4.5 to 1:2. For example, if the circulation flow rate of water in the piping system is 5.4L/min and the volume of the tank is 12L, the ratio of the circulation flow rate of water in the piping system to the volume of the tank is 0.45. Exemplarily, when pipe-line system 130 can heat the liquid of process, the above-mentioned proportion scope can promote the heating rate of liquid in the liquid reserve tank 120, shortens the time that whole liquid needs the heating in the liquid reserve tank 120, reduces the liquid heat in the liquid reserve tank 120 and scatters and disappears, promotes the stability of liquid temperature in the liquid reserve tank 120 for can accurate accuse temperature in the liquid reserve tank 120. In some embodiments, the water circulation flow rate of the pipe system 130 may refer to the total volume flow rate of the liquid in the circulation system when the pipe system 130 circulates the liquid. The total flow of the piping system 130 may be determined by a variety of factors. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the water circulation in the piping system 130 may be determined by one or more of the pump flow rate, the cross-sectional area of the host piping, the flow rate of the piping cross-section connecting the outlet and inlet sections of the tank, the cross-sectional areas of the outlet and inlet sections of the side walls of the tank, and the like. In some embodiments, the ratio between the flow rate of the water pump and the volume of the reservoir may range from 1:6 to 1: 1. In some embodiments, the ratio between the flow rate of the water pump and the volume of the reservoir may range from 1:5 to 1: 2.5. In some embodiments, the ratio between the flow rate of the water pump and the volume of the reservoir may range from 1:4.5 to 1:2. In some embodiments, the volume of the tank 120 may be the volume of liquid that the tank 120 is capable of holding. In some embodiments, the volume of the tank 120 may be the volume of liquid corresponding to the highest level in the tank 120.

In some embodiments, the flow rate of the vacuum pump may range from 1L/min to 2.5L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the vacuum pump may range from 1.25L/min to 2.25L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the vacuum pump may range from 1.5L/min to 2L/min. For exemplary purposes only, the flow rate of the vacuum pump is 1.5L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the water pump may range from 3L/min to 10L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the water pump may range from 4L/min to 9L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the water pump may range from 5L/min to 8L/min. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the water pump may range from 6L/min to 7L/min. For exemplary purposes only, the flow rate of the water pump may be 8L/min.

In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus 100 may further have a first operation mode and a second operation mode. Wherein the first pump operates to introduce the liquid in the tank 120 into the pipe system 130 for circulation when the cooking apparatus 100 operates in the first operation mode. When cooking device 100 is operating in the second mode of operation, first conduit 140 is in communication with atmospheric pressure and the first pump operates to drain liquid in conduit system 130 into tank 120. In some embodiments, the first mode of operation of the cooking apparatus 100 may correspond to the imbibition mode and the run mode mentioned elsewhere in this specification. In some embodiments, the second operating mode of the cooking apparatus 100 may correspond to a drain mode mentioned elsewhere in this specification.

In some embodiments, the first pump has a pump body with a suction function. For example, the first pump body may include a vacuum pump 160.

In some embodiments, the cooking device 100 may further include a first exhaust valve, which may be connected to the first or second conduit 140, 150, and may be opened to communicate at least one of the first or second conduit 140, 150 with atmospheric pressure when the cooking device is operated in the second operating mode.

When the cooking apparatus 100 is in the cooking state, the cooking apparatus 100 may operate in a first operation mode; and when a preset instruction is detected, the first working mode is switched to a second working mode. In some embodiments, the preset instruction may include a cooking end instruction or an activation instruction of the second operation mode. In some embodiments, the preset instruction may be detected by the control component 110.

In some embodiments, cooking device 100 may further comprise an energy transfer tube and a second vent valve. The energy transfer tube is in series with the first pump body. A second exhaust valve is disposed between the energy transfer tube and the second conduit 150. When the cooking device is operating in the second mode of operation, the second vent valve may be opened to allow the second conduit 150 to communicate with atmospheric pressure to cooperate with the vacuum pump 160 to draw liquid from the energy transfer tube and out of the second conduit 150 into the reservoir 120.

In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus 100 may further include a second pump body for driving the liquid in the pipe system 130 to flow. The second pump body is connected with the first pump body in series, and the second pump body can be used for operating at least in the first working mode. In some embodiments, the second pump body operates in an operating mode. In some embodiments, the second pump body refers to a pump body having a liquid pumping function. For example, the second pump body may comprise a water pump. For example, the second pump body may comprise a vacuum pump having a pumping function at the same time. In some embodiments, the first pump and the second pump may be the same pump (e.g., both the first pump and the second pump are vacuum pumps) or different pumps (e.g., the first pump is a vacuum pump and the second pump is a water pump). In this specification, the first pump introducing liquid into the pipe system 130 refers to the first pump introducing liquid into the second pump of the pipe system 130.

Since the first pump is mainly used to introduce the liquid in the reservoir 120 into the second pump of the piping system 130, the flow rate of the first pump can be small; the second pump body is mainly used for driving the liquid in the pipeline system 130 to flow, and in order to enable the whole liquid in the liquid storage tank 120 to pass through the pipeline system 130 in a short time, the flow rate of the second pump body needs to be larger, so in some embodiments, the flow rate of the second pump body may be larger than that of the first pump body.

In some embodiments, the first pump may be actuated prior to the second pump in the first mode of operation of the cooking apparatus 100. A first pump body (e.g., a vacuum pump) that is activated first can draw liquid into a second pump body (e.g., a water pump) to provide suitable activation conditions for the second pump body (e.g., the water pump). In some embodiments, the first pump is activated in a suction mode, introducing liquid into the second pump, the cooking device entering an operating mode when the liquid in the second pump satisfies operating conditions of the second pump, the second pump operating in the operating mode; after the cooking equipment enters the liquid drainage mode, the first pump body is started to drain liquid.

In some embodiments, the first pump may close later than the second pump in the second mode of operation of the cooking apparatus 100. After the second pump (e.g., a water pump) is turned off, the liquid in the tank 120 is no longer pumped into the pipe system 130, and then the first pump (e.g., a vacuum pump) may be turned off after the residual liquid in the pipe system 130 is discharged out of the pipe system 130.

In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus 100 may include only the first pump body. In some embodiments, the cooking apparatus 100 may include a first pump and a second pump. When the first pump has both the pumping function and the liquid pumping function, the cooking apparatus 100 may include only the first pump. When the first pump has only the pumping function, or both the pumping function and the liquid pumping function, the cooking apparatus 100 may include the first pump and the second pump.

In some embodiments, when the cooking apparatus 100 is operating in the imbibing mode, the first pump operates to pump liquid from the first conduit 140 into the second conduit 150.

In some embodiments, the cooking device 100 may also have a second pump that operates to pump liquid from the first conduit 140 into the second conduit 150 when the cooking device 100 is operating in the run mode.

Having thus described the basic concept, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is to be regarded as illustrative only and not as limiting the present specification. Various modifications, improvements and adaptations to the present description may occur to those skilled in the art, though not explicitly described herein. Such modifications, improvements and adaptations are proposed in the present specification and thus fall within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present specification.

Also, the description uses specific words to describe embodiments of the description. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and/or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with at least one embodiment of the specification is included. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, some features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the specification may be combined as appropriate.

Additionally, the order in which the elements and sequences of the process are recited in the specification, the use of alphanumeric characters, or other designations, is not intended to limit the order in which the processes and methods of the specification occur, unless otherwise specified in the claims. While certain presently contemplated useful embodiments of the invention have been discussed in the foregoing disclosure by way of various examples, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the embodiments herein described. For example, although the system components described above may be implemented by hardware devices, they may also be implemented by software-only solutions, such as installing the described system on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be noted that in the preceding description of embodiments of the present specification, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding of one or more of the embodiments. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to imply that more features than are expressly recited in a claim. Indeed, the embodiments may be characterized as having less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

Where numerals describing the number of components, attributes or the like are used in some embodiments, it is to be understood that such numerals used in the description of the embodiments are modified in some instances by the modifier "about", "approximately" or "substantially". Unless otherwise indicated, "about", "approximately" or "substantially" indicates that the number allows a variation of ± 20%. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties of the individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameter should take into account the specified significant digits and employ a general digit-preserving approach. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the range are approximations, in the specific examples, such numerical values are set forth as precisely as possible within the scope of the application.

For each patent, patent application publication, and other material, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, etc., cited in this specification, the entire contents of each are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification. Except where the application history document is inconsistent or contrary to the present specification, and except where the application history document is inconsistent or contrary to the present specification, the application history document is not inconsistent or contrary to the present specification, but is to be read in the broadest scope of the present claims (either currently or hereafter added to the present specification). It is to be understood that the descriptions, definitions and/or uses of terms in the accompanying materials of this specification shall control if they are inconsistent or contrary to the descriptions and/or uses of terms in this specification.

Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other variations are also possible within the scope of the present description. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of the specification can be considered consistent with the teachings of the specification. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present description are not limited to only those embodiments explicitly described and depicted herein.

Claims (13)

1. A cooking device comprising a reservoir and a conduit system in communication with the reservoir; the piping system includes:

a first pipeline;

a second pipeline;

a vacuum pump disposed between the first and second conduits; and

one end of the water pump is connected with the first pipeline, and the other end of the water pump is connected with an inlet of the vacuum pump; wherein the first pipeline is communicated with an inlet of the vacuum pump, and the second pipeline is communicated with an outlet of the vacuum pump; the inlet end of the first pipeline is communicated with the outlet part of the liquid storage tank, and the outlet end of the second pipeline is communicated with the inlet part of the liquid storage tank.

2. The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump comprises a diaphragm pump.

3. The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the conduit system further comprises a first vent valve connected to at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit, and wherein the first vent valve is vertically higher than a highest point of the first conduit and the second conduit.

4. The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pipe system further comprises a heating device and/or a cooling device for heating or cooling the liquid in the pipe system.

5. The cooking device of claim 4, wherein the heating device and/or the cooling device comprises an energy transfer tube and a heating element and/or a cooling element disposed outside the energy transfer tube; one end of the energy transfer pipe is connected with the first pipeline, and the other end of the energy transfer pipe is connected with the second pipeline; one end of the energy transfer pipe is connected with the outlet of the water pump; the other end of the energy transfer pipe is connected with the second pipeline.

6. The cooking apparatus of claim 5, wherein the conduit system further comprises a one-way valve, one end of the one-way valve being connected to the first conduit and the other end of the one-way valve being connected to the second conduit; the direction of the one-way valve is from one end of the one-way valve to the other end of the one-way valve.

7. The cooking device of claim 6, wherein the one-way valve is disposed between the energy transfer tube and the second conduit; the one-way valve is oriented from the energy transfer tube to the second conduit.

8. The cooking apparatus according to claim 6, wherein one end of the check valve is connected to an inlet of the vacuum pump, and the other end of the check valve is connected to the second pipe.

9. The cooking device of claim 6, wherein the conduit system further comprises a second exhaust valve disposed between the one-way valve and the energy transfer tube, and wherein the second exhaust valve is vertically higher than the highest point of the first and second conduits.

10. The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the conduit system is disposed at a side of the reservoir.

11. The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the outlet portion of the reservoir and the inlet portion of the reservoir are disposed on a side wall of the reservoir.

12. A cooking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first vent valve communicates with the first or second conduit at a location above a liquid level maximum in the reservoir and the conduit system.

13. A cooking device as claimed in claim 1 or 3, wherein the conduit system comprises a one-way valve, a heat transfer pipe, and a second vent valve between the one-way valve and the heat transfer pipe, the second vent valve being in communication with the conduit between the one-way valve and the heat transfer pipe at a position above the highest point of the liquid level in the tank and the conduit system.

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