CN218348967U

CN218348967U - Heating device and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN218348967U
Application number: CN202222041254.0U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴婉玥; 方茂长; 汪猗吉
Original assignee: Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai
Current assignee: Gree Electric Appliances Inc of Zhuhai
Priority date: 2022-08-04
Filing date: 2022-08-04
Publication date: 2023-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-04

Abstract

The utility model relates to a heating device and refrigerator. The heating device comprises a heating chamber and a transfer assembly. A heating space is formed in the heating chamber. The transfer component is controlled to drive the heating chamber and the heated object to move relatively until the heated object is transferred into the heating space. According to the heating device, a user can transfer the selected to-be-heated object into the heating space by controlling the transfer component of the heating device. The heated item is then heated from a refrigeration temperature suitable for storage to an eating temperature suitable for direct consumption. Since heating occurs in the heating space of the heating compartment, rather than heating the entire storage compartment, food located in other areas outside the heating compartment is not heated and its freshness is not affected.

Description

Heating device and refrigerator

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a refrigeration plant technical field especially relates to heating device and refrigerator.

Background

At present, much attention of users on refrigerators is paid to the refrigeration and food preservation effects, and although the temperature of a refrigerating chamber is only 1-8 ℃, the refrigerator achieves a good preservation purpose, but for many special people, such as old people with bad intestines and stomach or bad teeth, children, women and the like, people cannot directly enjoy cool delicious food which is just taken out of the refrigerator.

The drawer in the existing refrigerator does not consider the pain point and the requirement of special people, and is mostly arranged in a temperature changing area. Although some products heat the temperature-changing chamber by arranging a heating component, so as to meet the functional requirements of users in various aspects such as unfreezing, leavening, milk heating and the like. However, when the heating function is turned on, the whole temperature-changing chamber is heated, thereby affecting the freshness date of other foods in the temperature-changing chamber which should be in a refrigeration insurance state.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a heating device and a refrigerator capable of heating the articles in the refrigerator without affecting the preservation of other foods in the refrigerator.

A heating apparatus provided in a storage chamber of a refrigerator, comprising:

a heating chamber in which a heating space is formed; and

and the transfer component is controlled to drive the heating chamber and the heated object to move relatively until the heated object is transferred into the heating space.

According to the heating device, a user can transfer the selected to-be-heated object into the heating space by controlling the transfer component of the heating device. The item to be heated is then heated from a refrigeration temperature suitable for storage to an eating temperature suitable for direct consumption. Since heating occurs in the heating space of the heating compartment, rather than heating the entire storage compartment, food located in other areas outside the heating compartment is not heated and its freshness is not affected.

In one embodiment, the transfer assembly comprises at least one carrier and a guide rail, the guide rail is laid in the storage chamber along a preset direction, and at least part of the carrier can pass through the heating space by means of at least part of the guide rail.

In one embodiment, at least one layer of material is arranged in the refrigerator, the guide rail comprises two groups which are laid on the material layer along a first direction and a second direction respectively, and the first direction and the second direction are crossed;

all the guide rails on each layer of the material placing layer are directly or indirectly connected and form a guide rail network together;

wherein at least part of the carrier is movable into the heating space by means of the network of guide rails or out of the heating space by means of the network of guide rails.

In one embodiment, a plurality of storage layers are arranged in the refrigerator, and the transfer assembly further comprises a lifting mechanism for driving at least one bearing piece to transfer between different storage layers.

In one embodiment, the lifting mechanism comprises a lifting plate and a lifting rail, and the lifting plate can move along the lifting rail in the layer height direction of the multilayer material layer;

the lifting plate and each storage layer are provided with the guide rails, and when the lifting plate is lifted to be flush with one of the storage layers, the guide rails on the lifting plate and the storage layers are connected.

In one embodiment, the heating chamber comprises a chamber body with the heating space, a chamber door controlled to open and close the chamber body, and a heating assembly arranged in the heating space.

In one embodiment, the heating assembly includes a plurality of heating elements, and the heating elements in the heating assembly are selectively operated partially or fully.

A refrigerator comprises the heating device.

In one embodiment, the refrigerator has a door covering a portion of the storage chamber, and the door is of a drawer type, and the transfer unit is controlled to drive the articles into or out of the door.

A refrigerator comprising a plurality of said heating devices, said heating compartment of each of said heating devices being independently operable.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a partial structural schematic view of the refrigerator shown in fig. 1.

100. A refrigerator; 10. a heating device; 11. a heating chamber; 13. a transfer assembly; 131. a carrier; 133. a guide rail; 135. a lifting mechanism; 1351. a lifting plate; 1353. a lifting rail; 15. placing a layer; A. a refrigerating chamber; B. a freezing chamber; s, heating a space; and Q, prefabricating a notch.

Detailed Description

In order to make the above objects, features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, as those skilled in the art will be able to make similar modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", and the like, indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically limited otherwise.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "fixed" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be directly connected or indirectly connected through intervening media, or they may be connected internally or in any other suitable relationship, unless expressly stated otherwise. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In the present application, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the first feature may be directly on or directly under the second feature or indirectly via intermediate members. Also, a first feature "on," "over," and "above" a second feature may be directly or diagonally above the second feature, or may simply indicate that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature may be directly under or obliquely under the first feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. As used herein, the terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and the like are for purposes of illustration only and do not denote a single embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator 100, which includes a heating device 10 disposed in a storage chamber of the refrigerator 100, wherein the heating device 10 is used for heating an object to be heated in the refrigerator 100, so as to make the object to be heated suitable for direct use, eating, or thawing. The storage chambers include, but are not limited to, a refrigerating chamber a, a warming chamber, a freezing chamber B, etc. of the refrigerator 100 for storing articles. In addition, to achieve its normal function, the refrigerator 100 typically further includes a conventional compressor, a housing, and the like, which will not be described herein.

It is to be understood that refrigerator 100 can be expanded to include a refrigerator, freezer, or the like, having a storage purpose, and that heating apparatus 10 can function in the same manner in such a refrigerator.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an above-mentioned heating device 10, which comprises a heating chamber 11 and a transferring component 13. The heating chamber 11 forms a heating space S. The transfer component 13 is controlled to drive the heating chamber 11 and the heated material to move relatively until the heated material is transferred into the heating space S.

The heating compartment 11 occupies a part of the space of the storage compartment, forming a heating space S relatively independent from the rest of the space of the storage compartment. The heated material includes, but is not limited to, food, medicine, cosmetics, etc. which are stored in the storage chamber and heated by a user's selection. The transferring component 13 drives one or both of the heated material and the heating chamber 11 to move, and the heated material and the heating chamber move relatively, which may be a conveyor belt conveying, a grapple grabbing movement, a movement along the guide rail 133, and so on, as long as the heated material can be accommodated in the heating space S.

In the heating apparatus 10, a user can transfer a selected heated material into the heating space S by controlling the transfer unit 13. The heated item is then heated from a refrigeration temperature suitable for storage to an eating temperature suitable for direct consumption. Since the heating takes place in the heating space S of the heating compartment 11, instead of heating the entire storage compartment, the food located in other areas outside the heating compartment 11 is not heated and its freshness is not affected. In addition, when there are cases where the ideal storage temperature of the individual articles is higher than the temperature of the storage chamber but lower than the room temperature, etc., the heating compartment 11 may also be warmed to a suitable temperature for storage thereof, and the function of storage in a separate temperature zone is realized in the same storage chamber of the refrigerator 100.

In some embodiments, heating apparatus 10 further comprises a controller communicatively coupled to transfer assembly 13 and heating chamber 11, the controller configured to receive a user command and control operation of transfer assembly 13 and heating chamber 11 based on the user command.

The controller may be a dedicated stand-alone controller or may be a general controller of the refrigerator 100 shared with other components. The user instruction can be received through screen operation, key operation or wireless communication with a mobile phone of the user and the like. The contents of the user instruction include, but are not limited to, information (name, number, location, etc.) of the heated material, target temperature, heating time, and the like.

The user can control the operation contents of the transfer assembly 13 and the heating chamber 11 through the controller, so as to control the transfer assembly 13 to select the heated material to be transferred into the heating space S, control the heating chamber 11 to heat the heated material to a proper temperature, and so on.

Further, the controller is also used for monitoring the placement of the articles in the storage chamber. Wherein, the condition can be realized through the record access condition to the monitoring article condition of placing, can also realize through sensor module such as cooperation pressure sensor, image recognition sensor. The controller stores data such as the optimal storage temperature and the suitable eating temperature of various articles at the local or cloud end, so that when a user uses the storage function or the heating function of the heating chamber 11, the data is directly imported according to the name of the article to be heated or the identification result of the article to be heated input by the user, and the user is helped to set the appropriate target temperature.

In some embodiments, the heating chamber 11 includes a chamber body having a heating space S, a chamber door controlled to open and close the chamber body, and a heating assembly disposed in the heating space S.

The heating component is controlled to generate heat to achieve the heating effect. It is understood that the compartment door is opened when the heated material enters and exits the heating space S, and is closed when the heating assembly heats. The compartment door can be opened and closed in modes of moving, rotating, stretching or lifting relative to the compartment body side and the like.

The room door can improve the leakproofness of heating space S, reduce the heat loss at heating element during operation under the prerequisite that does not influence the article business turn over heating space S of waiting to heat.

Further, the heating assembly includes a plurality of heating elements, and the heating elements in the heating assembly are selectively operated partially or fully. The heating assembly further comprises a temperature sensor, and the temperature sensor is used for sensing the current temperature of the heated object in the heating space S in real time.

The heating member may be, but not limited to, an aluminum foil heater, a resistance heating plate, an infrared heater, etc., which are attached to the inner wall of the compartment body, and such heating members are easy to control, or a condenser pipe of the refrigerator 100 itself is directly used as the heating member, which contributes to an improvement in energy efficiency. The wall surface of the compartment body is made of materials with excellent heat insulation performance, such as glass fiber, a vacuum plate and the like, or a heat insulation layer is additionally arranged on the surface of the compartment body, so that the heat retention capacity of the heating space S is enhanced, and meanwhile, the heat dissipated to other areas of the storage chamber is reduced. In addition, the heating member may also be a semiconductor cooling sheet, wherein a cooling surface of the semiconductor cooling sheet faces the storage chamber of the refrigerator 100 and a heat radiating surface faces the heating space S as a heating surface.

The heating assembly can realize different heating efficiencies by starting different numbers of heating elements, and can work with proper power according to the difference between the target temperature and the current temperature. For example, in one embodiment, four aluminum foil heaters are disposed on the peripheral side of the heating chamber 11, in a specific use, the controller calculates the temperature difference Δ T between a set target temperature and the current temperature measured by the temperature sensor, when Δ T is greater than or equal to 15 ℃, the control program of the controller preferentially turns on all the aluminum foil heaters for concentrated heating, when Δ T is greater than or equal to 10 ℃ and less than 15 ℃, three aluminum foil heaters are turned on, when Δ T is greater than or equal to 5 ℃ and less than 10 ℃, two aluminum foil heaters are turned on, and when Δ T is less than 5 ℃, one aluminum foil heater is turned on. In addition, when the current temperature reaches the target temperature, the heat loss can still be balanced by keeping the mode of working of the aluminum foil heater, the temperature stability of the heating space S is enhanced, and the situation that the temperature of the heating space S is maintained by repeatedly opening and closing the aluminum foil heater is avoided. It will be appreciated that other programs may be set in the controller to control the operation of the heating element according to different heating rates and the like. In addition, the controller comprises a reminding piece, and when the temperature sensor detects that the current temperature reaches the target temperature, the controller can remind a user by sending a buzzing, flashing or other reminding signal through the reminding piece so as to take out the heated object. The user can stop heating at any time, and the heating space S after stopping heating is gradually restored to the temperature of the storage chamber to be used as a common storage space.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator 100 includes a plurality of heating devices 10, and the heating compartment 11 of each heating device 10 can be independently operated.

The respective heating compartments 11 of the different heating devices 10 occupy different positions of the storage compartment, operate independently of each other under the same or different controls, and create the same or different temperature environments within the respective heating spaces S according to the optimal storage, use or consumption temperatures of the different items, so that the items of different nature are placed separately for optimal storage, use or consumption temperatures. The plurality of heating devices 10 may each have only a single heating compartment 11, the remainder being common.

Referring to fig. 2, in some embodiments, the transferring assembly 13 includes at least one supporting member 131 and a guiding rail 133, the guiding rail 133 is laid in a predetermined direction in the storage chamber, and at least a portion of the supporting member 131 can pass through at least a portion of the guiding rail 133 to heat the space S.

The articles placed in the storage chamber are carried by the carrier 131, and the carrier 131 is movable along the guide rail 133, and the preset direction of the guide rail 133 is the moving direction of the carrier 131. The guide rail 133 may extend into the heating space S so that the carrier 131 moving therealong may pass through the heating space S and stay in the heating space S to be heated when heating is required. The guide rail 133 may also be suspended above or at one side of the heating space S and eventually transfer the heated material into the heating space S by gravity or inertia. When the guide rail 133 extends into the heating space S, the carrier 131 moves in the forward and backward directions to move the heated material into and out of the heating space S. The power source for moving the carrier 131 along the guide rail 133 may be a power device such as a motor driving wheel integrally disposed on the carrier 131, or may be another external dragging device, which is not limited in this respect.

When a user needs to move the heated object to heat, the user only needs to control the bearing piece 131 to move along the guide rail 133 to drive the heated object thereon to move until entering the heating space S. When the number of the carriers 131 is plural, the articles stored in the storage chamber may be separately placed on different carriers 131, and after the article to be heated is selected, the carrier 131 carrying the article to be heated is controlled to move along the guide rail 133 into the heating space S, so that the article to be heated can be heated. On the other hand, the carrier 131 may also help to regulate the items, directing them to designated areas.

Further, at least one layer of the material layer 15 is disposed in the refrigerator 100, and the guide rail 133 includes two sets laid on the material layer 15 along a first direction and a second direction, respectively, where the first direction intersects with the second direction. All of the rails 133 on each laminate layer 15 collectively form a network of rails. Wherein at least part of the carrier 131 can be moved into the heating space S by means of a network of guide rails or outside the heating space S by means of a network of guide rails.

The number of the guide rails 133 in each set depends on the number of the carriers 131, the size of the storage chamber, and the range of movement required. In one embodiment, the first direction and the second direction correspond to a horizontal width direction and a horizontal depth direction of the storage chamber, respectively. Any one of the guide rails 133 of each set of guide rails 133 is cross-connected to at least one of the guide rails 133 of the other set of guide rails 133, all of the guide rails 133 are directly or indirectly connected to form a guide rail network, and the carriers 131 located on the guide rail network can move in the guide rail network and then move in and out of the heating space S or move outside the heating space S.

The two sets of guide rails 133, each oriented in two directions, help to facilitate flexible movement of the carrier 131 and to facilitate access and placement of the articles. When there is a blockage of the other carriers 131 in front of the travel of the carriers 131, it is possible to pass by way of a flight within the network of guide rails.

Further, a plurality of storage layers 15 are disposed in the refrigerator 100, and the transfer assembly 13 further includes a lifting mechanism 135, where the lifting mechanism 135 is configured to drive at least one of the carriers 131 to transfer between different storage layers 15.

When the heating chamber 11 is disposed on only one of the product layers 15, the articles to be heated on the other layers can be transported to the product layer 15 on which the heating chamber 11 is disposed by the lifting mechanism 135, and further enter the heating space S through the guide rail 133. In other embodiments, the heating chamber 11 is disposed on the lifting path of the lifting mechanism 135, and the heated material can directly enter the heating space S through the lifting mechanism 135. It is understood that when each of the layered products 15 is provided with one heating chamber 11 provided with a heating element, the object to be heated may enter the heating space S of the heating chamber 11 of the present layer without entering the other layers through the elevating mechanism 135.

Further, the lifting mechanism 135 includes a lifting plate 1351 and a lifting rail 1353, and the lifting plate 1351 is movable along the lifting rail 1353 in a layer height direction of the multi-layer device layer 15. The lifting plate 1351 and each layer 15 are provided with a guide rail 133, and when the lifting plate 1351 is lifted to be flush with one layer 15, the guide rails 133 on the two layers are connected.

The lifting rail 1353 is arranged along the layer height direction, when the lifting plate 1351 is lifted to be parallel to any layer 15, the guide rail 133 on the lifting plate 1351 is connected with the guide rail 133 on the layer 15 to participate in forming the guide rail network of the layer, and the carriers 131 on the layer 15 can move to the lifting plate 1351 through the guide rail 133, and can further lift along with the lifting plate 1351 to realize the transfer between different layers 15.

Specifically, the layer 15 is configured with a preformed gap Q for installation and mating with the lift plate 1351, which is filled when the lift plate 1351 is flush with one of the layer 15. Therefore, the matching of the material placing layer 15 and the lifting plate 1351 is facilitated, and the space above and below the lifting plate 1351 can be changed into a variable volume space, so that the material placing is facilitated.

In some embodiments, the door of the refrigerator 100 covers a portion of the storage chamber, and the door is a drawer type, and the transferring assembly 13 is controlled to drive the articles into or out of the door.

The door of the refrigerator 100 does not completely cover the storage chamber, and only exposes a partial area for storing and taking articles when opened, which contributes to improving the heat insulation performance of the storage chamber and reducing the heat exchange between the inside and the outside caused by opening and closing the door. Meanwhile, since the door is small and is a drawer type door, it is difficult to access the entire storage chamber space through the door, thereby facilitating access to the articles by the transferring assembly 13. When the article needs to be stored, the box door is drawn out, the article is put into the box door, the box door is closed, and the transfer component 13 can drive the article to leave the box door to a designated or proper area. When the article needs to be taken out, after the article is selected, the transfer component 13 drives the article to be directly transferred into the box door or to be transferred into the box door after being heated in the heating space S according to requirements, and at the moment, the article can be taken out by pulling out the box door.

When a user uses the heating device 10 of the refrigerator 100 to heat or store an article to be heated, the user selects the article to be heated first, the controller analyzes and determines an optimal target temperature of the article to be heated or the user inputs the target temperature manually, on the other hand, the controller controls the carrier 131 corresponding to the article to be heated, an optimal traveling path is planned, the carrier 131 moves to the heating space S of the heating compartment 11 along the guide rail 133, and if the carrier 131 is located at a different layer from the target heating compartment 11, the carrier 131 also needs to move to the lifting plate 1351 and be transferred to the storage layer 15 of the target heating compartment 11 through the lifting plate 1351. And after the heated object enters the heating space S, closing the compartment door. The controller turns on a corresponding number of heating members based on the current temperature and the target temperature, maintains the temperature and stores the heated object in the heating space S if the mode of the selected heating device 10 is the storage mode, sends a prompt signal after the heating is completed if the mode of the selected heating device 10 is the heating mode, and transfers the heated object to the drawer type door through the bearing member 131, and the user can take out the door to obtain the desired heated object.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only represent some embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is specific and detailed, but not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, several variations and modifications can be made, which are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A heating apparatus provided in a storage chamber of a refrigerator, comprising:

a heating chamber in which a heating space is formed; and

2. The heating device of claim 1, wherein the transfer assembly comprises at least one carrier and a guide rail, the guide rail being laid in the storage chamber in a predetermined direction, at least part of the carrier being routed through the heating space by means of at least part of the guide rail.

3. The heating device according to claim 2, wherein at least one layer is provided in the refrigerator, and the guide rail comprises two sets laid on the layer in a first direction and a second direction, respectively, the first direction intersecting the second direction;

4. The heating device of claim 2, wherein a plurality of material layers are disposed in the refrigerator, and the transfer assembly further comprises an elevating mechanism for driving at least one of the carriers to transfer between different material layers.

5. The heating device of claim 4, wherein the lifting mechanism comprises a lifting plate and a lifting rail, the lifting plate being movable along the lifting rail in a layer height direction of the multi-layer material layer;

6. The heating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating chamber includes a chamber body having the heating space, a chamber door controlled to open and close the chamber body, and a heating assembly disposed in the heating space.

7. The heating apparatus of claim 6, wherein the heating assembly includes a plurality of heating elements, the heating elements of the heating assembly being selectively operable partially or fully.

8. A refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises a heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 8, wherein a door of the refrigerator covers a partial area of the storage chamber, and the door is a drawer type, and the transfer unit is controlled to drive the articles into or out of the door.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the refrigerator comprises a plurality of the heating devices, and the heating compartment of each of the heating devices is independently operable.