JPH0198885A - Thawing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable a frozen food to be defrosted by a method wherein a defrosting device is comprised a Peltier element for applying heat generated when refrigerant is compressed to the food, a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the food and a controller for controlling an electrical current flowing in the Peltier element in response to a difference between the detected temperature of the food and a predetermined defrosting temperature. CONSTITUTION: A defrosting device 5 is provided with an outer wall 12, a heat transferring inner wall 13 and a door 14. A radiating pipe 4 is arranged along the inner wall 13 and brought into contact with a Peltier element 6. A partition plate 7 is connected to a Peltier element 6 by a heat pipe 15. A switch 10 is turned ON, a part of heat generated when refrigerant within a thermal radiation pipe 4 is compressed by a compressor 3 is transferred from a heat absorbing side of the Peltier element 6 to a heat generating side and its heat is transferred to the inner wall 13 and the partition plate 7. To the contrary, a temperature of a food placed on the partition plate 7 is detected by a temperature sensor 8, fed back to the controller 9, compared with a predetermined defrosting temperature and calculated, resulting in that an electrical current is passed from a power supply 11 to the Peltier element 6, Joule heat is transferred to the inner wall 13 and the partition plate 7 to defrost the food.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an apparatus for thawing frozen foods using heat generated during compression of refrigerant in a refrigerator.

[Conventional technology]

To thaw frozen food, it is left at room temperature or in the refrigerator, placed in a plastic bag and soaked in water, or thawed in the microwave.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As is well known, rapid heating must be avoided when thawing frozen foods. This is because rapid heating thaws only the surface area of frozen food, leaving the inside frozen.
This is because the flavor of the food flows out from the melted part. Therefore, when freezing food, try to freeze it in small portions rather than in chunks. By the way, if you thaw frozen food by leaving it at room temperature or in a cold place around 4℃, solid
The thawing state is deep because it gradually melts only by heat exchange between the frozen food (frozen food) and the gas (atmosphere). However, thawing food in a refrigerator takes a long time, and if food is left at room temperature, the time until it can be cooked is not determined depending on the outside temperature, food type, size, etc., so it is necessary to constantly check the thawing state of the food. This goes against the purpose of frozen foods, which is to save time and effort in cooking. In addition, when defrosting food using a microwave oven, etc., methods are used in which the weight of the food to be thawed is determined and the operating time of the microwave oven is determined, and a method is implemented in which a humidity sensor is installed inside the microwave oven to detect the water vapor generated during thawing and stop the operation. . However, since there are significant differences in moisture content depending on the food, there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain optimal thawing of the food even if the heating time is simply determined based on the weight of the food or the amount of water vapor generated. Furthermore, the method of irradiating electromagnetic waves is not suitable for thawing large quantities of food because the electromagnetic waves cannot penetrate inside the food.

On the other hand, as the capacity of refrigerators equipped with freezers increases, more heat is generated when compressing refrigerant, and a large amount of that heat is released, which has become a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a thawing device that can thaw frozen foods by effectively utilizing the heat generated when compressing a refrigerant in a refrigerator.

[Means and actions for solving the problem] A Peltier element that applies heat generated when compressing a refrigerant to thawed food in a refrigerator, and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the food.
It consists of a controller that controls the current flowing through the Peltier element according to the difference between the detected temperature of the food and the preset thawing temperature, making it possible to thaw frozen food by effectively utilizing the heat generated when compressing the refrigerant. be.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing a refrigerator 2 equipped with a freezer compartment 1.
A heat dissipation vibrator 4 that compresses refrigerant with a compressor 3 is disposed, and a part of the heat dissipation vibe 4 is disposed inside the defrosting chamber 5, and a partition plate 7 is connected to the heat dissipation vibe 4 via a Peltier element 6. Frozen food is placed on this partition plate 7 and heated, and a temperature sensor 8
The temperature sensor 8 is connected to a power source 11 through a controller 9 and a switch 10.

FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the thawing chamber, and the thawing chamber 5 has an outer wall 1.
2, an inner wall 13 made of a material with excellent heat conductivity, for example, an alumite-treated aluminum plate, and a door 14.
The partition plate 7 is an aluminum plate and is connected to the Peltier element 6 by a flexible heat vibrator 15, and the switch 10 is attached to the outer wall 12.

Because of this, when the switch 10 is turned on, a part of the heat generated when the refrigerant in the heat radiation vibrator 4 is compressed by the compressor 3 is transferred from the heat absorption (cooling) side of the Peltier element 6 to the heat generation (heat radiation) side. The heat is transferred to the inner wall 13 and the partition plate 7.

On the other hand, the temperature of the frozen food placed on the partition plate 7 is detected by the temperature sensor 8 and fed back to the controller 9, where it is compared with a predetermined thawing temperature and a current is applied from the power source 11 to the Peltier element 6 according to the difference. The Joule heat is transferred to the inner wall 13 and the partition plate 7, and the food is thawed together with the aforementioned heat.

When the temperature of the food reaches the thawing temperature, the Peltier element 6
Let the current to be zero.

For example, when food frozen at -10°C is placed on the partition plate 7 to thaw, the temperature sensor 8 detects -10°C, and the Peltier element transmits a current according to the difference from the preset thawing temperature, for example 8°C. 6, and as the temperature of the food increases, the difference becomes smaller, and the current flowing through the Peltier element 6 is gradually reduced, and when the temperature reaches 100° C., the current is set to zero.

Peltier devices have long been researched as electronic cooling modules, and can smoothly control the amount of heat absorbed (heat generated) in proportion to the current flowing through the module, allowing frozen foods to quickly reach the desired temperature.

Further, as the temperature sensor 8, there are a thermistor, a sheath type thermocouple, etc., and if a sheath type thermocouple is used, it is possible to measure the internal temperature of a large lump of food.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Frozen foods can be efficiently thawed because frozen foods can be efficiently heated using both the heat generated when compressing the refrigerant and the Joule heat generated by the resistance within the Peltier element.

In addition, the temperature of the food being thawed can be detected and the amount of heat given to the food can be controlled by controlling the current applied to the Peltier element according to the temperature, allowing for rapid thawing and prevention of over-thawing. can.

Moreover, the heat radiated from the refrigerator can also be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram, and FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a thawing chamber. 6 is a Peltier element, 8 is a temperature sensor, 9 is a controller, and 11 is a power supply. Applicant Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Masaaki Yonehara

Claims (1)

[Claims] A Peltier element 6 that applies heat generated when compressing a refrigerant to food to be thawed in a refrigerator, a temperature sensor 8 that detects the temperature of the food, and a Peltier element 6 that applies heat generated when compressing a refrigerant to the food to be thawed, a temperature sensor 8 that detects the temperature of the food, and a Peltier element 6 that applies heat generated when compressing a refrigerant to the food to be thawed, and a temperature sensor 8 that detects the temperature of the food. A thawing device comprising a controller 9 that controls the current flowing.