WO2023273413A1

WO2023273413A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2023273413A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/080668
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈建龙; 吴光瑞; 付伟健; 刘畅
Original assignee: 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司; 海尔智家股份有限公司
Priority date: 2021-06-29
Filing date: 2022-03-14
Publication date: 2023-01-05
Also published as: CN115540430A

Abstract

A refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerator body having a storage space defined therein, the storage space comprising a freezing space; a door body arranged on a front surface of the refrigerator body for closing the storage space; and a refrigeration system configured to provide cooling capacity to the storage space, wherein the freezing space comprises a drying area and a wet area that are separated from each other, the drying area being configured to perform vacuum drying on an item, and the wet area being configured to store the vacuum-dried item. By means of the refrigerator of the present invention, food is stored in the freezing space by means of vacuum drying, thereby improving the storage effect, and avoiding the loss of nutritional composition or activity of the food due to high-temperature drying.

Description

refrigerator

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a refrigerator.

Background technique

With the development of society and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, people's pace of life is getting faster and faster, so they are more and more willing to buy a lot of food and put it in the refrigerator. The refrigerator has become one of the indispensable household appliances in people's daily life. .

At present, the food suitable for frozen storage has the problem of producing ice crystals during the frozen storage process, which leads to the deterioration of the taste of the ingredients and the loss of nutrients. Soft freezing is a new function of some refrigerators in recent years, but the production technology of refrigerator enterprises is immature, resulting in product quality differences, and the effect of soft freezing is not obvious. The food storage time of the existing refrigerator soft freezing technology is relatively short, and its temperature is usually between 0°C and -7°C, which is not conducive to the long-term storage of food.

In addition, in the prior art, some articles are stored in a dry manner, and drying is one of methods for keeping materials from being corrupted. There are many drying methods, such as drying, boiling, drying, spray drying and vacuum drying. But these drying methods are all carried out at a temperature above 0°C or higher. The products obtained by drying generally shrink in size and harden in texture. Some substances are oxidized, most of some volatile components will be lost, and some heat-sensitive substances, such as proteins and vitamins, will be denatured. Microorganisms will lose biological activity, and dried substances are not easy to dissolve in water, etc. Therefore, compared with before drying, the product after drying has a great difference in properties, resulting in poor effect of storing items.

Contents of the invention

One object of the present invention is to store food in a vacuum-dried manner in a freezer space to improve the storage effect.

A further object of the present invention is to utilize the original freezing function of the refrigerator to realize freeze-drying, simplify the structure and effectively save costs.

In particular, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising: a box body defining a storage space therein, the storage space including a freezing space; a door body arranged on the front surface of the box body for closing the storage space; and The refrigeration system is configured to provide cold energy to the storage space; wherein the freezing space includes a dry area and a wet area that are separated, the dry area is configured to vacuum dry items, and the wet area is configured to store vacuum dried items.

Optionally, the refrigerator further includes: a vacuum system configured to evacuate the drying area; and a heating system configured to heat the items in the drying area to achieve drying.

Optionally, the vacuum system includes: a vacuum pump, pipelines and valves, wherein a compressor compartment is defined inside the box, and the vacuum pump is arranged in the compressor compartment.

Optionally, the refrigerator further includes: a first condenser, disposed on the rear inner wall of the drying area, which has a metal adsorption surface, and the metal adsorption surface is configured to perform freeze adsorption drying when the temperature drops to a first preset temperature. water vapor in the area.

Optionally, the vacuum system is further configured to make the vacuum degree of the drying zone reach a preset threshold; the heating system is also configured to make the temperature of the drying zone reach a second preset temperature first, and then make the temperature of the drying zone reach a third preset temperature , wherein the second preset temperature is less than the third preset temperature.

Optionally, the set temperature of the wet zone is the glass transition temperature of the vacuum-dried article.

Optionally, the refrigerator further includes: a controller configured to control the temperature drop of the first condenser, and perform pre-freezing and quick-freezing on the items in the drying area, when the temperature of the first condenser drops to a first preset temperature , control the vacuum system to work, so that the vacuum degree of the drying area reaches the preset threshold; control the heating system to perform one heating, so that the temperature of the drying area reaches the second preset temperature, and then perform secondary heating, so that the temperature of the drying area reaches the second preset temperature Three preset temperatures; and maintaining the third preset temperature for a preset period of time to complete the vacuum drying of the articles; controlling the temperature of the wet area to be the glass transition temperature of the articles to store the articles.

Optionally, the refrigeration system includes: a compressor, an evaporator and a second condenser, wherein the compressor and the second condenser are arranged in the compressor chamber, and the evaporator is arranged on the rear inner wall of the wet zone.

Optionally, the drying area is provided with a metal plate layer to place items that need to be vacuum-dried.

Optionally, the first preset temperature is -35°C to -45°C; the third preset temperature is 45°C to 55°C; the preset threshold is greater than or equal to 100 μmHg.

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises: a box body, in which a storage space is defined, and the storage space includes a freezing space; a door body, arranged on the front surface of the box body, for closing the storage space; The storage space provides cooling capacity; wherein, the freezer space includes a separate dry area and a wet area, the dry area is configured to vacuum-dry items, the wet area is configured to store vacuum-dried items, and the freezer space uses vacuum-dried Store food in a more efficient way, improve the storage effect, and prevent food from losing nutrients or activity due to high-temperature drying.

Further, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the controller is configured to control the temperature reduction of the first condenser to pre-freeze and quick-freeze the items in the drying area. When the temperature of the first condenser is reduced to the first preset temperature, Control the work of the vacuum system so that the vacuum degree of the drying area reaches the preset threshold; control the heating system to heat once so that the temperature of the drying area reaches the second preset temperature, and then perform secondary heating to make the temperature of the drying area reach the third Preset temperature; and keep the third preset temperature for a preset period of time to complete the vacuum drying of the item; control the temperature of the wet area to the glass transition temperature of the item to store the item after vacuum drying, improve the storage effect, and use the original refrigerator The unique freezing function realizes freeze-drying, which simplifies the structure and effectively saves costs.

Those skilled in the art will be more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention according to the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by way of illustration and not limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings designate the same or similar parts or parts. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the attached picture:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

This embodiment firstly provides a refrigerator, which stores food in a vacuum-drying manner, improves the storage effect, and further improves user experience. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment may generally include: a box body 110 , a door body 120 and a refrigeration system.

Wherein, a storage space may be defined inside the box body 110, and the storage space is provided with a plurality of storage areas. The number and structure of the storage space can be configured according to the needs, and the storage space can be configured as refrigerated space, frozen space, variable temperature space or fresh-keeping space according to different purposes. Each storage space can be divided into a plurality of storage areas by partition boards, using shelves or drawers to store items. The storage space in this embodiment includes a freezer space 112 to realize freeze-drying of items.

The door body 120 is disposed on the front surface of the box body 110 for closing the storage space. The door body 120 may be provided corresponding to the storage space, that is, each storage space corresponds to one or more door bodies 120 . The quantity of the storage space, the door body 120, and the function of the storage space can be selected according to actual conditions. The door body 120 can be pivotally arranged on the front surface of the box body 110, and can also be opened in a drawer type to realize a drawer-type storage space, wherein the drawer-type storage space is often provided with metal slide rails, which can ensure that the drawer is opened The closing process is gentle and reduces noise.

As shown in Figure 1, the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment can be a side-by-side refrigerator, the refrigerator 100 can be provided with two storage spaces up and down, and both the upper storage space and the lower storage space can be provided with two relatively open storage spaces. Door body 120. As mentioned above, the storage space in this embodiment includes a freezer space 112, specifically, the upper storage space in this embodiment can be a cold storage space 111, and the lower storage space can be a freezer space 112. As shown in FIG. 1 , a horizontal partition board is arranged in the refrigerated space 111 to divide the refrigerated space 111 into two storage areas, the upper and the lower. The freezing space 112 is provided with a longitudinal partition plate to divide the freezing space 112 into two storage areas, left and right. In a specific embodiment, the freezer space 112 includes a separate dry area 114 configured to vacuum-dry items and a wet area 115 configured to store vacuum-dried items.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the refrigerator 100 may further include: a first condenser 150, disposed on the rear inner wall of the drying area 114, which has a metal adsorption surface, and the metal adsorption surface is configured to reduce the temperature to the first preset temperature. In some cases, the water vapor in the adsorption drying zone 114 is frozen. Preferably, the drying area 114 can also be provided with a metal plate layer to place items that need to be vacuum-dried. That is to say, the sheet metal layer can be regarded as a shelf for placing items.

In addition, the refrigerator 100 may further include: a vacuum system and a heating system 130 . Wherein, the vacuum system can be configured to vacuumize the drying area 114 . The heating system 130 may be configured to heat the items in the drying zone 114 to effect drying. In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum system includes: a vacuum pump 140 , pipes and valves, wherein a compressor compartment 113 is defined inside the box body 110 , and the vacuum pump 140 is disposed in the compressor compartment 113 .

The refrigeration system may be configured to provide cooling to the storage space. Moreover, the refrigeration system may be a compression refrigeration system, including components such as an evaporator 162 , a second condenser 163 , and a compressor 161 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the compressor 161 and the second condenser 163 are disposed in the compressor compartment 113 , and the evaporator 162 is disposed on the rear inner wall of the wet area 115 . The cooling capacity provided by the refrigeration system to the refrigerating space 111 and the freezing space 112 is different, so that the temperatures in the refrigerating space 111 and the freezing space 112 are also different. The temperature in the refrigerated space 111 is generally between 2°C and 10°C, preferably 3°C to 8°C. The temperature range within the refrigerated space 112 is typically -22°C to -14°C. The optimal storage temperature for different types of food is not the same, and the suitable storage space for storage is also different. For example, fruits and vegetables are suitable for storage in the refrigerated space 111 , and meat food is suitable for storage in the freezing space 112 .

In a specific embodiment, the vacuum system is also configured to make the vacuum degree of the drying zone 114 reach a preset threshold; the heating system 130 is also configured to make the temperature of the drying zone 114 reach a second preset temperature first, and then make the drying zone 114 reach a second preset temperature. The temperature of 114 reaches a third preset temperature, wherein the second preset temperature is less than the third preset temperature.

The set temperature of the wet zone 115 is the glass transition temperature of the vacuum-dried item. The glass transition temperature in general frozen food usually refers to the glass transition temperature of the largest frozen concentrate. During the freezing process, with the continuous precipitation of ice crystals, the concentration of the unfrozen solution increases continuously, the freezing point gradually decreases, and finally reaches the maximum frozen concentration state, and the remaining water in the solution does not crystallize again. The glass transition temperature at this time is called the maximum frozen concentrated solution. The glass transition temperature is represented by Tg.

Due to the phenomenon of freeze concentration, the unfrozen portion of frozen food is unstable in storage. Under general freezing temperature, that is to say, the temperature is above the glass transition temperature, which means that this part of the concentrated matrix is still in a highly elastic state, or even a viscous fluid state, and the molecular chain segments can move freely, and the diffusion coefficient is relatively large. This is one of the reasons why quick-frozen fruit and vegetable products will still brown when they are frozen.

When in the glassy state below Tg, the system is in a relatively stable state due to its extremely high viscosity and small free volume fraction; on the contrary, in the rubbery state above Tg, due to the sharp decrease in viscosity, the free volume fraction increases greatly, and some The structure relaxation process controlled by diffusion becomes very active, and the system is relatively unstable.

At present, ice cream and frozen fruits and vegetables are widely used. The complete glass transition of frozen processed food is mainly used in the processing of freeze-dried food and dried aquatic products, and the research on partial glass transition of food is mainly used in the storage of fruits and vegetables, meat products, ice cream and frozen convenience food. Glass storage of partially crystallized food is the best way to achieve low temperature preservation of food.

The following is an introduction to the glass transition temperature of some different types of ingredients: the glass transition temperature of beef is -14°C; the glass transition temperature of hairtail is -14°C; the glass transition temperature of cod is -89°C; the glass transition temperature of strawberry The glass transition temperature of ice cream is -43.5°C; the glass transition temperature of ice cream is -30°C to -43°C.

In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerator 100 may further include: a controller configured to control the temperature reduction of the first condenser 150 to pre-freeze and quick-freeze the items in the drying area 114, and the temperature of the first condenser 150 When the temperature is reduced to the first preset temperature, the vacuum system is controlled to work so that the vacuum degree of the drying zone 114 reaches a preset threshold; the heating system 130 is controlled to perform a heating so that the temperature of the drying zone 114 reaches the second preset temperature, Carry out secondary heating again, make the temperature of drying zone 114 reach the 3rd preset temperature; And keep the 3rd preset temperature preset duration, to complete the vacuum drying of article; Control the temperature of wet zone 115 to be the glass transition temperature of article , to store items.

In a preferred embodiment, the first preset temperature is -35°C to -45°C; the third preset temperature is 45°C to 55°C; and the preset threshold is greater than or equal to 100 μmHg. More preferably, the first preset temperature may be -40°C, and the third preset temperature may be 50°C.

That is to say, before freeze-drying, pack the products to be freeze-dried in suitable containers, usually glass bottles or ampoules, with uniform filling volume, as large as possible evaporation surface and thinner thickness as possible; Metal sheet layer of zone 114. As described above, the drying area 114 is first cooled in an empty box, and then the product is put into the drying area 114 for pre-freezing. When the first condenser 150 is working, the temperature of the first condenser 150 should reach about -40°C when vacuuming. After the vacuum degree reaches a vacuum degree above 100 μmHg, the product in the drying area 114 can be heated.

Generally, the heating is carried out in two steps. The first step of heating does not make the temperature of the product exceed the temperature of the eutectic point, that is to say, the second preset temperature mentioned above is lower than the eutectic point. After the moisture in the product is basically dry, proceed to the second step of heating. At this time, the product can be rapidly raised to the specified maximum temperature, which is the third preset temperature mentioned above. After several hours at the third preset temperature, the freeze-drying can be ended. The wet zone 115 is set to the glass transition temperature of the food to be stored, and the freeze-dried food can be stored. The setting of the dry zone 114 and the wet zone 115 effectively improves the storage effect and duration of the product.

In particular, it should be noted that the drying of current products is carried out at a temperature above 0°C or higher. The products obtained by drying generally shrink in size and harden in texture. Some substances are oxidized, most of some volatile components will be lost, and some heat-sensitive substances, such as proteins and vitamins, will be denatured. Microorganisms will lose biological activity, and dried substances are not easy to dissolve in water, etc. Therefore, compared with before drying, the product after drying has a great difference in properties. In this example, the vacuum drying of the product is basically carried out at a temperature below 0°C, that is, it is carried out in a frozen state, and it is not until the later stage that the product is raised to a temperature above 0°C in order to further reduce the residual moisture content of the product. temperature, but generally not exceeding 40°C.

The vacuum drying in this embodiment is carried out at low temperature, so it is especially suitable for many heat-sensitive substances. Such as proteins, microorganisms and the like will not denature or lose biological activity. Therefore, it is widely used in medicine. The loss of some volatile components in the substance is small, and it is suitable for drying some chemical products, medicines and food. The growth of microorganisms and the action of enzymes cannot be carried out, so the original properties can be maintained. Since it is dried in a frozen state, the volume is almost unchanged, the original structure is maintained, and no condensation occurs. The dried substance dissolves quickly and completely after adding water, and restores its original shape almost immediately. Since drying is carried out under vacuum with very little oxygen, some easily oxidizable substances are protected. Drying can remove more than 95% to 99% of water, so that the dried product can be stored for a long time without deterioration.

The refrigerator 100 of this embodiment includes: a box body 110 defining a storage space therein, and the storage space includes a freezing space 112; a door body 120 arranged on the front surface of the box body 110 for closing the storage space; and Refrigeration system, configured to provide cooling capacity to the storage space; wherein, the freezer space 112 includes a dry area 114 and a wet area 115 that are separated, the dry area 114 is configured to vacuum dry items, and the wet area 115 is configured to store items passed through a vacuum. For dried items, the food is stored in the freezer space 112 by means of vacuum drying, which improves the storage effect and prevents the food from losing nutrients or activity due to high-temperature drying.

Further, in the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, the controller is configured to control the temperature reduction of the first condenser 150, pre-freeze and quick-freeze the items in the drying area 114, and reduce the temperature of the first condenser 150 to the first preset temperature, control the vacuum system to work so that the vacuum degree of the drying zone 114 reaches a preset threshold; control the heating system 130 to heat once so that the temperature of the drying zone 114 reaches the second preset temperature, and then perform secondary heating, Make the temperature of the drying zone 114 reach the third preset temperature; and maintain the third preset temperature for a preset period of time to complete the vacuum drying of the article; control the temperature of the wet zone 115 to be the glass transition temperature of the article to store after vacuum drying items, improve the storage effect, use the original freezing function of the refrigerator 100 to realize freeze-drying, simplify the structure and effectively save costs.

In the description of this embodiment, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "longitudinal", "transverse", etc. indicate directions or The positional relationship is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, Therefore, it should not be construed as limiting the invention.

The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features, that is, include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, "plurality" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless specifically defined otherwise. When a feature "comprises or comprises" one or some of the features it encompasses, unless specifically stated otherwise, this indicates that other features are not excluded and that other features may be further included.

In the description of this embodiment, references to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "exemplary embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some A specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

So far, those skilled in the art should appreciate that, although a number of exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the disclosed embodiments of the present invention can still be used. Many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention are directly identified or derived from the content. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be understood and deemed to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

A refrigerator comprising:

The box body defines a storage space inside, and the storage space includes a freezing space;

a door, arranged on the front surface of the box, for closing the storage space; and

a refrigeration system configured to provide refrigeration to the storage space;

Wherein, the freezer space includes a separate dry area and a wet area, the dry area is configured to vacuum-dry items, and the wet area is configured to store the vacuum-dried items.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vacuum system configured to evacuate the drying zone; and

A heating system configured to heat the items in the drying zone to achieve drying.
The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein,

Described vacuum system comprises: vacuum pump, pipeline and valve,

Wherein, a compressor compartment is defined inside the box body, and the vacuum pump is arranged in the compressor compartment.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising:

The first condenser is arranged on the rear inner wall of the drying area, and has a metal adsorption surface, and the metal adsorption surface is configured to freeze and adsorb the inside of the drying area when the temperature drops to a first preset temperature of water vapor.
The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein,

The vacuum system is further configured such that the vacuum degree of the drying zone reaches a preset threshold;

The heating system is further configured to make the temperature of the drying zone reach a second preset temperature first, and then make the temperature of the drying zone reach a third preset temperature, wherein the second preset temperature is lower than the third preset temperature preset temperature.
The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein,

The set temperature of the wet zone is the glass transition temperature of the vacuum-dried article.
The refrigerator according to claim 6, further comprising:

A controller configured to control the temperature drop of the first condenser to pre-freeze and quick-freeze the items in the drying zone, when the temperature of the first condenser drops to the first preset temperature , controlling the vacuum system to work so that the vacuum degree of the drying zone reaches the preset threshold; controlling the heating system to perform one heating so that the temperature of the drying zone reaches the second preset temperature, and then performing secondary heating so that the temperature of the drying zone reaches the third preset temperature; and maintaining the third preset temperature for a preset period of time to complete the vacuum drying of the article; controlling the temperature of the wet zone is the glass transition temperature of the item to store the item in.
The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein,

The refrigeration system includes: a compressor, an evaporator and a second condenser, wherein the compressor and the second condenser are arranged in the compressor compartment, and the evaporator is arranged behind the wet zone side wall.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein,

The drying area is provided with a metal plate layer to place the items that need vacuum drying.
The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein,

The first preset temperature is -35°C to -45°C;

The third preset temperature is 45°C to 55°C;

The preset threshold is greater than or equal to 100 μmHg.