Rapid cooling device

Abstract

The present invention provides a rapid cooling device, comprising: a main body, having an upward opening defined by a peripheral wall, and a cavity formed inside the main body; a cover plate, arranged at the top of the peripheral wall and controlled to cover the opening to seal the cavity; a refrigeration unit, arranged in the cavity and configured to separate the cavity into a first area and a second area that are not connected to each other; the first area is located on one side of the refrigeration unit and is used to place objects to be cooled; the second area is located on the other side of the refrigeration unit; the rapid cooling device also includes an air pump, which can be controlled to inflate air into the second area to force at least part of the refrigeration unit to deviate toward the first area, and make at least part of the refrigeration unit cover at least part of the objects to be cooled. The present invention generates a gas pressure difference inside the rapid cooling device through the air pump, and the refrigeration unit inside it deviates toward the objects to be cooled due to the gas pressure difference, thereby ensuring effective contact between the refrigeration unit and the objects to be cooled, and realizing rapid cooling of the objects to be cooled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to refrigeration technology, in particular to a rapid cooling device. Background Art

[0002] In daily life, people are accustomed to using refrigerators and other refrigeration and freezing equipment to preserve, freeze, and refrigerate various foods and beverages. In order to make the items to be cooled reach the refrigeration temperature, users generally need to put the items to be cooled into the refrigeration and freezing equipment dozens of minutes in advance, and wait for the items to be cooled at room temperature to slowly cool to the refrigeration temperature. This cooling method cannot meet the needs of users quickly and timely. The existing technology also uses ultra-low temperature cooling technology, which consumes a lot of energy, has high requirements for equipment, is not conducive to carrying, and cannot meet the needs of users in outdoor environments. Summary of the invention

[0003] An object of the present invention is to provide a rapid cooling device which can achieve rapid temperature reduction of objects to be cooled.

[0004] A further object of the present invention is to make the rapid cooling device have a more uniform cooling effect.

[0005] Another further object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the rapid cooling device and reduce its energy consumption, so as to make it more portable and meet the needs of users for use in different occasions.

[0006] In particular, the present invention provides a rapid cooling device, comprising:

[0007] A main body, comprising a base and a peripheral wall extending upward from an upper surface of the base, wherein the main body is configured to have an upward opening defined by the peripheral wall, and a cavity is formed inside the main body to accommodate an object to be cooled;

[0008] a cover plate, disposed at the top of the peripheral wall and controlled to cover the opening to seal the cavity; and

[0009] A refrigeration unit is disposed in the cavity and configured to separate the cavity into a first area and a second area that are not connected to each other;

[0010] The first area is located on one side of the refrigeration unit and is configured to place the object to be cooled; the second area is located on the other side of the refrigeration unit; the rapid cooling device further includes:

[0011] The air pump is disposed in the second area and configured to controllably inflate air into the second area to force at least a portion of the refrigeration portion to deviate toward the first area and to make at least a portion of the refrigeration portion cover at least a portion of the object to be cooled.

[0012] Furthermore, the refrigeration unit is filled with a refrigerant, and is configured to perform heat exchange with the object to be cooled when at least a portion of the refrigeration unit covers at least a portion of the object to be cooled.

[0013] Furthermore, the refrigeration part has an inner wall and an outer wall made of a flexible material, is configured as a column with a circular cross-section, and stands upright in the middle of the base; and

[0014] The first area is a central area located inside the inner wall, and the second area is a peripheral area located between the outer wall and the peripheral wall.

[0015] Furthermore, the coolant is a fluid and is filled between the inner wall and the outer wall.

[0016] Furthermore, the inner wall and the outer wall are configured so that, when the air pump is not in operation, the projection of the refrigeration part on the base is a circular ring.

[0017] Furthermore, the rapid cooling device also includes:

[0018] The vibrator is disposed at the bottom of the first area and is configured to vibrate in a controlled manner to drive the objects to be cooled located in the first area to vibrate.

[0019] Furthermore, the vibrator is configured so that its peripheral side is disposed on the base with a distance therebetween from the inner wall.

[0020] Furthermore, the vibrator is a sheet-shaped vibration disk, which is configured to be at least partially embedded in the base.

[0021] Furthermore, the vibration disc is configured such that its upper surface is higher than the upper surface of the base.

[0022] Furthermore, a vent hole is provided on the cover plate, which is configured to controllably connect the second area with the external environment of the rapid cooling device, and

[0023] The vent hole is arranged directly above the air pump.

[0024] The present invention generates a gas pressure difference inside the rapid cooling device through an air pump, and causes the internal refrigeration part to shift toward the object to be cooled due to the gas pressure difference, thereby ensuring effective contact between the refrigeration part and the object to be cooled, and realizing rapid cooling of the object to be cooled.

[0025] Furthermore, the vibrator of the present invention not only makes the heat exchange process between the liquid item to be cooled and the refrigerant more uniform and rapid, thus avoiding the situation where the liquid item is cold outside and hot inside, but also ensures that the temperature changes of the refrigerant in contact with different positions of the inner wall are closer, thereby further making the cooling effect of the liquid item uniform.

[0026] Furthermore, the present invention can simplify the overall structure of the rapid cooling device and reduce its weight through the air pump and the refrigeration part that does not require external energy when working, making it particularly suitable for scenes such as outdoor gatherings.

[0027] Based on the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary and non-limiting manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a rapid cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of the rapid cooling device shown;

[0031] Figure 3 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a rapid cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic sectional exploded view of a rapid cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a rapid cooling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of a rapid cooling device 1 is shown. Figure 3 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of a rapid cooling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] The rapid cooling device 1 may generally include a main body 10, a cover plate 20 and a refrigeration unit 30. The main body 10 includes a base 11 and a peripheral wall 12 extending upward from the upper surface of the base 11. The main body 10 is configured to have an upward opening 120 defined by the peripheral wall 12, and a cavity is formed inside the main body 10 to accommodate items to be cooled. The cover plate 20 is arranged at the top of the peripheral wall 12 and controls the opening 120 to seal the cavity. The refrigeration unit 30 is arranged in the cavity and is configured to separate the cavity into a first area 101 and a second area 102 that are not connected to each other. In particular, the rapid cooling device 1 also includes an air pump 40 arranged in the second area 102. Specifically, the first area 101 is located on one side of the refrigeration unit 30 and is configured to place items to be cooled. The second area 102 is located on the other side of the refrigeration unit 30, and an air pump 40 is arranged in the area. The air pump 40 is configured to controllably inflate air into the second region 102 to force at least a portion of the refrigeration portion 30 to deviate toward the first region 101 and allow at least a portion of the refrigeration portion 30 to cover at least a portion of the item to be cooled.

[0035] That is, when the object to be cooled is placed in the first area 101 and the opening 120 is sealed by the cover plate 20, the air pump 40 can be controlled to start and inflate the second area 102. Since the first area 101 and the second area 102 are completely separated by the refrigeration unit 30 and gas exchange cannot occur, the air pressure in the second area 102 will continue to rise until a pressure difference is generated between the first area 101 and the second area 102 that enables the refrigeration unit 30 to shift. The air pump 40 can then continue to operate for a short period of time or stop operating immediately, at which time the refrigeration unit 30 shifts toward the object to be cooled in the first area 101 where the gas pressure is lower, and at least partially covers the object to be cooled, causing it to cool down quickly.

[0036] The present invention generates a gas pressure difference inside the rapid cooling device 1 through the air pump 40, and causes the refrigeration part 30 inside to shift toward the object to be cooled due to the gas pressure difference, thereby ensuring effective contact between the refrigeration part 30 and the object to be cooled, thereby achieving rapid cooling of the object to be cooled.

[0037] Figure 4 is a schematic sectional exploded view of a rapid cooling device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] In some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigeration unit 30 is filled with a refrigerant 33, and is configured to perform heat exchange with the article to be cooled when at least a portion of the refrigeration unit 30 covers at least a portion of the article to be cooled. That is, the refrigeration unit 30 can absorb cold energy when the rapid cooling device 1 is idle, and release the cold energy when the article to be cooled is placed in it. As a result, the rapid cooling device 1 does not require external energy input when cooling the article, and is more portable. Specifically, the refrigeration unit 30 can be configured to be able to be taken out of the rapid cooling device 1 alone or directly fixedly connected to the base 11, so that when the rapid cooling device 1 is idle, it can be placed in a freezing environment, such as the freezing area of ​​a refrigerator or freezer, alone or together with the rapid cooling device 1, to store cold.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present invention, the refrigeration unit 30 has an inner wall 31 and an outer wall 32 made of a flexible material, and is configured as a column with an annular cross section, and is erected in the middle of the base 11. Further, the first area 101 is a central area located inside the inner wall 31, and the second area 102 is a peripheral area located between the outer wall 32 and the peripheral wall 12. The refrigerant 33 is a fluid and is filled between the inner wall 31 and the outer wall 32.

[0040] That is, the refrigeration unit 30 can be configured as a cylinder with a closed ring cross section. Thus, when the object to be cooled is placed in the first area 101 located inside the inner wall 31, the surrounding side of the object is surrounded by the refrigeration unit 30. As the gas pressure in the second area 102 between the outer wall 32 of the refrigeration unit 30 and the surrounding wall 12 of the cylinder increases, the refrigeration unit 30 will be forced to tightly and completely wrap the outer peripheral side of the object to be cooled, and continuously apply pressure to the object to be cooled, so that the rapid cooling device 1 can quickly achieve the best heat exchange / cooling effect in a short time. Specifically, the flexible material can be low-temperature resistant silicone rubber.

[0041] Furthermore, since the inner wall 31 is made of a flexible material and a fluid refrigerant 33 is injected into the interior of the refrigeration unit 30, objects to be cooled having irregular shapes can also be completely attached to the inner wall 31 and exchange heat with the refrigerant 33, thereby enhancing the practicality of the rapid cooling device 1.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present invention, the inner wall 31 and the outer wall 32 are configured so that when the air pump 40 is not running, the projection of the refrigeration unit 30 on the base 11 is a circular ring. Correspondingly, the main body 10 can also be configured as a cylinder. That is, the projections of the peripheral wall 12, the outer wall 32 and the inner wall 31 on the base 11 are three concentric circles with different radii. As a result, the amount of the refrigerant 33 wrapped at each position on the outer peripheral side of the object to be cooled is basically the same, thereby ensuring that the cooling effect at each position on the outer peripheral side of the object to be cooled is more uniform.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present invention, the rapid cooling device 1 further includes a vibrator. The vibrator is disposed at the bottom of the first area 101 and is configured to be controllably vibrated to drive the objects to be cooled located in the first area 101 to vibrate. That is, when the objects to be cooled, especially liquid objects such as beverages, are placed in the rapid cooling device 1, they can be located just above the vibrator. The vibrator can be configured to start after the air pump 40 is inflated and stops running. At this time, the vibrator drives the objects to be cooled that have been tightly wrapped by the inner wall 31 to vibrate with a small amplitude and high frequency, so that the liquid inside flows and continuously exchanges heat with the refrigerant 33 at different positions. As a result, not only the heat exchange process between the liquid objects to be cooled and the refrigerant 33 is made more uniform and rapid, avoiding the situation that the liquid objects are cold outside and hot inside, but also the temperature changes of the refrigerant 33 in contact with different positions of the inner wall 31 are closer, thereby further making the cooling effect of the liquid objects uniform.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present invention, the vibrator is configured to be disposed on the base 11 with its circumferential side spaced apart from the inner wall 31. That is, the vibrator is configured to avoid direct contact with the refrigeration unit 30, and to enhance the uniformity of cooling only by driving the liquid items to vibrate. This is because the liquid items to be cooled have a lower viscosity and are easier to flow than the refrigerant 33. Although driving the refrigerant 33 and the liquid items to vibrate at the same time seems to promote the flow of both, the actual cooling effect is not very ideal due to the large loss of vibration energy applied to the refrigerant 33 after being converted into kinetic energy. In addition, the vibrator only drives the liquid items to vibrate, which also saves its power consumption.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, the vibrator is a sheet-shaped vibration disk 50, which is configured to be at least partially embedded in the base 11. That is, a circular recess 150 may be provided on the base 11 to limit the vibration disk 50. The vibration disk 50 may be configured to be powered by a rechargeable or replaceable battery, and the battery may be similarly embedded in the base 11 to avoid affecting the effective volume of the first area 101, while also enhancing the portability of the rapid cooling device 1.

[0046] Furthermore, the diameter of the vibration disk 50 can be roughly equal to the external dimensions of the general object to be cooled in the same direction. Therefore, the inner wall 31 spaced apart from the vibration disk 50 also has a gap with the object to be cooled, making it easy to take and put the object to be cooled. In addition, the present invention can move the refrigeration unit 30 toward the object to be cooled through the air pump 40, which can prevent the refrigeration unit 30 from being in an outward expansion state for a long time, while ensuring that the refrigerant and the object to be cooled can maintain effective contact, and at the same time, its service life is increased.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present invention, the vibration disk 50 is configured so that its upper surface is higher than the upper surface of the base 11. That is, the vibration disk 50 can raise the object to be cooled to a higher position, thereby preventing its bottom from being unable to contact the bottom of the refrigeration unit 30 fixed to the base 11, and the portion of the vibration disk 50 exposed to the outside of the base 11 can also better transmit the vibration to the object to be cooled, reducing the possibility of the vibration being weakened by the base 11.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present invention, the air pump 40 can be configured to be electrically driven or manually driven. Since the present invention adopts a cooling method of heat exchange in contact with the refrigerant 33, when the object to be cooled is placed in the rapid cooling device 1, its outer peripheral side is basically surrounded by the refrigeration unit 30, so that the idle volume of the internal cavity of the rapid cooling device 1 is small, and thus sufficient pressure difference on both sides of the refrigeration unit 30 can be achieved in a short time only by the manual air pump 40. In addition, the use of the manual air pump 40 can also simplify the overall structure of the rapid cooling device 1 and reduce its weight, making it particularly suitable for outdoor gatherings and other scenes.

[0049] In some embodiments of the present invention, a snap-fit ​​structure may be provided on the periphery of the cover plate 20. When the cover plate 20 covers the opening 120 on the main body 10, the cover plate 20 may be fixed to the peripheral wall 12 through the snap-fit ​​structure. Further, the snap-fit ​​structure may be configured to snap upward to the inner side of the peripheral wall 12, so that when the air pump 40 is inflated, the connection between the cover plate 20 and the peripheral wall 12 becomes increasingly tight. In this embodiment, a vent 200 may also be provided on the cover plate 20, and is configured to controllably connect the second region 102 to the external environment of the rapid cooling device 1. Specifically, an exhaust valve may be provided in the vent 200. After the rapid cooling device 1 completes cooling of the object to be cooled, the exhaust valve may be controlled to open to balance the air pressure inside and outside the device, so as to facilitate the opening of the cover plate 20. Further, the vent 200 may be provided directly above the air pump 40, so that the distance between the two is the shortest, and the airtightness of the rapid cooling device 1 may be detected timely and effectively through the vent 200.

[0050] At this point, those skilled in the art should recognize that, although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications that conform to the principles of the present invention can still be directly determined or derived based on the content disclosed in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and recognized as covering all these other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A rapid cooling device, comprising: A main body, comprising a base and a peripheral wall extending upward from an upper surface of the base, wherein the main body is configured to have an upward opening defined by the peripheral wall, and a cavity is formed inside the main body to accommodate an object to be cooled; A cover plate, disposed at the top of the peripheral wall and controlled to cover the opening to seal the cavity; and A refrigeration unit is disposed in the cavity and configured to separate the cavity into a first area and a second area that are not communicated with each other; in The refrigeration part has an inner wall and an outer wall made of a flexible material, is configured as a column with a circular cross section, and stands upright in the middle of the base; The first area is a central area located inside the inner wall, and the second area is a peripheral area located between the outer wall and the peripheral wall; The first area is located at one side of the refrigeration unit and is configured to place the object to be cooled; the second area is located at the other side of the refrigeration unit; The rapid cooling device also includes: an air pump, disposed in the second area and configured to controllably inflate air into the second area, so as to compress at least a portion of the refrigeration portion to deviate toward the first area, and to make at least a portion of the refrigeration portion cover at least a portion of the object to be cooled; The cover plate is provided with a vent hole, which is configured to controllably connect the second area with the external environment of the rapid cooling device.

2. The rapid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein: The refrigeration unit is filled with a refrigerant and is configured to perform heat exchange with the object to be cooled when at least a portion of the refrigeration unit covers at least a portion of the object to be cooled.

3. The rapid cooling device according to claim 2, wherein: The coolant is a fluid and is filled between the inner wall and the outer wall.

4. The rapid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein: The inner wall and the outer wall are configured such that, when the air pump is not in operation, the projection of the refrigeration unit on the base is a circular ring.

5. The rapid cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising: The vibrator is disposed at the bottom of the first area and is configured to vibrate in a controlled manner to drive the objects to be cooled located in the first area to vibrate.

6. The rapid cooling device according to claim 5, wherein: The vibrator is arranged on the base so that its peripheral side is spaced apart from the inner wall.

7. The rapid cooling device according to claim 5, wherein: The vibrator is a sheet-shaped vibration disk, which is configured to be at least partially embedded in the base.

8. The rapid cooling device according to claim 7, wherein: The vibration disk is configured such that its upper surface is higher than the upper surface of the base.

9. The rapid cooling device according to claim 1, wherein: The vent hole is arranged directly above the air pump.

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