A container and device for quick-freezing food

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a container and device for quick-freezing food, relating to the field of food freezing devices. The container for quick-freezing food includes an ice box body and an ice box cover. The ice box body has a receiving cavity formed therein and is provided with an opening. The ice box body is made of ice. The ice box cover seals the opening. The container box is used to hold food to be frozen. This protects the structural integrity of the food during the quick-freezing process, prevents surface damage and contamination caused by collisions, and reduces processing losses. By using healthy, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, harmless, and recyclable ice as the material for the container box, manufacturing and use costs are reduced while also preventing contamination of the container box and the food.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of food freezing devices, and in particular to a container box and a device for quick-freezing food. Background Art

[0002] With the growth of people's economic capabilities and improvements in living standards, expectations for the quality and safety of fresh food have risen. To meet this demand and expand commercial sales, the food quick-freezing industry has developed rapidly. The food quick-freezing process involves rapidly cooling food at low temperatures (below -18°C) to below the active temperature of microorganisms. This limits microbial growth and certain biochemical reactions without the use of preservatives or additives, ensuring food safety. The rapid cooling method helps convert the moisture within the food into small, needle-shaped ice crystals (less than 100μm in diameter), which retains moisture while avoiding significant damage to the cell structure, maximizing the food's nutritional value and taste. One common quick-freezing process involves using low-temperature air to cool food. However, for delicate fruits and vegetables, the quick-freezing process can damage their surfaces, compromising their subsequent storage and transportation. Therefore, the packaging and stacking of fruits and vegetables during the quick-freezing process must be designed appropriately to meet the rapid cooling requirements. In addition, during subsequent frozen storage, quick-frozen foods should be kept away from direct contact with air to slow down oxidation and delay food spoilage.

[0003] In the currently common quick-freezing process, low-temperature air is forced to circulate directly with the food to be cooled, exchanging heat. Food is typically placed directly or in plastic packaging on metal trays for cooling. However, for fragile fruits, simply placing them flat on the trays can cause collisions and damage the food's surface. Furthermore, allowing quick-frozen food to come into contact with air is detrimental to its preservation and storage. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present invention provide a container and device for quick-freezing food, which are used to solve the problems of the existing quick-freezing technology that the surface tissue of the food is easily damaged and the contact of the quick-frozen food with the air is not conducive to the preservation and storage of the food.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides a container for quick-freezing food, the container comprising:

[0006] An ice box body, wherein a receiving cavity is formed inside the ice box body, an opening is provided on the top of the ice box body, and the material of the ice box body is ice;

[0007] The ice box top cover is covered on the top of the ice box body and blocks the opening.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the container for quick-freezing food of the present invention, a vent is provided on at least one side wall of the ice box body.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the storage box for quick-freezing food of the present invention, the ice box body is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, and ventilation holes are provided on all four side walls of the ice box body.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a container for quick-freezing food, the bottom wall of the container cavity is provided with a support portion for supporting the food, and the support portion is used to reduce the contact area between the food at the bottom and the bottom wall.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the container for quick-freezing food according to the present invention, the supporting portion is a plurality of ridges provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall, and the plurality of ridges are arranged at equal intervals.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the container for quick-freezing food according to the present invention, the distance between two adjacent ridges is smaller than the diameter of the food.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the container for quick-freezing food according to the present invention, the supporting portion is a plurality of protrusions provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the container for quick-freezing food of the present invention, the material of the top cover of the ice box is also ice.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a storage box for quick-freezing food, the ice box top cover is a sheet-like structure. When the ice box top cover is closed on the top of the ice box body, the lower surface of the ice box top cover contacts the edge of the opening. The ice box top cover and the edge of the opening may adhere to each other when encountering water during freezing.

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention also provides an ice box storage device for quick-freezing food, the ice box storage device for quick-freezing food includes multiple layers of storage box groups stacked in sequence from bottom to top, each layer of the storage box group includes storage boxes arranged in multiple rows and columns, the storage boxes are the storage boxes for quick-freezing food as described above, and the storage boxes of each layer of the storage box group share an ice box top cover.

[0017] The container box for quick-freezing food provided in an embodiment of the present invention is used to hold food to be frozen. During the quick-freezing process, the structural integrity of the food can be protected, surface damage and contamination caused by mutual collision can be avoided, and processing losses can be reduced. By using healthy, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, harmless, and recyclable ice as the material of the container box, the manufacturing and use costs are reduced and contamination of the food by the container box is avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a container for quick-freezing food provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 1 is a schematic structural diagram of another container for quick-freezing food provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 1 is a schematic side cross-sectional structural diagram of a container for quick-freezing food provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a container device for quick-freezing food provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Reference numerals:

[0024] 1. Ice box top cover; 2. Side wall; 3. Ventilation port; 4. Support part; 5. Bottom wall; 6. Position limiting table; 12. Ice box body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] The following combination Figure 1-Figure 4 The present invention describes a container and a device for quick freezing of food according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a container box for quick freezing of food is shown as follows: Figure 1As shown, a container for quick-freezing food comprises an ice box body 12 and an ice box cover 1. The ice box body 12 defines a chamber for placing food to be frozen. In this embodiment, the ice box body 12 has an opening at the top, but the opening could also be located on the sidewall 2 of the ice box body 12. The opening is rectangular, allowing food to be placed into the chamber. Using the container to hold the food to be frozen protects the structural integrity of the food during the quick-freezing process, preventing surface damage and contamination from collisions or impacts, and minimizing processing losses. The ice box body 12 is made of ice, which is water frozen at low temperatures. Ice is a healthy, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, recyclable material with no added chemicals. Furthermore, it is inexpensive and does not increase freezing costs. The ice box cover 1 fits over the top of the ice box body 12 and seals the opening. The ice box cover 1 reduces contact between the food in the ice box body 12 and the outside air, protects the food from being squeezed or impacted, and facilitates stacking the container in multiple layers.

[0028] Figure 2 Another structural diagram of a container for quick-freezing food is shown as an example. Figure 2 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an opening is provided on the side wall 2 of the ice box body 12, and the inner edge of the opening is provided with a limiting table 6 that cooperates with the ice box cover 1. The size of the opening matches the size of the ice box cover 1 so that the ice box cover 1 can be inserted into the opening. After the ice box cover 1 is inserted into the opening, the ice box cover 1 will not completely enter the interior of the ice box body 12 due to the obstruction of the limiting table 6. At this time, the edge of the ice box cover 1 is tightly fitted with the inner edge of the opening, and only a small amount of water is needed to seal the ice box cover 1 and the ice box body 12. According to an embodiment of the present invention, in this embodiment, the opening is provided at the top of the ice box body 12, and at least one side wall 2 of the ice box body 12 is provided with a vent. In this embodiment, the ice box body 12 is a rectangular parallelepiped, and all four side walls 2 of the ice box body 12 are provided with a vent. The provision of the vent 3 can improve the heat exchange efficiency between the food and the cold air (usually nitrogen), so that the food in the ice box body 12 can be quickly cooled to below -18 ° C, shortening the freezing time and reducing energy consumption. Preferably, when the ice box body 12 is frozen, the vent 3 can be sealed by dripping water, thereby achieving a sealing effect, cutting off the contact between the food and the air, delaying the spoilage of the food, and allowing the food to be stacked in multiple layers to improve space utilization. Preferably, the vent (3) is provided with a grille, and the material of the grille is also ice. The advantage of providing the grille is that when the freezing is completed, water can be dripped onto the grille. Since the water has a large contact surface on the grille, the water can easily adhere to the grille to form a thin layer of ice, thereby blocking the vent 3 and forming a good sealing effect. It should be noted that the vent 3 can be provided on the ice box body 12 or on the ice box top cover 1. The vent 3 on the ice box top cover 1 can also be sealed by dripping water under freezing conditions.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the bottom wall 5 of the accommodating chamber is provided with a support portion 4 that supports the food. The support portion 4 is used to reduce the contact surface between the food at the bottom and the bottom wall 5. In this embodiment, the support portion 4 comprises a plurality of ridges arranged on the upper surface of the bottom wall 5. The ridges are evenly spaced, and the distance between adjacent ridges is less than the diameter of the food. When food is placed into the ice box body 12, because the distance between adjacent ridges is less than the diameter of the food, the food at the bottom only contacts the ridges and not the bottom wall 5. This further prevents large-scale contact between the bottom of the fragile food and the bottom of the ice box body 12, minimizing surface damage caused by adhesion or collision. Furthermore, the ridges are made of ice, i.e., they are integrally formed with the ice box body 12, reducing production costs. Moreover, after the ice box body 12 is discarded, the ridges melt together with the ice box body 12, preventing environmental pollution.

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic side cross-sectional structure diagram of a container for quick-freezing food is shown as follows: Figure 3 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the support portion 4 in this embodiment is a plurality of protrusions (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall 5, the plurality of protrusions are arranged in an array, the material of the protrusions is also ice, and the distance between two adjacent protrusions is less than the diameter of the food. When the food is placed in the ice box body 12, the food at the bottom only contacts the protrusions and does not contact the bottom wall 5, which also avoids large-area contact between the bottom of the fragile food and the bottom of the ice box body 12, reducing epidermal damage caused by adhesion or collision. Furthermore, the protrusions are hemispherical, and when the food contacts the protrusions, only a small part of the surface of the protrusions contacts the food, further avoiding large-area contact between the bottom of the fragile food and the bottom of the ice box body 12.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the ice box cover 1 is also ice. The ice box cover 1 has a sheet-like structure. When the ice box cover 1 is closed on the top of the ice box body 12, the lower surface of the ice box cover 1 contacts the edge of the opening. The ice box cover 1 and the edge of the opening may adhere to each other when exposed to water during freezing. At this time, because the interior of the ice box body 12 is filled with nitrogen during the quick-freezing process, the ice box body 12 and the ice box cover 1 are sealed to prevent the food from directly contacting the air, weakening the respiration of the food cells, delaying the spoilage of the food, and extending the shelf life. At the same time, after the ice box cover 1 is provided, it is also convenient to stack the ice box body 12 in multiple layers. Using this multi-layer stacking method can also improve space utilization while ensuring the intact structure of the food during subsequent frozen storage.

[0032] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the food is placed randomly in the ice box body 12. Alternatively, the food can be manually placed in the ice box body 12 at equal intervals. In this way, the distance between the food is guaranteed, which is more conducive to heat exchange between the food and the cold air (usually nitrogen), further improving the heat exchange efficiency. Of course, the food placement method is not limited to this. Those skilled in the art can determine it according to the quantity and type of food in specific implementation.

[0033] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a structure of a container for quick freezing of food is shown as follows: Figure 4 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an ice box storage device for quick freezing of food. The ice box storage device for quick freezing of food includes a plurality of storage box groups stacked in sequence from bottom to top. Each storage box group includes storage boxes arranged in multiple rows and columns. The storage boxes are the storage boxes for quick freezing of food described in the above embodiment. The storage boxes of each storage box group share an ice box top cover 1. By sharing an ice box top cover 1 for each storage box group, the interconnection between adjacent storage boxes on the same layer can be strengthened, thereby improving the stability of the entire ice box storage device. By stacking multiple storage boxes, multiple foods can be cooled at the same time, avoiding collision and damage caused by the stacking of multiple foods. The use of a multi-layer stacking method can also improve space utilization in subsequent frozen storage while ensuring the integrity of the food structure.

[0034] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A container for quick-freezing food, characterized in that: The receiving box includes: An ice box body (12), wherein a receiving cavity is formed inside the ice box body (12), the ice box body (12) is provided with an opening, and the material of the ice box body (12) is ice; An ice box top cover (1), wherein the ice box top cover (1) blocks the opening; At least one vent (3) is provided on the ice box body (12) and / or the ice box top cover (1); The material of the ice box top cover (1) is also ice; the vent (3) is provided with a grille, and the material of the grille is also ice; when freezing is finished, water is dripped onto the grille. Since the water has a large contact surface on the grille, the water adheres to the grille to form a thin layer of ice, thereby blocking the vent (3).

2. The container for quick-freezing food according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ice box body (12) is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the opening is arranged at the top of the ice box body (12), and the vent (3) is arranged on the side wall (2) of the ice box body (12).

3. The container for quick-freezing food according to claim 1, characterized in that: The opening is arranged on the side wall of the ice box body (12), and the inner edge of the opening is provided with a limiting table (6) that matches the ice box top cover (1).

4. The container for quick-freezing food according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that: The bottom wall (5) of the accommodating cavity is provided with a supporting portion (4).

5. The container for quick-freezing food according to claim 4, characterized in that: The supporting portion (4) is a plurality of convex ridges arranged on the upper surface of the bottom wall (5), and the plurality of convex ridges are arranged at equal intervals.

6. The container for quick-freezing food according to claim 4, characterized in that: The supporting portion (4) is a plurality of protrusions arranged on the upper surface of the bottom wall (5), and the protrusions are hemispherical.

7. The container for quick-freezing food according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The ice box top cover (1) is a sheet-like structure. When the ice box top cover (1) is covered on the top of the ice box body (12), the lower surface of the ice box top cover (1) contacts the edge of the opening. The ice box top cover (1) and the edge of the opening can adhere to each other when encountering water during freezing.

8. An ice box container for quick freezing food, characterized in that: The ice box storage device for quick-freezing food comprises a plurality of storage box groups stacked in sequence from bottom to top, each layer of the storage box group comprises storage boxes arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, the storage boxes are the storage boxes for quick-freezing food according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and the storage boxes of each layer of the storage box group share one ice box top cover (1).

Images