Ultrasonic assisted processing chamber and refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention provides an ultrasonic assisted processing chamber and a refrigerator. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber is provided with a tray assembly and at least one ultrasonic generator, the tray assembly has a top plate and a bottom plate, a partition cavity is defined between the top plate and the bottom plate, the partition cavity is filled with a partition medium, and the partition medium is used to buffer the freezing rate of food; the top plate is concave downward to form at least one concave portion for carrying food, the distance between the lower bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate is 0 to 50 mm, and the medium surface of the partition medium at least exceeds the bottom end of the concave portion; the ultrasonic generator is fixed to the lower bottom surface of the bottom plate, and is configured to generate ultrasonic waves in a controlled manner, so that at least a part of the ultrasonic waves is applied to the food through the partition medium. The advantage of the present invention is that it can significantly improve the freezing quality and pickling quality of food.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and freezing equipment, in particular to an ultrasonic assisted processing chamber and a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the user's demand for rapid freezing, refrigerators capable of rapid freezing have appeared in the prior art. Such refrigerators generally achieve this by significantly reducing the temperature of the freezing compartment, such as increasing the air volume to the freezing compartment for air-cooled refrigerators. In order to further speed up the freezing rate, ultrasonic-assisted technology has also been introduced in the prior art to optimize heat exchange to meet the demand for rapid freezing.

[0003] Although the above technical solution can effectively increase the freezing speed of meat ingredients, freezing too fast will cause the cells of the meat ingredients to rupture due to sudden cooling, resulting in the loss of food nutrients inside the meat ingredients. Summary of the invention

[0004] An object of the first aspect of the present invention is to overcome at least one drawback of the prior art and provide an ultrasonic-assisted processing chamber capable of improving the freezing quality of food.

[0005] A further object of the first aspect of the present invention is to improve the uniformity of food freezing.

[0006] A second aspect of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides an ultrasonic assisted treatment chamber, wherein a tray assembly and at least one ultrasonic generator are arranged in the ultrasonic assisted treatment chamber, wherein

[0008] The tray assembly comprises a top plate and a bottom plate, a partition cavity is defined between the top plate and the bottom plate, and the partition cavity is filled with a partition medium, and the partition medium is used to buffer the freezing rate of the food;

[0009] The top plate is concave downward to form at least one concave portion for carrying food, the distance between the lower bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate is 0 to 50 mm, and the medium surface of the interlayer medium at least exceeds the bottom end of the concave portion;

[0010] The ultrasonic generator is fixed on the lower bottom surface of the bottom plate and is configured to generate ultrasonic waves in a controlled manner so that at least a portion of the ultrasonic waves is applied to the food through the isolation medium.

[0011] Further, the distance between the lower surface of the surrounding area of ​​the recessed portion on the top plate and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate is less than or equal to 200 mm.

[0012] Furthermore, the tray assembly includes a tray and a base; wherein,

[0013] The tray includes a top plate and a skirt portion extending downward from the periphery of the top plate.

[0014] The base includes a bottom plate and a blocking portion extending upward from the periphery of the bottom plate;

[0015] The shapes of the skirt portion and the surrounding portion are matched, so that the tray is buckled or covered on the base to form a partition cavity between the tray and the base.

[0016] Furthermore, at least one recessed portion includes at least one elongated recessed portion and a plurality of circular recessed portions, wherein at least one elongated recessed portion is formed in the front area of ​​the top plate and extends along the length direction of the top plate, and a plurality of circular recessed portions are formed in the rear area of ​​the top plate and are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the top plate.

[0017] Furthermore, one ultrasonic generator is correspondingly disposed directly below each of the circular recessed portions;

[0018] A plurality of ultrasonic generators are arranged at equal intervals below each of the long strip-shaped recessed portions along the length direction of the long strip-shaped recessed portions.

[0019] Furthermore, the ultrasonic generators are arranged in a matrix on the lower bottom surface of the base.

[0020] Furthermore, the frequency of the ultrasonic generator is 20kHz to 60kHz.

[0021] Furthermore, the sound intensity of the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator transmitted to the lower surface of the top plate is 0.05W / cm 2 ~2W / cm 2 .

[0022] Furthermore, the ultrasonic generator is an ultrasonic vibrator or an ultrasonic chip.

[0023] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator, wherein any one of the above-mentioned ultrasonic assisted processing chambers is defined in the refrigerator.

[0024] The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber of the present invention has a tray assembly with a top plate and a bottom plate, a barrier cavity is defined between the top plate and the bottom plate, the barrier cavity is filled with a barrier medium, and a recessed portion is formed on the top plate, the food is placed in the recessed portion, and the barrier medium can be wrapped around the recessed portion, so as to ensure a smooth and stable change in the temperature of the food. Since ultrasonic waves will attenuate when transmitted in the barrier medium, the present invention specifically limits the distance between the lower bottom surface of the recessed portion and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate, so that the barrier medium can buffer the freezing speed of the food without affecting the normal function of the ultrasonic generator, thereby improving the freezing quality of the food.

[0025] Furthermore, since the recessed portions on the tray include at least one elongated recessed portion and a plurality of circular recessed portions, in order to improve the freezing speed and uniformity of the food in each recessed portion, the present invention is provided with a plurality of ultrasonic generators on the lower surface of the base, and the plurality of ultrasonic generators are arranged in a matrix on the lower surface of the base.

[0026] 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

[0027] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. Moreover, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a ... device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 is an exploded view of a tray assembly and an ultrasonic generator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a tray assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 is a top view of a tray assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the ultrasonic generator when looking up from the bottom of the tray assembly;

[0033] Figure 6 It is the sound pressure distribution diagram of the ultrasonic wave in the vertical direction inside the tray assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0035] It should be understood that, in the description of this embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0036] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The refrigerator may include a box body 10, and a plurality of storage compartments are defined inside the box body 10. Preferably, the storage compartments may be divided into three layers: an upper layer as a whole refrigeration compartment 20, a lower layer as two freezing compartments 30, and a middle layer as two ultrasonic-assisted processing compartments 40.

[0037] It should be noted that the interior of the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 is a low-temperature space, and the temperature can be configured to be above 0°C (refrigeration temperature), which is used to store fresh fruits and vegetables or food stored for a short time. In this embodiment, the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 can be used to place pickled food (i.e., food with marinade applied or immersed in marinade) to improve the pickling speed and pickling effect of the food. At this time, the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 serves as an auxiliary pickling chamber for the food.

[0038] In addition, the temperature in the ultrasonic assisted processing chamber 40 can also be configured to be -8°C to -25°C (i.e., freezing temperature, the specific temperature can be adjusted as needed), which is used to freeze meat or other long-term stored food, and improve the freezing speed and freezing quality of the food. In this case, the ultrasonic assisted processing chamber 40 serves as an auxiliary freezing chamber for the food. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber 40 is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Reference Figures 2 to 5 A tray assembly 50 and at least one ultrasonic generator 60 are disposed in the ultrasonic-assisted processing chamber 40. The tray assembly 50 is used to carry food materials, and the ultrasonic generator 60 can be disposed below the tray assembly 50 and configured to generate ultrasonic waves in a controlled manner so that at least a portion of the ultrasonic waves are applied to the food materials.

[0040] In practical applications, when the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 is used as an auxiliary marinating chamber for food, the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator 60 can act on the food, causing the food to vibrate slightly, and during the continuous vibration process, the marinade can be fully and quickly immersed in the food. According to experimental measurements by the inventor, for example, placing the Orleans chicken wings coated with marinade in an ordinary refrigerator for marinating takes about 2 to 3 hours, while placing it in the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 of the present invention only takes 20 to 30 minutes, which greatly shortens the marinating time and achieves a better marinating effect.

[0041] When the ultrasonic-assisted processing chamber 40 is used as an auxiliary freezing chamber for food, that is, the ultrasonic technology is used to quickly freeze the food, the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator 60 is applied to the food, which can play a role in strengthening heat transfer, not only promoting the formation of crystal nuclei, but also changing the nucleation temperature of the water inside the food, reducing the supercooling of the food, and promoting the rapid nucleation of ice crystals. In addition, the ultrasonic wave can also break up larger ice crystals to form small and uniform ice crystals, reduce damage to cells, and ensure the freshness of the food.

[0042] Through in-depth research on the freezing characteristics of ultrasound, the inventors found that although ultrasound technology can increase the freezing speed of meat, it is inevitable that the meat is prone to cell breakage due to sudden cooling, resulting in the loss of nutrients in the cells.

[0043] In order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the tray assembly 50 of the present embodiment has a top plate 511 and a bottom plate 521, and an interlayer cavity is defined between the top plate 511 and the bottom plate 521. The interlayer cavity is filled with an interlayer medium 70, and the interlayer medium 70 is used to buffer the freezing rate of the food. It can be understood that the interlayer medium 70 has a large specific heat capacity, and when absorbing the cold in the low-temperature space, its temperature change rate is significantly lower than the temperature change rate of the meat food, which can make the temperature of the meat food change smoothly and stably, and avoid the cells of the meat food from being broken due to sudden cooling.

[0044] Specifically, the interlayer medium 70 can be a specific mixed solution, whose solidification temperature is between -40°C and 0°C, the operating temperature is less than 80°C, the specific heat capacity is between 1KJ / (kg·K) and 5KJ / (kg·K), and it is not a dangerous item, is not flammable, has good safety, is non-toxic and harmless, and complies with the relevant additives law and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) standard requirements.

[0045] In an optional embodiment, the top plate 511 is recessed downward to form at least one recess 53, and the user can place food in the recess 53. The medium surface of the insulating medium 70 should at least exceed the bottom end of the recess 53 so that the insulating medium 70 can be wrapped around the recess 53, thereby improving the effect on the food and allowing the temperature of the food to change more smoothly and stably.

[0046] As is known to those skilled in the art, ultrasonic waves will be greatly attenuated when propagating in liquids. Therefore, in order to allow ultrasonic waves to effectively act on food, the distance between the lower bottom surface of the recessed portion 53 and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate 521 cannot be designed to be too large. The inventors have found through experimental measurements that there is the following relationship between the height of the measuring point from the upper surface of the bottom plate 521 and the sound pressure of the ultrasonic wave:

[0047] Reference Figure 6 , which is a sound pressure distribution diagram of ultrasonic waves in the vertical direction of the tray assembly 50. It is not difficult to see from the figure that as the height of the measuring point from the upper surface of the bottom plate 521 increases, the sound pressure of the ultrasonic waves will fluctuate to varying degrees, but will generally show a downward trend.

[0048] Figure 3 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a tray assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, h shows the distance between the lower bottom surface of the recessed portion 53 and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate 521. Since the sound pressure of the ultrasonic wave is relatively large within the range of 0 to 50 mm from the upper surface of the bottom plate 521, the ultrasonic effect is relatively obvious. Therefore, in this embodiment, 0≤h≤50mm is defined.

[0049] In addition, H in the figure shows the distance between the lower surface of the surrounding area of ​​the recessed portion 53 on the top plate 511 and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate 521. In order to save the internal space of the ultrasonic-assisted processing chamber 40, H can be limited to 200 mm in this embodiment to avoid designing the tray assembly 50 too high.

[0050] Specifically, the tray assembly 50 in this embodiment includes a tray 51 and a base 52. The tray 51 at least includes the top plate 511 and a skirt portion 512 extending downward from the periphery of the top plate 511. The base 52 at least includes the bottom plate 521 and a retaining portion 522 extending upward from the periphery of the bottom plate 521. The shapes of the skirt portion 512 and the retaining portion 522 are adapted to form the above-mentioned interlayer cavity between the tray 51 and the base 52 when the tray 51 is inserted into the base 52 from top to bottom.

[0051] In an optional embodiment, at least one recessed portion 53 may include at least one long strip recessed portion 531 and a plurality of circular recessed portions 532. Among them, at least one long strip recessed portion 531 is formed in the front area of ​​the top plate 511 and extends along the length direction of the top plate 511, and a plurality of circular recessed portions 532 are formed in the rear area of ​​the top plate 511 and are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the top plate 511. Users can selectively place meat ingredients in different recessed portions 53 according to actual needs, for example, placing meat cut into strips in the long strip recessed portion 531 and placing meat cut into blocks in the circular recessed portion 532. In addition, the plurality of recessed portions 53 can be used to place different meats separately, and the recessed portions 53 are not connected to each other, which can prevent the juices of different meats from mixing together and affecting the taste of the meat.

[0052] In an optional embodiment, an ultrasonic generator 60 is correspondingly disposed directly below each circular recess 532. A plurality of ultrasonic generators 60 are disposed at equal intervals below each strip recess 531 along the length direction of the strip recess 531, so as to freeze the food in each circular recess 532 and strip recess 531 in a targeted manner.

[0053] Furthermore, each ultrasonic generator 60 may be arranged in a matrix on the bottom surface of the base 52 so as to evenly transmit ultrasonic effects to the entire tray 51. Preferably, the lateral distance and longitudinal distance between adjacent ultrasonic generators 60 are even multiples of half a wavelength so as to reduce interference between adjacent ultrasonic generators 60.

[0054] In some preferred embodiments, the tray 51 and the base 52 may be made of aluminum-magnesium alloy or stainless steel. The ultrasonic generator 60 may be an ultrasonic vibrator or an ultrasonic wafer, which is bonded and fixed to the lower surface of the base 52. The thickness of the tray 51 and the base 52 may be 0.8 mm to 1 mm, so as to save materials and avoid damage to the tray 51 or the base 52 caused by the vibration of the ultrasonic generator 60.

[0055] In the present invention, the frequency of the ultrasonic generator 60 is preferably 20kHZ to 60kHZ, such as 30Khz, 40kHZ, and 50khz. Ultrasonic waves in this frequency range have strong penetrating power, which can increase the freezing rate of food and make the internal and external temperatures of the food uniform.

[0056] Furthermore, the sound intensity of the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator 60 transmitted to the lower surface of the top plate 511 can be controlled to be 0.05 W / cm 2 ~2W / cm 2 so that the ultrasonic generator 60 can achieve a better freezing effect under the premise of lower energy consumption.

[0057] In addition, a drawer-type container 54 is also provided in the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40 of the present invention, and the drawer-type container 54 is configured to be operably pulled out or retracted in the ultrasonic-assisted treatment chamber 40. The tray assembly 50 can be used as the bottom plate of the drawer-type container 54, or the tray assembly 50 is integrally provided on the bottom plate of the drawer-type container 54.

[0058] According to any optional embodiment of the present invention or a combination of multiple optional embodiments, the embodiments of the present invention can achieve the following technical effects:

[0059] The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber 40 of the present invention has a tray assembly 50 with a top plate 511 and a bottom plate 521, and a layer cavity is defined between the top plate 511 and the bottom plate 521, and the layer cavity is filled with a layer medium 70, and a recessed portion 53 is formed on the top plate 511, and the food is placed in the recessed portion 53, and the layer medium 70 can be wrapped around the recessed portion 53, so as to ensure that the temperature of the food changes smoothly and stably. Since the ultrasonic wave will attenuate when it is transmitted in the layer medium 70, the present invention specifically limits the distance between the bottom surface of the recessed portion 53 and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate 521, so that the layer medium 70 can buffer the freezing speed of the food without affecting the normal function of the ultrasonic generator 60, thereby improving the freezing quality of the food.

[0060] Furthermore, since the recessed portion 53 on the tray 51 includes at least one elongated recessed portion 531 and a plurality of circular recessed portions 532, in order to improve the freezing speed and uniformity of the food in each recessed portion 53, the present invention is provided with a plurality of ultrasonic generators 60 on the lower surface of the base 52, and the plurality of ultrasonic generators 60 are arranged in a matrix on the lower surface of the base 52.

[0061] 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. An ultrasonic assisted treatment chamber, characterized in that: The ultrasonic assisted treatment room is provided with a tray assembly and at least one ultrasonic generator, wherein The tray assembly comprises a top plate and a bottom plate, wherein an interlayer cavity is defined between the top plate and the bottom plate, and an interlayer medium is filled in the interlayer cavity, and the interlayer medium is used to buffer the freezing rate of the food; The top plate is concave downward to form at least one concave portion for carrying food, the distance between the lower bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate is 0 to 50 mm, and the medium surface of the interlayer medium at least exceeds the bottom end of the concave portion; The ultrasonic generator is fixed to the lower bottom surface of the bottom plate and is configured to generate ultrasonic waves in a controlled manner so that at least a portion of the ultrasonic waves is applied to the food through the isolation medium.

2. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between the lower surface of the surrounding area of ​​the recessed portion on the top plate and the upper surface of the corresponding area of ​​the bottom plate is less than or equal to 200 mm.

3. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tray assembly comprises a tray and a base; wherein, The tray includes the top plate and a skirt portion extending downward from the periphery of the top plate. The base includes the bottom plate and a blocking portion extending upward from the periphery of the bottom plate; The skirt portion is adapted to the shape of the enclosure portion, so that the tray is buckled or covered on the base to form the interlayer cavity between the tray and the base.

4. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one recessed portion includes at least one elongated recessed portion and a plurality of circular recessed portions, wherein the at least one elongated recessed portion is formed in the front area of ​​the top plate and extends along the length direction of the top plate, and the plurality of circular recessed portions are formed in the rear area of ​​the top plate and are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the top plate.

5. The ultrasonic assisted treatment chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: There is one ultrasonic generator correspondingly disposed directly below each circular recessed portion; A plurality of ultrasonic generators are arranged at equal intervals below each of the long strip-shaped recessed portions along the length direction of the long strip-shaped recessed portions.

6. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ultrasonic generators are arranged in a matrix on the lower bottom surface of the base.

7. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frequency of the ultrasonic generator is 20kHz to 60kHz.

8. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sound intensity of the ultrasonic wave generated by the ultrasonic generator and transmitted to the lower surface of the top plate is 0.05 W / cm 2 ~2W / cm 2 .

9. The ultrasonic assisted processing chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ultrasonic generator is an ultrasonic vibrator or an ultrasonic chip.

10. A refrigerator, characterized in that: The refrigerator defines an ultrasonic-assisted processing chamber according to any one of claims 1-9.

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