A refrigerator and a control method of an ultrasonic processing device thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a control method for a refrigerator and an ultrasonic processing device thereof, wherein the ultrasonic processing device comprises a container for holding a pickling liquid and an ultrasonic transducer arranged on the periphery of the container, and the control method comprises: receiving a start instruction issued by a mobile terminal; turning on the ultrasonic transducer according to the start instruction; obtaining the initial concentration of the pickling liquid and the real-time concentration during pickling; judging whether the salt content in the food meets the standard according to the initial concentration and the real-time concentration; if so, turning off the ultrasonic transducer. The advantage of the present invention is that the start and stop of the ultrasonic processing device can be remotely controlled, which improves the convenience of pickling food, and can also prevent the food from being over-pickled, ensuring the taste of the pickled food.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In recent years, with the change of people's dietary structure, the pickling process has gradually become an indispensable part of meat processing. In order to increase the pickling speed, many improvement schemes have appeared in the prior art, among which ultrasonic assisted pickling is the most popular among users.

[0003] The existing ultrasonic pickling device usually has a switch on the device housing, which requires the user to manually turn it on and off. In actual applications, food is usually pickled during the day and cooked at night, or pickled at night and cooked the next morning. The manual start and stop method of the ultrasonic pickling device is inconvenient, and the pickling time of food is difficult to control, which can easily lead to the food being salty due to too long pickling time, or bland due to too short pickling time, resulting in a poor user experience, so it needs to be improved. Summary of the invention

[0004] One purpose of the first aspect of the present invention is to remotely control the start and stop of the ultrasonic processing device, accurately control the marinating time of the food, and ensure the taste of the food after marinating.

[0005] A further object of the first aspect of the present invention is to timely separate the pickled food from the pickling liquid to prevent the food from absorbing too much salt and becoming salty in taste.

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

[0007] In particular, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a control method for an ultrasonic processing device, the ultrasonic processing device comprising a container for holding a pickling liquid and an ultrasonic transducer arranged on the periphery of the container, the control method comprising:

[0008] Receiving a start command sent by a mobile terminal;

[0009] Turn on the ultrasonic transducer according to the start-up instruction;

[0010] Obtain the initial concentration of the pickling solution and the real-time concentration during pickling;

[0011] Determine whether the salt content in the food meets the standard based on the initial concentration and real-time concentration;

[0012] If yes, turn off the ultrasonic transducer.

[0013] Optionally, the ultrasonic processing device further comprises a shelf disposed in the container, the shelf having a height for lowering the food to a first position for immersing the food in the pickling liquid, and a height for raising the food to a second position for leaving the pickling liquid;

[0014] Before the step of starting the ultrasonic transducer according to the start instruction, the step further includes:

[0015] Get the height information of the shelf;

[0016] Determining whether the storage rack is at the first position height according to the height information;

[0017] If yes, execute the step of activating the ultrasonic transducer.

[0018] Optionally, after the step of determining whether the shelf is at the first position height according to the height information, the method further includes:

[0019] If the storage rack is not at the first position height, adjusting the storage rack to the first position height;

[0020] Then, the step of activating the ultrasonic transducer is performed.

[0021] Optionally, after the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer, the method further includes:

[0022] Adjust the shelf to the second height position.

[0023] Optionally, the container has an independent pickling area and a liquid storage area, a shelf is provided in the pickling area, and the liquid storage area is used to provide pickling liquid for pickling food ingredients in the pickling area;

[0024] Before the step of obtaining the height information of the rack, the following steps are also included:

[0025] Determining whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area has reached a preset height;

[0026] If yes, execute the step of obtaining the height information of the rack.

[0027] Optionally, after the step of determining whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area reaches a preset height, the method further includes:

[0028] If the pickling liquid in the pickling area does not reach the preset height, a prompt signal for prompting that the pickling liquid is insufficient is sent to the mobile terminal.

[0029] Optionally, before the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer, the method further comprises:

[0030] Sending a close request to the mobile terminal;

[0031] Determining whether a closing instruction issued by the mobile terminal based on the closing request is received;

[0032] If yes, perform the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer.

[0033] Optionally, when the salt content in the food reaches the standard, the weight of the salt is 0.8% to 1.5% of the weight of the food.

[0034] Optionally, a salinity detection device is provided in the container, and both the initial concentration and the real-time concentration are measured by the salinity detection device.

[0035] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising:

[0036] A box body, defining a storage compartment therein;

[0037] An ultrasonic treatment device is disposed in the storage room; and

[0038] The controller includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores a control program. When the control program is executed by the processor, it is used to implement any one of the above control methods.

[0039] The control method of the ultrasonic processing device of the present invention remotely controls the ultrasonic transducer through a mobile terminal, thereby improving the convenience of starting and stopping the ultrasonic processing device, and the start of the ultrasonic processing device is no longer restricted by the user's location. The method of obtaining the initial concentration and real-time concentration of the pickling liquid to determine whether the salt content in the food meets the standard can accurately control the pickling time of the food, so that the pickled food has a better taste.

[0040] Furthermore, the control method of the ultrasonic processing device of the present invention adjusts the storage rack to a second position height when the salt content in the food reaches the standard, so that the food can be separated from the pickling liquid, effectively solving the problem of the user being unable to take the food out of the pickling liquid in time and the food absorbing salt excessively, resulting in a salty taste.

[0041] 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

[0042] 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:

[0043] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 3is a cross-sectional view of an ultrasonic treatment device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 4 is a structural block diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a control method for an ultrasonic processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a control method of an ultrasonic processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] 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.

[0050] The present invention first provides a refrigerator 10, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 1 The refrigerator 10 generally includes a box body 100, and one or more storage compartments 110 are formed in the box body 100. The storage compartments 110 can be configured as a refrigerated storage compartment 110, a frozen storage compartment 110, and a variable temperature storage compartment 110 according to the refrigeration temperature. Specifically, the number, function, layout, etc. of the storage compartments 110 can be configured according to actual needs.

[0051] An ultrasonic processing device 200 is provided in the storage compartment 110. The ultrasonic processing device 200 is mainly used for auxiliary pickling of food materials to improve the pickling speed and pickling effect of the food materials. The storage compartment 110 where the ultrasonic processing device 200 is located can be a refrigerated storage compartment 110 of the refrigerator 10. The temperature of the refrigerated storage compartment 110 is configured to be 0°C to 10°C, so as to provide a low temperature environment for the pickling of food materials, inhibit the growth and reproduction of bacteria, and prevent the food materials from spoiling during the pickling process.

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic processing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 2 The ultrasonic processing device 200 may include a container 210 and an ultrasonic transducer 220 arranged on the periphery of the container 210. The container 210 is mainly used to hold the pickling liquid. When pickling, the food is immersed in the pickling liquid. The ultrasonic effect generated by the ultrasonic transducer 220 can accelerate the molecular movement of the pickling liquid, thereby improving the pickling speed and pickling effect of the food.

[0053] Furthermore, the ultrasonic processing device 200 may also include a rack 230, which is installed in the container 210 in a liftable manner, and has the function of lowering the food to a first position height for immersing the food in the pickling liquid, and raising the food to a second position height for detaching the food from the pickling liquid. Before the pickling begins, by adjusting the rack 230 to the first position height, the food can be immersed in the pickling liquid for pickling. After the pickling is completed, by adjusting the rack 230 to the second position height, the food can be detached from the pickling liquid, and the pickling time of the food can be accurately controlled, effectively solving the problem of salty taste caused by the user's failure to take out the food in time and the food being over-soaked.

[0054] In this embodiment, the container 210 is in the shape of a box, and has a pickling area 211 and a liquid storage area 212 independently arranged in the length direction of the container 210, wherein the top of the pickling area 211 is open, and the rack 230 is arranged in the pickling area 211 in a manner that it can be raised and lowered. The rack 230 can be welded by criss-crossing stainless steel pipes, and there are many ways to raise and lower it, for example, by driving the lifting and lowering by a motor. The liquid storage area 212 mainly provides the pickling liquid required for pickling food for the pickling area 211, and has a liquid injection port on the side facing the pickling area 211, and a valve is provided at the liquid injection port.

[0055] A salinity detection device 240 may also be provided in the pickling area 211. The salinity detection device 240 may be a salinity sensor. The initial concentration of the pickling liquid and the real-time concentration during pickling can be detected by the salinity sensor to obtain the initial salt content and the current salt content of the pickling liquid. The difference between the initial salt content and the current salt content is the salt content in the food. When the salt content in the food reaches the standard, the ultrasonic processing device 200 is turned off and the storage rack 230 is adjusted to the second position height to optimize the taste of the pickled food.

[0056] Preferably, when the salt content in the food meets the standard, the weight of the salt can be 0.8% to 1.5% of the weight of the food. A large number of experiments have confirmed that when the salt content of the food is 0.8% to 1.5% after pickling, the food tastes best, with appropriate saltiness and can be accepted by the majority of users.

[0057] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 4 A controller 300 may also be provided in the refrigerator 10 having the ultrasonic processing device 200 .

[0058] The controller 300 may include a memory 320 and a processor 310, wherein a control program 321 is stored in the memory 320, and when the control program 321 is executed by the processor 310, the control method of the ultrasonic processing device 200 of the present embodiment is implemented. The controller 300 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 220 signal to control the start and stop of the ultrasonic transducer 220. The controller 300 may be integrated on the main control board of the refrigerator 10, or may be separately arranged adjacent to the ultrasonic transducer 220. The controller 300 may further be connected to the main control device signal, provide the main control device with the operating status of the ultrasonic transducer 220, and receive control instructions from the main control device.

[0059] The controller 300 may be implemented by various devices having certain data processing capabilities. In a typical configuration, the controller 300 may include a processor 310 , a memory 320 , an input / output interface, and the like.

[0060] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a control method of an ultrasonic processing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 5 , the control method at least includes the following steps S102 to S110.

[0061] Step S102, receiving a start instruction sent by the mobile terminal 400;

[0062] In this step, the mobile terminal 400 may be various terminal devices bound to the ultrasonic processing device 200 and having communication capabilities, such as a smart phone, a smart watch, a smart bracelet, etc.

[0063] Step S104, turning on the ultrasonic transducer 220 according to the start instruction.

[0064] Step S106, obtaining the initial concentration of the pickling liquid and the real-time concentration during the pickling period.

[0065] Step S108, judging whether the salt content in the food meets the standard according to the initial concentration and the real-time concentration.

[0066] Step S110 : If yes, turn off the ultrasonic transducer 220 .

[0067] The control method of the ultrasonic processing device 200 of the embodiment of the present invention remotely controls the ultrasonic transducer 220 through the mobile terminal 400, thereby improving the convenience of starting and stopping the ultrasonic processing device 200, and the start of the ultrasonic processing device 200 is no longer restricted by the user's location. The method of obtaining the initial concentration and real-time concentration of the pickling liquid to determine whether the salt content in the food meets the standard can accurately control the pickling time of the food, so that the pickled food has a better taste.

[0068] In an actual application scenario, if the user wants to cook ingredients at six o'clock after get off work, and it takes 30 minutes to marinate the ingredients, the user can send a start command through the mobile terminal 400 at half past five. When the user returns home at six o'clock, the ingredients are just marinated. At this time, the ingredients can be taken out of the marinade to prevent the ingredients from absorbing too much salt and becoming salty.

[0069] In another actual application scenario, if the user wants to cook ingredients at nine o'clock in the morning, and the time required to marinate the ingredients is 30 minutes, then the user can set the start command on the mobile terminal 400 to be sent at 8:30 in advance without performing any other operations. When the time reaches 8:30, the mobile terminal 400 can automatically send the start command to marinate the ingredients, thereby improving the user experience.

[0070] In an optional embodiment, before the step of starting the ultrasonic transducer 220 according to the start instruction, the height information of the rack 230 can be obtained first, and then it is determined whether the rack 230 is at the first position height according to the height information. When the rack 230 is at the first position height, that is, after the food is immersed in the pickling liquid, the ultrasonic transducer 220 is started.

[0071] Furthermore, if it is found that the rack 230 is not at the first position height, the rack 230 is adjusted to the first position height, and then the ultrasonic transducer 220 is started, thereby ensuring effective pickling of the food.

[0072] After turning off the ultrasonic transducer 220, the shelf 230 can also be adjusted to the second position height to separate the pickled food from the pickling liquid, preventing the pickled food from absorbing too much salt due to long-term immersion in the pickling liquid, thereby avoiding causing the food to taste too salty.

[0073] In an optional embodiment, before the step of obtaining the height information of the rack 230, it is also possible to determine whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area 211 has reached a preset height, and when the filling height reaches the preset height, the height information of the rack 230 is obtained. The filling height can be set in advance to ensure that after the rack 230 is adjusted to the first position height, the food can be at least partially immersed in the pickling liquid.

[0074] Furthermore, if it is found that the pickling liquid in the pickling area 211 has not reached the preset height and the pickling liquid in the pickling area 211 is insufficient to complete the current pickling work, the user is required to replenish the pickling liquid into the pickling area 211, or replenish the pickling liquid into the liquid storage area 212, and then fill it from the liquid storage area 212 to the pickling area 211. At this time, a prompt signal for prompting that the pickling liquid is insufficient can be sent to the mobile terminal 400, so that the user can replenish the pickling liquid in time.

[0075] Before the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer 220, a shutdown request can also be sent to the mobile terminal 400, and then it is determined whether a shutdown instruction issued by the mobile terminal 400 based on the shutdown request is received. After receiving the shutdown instruction issued by the mobile terminal 400, the ultrasonic transducer 220 is turned off, so that the start and stop of the ultrasonic transducer 220 can be completely realized by the user based on the mobile terminal 400.

[0076] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a control method of an ultrasonic processing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 6 , the control method at least includes the following steps S202 to S226.

[0077] Step S202 , receiving a start instruction sent by the mobile terminal 400 .

[0078] Step S204 , filling the pickling liquid into the pickling area 211 .

[0079] Step S206, determining whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area 211 reaches a preset height, if so, executing step S208.

[0080] Step S208 , obtaining height information of the storage rack 230 .

[0081] Step S210, determining whether the storage rack 230 is at the first position height according to the height information, if so, executing step S214, if not, executing step S212.

[0082] Step S212, adjusting the storage rack 230 to a first position height.

[0083] Step S214, turning on the ultrasonic transducer 220.

[0084] Step S216, obtaining the initial concentration of the pickling liquid and the real-time concentration during the pickling period.

[0085] Step S218, determine whether the salt content in the food meets the standard based on the initial concentration and the real-time concentration. If so, execute step S220.

[0086] Step S220 , sending a closing request to the mobile terminal 400 .

[0087] Step S222, determining whether a close instruction issued by the mobile terminal 400 based on the close request is received, if so, executing step S224.

[0088] Step S224, turning off the ultrasonic transducer 220.

[0089] Step S226, adjusting the storage rack 230 to a second position height.

[0090] According to any one of the above optional embodiments or a combination of multiple optional embodiments, the embodiments of the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0091] The control method of the ultrasonic processing device 200 of the embodiment of the present invention remotely controls the ultrasonic transducer 220 through the mobile terminal 400, thereby improving the convenience of starting and stopping the ultrasonic processing device 200, and the start of the ultrasonic processing device 200 is no longer restricted by the user's location. The method of obtaining the initial concentration and real-time concentration of the pickling liquid to determine whether the salt content in the food meets the standard can accurately control the pickling time of the food, so that the pickled food has a better taste.

[0092] Furthermore, the control method of the ultrasonic processing device 200 in the embodiment of the present invention adjusts the storage rack 230 to the second position height when the salt content in the food reaches the standard, so that the food can be separated from the pickling liquid, effectively solving the problem of the user being unable to take the food out of the pickling liquid in time and the food absorbing salt excessively, resulting in a salty taste.

[0093] 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 control method for an ultrasonic processing device, the ultrasonic processing device comprising a container for holding a pickling liquid and an ultrasonic transducer arranged on the periphery of the container, the control method comprising: Receiving a start command sent by a mobile terminal; Turning on the ultrasonic transducer according to the start instruction; Obtaining the initial concentration of the pickling liquid and the real-time concentration during pickling; Determining whether the salt content in the food meets the standard according to the initial concentration and the real-time concentration; If yes, turning off the ultrasonic transducer; The ultrasonic processing device further comprises a shelf disposed in the container, the shelf having a height for lowering the food to a first position for immersing the food in the pickling liquid, and a height for raising the food to a second position for separating the food from the pickling liquid; Before the step of starting the ultrasonic transducer according to the start instruction, the method further includes: Obtaining height information of the storage rack; Determining whether the storage rack is at a first position height according to the height information; If yes, the step of starting the ultrasonic transducer is performed.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: After the step of determining whether the storage rack is at the first position height according to the height information, the method further includes: If the storage rack is not at the first position height, adjusting the storage rack to the first position height; Then, the step of activating the ultrasonic transducer is performed.

3. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: After the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer, the method further comprises: The storage rack is adjusted to a second position height.

4. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: The container has an independent pickling area and a liquid storage area, the pickling area is provided with the storage rack, and the liquid storage area is used to provide pickling liquid for pickling the food in the pickling area; Before the step of obtaining the height information of the rack, the method further includes: Determining whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area reaches a preset height; If yes, execute the step of obtaining the height information of the rack.

5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein: After the step of determining whether the filling height of the pickling liquid in the pickling area reaches a preset height, the method further includes: If the pickling liquid in the pickling area does not reach a preset height, a prompt signal for prompting that the pickling liquid is insufficient is sent to the mobile terminal.

6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: Before the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer, the method further comprises: Sending a shutdown request to the mobile terminal; determining whether a closing instruction issued by the mobile terminal based on the closing request is received; If yes, perform the step of turning off the ultrasonic transducer.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: When the salt content in the food material meets the standard, the weight of the salt is 0.8% to 1.5% of the weight of the food material.

8. The control method according to claim 1, wherein: A salinity detection device is arranged in the container, and the initial concentration and the real-time concentration are both measured by the salinity detection device.

9. A refrigerator, comprising: A box body, defining a storage compartment therein; An ultrasonic processing device is arranged in the storage room; as well as A controller comprises a memory and a processor, wherein a control program is stored in the memory, and when the control program is executed by the processor, it is used to implement the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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