Quick cooling refrigerator and control method

Abstract

The present application provides a quick-cooling refrigerator and a control method, the quick-cooling refrigerator comprising: a freezer compartment; a quick-cooling zone provided in the freezer compartment; a container and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of food in the quick-cooling zone; the container being a hollow structure with an opening, a first metal plate provided at the bottom of the container, and a second metal plate symmetrical to the first metal plate provided above the container opening; the second metal plate connected to a lifting device; a pressure sensor embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate; the temperature sensor, the lifting device, and the pressure sensor respectively connected to a controller. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the food, and the lifting device is controlled according to the temperature of the food, so that the second metal plate rises or falls, and then contacts the food through the second metal plate, thereby increasing the contact area between the food and the second metal plate and improving the cooling rate of the food, thereby solving the problem of low food cooling efficiency in the refrigerator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of refrigerator freshness preservation, and in particular to a quick-cooling refrigerator and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The freezing temperature of a refrigerator can reduce bacterial activity, allowing food to be stored longer without spoiling. However, its drawbacks are also significant. The freezer uses air as a medium for heat transfer, and the freezing temperature cannot meet the requirements for rapid cooling of food. This results in slow cooling of food, large ice crystals, and a small number of ice crystals. This in turn damages the food's cellular structure and causes nutrient loss.

[0003] The shorter the time it takes for the water in the food to pass through the maximum ice crystal zone, the more ice crystals are produced and their shapes are rounder, which is more conducive to the preservation of the nutrients in the food. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the cooling efficiency of the food.

[0004] Cooling the food with a quick cooling plate can increase the cooling speed, but the quick cooling plate is in contact with the bottom of the food, and the cooling speed of different parts of the food is different, resulting in low cooling efficiency of the food. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a quick-cooling refrigerator and a control method thereof to solve the problem of low cooling efficiency of food in the refrigerator.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a rapid cooling refrigerator, comprising: a freezing compartment;

[0007] The freezing room is provided with a quick cooling zone;

[0008] The rapid cooling zone is provided with a container and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the food in the rapid cooling zone;

[0009] The container is a hollow structure with an opening, a first metal plate is provided at the bottom of the container, and a second metal plate symmetrical to the first metal plate is provided above the container opening;

[0010] The second metal plate is connected to the lifting device; a pressure sensor is embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate;

[0011] The temperature sensor, the lifting device and the pressure sensor are respectively connected to the controller;

[0012] The controller is configured to:

[0013] Obtaining the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor;

[0014] If the temperature of the food is higher than the preset temperature, a first instruction is sent to control the lifting device to descend and obtain the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor;

[0015] If the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, a second instruction is sent to control the lifting device to stop.

[0016] Optionally, the first metal plate and the second metal plate are any one of an aluminum plate, a copper plate, an iron plate, and an alloy plate.

[0017] Optionally, the first metal plate and the second metal plate have a hollow structure inside; and a refrigerant is provided in the hollow structure.

[0018] Optionally, the first metal plate and the bottom of the container are provided with through holes.

[0019] Optionally, it also includes a quick cooling air duct; the quick cooling zone is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; the quick cooling air duct is connected to the quick cooling zone through the air inlet and the air outlet.

[0020] Optionally, a groove is provided in the container, and the lifting device is provided in the groove.

[0021] Optionally, the lifting device further includes a bracket, and the second metal plate is connected to the lifting device via the bracket.

[0022] Optionally, the preset temperature is -1°C to -5°C.

[0023] Optionally, the controller is further configured to:

[0024] If the temperature of the food is lower than the preset temperature, a third instruction is sent to control the lifting device to maintain the original state.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a quick-cooling refrigerator control method, which is applied to the quick-cooling refrigerator provided in the first aspect, comprising:

[0026] Get the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor;

[0027] If the temperature of the food is higher than the preset temperature, a first instruction is sent to control the lifting device to descend and obtain a pressure value detected by the pressure sensor;

[0028] If the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, a second instruction is sent to control the lifting device to stop.

[0029] It can be seen from the above technical solution that the present application provides a quick-cooling refrigerator and a control method, wherein the quick-cooling refrigerator includes: a freezer compartment; a quick-cooling zone is provided in the freezer compartment; the quick-cooling zone is provided with a container and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of food in the quick-cooling zone; the container is a cavity structure with an opening, a first metal plate is provided at the bottom of the container, and a second metal plate symmetrical to the first metal plate is provided above the container opening; the second metal plate is connected to a lifting device; a pressure sensor is embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate; the temperature sensor, the lifting device and the pressure sensor are respectively connected to a controller; the controller is configured to: obtain the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor; if the food temperature is higher than a preset temperature, send a first instruction to control the lifting device to descend and obtain the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor; if the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, send a second instruction to control the lifting device to stop. The temperature of the food is detected by the temperature sensor, and the lifting device is controlled according to the temperature of the food, so that the second metal plate rises or falls, and then contacts the food through the second metal plate, increasing the contact area between the food and the second metal plate, and improving the cooling speed of the food, so as to solve the problem of low cooling efficiency of the food in the refrigerator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a rapid cooling refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of the quick cooling refrigerator control method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Reference numerals:

[0034] Among them, 1-freezing compartment; 2-quick cooling zone; 3-container; 4-first metal plate; 5-through hole; 6-second metal plate; 7-bracket; 8-lifting device; 9-pressure sensor; 10-controller; 11-air inlet; 12-air outlet; 13-temperature sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The following embodiments are described in detail, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following embodiments are not intended to represent all possible implementations consistent with the present application. They are merely examples of systems and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the claims.

[0036] The freezing temperature of the refrigerator can reduce bacterial activity and prolong the storage time of food without spoiling. However, its defects are also quite obvious. The freezer uses air as a medium for heat transfer, and the freezing temperature of the refrigerator cannot meet the rapid cooling temperature of food, resulting in slow cooling of the food, large ice crystals and small numbers, which in turn will cause the cell tissue structure of the food to be destroyed and nutrients to be lost. The shorter the time the water in the food passes through the maximum ice crystal zone, the more ice crystals are produced, and the shape is rounder, which is more conducive to the preservation of the nutrients of the food. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the cooling efficiency of the food. Cooling the food with a quick cooling plate can increase the cooling speed, but the quick cooling plate is in contact with the bottom of the food, and there are differences in the cooling speed of different parts of the food, resulting in low cooling efficiency of the food.

[0037] To solve the problem of low cooling efficiency of food in the refrigerator, see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of a quick-cooling refrigerator provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the quick-cooling refrigerator includes: a freezer compartment 1; a quick-cooling zone 2 is provided in the freezer compartment 1; the quick-cooling zone 2 is provided with a container 3 and a temperature sensor 13 for detecting the temperature of food in the quick-cooling zone 2; a first metal plate 4 is provided at the bottom of the container 3, and a second metal plate 6 symmetrical to the first metal plate 4 is provided above the opening of the container 3; the second metal plate 6 is connected to a lifting device 8; a pressure sensor 9 is embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate 6; the temperature sensor 13, the lifting device 8 and the pressure sensor 9 are respectively connected to a controller 10.

[0038] The controller 10 is configured to: obtain the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13; if the food temperature is higher than the preset temperature, send a first instruction to control the lifting device 8 to descend and obtain the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 9; if the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, send a second instruction to control the lifting device 8 to stop.

[0039] The rapid cooling zone 2 is an area within the freezing compartment 1, and part or all of the freezing compartment 1 can be set as the rapid cooling zone 2. The container 3 is disposed within the rapid cooling zone 2. For example, the container 3 can be a drawer that can be opened by sliding, rolling, or pulling, so that users can easily put in and take out items.

[0040] A first metal plate 4 is placed at the bottom of container 3. When food is placed on first metal plate 4, it has high thermal conductivity, allowing it to quickly dissipate heat from the food, thereby accelerating the cooling of the food. However, only the food at the bottom of the first metal plate 4 is in contact with the first metal plate 4. Therefore, the food at the bottom cools down faster than the food not in contact with the first metal plate 4, resulting in significant differences in the cooling rate of different parts of the food.

[0041] Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, a lifting device 8 and a second metal plate 6 are also provided in the rapid cooling zone 2. The lifting device 8 controls the rise or fall of the second metal plate 6 so that the food above the first metal plate 4 can contact the second metal plate 6, thereby increasing the contact area between the food and the first metal plate 4 or the second metal plate 6, improving the cooling efficiency of the food, and realizing rapid freezing of the food in the refrigerator.

[0042] In addition, a temperature sensor 13 is provided in the freezing chamber 1, and the temperature sensor 13 is connected to the controller 10. The temperature sensor 13 can detect the temperature of the food in the container 3 and feed the food temperature back to the controller 10. The controller 10 controls the opening or closing of the electric lifting device 8 according to the obtained food temperature.

[0043] For example, after controller 10 obtains the food temperature detected by temperature sensor 13 and compares it with a preset temperature, if the food temperature is higher than the preset temperature, it indicates that the food temperature is too high and needs to be cooled faster. Controller 10 then sends a first command to control the lowering of lifting device 8. This lowering of lifting device 8 also causes the lowering of second metal plate 6. When second metal plate 6 reaches a certain height, it comes into contact with the food. Therefore, to protect the food from damage caused by squeezing by second metal plate 6, a pressure sensor 9 is installed within second metal plate 6 to detect the squeezing between the second metal plate 6 and the food.

[0044] When the pressure value detected by pressure sensor 9 is within the preset pressure range, indicating that second metal plate 6 is in good contact with the food and has not damaged the food, controller 10 sends a second command to control lifting device 8 to stop. The contact between second metal plate 6 and the food increases the contact area between the food and the metal plate, improving the heat exchange efficiency of the food and thus improving the cooling efficiency of the food.

[0045] It is understandable that different ingredients have different preset temperatures, and different ingredients have different preset pressure ranges. The preset temperature and preset pressure range are set according to the type of ingredients to adapt to different types of ingredients and improve cooling efficiency.

[0046] In some embodiments, the first metal plate 4 and the second metal plate 6 are any of aluminum, copper, iron, and alloy plates. The first metal plate 4 and the second metal plate 6 can be made of aluminum, copper, iron, or alloy materials. Aluminum, iron, copper, and alloy materials all have high thermal conductivity and can effectively enhance the cooling effect.

[0047] In some embodiments, the first and second metal plates 4 and 6 have a hollow interior structure, containing a refrigerant. The refrigerant is a translucent (or opaque), viscous, colloidal mixture composed of organic and / or inorganic compounds. It absorbs and stores large amounts of cold at low temperatures, and releases significant amounts of cold at higher temperatures, maintaining a low temperature for both the plate itself and a small surrounding area for extended periods. The refrigerant is placed within the first and second metal plates 4 and 6. When the first and / or second metal plates 4 and 6 come into contact with warm food, the refrigerant transforms from a solid state to a liquid state, releasing cold and maintaining a constant temperature for an extended period, thereby extending the cooling time. When no food is present in the rapid cooling zone 2, the refrigerant transforms from a liquid state to a solid state, absorbing and storing cold until it is released when needed. The refrigerant placed within the first and second metal plates 4 and 6 improves the cooling efficiency of the food.

[0048] In some embodiments, through-holes 5 are provided at the bottoms of the first metal plate 4 and the container 3. Water on the food or in the rapid cooling zone 2 is drained out of the container 3 through the through-holes 5, preventing water accumulation in the container 3. Furthermore, the through-holes 5 maintain air circulation within the refrigerator. When the first metal plate 4 comes into contact with the food, heat is transferred between the two. Airflow through the through-holes 5 in the first metal plate 4 removes the heat, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency between the first metal plate 4 and the food, and thus improving the cooling efficiency of the food.

[0049] In addition, the first metal plate 4 and the container 3 are provided with through holes 5 for easy cleaning. When it is necessary to clean the rapid cooling zone 2, the accumulated water can be drained out more easily to avoid the residue of accumulated water and the breeding of bacteria.

[0050] In some embodiments, the rapid cooling refrigerator further includes a rapid cooling air duct; the rapid cooling zone 2 is provided with an air inlet 11 and an air outlet 12; and the rapid cooling air duct is connected to the rapid cooling zone 2 via the air inlet 11 and the air outlet 12. The controller 10 can control the air volume of the rapid cooling air duct and control the opening and closing of the air inlet 11 and the air outlet 12.

[0051] The controller 10 can control the flow rate of the rapid cooling air duct according to a preset program or according to instructions input by the user. For example, a fan is provided in the rapid cooling air duct to blow cold air into the air inlet 11 and out of the air outlet 12. The fan can be an electric fan or a pneumatic fan.

[0052] The rapid cooling zone 2 can be a sealed space. To facilitate air circulation within the rapid cooling zone 2, an air inlet 11 and an air outlet 12 can be respectively provided at the top and bottom of the rapid cooling zone 2. The temperature of the rapid cooling zone 2 can be monitored by a temperature sensor 13. When the temperature of the rapid cooling zone 2 exceeds or falls below a preset range, the controller 10 can control the opening or closing of the air inlet 11 and the air outlet 12 to adjust the temperature of the rapid cooling zone 2.

[0053] In some embodiments, a groove is provided in the container 3, and the lifting device 8 is disposed in the groove. By providing a groove in the container 3 and disposing the lifting device 8 in the groove, the lifting device 8 can move together with the container 3. Moreover, by disposing the lifting device 8 in the groove, the space in the container 3 is not occupied, so that more food can be placed in the container 3.

[0054] In some embodiments, the lifting device 8 further includes a bracket 7, through which the second metal plate 6 is connected to the lifting device 8. The bracket 7 is used to support and secure the second metal plate 6. One end of the bracket 7 is connected to the second metal plate 6 by screws or other means, and the other end is connected to the lifting device 8 by screws or other means. This allows the second metal plate 6 to stably move up and down under the action of the lifting device 8, thereby ensuring the stability and accuracy of the entire lifting device 8.

[0055] In some embodiments, the preset temperature is -1°C to -5°C. The preset temperature can be any one of -1°C, -2°C, -3°C, -4°C, and -5°C, and can be set according to the type of food stored in the quick cooling zone 2. By setting the preset temperature, the temperature of the food can be controlled at a suitable temperature, thereby ensuring the freshness and taste of the food. At the same time, the temperature sensor 13 provided in the quick cooling zone 2 can monitor the temperature of the food in real time to ensure that the temperature of the food always remains within the preset temperature range. The first metal plate 4 and the second metal plate 6 provided in the quick cooling zone 2 can quickly cool down the food and accurately control the temperature, thereby ensuring that the temperature of the food quickly drops to the set temperature and remains stable.

[0056] In some embodiments, the controller 10 is further configured to:

[0057] If the temperature of the food is lower than the preset temperature, a third instruction is sent to control the lifting device 8 to maintain the original state.

[0058] When the food temperature is lower than the preset temperature, it indicates that the food temperature is low and there is no need to increase the cooling efficiency. Therefore, the controller 10 can send a third instruction to maintain the lifting device 8 in its original position and the height of the second metal plate 6. By controlling the height of the second metal plate 6, the cooling efficiency of the food can be effectively controlled, ensuring that the food is cooled within the optimal temperature range.

[0059] In some embodiments, as Figure 2 As shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides a quick-cooling refrigerator control method, which is applied to the quick-cooling refrigerator provided in the above embodiment, comprising:

[0060] S100: Acquire the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13.

[0061] S200: If the temperature of the food is higher than the preset temperature, a first instruction is sent to control the lifting device 8 to descend and obtain the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 9.

[0062] S300: If the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, a second instruction is sent to control the lifting device 8 to stop.

[0063] By detecting the temperature of the food, the lifting device 8 is controlled to descend and contact the food, thereby increasing the contact area between the food and the first metal plate 4 and the second metal plate 6, thereby improving the freezing efficiency of the food.

[0064] It can be seen from the above technical solution that the present application provides a quick-cooling refrigerator and a control method, wherein the quick-cooling refrigerator includes: a freezer compartment 1; a quick-cooling zone 2 is provided in the freezer compartment 1; the quick-cooling zone 2 is provided with a container 3 and a temperature sensor 13 for detecting the temperature of food in the quick-cooling zone 2; the container 3 is a cavity structure with an opening, a first metal plate 4 is provided at the bottom of the container 3, and a second metal plate 6 symmetrical to the first metal plate 4 is provided above the opening of the container 3; the second metal plate 6 is connected to the lifting device 8; a pressure sensor 9 is embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate 6; the temperature sensor 13, the lifting device 8 and the pressure sensor 9 are respectively connected to the controller 10; the controller 10 is configured to: obtain the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13; if the food temperature is higher than the preset temperature, send a first instruction to control the lifting device 8 to descend and obtain the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 9; if the pressure value is within the preset pressure range, send a second instruction to control the lifting device 8 to stop. The temperature of the food is detected by the temperature sensor 13, and the lifting device 8 is controlled according to the temperature of the food to make the second metal plate 6 rise or fall, and then the second metal plate 6 contacts the food, increasing the contact area between the food and the second metal plate 6, and improving the cooling speed of the food, so as to solve the problem of low cooling efficiency of the food in the refrigerator.

[0065] Similar parts between the embodiments provided in this application can be referenced to each other. The specific implementation methods provided above are only a few examples under the overall concept of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For those skilled in the art, any other implementation methods expanded based on the scheme of this application without expending creative work shall fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A quick cooling refrigerator, characterized in that: include: Freezer compartment (1); A quick cooling zone (2) is provided in the freezing compartment (1); The rapid cooling zone (2) is provided with a container (3) and a temperature sensor (13) for detecting the temperature of food in the rapid cooling zone (2); The container (3) is a hollow structure with an opening, a first metal plate (4) is provided at the bottom of the container (3), and a second metal plate (6) symmetrical to the first metal plate (4) is provided above the opening of the container (3); The second metal plate (6) is connected to the lifting device (8); a pressure sensor (9) is embedded in the lower surface of the second metal plate (6); The temperature sensor (13), the lifting device (8) and the pressure sensor (9) are respectively connected to the controller (10); The controller (10) is configured to: Obtaining the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor (13); If the temperature of the food is higher than a preset temperature, a first instruction is sent to control the lifting device (8) to descend and obtain a pressure value detected by the pressure sensor (9); If the pressure value is within a preset pressure range, a second instruction is sent to control the lifting device (8) to stop.

2. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that The first metal plate (4) and the second metal plate (6) are any one of an aluminum plate, a copper plate, an iron plate, and an alloy plate.

3. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: The first metal plate (4) and the second metal plate (6) are hollow structures; and a refrigerant is provided in the hollow structures.

4. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: The first metal plate (4) and the bottom of the container (3) are provided with through holes (5).

5. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a quick cooling air duct; the quick cooling zone (2) is provided with an air inlet (11) and an air outlet (12); the quick cooling air duct is connected to the quick cooling zone (2) via the air inlet (11) and the air outlet (12).

6. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: A groove is provided in the container (3), and the lifting device (8) is provided in the groove.

7. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting device (8) further comprises a bracket (7), and the second metal plate (6) is connected to the lifting device (8) via the bracket (7).

8. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: The preset temperature is -1°C to -5°C.

9. The rapid cooling refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein: The controller (10) is further configured to: If the temperature of the food is lower than the preset temperature, a third instruction is sent to control the lifting device (8) to maintain the original state.

10. A method for controlling a rapid cooling refrigerator, characterized in that: The rapid cooling refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 9 comprises: Obtaining the food temperature detected by the temperature sensor (13); If the temperature of the food is higher than a preset temperature, a first instruction is sent to control the lifting device (8) to descend and obtain a pressure value detected by a pressure sensor (9); If the pressure value is within a preset pressure range, a second instruction is sent to control the lifting device (8) to stop.

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