Unfreezing device, unfreezing method, controller and refrigerator

Abstract

The invention discloses an unfreezing device, an unfreezing method, a controller and a refrigerator. The unfreezing device comprises an unfreezing drawer, and an upper cover plate is arranged at an opening of the unfreezing drawer; the electric field generating device comprises an upper polar plate and a lower polar plate, the upper polar plate is arranged on the upper cover plate, the lower polar plate is arranged at the bottom of the thawing drawer, and the electric field generating device is used for generating an electric field into the thawing drawer; the controller is used for periodically obtaining the temperature of the to-be-unfrozen food materials in the unfreezing process; the control module is also used for controlling the upper polar plate to generate a first electric field into the thawing drawer when the temperature of the to-be-thawed food material is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold value; under the condition that the temperature of the to-be-unfrozen food material is higher than the first temperature threshold and lower than a second temperature threshold, a second electric field is controlled to be generated between the upper pole plate and the lower pole plate; wherein the first temperature threshold value is smaller than the second temperature threshold value. In the embodiment of the invention, the electric field condition can be changed according to different stages of unfreezing, so that the optimal effect is achieved, and the energy loss is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of thawing technology, and in particular to a thawing device, a thawing method, a controller and a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] Using the refrigerator's cold storage room to defrost food such as meat can retain the nutrients of the food during the thawing process and is not prone to bacterial growth during the thawing process. However, the cold storage room has problems such as slow thawing speed and serious nutrient loss during running water thawing, which seriously deteriorates the quality of food and wastes water resources. In order to solve the problem of slow thawing speed in the cold storage room, the related technology sets an electric field generating device in the thawing drawer of the cold storage room, which promotes the polarization of water molecules in the meat through the electric field, generates heat through friction, accelerates heat transfer, and speeds up the thawing speed of food.

[0003] However, for larger pieces of meat, the edges and surrounding areas of the meat often heat up faster, while the middle part heats up slower, making it difficult to thaw and thawing unevenly. To avoid the above-mentioned uneven thawing phenomenon, the current thawing technology requires setting the thawing time in advance and turning on the electric field generating device in real time during the thawing process to thaw the food, which increases the thawing energy consumption. Therefore, how to improve the thawing effect at different thawing stages of food has become a technical problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present embodiment provides a thawing device, a thawing method, a controller and a refrigerator, which can change the electric field conditions according to different stages of thawing to achieve the best effect and reduce energy loss.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a thawing device, comprising:

[0006] A thawing drawer, wherein an upper cover is provided at an open portion of the thawing drawer;

[0007] An electric field generating device, comprising an upper electrode plate and a lower electrode plate, wherein the upper electrode plate is arranged on the upper cover plate, and the lower electrode plate is arranged on the bottom of the thawing drawer, and the electric field generating device is used to generate an electric field inside the thawing drawer;

[0008] The controller is used to periodically obtain the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process; and is also used to control the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold; and to control the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than a second temperature threshold;

[0009] The first temperature threshold is lower than the second temperature threshold.

[0010] In some embodiments, the upper electrode plate is an arc-shaped electrode, and the electric field generating device includes a power supply for supplying power to the arc-shaped electrode and the lower electrode plate, and also includes a switch for closing or opening the connection between the lower electrode plate and the power supply.

[0011] In some embodiments, a fin heat sink is further included, and the fin heat sink is arranged at the bottom of the lower electrode plate; or, a fin heat sink is integrated with the bottom of the lower electrode plate.

[0012] In some embodiments, the bottom of the thawing drawer includes a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the food to be thawed.

[0013] In a second aspect, this embodiment provides a thawing method, which is applied to the thawing device of the first aspect embodiment, and the thawing method comprises:

[0014] Periodically obtaining the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process;

[0015] When the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold, controlling the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer;

[0016] When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than a first temperature threshold and less than a second temperature threshold, controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate;

[0017] The first temperature threshold is lower than the second temperature threshold.

[0018] In some embodiments, the thawing method further comprises:

[0019] When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than or equal to the second temperature threshold, the electric field generating device is stopped.

[0020] In some embodiments, the upper electrode plate is an arc electrode, and the electric field generating device includes a power supply for supplying power to the arc electrode and the lower electrode plate, and also includes a switch for closing or disconnecting the connection between the lower electrode plate and the power supply;

[0021] The controlling the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer comprises:

[0022] connecting the arc electrode to the power source and disconnecting the switch to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer;

[0023] The controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper plate and the lower plate comprises:

[0024] The arc electrode is connected to the power source, and the switch is closed to generate a second electric field between the upper plate and the lower plate.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first temperature threshold is -5°C, and the second temperature threshold is 0°C.

[0026] In the third aspect, this embodiment provides a controller comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicating with the at least one processor; the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the thawing method described in the embodiment of the second aspect.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, this embodiment provides a refrigerator, comprising the thawing device of the first aspect embodiment or the controller of the third aspect embodiment.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, this embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and the computer-executable instructions are used to enable a computer to execute the thawing method as described in the second aspect.

[0029] The thawing device, thawing method, controller and refrigerator of the present embodiment have at least the following beneficial effects: the temperature of the food to be thawed is periodically obtained during the thawing process; when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold, thawing is performed by a single-pole plate method, and the upper pole plate is controlled to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer, so that energy consumption can be reduced while thawing the food to be thawed, and the thawing efficiency of the food to be thawed in the stage less than or equal to the first temperature threshold is improved; when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold, thawing is performed by a bipolar plate method, and a second electric field is controlled to be generated between the upper pole plate and the lower pole plate, so that the food to be thawed is accelerated to pass through the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold, and the thawing effect of the food to be thawed in the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold is improved; and by setting different electric field conditions at different stages, segmented thawing of the food to be thawed is achieved, the thawing effect is improved, and energy loss is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thawing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 It is an overall flow chart of the thawing method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a thawing method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 A flowchart of the specific method of step S200;

[0034] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 Flow chart of the specific method of step S300

[0035] Figure 6 An overall flow chart of the thawing method provided for the example of this application;

[0036] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of a controller provided in one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. In addition, the characteristics, operations or features described in the specification can be combined in any appropriate manner to form various implementation methods. At the same time, the steps or actions in the method description can also be replaced or adjusted in order in a manner that is obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the various sequences in the specification and the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of clearly describing a certain embodiment and are not meant to be a necessary sequence, unless otherwise specified that a certain sequence must be followed.

[0038] In the description of this application, "several" means one or more, "more" means more than two, "greater than", "less than", "exceed", etc. are understood to exclude the number itself, and "above", "below", "within", etc. are understood to include the number itself. If there is a description of "first" or "second", it is only used for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0039] The serial numbers of the components in this document, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish the objects described and do not have any order or technical meaning. The "connection" and "coupling" mentioned in this application, unless otherwise specified, include direct and indirect connections (couplings).

[0040] Fast thawing is a major pain point in people's lives today. Frozen meat thaws slowly and takes a long time to wait, which greatly prolongs the time spent on cooking, and is not in line with people's current fast-paced lifestyle. Among the current common thawing methods, room temperature thawing and refrigerator thawing are slow, resulting in serious nutrient loss during running water thawing, causing a serious decline in quality and waste of water resources. The currently more popular microwave thawing and air fryer thawing speeds are fast, but there are often problems such as serious juice loss, uneven thawing, and easy ripening of the bottom edge.

[0041] In the related technology, the thawing of food by electric field is usually considered to shorten the thawing time. The electric field generating device is controlled by constant voltage during the whole thawing process. The electric field has been proven to promote the polarization of water molecules, generate heat through friction, and accelerate heat transfer. It is a penetrating thawing method. At the same time, it was found in previous studies that the electric field can change the distribution of water molecules, promote the combination of some free water with amino acid residues in meat protein, and form tightly bound water, thereby effectively reducing the loss of water during the thawing process.

[0042] However, for larger pieces of meat, the edges and surrounding areas of the meat often heat up faster, while the middle part heats up more slowly, making it difficult to thaw and thawing unevenly. To avoid the above-mentioned uneven thawing phenomenon, the thawing technology currently used requires setting the time required for thawing in advance, and turning on the electric field generating device in real time during the thawing process to thaw the food, resulting in an increase in thawing energy consumption. Since there is a certain correlation between the electric field conditions and the thawing rate and energy consumption. Therefore, how to improve the thawing effect at different thawing stages of food has become a technical problem to be solved.

[0043] Based on this, the present embodiment provides a thawing device, a thawing method, a controller and a refrigerator. During the thawing process, the temperature of the food to be thawed is periodically obtained. When the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold, thawing is performed by a single-pole plate method, and the upper electrode plate is controlled to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer. This can reduce energy consumption while thawing the food to be thawed, and improve the thawing efficiency of the food to be thawed in the stage less than or equal to the first temperature threshold. When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold, thawing is performed by a bipolar plate method, and a second electric field is controlled to be generated between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate, accelerating the food to be thawed to pass through the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold, and improving the thawing effect of the food to be thawed in the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold. By setting different electric field conditions at different stages, segmented thawing of the food to be thawed is achieved, the thawing effect is improved, and energy loss is reduced.

[0044] The thawing device, thawing method, controller and refrigerator are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0045] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thawing device provided in this embodiment.

[0046] In some embodiments, a thawing device provided in this embodiment includes: a thawing drawer 100, wherein an upper cover plate 200 is provided at an open portion of the thawing drawer 100; an electric field generating device, comprising an upper electrode plate 310 and a lower electrode plate 320, wherein the upper electrode plate 310 is provided on the upper cover plate 200, and the lower electrode plate 320 is provided at the bottom of the thawing drawer 100, and the electric field generating device is used to generate an electric field inside the thawing drawer 100, thereby promoting polarization of water molecules, accelerating heat transfer, and realizing penetrating thawing of food inside the thawing drawer 100;

[0047] The controller 1000 is used to periodically obtain the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process to realize real-time detection of the temperature of the food to be thawed; it is also used to thaw the food to be thawed in a unipolar plate manner when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold, and control the upper electrode plate 310 to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer 100, which can reduce energy consumption while thawing the food to be thawed, and improve the thawing efficiency of the food to be thawed in the stage less than or equal to the first temperature threshold; when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold, thaw the food to be thawed in a bipolar plate manner, control the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320, accelerate the food to be thawed to pass through the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold, and improve the thawing effect of the food to be thawed in the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold. By setting different electric field conditions at different stages, segmented thawing of the food to be thawed is realized, the thawing effect is improved, and energy loss is reduced.

[0048] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the first temperature threshold is smaller than the second temperature threshold.

[0049] It is understandable that there is a certain correlation between the electric field conditions and the thawing rate and energy consumption. Since the temperature of the food to be thawed is different when it is put in, the required initial electric field conditions are also different. During the thawing process, as the temperature of the food to be thawed rises, the conditions of the electric field may also change accordingly. For example, the electric field has the best effect on improving the time to pass the maximum ice crystal zone at -5 to 0°C. Therefore, the electric field conditions can be changed according to the different stages of thawing to achieve the best effect and reduce energy loss.

[0050] In some embodiments, the upper electrode 310 is an arc electrode, and the electric field generating device includes a power supply 400 for supplying power to the arc electrode and the lower electrode 320, and also includes a switch for closing or disconnecting the connection between the lower electrode 320 and the power supply 400, so that the lower electrode 320 can be turned on and off by the switch to change the discharge form of the electrode.

[0051] It should be noted that the power supply 400 is electrically connected to the arc electrode and the lower electrode plate 320 respectively. When the power supply 400 is only connected to the arc electrode, the upper electrode plate 310 generates a first electric field inside the thawing drawer 100, which is a single-pole thawing mode; when the power supply 400 is connected to the arc electrode and the lower electrode plate 320 at the same time, and the switch is in a closed state, the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320 generate a second electric field inside the thawing drawer 100 to achieve the setting of different electric field conditions. Different electric field conditions can be set for different stages of the food to be thawed, so as to achieve staged thawing of the food to be thawed.

[0052] It is worth noting that when the power supply 400 is connected to the arc electrode and the lower electrode plate 320 at the same time, and the switch is in the open state, it is considered that only the upper electrode plate 310 is closed, and the single-electrode plate mode is used for thawing, and the upper electrode plate 310 is controlled to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer 100.

[0053] It can be understood that the arc electrode in this embodiment is made of stainless steel, and the arc electrode can be connected to a high-voltage power supply 400 through a wire to generate an electric field, and the voltage of the power supply 400 is adjustable within 0-2kV, and the frequency is 18k to 30kHz.

[0054] In some embodiments, a fin heat sink 500 is also included, and the fin heat sink 500 is arranged at the bottom of the lower electrode plate 320, so as to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, reduce the power efficiency of the thawing device, and improve the energy utilization rate; or, the bottom of the lower electrode plate 320 is integrated with a fin heat sink 500 to increase the heat dissipation area, realize rapid heat dissipation, and improve the thawing effect.

[0055] It is worth noting that the powered fin heat sink 500 can heat the fins through electric current, and transfer heat from the fins to the surrounding environment more quickly, thereby achieving efficient heat dissipation. In addition, the heat generation of the powered fin heat sink 500 can be controlled by adjusting the current. This controllability makes it more advantageous in applications that require precise control of heat dissipation temperature and stable operation of the equipment.

[0056] In some embodiments, the bottom of the thawing drawer 100 includes a temperature sensor 600 for measuring the temperature of the food to be thawed, so as to achieve real-time measurement of the temperature of the food to be thawed.

[0057] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 2 A specific flow chart of a thawing method provided in this embodiment, which is applied but not limited to Figure 1 The thawing device and the thawing method include but are not limited to the following steps S100 to S300.

[0058] Step S100, periodically obtaining the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process;

[0059] In some embodiments, the temperature of the food to be thawed is periodically obtained during the thawing process to achieve real-time monitoring of the temperature of the food to be thawed, so as to facilitate setting different electric fields according to the different temperature stages of different food to be thawed.

[0060] Step S200, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold, controlling the upper electrode plate 310 to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer 100;

[0061] In some embodiments, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold, a unipolar plate is used for thawing, and the upper electrode plate 310 is controlled to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer 100, which can reduce energy consumption while thawing the food to be thawed, and improve the thawing efficiency of the food to be thawed in the stage where the temperature is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold.

[0062] It should be noted that, taking meat as an example of the food to be thawed, when the meat begins to thaw, the temperature of the outer layer is higher and the internal temperature is still in a frozen state. At this stage, the surface temperature of the meat will rise rapidly, but the temperature of the core part is still very low. This stage is generally called the rapid heating stage, that is, the situation where the temperature is less than or equal to the first temperature threshold in this embodiment. In the rapid heating stage, conventional thawing technology may cause surface protein denaturation of meat or bacterial colony growth, thereby affecting the quality of meat and food safety. Therefore, in this embodiment, the spatial electric field formed by the monopolar plate is used to improve the thawing efficiency of the food to be thawed and reduce energy loss.

[0063] Step S300 , when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold, controlling the second electric field to be generated between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320 .

[0064] In some embodiments, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold, it means that the temperature of the food to be thawed at this stage is higher than the temperature of the food in step S200, and thawing is performed by a bipolar plate method, and a second electric field is generated between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320 to accelerate the food to be thawed to pass through the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold, and improve the thawing effect of the food to be thawed in the stage from the first temperature threshold to the second temperature threshold. By setting different electric field conditions at different stages, segmented thawing of the food to be thawed is achieved, the thawing effect is improved, and energy loss is reduced.

[0065] It should be noted that, taking meat as an example of the food to be thawed, when the surface temperature of the meat is close to the freezing point, moisture begins to diffuse outward from the inside of the meat to form an ice crystal band. The ice crystal band can change the tissue structure of the meat and make the meat dry. At this time, the quality and flavor of the meat will be affected. This stage is called the ice crystal band stage, that is, the temperature of the food to be thawed in this embodiment is greater than the first temperature threshold and less than the second temperature threshold. When it is determined that the food to be thawed is in the ice crystal band stage, a bipolar plate is used to generate an electric field to control the generation of a second electric field between the upper plate 310 and the lower plate 320, so that the maximum ice crystal band time is increased in the stage of -5 to 0°C, so that the thawing effect is optimized.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first temperature threshold is -5°C, and the second temperature threshold is 0°C. Through the method of steps S100 to S300, energy consumption can be reduced in the early rapid heating stage to achieve segmented thawing.

[0067] Reference Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a flow chart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application. The thawing method includes but is not limited to the following steps S400.

[0068] Step S400, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than or equal to the second temperature threshold, stopping the electric field generating device.

[0069] In some embodiments, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than or equal to the second temperature threshold, it means that the surface of the meat has been completely thawed, and the electric field generating device is stopped to save energy, reduce energy loss, and avoid over-thawing.

[0070] It should be noted that stopping the electric field generating device in this embodiment can be achieved by disconnecting the arc electrode from the power supply 400, disconnecting the switch between the lower electrode plate 320 and the power supply 400, or turning off the thawing device power supply 400, etc. This embodiment does not make any specific restrictions.

[0071] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 yes Figure 2 In the flowchart of the specific method of step S200, step S200 may include but is not limited to the following step S210.

[0072] In step S210 , the arc electrode is connected to the power source 400 , and the switch is turned off to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer 100 .

[0073] In some embodiments, in the process of controlling the upper electrode plate 310 to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer 100, the arc electrode is connected to the power supply 400 so that the upper electrode plate 310 can generate an electric field, and the switch connecting the lower electrode plate 320 to the power supply 400 is disconnected to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer 100 through the monopolar plate, thereby reducing energy loss.

[0074] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 5 yes Figure 2 In the flowchart of the specific method of step S300, step S300 may include but is not limited to the following step S310.

[0075] In step S310 , the arc electrode is connected to the power source 400 , and the switch is closed to generate a second electric field between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320 .

[0076] In some embodiments, in the process of controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320, the arc electrode is connected to the power supply 400 so that the upper electrode plate 310 can generate an electric field, and the switch is closed to connect the lower electrode plate 320 to the power supply 400, so that a second electric field can be generated between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320, thereby achieving the adjustment of different thawing modes.

[0077] In order to further explain the thawing device, thawing method, controller 1000 and refrigerator provided in this embodiment, specific examples are given below for detailed description.

[0078] Example 1:

[0079] Example 1 Figure 1 Taking the thawing device as an example, the thawing device includes: a thawing drawer 100, wherein an upper cover plate 200 is provided at the open portion of the thawing drawer 100; an electric field generating device 300, which is arranged on the upper cover plate 200 and is used to generate an electric field toward the interior of the thawing drawer 100, thereby promoting the polarization of water molecules, accelerating heat transfer, and realizing penetrating thawing of the food inside the thawing drawer 100.

[0080] The meat is thawed by the above-mentioned thawing device, and the specific thawing process is as follows:

[0081] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 6 A specific flow chart of a thawing method provided as an example of the present application.

[0082] Step S1: Put food into the thawing drawer 100 and start the thawing function;

[0083] Step S2: periodically obtaining the temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0084] Step S3: Determine that the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than or equal to 0 degrees Celsius;

[0085] Step S4: turning off the electric field generating device;

[0086] Step S5: Determine that the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to minus 5 degrees Celsius;

[0087] Step S6: controlling the upper electrode plate 310 to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer 100;

[0088] Step S7: Determine that the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than 0 degrees Celsius and less than minus 5 degrees Celsius;

[0089] Step S8: controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate 310 and the lower electrode plate 320;

[0090] Step S9: obtaining a first current temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0091] Step S10: determining whether the first current temperature is less than or equal to minus 5 degrees Celsius;

[0092] It should be noted that, when the first current temperature is less than or equal to minus 5 degrees Celsius, the process returns to step S6, that is, the upper electrode plate 310 is continuously controlled to generate a first electric field toward the interior of the thawing drawer 100; when the first current temperature is greater than minus 5 degrees Celsius, the process jumps to step S8 to convert the electric field mode of the monopolar plate into the electric field mode of the bipolar plate to achieve regulation of the electric field mode.

[0093] Step S11: obtaining a second current temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0094] Step S12: determining whether the second current temperature is greater than 0 degrees Celsius;

[0095] Step S13: When the second current temperature is greater than 0 degrees Celsius, the electric field generating device is stopped.

[0096] It should be noted that, when the second current temperature is less than or equal to 0 degrees Celsius, the process returns to step S8 , that is, the upper electrode plate 310 is continuously controlled to generate a second electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer 100 .

[0097] It is worth noting that in this example, the first electric field is generated inside the thawing drawer 100 by connecting the arc electrode to the power supply 400 and opening the switch; the second electric field is generated between the upper plate 310 and the lower plate 320 by connecting the arc electrode to the power supply 400 and closing the switch.

[0098] Among them, in this example, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to minus 5 degrees Celsius, it is regarded as the rapid heating stage, when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than minus 5 degrees Celsius and less than 0 degrees Celsius, it is regarded as passing the ice crystal zone stage, and when the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than 0 degrees Celsius, it is regarded as completing the thawing stage.

[0099] The beneficial effects of the above control logic are: in the rapid heating stage (food temperature ≤ -5 degrees Celsius), the space electric field formed by the monopolar plate is used, that is, the lower plate 320 is not connected to electricity; in the ice crystal zone stage (food temperature is between -5 degrees Celsius and 0 degrees Celsius), the electric field form of the bipolar plate is used, that is, both the upper and lower plates 320 are connected to electricity. Through this method, energy consumption can be reduced in the early rapid heating stage, and segmented thawing can be achieved. The electric field conditions can be changed according to different stages of thawing to achieve the best effect and reduce energy loss.

[0100] like Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a controller 1000 provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0101] An embodiment of the present application also provides a controller 1000, comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicating with the at least one processor; the memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can execute the thawing method as described in the above embodiment.

[0102] The controller 1000 of this embodiment includes one or more processors 1001 and a memory 1002. Figure 7 In the figure, a processor 1001 and a memory 1002 are taken as an example.

[0103] The processor 1001 and the memory 1002 may be connected via a bus or other means. Figure 7 The example of connecting through bus is taken in the following.

[0104] The memory 1002, as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store non-transitory software programs and non-transitory computer executable programs. In addition, the memory 1002 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-transitory memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other non-transitory solid-state storage device. In some embodiments, the memory 1002 may optionally include a memory 1002 remotely arranged relative to the processor 1001, and these remote memories may be connected to the controller 1000 via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0105] An embodiment of the present application further provides a refrigerator, comprising the thawing device or controller 1000 of the above embodiment.

[0106] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps and systems in the disclosed method above may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware and appropriate combinations thereof. Some physical components or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor or a microprocessor, or may be implemented as hardware, or may be implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or a non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or a temporary medium). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired information and may be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0107] The above is a specific description of the preferred implementation of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned implementation mode. Technical personnel familiar with the field can also make various equivalent deformations or substitutions without violating the spirit of the present application. These equivalent deformations or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A thawing device, It is characterized in that include: A thawing drawer, wherein an upper cover is provided at an open portion of the thawing drawer; An electric field generating device, comprising an upper electrode plate and a lower electrode plate, wherein the upper electrode plate is arranged on the upper cover plate, and the lower electrode plate is arranged on the bottom of the thawing drawer, and the electric field generating device is used to generate an electric field inside the thawing drawer; A controller, used for periodically acquiring the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process; and for controlling the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer when the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold; When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than a first temperature threshold and less than a second temperature threshold, controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate; The first temperature threshold is lower than the second temperature threshold.

2. The thawing device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The upper electrode plate is an arc-shaped electrode, and the electric field generating device includes a power supply for supplying power to the arc-shaped electrode and the lower electrode plate, and also includes a switch for closing or opening the connection between the lower electrode plate and the power supply.

3. The thawing device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that It also includes a fin heat sink, which is arranged at the bottom of the lower electrode plate; or, the bottom of the lower electrode plate is integrated with a fin heat sink.

4. The thawing device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The bottom of the thawing drawer includes a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the food to be thawed.

5. A thawing method, It is characterized in that Applicable to the thawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the thawing method comprises: Periodically obtaining the temperature of the food to be thawed during the thawing process; When the temperature of the food to be thawed is less than or equal to a first temperature threshold, controlling the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer; When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than a first temperature threshold and less than a second temperature threshold, controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate; The first temperature threshold is lower than the second temperature threshold.

6. The thawing method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that The thawing method further comprises: When the temperature of the food to be thawed is greater than or equal to the second temperature threshold, the electric field generating device is stopped.

7. The thawing method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that The upper electrode plate is an arc-shaped electrode, and the electric field generating device includes a power supply for supplying power to the arc-shaped electrode and the lower electrode plate, and also includes a switch for closing or disconnecting the connection between the lower electrode plate and the power supply; The controlling the upper electrode plate to generate a first electric field toward the inside of the thawing drawer comprises: connecting the arc electrode to the power source and disconnecting the switch to generate a first electric field inside the thawing drawer; The controlling the generation of a second electric field between the upper plate and the lower plate comprises: The arc electrode is connected to the power source, and the switch is closed to generate a second electric field between the upper plate and the lower plate.

8. The thawing method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that The first temperature threshold is -5°C, and the second temperature threshold is 0°C.

9. Controller, It is characterized in that comprising at least one processor and a memory for communicatively connecting to the at least one processor; The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor so that the at least one processor can perform the thawing method according to any one of claims 5 to 8.

10. Refrigerator, It is characterized in that It comprises the thawing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or the controller according to claim 9.

Images