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 plurality of mutually independent lower polar plates, the upper polar plate is arranged on the upper cover plate, the lower polar plates are arranged at the bottom of the thawing drawer, and an electric field is formed between the lower polar plates and the upper polar plate; the controller is used for determining a target sensing area where the to-be-unfrozen food material is located and one or more lower polar plates corresponding to the target sensing area when the to-be-unfrozen food material is put into the unfreezing drawer; and in response to the unfreezing instruction, controlling the electric field generation device to generate a guidance electric field between the upper polar plate and the lower polar plate corresponding to the target induction area so as to unfreeze the to-be-unfrozen food material. In the embodiment of the invention, the subarea where the food material is located can be identified, and the oriented electric field is formed in the subarea to unfreeze the food material, so that the unfreezing effect is improved.

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, in actual applications, due to the randomness of users' placement of food, the electric field strength at different positions of the food may be different, resulting in differences in the thawing effect. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present embodiment provides a thawing device, a thawing method, a controller and a refrigerator, which can identify the partition where the food is located, and form a guiding electric field in the partition to thaw the food, thereby improving the thawing effect.

[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 plurality of mutually independent lower electrode plates, 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 lower electrode plate is used to form an electric field with the upper electrode plate;

[0008] The controller is used to determine the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes corresponding to the target sensing area when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer; and in response to a thawing instruction, control the electric field generating device to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed.

[0009] In some embodiments, the electric field generating device further comprises an arc electrode and a power source for supplying power to the arc electrode, and the power source is also used to supply power to each of the lower electrode plates individually.

[0010] In some embodiments, the heat dissipation device is disposed at the bottom of the lower electrode plate; or, the bottom of the lower electrode plate is integrally provided with heat dissipation fins.

[0011] In some embodiments, the lower electrode plate is provided with a weight sensor; or, the thawing device is provided with a position sensor for detecting the position of the food to be thawed.

[0012] 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:

[0013] When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area;

[0014] In response to the thawing instruction, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed.

[0015] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0016] When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and determining a target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area;

[0017] The electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

[0018] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0019] When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and determining a target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area;

[0020] Performing food detection on the food to be thawed to determine the type and temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0021] Determining a second thawing time according to the type of food and the temperature of the food;

[0022] The electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

[0023] In some embodiments, the thawing device includes a door body; before the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, it also includes:

[0024] When it is detected that the door is opened, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field, and the remaining thawing time of the first food is recorded;

[0025] After the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, the method further comprises:

[0026] When it is detected that the door is closed, the electric field generating device is controlled to regenerate a second guiding electric field;

[0027] The electric field generating device is controlled to defrost the first food according to the recorded remaining thawing time.

[0028] 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.

[0029] In a fourth aspect, this embodiment provides a refrigerator, a controller of the embodiment of the third aspect.

[0030] 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.

[0031] The thawing device, thawing method, controller and refrigerator of the present embodiment have at least the following beneficial effects: the electric field generating device comprises an upper electrode plate and a plurality of mutually independent lower electrode plates, and 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 lower electrode plate is used to form an electric field with the upper electrode plate, so as to form a plurality of independent electric field partitions in the thawing drawer, which is conducive to generating an electric field for a specific area to thaw the food, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrode plates corresponding to the target sensing area are determined, so as to determine the position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer, respond to the thawing instruction, start to thaw the food to be thawed, control the electric field generating device to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed, so that the electric field can be generated in a targeted manner in the area where the food to be thawed is placed, improve the thawing effect of the food to be thawed, and avoid the problem of reduced thawing effect due to different food placement positions in the global electric field thawing scheme. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thawing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover plate provided in this embodiment;

[0034] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the lower electrode plate provided in this embodiment;

[0035] Figure 4 The overall flow chart of the thawing method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 5 A flowchart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 A flowchart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 7 A flowchart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 8 An overall flow chart of the thawing method provided for the example of this application;

[0040] Fig. 9 An overall flow chart of a thawing method provided for another example of the present application;

[0041] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a controller provided for one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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).

[0045] 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.

[0046] The electric field can promote the polarization of water molecules, generate heat through friction, accelerate heat transfer, change the distribution of water molecules, and promote some free water to combine with amino acid residues in meat protein to form more tightly bound water, thereby effectively reducing water loss during the thawing process. It is a penetrating thawing method.

[0047] However, in actual applications, due to the randomness of users' placement of ingredients, different locations may receive different electric field strengths, resulting in differences in the thawing effects.

[0048] Based on this, the present embodiment provides a thawing device, a thawing method, a controller and a refrigerator, wherein the electric field generating device includes an upper electrode plate 210 and a plurality of mutually independent lower electrode plates 220, and the upper electrode plate 210 is arranged on the upper cover plate, and the lower electrode plate 220 is arranged at the bottom of the thawing drawer 100, and the lower electrode plate 220 is used to form an electric field with the upper electrode plate 210, so as to form a plurality of independently controlled electric field partitions in the thawing drawer 100, which is conducive to generating an electric field for a specific area to thaw the food. When the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located is determined. and one or more lower electrodes 220 corresponding to the target sensing area, so as to determine the position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer 100, respond to the thawing instruction, start to thaw the food to be thawed, and control the electric field generating device to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed. In this way, an electric field can be generated in the area where the food to be thawed is placed, thereby improving the thawing effect of the food to be thawed and avoiding the problem of reduced thawing effect due to different food placement positions in the global electric field thawing scheme.

[0049] The thawing device, thawing method, controller and refrigerator are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0050] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the thawing device provided in this embodiment.

[0051] In some embodiments, the thawing drawer 100 has an upper cover plate at the opening of the thawing drawer 100;

[0052] An electric field generating device, comprising an upper electrode plate 210 and a plurality of mutually independent lower electrode plates 220, wherein the upper electrode plate 210 is arranged on the upper cover plate, and the lower electrode plate 220 is arranged at the bottom of the thawing drawer 100, and the lower electrode plate 220 is used to form an electric field with the upper electrode plate 210, so as to form a plurality of independently controlled electric field partitions in the thawing drawer 100;

[0053] It should be noted that the number of the lower plates 220 can be set according to the needs of the user, for example, the lower plates 220 can be set to 4, 5, 6, 7, etc., wherein the lower plates 220 can be arranged in sequence along the length direction of the thawing drawer 100, or can be arranged symmetrically with the center of gravity of the thawing drawer 100 as the axis, wherein, Figure 1In order to set four lower pole plates 220, the four lower pole plates 220 are arranged in a centrally symmetrical manner, and the surface area of ​​each lower pole plate 220 is the same; five lower pole plates 220 can also be arranged at the bottom of the thawing drawer 100, and the five lower pole plates 220 are arranged in sequence along the length direction of the thawing drawer 100, that is, the bottom of the thawing drawer 100 is divided into five equal parts longitudinally, and so on. The specific setting method of the lower pole plates 220 is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0054] It is worth noting that each lower electrode plate 220 is connected in parallel, so that separate control of different lower electrode plates 220 can be achieved.

[0055] The controller 1000 is used to determine the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes 220 corresponding to the target sensing area when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, so as to accurately determine the position of the food to be thawed; and in response to the thawing instruction, control the electric field generating device to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed, thereby generating an electric field in a specific area, reducing the thermal effect caused by the formation of an electric field over a large area, and improving the thawing effect of the food to be thawed.

[0056] It is understandable that when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, the food to be thawed may occupy one lower electrode plate 220, or may occupy multiple lower electrode plates 220 at the same time. For example, the food to be thawed is just placed on one lower electrode plate 220, or the food to be thawed occupies three lower electrode plates 220 at the same time, and so on. In order to improve the thawing effect, this embodiment needs to determine one or more lower electrode plates 220 where the food to be thawed is placed, so as to achieve comprehensive thawing of the food to be thawed.

[0057] It is worth noting that the lower electrode plate 220 divides the interior of the thawing drawer 100 into multiple independent sensing areas, the size of the sensing area corresponds to the surface area of ​​the lower electrode plate 220, and each lower electrode plate 220 corresponds to an independent sensing area, and the target sensing area is the area where the food to be thawed is located in the thawing drawer 100.

[0058] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover plate provided in this embodiment.

[0059] In some embodiments, the electric field generating device also includes an arc electrode 230 and a power supply 240 for supplying power to the arc electrode 230. The power supply 240 is also used to supply power to each lower electrode plate 220 separately to form multiple independent electric field partitions, thereby achieving independent control of the electric field partitions, achieving more efficient energy transmission, and reducing energy loss.

[0060] Reference Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the lower electrode plate 220 provided in this embodiment.

[0061] In some embodiments, the thawing device also includes a heat dissipation device 300, which is arranged at the bottom of the lower electrode plate 220, so as to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, reduce the power efficiency of the thawing device, and improve energy utilization; or, the bottom of the lower electrode plate 220 is integrally provided with heat dissipation fins to increase the heat dissipation area, achieve rapid heat dissipation, and improve the thawing effect.

[0062] It should be noted that the multiple lower pole plates 220 in this embodiment are respectively provided with wiring ports 250, which are used to connect wires 260. Each lower pole plate 220 is connected to the power supply 240 of the upper pole plate 210 through a wire to realize power supply to the lower pole plate 220 and the heat dissipation device 300. One end of the arc electrode 230 of the upper pole plate 210 in this embodiment is connected to the power supply 240 to form one pole of the electric field, and the lower pole plate 220 is connected to the other pole of the power supply 240 through a wire, so that the upper pole plate 210 and the lower pole plate 220 can generate multiple independent electric field regions, which is convenient for the subsequent separate control of different electric field regions.

[0063] It is worth noting that the heat dissipation device 300 in this embodiment is a fin heat sink. The energized fin heat sink can heat the fins through the current, and transfer the heat from the fins to the surrounding environment more quickly, thereby achieving efficient heat dissipation. In addition, the heat generation of the energized fin heat sink can be controlled by adjusting the current. This controllability makes it more advantageous in applications that require precise control of the heat dissipation temperature and stable operation of the equipment.

[0064] In some embodiments, the lower electrode plate 220 is provided with a weight sensor to determine whether food is stored on the lower electrode plate 220 and the specific position of the food on the lower electrode plate 220, so as to facilitate the subsequent generation of a guiding electric field at the position of the food to be thawed; or, the thawing device is provided with a position sensor for detecting the position of the food to be thawed, so as to determine the specific position of the food to be thawed in the thawing device.

[0065] It should be noted that the weight sensor in this embodiment is arranged on the lower electrode plate 220, and each lower electrode plate 220 is provided with a weight sensor, so that it is possible to accurately determine on which lower electrode plate or plates 220 the food is placed, and obtain the corresponding relationship between the lower electrode plate 220 and the food; and the position sensor can be arranged on the upper cover plate of the thawing drawer 100, or on the lower electrode plate 220, or on the side wall of the thawing drawer 100, and this embodiment does not make specific restrictions.

[0066] It is worth noting that the position sensor in this embodiment can be an infrared sensor, a capacitive sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. When the position sensor is an infrared sensor, the infrared sensor can be set on the lower plate 220, and the infrared radiation emitted by the object is received and detected to realize the detection and perception of the food to be thawed, wherein the infrared sensor has high sensitivity to infrared radiation, so that the existence and state of the object can be accurately detected; when the position sensor is a capacitive sensor, the capacitive sensor can be set on the lower plate 220, and the existence, position, shape and other information of the food to be thawed can be sensed by the change of capacitance, wherein the response time of the capacitive sensor is very fast, and the input of the food to be thawed can be sensed in real time, and the anti-interference ability to electromagnetic interference is strong, so as to realize high-precision detection of the food to be thawed; when the position sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, the ultrasonic sensor can be set on the upper cover plate of the thawing drawer 100, and the distance, existence and movement of the food to be thawed can be sensed by sending and receiving ultrasonic waves, wherein the ultrasonic sensor can realize long-distance perception and realize accurate measurement of the position of the food to be thawed.

[0067] It can be understood that when the position sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, one or more ultrasonic sensors can be set on the upper cover plate, for example, an ultrasonic sensor is set at the center position of the upper cover plate, or multiple ultrasonic sensors are set at four positions of the upper cover plate, etc., to achieve accurate detection of the position of the food to be thawed. This embodiment does not make any specific restrictions on the installation position of the ultrasonic sensor.

[0068] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 A specific flow chart of a thawing method provided in this embodiment, which is applied but not limited to Figure 1 The thawing device includes but is not limited to steps S100 to S200.

[0069] Step S100, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates 220 corresponding to the target sensing area are determined;

[0070] In some embodiments, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, a weight sensor or a position sensor is used to determine the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes 220 corresponding to the target sensing area, so as to achieve accurate identification of the position of the food to be thawed, thereby facilitating the subsequent generation of electric fields in different partitions.

[0071] It can be understood that the lower electrode plate 220 divides the interior of the thawing drawer 100 into multiple independent sensing areas, the size of the sensing area corresponds to the surface area of ​​the lower electrode plate 220, and each lower electrode plate 220 corresponds to an independent sensing area, and the target sensing area is the area where the food to be thawed is located in the thawing drawer 100.

[0072] Step S200, in response to the thawing instruction, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed.

[0073] In some embodiments, in response to a thawing instruction, the thawing process of the food to be thawed is started, and the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed. By generating a guiding electric field, the thermal effect caused by the formation of an electric field over a large area is reduced.

[0074] It can be understood that one end of the arc electrode 230 of the upper electrode plate 210 in this embodiment is connected to the high-voltage power supply 240 to form one pole of the electric field, and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area is connected to the other pole of the power supply 240 through a wire, so that the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 can generate a guided electric field.

[0075] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 5 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 steps S300 to S400.

[0076] In some embodiments, before the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, it is also necessary to determine whether there is food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100. When there is no food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, the electric field generating device can be directly controlled to generate a guiding electric field at the location of the food to be thawed; if it is determined that there is food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, the following steps are performed.

[0077] Step S300, when the food to be thawed is put into the thawing drawer 100, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates 220 corresponding to the target sensing area are determined;

[0078] Step S400, controlling the electric field generating device to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time, and controlling the electric field generating device to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

[0079] In steps S300 to S400 of some embodiments, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes 220 corresponding to the target sensing area are determined to determine the position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer 100. Thereafter, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time to achieve thawing of the food to be thawed, and after the first food is thawed, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food, so as to achieve separate thawing of different foods, avoid energy waste, and avoid the influence of other electric fields during the thawing process, thereby improving the thawing effect.

[0080] It should be noted that the first thawing time is the thawing time set in advance by the user, for example, twenty-five minutes, thirty minutes, forty minutes, etc. After the first thawing time, the electric field generating device will automatically stop generating the first guiding electric field for thawing the food to be thawed. No manual operation is required, thereby realizing automatic thawing of the food to be thawed and saving energy.

[0081] It can be understood that, in the present embodiment, the thawing time of the first food is also the time set in advance by the user. When the time for the first food to be thawed is reached, it is determined that the thawing of the first food is complete, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food, thereby realizing automatic thawing of the first food.

[0082] It is worth noting that the first guiding electric field and the second guiding electric field correspond to different sensing areas respectively, that is, to different lower electrodes 220 in the thawing drawer 100, so as to achieve separate thawing of different ingredients, avoid interference from other electric fields during the thawing process, further improve the thawing effect of different ingredients, and avoid uneven thawing due to different placement positions.

[0083] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application. The thawing method includes but is not limited to steps S500 to S800.

[0084] Step S500, when the food to be thawed is put into the thawing drawer 100, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates 220 corresponding to the target sensing area are determined;

[0085] In some embodiments, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer 100, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrode plates 220 corresponding to the target sensing area are determined, thereby determining the specific position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer 100, thereby realizing the identification of the position of the food to be thawed.

[0086] Step S600, testing the food to be thawed to determine the type and temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0087] In some embodiments, food detection is performed on the food to be thawed to determine the type of food to be thawed and the current food temperature, so as to facilitate the subsequent determination of the thawing time of the food to be thawed.

[0088] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the type and temperature of the food to be thawed can be determined by setting a temperature sensor and a camera sensor inside the thawing drawer 100, wherein the temperature sensor can be installed on the lower electrode plate 220, and the camera sensor can be set on the upper cover or side wall of the thawing drawer 100, and this embodiment does not make specific restrictions.

[0089] It is worth noting that the temperature sensor can be a thermistor sensor, an infrared temperature sensor, etc., to achieve real-time monitoring and measurement of the temperature of the food to be thawed. The camera sensor can use computer vision technology to identify and classify the food, and its type can be determined by image analysis and pattern recognition of the food.

[0090] Step S700, determining a second thawing time according to the type and temperature of the food;

[0091] In some embodiments, the second thawing time is determined according to the type of food and the temperature of the food, so that specific thawing times can be set for different types of food, improving the thawing effect of different food ingredients, and thawing of different types of food can be achieved in the same thawing drawer 100. After any food ingredient is thawed, the thawing of the food ingredient is stopped and the thawing of other food ingredients that have not been thawed is continued.

[0092] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the corresponding relationship between the type of food, the temperature of the food, and the thawing time is set in advance, and the relationship is stored in the database, so as to facilitate the subsequent determination of the thawing time corresponding to the food. For example, when the type of food is meat, different thawing times are set for different temperature ranges of meat. For example, when the temperature of the meat food is -20 degrees Celsius to -15 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 4 hours; when the temperature of the meat food is -15 degrees Celsius to -10 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 2 hours; when the temperature of the meat food is -10 degrees Celsius to -5 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 1 hour, and so on;

[0093] When the type of food is soy products, different thawing times are set for different temperature ranges of the soy products. For example, when the temperature of the soy products is -15 degrees Celsius to -10 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 3 hours; when the temperature of the soy products is -10 degrees Celsius to -5 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 1.5 hours; when the temperature of the soy products is -5 degrees Celsius to 0 degrees Celsius, the thawing time is set to 0.5 hours, and so on. This embodiment does not make specific restrictions.

[0094] Step S800, controlling the electric field generating device to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate 210 and the lower electrode plate 220 corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time, and controlling the electric field generating device to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

[0095] In some embodiments, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode 210 and the lower electrode 220 corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time, so that the food can be thawed according to the set time, saving time and resources, avoiding the situation where the food is not completely thawed, and after the first food is thawed, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food, avoiding the thermal effect caused by continuously generating the electric field, and saving resources.

[0096] It should be noted that the process of determining the thawing time of the first ingredient is as shown in steps S600 to S700, that is, first determine the type of food and the temperature of the first food, then compare them with the information in a preset database, and determine the target thawing time corresponding to the first food. Finally, after the target thawing time has passed, determine that the thawing of the first food is completed, and control the electric field generating device to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food.

[0097] It is understandable that, in this embodiment, after the second thawing time, it is determined that the thawing of the food to be thawed is complete, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the first guiding electric field.

[0098] Reference Figure 7 , Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a thawing method provided in another embodiment of the present application. The thawing method includes but is not limited to steps S900 to S920.

[0099] It should be noted that the thawing device includes a door body, step S900 occurs before the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, and steps S910 to S920 occur after the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100.

[0100] Step S900, when it is detected that the door is opened, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field, and the remaining thawing time of the first food is recorded;

[0101] In some embodiments, before the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer 100, when it is detected that the door is opened, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field, and the thawing process of the first food is stopped, thereby avoiding the influence of the electromagnetic radiation of the electric field on the human body, improving the safety of the thawing device, and recording the remaining thawing time of the first food to improve the thawing effect of the first food and avoid the situation where the first food is not completely thawed or is over-thawed.

[0102] Step S910, when it is detected that the door is closed, the electric field generating device is controlled to regenerate a second guiding electric field;

[0103] In some embodiments, when it is detected that the door is closed, the electric field generating device is controlled to regenerate the second guiding electric field to continue thawing the first food, thereby improving the thawing efficiency of the first food.

[0104] Step S920: controlling the electric field generating device to thaw the first food according to the recorded remaining thawing time.

[0105] In some embodiments, the electric field generating device is controlled to continue thawing the first food according to the recorded remaining thawing time to complete the thawing process of the first food and achieve thawing of the first food.

[0106] It is understandable that after the remaining thawing time has passed, the electric field generating device will stop generating the second guiding electric field to avoid excessive thawing of the first food.

[0107] 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.

[0108] Example 1:

[0109] Example 1 Figure 1Taking the thawing device as an example, the thawing device includes a thawing drawer, an electric field generating device and a controller 1000, and the electric field generating device includes an upper electrode plate and a plurality of lower electrodes independent of each other. The specific thawing process of the thawing food is as follows:

[0110] It should be noted that the thawing time in Example 1 is set by the user.

[0111] refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 It is a specific flow chart of a thawing method provided by a specific example of the present application;

[0112] Step S1: when food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and a target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area are determined;

[0113] Step S2: The user selects a first thawing time according to a reference value;

[0114] Step S3: controlling the electric field generating device to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time;

[0115] Step S4: determining whether the first food has been thawed;

[0116] Step S5: If yes, controlling the electric field generating device to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food;

[0117] Step S6: If not, controlling the electric field generating device to continue to generate a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food;

[0118] Step S7: After the first thawing time, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the first guiding electric field.

[0119] In some embodiments, when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes corresponding to the target sensing area are determined to determine the position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer. After that, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time to achieve thawing of the food to be thawed, and to determine whether the first food is completely thawed. After the first food is completely thawed, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food, so as to achieve separate thawing of different foods, avoid energy waste, and avoid the influence of other electric fields during the thawing process, thereby improving the thawing effect.

[0120] Example 2:

[0121] Example 2 Figure 1 Taking the thawing device as an example, the thawing device includes a thawing drawer, an electric field generating device and a controller 1000, and the electric field generating device includes an upper electrode plate and a plurality of lower electrodes independent of each other. The specific thawing process of the thawing food is as follows:

[0122] refer to Fig. 9 , Fig. 9 is a specific flow chart of a thawing method provided by another specific example of the present application;

[0123] Step S8: when the food to be thawed is put into the thawing drawer, determining that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and determining the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area;

[0124] Step S9: Detect the food to be thawed to determine the type and temperature of the food to be thawed;

[0125] Step S11: determining a second thawing time according to the type of food and the temperature of the food;

[0126] Step S12: controlling the electric field generating device to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time;

[0127] Step S13: determining whether the first food has been thawed;

[0128] Step S14: If yes, controlling the electric field generating device to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food;

[0129] Step S15: If not, controlling the electric field generating device to continue to generate a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food;

[0130] Step S16: After the second thawing time, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the first guiding electric field.

[0131] In some embodiments, when food to be thawed is placed in a thawing drawer, it is determined that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower electrodes corresponding to the target sensing area are determined, so as to determine the specific position of the food to be thawed in the thawing drawer, thereby realizing the recognition of the position of the food to be thawed. After that, the food to be thawed is detected to determine the type of food to be thawed and the current temperature of the food, so as to facilitate the subsequent determination of the thawing time of the food to be thawed, and then determine the second thawing time according to the type of food and the temperature of the food, so that specific thawing times can be set for different types of food, thereby improving the thawing effect of different food. It is also possible to thaw different types of food in the same thawing drawer, and after any food is thawed, the thawing of the food can be stopped, and the thawing of other foods that have not been thawed can continue. Finally, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time, so that the food can be thawed according to the set time, saving time and resources, avoiding the situation where the food is not completely thawed, and after the first food is thawed, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field for thawing the first food, avoiding the thermal effect caused by the continuous generation of the electric field, and saving resources.

[0132] like Fig.10 As shown, Fig.10 is a schematic diagram of a controller 1000 provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0133] 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.

[0134] The controller 1000 of this embodiment includes one or more processors 1001 and a memory 1002. Fig.10 In the figure, a processor 1001 and a memory 1002 are taken as an example.

[0135] The processor 1001 and the memory 1002 may be connected via a bus or other means. Fig.10 The example of connecting through bus is taken in the following.

[0136] 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.

[0137] An embodiment of the present application further provides a refrigerator, comprising the controller 1000 of the above embodiment.

[0138] 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.

[0139] 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 plurality of mutually independent lower electrode plates, 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 lower electrode plate is used to form an electric field with the upper electrode plate; A controller, used for determining the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area when the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer; And in response to the thawing instruction, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed.

2. The thawing device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The electric field generating device further comprises an arc electrode and a power source for supplying power to the arc electrode, and the power source is also used to supply power to each of the lower electrode plates individually.

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

4. The thawing device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The lower electrode plate is provided with a weight sensor; or the thawing device is provided with a position sensor for detecting the position 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: When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining the target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area; In response to the thawing instruction, the electric field generating device is controlled to generate a guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area to thaw the food to be thawed.

6. The thawing method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that Also includes: When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and determining a target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area; The electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to a preset first thawing time, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

7. The thawing method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that Also includes: When food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, determining that there is a first food being thawed in the thawing drawer, and determining a target sensing area where the food to be thawed is located and one or more lower plates corresponding to the target sensing area; Performing food detection on the food to be thawed to determine the type and temperature of the food to be thawed; Determining a second thawing time according to the type of food and the temperature of the food; The electric field generating device is controlled to generate a first guiding electric field between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate corresponding to the target sensing area according to the second thawing time, and the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating a second guiding electric field for thawing the first food after the first food is thawed.

8. The thawing method according to claim 6 or 7, It is characterized in that The thawing device comprises a door body; before the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, it also comprises: When it is detected that the door is opened, the electric field generating device is controlled to stop generating the second guiding electric field, and the remaining thawing time of the first food is recorded; After the food to be thawed is placed in the thawing drawer, the method further comprises: When it is detected that the door is closed, the electric field generating device is controlled to regenerate a second guiding electric field; The electric field generating device is controlled to defrost the first food according to the recorded remaining thawing time.

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 Comprising the controller as claimed in claim 9.

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