Tapered Aging Drawer Air Duct for Uniform Meat Aging Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aging drawers in refrigeration systems often require complex temperature and humidity control devices and can experience uneven airflow, leading to inconsistent aging results, especially when handling large volumes of food.
Innovation Solution
An aging drawer design featuring a shell with air duct boards and a circulation fan that ensures uniform airflow through a tapered air supply duct, eliminating the need for specialized temperature and humidity control devices and enhancing airflow distribution within the aging chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a standalone aging drawer with specialized temperature and humidity control devices is used, then temperature and humidity control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aging drawer is designed to utilize the existing temperature and humidity environment of the refrigeration apparatus chamber, eliminating the need for separate temperature and humidity control devices. The drawer structure itself serves multiple functions: it defines the aging chamber, provides airflow distribution through integrated air ducts, and utilizes the refrigeration apparatus's existing environmental control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The aging drawer is integrated into the refrigeration apparatus as a drawer-like structure that can be placed within the storage chamber. The air supply duct is merged with the drawer structure, and the circulation fan is integrated into the drawer assembly, creating a unified system that leverages the existing refrigeration environment rather than requiring separate control systems.
2Productivity
If the volume of food in the aging drawer is increased, then productivity is improved, but airflow uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The air supply duct is divided into multiple air outlets distributed along the airflow direction within the drawer. This segmentation allows air to be supplied at multiple points rather than a single location, ensuring that even when large volumes of food are present, airflow can reach different areas uniformly and maintain consistent aging conditions across the entire food load.
Solution Approach 2:
The air outlets are arranged in a distributed pattern along the length of the air supply duct, transforming the airflow distribution from a single-point source to a multi-point linear distribution. This dimensional arrangement ensures that air is delivered uniformly across the aging chamber, maintaining consistent airflow velocity and distribution regardless of the food volume or arrangement within the drawer.
3Manufacturing precision
If air outlets are arranged along the airflow direction, then airflow distribution is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air duct board serves multiple functions simultaneously: it structures the air supply duct, provides mounting for multiple air outlets, and integrates with the drawer assembly. This multi-functional design achieves uniform airflow distribution without requiring separate complex components for each function, maintaining simplicity while ensuring precise airflow control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides consistent airflow across the aging chamber, improving the aging process by maintaining uniform airspeed and reducing structural complexity, thus enhancing the flavor and tenderness of aged meat without the need for additional control devices.
Implementation Method 1
a circulation fan, configured to control the airflow within the air supply duct to flow towards the aging chamber through the plurality of air outlets
Implementation Method 2
at least an air supply section of the air supply duct, which is directly connected to the multiple air outlets, is configured to gradually taper along the direction of airflow therein, thereby ensuring the airflow passes through the air supply section at a uniform speed at different positions
Data Source
AI summary
An aging drawer and refrigeration apparatus with the same. The aging drawer comprises a shell, at least one air duct board provided within the shell and a circulation fan. The shell and the at least one air duct board define a aging chamber and at least one air supply duct, the aging chamber is connected to the air supply duct through multiple air outlet supply ports arranged along the direction of airflow within the air supply duct; and at least an air supply section of the air supply duct, which is directly connected to the multiple air outlets, is configured to gradually taper along the direction of airflow therein, thereby ensuring the airflow passes through the air supply section at a uniform speed at different positions, and improving the aging effect.