A defrosting apparatus comprises a heater case comprising a heat pipe seating part formed to extend from one surface thereof in a recessed shape and a heater receiving part formed to extend to be parallel with the heat pipe seating part. The defrosting apparatus also includes a heater which is mounted in the heater receiving part so as to emit heat when power is applied thereto, a heat pipe which has a flow path through which a working fluid filled therein flows, which has a part seated on the heat pipe seating part, and which is disposed to be adjacent to a cooling pipe of an evaporator such that heat is radiated to the cooling pipe of the evaporator by means of the working fluid at a high temperature which is heated by the heater and then is transferred, and a holder which is detachably coupled to the heater case so as to cover the heat pipe seated on the heat pipe seating part.

A novel method of deicing utilizing a fins-on-tubes type evaporator/heat exchanger system that is optimized for energy-saving inductive heating thereof, by configuring it to increase its resistance to a value at which the system's reactance at its working frequency is comparable to its electrical resistance. The system includes a set of tubes configured for flow of cooling material therethrough, and also includes a set of fins positioned and disposed perpendicular to, and along, the tubes, in such a way that at least a portion of the fins comprises longitudinal excisions therein.

A refrigerator and method utilize a pair of tandem evaporators to provide cooling for both a compartment and an ice making system of a refrigerator. An upstream evaporator in the pair of tandem evaporators provides cooling for a compartment such as a freezer, fresh food, flexible cooling, or quick cooling compartment, while a downstream evaporator is in fluid communication with the upstream evaporator to receive a portion of the air cooled by the upstream evaporator and further cool the received portion for use in cooling one or more components of the ice making system.

A freezer and method of operating a freezer are provided with an adaptive defrost cycle. The freezer includes a controller that operates the freezer to: provide cooling to a cabinet via an evaporator during periodic operational cycles, monitor a time elapsed since a most recent defrost cycle, determine whether the time elapsed is greater than a current defrost interval, and perform a defrost cycle if so. The controller varies the current defrost interval between a first, larger time value and a second, smaller time value based on a plurality of trigger signals in response to various operating characteristics of the freezer monitored by sensors. After each defrost cycle is completed, the current defrost interval is reset to the first, larger time value.

To provide a defrost system capable of preferable defrosting and prevention of generation of icicles on a casing without installing a brine circuit. A defrost system includes a thermosiphon defrost circuit that is provided by being branched from a circulation line, in which, at the time of defrosting, a CO.sub.2 refrigerant staying inside a fin-tube heat exchanger repeats a two-phase change of a gaseous form and reliquefaction, and which forms a CO.sub.2 circulation path together with the fin-tube heat exchanger; electromagnetic opening/closing valves that are closed at the time of defrosting and set the CO.sub.2 circulation path to a closed circuit; and a first electric heater arranged above the thermosiphon defrost circuit so as to be adjacent to the thermosiphon defrost circuit, and naturally circulates the CO.sub.2 refrigerant in the closed circuit at the time of defrosting.

A thawing method for a thawing device includes: generating, by a radio frequency generation module, a radio frequency signal in a frequency range of 40 to 42 MHz; obtaining the radio frequency signal; and generating, by an upper electrode plate and a lower electrode plate, radio frequency waves of corresponding frequency in a thawing chamber according to the radio frequency signal, and thawing an object to be processed in the thawing chamber. Radio frequency waves using the above frequency range have shorter thawing time, higher temperature-uniformity and lower juice loss rate than radio frequency waves of other frequencies.

A meat-aging apparatus is disclosed. The meat-aging apparatus comprises: a photographing unit for photographing meat stored in the meat-aging apparatus; an illumination unit for irradiating light to the meat; a storage unit for storing recipe information for aging the meat according to the type or state of the meat; and a processor for determining the type or state of the meat on the basis of a photographed image, and controlling the illumination unit to irradiate light to the meat according to the recipe information corresponding to the determined type or state of the meat in order to age the meat.

A meat-aging apparatus is disclosed. The meat-aging apparatus comprises: a photographing unit for photographing meat stored in the meat-aging apparatus; an illumination unit for irradiating light to the meat; a storage unit for storing recipe information for aging the meat according to the type or state of the meat; and a processor for determining the type or state of the meat on the basis of a photographed image, and controlling the illumination unit to irradiate light to the meat according to the recipe information corresponding to the determined type or state of the meat in order to age the meat.

A method and apparatus for controlling the defrost cycles of evaporators associated with the compartments of a refrigerator. Defrost heaters associated with each evaporator are turned on and run until either a predetermined maximum defrost temperature is reached for the compartments or until a predetermined maximum run time is reached for each defrost heater. A controller determines a defrost interval based on running times of the freezer defrost heater and the ice maker defrost heater so that the duration of the defrost interval is inversely related to the duration of the running time of the freezer defrost heater and the ice maker defrost heater. The controller also reduces the defrost interval for every second a door of the compartments remains open, compares the reduced defrost interval with the defrost length, and selects the shorter one as the new defrost interval.

A defrost mechanism which includes a first link cooperating with the actuating pin defined by a first end having a pivot and a second end fastened with a bellow lever, a second link defining a third end pivotably supported in said pivot and a fourth end slidably engaged in an adjusting lever and a switch configured to cut off power supply of the refrigerator, said switch forming a part of the electrical circuit supplying power to the refrigerator, said switch configured to be operated by the manual actuation of the actuating pin. The defrost mechanism offers simplicity of construction having less parts and reduces costs involved in manufacturing.