Defrost appliance

Abstract

A defrost appliance is provided that over comes the limitations of other methods of defrosting by use of an insulated closed inner shell, providing refrigeration and ultra violet light to control the proliferation of bacteria and circulating liquid via a pump raining it down on sealed frozen food to expedite thawing of frozen food in a controlled environment a quick, efficient, safe, easy to use means for defrosting frozen food.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A defrost appliance for thawing frozen foods comprising:
 an outside shell,   an inner shell disposed within the outer shell, the inner shell providing an inner volume having an opening therein;   a removable, perforated drip pan disposed within the inner volume of the inner shell;   a water manifold disposed within the inner shell vertically higher than the drip pan, the water manifold coupled to a source of water;   a door hinged to at least one of the outside and inner shells for selectively providing access through the opening; and   a controller for monitoring and controlling the temperature of the water dispensed from the water manifold for at least one defrost cycle.   
     
     
         2 . The appliance of  claim 1 , comprising a pump coupled to the water source and the water manifold, wherein the water source is a tank having a fixed volume and wherein the pump circulates water in a continuous cycle between the tank and the manifold. 
     
     
         3 . The appliance of  claim 1 , comprising a heating element that controls a temperature of the water circulated through the appliance. 
     
     
         4 . The appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the temperature is about room temperature. 
     
     
         5 . The appliance of  claim 3 , comprising a temperature probe located within the drip pan, the heating element therewith controlling temperature of the water based on a temperature reading from the probe in the drip pan. 
     
     
         6 . The appliance of  claim 1 , comprising a refrigeration unit for cooling the inner volume of the appliance after the defrost cycle. 
     
     
         7 . The appliance of  claim 6 , comprising a pump coupled to the water source and the water manifold, wherein the water source is a tank having a fixed volume, the pump circulates water in a continuous cycle between the tank and the manifold, and wherein the defrost cycle has a finish time, the finish time determined based on a temperature of the water being recycled within the appliance.