Heater and household appliance having the same

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of heating technology, and discloses a heater and a household appliance having the same, wherein the heater comprises: a container, on which a water inlet and a water outlet are provided; a heating element, which is arranged in the container; an expansion part, which is arranged in the container and extends from the top to the bottom of the container, and a gap is formed between one end of the expansion part close to the bottom of the container and the bottom of the container. The present invention can reduce the amount of water contained in the container by arranging the expansion part in the container, thereby increasing the heating speed under the same power of the heating element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of heating technology, and in particular to a heater and a household appliance having the same. Background Art

[0002] In daily life, people often use household appliances such as water heaters, electric kettles, and water purifiers. All of the above household appliances are equipped with heaters to heat water. In existing heaters, water is heated by heating tubes. However, the cylinder of the existing heater is large, and the heating tube cannot quickly heat the water in the cylinder. The heating speed is slow, which cannot meet the user's requirement for quick use of hot water. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a heater and a household appliance having the same, which can heat water quickly and meet the user's requirement of quickly using hot water.

[0004] As conceived above, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0005] A heater, characterized by comprising:

[0006] A container, which is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet;

[0007] A heating element is disposed in the container;

[0008] The expansion part is arranged in the container and extends from the top to the bottom of the container, and a gap is formed between one end of the expansion part close to the bottom of the container and the bottom of the container.

[0009] Preferably, the heating element is a heating tube, and the heating tube is arranged in a spiral structure.

[0010] Preferably, a spiral guide plate is further included, one end of which is located below the water inlet and the other end extends to the bottom of the heating element, for guiding water flowing in through the water inlet to the heating element.

[0011] Preferably, the guide plate is provided with an arc groove along its spiral direction, the arc groove is recessed in a direction away from the outer wall of the heating element, and the maximum distance between the arc groove and the outer wall of the heating element is smaller than the radius of the heating element.

[0012] Preferably, the expansion portion is an annular or cylindrical piezoelectric ceramic, and the positive and negative electrodes of the piezoelectric ceramic are connected to a piezoelectric controller.

[0013] Preferably, the expansion portion is a hollow tube or a solid tube.

[0014] Preferably, the diameter of the expansion portion gradually increases towards the bottom of the container.

[0015] Preferably, a filter screen is provided at the water inlet and / or the water outlet.

[0016] The present invention also provides a household appliance, comprising the above-mentioned heater.

[0017] Preferably, the household appliance is a water heater, a kettle or a water purifier.

[0018] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0019] By providing an expansion portion in the container, the effective volume of the container can be reduced, thereby reducing the amount of water contained therein. Under the same power of the heating element, the heating speed can be increased to meet the user's requirements for quick use of hot water.

[0020] By providing a guide plate and an arc groove on the guide plate, water can flow along the channel between the arc groove and the outer wall of the heating element, so that the heating element can directly contact the water flow, heat the water flow, and further improve the heating effect.

[0021] By setting the expansion part as piezoelectric ceramics, the piezoelectric ceramics can collide under the action of DC voltage, thereby increasing the outer diameter of the piezoelectric ceramics, thereby reducing the volume of the container. That is, through piezoelectric ceramics, the volume of water can be changed according to user needs to better meet user requirements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a heater provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the assembly of the guide plate and the heating element of the heater provided in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] In the figure:

[0025] 1. Container; 2. Heating element; 3. Expansion part; 4. Drainage plate; 5. Filter; 6. Descaling device; 11. Water inlet; 12. Water outlet; 41. Arc groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the technical problems solved by the present invention, the technical solutions adopted and the technical effects achieved clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0028] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the heater described in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 As shown, the heater comprises a container 1, a heating element 2, an expansion portion 3 and a guide plate 4, wherein:

[0031] The container 1 is provided with a cavity for holding water, and the cavity is connected with a water inlet 11 and a water outlet 12. The water inlet 11 is used to deliver water to be heated into the cavity of the container 1, and the water outlet 12 is used to deliver heated hot water to a user's water end (such as a faucet connected to a water heater, a shower, or a water outlet valve connected to a water purifier). In this embodiment, the container 1 can be a cylindrical structure, or other structures such as a cubic structure.

[0032] Preferably, in order to reduce heat loss, the present embodiment may further provide an insulating layer (not shown in the figure, which is a commonly used insulating layer with insulating effect in the prior art) on the outside or inside of the container 1 to improve the thermal insulation effect.

[0033] In this embodiment, further, a filter 5 may be provided at the water inlet 11 and / or the water outlet 12 to filter impurities in the water through the filter 5. When the filter 5 is provided at both the water inlet 11 and the water outlet 12, the filtering effect of the filter 5 at the water outlet 12 is higher than that of the filter 5 at the water inlet 11, so as to ensure that the hot water used by the user is purer and more hygienic.

[0034] In the present embodiment, preferably, a descaling device 6 can also be provided in the container 1. Specifically, the descaling device 6 is provided at the top of the container 1 and can release a descaling agent into the container 1. In the present embodiment, a descaling agent is placed in the descaling device 6, and the descaling device 6 can be a descaling agent releasing device commonly used in the prior art, and only needs to release the descaling agent. For example, it can be a small box provided at the top of the container 1, in which a descaling agent is placed, and a valve is provided at the bottom of the small box, and the valve is connected to a control system (a common control structure in the prior art, which can be a control system on a carrier using the heater of the present embodiment, such as a control system of a water heater or a control system of a water purifier). When the descaling agent needs to be released, the valve is opened, and the descaling agent is released to perform a descaling operation. After the descaling operation is completed, the dirt can be discharged through the water outlet 12.

[0035] Preferably, the descaling device 6 can be configured as a structure with a spraying function, that is, the descaling device 6 is provided with a nozzle, through which the descaling agent can be sprayed into the container 1, thereby being able to remove dirt on the container 1 and the heating element 2.

[0036] The heating element 2 is disposed in the container 1, and can heat the water in the container 1 (the heating element 2 can be connected to the control system of household appliances such as a water heater or a water purifier). In this embodiment, the heating element 2 can be a spiral heating tube, and the descaling device 6 can be disposed at the top of the heating tube to facilitate the descaling of the heating tube by the descaling agent.

[0037] The expansion part 3 is arranged in the middle part of the container 1. Specifically, the expansion part 3 extends from the top to the bottom of the container 1 and has a gap with the bottom of the container 1. The expansion part 3 forms an annular chamber with a bottom connection in the container 1. The water inlet 11 and the water outlet 12 are both connected to the annular chamber. The volume of the expansion part 3 can be selected as needed to make the rated volume of the annular chamber in the container 1 different, and thus make the volume of water contained in the container 1 different. For example, by increasing the volume of the expansion part 3, the volume of the annular chamber can be reduced. At this time, based on the heating element 2 of the same power, the volume of water in the annular chamber becomes smaller. Therefore, the heating element 2 can quickly heat a small volume of water, thereby improving the heating speed and meeting the user's requirements for quick use of hot water.

[0038] In this embodiment, the expansion portion 3 can be an annular or cylindrical piezoelectric ceramic, and the inner and outer side walls of the piezoelectric ceramic are respectively provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and the positive and negative electrodes of the piezoelectric ceramic are connected to a piezoelectric controller (not shown in the figure, the piezoelectric controller can be connected to the control system of the household appliance), and the piezoelectric controller is used to transmit a DC voltage to the piezoelectric ceramic. The piezoelectric ceramic is a functional ceramic material that can convert mechanical energy and electrical energy into each other, and belongs to an inorganic non-metallic material. When the piezoelectric ceramic is in the electric field of a DC voltage (that is, when it is energized), the piezoelectric ceramic will expand, and the volume of the annular cavity will become smaller. When the piezoelectric ceramic loses power, it will return to its original state, and the volume of the annular cavity will also return to its original size. In addition, in this embodiment, a DC voltage is preferably applied to the piezoelectric ceramic. Since no current will flow through the piezoelectric ceramic when it is electrostricted under a DC voltage, it can also avoid the container 1 and the water in the container 1 from being charged, thereby avoiding the hidden danger of electric shock to the user.

[0039] In this embodiment, the heating element 2 is sleeved outside the expansion portion 3, and the maximum outer diameter of the expansion portion 3 is smaller than the inner diameter of the spiral.

[0040] The guide plate 4 is a spiral structure, and one end is arranged below the water inlet 11 to receive water flowing in through the water inlet 11, and the other end extends to the bottom of the heating element 2 to guide the received water to the heating element 2. Specifically, in this embodiment, the guide plate 4 is provided with an arc groove 41 along its spiral direction (that is, the arc groove 41 is also arranged in a spiral shape), such as Figure 2 As shown, the arc groove 41 is recessed in the direction away from the outer wall of the heating tube, and the maximum distance between the arc groove 41 and the outer wall of the heating element 2 is less than the radius of the heating element 2. That is, in this embodiment, it can be considered that the guide plate 4 is approximately wrapped around the heating element 2. Through the structure of the arc groove 41 and the cooperation between the arc groove 41 and the heating element 2, after the water flowing in through the water inlet 11 falls on the arc groove 41 of the guide plate 4, it will flow along the arc groove 41, and because the maximum distance between the arc groove 41 and the outer wall of the heating element 2 is less than the radius of the heating element 2, the water in the arc groove 41 will contact the heating element 2 and be heated by the heating element 2. Since the same section of water will pass through all positions of the heating tube, the same section of water will be heated by each position of the heating element 2. When the same section of water flows out of the arc groove 41 of the guide plate 4, it has been heated by the heating element 2 to the temperature required by the user or close to the temperature required by the user. When the water is heated to the temperature required by the user by the heating element 2, the water outlet 12 can be directly opened, and the user can directly use the hot water. When the water is heated by the heating element 2 to a temperature close to the temperature required by the user, the water outlet 12 can be closed. As more and more water is heated, the water level will gradually rise. At this time, the hot water will be heated by the heating element 2 again, so that it finally reaches the temperature required by the user. Then the water outlet 12 can be opened for the user to use.

[0041] In this embodiment, a temperature sensor (not shown) can be provided in the container 1 to detect the temperature of the hot water in the container 1. When the temperature of the water in the container 1 meets the temperature required by the user, the water outlet 12 can be controlled to open.

[0042] This embodiment also provides a household appliance, including the above-mentioned heater, which can achieve the effect of quickly heating water and meet the user's requirement of quickly using hot water. The above-mentioned household appliance can be a water heater, or a kettle, a water purifier or other household appliances that need to heat water.

[0043] Embodiment 2

[0044] This embodiment provides a heater, which is different from the first embodiment in that the expansion part 3 of this embodiment is a hollow tube or a solid tube. The use of a hollow tube or a solid tube facilitates the assembly of the heater, and is convenient for obtaining materials, and has a lower manufacturing cost. Preferably, this embodiment uses a hollow tube as the expansion part 3. The hollow structure of the hollow tube also makes the overall weight of the heater lighter. This embodiment can use hollow tubes of different outer diameters to change the rated volume of the annular cavity.

[0045] In this embodiment, preferably, the diameter of the expansion portion 3 gradually increases toward the bottom of the container 1 to further reduce the rated volume of the annular chamber.

[0046] The other structures of the heater in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment and will not be described in detail.

[0047] This embodiment also provides a household appliance, including the above-mentioned heater, which can achieve the effect of quickly heating water and meet the user's requirement of quickly using hot water. The above-mentioned household appliance can be a water heater, or a kettle, a water purifier or other household appliances that need to heat water.

[0048] Embodiment 3

[0049] This embodiment provides a heater, which is different from the first embodiment in that the expansion part 3 of this embodiment can also be a structure formed by placing ceramic balls and / or medical stones in the net, or a silica gel structure attached to the cylinder wall. In this case, the expansion part 3 does not have a deformation function, and it only needs to reduce the cavity volume of the container 1. Other structures that can reduce the cavity volume of the container 1 are also within the protection scope of this embodiment.

[0050] The above embodiments are only to illustrate the basic principles and characteristics of the present invention. The present invention is not limited by the above embodiments. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention may be subject to various changes and modifications, which are within the scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A heater, characterized in that: include: A container (1) is provided with a water inlet (11) and a water outlet (12); an insulating layer is provided on the outside or inside of the container (1); A heating element (2) is arranged in the container (1); An expansion portion (3) is arranged in the container (1) and extends from the top to the bottom of the container (1), and a gap is formed between an end of the expansion portion (3) close to the bottom of the container (1) and the bottom of the container (1); It also comprises a spiral guide plate (4), one end of the guide plate (4) being located below the water inlet (11) and the other end extending to the bottom of the heating element (2), and being used for guiding water flowing in through the water inlet (11) to the heating element (2); The guide plate (4) is provided with an arc-shaped groove (41) along its spiral direction, the arc-shaped groove (41) is recessed in a direction away from the outer wall of the heating element (2), and the maximum distance between the arc-shaped groove (41) and the outer wall of the heating element (2) is smaller than the radius of the heating element (2).

2. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that The heating element (2) is a heating tube, and the heating tube is arranged in a spiral structure.

3. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that The expansion portion (3) is an annular or cylindrical piezoelectric ceramic, and the positive and negative electrodes of the piezoelectric ceramic are connected to a piezoelectric controller.

4. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that The expansion portion (3) is a hollow tube or a solid tube.

5. The heater according to claim 4, characterized in that The diameter of the expansion portion (3) gradually increases towards the bottom of the container (1).

6. The heater according to claim 1, characterized in that A filter screen (5) is provided at the water inlet (11) and / or the water outlet (12).

7. A household appliance, characterized in that: The heater comprises the heater described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The household appliance according to claim 7, characterized in that: The household appliance is a water heater, a kettle or a water purifier.

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