A driving device for a refrigerator air damper, a refrigerator air damper and a refrigerator

Abstract

A driving device for a refrigerator air damper, a refrigerator air damper and a refrigerator, comprising a cover plate, a plug-in terminal directly mounted on the cover plate, and a connection circuit board connected to a motor. In the present invention, the motor pins are bent towards the connection circuit board, and the plug-in terminal on the connection circuit board supplies power to the motor and the heating wire of the air damper. The plug-in terminal directly extends out from the gear box of the refrigerator air damper through the cover plate, and its opening is small, which can prevent a large amount of water vapor from entering the gear box from the wire outlet part, and avoid the condensation of ice and frost at the gear meshing part, thus affecting the normal opening of the refrigerator air damper. The motor and the heating wire in the present invention share a set of power supply, which can reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator, simplify the wiring, and at the same time, with this wiring method, the motor has a smaller step angle, making the motor run more smoothly and reducing the noise generated by the refrigerator air damper.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of refrigerator air damper devices, and particularly to a driving device for a refrigerator air damper, a refrigerator air damper, and a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] The existing refrigerator air damper, as Figure 1 shown, includes components such as a gear box, a DC stepper motor, a power cord, a gear reduction system, a door panel, and a cover plate. The DC stepper motor rotates back and forth according to pulse signals. The refrigerator air damper drives the door panel to move back and forth through the rotation of the motor, driving the gear reduction system, to achieve the opening and closing of the air damper.

[0003] For the existing air damper, its power cord is usually led out from inside the gear box. When a heating wire is provided in the air damper, an external power supply for the heating wire needs to be separately equipped. Since there is a certain gap at the wire outlet part of the gear box, and the internal environment of the refrigerator is humid, after long-term use, water vapor will enter the inside of the gear box from this wire outlet part, and even ice will form at the meshing part of the motor and the reduction gear, resulting in the abnormal operation of the air damper.

[0004] In addition, the traditional air damper usually uses a 2-phase 4-wire stepper motor and operates in a 4-step mode. Both the outer shell and the middle cover plate have 12 pawls. Two sets of coils are respectively wound around two pins in two skeleton slots and stacked on both sides of the middle plate, and then installed together through two halves of the outer shell. For such a motor, the step angle of its operation is 7.5° (that is, for each received driving pulse, the motor rotor rotates 7.5°). The step angle of the existing stepper motor is slightly larger, resulting in the unsmooth operation of the connected air damper and prone to generating relatively large noise during the operation of the air damper. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the deficiencies of the existing technology, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a driving device for a refrigerator air damper, a refrigerator air damper, and a refrigerator. In this application, the motor pins are bent and connected to a connection circuit board, and the plug-in terminals provided on the connection circuit board are used to supply power to both the motor and the heating wire of the air damper at the same time.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the driving device for a refrigerator air damper provided by the present invention includes: a cover plate, which is arranged on the gear box of the refrigerator air damper, and a socket hole is directly opened on the cover plate; a plug-in terminal, which is installed in the socket hole and extends out from the gear box for receiving an electrical signal; a connection circuit board, which is arranged inside the gear box for connecting the plug-in terminal and the motor and transmitting the electrical signal received by the plug-in terminal to the motor.

[0007] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that one end of the connecting circuit board is respectively welded to each pin of the motor, and the other end of the connecting circuit board is respectively welded to the middle parts of the respective plug terminals. The connecting circuit board respectively forms electrical connections between the respective plug terminals and the corresponding pins of the motor, and simultaneously supplies power to the heating wire of the refrigerator air damper.

[0008] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that the cover plate is further provided with a plugging groove recessed from the outer surface of the cover plate. The socket hole is arranged at the bottom of the plugging groove, and the outer end part of the plug terminal is vertically arranged in the plugging groove perpendicular to the cover plate.

[0009] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that the bottom plate of the gearbox is further provided with a plug terminal fixing seat. The plug terminal fixing seat is provided with fixing holes corresponding to the respective plug terminals. The inner end parts of the respective plug terminals are respectively plugged and fixed in the respective fixing holes, and the outer end parts of the respective plug terminals respectively extend out of the cover plate from the respective socket holes.

[0010] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that the motor includes an intermediate plate and two groups of coils respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the intermediate plate. The two groups of coils are respectively connected with motor pins; the connecting circuit board is parallel to the intermediate plate of the motor and is perpendicularly arranged between the plug terminal fixing seat and the socket hole with respect to the plug terminal; the motor pins are led out from one side edge of the intermediate plate, bent towards the connecting circuit board, and welded and fixed to the motor pin connection holes arranged at one end of the connecting circuit board.

[0011] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that the motor pins include end pins and common pins. Each group of coils is respectively connected with an end pin at both ends of the coil, and each group of coils is respectively connected with a common pin in the middle of the coil. The motor pins of the two groups of coils are staggered and arranged on one side edge of the intermediate plate, and each motor pin is bent towards the connecting circuit board to be nearly a right angle and is respectively welded to the corresponding motor pin connection hole on one side of the connecting circuit board.

[0012] Optionally, for the driving device for a refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, it is characterized in that the connecting circuit board is further provided with a DC input end and a wiring end. The DC input end is simultaneously electrically connected to one of the plug terminals and the common pins of the motor. The wiring end is electrically connected to the other plug terminal. The DC input end and the wiring end are respectively connected to both ends of the heating wire of the refrigerator air damper through wires.

[0013] Optionally, for the driving device for the refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above, the gearbox of the refrigerator air damper is further provided with a wire groove on the outer wall close to the socket hole, and the wire is fixed through the wire groove and led out from the gearbox to be connected to the heating wire arranged on the outer periphery of the refrigerator air damper door panel.

[0014] Meanwhile, the present invention also provides a refrigerator air damper, which includes the driving device for the refrigerator air damper as described in any of the above.

[0015] Furthermore, the present invention also provides a refrigerator, on the air damper of which is provided the refrigerator air damper driving device as described in any of the above.

[0016] Compared with the existing solutions, the present invention has the following technical effects: 1. The present invention provides a circuit structure for a refrigerator air damper, which bends the motor pins towards the connection circuit board, and powers the motor and the heating wire of the air damper through the plug-in terminals arranged on the connection circuit board. The plug-in terminals extend out from the gearbox of the refrigerator air damper, and the opening thereof is a fine through-hole structure that tightly surrounds each terminal. The gap between the opening and the terminal is small, which can avoid a large amount of water vapor from entering the gearbox from the wire outlet part, resulting in the problem that the gear meshing part condenses ice and cannot be normally opened.

[0017] 2. The motor in the driving device of the present invention is provided with a common pin, and the common pin is connected to the DC power input terminal, serving as a set of power supply shared by the motor and the heating wire, and powering the motor and the heating wire at the same time. Such a motor wiring method can, on the one hand, reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator and simplify the wiring; on the other hand, it can also use this wiring method to form 4 groups of coils inside the motor, so that the motor has a smaller step angle, making its operation more stable and reducing the noise generated by the refrigerator air damper.

[0018] 3. The present invention further sets a plug-in terminal fixing seat inside the gearbox to fix the inner end part of the plug-in terminal through the plug-in terminal fixing seat, so that it can extend out from the socket hole on the cover plate perpendicular to the cover plate and the connection circuit board, ensuring the stability of the plug-in terminal. On the cover plate, in order to cooperate with the electrical connection head matching the plug-in terminal, a plug-in groove can be further set. Through the plug-in groove, it is ensured that the joint enters in the direction facing each plug-in terminal, realizing reliable electrical connection with each plug-in terminal.

[0019] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in the subsequent specification, and part of them will be obvious from the specification or understood by implementing the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings are used to provide further understanding of the present invention, and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation to the present invention. In the drawings: Figure 1It is a schematic structural diagram of an existing refrigerator air damper drive system; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a drive device in a refrigerator air damper provided by the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the installation method of a drive device for a refrigerator air damper according to the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the connection method of the pins of the motor in the drive device according to the present invention; Figure 5 It is Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the motor pin setting method in Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a connection circuit board in the drive device of the present invention; Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the motor in the drive device of the present invention.

[0021] In the figure, 1 - gearbox; 2 - motor; 21 - first motor pin; 22 - second motor pin; 23 - third motor pin; 24 - fourth motor pin; 25 - fifth motor pin; 26 - sixth motor pin; 3 - power cord; 30 - connection circuit board; 31 - first plug-in terminal; 32 - second plug-in terminal; 33 - third plug-in terminal; 34 - fourth plug-in terminal; 35 - fifth plug-in terminal; 36 - sixth plug-in terminal; 37 - DC input terminal; 38 - wiring terminal; 4 - reduction gear; 5 - door panel; 6 - cover plate; 61 - socket hole; 62 - plug-in groove. Detailed implementation manners

[0022] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are only for explaining and illustrating the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0023] The meaning of "and / or" described in the present invention means that both the case of each existing alone and the case of both existing simultaneously are included.

[0024] The meaning of "inside and outside" described in the present invention refers to, relative to the refrigerator air damper itself, the direction from the cover plate of the refrigerator air damper to the middle plate inside the motor is inside, and vice versa; it is not a specific limitation on the device mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] The meaning of "connection" described in the present invention can be a direct connection between components or an indirect connection between components through other components.

[0026] The meaning of "upper and lower" described in the present invention refers to that the side of the motor facing the cover plate is the upper side, and the side of the motor close to the air damper is the lower side, and it is not a specific limitation on the device mechanism of the present invention.

[0027] The present invention is directed to Figure 1The existing wiring method of the power supply line for the refrigerator air damper shown, especially aiming at the problem of excessive clearance of the air damper gearbox housing caused by the wiring of the power cord 3, provides a cover plate for the refrigerator air damper. A signal connection device required for the circuit inside the gearbox is directly integrally provided on the cover plate, so that it can directly provide signals for the circuit arranged inside the air damper gearbox 1, and is used to drive the motor inside the gearbox to output torque to drive the door panel 5 to open or close through the transmission of each stage of reduction gears 4.

[0028] The described signal connection device can be specifically realized through a plug-in terminal. It is arranged on Figure 3 the shown cover plate 6. A socket hole 61 is directly opened on the cover plate 6, and the plug-in terminal is installed in the socket hole 61; the plug-in terminal extends from the inner side of the cover plate 6, is used to receive an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to the corresponding pins of the motor arranged inside the cover plate.

[0029] The circuit inside the gearbox can be specifically set to include a motor and a connection circuit board 30 connected to the motor pins. For the described connection circuit board 30, one side is provided with motor pin connection holes for electrically connecting to the respective pins of the motor; the other side is connected to the above plug-in terminal to receive the electrical signal and transmit the electrical signal to the corresponding pins of the motor.

[0030] For each pin of the motor, it can be set to bend towards the connection circuit board 30, and is respectively electrically connected to the corresponding plug-in terminal through the printed circuit on the connection circuit board 30 by each motor pin connection hole.

[0031] The described plug-in terminal is set as a metal pin perpendicular to the connection circuit board 30. The lower end of the metal pin is Figure 2 connected and fixed to the plug-in terminal fixing seat at the bottom of the gearbox in the shown manner; the upper end of the metal pin extends out of the gearbox 1 through the socket hole 61 on the cover plate 6 and is connected to the corresponding motor drive circuit to realize the power supply and control of the motor. Thus, for the circuit structure inside the cover plate of the present invention, the motor pins are bent towards the connection circuit board, and the motor is powered through the plug-in terminals arranged on the connection circuit board. When the metal pins of the plug-in terminals extend out of the gearbox of the refrigerator air damper, the opening structure of the socket hole 61 is set as a fine through-hole structure that tightly surrounds each terminal metal pin, and the gap between the opening and the terminal is small. Therefore, the present invention can prevent a large amount of water vapor from entering the gearbox from the socket hole 61 part, and prevent the gear meshing part from generating frost due to water vapor condensation and being unable to open and close normally.

[0032] In order to further ensure the stable setting of the plug-in terminal, the present invention can also set a fixing hole 2 corresponding to each plug-in terminal on the plug-in terminal fixing seat on the bottom plate of the reduction box, and respectively plug and fix the inner end of each plug-in terminal with the corresponding fixing hole. The middle part of the plug-in terminal is welded and fixed by the connecting circuit board. The outer end of the plug-in terminal is respectively extended out of the cover plate by each socket hole to achieve connection with the motor drive signal. As a result, the two ends and the middle part of each plug-in terminal are respectively fixed by the fixing hole, the socket hole 61 and the plug-in terminal connection hole of the connecting circuit board, and are not easily affected by the plug-in and pull-out of the signal connector. In order to further facilitate the signal connector to connect each plug-in terminal, the present invention can further set a plug-in groove 62 recessed in the outer surface of the cover plate at a position corresponding to the socket hole 61 on the surface of the cover plate, and set the socket hole at the bottom of the plug-in groove 62. As a result, after the signal connector is extended into the plug-in groove 62, it can be guided by the plug-in groove to stably connect its internal circuit connection structure with the corresponding plug-in terminal to achieve stable electrical connection.

[0033] Considering that the refrigerator damper usually also needs to be heated by a heating wire arranged on the periphery of the door panel 5 to avoid condensation of water vapor on the damper, the present invention can further reuse the above-mentioned connecting circuit board 30 through circuit setting, and utilize the power supply connected to the terminals therein to simultaneously power the heating wires around the door panel.

[0034] To match this power supply method, the coil in the above motor can be set to Figure 5 The motor includes Figure 5 The upper and lower frame grooves shown in the figure have a Figure 7 The first set of coils shown on the lower side has a Figure 7 The second group of coils shown on the left side is separated by an intermediate plate. The upper and lower sides of the intermediate plate are respectively connected to the skeleton grooves for assembly and fixation. The motor pins are respectively connected to the upper and lower groups of coils and are arranged to be led out from the side of the intermediate plate. Each pin is arranged on one side of the intermediate plate and is bent toward the connecting circuit board 30 respectively, and is electrically connected to the motor pin connection hole on the connecting circuit board 30 arranged parallel to the side of the motor intermediate plate to receive the electrical signal input by the plug-in terminal to power the motor and control the operation of the motor.

[0035] Specifically in Figure 7In the implementation of the motor shown, the upper and lower two sets of coils arranged on the upper and lower skeleton slots of the motor respectively include their own end pins and common pins. Taking the coil arranged on the upper side of the motor as an example, the two ends of the coil are respectively connected to the end pins, forming the first motor pin 21 and the fifth motor pin 25. A common pin is also connected in the middle of the coil, forming the third motor pin 23. Symmetrically, for the coil arranged on the lower side of the motor, its two ends are respectively connected to two end pins, forming the second motor pin 22 and the sixth motor pin 26. A common pin is also connected in the middle of the coil, forming the fourth motor pin 24. The total of 6 pins of the two sets of coils are arranged in a staggered manner at one side edge of the middle plate in the manner shown in Figure 5 and each pin is bent towards the connection circuit board 30 at an angle close to a right angle and welded and fixed to the motor pin connection holes on one side of the connection circuit board 30 to achieve electrical connection with the corresponding insertion terminals.

[0036] Thus, referring to Figure 7 shown, the upper and lower two sets of coils of the motor are actually connected to the DC input terminal through their respective common pins, forming a 4-phase 5-wire stepper motor. This 4-phase 5-wire stepper motor operates in the 8-beat mode shown in Figure 7 on the right side, so that the step angle of the motor is reduced by half compared with the 2-phase 4-wire stepper motor used in the traditional air damper, reaching 3.5°. Thus, for each drive pulse received by the motor, the motor rotor rotates 3.5°, and the drive cycle of the rotor is divided into smaller parts, making the motor operate more smoothly and effectively reducing the air damper noise caused by the operation of the motor.

[0037] To cooperate with the drive requirements of each pin of the above motor and to supply power to the heating wire of the air damper, a DC input terminal 37 shown in Figure 6 is specifically arranged on the above connection circuit board 30 in the present invention. This DC input terminal is electrically connected to an insertion terminal through a PCB printed circuit, and a 12V DC power supply input is provided by this insertion terminal; this DC input terminal 37 is also electrically connected to the common pins of the motor at the same time, that is, connected to the third motor pin 23 and the fourth motor pin 24 of the motor. By connecting the common pins of the motor to the same level, 4 coils are formed inside the motor, so that each coil can obtain corresponding drive signals through the insertion terminals connected to each pin according to Figure 7The cycles shown on the right are conducted respectively to drive the rotor of the motor to rotate stably. The DC input terminal 37 is connected to a wire, and through this wire, the 12V DC power supply provided by the fifth plug-in terminal 35 is led out to the heating wire of the air damper to supply power to the heating wire. An electric heating circuit is formed on the connection circuit board 30 for connecting the heating wire, and a wiring terminal 38 is also provided. The wiring terminal 38 is electrically connected to another sixth plug-in terminal 36. The wiring terminal 38 is connected to another wire, and through this wire, it is connected to the other end of the heating wire. Thus, one end of the heating wire is connected to the sixth plug-in terminal 36, and its other end is connected to the common pin and then connected to the fifth plug-in terminal. Power is supplied by the two plug-in terminals to form an electric heating circuit to heat the air damper, preventing water vapor from condensing on the air damper and affecting its opening and closing. Thus, the present invention uniformly supplies power to the electric heating wire and the motor through the plug-in terminals. The two groups of circuits share a set of power supply through the plug-in terminals, which can effectively reduce the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator.

[0038] Each of the other plug-in terminals on the connection circuit board 30 is respectively connected to Figure 6 the PCB traces shown and is electrically connected to each end pin of the motor. The connection circuit board 30 is placed parallel to the motor mounting surface for convenient connection.

[0039] Specifically, the motor pin connection holes on the connection circuit board 30 can be arranged on one side of the motor 2 along the first direction; each of the plug-in terminals on the connection circuit board 30 can be arranged along the second direction to form an L-shaped structure with the motor pin connection holes. The first direction and the second direction can be set to be close to 90° or set their angles accordingly according to the arrangement of each component inside the reduction gearbox, so as to conveniently place the motor on one side of the reduction gearbox and lead out the plug-in terminals from one side or a certain corner of the reduction gearbox cover 6, facilitating the connection of the power supply and the drive signal.

[0040] To facilitate the leading out of the wire on the electric heating wire circuit, the connection circuit board 30 is also provided with a groove at the corner position of the L-shaped structure. The wiring terminal 38 and the DC input terminal 37 on the connection circuit board 30 are respectively arranged on the connection circuit board 30 close to the corner position of the L-shaped structure and are connected to the wire on the electric heating wire circuit. Thus, the wire can extend out from the groove at the corner position of the L-shaped structure and is connected to the heating wire of the refrigerator air damper through the small groove on the side wall of the reduction gearbox that matches the wire diameter to supply power to it.

[0041] The advantages of the present invention are as follows: By inserting the terminal out of the gearbox cover plate, a standardized socket is directly formed on the gearbox cover plate, and the standardized socket is used to supply power to the electric heating wires of the motor and the air damper at the same time. The air damper circuit with this integral and integrated design can eliminate the mating gap formed between the wiring of the existing air damper circuit and the gearbox, prevent the water vapor in the refrigerator from entering the gearbox of the air damper, and improve the product reliability. At the same time, since this solution does not require purchasing standard sockets externally and does not require configuring a separate power supply for the heating device of the air damper, the product cost can be effectively reduced.

[0042] In addition, the 4-phase 5-wire stepper motor formed by matching the above wiring method can also improve the smoothness of the air damper drive and reduce the noise of the air damper operation.

[0043] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not used to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, for those skilled in the art, they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A driving device for a refrigerator air damper, characterized in that, Comprising: A cover plate, which is arranged on the gearbox of the refrigerator air damper, and a socket hole is directly opened on the cover plate; A plug-in terminal, which is installed in the socket hole and extends out from the gearbox for receiving an electrical signal; A connection circuit board, which is arranged in the gearbox for connecting the plug-in terminal and the motor and transmitting the electrical signal received by the plug-in terminal to the motor; The motor, which includes an intermediate plate and two sets of coils respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the intermediate plate, and each set of coils is respectively connected with a motor pin; The connection circuit board is parallel to the intermediate plate of the motor and is perpendicular to the plug-in terminal and is arranged between the plug-in terminal fixing seat and the socket hole; The motor pin is led out from one side edge of the intermediate plate, bent towards the connection circuit board, and welded and fixed to the motor pin connection hole arranged at one end of the connection circuit board; Wherein, a plug-in terminal fixing seat is further arranged on the bottom plate of the gearbox, and fixing holes corresponding to each plug-in terminal are arranged on the plug-in terminal fixing seat. The inner end portions of each plug-in terminal are respectively inserted and fixed with each fixing hole, and the outer end portions of each plug-in terminal respectively extend out of the cover plate from each socket hole; The motor pin includes an end pin and a common pin. Each set of coils is respectively connected with the end pin at both ends of the coil, and each set of coils is respectively connected with the common pin in the middle of the coil. The motor pins of the two sets of coils are arranged in a staggered manner on one side edge of the intermediate plate, and each motor pin is bent towards the connection circuit board to be close to a right angle and is respectively welded to the motor pin connection hole corresponding to one side of the connection circuit board; A DC input end and a wiring end are further arranged on the connection circuit board. The DC input end is electrically connected to one of the plug-in terminals and each common pin of the motor at the same time. The wiring end is electrically connected to the other plug-in terminal. The DC input end and the wiring end are respectively connected to both ends of the heating wire of the refrigerator air damper through wires; Each motor pin connection hole on the connection circuit board is arranged to be arranged along a first direction on one side of the motor; each plug-in terminal on the connection circuit board is arranged to form an L-shaped structure with the motor pin connection hole along a second direction.

2. The drive device for the refrigerator air damper according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the connection circuit board is respectively welded to each pin of the motor, and the other end of the connection circuit board is respectively welded to the middle parts of each plug-in terminal. The connection circuit board respectively forms an electrical connection between each plug-in terminal and the corresponding pin of the motor and supplies power to the heating wire of the refrigerator air damper at the same time.

3. The drive device for a refrigerator air damper according to claim 1, characterized in that, An insertion groove recessed from the outer surface of the cover plate is further arranged on the cover plate. The socket hole is arranged at the bottom of the insertion groove, and the outer end portion of the plug-in terminal is perpendicularly arranged in the insertion groove with respect to the cover plate.

4. The drive device for the refrigerator air damper according to claim 1, characterized in that, For the gearbox of the refrigerator air damper, a wire groove is further arranged on the outer side wall close to the socket hole. The wire is fixed through the wire groove, led out from the gearbox, and connected to the heating wire arranged on the outer periphery of the refrigerator air damper door panel.

5. A refrigerator air damper, characterized in that, It includes a driving device for the refrigerator air damper as described in claim 1.

6. A refrigerator, characterized in that, An air damper thereof is provided with a refrigerator air damper driving device as described in claim 1.

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