A water heater

Abstract

The present invention discloses a water heater, which comprises a metal shell, the metal shell comprises a panel, side plates arranged on both sides of the panel, and a connecting plate in an outwardly convex arc shape connecting the panel and the side plates, the panel, the side plates and the connecting plate are an integrally formed part; the outer surface of the metal shell is concave to form a receiving groove, the receiving groove longitudinally penetrates the bottom of the metal shell, the receiving groove transversely penetrates the panel and the connecting plates on both sides, and extends to the side plates on both sides, the bottom of the left and right ends of the receiving groove is penetrated by an open groove, and the top side of the open groove is provided with a serrated flange; a plastic part is matched and installed in the receiving groove, the outer surface of the plastic part is kept flush with the outer surface of the metal shell, the plastic part comprises a horizontal plate opposite to the panel, a transition plate opposite to the connecting plate, and a vertical plate opposite to the side plate, and a avoidance space is provided at the top of the transition plate near the inner side thereof. The plastic part of the present invention is easy to assemble with the metal shell, and has a good matching effect, and a small and uniform assembly gap.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of kitchen appliances, and in particular to a water heater. Background Art

[0002] Gas water heaters usually include an outer shell and functional components such as a burner assembly, a heat exchanger, an exhaust device, and a control device installed inside the outer shell. The outer shell mainly includes a metal shell and plastic parts installed on the metal shell. As the requirements for the appearance of gas water heaters become more and more stringent, the assembly requirements between the metal shell and the plastic parts are also getting higher and higher. At present, when plastic parts are assembled with metal shells, flash seams are prone to occur, and the gaps are usually too large, uneven, etc., and are difficult to correct; in addition, after the plastic parts are installed on the metal shell, the left and right sides are prone to protruding from the metal shell, which is not only ugly in appearance, but also prone to scratches. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present application is to provide a water heater, which can solve the assembly problem of the metal surface shell and the plastic parts, so that the assembly between the plastic parts and the metal surface shell is easy, the matching effect is good, and the assembly gap is small and uniform.

[0004] The purpose of this application is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0005] A water heater, comprising:

[0006] A housing, the housing comprising a bottom housing and a metal surface housing, the metal surface housing being connected to the front of the bottom housing and defining a mounting cavity between the metal surface housing and the bottom housing; and

[0007] a water heater functional component, which is arranged in the installation cavity;

[0008] The metal cover comprises a panel and side panels arranged on the left and right sides of the panel and extending inwardly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the panel, a connecting plate in an outwardly convex arc shape is connected between the side panels and the panel, and the panel, the side panels and the connecting plate are an integrally formed part;

[0009] The outer surface of the metal shell is concavely formed with a receiving groove, the receiving groove longitudinally penetrates the bottom of the metal shell, the receiving groove transversely penetrates the panel and the connecting plates on both sides, and extends to the side plates on both sides, the bottom of the left and right ends of the receiving groove are penetrated by an open groove, the top side of the open groove is provided with a flange extending inward, and the flange is a serrated structure;

[0010] A plastic part is matched and installed in the accommodating groove, and the outer surface of the plastic part is kept flush with the outer surface of the metal surface shell. The plastic part includes a horizontal plate opposite to the panel, a transition plate opposite to the connecting plate, and a vertical plate opposite to the side plate. An avoidance space is provided at the top of the transition plate near its inner side.

[0011] In the above water heater, optionally, the distance between the top end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate is 2.8 mm to 3.2 mm, and the distance between the bottom end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate is 1.8 mm to 2.2 mm.

[0012] In the above water heater, optionally, the top surface of the transition plate is provided with an inclined surface extending inwardly thereof to define the avoidance space.

[0013] In the above water heater, optionally, a first mounting portion is provided in the open groove, the first mounting portion is connected to the side plate, and a second mounting portion adapted to be mounted on the first mounting portion is provided on the inner side of the plastic part;

[0014] The first mounting portion has an abutting surface substantially parallel to the outer surface of the side plate, and the inner side of the vertical plate relative to the abutting surface is provided with a first adjustment positioning rib for cooperating with the abutting surface.

[0015] In the above water heater, optionally, a screw column is provided on the second mounting part, a connecting hole is opened on the first mounting part at a position relative to the threaded column, and a screw member passes through the connecting hole and the screw column in sequence to connect the plastic part and the metal surface shell.

[0016] In the above water heater, optionally, the interval between the inner side of the vertical plate and the bottom surface of the accommodating groove is X1, and the interval between the bottom of the screw column and the first mounting portion is X2, wherein X1=0.1㎜~0.3㎜, X2=X1+(0.2~0.3)㎜.

[0017] In the above water heater, optionally, a clearance space is provided at the top of the transverse plate near the inner side thereof.

[0018] In the above water heater, optionally, the top surface of the transverse plate has a chamfer extending toward the inner side surface thereof, and the chamfer is defined as the clearance space.

[0019] In the above-mentioned water heater, optionally, the thickness of the horizontal plate is h, the distance between the top surface of the horizontal plate and the top side wall of the accommodating groove is d1, and the distance between the starting position of the chamfer on the top surface of the horizontal plate and the front side surface of the plastic part is d2, wherein d1=h-(0.8~1)㎜, d2=0.1㎜~0.3㎜.

[0020] In the above-mentioned water heater, optionally, a snap-in is provided on the panel through the middle bottom of the accommodating groove, a first inward-bending bend is provided along the edge of the snap-in, a second inward-bending bend is provided on the inner side surface of the horizontal plate and is inserted into the snap-in, a plurality of buckles are provided at intervals on the second bend, and the buckles are engaged with the first bend.

[0021] In the above water heater, optionally, a second adjustment positioning rib is provided at a bottom portion of the second bend located between two adjacent buckles, and the second adjustment positioning rib cooperates with and abuts against the first bend.

[0022] The water heater of the present application is provided with a flange on the connecting plate at the corner of the metal face shell, and the flange is set to a serrated structure, which can not only avoid the metal face shell from squeezing out at the corner during processing, but also avoid the mold from failing to hold down the material when bending the connecting plate, causing the flange to tilt outward, and thus causing interference when assembling the plastic parts; furthermore, an avoidance space is provided at the top of the transition plate corresponding to the connecting plate on the plastic part, close to its inner side, so that even if the flange on the metal face shell is turned outward and tilted outward, no interference will occur; not only can it ensure easy assembly, but also can ensure that the contact gap between the transition plate of the plastic part and the connecting plate of the metal face shell remains small and uniform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that these drawings are drawn only for the purpose of explaining the preferred embodiments and therefore should not be used as a limitation on the scope of the present application. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the drawings are intended only to conceptually represent the composition or structure of the described objects and may contain exaggerated displays, and the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0024] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the metal shell and the plastic parts of an embodiment of the water heater of the present application after being assembled;

[0025] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Exploded diagram of the metal cover and plastic parts;

[0026] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a metal shell in FIG.

[0027] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of part A;

[0028] Figure 5 yes Figure 4A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the metal cover with respect to its flange;

[0029] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the back structure of the metal cover;

[0030] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the back structure of the plastic part;

[0031] Figure 8 yes Figure 1 The front view of the metal cover and the plastic parts after assembly;

[0032] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 AA section view;

[0033] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of part B;

[0034] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the C portion;

[0035] Fig.12 yes Figure 8 BB section view;

[0036] Fig.13 yes Fig.12 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the D portion;

[0037] Fig.14 yes Fig.13 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of part E of FIG.

[0038] In the figure, 1. metal surface shell; 11. panel; 111. first bend; 12. side panel; 13. connecting plate; 14. accommodating groove; 141. opening groove; 142. bayonet; 15. flange; 16. first mounting portion; 161. abutment surface; 162. connecting hole; 2. plastic part; 21. horizontal plate; 211. make way space; 212. chamfer; 213. second bend; 2131. second adjustment positioning rib; 214. buckle; 22. transition plate; 221. avoidance space; 222. inclined surface; 23. vertical plate; 231. first adjustment positioning rib; 24. second mounting portion; 241. screw column; 3. screw part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The preferred embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that these descriptions are only illustrative and exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present application.

[0040] First, it should be noted that the top, bottom, upward, downward and other directions mentioned in this article are defined relative to the directions in the respective drawings, and they are relative concepts, and therefore can be changed according to different positions and different practical states. Therefore, these or other directions should not be understood as restrictive terms.

[0041] It should be noted that the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality.

[0042] In addition, it should be pointed out that any single technical feature described or implied in the embodiments of this document, or any single technical feature shown or implied in the accompanying drawings, can still be combined between these technical features (or their equivalents) to obtain other embodiments of the present application that are not directly mentioned in this document.

[0043] It should also be understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. are used herein to describe various information, but such information should not be limited to these terms, which are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, "first" information may also be referred to as "second" information, and similarly, "second" information may also be referred to as "first" information.

[0044] It should be noted that in different drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or substantially the same components.

[0045] This embodiment takes a gas water heater as an example to specifically explain the structure of the product, especially the structural improvement of the metal shell.

[0046] For details, please refer to the attached Figure 1-Figure 14 As shown, the gas water heater of this embodiment mainly includes a shell, an air supply and exhaust device, a burner, a heat exchanger, an air control device, a water control device, a water-gas linkage device, an electronic control system and other water heater functional components (wherein the water heater functional components are not specifically shown in the drawings). Among them, the shell includes a bottom shell (the bottom shell is not specifically shown in the drawings) and a metal surface shell 1 connected to the front of the bottom shell, so that an installation cavity for encapsulating the air supply and exhaust device, the burner, the heat exchanger, the air control device, the water control device, the water-gas linkage device and the electronic control system and other water heater functional components is defined between the bottom shell and the metal surface shell 1.

[0047] like Figure 1-Figure 6 As shown, the metal shell 1 of the water heater of this embodiment includes a panel 11 and side panels 12 arranged on the left and right sides of the panel 11 and extending inwardly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the panel 11, and a connecting plate 13 in the shape of a convex arc is connected between the side panels 12 and the panel 11. The panel 11, the side panels 12 and the connecting plate 13 are integrally formed parts, that is, the metal shell 1 is a sheet metal part; Figure 2-Figure 6As shown, the outer surface of the metal face shell 1 is concavely formed with a receiving groove 14, which passes through the bottom of the metal face shell 1 longitudinally, and passes through the panel 11 and the connecting plates 13 on both sides horizontally, and extends to the side plates 12 on both sides. The bottoms of the left and right ends of the receiving groove 14 are respectively penetrated by opening grooves 141, and the top side of the opening groove 141 is provided with a flange 15 extending inwardly, and the flange 15 has a serrated structure.

[0048] A plastic part 2 is matched and installed in the receiving groove 14. The outer surface of the plastic part 2 is kept flush with the outer surface of the metal shell 1. The plastic part 2 includes a horizontal plate 21 opposite to the panel 11, a transition plate 22 opposite to the connecting plate 13, and a vertical plate 23 opposite to the side plate 12. The top of the transition plate 22 is provided with an avoidance space 221 near its inner side. Figure 2 , 7 shown.

[0049] Based on the above technical solution, the flange 15 of the connecting plate 13 is set to a serrated structure, which can not only avoid the phenomenon of material extrusion at the connecting plate 13 during the processing of the metal face shell 1, but also avoid the phenomenon that the mold cannot hold the material when bending the connecting plate 13, causing the flange 15 to tilt outward, and then causing interference when assembling the plastic part 2; furthermore, by providing an avoidance space 221 at the top of the transition plate 22 near its inner side, even if the flange 15 on the metal face shell 1 is turned outward and tilted outward, no interference will occur; through the above design, not only the assembly can be guaranteed, but also the contact gap between the transition plate 22 of the plastic part 2 and the connecting plate 13 of the metal face shell 1 can be kept small and uniform.

[0050] Exemplarily, the depth of the receiving groove 14 in this embodiment is 2.5 mm to 3 mm.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present application, the specific design form of the flange 15 is as follows: Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown: the distance between the top end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate 13 is a, a=2.8mm~3.2mm, and the distance between the bottom end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate 13 is b, b=1.8mm~2.2mm.

[0052] Specifically, Figure 7 As shown, the top surface of the transition plate 22 is provided with an inclined surface 222 extending inwardly thereof to define an escape space 221; similarly, the escape space 221 may be provided in other forms, such as an arcuate surface or a groove.

[0053] In this embodiment, specifically, a first mounting portion 16 is provided in the opening groove 141, and the first mounting portion 16 is connected to the side plate 12. A second mounting portion 24 adapted to be mounted on the first mounting portion 16 is provided on the inner side of the plastic part 2; illustratively, a screw column 241 is provided on the second mounting portion 24, and a connecting hole 162 is provided on the first mounting portion 16 at a position corresponding to the threaded column. A screw member 3 passes through the connecting hole 162 and the screw column 241 in sequence to connect the plastic part 2 and the metal cover 1, as shown in FIG. Fig.10 and Fig.11 shown.

[0054] In order to prevent the plastic part 2 from shrinking, which causes the outer surface of the vertical plate 23 and the outer surface of the side plate 12 to be not in the same plane, the first mounting portion 16 has a contact surface 161 that is roughly parallel to the outer surface of the side plate 12, and the inner side of the vertical plate 23 relative to the contact surface 161 is provided with a first adjustment positioning rib 231 for cooperating with the contact surface 161; through the first adjustment positioning rib 231 and the contact surface 161, it is possible to avoid poor contact with the surface shell caused by the uneven inner surface of the vertical plate 23, and the height of the first adjustment positioning rib 231 can be adjusted according to the actual assembly situation, so as to ensure that the vertical plate 23 and the side plate 12 are matched flat.

[0055] like Fig.11 As shown, in some embodiments of the present application, the interval between the inner side of the vertical plate 23 and the bottom surface of the accommodating groove 14 is X1, and the interval between the bottom of the screw column 241 and the first mounting portion 16 is X2, wherein X1=0.1㎜~0.3㎜, X2=X1+(0.2~0.3)㎜; this can avoid interference between the screw column 241 and the panel 11 of the metal face shell 1 during assembly, resulting in excessive gap X1.

[0056] In some embodiments, in order to minimize the gap between the top of the horizontal plate 21 and the panel 11, reduce the contact area between the upper side of the plastic part 2 and the metal surface shell 1, and reduce the risk of contact interference, a clearance space 211 is provided at the top of the horizontal plate 21 near its inner side.

[0057] Exemplarily, the top surface of the transverse plate 21 has a chamfer 212 extending toward the inner side thereof, and the chamfer 212 is defined as a clearance space 211, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 and Fig.14 As shown; and the chamfer 212 can be a bevel or a rounded corner, etc.

[0058] Furthermore, in order to further reduce the risk of contact interference and ensure the assembly gap between the top of the horizontal plate 21 and the panel 11, the thickness of the horizontal plate 21 is h, the distance between the top surface of the horizontal plate 21 and the top side wall of the receiving groove 14 is d1, and the distance between the starting position of the chamfer 212 on the top surface of the horizontal plate 21 and the front side surface of the plastic part 2 is d2, wherein d1 = h-(0.8-1) mm, d2 = 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, see the attached Fig.14 .

[0059] In order to further ensure the assembly reliability of the plastic part 2, a bayonet 142 is provided through the middle bottom of the receiving groove 14 on the panel 11, and a first inwardly bent bend 111 is provided along the edge of the bayonet 142. A second inwardly bent bend 213 is provided on the inner side surface of the cross plate 21 and is inserted into the bayonet 142. A plurality of buckles 214 are provided at intervals on the second bend 213, and the buckles 214 are buckled with the first bend 111. For details, please refer to the attached Figure 2 , 7 , 10 and 13.

[0060] In the actual assembly process, since the mold parts cannot be as accurate as the drawings, the gap between the top of the horizontal plate 21 and the panel 11 may be too large or uneven. To further solve this problem, in some embodiments of the present application, such as Figure 7 As shown, a second adjustment positioning rib 2131 is provided at the bottom side portion of the second bend 213 between two adjacent buckles 214, and the second adjustment positioning rib 2131 cooperates with the first bend 111 to offset each other; during the assembly process, the height of the second adjustment positioning rib 2131 can be increased to reduce the gap value between the top of the horizontal plate 21 and the metal surface shell 1 and further ensure that the gap is uniform.

[0061] In summary, the water heater in this embodiment, by providing a flange on the connecting plate at the corner of the metal face shell, and setting the flange to a serrated structure, can not only avoid the metal face shell from squeezing out at the corner during processing, but also avoid the mold from failing to hold down the material when bending the connecting plate, causing the flange to tilt outward, and thus causing interference when assembling the plastic parts; furthermore, by providing an avoidance space at the top of the transition plate corresponding to the connecting plate on the plastic part, close to its inner side, even if the flange on the metal face shell is turned outward and tilted outward, interference will not occur; not only can it ensure easy assembly, but also can ensure that the contact gap between the transition plate of the plastic part and the connecting plate of the metal face shell remains small and uniform.

[0062] This specification discloses the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings, and also enables those skilled in the art to implement the present application, including making and using any device or system, using suitable materials, and using any combined method. The scope of the present application is defined by the technical solution for protection, and includes other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. As long as such other examples include structural elements that are not different from the literal language of the technical solution for protection, or such other examples contain equivalent structural elements that are not substantially different from the literal language of the technical solution for protection, such other examples should be considered to be within the scope of protection determined by the technical solution for protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A water heater, characterized in that: include: A housing, the housing comprising a bottom housing and a metal surface housing, the metal surface housing being connected to the front of the bottom housing and defining a mounting cavity between the metal surface housing and the bottom housing; and a water heater functional component, which is arranged in the installation cavity; The metal cover comprises a panel and side panels arranged on the left and right sides of the panel and extending inwardly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the panel, a connecting plate in an outwardly convex arc shape is connected between the side panels and the panel, and the panel, the side panels and the connecting plate are an integrally formed part; The outer surface of the metal shell is concavely formed with a receiving groove, the receiving groove longitudinally penetrates the bottom of the metal shell, the receiving groove transversely penetrates the panel and the connecting plates on both sides, and extends to the side plates on both sides, the bottom of the left and right ends of the receiving groove are penetrated by an open groove, the top side of the open groove is provided with a flange extending inward, and the flange is a serrated structure; A plastic part is matched and installed in the accommodating groove, and the outer surface of the plastic part is kept flush with the outer surface of the metal surface shell. The plastic part includes a horizontal plate opposite to the panel, a transition plate opposite to the connecting plate, and a vertical plate opposite to the side plate. An avoidance space is provided at the top of the transition plate near its inner side.

2. The water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between the top end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate is 2.8 mm to 3.2 mm, and the distance between the bottom end of the sawtooth structure and the outer surface of the connecting plate is 1.8 mm to 2.2 mm.

3. The water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top surface of the transition plate is provided with an inclined surface extending inwardly thereof to define the escape space.

4. The water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first mounting portion is provided in the opening groove, the first mounting portion is connected to the side plate, and a second mounting portion adapted to be mounted on the first mounting portion is provided on the inner side of the plastic part; The first mounting portion has an abutting surface substantially parallel to the outer surface of the side plate, and the inner side of the vertical plate relative to the abutting surface is provided with a first adjustment positioning rib for cooperating with the abutting surface.

5. The water heater according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second mounting portion is provided with a screw column, and the first mounting portion is provided with a connecting hole at a position relative to the screw column. A screw member passes through the connecting hole and the screw column in sequence to connect the plastic member and the metal cover.

6. The water heater according to claim 5, characterized in that: The distance between the inner side of the vertical plate and the bottom surface of the receiving groove is X1, and the distance between the bottom of the screw column and the first mounting portion is X2, wherein X1=0.1mm-0.3mm, and X2=X1+(0.2-0.3)mm.

7. The water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that: A clearance space is arranged at the top of the transverse plate near the inner side thereof.

8. The water heater according to claim 7, characterized in that: The top surface of the transverse plate has a chamfer extending toward the inner side surface thereof, and the chamfer defines the clearance space.

9. The water heater according to claim 8, characterized in that: The thickness of the transverse plate is h, the distance between the top surface of the transverse plate and the top side wall of the accommodating groove is d1, and the distance between the starting position of the chamfer on the top surface of the transverse plate and the front side surface of the plastic part is d2, wherein d1=h-(0.8~1)㎜, d2=0.1㎜~0.3㎜.

10. The water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that A snap-in slot is provided on the panel at the middle bottom of the accommodating groove, a first inward-bending bend is provided along the edge of the snap-in slot, a second inward-bending bend is provided on the inner side surface of the horizontal plate and is inserted into the snap-in slot, a plurality of buckles are provided at intervals on the second bend, and the buckles are buckled with the first bend.

11. The water heater according to claim 10, characterized in that A second adjustment positioning rib is provided at a bottom portion of the second bend between two adjacent buckles, and the second adjustment positioning rib cooperates with and abuts against the first bend.

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