Flow control structure and electric faucet

Abstract

The application relates to the field of electric water taps, in particular to a flow control structure and an electric water tap. The electric water tap comprises a water inlet pipe, an electric water valve and a flow meter, the water inlet pipe is vertically arranged, the water inlet pipe and the electric water valve are transversely arranged side by side and are communicated with each other, the top of the electric water valve is provided with a valve outlet, the valve outlet is communicated with the flow meter, the flow meter is installed on the top of the electric water valve, and the top of the flow meter is provided with a flow meter outlet. The flow control structure provided by the application has the advantages of small transverse size, and the electric water tap has the advantages of small radial size of the first tubular shell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electric water faucets, and in particular to a flow control structure and an electric water faucet. Background Technology

[0002] Miniaturization is one of the current hot research and development directions in the field of electric water faucets. The housing of an electric water faucet includes a vertically arranged first tubular housing and a horizontally arranged second tubular housing. The radial dimension of the first tubular housing is mainly limited by the size of the flow meter and the water valve.

[0003] The invention disclosed in CN215806657U is a patent of the applicant concerning an automatic throttle valve, comprising: a housing, a valve core, a motor, a flow sensor rotor, a first Hall element, a second Hall element, and a positioning magnet. The housing is provided with an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and a valve core cavity. In use, the motor drives a moving plate to rotate, and the motor's output shaft, during rotation, drives the positioning magnet to rotate. The second Hall element senses the position of the positioning magnet, thereby determining the rotation amplitude of the motor's output shaft. Under normal circumstances, the first Hall element, in conjunction with the flow sensor rotor, obtains the water flow rate in the inlet pipe in real time, thereby controlling the timing of the motor opening the valve core as needed.

[0004] The aforementioned automatic throttling valve is applicable to the field of electric water faucets. In the existing technology of electric water valves, the size of the motor and the size of the flow meter cannot be significantly reduced. Excessively reducing the size of the flow meter will affect the accuracy of the flow meter, and excessively reducing the size of the motor will result in insufficient output power of the motor.

[0005] Therefore, existing technology needs to be improved to further reduce the radial or lateral dimensions of the first tubular housing of the electric water heater. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention aims to provide a flow control structure with small radial or lateral dimensions; and to provide an electric water faucet with a small radial or lateral dimension of its first tubular housing.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve the problem is: a flow control structure.

[0008] It includes an inlet pipe, an electric water valve, and a flow meter. The electric water valve includes a vertically arranged actuator motor and a valve body located on top of the actuator motor. The inlet pipe is vertically arranged and arranged horizontally side by side with the electric water valve. The inlet pipe is connected to the valve body. The valve body has a valve outlet at the top, which is connected to the flow meter. The flow meter is installed on the top of the valve body and has a flow meter outlet at the top.

[0009] The actuator motor is used to drive the valve body to open or close, thereby controlling the amount of water flowing into the flow meter from the inlet pipe. The flow meter outlet is used to output water at a specific flow rate.

[0010] The inventive point of this invention lies in placing the actuator motor at the bottom of the valve body, the inlet pipe beside the electric water valve, and the flow meter at the top of the valve body. The maximum lateral dimension of this flow control structure is the lateral dimension of the entire structure formed by the electric water valve and the inlet pipe, or the lateral dimension of the flow meter. Its structure is very compact and occupies very little space.

[0011] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, it also includes a vertically arranged cold water pipe. The valve outlet includes a first valve outlet and a second valve outlet. The first valve outlet is connected to the cold water pipe, and the second valve outlet is connected to the flow meter. The flow meter and the cold water pipe are arranged horizontally side by side. The valve body also includes a moving valve plate assembly, a fixed valve plate assembly, and an upper valve housing and a lower valve housing that are sealed to each other. The fixed valve plate assembly is installed at the bottom of the upper valve housing. The fixed valve plate assembly has a cold water hole that communicates with the cold water pipe and a water passage hole. The flow meter includes a lower flow meter housing and an upper flow meter housing that are sealed to each other. The lower flow meter housing has a guide channel that communicates with the water passage hole. The lower valve housing has a mounting cavity with a top opening. The moving valve plate assembly and the fixed valve plate assembly are both located in the mounting cavity. The output end of the actuator motor is located in the mounting cavity. The output end of the actuator motor is connected to the moving valve plate assembly and drives the moving valve plate assembly to rotate in the horizontal plane.

[0012] Since the valve outlet is located at the top of the valve body, the cold water pipe is also actually installed at the top of the valve body. Adding the cold water pipe will not increase the lateral dimension of the valve body. By setting the overall lateral dimension of the assembly consisting of the flow meter and the cold water pipe to be no greater than the lateral dimension of the assembly consisting of the electric valve and the inlet pipe, the maximum lateral dimension of the flow control structure can be controlled so that it does not increase due to the addition of the cold water pipe.

[0013] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the upper valve housing, the lower flow meter housing, and the cold water pipe are integrally formed; the flow meter outlet is located on the upper flow meter housing. The components consisting of the upper valve housing, the lower flow meter housing, and the cold water pipe are used to install other parts of the valve body and other parts of the flow meter. The lateral dimensions of the valve body and the flow meter can be well controlled according to the dimensions of the components consisting of the upper valve housing, the lower flow meter housing, and the cold water pipe.

[0014] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, a water valve inlet is provided on the side wall of the lower valve housing, and the outlet end of the water inlet pipe is located on the side wall of the water inlet pipe, with the outlet end of the water inlet pipe being sealed to the water valve inlet; the actuator motor includes a cylindrical body and a terminal block located beside the body, both of which are in contact with the water inlet pipe; a mounting base is provided at the bottom of the water inlet pipe, and the water inlet pipe and the mounting base are integrally formed, with the actuator motor mounted on top of the mounting base. In this technical solution, the maximum lateral dimension of the component consisting of the electric water valve and the water inlet pipe is the maximum lateral dimension of the electric water valve.

[0015] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, an inlet water temperature sensor is also included. The inlet water temperature sensor is mounted on the inlet pipe and partially extends into the inlet pipe. The inlet water temperature sensor is positioned above the terminal block. Both the inlet water temperature sensor and the terminal block require electrical wires; therefore, arranging them vertically facilitates wire connection.

[0016] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the guide channel is inclined upwards; the flow meter also includes a water tank with an upward-opening water trough and blades disposed in the water tank; the blades are rotatably connected to the water tank, and a guide block is provided on the outer wall of the water tank, the guide block being disposed above the guide channel and in the same direction of inclination as the guide channel; the side wall of the water tank is provided with a water tank inlet hole at an acute angle to the thickness direction of the side wall of the water tank, the rotation direction of the water tank inlet hole being the same as the rotation direction of the guide channel, and there are multiple water tank inlet holes, which are evenly distributed on the side wall of the water tank. The blades can be planar blades or turbine blades. Water in the guide channel enters the flow meter at an inclination and enters the water tank at an inclination from the water tank inlet hole to drive the blades to rotate, which can improve the accuracy of the flow meter.

[0017] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, a first Hall element is installed on the lower valve housing, positioned above the main body and next to the inlet water temperature sensor. A permanent magnet cooperating with the first Hall element is provided on the output shaft of the actuator motor. The first Hall element assists in resetting the actuator motor.

[0018] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, a second Hall element is installed on the top of the flow meter's upper housing, and a heating tube mounting base is also included. The heating tube mounting base is fixedly installed on the top of the flow meter, positioned above the second Hall element. The cold water pipeline and the flow meter outlet are respectively located on the left and right sides of the heating tube mounting base. A permanent magnet is provided on the blade to cooperate with the second Hall element. The second Hall element is used to collect the flow meter's revolutions.

[0019] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, a notch is provided on the upper housing of the flow meter, the notch being used to avoid the cold water pipe.

[0020] This invention also provides an electric water faucet:

[0021] It includes a flow control structure and a housing. The housing includes a vertically arranged first tubular housing and a horizontally arranged second tubular housing. The second tubular housing is installed at the upper end of the first tubular housing, and the flow control structure is disposed in the first tubular housing.

[0022] As a further improvement to the above technical solution, the top of the second tubular housing is provided with an installation window, which is used to set up an operation panel.

[0023] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0024] The maximum lateral dimension of the flow control structure of the present invention is the maximum width of the assembly consisting of the electric water valve and the inlet pipe, or the maximum width of the flow meter. This flow control structure has the advantages of compact structure and small lateral dimension.

[0025] The first tubular housing of the electric water faucet of the present invention has a small radial or lateral dimension. The small radial or lateral dimension of the first tubular housing is very beneficial to the electric water faucet, which can adapt to more installation scenarios. If the first tubular housing is made of plastic, the mold size and mold cost can also be reduced. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0027] Figure 1 A perspective view of the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The exploded 3D view shown;

[0029] Figure 3 A top view of the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the AA direction;

[0031] Figure 5 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the BB direction;

[0032] Figure 6 A bottom view of the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the CC direction;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the inlet pipe and mounting base in the flow control structure provided by the present invention.

[0035] Figure 9 A perspective view of the upper valve housing, the lower housing of the flow meter, and the cold water pipe from a slightly lower angle in the flow control structure provided by this invention;

[0036] Figure 10 A perspective view of the upper valve housing, the lower housing of the flow meter, and the cold water pipe from an oblique angle above in the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11 A perspective view of the water tank in the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0038] Figure 12 A perspective view of the constant valve plate assembly in the flow control structure provided by the present invention;

[0039] Figure 13 A perspective view of an electric water faucet provided for the present invention;

[0040] Figure 14 A cross-sectional view of the electric water faucet provided by the present invention.

[0041] In the picture:

[0042] 11. Water inlet pipe; 111. Water outlet; 12. Mounting base;

[0043] 2. Electric water valve; 21. Upper valve body; 211. First valve outlet; 212. Second valve outlet; 22. Lower valve body; 221. Water valve inlet; 222. Mounting cavity; 23. Actuator motor; 231. Body; 232. Terminal block; 24. Moving valve plate assembly; 25. Fixed valve plate assembly; 251. Cold water hole; 252. Water passage hole;

[0044] 3. Flow meter; 31. Flow meter lower housing; 32. Flow meter upper housing; 321. Notch; 322. Flow meter outlet; 313. Guide channel; 33. Water tank; 331. Water tank inlet; 332. Guide block; 34. Blade;

[0045] 4. Cold water pipe;

[0046] 5. Inlet water temperature sensor; 6. First Hall element; 7. Second Hall element; 8. Heating element mounting base;

[0047] 9. Outer shell; 91. First tubular shell; 92. Second tubular shell; 93. Mounting window. Detailed Implementation

[0048] This section will describe in detail specific embodiments of the present invention. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. The purpose of the drawings is to supplement the textual description with graphics, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and overall technical solution of the present invention, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0049] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the orientation descriptions, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0050] In the description of this invention, "several" means one or more, "multiple" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," and "exceeding" are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the stated number. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is merely for distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, the number of indicated technical features, or the order of the indicated technical features. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of these terms in this invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0051] Reference Figures 1 to 12 A flow control structure;

[0052] Reference Figure 8 It includes an integrally formed water inlet pipe 11 and mounting base 12. The water inlet pipe 11 is vertically arranged, and the water outlet 111 of the water inlet pipe 11 is located on the side wall of the water inlet pipe 11. (Refer to...) Figure 1 and Figure 7 It also includes an inlet water temperature sensor 5, which is installed on the inlet pipe 11 and partially extends into the inlet pipe 11. The inlet water temperature sensor 5 is used to detect the water temperature in the inlet pipe 11; see reference. Figure 5 The inlet water temperature sensor 5 is located above the terminal block 232.

[0053] Reference Figure 2The electric water valve 2 includes an upper valve housing 21 and a lower valve housing 22 that are sealed to each other. The electric water valve 2 also includes an actuator motor 23, a moving valve plate assembly 24, and a fixed valve plate assembly 25. The output shaft of the actuator motor 23 is provided with a permanent magnet. The actuator motor 23 can be a stepper motor or a servo motor, etc. The fixed valve plate assembly 25 is installed at the bottom of the upper valve housing 21. The lower valve housing 22 has a mounting cavity 222 with a top opening. The moving valve plate assembly 24 and the fixed valve plate assembly 25 are both located in the mounting cavity 222. The output end of the actuator motor 23 is located in the mounting cavity 222. The output end of the actuator motor 23 is connected to the moving valve plate assembly 24 and drives the moving valve plate assembly 24 to rotate in the horizontal plane.

[0054] Reference Figure 2 The lower valve housing 22 has a water valve inlet 221 on its side wall, and the outlet end 111 of the water inlet pipe 11 is sealed to the water valve inlet 221; the actuator 23 includes a cylindrical body 231 and a terminal block 232 located beside the body 231; see reference. Figure 1 The main body 231 and the terminal block 232 are both attached to the water inlet pipe 11; the actuator 23 is mounted on the top of the mounting base 12.

[0055] Reference Figure 9 The electric water valve 2 has a first valve outlet 211 and a second valve outlet 212 at its top. The first valve outlet 211 is connected to the cold water pipe 4, which is vertically arranged. The second valve outlet 212 is connected to the flow meter 3.

[0056] Reference Figure 12 The fixed valve plate assembly 25 is provided with a cold water hole 251, which is connected to the first valve outlet 211 and the cold water pipe 4. The fixed valve plate assembly 25 is also provided with a water passage hole 252. The flow meter lower housing 31 is provided with a guide channel 313 that is connected to the water passage hole 252 and the guide channel 313 is connected to the second valve outlet 212. The guide channel 313 is inclined upward. The flow meter 3 also includes a water tank 33 with an upward opening and blades 34 disposed in the water tank 33. The blades 34 can also be made of... The turbine achieves a similar effect to the blades, and the blades 34 are equipped with permanent magnets. The blades 34 are rotatably connected to the water tank 33. The outer wall of the water tank 33 is provided with a guide block 332, which is located above the guide channel 313 and is inclined in the same direction as the guide channel 313. The side wall of the water tank 33 is provided with a water tank inlet hole 331, which forms an acute angle with the thickness direction of the side wall of the water tank 33. The rotation direction of the water tank inlet hole 331 is consistent with the rotation direction of the guide channel 313.

[0057] Reference Figure 2The flow meter 3 includes a lower flow meter housing 31 and an upper flow meter housing 32 that are sealed to each other; the upper valve housing 21, the lower flow meter housing 31, and the cold water pipe 4 are integrally formed; the flow meter outlet 322 is located on the upper flow meter housing 32, and the upper flow meter housing 32 is provided with a notch 321, which is used to avoid the cold water pipe 4.

[0058] A first Hall element 6 is mounted on the lower valve housing 22, positioned above the main body 231 and beside the inlet water temperature sensor 5. A second Hall element 7 is mounted on the top of the flow meter upper housing 32. The flow meter also includes a heating tube mounting base 8, which is fixedly mounted on the top of the flow meter 3, positioned above the second Hall element 7. The cold water pipe 4 and the flow meter outlet are located on the left and right sides of the heating tube mounting base 8, respectively.

[0059] Regarding the first Hall element 6, it is used to sense the rotation amplitude of the output shaft of the actuator motor 23. When the power is interrupted and restarted, if the positioning magnet is not in the specified position, the first Hall element 6 will continuously send signals to the control center, thereby driving the output shaft of the actuator motor 23 to rotate until the positioning magnet moves to the specified position, thus completing the reset after the power failure. The second Hall element 7 is used in conjunction with the flow sensor rotor to obtain the water flow rate in the inlet pipe 1 in real time.

[0060] Reference Figures 13 to 14 An electric water faucet includes a flow control structure and a housing 9. The housing 9 includes a vertically arranged first tubular housing 91 and a horizontally arranged second tubular housing 92. The second tubular housing 92 is installed at the upper end of the first tubular housing 91, and the flow control structure is disposed in the first tubular housing 91.

[0061] The second tubular housing 92 has a mounting window 93 on its top, which is used to set up an operation panel.

[0062] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings under the inventive concept of the present invention, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flow control structure comprising a water inlet pipe, an electric water valve and a flow meter, characterized in that: the electric water valve comprises an execution motor arranged vertically and a valve body arranged on the top of the execution motor, the water inlet pipe is arranged vertically and transversely beside the electric water valve, and the water inlet pipe is communicated with the valve body; the top of the valve body is provided with a valve outlet, the valve outlet is communicated with the flow meter, and the flow meter is arranged on the top of the valve body; the top of the flow meter is provided with a flow meter outlet; further comprising a cold water pipe arranged vertically, the valve outlet comprises a first valve outlet and a second valve outlet, the first valve outlet is communicated with the cold water pipe, and the second valve outlet is communicated with the flow meter, and the flow meter is arranged transversely beside the cold water pipe; the valve body comprises an upper valve shell and a lower valve shell which are sealed and connected with each other, and the valve body further comprises a movable valve plate assembly and a fixed valve plate assembly, the fixed valve plate assembly is arranged on the bottom of the upper valve shell, the fixed valve plate assembly is provided with a cold water hole communicated with the cold water pipe, and the fixed valve plate assembly is further provided with a water passing hole; the flow meter comprises a flow meter lower shell and a flow meter upper shell which are sealed and connected with each other, and the flow meter lower shell is provided with a guide channel communicated with the water passing hole; the lower valve shell is provided with an installation cavity with an open top, the movable valve plate assembly and the fixed valve plate assembly are arranged in the installation cavity, the output end of the execution motor is arranged in the installation cavity, and the output end of the execution motor is drivingly connected with the movable valve plate assembly and drives the movable valve plate assembly to rotate in a horizontal plane; the overall transverse dimension of the assembly of the flow meter and the cold water pipe is not greater than the transverse dimension of the assembly of the electric valve and the water inlet pipe.

2. The flow control structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: the upper valve shell, the flow meter lower shell and the cold water pipe are integrally formed, and the flow meter outlet is arranged on the flow meter upper shell.

3. The flow control structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: the side wall of the lower valve shell is provided with a water valve inlet, the outlet end of the water inlet pipe is arranged on the side wall of the water inlet pipe, and the outlet end of the water inlet pipe is sealingly connected with the water valve inlet; the execution motor comprises a cylindrical body and a terminal seat arranged on the side of the body, and the body and the terminal seat are attached to the water inlet pipe; the bottom of the water inlet pipe is provided with a mounting seat, the water inlet pipe and the mounting seat are integrally formed, and the execution motor is arranged on the top of the mounting seat.

4. The flow control structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: further comprising a water inlet temperature sensor, the water inlet temperature sensor is arranged on the water inlet pipe, the water inlet temperature sensor partially extends into the water inlet pipe, and the water inlet temperature sensor is arranged above the terminal seat.

5. The flow control structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: the guide channel is arranged obliquely upward; the flow meter further comprises a water tank arranged obliquely upward and a blade arranged in the water tank, the blade is rotationally connected with the water tank, the outer wall of the water tank is provided with a guide block, the guide block is arranged above the guide channel and is consistent with the oblique direction of the guide channel. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The side wall of the sink is provided with a sink water inlet hole with an acute angle with the thickness direction of the side wall of the sink, the rotation direction of the sink water inlet hole is consistent with the rotation direction of the guide channel, the number of the sink water inlet holes is multiple, and the sink water inlet holes are uniformly distributed on the side wall of the sink.

6. The flow control structure of claim 5, wherein: The top of the flowmeter upper shell is provided with a second Hall element, and further comprises a heating pipe mounting seat fixedly installed on the top of the flowmeter, the heating pipe mounting seat being arranged above the second Hall element, the cold water pipeline and the flowmeter outlet being respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the heating pipe mounting seat, and the vane being provided with a permanent magnet matched with the second Hall element.

7. The flow control structure of claim 1, wherein: The flowmeter upper shell is provided with a notch for avoiding the cold water pipe.

8. An electric heating faucet, comprising the flow control structure according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein: Further comprising a shell, the shell comprising a first tubular shell arranged vertically and a second tubular shell arranged horizontally, the second tubular shell being installed at the upper end of the first tubular shell, and the flow control structure being arranged in the first tubular shell.

9. The electric heating faucet of claim 8, wherein: The top of the second tubular shell is provided with a mounting window for arranging an operation panel.

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