Water tank with flow guide structure and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a water tank with a flow-guiding structure, including a tank body and an extension edge disposed on the outer edge of the upper end of the tank body. The inner cavity of the tank body has at least a flow-guiding layer on its bottom surface. The flow-guiding layer is formed by a plurality of spaced-apart flow-guiding structures. Each flow-guiding structure is at least one of the following: nipple-like protrusions, nipple-like patterns, nipple-like lines, a spherical cap, an ellipsoidal cap, a hemisphere, or a semi-ellipsoid. Adjacent flow-guiding structures form a flow-guiding zone. The cross-section of each flow-guiding structure is curved, with a slope of 20-70 degrees at the bottom. Compared with the prior art, this invention provides a water tank with a flow-guiding structure. The curved cross-section of the flow-guiding structure forms a valley peak between the bottom surface of the water tank, allowing air to fill. This creates an air cushion that supports water / oil, reducing the contact area between the water / oil and the bottom surface of the tank, facilitating the flow of water / oil. It also replaces the cylindrical or elliptical raised texture of existing embossed water tanks.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2023103348129, filed on March 31, 2023, entitled “Water Tank and Method of Manufacturing Water Tank”, the disclosure of which is considered to be part of the disclosure of this application, and the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to the field of water tanks, and in particular to a water tank with a flow guiding structure and a method for manufacturing the water tank. Background Technology

[0004] Kitchen sinks are essential household hardware products, used most frequently among all kitchen utensils. They are used for washing hands, cleaning food, washing dishes, and soaking vegetables and meats. To improve the scratch resistance of sinks, embossed sinks have appeared on the market. These sinks have several regularly arranged vertical raised textures (cylindrical or elliptical cylinders) on the bottom surface. The manufacturing process of these embossed sinks includes sheet material processing and metal processing. Sheet material processing includes embossing, leveling, polishing, laminating, cutting, and laser cutting. Metal processing includes sheet bending, cutting and welding, and panel and frame assembly to create the shaped sink. Then, the shaped sink is polished and brushed to become the finished product. However, because the texture is vertically raised relative to the bottom of the sink, water can easily remain at the junction of the texture and the bottom of the sink, resulting in poor drainage. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a water tank with a flow guiding structure. It uses nipple points, nipple patterns, nipple lines, spherical caps, ellipsoidal caps, hemispheres, and semi-ellipsoids as flow guiding structures. The flow guiding structure with a curved cross-section forms a valley peak between itself and the bottom surface of the water tank, which can be filled with air. This forms an air cushion that supports water / oil, reduces the contact area between water / oil and the bottom surface of the water tank, facilitates the flow of water / oil, improves the drainage effect of the water tank, and replaces the cylindrical or elliptical cylindrical raised texture of existing embossed water tanks.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A water tank with a flow guiding structure includes a tank body and an extension edge disposed on the outer edge of the upper end of the tank body. The inner cavity of the tank body is provided with a flow guiding layer at least on the bottom surface. The flow guiding layer is formed by a number of spaced flow guiding structures. The flow guiding structure is at least one of the following: nipple, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical cap, ellipsoidal cap, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. A flow guiding zone is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures. The cross-section of the flow guiding structure is a curved surface, and the slope of the bottom of the curved surface is 20-70 degrees.

[0008] Compared with the prior art, the water tank with a flow guiding structure of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0009] (1) In this invention, the flow guiding structure is at least one of the following: nipple point, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical cap, ellipsoidal cap, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. A valley peak that can be filled with air is formed between the bottom and top of the above flow guiding structure, thereby forming a large number of interconnected air cushions in the flow guiding layer. The contact position between the water / oil and the flow guiding structure is only the top of the flow guiding structure, so that the flow guiding structure supports the water / oil, so that the water / oil is in the form of droplets. This avoids the water / oil from spreading out and adhering to the flow guiding structure to wet the inner wall of the entire tank, which would restrict the flow speed of the water / oil, thereby increasing the flow speed of the water / oil located in the flow guiding layer.

[0010] (2) A flow guiding zone is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures, which can converge the water / oil on the flow guiding layer, so that the water / oil can converge together along the flow guiding zone. On the one hand, it avoids the dispersion of water / oil, thereby reducing the cleaning difficulty of the water tank and improving the dryness of the water tank. On the other hand, it is known that there is an attraction between hydrogen bonds between water molecules and oil molecules. After the water / oil on the flow guiding layer is converged together, the water / oil that is converged at the back can flow along the movement path of the water / oil that is converged at the front and be discharged out of the tank.

[0011] (3) Since water / oil exists in the flow layer in the form of droplets, it causes water / oil to move in a rolling manner. It is known that water molecules have an attraction to solute particles. When water / oil flows, it can adsorb impurities (dust, food residue, pesticide residue, etc.) on the flow layer, thereby achieving self-cleaning of the flow layer.

[0012] (4) The cross-section of the flow guiding structure is curved and the slope of the bottom is 20-70 degrees, which can reduce the resistance force of the flow guiding structure to the fluid, avoid the flow guiding structure from generating excessive turbulence to the fluid, and avoid water residue.

[0013] (5) The present invention has high hardness, is not easily scratched during daily use, is not easily deformed, and is not easily dented when hit by hard objects. It also has high hydrophobicity and oleophobicity.

[0014] Furthermore, the depth of the flow guiding structure is 5-80 micrometers, and the distance between adjacent flow guiding structures is 10 micrometers-2 millimeters.

[0015] The above-mentioned setting of the distance between adjacent flow guiding structures can avoid the situation where the liquid fills the gaps between adjacent flow guiding structures and cannot fill the valleys that are available for air filling due to the excessive distance between adjacent flow guiding structures. In addition, the setting of the depth of the flow guiding structure can reduce the processing difficulty of the flow guiding structure. Excessive depth will affect the texture and aesthetics of the flow guiding structure, and too deep will trap dirt, while too shallow will result in poor flow guiding effect.

[0016] Furthermore, the four side walls of the inner cavity of the tank are provided with flow guiding layers.

[0017] The above configuration can prevent fluid from adhering to the four side walls of the tank cavity, thereby reducing the difficulty of cleaning the tank.

[0018] Furthermore, the outer edge of the flow guiding structure is curved.

[0019] The above configuration allows water / oil to flow along the outer edge of the guide structure in a parabolic or cycloid (brachistochrone) trajectory, thereby increasing the flow velocity of water / oil.

[0020] Furthermore, a covering film is provided on the outer side of the flow guiding layer, and the covering film is made of a hydrophobic and oleophobic material.

[0021] The application of a cover made of hydrophobic and oleophobic materials can further enhance the self-cleaning ability of the sink.

[0022] Furthermore, the bottom of the tank is provided with a drain hole, and the bottom of the tank is inclined toward the drain hole, so that the water can flow quickly toward the drain hole under its own weight, thereby improving the drainage efficiency of the tank.

[0023] Furthermore, the inner cavity of the tank is provided with an electroplated film formed by PVD treatment and protected by spray-oil sealing film at least on the bottom surface.

[0024] The electroplating film can improve the hydrophobic and oleophobic effect of the tank cavity.

[0025] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned water tank with a flow guiding structure, comprising:

[0026] Embossing texture treatment: Using a roller press and mold, the raw material sheet is physically extruded or rolled to create texture and enhance the hardness of the material. The texture is at least one of the following: nipple protrusions, nipple patterns, nipple lines, spherical caps, ellipsoidal caps, hemispheres, and semi-ellipsoids.

[0027] Leveling: The board material is pulled and leveled.

[0028] Polishing: The board is fed into a polishing machine for downward polishing to achieve a bright finish;

[0029] Surface treatment: pickling and passivation, cleaning and drying;

[0030] Film application: Rolling or laminating the film;

[0031] Cutting: Cutting the sheet material to the predetermined size;

[0032] Sheet metal cutting: The sheet metal is laser-cut according to the product dimensions to unfold the product sheet metal into metal parts;

[0033] Tank forming: The metal sheet is bent and the cuts on it are welded to form the tank;

[0034] Edge connection: Fit the edge frame body onto the upper side of the groove body and weld it, and grind the welded area;

[0035] Surface treatment: The surface of the tank is treated with PVD to produce a shaped water tank with a flow guiding structure.

[0036] Compared with the prior art, the manufacturing method of the water tank with the flow guiding structure of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0037] (1) Based on the original water tank processing method, the present invention adds an embossing texture processing process to the processing of water tank raw materials with flow guiding structure, and at the same time makes appropriate adjustments to the polishing process, using a specific embossing process combined with conventional manufacturing process (polishing) to produce a textured water tank.

[0038] (2) The water tank manufactured by the above method has a texture of a specific specification, wherein the texture is at least one of nipple point, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical crown, ellipsoidal crown, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. The above texture has high hydrophobicity and oleophobicity, which can reduce the difficulty of cleaning the water tank.

[0039] (3) The water tank manufactured by the above method has high scratch resistance and improved hardness (compared to the board material that has not undergone the above embossing and polishing treatment, the hardness of the board material of the present invention is increased by 5-20 Rockwell hardness), and it is not easy to deform and form a pit when hit by a hard object.

[0040] Furthermore, during the embossing process, the equipment pressure is 100-300T, the sheet conveying speed is 20-60m / min, the depth of the resulting texture is 10-80 micrometers, and the texture slope is 20-70 degrees.

[0041] Furthermore, during polishing, the conveying speed of the board is 5-50 m / min, the polishing depth is 5-30 micrometers, and the resulting texture has a gloss effect of 2-20K and a hardness of 85-195 Rockwell hardness. Attached Figure Description

[0042] Figure 1 This is an isometric view of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 2 This is a top view of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention from a first angle;

[0045] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention from a second angle;

[0046] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the flow guiding structure (with water droplets represented by spheres);

[0047] Figure 6 This is an axonometric view of the flow guiding structure (with water droplets represented by spheres, and two water droplets flowing and converging along the flow guiding region);

[0048] Figure 7 These are schematic diagrams of different types of flow guiding structures;

[0049] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the flow guiding structure;

[0050] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the flow guiding structure in Embodiment 2.

[0051] Label Explanation:

[0052] Tank body 1, extension edge 2, flow guiding structure 3, flow guiding area 4, electroplating film 5, drainage hole 6, side wall 7. Detailed Implementation

[0053] The embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0054] Example 1

[0055] See Figures 1 to 8 The water tank with a flow guiding structure in this embodiment includes a tank body 1 and an extension edge 2 disposed on the outer edge of the upper end of the tank body 1. The bottom surface of the inner side of the tank body 1 is provided with a flow guiding layer, which is formed by a plurality of spaced flow guiding structures 3. The flow guiding structures 3 are used to guide water and oil. The flow guiding structure 3 is at least one of nipple points, nipple patterns, and nipple lines. A flow guiding area 4 is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures 3.

[0056] The depth of the flow guiding structure 3 is 5-80 micrometers, and a flow guiding region 4 is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures 3. The distance between adjacent flow guiding structures 3 is 10 micrometers-2 millimeters.

[0057] The above-mentioned setting of the distance between adjacent flow guiding structures 3 can avoid the situation where the liquid fills the valley between adjacent flow guiding structures 3 and cannot be filled by air due to the excessive distance between adjacent flow guiding structures 3. In addition, the setting of the depth of the flow guiding structure 3 can reduce the processing difficulty of the flow guiding structure. Excessive depth will affect the texture and aesthetics of the flow guiding structure 3, and too deep will trap dirt, while too shallow will result in poor flow guiding effect.

[0058] See Figure 7 The figures show the shapes of the papillary points (3.1), papillary patterns (3.2), and papillary ridges (3.3). The specific shapes of the papillary points, papillary patterns, and papillary ridges are not limited to those shown in the figure. Figure 7 The shape shown in the image.

[0059] See Figure 5 The cross-section of the flow guiding structure 3 is curved, and the slope of the bottom of the curved surface is 20-70 degrees.

[0060] The above-mentioned configuration can reduce the resistance force of the flow guiding structure 3 on the fluid, avoid the flow guiding structure 3 from generating excessive turbulence on the fluid, and avoid water residue.

[0061] See Figures 1 to 2 The four side walls 7 of the inner cavity of the tank 1 are provided with flow guiding layers.

[0062] The above-mentioned arrangement can prevent fluid from adhering to the four side walls 7 of the inner cavity of the tank 1, thereby reducing the difficulty of cleaning the tank 1.

[0063] See Figure 7 and Figure 8 The outer edge of the flow guiding structure 3 is curved.

[0064] The above configuration allows water / oil to flow along the outer edge of the guide structure 3 in a parabolic or cycloid (rapidest speed curve) trajectory, thereby increasing the flow speed of water / oil.

[0065] See Figure 8 The outer edge of the flow guiding structure 3 is curve c1. In the rectangular coordinate system, the line segments from point A to point B are c1, c2 and c3. According to the steepest curve theory, the time for the substance to move from point A to point B along curve c1 is shorter than the time for the substance to move from point A to point B along curve c2 / c3.

[0066] See Figure 5The bottom surface and four side walls of the inner cavity of the tank 1 are provided with an electroplated film 5 formed by PVD treatment and protected by spraying oil sealing film.

[0067] The electroplated film 5 (film formed by physical vapor deposition or vacuum electroplating) can improve the hydrophobic and oleophobic effect of the inner cavity of the tank 1.

[0068] In one embodiment, the outer side of the flow guide layer is provided with a cover film (omitting the electroplating film), and the cover film is made of a hydrophobic, oleophobic and easy-to-clean material.

[0069] The application of a cover film made of hydrophobic and oleophobic easy-cleaning materials can further enhance the self-cleaning ability of the sink. Hydrophobic and oleophobic easy-cleaning materials are an application of existing technology.

[0070] In another embodiment, the bottom surface and four side walls of the inner cavity of the tank 1 are provided with an electroplated film 5 formed by PVD treatment and protected by spraying oil sealing film, and a covering film is provided on the electroplated film 5.

[0071] The materials used in electroplating film 5 are applications of existing technology.

[0072] In one embodiment, a hardness protection layer (not shown in the figure) is provided between the electroplated film 5 / covering film and the flow guiding layer.

[0073] The outer side of the flow guide layer is sprayed or covered with a hardness protection layer, thereby increasing the hardness of the inner side of the water tank and improving the scratch resistance of the water tank.

[0074] The hardness protection layer contains high-hardness materials, and the installation of the hardness protection layer is an application of existing technology.

[0075] The flow guiding structure 3 is integrally formed with the tank body 1, thereby improving the structural strength of the flow guiding structure 3.

[0076] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 The bottom of the tank 1 is provided with a drain hole 6, and the bottom of the tank 1 is inclined toward the drain hole 6, so that the water can flow quickly toward the drain hole 6 under its own weight, thereby improving the drainage efficiency of the tank.

[0077] The tank 1 is made of stainless steel.

[0078] In another embodiment, the tank 1 can be made of an alloy plate with hydrophobic and oleophobic properties, or the tank 1 can be made of a metal plate with intermolecularly embedded or modified hydrophobic and oleophobic materials. In the other embodiments described above, the electroplating film 5 and / or the covering film on the plate can be omitted, or the electroplating film 5 and / or the covering film can be provided on the plate to further improve the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties of the flow guiding structure 3.

[0079] The hardness of the groove is 85-195 Rockwell hardness.

[0080] Compared with the prior art, the water tank of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0081] (1) In this invention, the flow guiding structure 3 is at least one of the following: nipple point, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical cap, ellipsoidal cap, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. The bottom and top of the flow guiding structure 3 form a valley peak that can be filled with air, thereby forming a large number of interconnected air cushions in the flow guiding layer. This makes the contact position between the water / oil and the flow guiding structure 3 only the top of the flow guiding structure 3, so that the flow guiding structure 3 can support the water / oil, so that the water / oil is in the form of droplets. This avoids the water / oil from spreading out and adhering to the flow guiding structure 3 to wet the inner wall of the entire tank 1, which would restrict the flow speed of the water / oil, thereby increasing the flow speed of the water / oil located in the flow guiding layer.

[0082] (2) A flow guiding zone 4 is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures 3, which can converge the water / oil on the flow guiding layer, so that the water / oil can converge together along the flow guiding zone 4. On the one hand, it avoids the dispersion of water / oil, thereby reducing the cleaning difficulty of the water tank and improving the dryness of the water tank. On the other hand, it is known that there is an attraction between hydrogen bonds between water molecules and oil molecules. After the water / oil on the flow guiding layer is converged together, the water / oil that is converged at the back can flow along the movement path of the water / oil that is converged at the front and be discharged outside the tank 1.

[0083] (3) Since water / oil exists in the flow layer in the form of droplets, it causes water / oil to move in a rolling manner. It is known that water molecules have an attraction to solute particles. When water / oil flows, it can adsorb impurities (dust, food residue, pesticide residue, etc.) on the flow layer, thereby achieving self-cleaning of the flow layer.

[0084] (4) The water tank of the present invention has high hardness, is not easily scratched during daily use, is not easily deformed, and is not easily dented when hit by hard objects. It also has high hydrophobicity and oleophobicity.

[0085] (5) The setting of the edge 2 makes it easy for users to install the sink onto the countertop and to fill the space between the edge 2 and the countertop with adhesive to fix the sink.

[0086] Example 2

[0087] See Figure 9 The only difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the flow guiding structure 3 is one of a spherical cap, an ellipsoidal cap, a hemisphere, or a semi-ellipsoidal body.

[0088] A spherical cap is the portion of a sphere remaining after its non-central region is cut off by a plane; an ellipsoidal cap is the portion of an ellipsoid remaining after its non-central region is cut off by a plane; a hemisphere is the portion of a sphere remaining after its central region is cut off by a plane; a semi-ellipsoid is the portion of an ellipsoid remaining after its central region is cut off by a plane.

[0089] Example 3

[0090] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a water tank with a flow guiding structure as described in Embodiments 1 and 2 above, comprising:

[0091] Embossing texture processing: Using a roller press and mold, the raw material board is physically extruded or rolled to create texture and enhance the hardness of the material. The equipment pressure for creating the texture is 100-300T, the board conveying speed is 20-60m / min, the depth of the texture is 10-80 micrometers, and the slope of the texture is 20-70 degrees.

[0092] Leveling: The board material is pulled and leveled.

[0093] Polishing: The board is fed into a polishing machine for downward polishing to achieve a bright finish. The board conveying speed during polishing is 5-50m / min, the polishing depth is 5-30 micrometers, and the resulting texture achieves a gloss effect of 2-20K with a hardness of 85-195 Rockwell hardness.

[0094] Surface treatment: pickling and passivation, cleaning and drying;

[0095] Film application: Rolling or laminating the film;

[0096] Cutting: Cutting the sheet material to the predetermined size;

[0097] Sheet metal cutting: The sheet metal is laser-cut according to the product dimensions to unfold the product sheet metal into metal parts;

[0098] Tank forming: The metal sheet is bent and the cuts on it are welded to form the tank;

[0099] Edge connection: Fit the edge frame body onto the upper side of the groove body and weld it, and grind the welded area;

[0100] Surface treatment: The surface of the tank is treated with PVD to produce a molded water tank with a flow guiding structure;

[0101] Secondary surface treatment: polishing and wire drawing.

[0102] When cleaning, you can rinse it with clean water, or rinse it with alkaline water or lime water to neutralize it.

[0103] Compared with the prior art, the method for manufacturing the water tank of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0104] (1) Based on the original water tank processing method, the present invention adds an embossing texture processing process to the water tank raw material processing process, and makes corresponding adjustments to the polishing process. By combining a specific embossing process with conventional manufacturing process (polishing), a textured water tank is manufactured.

[0105] (2) The water tank manufactured by the above method has a texture of a specific specification, wherein the texture is at least one of nipple point, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical crown, ellipsoidal crown, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. The above texture has high hydrophobicity and oleophobicity, which can reduce the difficulty of cleaning the water tank.

[0106] (3) The water tank manufactured by the above method has high scratch resistance and improved hardness (compared to the board material that has not undergone the above embossing and polishing treatment, the hardness of the board material of the present invention is increased by 5-20 Rockwell hardness), and it is not easy to deform and form a pit when hit by a hard object.

[0107] Based on the disclosure and teachings of the foregoing specification, those skilled in the art can make changes and modifications to the above embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and described above, and some modifications and changes to the present invention should also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention. Furthermore, although some specific terms are used in this specification, these terms are only for convenience of explanation and do not constitute any limitation on the present invention.

Claims

1. A water tank with a flow guiding structure, characterized in that, Includes a tank body and an extension edge disposed at the upper outer edge of the tank body. The inner cavity of the tank body is provided with a flow guiding layer at least on the bottom surface. The flow guiding layer is formed by a number of spaced flow guiding structures. The flow guiding structure is at least one of the following: nipple, nipple pattern, nipple line, spherical cap, ellipsoidal cap, hemisphere, and semi-ellipsoid. A flow guiding area is formed between adjacent flow guiding structures. The cross-section of the flow guiding structure is a curved surface, and the slope of the bottom of the curved surface is 20-70 degrees. The depth of the flow guiding structure is 5-80 micrometers, and the distance between adjacent flow guiding structures is 10 micrometers-2 millimeters; The outer edge of the flow guiding structure is curved; The bottom of the tank is provided with a drainage hole, and the bottom of the tank is inclined toward the drainage hole.

2. The water tank with a flow guiding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The four side walls of the inner cavity of the tank are provided with flow guiding layers.

3. The water tank with a flow guiding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer side of the flow guide layer is provided with a cover film, which is made of hydrophobic and oleophobic material.

4. The water tank with a flow guiding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner cavity of the tank is provided with an electroplated film formed by PVD treatment and protected by spray-oil sealing film at least on the bottom surface.

5. A method for manufacturing a water tank with a flow guiding structure as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, include: Embossing texture treatment: Using a roller press and mold, the raw material sheet is physically extruded or rolled to create texture and enhance the hardness of the material. The texture is at least one of the following: nipple protrusions, nipple patterns, nipple lines, spherical caps, ellipsoidal caps, hemispheres, and semi-ellipsoids. Leveling: The board material is pulled and leveled. Polishing: The board is fed into a polishing machine for downward polishing to achieve a bright finish; Surface treatment: pickling and passivation, cleaning and drying; Film application: Rolling or laminating the film; Cutting: Cutting the sheet material to the predetermined size; Sheet metal cutting: The sheet metal is laser-cut according to the product dimensions to unfold the product sheet metal into metal parts; Tank forming: The metal sheet is bent and the cuts on it are welded to form the tank; Edge connection: Fit the edge frame body onto the upper side of the groove body and weld it, and grind the welded area; Surface treatment: The surface of the tank is treated with PVD to produce a shaped water tank with a flow guiding structure.

6. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, characterized in that, During embossing, the equipment pressure is 100-300T, the sheet conveying speed is 20-60m / min, the texture depth is 10-80 micrometers, and the texture slope is 20-70 degrees.

7. The manufacturing method according to claim 5, characterized in that, During polishing, the conveying speed of the board is 5-50m / min, the polishing depth is 5-30 micrometers, and the resulting texture has a gloss effect of 2-20K and a hardness of 85-195 Rockwell hardness.

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