Filtering device and refrigerator with same

Abstract

The invention provides a filtering device and a refrigerator with the filtering device, the filtering device comprises a filter element, a shell and a filtering outer shell, a fixed sleeve is formed in the shell, a cylindrical containing cavity which is open towards the front of the shell is defined in the fixed sleeve, a filtering cavity which is open forwards and used for containing the filter element is defined in the filtering outer shell, and the filter element is arranged in the filtering outer shell. The outer contour of the filter shell is matched with the shape of the containing cavity, the filter shell is provided with a fixing position enabling part of the filter shell to be inserted into the containing cavity, the fixing sleeve is provided with a positioning hole, the filter shell is provided with a positioning protrusion matched with the positioning hole in shape, and the filter shell is further arranged in the mode that when the filter shell is located at the fixing position, the positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole. And the freedom degree of axial movement or circumferential rotation of the filter shell is restrained. According to the filtering device, the freedom degree of axial movement or circumferential rotation of the filtering shell can be restrained, and the stability is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and freezing, and in particular to a filtering device and a refrigerator having the same. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous advancement of science and technology, refrigerators are becoming more and more versatile. In the prior art, there are refrigerators that can make ice cubes or ice water. The refrigerator is connected to tap water and uses the cold energy generated by it to make ice cubes or ice water. However, tap water often contains impurities, so the ice cubes made contain impurities, which affects the taste. In order to solve this problem, a filtering device is provided in the water channel to purify tap water. The filtering device in the prior art also has the problem that the fixing effect of the filter element is not ideal, which needs to be further improved. Summary of the invention

[0003] An object of the present invention is to overcome at least one defect in the prior art and to provide a filtering device and a refrigerator having the same.

[0004] A further object of the present invention is to restrict the freedom of the filter housing to move in the axial direction or rotate in the circumferential direction, thereby improving stability.

[0005] Another further object of the present invention is to form a recessed portion to accommodate the front end of the filter housing and facilitate loading and unloading of the filter housing.

[0006] In particular, the present invention provides a filtering device, including a filter element for filtering impurities in water, and also includes: a shell, in which a fixed sleeve is formed, the interior of the fixed sleeve defines a cylindrical accommodating chamber open to the front of the shell; a filter shell, in which a filter chamber open to the front and used to accommodate the filter element is defined, the filter shell is configured so that its outer contour is adapted to the shape of the accommodating chamber, and has a fixed position for inserting a partial section of it into the accommodating chamber; wherein a positioning hole is provided on the fixed sleeve, and a positioning protrusion matching the positioning hole is provided on the filter shell, and the filter shell is also configured so that when it is in a fixed position, the positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole to constrain the freedom of the filter shell to move axially or rotate circumferentially.

[0007] Optionally, the positioning hole is arranged at the rear end of the fixing sleeve, and the positioning protrusion is arranged at the rear end of the filter housing.

[0008] Optionally, the positioning hole is open rearwardly; and the boundaries on the fixed sleeve used to form the positioning hole include: a first boundary, whose starting end is at the rear end edge of the fixed sleeve and extends forward and in a first circumferential direction of the fixed sleeve; a second boundary, whose starting end is connected to the end of the first boundary and extends in the first circumferential direction; a third boundary, whose starting end is connected to the end of the second boundary and extends rearwardly and in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction.

[0009] Optionally, the filter housing has a cylindrical main body, the filter cavity is formed inside the main body; and the positioning protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the main body.

[0010] Optionally, the filter housing is further configured such that the sum of the thickness of the positioning protrusion and the radius of the main body is not less than the inner radius of the fixing sleeve.

[0011] Optionally, a reserved gap is provided between the fixed sleeve and the front wall of the shell; the front wall of the shell has a stamped area which is concentrically opposite to the opening of the accommodating cavity and has a diameter larger than that of the accommodating cavity, and the center of the stamped area has an opening; the shell is configured to stamp the stamped area toward the reserved gap so that the edge of the opening is butted against the opening of the accommodating cavity; the filter housing is also configured so that when in a fixed position, the filter housing protrudes from the opening but does not exceed the front wall of the shell.

[0012] Optionally, the filter device further comprises: a cover body, which is arranged at the opening of the filter housing to seal the filter cavity.

[0013] Optionally, the filtering device further comprises: a front decorative body, covering the front of the front wall of the shell to decorate the shell.

[0014] Optionally, the filter housing is provided with a water inlet and one or more water outlets.

[0015] In particular, the present invention also provides a refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet having a storage compartment open forward; a filtering device according to any of the above items, arranged in the storage compartment; an ice-making and water-making device, connected to the filtering device, to use water passing through the filtering device to make ice and / or ice water.

[0016] The filter device of the present invention has a fixed sleeve formed inside the shell, the interior of the fixed sleeve defines a cylindrical accommodating cavity that is open to the front of the shell, and the interior of the filter shell defines a filter cavity that is open to the front and is used to accommodate the filter element. The filter shell is configured so that its outer contour is adapted to the shape of the accommodating cavity, and has a fixed position for inserting a partial section of it into the accommodating cavity. A positioning hole is also provided on the fixed sleeve, and a positioning protrusion that matches the positioning hole is provided on the filter shell. When the filter shell is in a fixed position, the positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole to constrain the freedom of the filter shell to move axially or rotate circumferentially, thereby improving stability.

[0017] Furthermore, in the filtering device of the present invention, a reserved gap is provided between the fixed sleeve and the front wall of the shell, the front wall of the shell has a stamping area which is concentrically opposite to the opening of the accommodating cavity and has a diameter larger than that of the accommodating cavity, the center of the stamping area has an opening, and during the stamping process of the stamping area toward the reserved gap, the diameter of the opening is continuously expanded and the position is continuously moved backward, so that the opening is finally connected with the opening of the fixed sleeve with equal diameter, and a recessed portion is formed in the stamping area. In this way, firstly, the filter housing will not exceed the front wall of the shell, thereby improving the aesthetics or avoiding interference with other structures, and secondly, the space formed by the recessed portion can be used to facilitate the user's fingers or tools to extend into the recessed portion to apply force to the filter housing, so as to load and unload the filter housing.

[0018] Based on the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary and non-limiting manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a filtering device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 is an exploded view of a filter device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a filter device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a filter device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the installation relationship between the fixed sleeve and the filter housing in the filter device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the water circuit principle in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In the description of this embodiment, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "depth" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation in normal use as a reference, and can be determined with reference to the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, for example, the "front" indicating the orientation refers to the side facing the user. This is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to the present invention.

[0028] Below through Figures 1 to 5 A filter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a filtering device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded view of a filter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a filter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a filter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the installation relationship between the fixed sleeve 120 and the filter housing 20 in the filter device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] The present invention first provides a filtering device 1, wherein a filter element 30 (such as a PP cotton filter element, an activated carbon filter element, etc.) is arranged inside the filtering device 1 and can be used to filter impurities in water.

[0030] In some embodiments, the filter device 1 may include a housing 10 and a filter housing 20. The housing 10 has a fixed sleeve 120 formed therein, and the interior of the fixed sleeve 120 defines a cylindrical accommodating chamber 122 that is open to the front of the housing 10. The interior of the filter housing 20 defines a filter chamber 212 that is open to the front and is used to accommodate the filter element 30. The filter housing 20 is configured such that its outer contour is adapted to the shape of the accommodating chamber 122, and has a fixed position for inserting a portion of its section into the accommodating chamber 122.

[0031] The housing 10 may include an outer shell 110, which may serve as an exterior shell and a component for protecting the interior. The outer shell 110 may be square or in other shapes, and an installation space 112 is defined therein. A fixing sleeve 120 is disposed inside the outer shell 110, and the fixing sleeve 120 and the outer shell 110 may be fixed together by integral injection molding, fastener connection, or the like.

[0032] The filter housing 20 is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet 214. The water inlet can be connected to the water source to be purified through a pipeline. The number of the water outlets 214 can be one or more, which can be determined according to the number of target water-using devices, and the water outlets 214 can be connected to the target water-using devices through pipelines to filter impurities in the water.

[0033] During installation, the filter element 30 can be first installed in the filter cavity 212 of the filter housing 20, and then the filter housing 20 is inserted through the opening of the fixing sleeve 120 and fixed in the accommodating cavity 122. When the filter element 30 needs to be replaced after being used for a period of time, the filter element 30 can be taken out from the opening of the filter housing 20 for replacement, which is simple and convenient to operate.

[0034] Furthermore, a positioning hole 124 is provided on the fixed sleeve 120, and a positioning protrusion 220 matching the positioning hole 124 is provided on the filter housing 20. The filter housing 20 is also configured so that when it is in a fixed position, the positioning protrusion 220 is inserted into the positioning hole 124 to restrict the freedom of the filter housing 20 to move axially or rotate circumferentially.

[0035] Specifically, the filter housing 20 has a cylindrical body 210, and the diameter of the body 210 is smaller than the diameter of the accommodating cavity 122. The filter cavity 212 is formed inside the body 210, and the positioning protrusion 220 is formed on the outer surface of the body 210.

[0036] After the filter housing 20 is assembled in the accommodating cavity 122, the filter housing 20 can move axially or rotate circumferentially without restraint, resulting in instability of the filter housing 20. In this embodiment, a positioning hole 124 is provided on the fixing sleeve 120, and a positioning protrusion 220 matching the positioning hole 124 is provided on the filter housing 20. When the filter housing 20 is inserted into the accommodating cavity 122 and reaches a fixed position, the positioning protrusion 220 is inserted into the positioning hole 124, thereby restraining the filter housing 20 so that the filter housing 20 will not rotate circumferentially or move forward and backward.

[0037] Furthermore, since the positioning hole 124 is arranged on the fixing sleeve 120 and the positioning protrusion 220 is arranged on the main body 210 of the filter housing 20, during the process of inserting the filter housing 20 into the accommodating cavity 122, the main body 210 of the filter housing 20 can be forced to deform and shrink in the radial direction (this can be achieved by selecting a material that can be deformed and restored), before the filter housing 20 reaches the fixed position, so that the positioning protrusion 220 can pass through the accommodating cavity 122 and finally reach a position opposite to the positioning hole 124.

[0038] Furthermore, the sum of the thickness of the positioning protrusion 220 and the radius of the main body 210 can also be set to be no less than the inner radius of the fixing sleeve 120, so as to ensure that the positioning protrusion 220 extends into the positioning hole 124 after the main body 210 recovers its deformation.

[0039] In some embodiments, the positioning hole 124 is disposed at the rear end of the fixed sleeve 120, and the positioning protrusion 220 is disposed at the rear end of the filter housing 20. Specifically, the fixed sleeve 120 may not be provided with a rear wall, that is, open to the rear, so when the positioning hole 124 is disposed at the rear end of the fixed sleeve 120, it may also be configured to be open to the rear, so as to facilitate the formation of the positioning hole 124 in the process.

[0040] The boundaries on the fixed sleeve 120 for forming the positioning hole 124 include a first boundary 125, a second boundary 126, and a third boundary 127. The starting end of the first boundary 125 is located at the rear end edge of the fixed sleeve 120, and extends forward and in a first circumferential direction of the fixed sleeve 120. The starting end of the second boundary 126 is connected to the end of the first boundary 125, and extends in the first circumferential direction. The starting end of the third boundary 127 is connected to the end of the second boundary 126, and extends backward and in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction.

[0041] That is to say, the contour of the positioning hole 124 is roughly in the shape of a parallelogram, the positioning protrusion 220 is matched with the positioning hole 124, and the positioning protrusion 220 is also roughly in the shape of a parallelogram. The advantage of this arrangement is that only a set of matching structures of the positioning protrusion 220 and the positioning hole 124 can simultaneously constrain the freedom of the filter housing 20 to move axially and rotate circumferentially.

[0042] Specifically, the three edges of the positioning protrusion 220 that are respectively opposite to the first boundary 125, the second boundary 126, and the third boundary 127 of the positioning hole 124 are recorded as the first edge 222, the second edge 224, and the third edge 226. When the first edge 222 conflicts with the first boundary 125, the freedom of the filter housing 20 to rotate along the first circumferential direction can be restricted; when the second edge 224 conflicts with the second boundary 126, the freedom of the filter housing 20 to move forward can be restricted; when the third edge 226 conflicts with the third boundary 127, the freedom of the filter housing 20 to rotate along the second circumferential direction and the freedom of moving backward can be restricted at the same time.

[0043] In some embodiments, a reserved gap is provided between the fixing sleeve 120 and the front wall of the housing 10. The front wall of the housing 10 has a stamped area 114 which is concentrically opposite to the opening of the accommodating cavity 122 and has a diameter larger than the accommodating cavity 122, and the center of the stamped area 114 has an opening 116. The housing 10 is configured to stamp the stamped area 114 toward the reserved gap so that the edge of the opening 116 butts up to the opening of the accommodating cavity 122. The filter housing 20 is also configured to protrude from the opening 116 but not beyond the front wall of the housing 10 when in the fixed position.

[0044] In this embodiment, since the fixed sleeve 120 is arranged inside the outer shell 110, a reserved gap is provided between the fixed sleeve 120 and the front wall of the shell 10 (i.e., the outer shell 110), that is, the opening of the fixed sleeve 120 is located behind the front wall of the shell 10, and the opening of the fixed sleeve 120, the stamping area 114 of the front wall, and the opening 116 on the stamping area 114 are concentrically opposed to each other, and the diameter size relationship of the three is: the diameter of the stamping area 114 is larger than the diameter of the opening of the fixed sleeve 120, and the diameter of the opening of the fixed sleeve 120 is larger than the diameter of the opening 116.

[0045] During the punching process of the punching area 114 toward the reserved gap, the diameter of the opening 116 is continuously expanded and the position is continuously moved backward, so that the opening 116 is finally connected with the open end of the fixed sleeve 120 with equal diameter. At the same time, since the punching area 114 is punched toward the reserved gap, a recessed portion 118 is formed in the punching area 114.

[0046] When the filter housing 20 is in a fixed position, the filter housing 20 protrudes from the opening 116 but does not exceed the front wall of the housing 10. That is, when the filter housing 20 is in a fixed position, the front end of the filter housing 20 is disposed in the recessed portion 118, so that the filter housing 20 does not exceed the front wall of the housing 10, improving the aesthetics or avoiding interference with other structures, and secondly, the space formed by the recessed portion 118 can be used to facilitate the user's fingers or tools to extend into the recessed portion 118 to apply force to the filter housing 20, so as to load and unload the filter housing 20.

[0047] In some embodiments, the filter device 1 may further include a cover 40, which is disposed at the opening of the filter housing 20 to cover the filter cavity 212. The cover 40 may be detachably disposed at the opening of the filter housing 20 by means of threaded connection, hole and groove structure, etc.

[0048] In some embodiments, the filter device 1 may further include a front decorative body 50, which covers the front wall of the housing 10 to decorate the housing 10. The front decorative body 50 may also be provided with a handle 52 to facilitate loading and unloading of the front decorative body 50.

[0049] In addition, the present invention also provides a refrigerator 60, as shown below Figure 6 and Figure 7 To describe a refrigerator 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 6 is a schematic diagram of the water circuit principle in a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 60 may include a box body 610 and a door body 620. The box body 610 may include an outer shell and an inner liner, and the outer shell is located at the outermost side of the whole refrigerator 60 to protect the entire refrigerator 60. The inner liner is wrapped by the outer shell, and the space between the inner liner and the outer shell is filled with a heat-insulating material (forming a foaming layer) to reduce the heat dissipation of the inner liner to the outside. The inner liner defines a storage compartment open to the front, and the storage compartment can be configured as a refrigerator 612, a freezer 614, a temperature-changing room, etc. The number and function of the specific inner liner can be configured according to the pre-determined requirements. The number of door bodies 620 can also be consistent with the number of inner liner, that is, each storage compartment open to the front of the inner liner can be opened and closed by its corresponding door body 620. The door body 620 can be movably arranged in front of the box body 610, for example, the door body 620 can be arranged on one side of the front of the box body 610 in a hinged manner, and the storage space can be opened and closed in a pivoting manner.

[0050] In some embodiments, the refrigerator 60 may further include an ice and water making device 630, which may be disposed on the inner side of the door 620 to utilize the coldness of the storage compartment to make ice and / or ice water.

[0051] Since the set temperature of the freezing chamber 614 is lower, the ice and water making device 630 can be arranged inside the door body 620 used to open and close the freezing chamber 614, so as to fully absorb cold energy to form ice cubes or ice water.

[0052] The ice and water making device 630 may include an ice making container. The ice making container has an ice making grid, which forms ice cubes after absorbing enough cold. The ice making container may be configured to be able to flip downward, and an ice receiving container is provided below the ice making container to receive ice cubes falling from the ice making container.

[0053] The ice and water making device 630 may include a water making container, and an ice and water dispenser 640 may be provided on the outside of the door body 620 . The water making container is connected to the ice and water dispenser 640 , so that the user can directly access ice water on the outside of the door body 620 .

[0054] Furthermore, the refrigerator 60 may also include the filtering device 1 in any of the above embodiments, which can be arranged on the water path from the external water source to the ice-making and water-making device 630 to filter out impurities in the water and improve the water quality of ice cubes or ice water.

[0055] In some specific embodiments, the filter device 1 may also be disposed in a refrigerating chamber 612. Since the refrigerating chamber 612 is set to have a relatively high stability, it is ensured that the water flowing through the filter device 1 will not freeze, thereby avoiding clogging of the waterway.

[0056] At this point, those skilled in the art should recognize that, although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications that conform to the principles of the present invention can still be directly determined or derived based on the content disclosed in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and recognized as covering all these other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A filtering device, comprising a filter element, for filtering impurities in water, characterized in that Also includes: A housing having a fixed sleeve formed therein, wherein the interior of the fixed sleeve defines a cylindrical accommodating cavity open to the front of the housing; A filter housing, the interior of which defines a filter cavity that is open forward and used to accommodate the filter element, the filter housing is configured so that its outer contour is adapted to the shape of the accommodating cavity, and has a fixed position for inserting a portion of its section into the accommodating cavity; wherein, The fixing sleeve is provided with a positioning hole, and the filter housing is provided with a positioning protrusion matching the positioning hole. The filter housing is also configured so that when it is in the fixed position, the positioning protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole to constrain the freedom of the filter housing to move axially or rotate circumferentially.

2. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The positioning hole is arranged at the rear end of the fixing sleeve, and the positioning protrusion is arranged at the rear end of the filtering housing.

3. The filtering device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The positioning hole is open rearwardly; and The boundary of the fixed sleeve used to form the positioning hole includes: A first boundary, the starting end of which is located at the rear end edge of the fixed sleeve and extends forward and toward the first circumferential direction of the fixed sleeve; A second boundary, a starting end of which is connected to a terminal end of the first boundary and extends toward the first circumferential direction; A third boundary has a starting end connected to a terminal end of the second boundary and extends rearwardly and in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction.

4. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The filter housing has a cylindrical body, and the filter cavity is formed inside the body; and The positioning protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the main body.

5. The filtering device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The filter housing is also configured such that the sum of the thickness of the positioning protrusion and the radius of the main body is not less than the inner radius of the fixing sleeve.

6. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A reserved gap is provided between the fixed sleeve and the front wall of the housing; The front wall of the housing has a stamping area which is concentrically opposite to the opening of the accommodating cavity and has a diameter larger than that of the accommodating cavity, and the center of the stamping area has an opening; The housing is configured to punch the punching area toward the reserved gap so that the edge of the opening is butted against the opening of the accommodating cavity; The filter housing is further configured such that when in the fixed position, the filter housing protrudes beyond the opening but does not exceed the front wall of the housing.

7. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The cover body is arranged at the open portion of the filter housing to seal the filter cavity.

8. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The front decorative body covers the front of the front wall of the shell to decorate the shell.

9. The filtering device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The filter housing is provided with a water inlet and one or more water outlets.

10. A refrigerator, characterized in that include: A box body having a storage compartment open forward; The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, arranged in the storage compartment; The ice and water making device is connected to the filtering device to make ice and / or ice water using the water passing through the filtering device.

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