Air duct assembly and clothes washing and drying machine comprising same

Abstract

The utility model provides an air duct assembly and a clothes washing and drying machine comprising the same, relates to the technical field of clothes washing and drying machines, and solves the technical problems that the air duct assembly is high in cost and easy to corrode and smudge. The air duct assembly is of a split structure and comprises an air duct upper cover and an air duct lower cover which are spliced with each other, and air cavities are formed in the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover so that a whole air duct can be formed when the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are spliced; the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are both sheet metal structural parts. The upper cover plate and the lower cover plate of the air duct are composed of metal plate structures, cost is low, corrosion is not prone to occurring, the upper cover plate and the lower cover plate of the air duct are connected through the connecting screws, an edge covering structure mode adopted in the industry is avoided, one side of each screw hole is of a through hole structure, the other side of each screw hole is of a flanging hole structure, the connecting strength of the screws is improved, and the technological requirement for the part assembling process is lowered; the air channel mainly adopts a glue groove design structure, so that the sealing performance is realized, and the cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of washing and drying machines, in particular to an air duct component with a sheet metal structure and a washing and drying machine comprising the same. Background Art

[0002] During the long-term operation test, the air duct components of the drying system of the drum washing and drying machine were severely corroded inside and covered with corrosion products on the surface, resulting in serious internal dirtiness, affecting the user experience. The reasons include: 1. In the washing state: the drum is connected to the air duct, and the water vapor in the drum diffuses into the air duct, forming a normal temperature and high humidity environment in the air duct; 2. In the drying state: electric heating works, and hot air is sent into the drum through the fan. The high saturated vapor pressure of water in hot air is used to evaporate and take away the moisture contained in the clothes in the drum, and the hot water vapor is condensed and precipitated through the condensation structure inside the rear drum. At this time, the drying duct is in a high temperature and high humidity state; 3. In the standby state: as the moisture evaporates, the drum-air duct-condensation system is in a normal temperature and humidity state.

[0003] In addition, the upper and lower covers of the existing air duct components are both made by ADC12 aluminum alloy die-casting process, which is costly.

[0004] How to solve the difficult problem of the washing machine air duct in this environment is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in this field. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide an air duct component of a sheet metal structure and a washing and drying machine comprising the same, so as to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art that the air duct component has high cost, is easy to corrode and is dirty.

[0006] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] The utility model provides an air duct component, which is a split structure, including an air duct upper cover and an air duct lower cover spliced ​​to each other, wherein the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are both provided with an air cavity so as to form a whole air duct when the two are spliced ​​together; the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are both sheet metal structural parts.

[0008] The air duct assembly provided by the utility model adopts a sheet metal structure for the air duct, which can effectively solve the oxidation corrosion produced during the long-term operation of the cast aluminum air duct, can solve the pain points of users, and reduce complaints about aluminum chip pollution. The cost of the sheet metal air duct can be reduced by more than half relative to the cast aluminum structure, which is very considerable, can enhance the market competitiveness of the product, and solve the corrosion and dirt problems of the cast aluminum parts of the conventional air duct of the washing machine.

[0009] Furthermore, a sealing structure is provided on the air duct upper cover and / or the air duct lower cover corresponding to the splicing position.

[0010] Furthermore, the sealing structure includes an arc-shaped glue groove formed by a depression and a sealant filled in the glue groove.

[0011] Furthermore, the sealant is silicone sealant. The sealant groove is filled with silicone sealant, which mainly plays a sealing role to ensure the air tightness of the air duct during operation.

[0012] Furthermore, the glue groove is arranged on the air duct upper cover or the air duct lower cover. Furthermore, the glue groove is a glue groove with a depth of about 0.6-1mm and a width of 6-8mm formed by a single side downward pressure in the air duct upper cover or the air duct lower cover, while the other cover adopts a flat structure. This structure has the advantages of good sealing effect and less glue to be filled. From the perspective of cost, the structure is optimal.

[0013] Furthermore, the glue groove has a depth of 0.6-1.0 mm and a width of 6-8 mm.

[0014] Furthermore, the glue groove is arranged along the entire edge of the air duct upper cover and / or the air duct lower cover.

[0015] A glue groove with a depth of about 0.8mm is designed on one side of the upper and lower covers of the air duct. The sealing of the air duct structure is achieved by filling it with glue, thereby reducing the use of peripheral sealing rings and effectively reducing costs. Compared with sheet metal parts with traditional riveting structures, the gluing method can avoid the purchase of special riveting equipment, reduce the investment cost of the project, make the production process more convenient, solve the sealing problem of the sheet metal structure air duct, and avoid the investment in special machine processing for edging all around.

[0016] Furthermore, the air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are connected by connecting screws.

[0017] Furthermore, the air duct upper cover is provided with a through hole or a threaded flanging hole, the air duct lower cover is provided with a threaded flanging hole or a through hole, and the connecting screws are inserted into the through hole and the threaded flanging hole.

[0018] Furthermore, the thickness of the air duct lower cover and the air duct upper cover is 0.5-1 mm.

[0019] Furthermore, the air duct lower cover and the air duct upper cover are stainless steel sheet metal parts.

[0020] The utility model provides a clothes washer and dryer, comprising the air duct assembly.

[0021] Furthermore, the washing and drying machine also includes an impeller, a motor, a bracket, and a cooler. The motor is fixed to the outside of the lower cover of the air duct, the impeller is fixed in the air duct and connected to the output shaft of the motor; the cooler is fixed in the air duct through the bracket.

[0022] The utility model provides a washing and drying machine in which the upper and lower covers of the air duct are composed of sheet metal structures to replace the traditional cast aluminum structure air duct. The fan is installed in the air duct, and the upper and lower covers of the air duct are connected by connecting screws, avoiding the hemming structure method used in the industry. The screw holes have a through hole structure on one side and a flanging hole structure on the other side, which improves the connection strength of the screws and reduces the process requirements of the parts assembly process. The air duct mainly adopts a designed glue groove structure to achieve sealing performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0024] Figure 1 It is a front view of the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a side view of the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0026] Figure 3 It is an overall cross-sectional view of the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the air duct upper cover in the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0028] Figure 5 It is a side view of the air duct upper cover in the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0029] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Middle A is a partial enlarged view;

[0030] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of the lower cover of the air duct in the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0031] Figure 8 It is a side view of the lower cover of the air duct in the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0032] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 Middle B is a partial enlarged view;

[0033] Fig.10 It is a partial cross-sectional view of the air duct upper cover in the air duct assembly of the utility model;

[0034] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 Partial enlargement of center C.

[0035] In the figure, 1, air duct upper cover; 2, air duct lower cover; 3, glue groove; 4, connecting screws; 5, through hole; 6, flange hole; 7, impeller; 8, motor; 9, cooler. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the utility model clearer, the technical solution of the utility model will be described in detail below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other implementation methods obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0037] Embodiment 1:

[0038] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in the present embodiment, the utility model provides an air duct assembly, which is an air duct assembly in a washing and drying machine. Specifically, the air duct assembly is a split structure, including an air duct upper cover 1 and an air duct lower cover 2 spliced ​​to each other, that is, the air duct assembly is composed of the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2, which can be connected in a detachable manner or in a fixed and non-detachable manner; in the present embodiment, the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 both have an air cavity to form the entire air duct when the two are spliced; specifically, the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 are both sheet metal structural parts, that is, the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 are both formed by stamping sheet materials.

[0039] The air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 can be connected by connecting screws 4. Of course, the connection can also be achieved by using an edge wrapping structure, but the edge wrapping structure connection method has the problem of high cost. The best method is to use the connecting screws 4 for connection, which is not only convenient for disassembly, but also low in cost and easy to repair the upper cover or the lower cover.

[0040] The air duct assembly provided by the utility model adopts a sheet metal structure for the air duct, which can effectively solve the oxidation corrosion generated during the long-term operation of the cast aluminum air duct, can solve the pain points of users, and reduce complaints about aluminum chip pollution. The cost of the sheet metal air duct can be reduced by more than half relative to the cast aluminum structure, which is very considerable, can enhance the market competitiveness of the product, and solve the corrosion and dirt problems of the cast aluminum parts of the conventional air duct of the washing machine.

[0041] The air duct formed by the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 is convenient for air flow to pass through, and then the impeller 7 is arranged in the air duct to enhance the flow of air.

[0042] Embodiment 2:

[0043] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the difference between this embodiment 2 and embodiment 1 is that a sealing structure is provided on the air duct upper cover 1 and / or the air duct lower cover 2 corresponding to the splicing position.

[0044] By setting up a sealing structure, the edge of the air duct is sealed to ensure airtightness during operation of the air duct and prevent gas leakage.

[0045] Embodiment 3:

[0046] like Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, the difference between this embodiment 3 and embodiment 2 is that, since the sealing structure has multiple implementation forms, and the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 are sheet metal parts, in order to achieve the best sealing and the simplest processing method, in this embodiment, the sealing structure includes an arc-shaped glue groove 3 formed by a depression and a sealant filled in the glue groove 3. The depth of the glue groove 3 is 0.6-1.0mm and the width is 6-8mm.

[0047] In order to achieve comprehensive sealing, in the present embodiment, the glue groove 3 is arranged along the entire edge of the air duct upper cover 1 and / or the air duct lower cover 2 .

[0048] It should be noted that the most costly method is to set the glue groove 3 on both the upper cover and the lower cover, and the amount of sealant filled in this case is also the largest. However, in order to save costs and consider the sealing effect, in fact, setting the glue groove 3 on one side can meet the requirements, so the best method is to set the glue groove 3 on the upper cover or the lower cover. It should be noted that the arc-shaped glue groove 3 is an arc-shaped groove formed by pressing during stamping when processing the upper cover 1 or the lower cover 2 of the duct.

[0049] That is, the glue groove 3 is a glue groove 3 with a depth of about 0.6-1mm and a width of 6-8mm formed by a single-side pressing in the air duct upper cover 1 or the air duct lower cover 2, while the other cover adopts a flat structure. The advantage of adopting this structure is that the sealing effect is good and the amount of glue required to be filled is also small. In terms of cost, the structure is optimal.

[0050] Furthermore, the sealant is silicone sealant. The silicone sealant is filled in the sealant groove 3, which mainly plays a sealing role to ensure the air tightness of the air duct during operation.

[0051] The utility model designs a glue groove 3 with a depth of about 0.8mm on the periphery of one side of the upper and lower covers of the air duct, and realizes the sealing of the air duct structure by filling glue, thereby reducing the use of peripheral sealing rings and effectively reducing costs. Compared with sheet metal parts with traditional riveting structures, the use of gluing can avoid the purchase of special riveting equipment, reduce the investment cost of the project, and make the production process more convenient, thereby solving the sealing problem of the sheet metal structure air duct and avoiding the investment in special machine processing for hemming on all sides.

[0052] Embodiment 4:

[0053] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, the difference between this embodiment 4 and embodiment 3 is that the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 are connected by connecting screws 4.

[0054] By adopting the sealing structure of the glue groove 3 and the screw connection method, the sealing requirements of the air duct can be achieved. At the same time, this structure can avoid the structural method of riveting the upper and lower covers of the air duct, reduce the development of the riveting processing technology, and at the same time reduce the cost and improve the user experience of the whole machine.

[0055] Specifically, the air duct upper cover 1 is provided with a through hole 5 or a threaded flange hole 6 , the air duct lower cover 2 is provided with a threaded flange hole 6 or a through hole 5 , and the connecting screws 4 are passed through the through holes 5 and the threaded flange holes 6 .

[0056] Furthermore, the thickness of the air duct lower cover 2 and the air duct upper cover 1 is 0.5-1 mm.

[0057] Furthermore, the air duct lower cover 2 and the air duct upper cover 1 are stainless steel sheet metal parts.

[0058] Embodiment 5:

[0059] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the utility model provides a clothes washer-dryer, comprising the air duct assembly in the above embodiment.

[0060] Furthermore, the washing and drying machine also includes an impeller 7, a motor 8, a bracket, and a cooler 9. The motor 8 is fixed to the outside of the air duct lower cover 2, the impeller 7 is fixed in the air duct and connected to the output shaft of the motor 8; the cooler 9 is fixed in the air duct through the bracket.

[0061] The utility model provides a washing and drying machine, in which the upper and lower covers of the air duct are composed of a sheet metal structure to replace the traditional cast aluminum structure air duct. The fan is installed in the air duct, and the upper and lower covers of the air duct are connected by connecting screws 4, avoiding the hemming structure method used in the industry. The screw holes have a through hole 5 structure on one side and a flanging hole 6 structure on the other side, which improves the connection strength of the screws and reduces the process requirements of the parts assembly process. The air duct mainly adopts the structure of a designed glue groove 3 to achieve sealing performance.

[0062] Specifically, the clothes washer and dryer in this embodiment is a drum-type clothes washer and dryer, and its air duct system is mainly composed of an air duct upper cover 1, an air duct lower cover 2, a motor 8, an impeller 7, a connecting screw 4, a cooler 9, a bracket, etc. According to the traditional air duct structure, the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 are cast aluminum structures, and the production cost is very high, resulting in a decrease in product competitiveness. When the air duct is in operation, the temperature of the internal water vapor is very high, and it is in a high temperature and high humidity state for a long time. A large amount of corrosion products (gray-white substances) are easily generated on the surface of the aluminum material, which is easy to stick to clothes, seriously affecting the user experience.

[0063] In order to solve the above problems and pain points, the utility model innovatively changes the material of the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2 to a thin plate (the material is stainless steel 304), and adopts a stamping process. The wall thickness of the sheet metal part is less than 1 / 3 of the original cast aluminum part, and the cost can be reduced by more than half. The specific wall thickness of the sheet metal part is only 0.5-1mm.

[0064] When the air duct is in operation, the interior is filled with high-temperature gas, and the overall sealing requirement is high. If the gas leaks, condensation is likely to occur inside the whole machine, and the performance of the whole machine will be affected. The utility model sets a glue groove 3 structure at the joint position of the air duct upper cover 1 and the air duct lower cover 2, and the glue groove 3 is filled with high-temperature resistant silicone glue. The design of the glue groove 3 effectively prevents the glue from overflowing. In order to standardize the glue structure and control the consumption, the depth of the glue groove 3 is set to about 0.8mm. In this way, the air tightness of the air duct assembly is ensured.

[0065] The assembly of the air duct component adopts 4 connection screws. To ensure the connection strength, the number of screw setting points is not less than 8. The screws are M4 self-tapping screws. The screw holes on the air duct upper cover 1 or lower cover 2 can be set as a flip hole structure to improve the screw connection.

[0066] The utility model can achieve the sealing requirement of the air duct by adopting the sealing structure of the glue groove 3 and the connecting screw 4. At the same time, adopting this structure can avoid the structural method of riveting the upper and lower covers of the air duct, reduce the development of the riveting processing technology, and at the same time can reduce the cost and improve the user experience of the whole machine.

[0067] First of all, it should be explained here that “inward” refers to the direction toward the center of the accommodating space, and “outward” refers to the direction away from the center of the accommodating space.

[0068] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate directions or positional relationships based on the attached Figure 1 The orientation or positional relationship shown 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 should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0069] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present utility model, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0070] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0071] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0072] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0073] The above is only a specific implementation of the utility model, but the protection scope of the utility model is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the utility model, which should be included in the protection scope of the utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of the utility model should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An air duct assembly, characterized in that: It is a split structure, including an upper duct cover and a lower duct cover spliced ​​to each other, both of which have an air cavity to form a whole duct when the two are spliced ​​together; both of the upper duct cover and the lower duct cover are sheet metal structural parts.

2. The air duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sealing structure is provided on the air duct upper cover and / or the air duct lower cover corresponding to the splicing position.

3. The air duct assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sealing structure comprises an arc-shaped glue groove formed by a depression and a sealant filled in the glue groove.

4. The air duct assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The glue groove has a depth of 0.6-1.0 mm and a width of 6-8 mm.

5. The air duct assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The glue groove is arranged along the entire edge of the air duct upper cover and / or the air duct lower cover.

6. The air duct assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The air duct upper cover and the air duct lower cover are connected by connecting screws.

7. The air duct assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The air duct upper cover is provided with a through hole or a threaded flange hole, the air duct lower cover is provided with a threaded flange hole or a through hole, and the connecting screw is inserted into the through hole and the threaded flange hole.

8. The air duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the air duct lower cover and the air duct upper cover is 0.5-1 mm.

9. The air duct assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air duct lower cover and the air duct upper cover are stainless steel sheet metal parts.

10. A clothes washer and dryer, characterized in that: The invention comprises an air duct assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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