Sensor mounting structure, ice water distributor and refrigeration equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a sensor installation structure, ice water distributor and refrigeration equipment, including ice guide groove, pinboard and sensor subassembly, the side edge of ice guide groove is equipped with the mounting plate, the sensor subassembly includes circuit board and sensor body, and the pinboard is equipped with the mounting plate. The adapter plate is provided with a horizontal surface in contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate and a slope surface for mounting the circuit board, and the sensor body penetrates through the adapter plate and the mounting plate and extends downwards in an inclined manner, so that an inclined angle a is formed between the normal surface of the sensor body and the center line of the ice guide groove. The sensor assembly is installed in a small space on the side edge of the ice guide groove, the adapter plate is arranged on the installation plate on the side edge of the ice guide groove, inclination of the installation angle of a sensor is achieved through the slope face on the adapter plate, and the sensor assembly can sense whether a water receiving container is placed in place or not through inclined arrangement of the sensor assembly. On the premise that the internal space of the distributor shell is fully utilized, the problem that ice blocks or ice water fall outside the water receiving container is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of ice separation equipment, in particular to a sensor installation structure, an ice water distributor and refrigeration equipment. Background Art

[0002] As people's living standards improve, refrigeration equipment with ice-making functions are increasingly entering people's homes. Conventional dispensers for controlling ice and water are either electric or mechanical; electric dispensers use a DC motor or a stepper motor as a power source to control the opening and closing of the ice door, while mechanical dispensers rely on consumers to press the ice lever to open the ice door.

[0003] With the existing ice water dispenser, when the user encounters the problem that the container is not placed in the correct position or there is no container during use, it is easy to cause misoperation, resulting in the refrigeration equipment discharging ice cubes or ice water, and the ice cubes or ice water flowing onto the floor. In the field of water dispensers, a sensing device is installed directly above the water receiving container to sense the position of the water receiving container. However, the internal space of the dispenser is limited, and a water and ice discharging component needs to be provided above the water receiving container. There is no extra space to install the sensing device. Therefore, a new type of ice water dispenser is urgently needed to solve this problem. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to solve the technical problem that the prior art is prone to misoperation, resulting in the refrigeration equipment discharging ice cubes or ice water, and the ice cubes or ice water flowing onto the floor, the utility model provides a sensor installation structure, an ice water dispenser and a refrigeration equipment to solve the above problem.

[0005] The utility model proposes a sensor installation structure, including an ice guide groove, an adapter plate and a sensor assembly, wherein a mounting plate is provided on the side of the ice guide groove, and the sensor assembly includes a circuit board and a sensor body, the adapter plate has a horizontal surface in contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate and a slope surface for mounting the circuit board, and the sensor body extends downwardly through the adapter plate and the mounting plate, so that the normal surface of the sensor body has an inclination angle a with the center line of the ice guide groove.

[0006] Furthermore, the size of a is 10° to 15°.

[0007] Furthermore, the slope surface has hooks extending downward on both sides at the same height, and the height of the lower surface of the hook is lower than the height of the horizontal surface; and the mounting plate is provided with a slot that cooperates with the hook.

[0008] Furthermore, the sensor component is a reflective distance sensor.

[0009] Furthermore, the sensor component is an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

[0010] The utility model also proposes an ice water dispenser, comprising a shell and the above-mentioned sensor mounting structure located inside the shell, wherein a water receiving tray for placing a water receiving container is arranged in the shell just below the ice guide groove; when a water receiving container is placed on the water receiving tray, the sensor component receives a feedback signal and is excited.

[0011] Furthermore, a water outlet assembly and an ice outlet assembly are also provided in the shell. The water outlet assembly is provided with a first micro switch for receiving a water outlet action signal, and the ice outlet assembly is provided with a second micro switch for receiving an ice outlet action signal.

[0012] The sensor assembly, the first micro switch and the second micro switch are all electrically connected to the controller. When the sensor assembly is activated and the first micro switch receives a water discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute to discharge water to the water receiving container; when the sensor assembly is activated and the second micro switch receives an ice discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute to discharge ice to the water receiving container.

[0013] Furthermore, the water outlet component also includes a water outlet push plate. When the water outlet push plate is pushed, the first micro switch receives a water outlet action signal and closes.

[0014] Furthermore, the ice discharging assembly also includes an ice pushing plate. When the ice pushing plate is pushed, the second micro switch receives an ice discharging action signal and closes.

[0015] The utility model also provides a refrigeration device, comprising the ice water distributor mentioned above.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the utility model are:

[0017] (1) The utility model utilizes the small space on the side of the ice guide chute to install the sensor assembly, arranges an adapter plate on the mounting plate on the side of the ice guide chute, and utilizes the slope surface on the adapter plate to achieve the inclination of the sensor installation angle. Through the inclined arrangement of the sensor assembly, the sensor assembly can sense whether the water receiving container is placed in place, thereby solving the problem of ice cubes or ice water falling outside the water receiving container while fully utilizing the internal space of the dispenser housing.

[0018] (2) The utility model does not need to change the original structure of the sensor, and can select adapter plates with different inclination angles according to different internal spaces of the shell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The utility model is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1 It is an exploded view of a specific implementation of the ice water dispenser of the utility model;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the back side of the ice water dispenser described in the utility model;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a front view schematic diagram of the ice water dispenser of the utility model;

[0023] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the inclination angle of the sensor assembly in the ice water dispenser of the utility model;

[0024] Figure 5 It is a front view of the sensor installation structure described in the utility model;

[0025] Figure 6 It is a side view of the sensor installation structure described in the utility model;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the clamping structure of the transfer plate and the installation plate in the utility model;

[0027] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the position of the sensor installation structure described in the utility model inside the housing.

[0028] In the figure, 1, shell, 2, ice guide groove, 3, water outlet assembly, 301, first micro switch, 302, water outlet push plate, 4, ice outlet assembly, 401, second micro switch, 402, ice push plate, 5, water receiving container, 6, water receiving tray, 7, sensor assembly, 701, circuit board, 702, sensor body, 9, mounting plate, 10, adapter plate, 1001, horizontal surface, 1002, slope surface, 11, slot, 12, hook, 13, water outlet, 14, ice outlet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0030] Embodiment 1

[0031] like Figure 5-Figure 8As shown, a sensor installation structure includes an ice guide groove 2, an adapter plate 10 and a sensor assembly 7. The ice guide groove 2 is installed in the shell 1 of the ice water dispenser to provide a flow guide for ice cubes. The middle of the ice guide groove 2 is hollowed out to form a funnel-shaped cavity so that ice cubes can fall freely. A mounting plate 9 is provided on the side of the ice guide groove 2. The sensor assembly 7 includes a circuit board 701 and a sensor body 702. The sensor body 702 is usually arranged vertically with the circuit board 701. The adapter plate 10 has a horizontal surface 1001 in contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate 9 and a slope surface 1002 for mounting the circuit board 701. The sensor body 702 extends downwardly through the adapter plate 10 and the mounting plate 9, so that the normal surface of the sensor body 702 has an inclination angle a with the center line of the ice guide groove 2.

[0032] The sensor assembly 7 is used to sense the position signal of the water receiving container 5 in the ice water dispenser, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the water outlet 13 and ice outlet 14 of the ice guide chute 2 are relatively close, and there is not enough space above and below to place the sensor assembly 7. It can only be placed on the left or right side. The space on the right side is relatively narrow and needs to install other components, such as a micro switch. The space on the left side is about 44cm×41cm, and the size of the sensor assembly 7 is about 35×30cm, which is just enough to fit. The sensor assembly 7 is usually a reflective distance sensor, such as an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. The signal emitted by the sensor assembly 7 is propagated in a straight line, so the water receiving container 5 needs to be on the normal plane of the sensor body 702, so that the sensor assembly 7 can receive the signal that the water receiving container 5 is in place, so the sensor body 702 needs to be arranged at an angle.

[0033] like Figure 5 As shown, the slope surface 1002 of the adapter plate 10 is located on the upper surface, and the sensor assembly 7 is installed on the slope surface 1002 to achieve the inclination of the sensor assembly 7. The advantage of setting the adapter plate 10 is that there is no need to change the structure of the sensor assembly 7. The sensor assembly 7 can still be purchased directly on the market. It only needs to select different adapter plates 10 according to different inclination angles, and the improvement cost is greatly reduced.

[0034] The ice guide chute 2 is usually arranged on the center line of the housing 1. Due to the limited space on the side of the ice guide chute 2, Figure 8As shown, there is only a small space between the ice guide chute 2 and the shell 1 to accommodate the mounting plate 9. The angle a between the end normal surface of the sensor body 702 and the center line of the ice guide chute 2 cannot be too small. If they are close to parallel, the water receiving container 5 at an angle below cannot be sensed; if the angle a is too large, the position of the obstruction that needs to reflect the signal of the sensor component 7 is higher, and due to the influence of the ice guide chute 2 and the water and ice outlet structure, the height of the water receiving container 5 is limited. For commonly used ice water dispensers, the size of the angle a can be selected to be 10°~15°, and the sensor component 7 can effectively detect the water receiving container 5 within this angle range.

[0035] The adapter plate 10 can be welded on the mounting plate 9. To facilitate assembly and disassembly, the mounting plate 9 connected with the adapter plate 10 is provided with a card slot 11, and the adapter plate 10 is provided with a card hook 12 (such as Figure 7 As shown). Preferably, two hooks 12 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the adapter plate 10, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, two hooks 12 extend downward on both sides of the same height of the slope surface 1002, and the height of the lower surface of the hook 12 is lower than the height of the horizontal surface 1001, so that the hook 12 can pass through the slot 11 and engage with the mounting plate 9. The adapter plate 10 is connected to the mounting plate 9 through the symmetrically arranged hooks 12 to ensure the stability of the connection and prevent the sensor assembly 7 from shaking.

[0036] Embodiment 2

[0037] like Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, an ice water dispenser is mainly used to release ice water or ice cubes according to customer needs. The main body of the dispenser is a shell 1. The shell 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped structure with a cavity inside, which is used to accommodate an ice guide groove 2, a water outlet component 3, an ice outlet component 4, a water receiving container 5 and a sensor component 7. The shell 1 is arranged vertically in the length direction, and the ice guide groove 2 is fixed in the shell 1. A water receiving tray 6 for placing the water receiving container 5 is arranged in the shell 1 directly below the ice guide groove 2. The water outlet component 3 is provided with a first micro switch 301 for receiving a water outlet action signal, and the ice outlet component 4 is provided with a second micro switch 401 for receiving an ice outlet action signal. For example, when the user makes a water outlet action, the state of the first micro switch 301 changes (from closed to open, or from open to closed), and when the user makes an ice outlet action, the state of the second micro switch 401 changes (from closed to open, or from open to closed).

[0038] The water discharge action signal of the water discharge assembly 3 can be realized by the water discharge push plate 302. When the water discharge push plate 302 is pushed, the first micro switch 301 receives the water discharge action signal and closes. Similarly, the ice discharge action signal of the ice discharge assembly 4 can be realized by the ice discharge push plate 402. When the ice discharge push plate 402 is pushed, the second micro switch 401 receives the ice discharge action signal and closes.

[0039] The sensor assembly 7, the first micro switch 301 and the second micro switch 401 are all electrically connected to the controller. When the sensor assembly 7 is activated and the first micro switch 301 receives a water discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute 2 to discharge water to the water receiving container 5; when the sensor assembly 7 is activated and the second micro switch 401 receives an ice discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute 2 to discharge ice to the water receiving container 5.

[0040] The conventional dispenser only relies on the first microswitch 301 and the second microswitch 401 to control the water or ice dispensing, and cannot judge whether the water receiving container 5 is placed in the housing 1. The present invention links the sensor assembly 7 with the first microswitch 301 and the second microswitch 401. Only when the sensor assembly 7 is stimulated, the controller will execute the first microswitch 301 and the second microswitch 401 to send a corresponding signal. If the sensor assembly 7 is not stimulated, that is, the water receiving container 5 is not placed in place, even if the first microswitch 301 or the second microswitch 401 sends a corresponding signal, water or ice will not be discharged, thereby avoiding the leakage of ice water.

[0041] Embodiment 3

[0042] A refrigeration device comprises the ice water distributor mentioned above.

[0043] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0044] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. In the description of the present utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the term "connection" 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. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0045] In this specification, the schematic representation of the terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0046] Based on the above ideal embodiments of the utility model, the relevant staff can make various changes and modifications without deviating from the technical concept of the utility model through the above description. The technical scope of the utility model is not limited to the content of the specification, and its technical scope must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A sensor installation structure, characterized in that: The invention comprises an ice guide groove (2), an adapter plate (10) and a sensor assembly (7); a mounting plate (9) is provided on the side of the ice guide groove (2); the sensor assembly (7) comprises a circuit board (701) and a sensor body (702); the adapter plate (10) has a horizontal surface (1001) in contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate (9) and a slope surface (1002) for mounting the circuit board (701); the sensor body (702) passes through the adapter plate (10) and the mounting plate (9) and extends downwardly at an angle, so that the normal surface of the sensor body (702) has an inclination angle a with the center line of the ice guide groove (2).

2. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of a is 10°~15°.

3. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slope surface (1002) has hooks (12) extending downwards on both sides at the same height, and the height of the lower surface of the hook (12) is lower than the height of the horizontal surface (1001); and the mounting plate (9) is provided with a slot (11) that cooperates with the hook (12).

4. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor component (7) is a reflective distance sensor.

5. The sensor mounting structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sensor component (7) is an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

6. An ice water dispenser, characterized in that: The invention comprises a shell (1) and a sensor installation structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 located in the shell (1), wherein a water receiving tray (6) for placing a water receiving container (5) is arranged in the shell (1) directly below the ice guide groove (2); when the water receiving container (5) is placed on the water receiving tray (6), the sensor component (7) is excited upon receiving a feedback signal.

7. The ice water dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that: A water outlet component (3) and an ice outlet component (4) are also provided in the housing (1); the water outlet component (3) is provided with a first micro switch (301) for receiving a water outlet action signal, and the ice outlet component (4) is provided with a second micro switch (401) for receiving an ice outlet action signal; The sensor assembly (7), the first micro switch (301) and the second micro switch (401) are all electrically connected to a controller; when the sensor assembly (7) is activated and the first micro switch (301) receives a water discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute (2) to discharge water to the water receiving container (5); when the sensor assembly (7) is activated and the second micro switch (401) receives an ice discharge action signal, the controller controls the ice guide chute (2) to discharge ice to the water receiving container (5).

8. The ice water dispenser according to claim 7, characterized in that: The water outlet assembly (3) further comprises a water outlet push plate (302), and when the water outlet push plate (302) is pushed, the first micro switch (301) receives a water outlet action signal and closes.

9. The ice water dispenser according to claim 7, characterized in that: The ice discharging assembly (4) further comprises an ice pushing plate (402), and when the ice pushing plate (402) is pushed, the second micro switch (401) receives an ice discharging action signal and closes.

10. A refrigeration device, characterized in that: The invention comprises the ice water dispenser as described in any one of claims 6 to 9.

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