Liquid level detection device and water tank assembly

Abstract

The utility model relates to a liquid level detection device and a water tank assembly, which can solve the problem that the liquid level height detection of a water tank is inaccurate due to the fact that an existing liquid level detection circuit board is easily influenced by the placement error / deviation of the water tank. The liquid level detection device comprises a liquid level detection circuit board; the rigid part is fixedly arranged on the water tank seat body; the sealing element comprises an abutting part which is fixedly connected with the liquid level detection circuit board and is used for abutting against a water tank body, a blocking part which is fixedly connected with the rigid element and is used for blocking a gap between the rigid element and the water tank seat body, and a deformation part which integrally extends to the abutting part from the blocking part and is used for extending into the water tank seat body; the sealing piece wraps the liquid level detection circuit board and is used for separating the liquid level detection circuit board from the water tank body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of liquid level detection, in particular to a liquid level detection device and a water tank component. Background Art

[0002] There are many methods for detecting the liquid level of steamer water tanks on the market. One of them is to install a liquid level detection circuit board outside the water tank to use the difference in the liquid level height of the water tank to cause the capacitance of the sensor motor superimposed on the liquid level detection circuit board to change. That is, the liquid level increases and the capacitance increases. The corresponding capacitance change is then collected by the liquid level detection circuit board, and the height of the water tank liquid level is reflected through corresponding logical operations.

[0003] However, since the steamer water tank usually requires customers to take the water and place it in a fixed position on the water tank seat, there will be slight errors / deviations in the placement position each time, which will cause the distance between the water tank and the liquid level detection circuit board to change, thereby affecting the capacitance change detected by the sensor motor on the liquid level detection circuit board, and ultimately causing inaccurate detection of the water tank liquid level height. Utility Model Content

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to address the problem that the existing liquid level detection circuit board is easily affected by the water tank placement error / deviation, resulting in inaccurate detection of the water tank liquid level height. The utility model provides a liquid level detection device and a water tank assembly.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present application, the utility model provides a liquid level detection device, which is used to be arranged between a water tank seat and a water tank body, and the liquid level detection device includes:

[0006] Liquid level detection circuit board;

[0007] A rigid member, used for being fixed to the water tank base; and

[0008] The sealing member includes an abutting portion fixedly connected to the liquid level detection circuit board and used to abut the water tank body, a blocking portion fixedly connected to the rigid member and used to block the gap between the rigid member and the water tank seat body, and a deforming portion integrally extending from the blocking portion to the abutting portion and used to extend into the water tank seat body. The sealing member covers the liquid level detection circuit board and is used to separate the liquid level detection circuit board from the water tank body.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present application, the abutment portion includes an abutment wall that is in contact with the front side of the liquid level detection circuit board, a peripheral side wall that extends from the abutment wall toward the deformation portion and is in contact with the peripheral side surface of the liquid level detection circuit board, and a circular limiting wall that extends inward from the peripheral side wall and is in contact with the back side of the liquid level detection circuit board.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present application, the deformation portion extends from the abutting portion to the blocking portion in a bent manner, so as to form a concave-convex texture structure alternately arranged between the abutting portion and the blocking portion.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present application, the sealing portion includes a sealing pad located between the rigid member and the water tank seat body and a wrapping pad folded outward from the sealing pad; the wrapping pad wraps around the periphery of the rigid member.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present application, the sealing member is a silicone rubber cover; and the rigid member is a plastic plate.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present application, an embodiment of the present application further provides a water tank assembly, including:

[0014] Water tank body;

[0015] A water tank seat, used for supporting the water tank body; and

[0016] Any of the above-mentioned liquid level detection devices is arranged between the water tank seat and the water tank body, and is used to detect the liquid level height inside the water tank body.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present application, the liquid level detection device is arranged at the bottom of the water tank seat.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present application, the water tank seat body has a bottom through hole; the sealing member in the liquid level detection device seals the bottom through hole, and the abutting portion of the sealing member extends into the water tank seat body through the bottom through hole.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present application, the rigid member is detachably fixed to the outer side of the water tank seat.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present application, a limiting groove abutting against the periphery of the water tank body is provided on the top of the water tank seat; and a micro switch for being triggered by the water tank body is provided on the bottom of the water tank seat.

[0021] In summary, when the water tank body filled with liquid is placed on the water tank seat, the deformation portion of the seal in the liquid level detection device of the present application is squeezed and deformed to make the abutment portion of the seal fit tightly against the water tank body, so that the liquid level detection circuit board and the water tank body are only separated by the abutment portion, which helps to ensure that the distance between the liquid level detection circuit board and the water tank body is fixed without being affected by slight errors / deviations in the placement position each time, so as to improve the accuracy of water tank liquid level height detection.

[0022] In addition, since the liquid level detection circuit board in the liquid level detection device of the present application is isolated from the water tank body due to being covered by the sealing component, the liquid level detection device of the present application can be arranged at the bottom of the water tank seat to correspond to the bottom wall of the water tank body, so as to accurately detect the lower liquid level height in the water tank body while effectively blocking the liquid overflowing or leaking from the water tank body from contacting the liquid level detection circuit board, thereby avoiding the problem of short circuit of the liquid level detection circuit board. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a water tank assembly according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 2 An exploded schematic diagram of a water tank assembly according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0025] Figure 3 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a liquid level detection device in a water tank assembly according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0026] Figure 4 An exploded schematic diagram of a liquid level detection device according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0027] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a state of the liquid level detection device according to the above embodiment of the present application before being squeezed;

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing a state of the liquid level detection device after being squeezed according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic cross-sectional view of a water tank assembly according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown, wherein the water tank body is not placed on the water tank base;

[0030] Figure 8 Shows Figure 7 An enlarged schematic diagram of a part A in the water tank assembly shown;

[0031] Fig. 9 A schematic cross-sectional view of a water tank assembly according to the above embodiment of the present application is shown, wherein the water tank body has been placed on the water tank base;

[0032] Fig.10 Shows Fig. 9 An enlarged schematic diagram of part B in the water tank assembly is shown.

[0033] Explanation of the main component symbols: 1. Water tank assembly; 10. Water tank body; 11. Drain branch pipe; 20. Water tank seat; 21. Bottom through hole; 22. Limiting groove; 23. Micro switch; 24. Drain sleeve; 30. Liquid level detection device; 31. Liquid level detection circuit board; 32. Rigid part; 33. Sealing part; 331. Abutment part; 3311. Abutment wall; 3312. Side wall; 3313. Ring-shaped limiting wall; 332. Sealing part; 3321. Sealing pad; 3322. Wrapping pad; 333. Deformation part.

[0034] The above main component symbols are combined with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods to further illustrate the present invention in detail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the utility model more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the utility model are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the utility model. However, the utility model can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the utility model, so the utility model is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0036] 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 orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0041] Considering that the distance between the water tank and the liquid level detection circuit board also changes during the process of taking and placing the existing steamer water tank from the water tank seat due to slight errors / deviations in the placement position each time, thus affecting the capacitance change detected by the sensing motor on the liquid level detection circuit board, and ultimately causing inaccurate detection of the water tank liquid level height. Therefore, the present application provides a liquid level detection device and a water tank assembly, which can solve the problem that the existing liquid level detection circuit board is easily affected by the water tank placement error / deviation, resulting in inaccurate detection of the water tank liquid level height.

[0042] Specifically, refer to the attached Figures 1 to 10 As shown, one embodiment of the present application provides a water tank assembly 1, which may include a water tank body 10 for holding liquid, a water tank seat 20 for supporting the water tank body 10, and a liquid level detection device 30 arranged between the water tank seat 20 and the water tank body 10, so as to detect the liquid level height within the water tank body 10 through the liquid level detection device 30.

[0043] More specifically, if Figures 2 to 6 As shown, the liquid level detection device 30 includes a liquid level detection circuit board 31, a rigid member 32 fixedly mounted on the water tank seat 20, and a sealing member 33; the sealing member 33 includes an abutting portion 331 fixedly connected to the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and used to abut the water tank body 10, a blocking portion 332 fixedly connected to the rigid member 32 and used to block the gap between the rigid member 32 and the water tank seat 20, and a deforming portion 333 integrally extending from the blocking portion 332 to the abutting portion 331 and used to extend into the water tank seat 20. The sealing member 33 covers the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and is used to separate the liquid level detection circuit board 31 from the water tank body 10.

[0044] In this way, Fig. 9 and Fig.10 As shown, when the water tank body 10 filled with liquid is placed on the water tank seat 20, the deformation portion 333 of the seal 33 is squeezed and deformed to make the abutment portion 331 of the seal 33 fit tightly against the water tank body 10, so that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10 are only separated by the abutment portion 331, which helps to ensure that the distance between the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10 is fixed without being affected by slight errors / deviations in the placement position each time, so as to improve the accuracy of the water tank liquid level height detection.

[0045] It is worth noting that since the water tank body containing liquid may overflow or leak when taking it out, once it flows onto the liquid level detection circuit board, it is easy to cause a short circuit problem. Therefore, the existing steamer water tank usually arranges the liquid level detection circuit board on the top of the water tank seat to correspond to the side wall of the water tank body to prevent the liquid accumulated in the water tank seat from contacting the liquid level detection circuit board; however, once the liquid level of the water tank body is low, the liquid level detection circuit board will not be able to accurately detect the liquid level height. However, since the liquid level detection circuit board 31 in the liquid level detection device 30 of the present application is isolated from the water tank body 10 because it is covered by the sealing member 33, Figures 7 to 10 As shown, the liquid level detection device 30 of the present application can be arranged at the bottom of the water tank seat 20 to correspond to the bottom wall of the water tank body 10, so as to accurately detect the lower liquid level height in the water tank body 10 while effectively blocking the liquid overflowing or leaking from the water tank body 10 from contacting the liquid level detection circuit board 31, thereby avoiding the short circuit problem of the liquid level detection circuit board 31.

[0046] Exemplarily, the seal 33 can be, but is not limited to, implemented as a silicone rubber cover, so that while the cover covers the liquid level detection circuit board 31 to isolate it from the water tank body 10, the silicone rubber cover itself can be used to achieve elastic deformation under the squeezing of the water tank body 10 and the water tank seat 20 to ensure that after each placement of the water tank body 10 on the water tank seat 20, there is only a layer of silicone rubber between the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10, thereby ensuring that the distance between the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10 is fixed, thereby improving the accuracy of liquid level detection.

[0047] Alternatively, if Figures 4 to 6 As shown, the abutment portion 331 of the seal 33 includes an abutment wall 3311 that is fitted with the front side of the liquid level detection circuit board 31, a peripheral side wall 3312 that extends from the abutment wall 3311 toward the deformation portion 333 and is fitted with the peripheral side of the liquid level detection circuit board 31, and a circular limiting wall 3313 that extends inward from the peripheral side wall 3312 and is fitted with the back side of the liquid level detection circuit board 31, so as to form a limiting cavity matching the liquid level detection circuit board 31, so that the abutment portion 331 wraps around the periphery of the liquid level detection circuit board 31, so as to ensure that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 is reliably fixed on the abutment portion 331, so that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10 are separated only by the abutment wall 3311.

[0048] Alternatively, if Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the deformation portion 333 of the seal 33 is bent and extended from the abutment portion 331 to the blocking portion 332 to form an alternating concave-convex texture structure between the abutment portion 331 and the blocking portion 332, so as to ensure that the deformation portion 333 of the seal 33 can be smoothly deformed after being extruded, that is, the excess silicone rubber material after extrusion can fill the space between the concave-convex textures.

[0049] According to the above embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 and Figure 7 As shown, the water tank seat 20 may have a bottom through hole 21; the abutment portion 331 of the sealing member 33 extends into the water tank seat 20 through the bottom through hole 21, so that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 is located inside the water tank seat 20 to facilitate the detection of the liquid level height in the water tank body 10; the blocking portion 332 of the sealing member 33 is fixedly connected to the water tank seat 20 through the rigid member 32, so as to seal the bottom through hole 21 through the sealing member 33, so that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 is exposed through the bottom through hole 21.

[0050] Optionally, the rigid member 32 is detachably fixed to the outside of the water tank seat body 20 , so that the sealing member 33 can be detachably installed at the bottom through hole 21 of the water tank seat body 20 .

[0051] It is worth noting that the rigid member 32 mentioned in the present application can be, but is not limited to, implemented as a plastic plate; the plastic plate can be, but is not limited to, fixedly connected to the water tank seat body 20 by means of screw fixation or snap fixation.

[0052] Alternatively, if Figure 8 and Fig.10 As shown, the blocking portion 332 of the sealing member 33 includes a sealing gasket 3321 located between the rigid member 32 and the water tank seat body 20 so as to be pressed by the rigid member 32 and the water tank seat body 20 to better seal the bottom through hole 21 .

[0053] Alternatively, if Figures 5 to 10 As shown, the sealing portion 332 of the sealing member 33 further includes a wrapping pad 3322 folded outward from the sealing pad 3321 to wrap the periphery of the rigid member 32 , which is beneficial to the positioning and assembly of the liquid level detection device 30 .

[0054] According to the above embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 , Figure 7 and Fig. 9 As shown, the top of the water tank seat 20 may be provided with a limit groove 22 that abuts against the periphery of the water tank body 10; the bottom of the water tank seat 20 may be provided with a micro switch 23 for being triggered by the water tank body 10. In this way, when the water tank body 10 is placed on the water tank seat 20, the limit groove 22 of the water tank seat 20 abuts against the periphery of the water tank body 10 to limit the insertion depth of the water tank body 10; at the same time, the water tank body 10 will press the movable reed of the micro switch 23 to trigger the micro switch 23 and determine that the water tank body 10 has been put in place.

[0055] It is worth noting that, since the movable reed of the micro switch 23 can continue to be pressed down by 2mm to 3mm after being pressed down to trigger the micro switch 23, the depth of the water tank body 10 placed in the water tank seat 20 is not fixed and there is a certain error; however, the liquid level detection device 30 of the present application only needs to ensure that the placement error d of the water tank body 10 is within the extrusion deformation range of the seal 33, that is, less than or equal to the maximum deformation s (d≤s) of the deformation portion 333 of the seal 33, so that the seal 33 can well compensate for this error. In this way, if Fig. 9 and Fig.10 As shown, each time the water tank body 10 is placed into the water tank seat 20, the deformed portion 333 of the seal 33 is squeezed so that the abutting portion 331 abuts against the water tank body 10, so that the liquid level detection circuit board 31 and the water tank body 10 are always separated by only a layer of silicone rubber, ensuring that the distance between the two is fixed, so as to improve the accuracy of liquid level height detection.

[0056] In addition, if Figure 2 and Fig. 9 As shown, a drainage branch pipe 11 is provided at the bottom of the water tank body 10; a drainage sleeve 24 matching the drainage branch pipe 11 is provided at the bottom of the water tank seat 20, so that when the water tank body 10 is placed on the water tank seat 20, the drainage branch pipe 11 is sealedly inserted into the drainage sleeve 24 to prevent the discharged liquid from leaking into the water tank seat 20.

[0057] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0058] The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the utility model, and the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the utility model, which all belong to the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. A liquid level detection device, used to be arranged between the water tank seat and the water tank body, characterized in that: The liquid level detection device comprises: Liquid level detection circuit board; A rigid member, used for being fixed to the water tank base; and The sealing member includes an abutting portion fixedly connected to the liquid level detection circuit board and used to abut the water tank body, a blocking portion fixedly connected to the rigid member and used to block the gap between the rigid member and the water tank seat body, and a deforming portion integrally extending from the blocking portion to the abutting portion and used to extend into the water tank seat body. The sealing member covers the liquid level detection circuit board and is used to separate the liquid level detection circuit board from the water tank body.

2. The liquid level detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The abutment portion includes an abutment wall that is in contact with the front surface of the liquid level detection circuit board, a peripheral side wall that extends from the abutment wall toward the deformation portion and is in contact with the peripheral side surface of the liquid level detection circuit board, and a circular limiting wall that extends inwardly from the peripheral side wall and is in contact with the back surface of the liquid level detection circuit board.

3. The liquid level detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The deformation portion is bent and extended from the abutting portion to the blocking portion, so as to form a concave-convex pattern structure alternately arranged between the abutting portion and the blocking portion.

4. The liquid level detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The blocking portion includes a sealing pad located between the rigid member and the water tank seat body and a wrapping pad folded outward from the sealing pad; the wrapping pad wraps the periphery of the rigid member.

5. The liquid level detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The sealing member is a silicone rubber cover; the rigid member is a plastic plate.

6. A water tank assembly, characterized in that: include: Water tank body; A water tank seat, used for carrying the water tank body; as well as The liquid level detection device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the liquid level detection device is arranged between the water tank seat and the water tank body, and is used to detect the liquid level height in the water tank body.

7. The water tank assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The liquid level detection device is arranged at the bottom of the water tank seat.

8. The water tank assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that: The water tank seat body has a bottom through hole; the sealing member in the liquid level detection device seals the bottom through hole, and the abutting portion of the sealing member extends into the water tank seat body through the bottom through hole.

9. The water tank assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that: The rigid member is detachably fixed to the outer side of the water tank seat body.

10. The water tank assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The top of the water tank seat is provided with a limiting groove abutting against the periphery of the water tank body; the bottom of the water tank seat is provided with a micro switch for being triggered by the water tank body.

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