Pipeline water dispenser

Abstract

The utility model provides a pipeline water drinking device which comprises a front shell and a plurality of first sensors, the front shell comprises a front shell body and a tray located at the bottom of the front shell body, and the tray is used for containing a water receiving container; the multiple first sensors are arranged on the front shell body and arranged at intervals in the height direction of the pipeline water drinking device. According to the scheme provided by the invention, each first sensor can accurately measure whether the object exists on the front side of the first sensor, so that the upper end of the container is inevitably higher than the first sensor with the object on the front side and lower than the first sensor without the object on the front side, and the height of the upper end of the container can be accurately positioned; therefore, the first height of the container on the tray is accurately obtained, accurate water adding is further achieved, the situation that the water adding amount is too large or too small is avoided, and the user experience of using the water dispenser is effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly relates to a pipeline drinking water device. Background Art

[0002] A drinking water machine is a device that heats or cools water and distributes it. A drinking water device in the related art can detect whether a container is placed on a tray and measure the height of the container to facilitate automatic water addition. However, its measurement of the container height is not accurate enough, resulting in either too much or too little water addition, which affects the user experience. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] This application provides a pipeline drinking water device that can accurately measure the height of a container placed on a tray, thereby achieving accurate water addition and effectively improving the user experience of using the drinking water machine.

[0004] The pipeline drinking water device provided by this application includes:

[0005] A front shell, including a front shell body and a tray located at the bottom of the front shell body, where the tray is used to place a container for receiving water;

[0006] A plurality of first sensors are arranged on the front shell body, and the plurality of first sensors are arranged at intervals along the height direction of the pipeline drinking water device.

[0007] The solution provided by this application sets a plurality of first sensor pipelines on the front shell body of the pipeline drinking water device, and the plurality of first sensors are arranged at intervals along the height direction of the pipeline drinking water device. Since each first sensor can accurately measure whether there is an object in front of it, therefore, the upper end of the container must be higher than the first sensor with an object in front and lower than the first sensor without an object in front. In this way, the height where the upper end of the container is located can be accurately positioned, so as to accurately obtain the height of the container on the tray, and then achieve accurate water addition, avoid too much or too little water addition, and effectively improve the user experience of using the drinking water machine.

[0008] In combination with the above implementation manner, in some possible implementation manners, the distance between two adjacent first sensors is greater than or equal to 5 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm.

[0009] In combination with the above implementation manner, in some possible implementation manners, the front shell body is provided with a relief hole for exposing the first sensor.

[0010] In combination with the above implementation manner, in some possible implementation manners, the relief holes are multiple and arranged in a dot matrix, or

[0011] The relief hole is a strip-shaped hole.

[0012] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, a light-transmitting member is disposed on the front shell body corresponding to the avoidance hole, and the light-transmitting member is used to close the avoidance hole.

[0013] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, the front shell further includes:

[0014] A top plate, the top plate is disposed opposite to the upper side of the tray and is provided with a water outlet pipe;

[0015] The pipeline drinking water device further includes:

[0016] A second sensor, the second sensor is disposed on the top plate adjacent to the water outlet pipe.

[0017] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, both the first sensor and the second sensor adopt infrared sensors.

[0018] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, the tray is provided with a gravity-sensing lamp.

[0019] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, the water outlet direction of the water outlet pipe faces the geometric center of the gravity-sensing lamp.

[0020] In combination with the above implementation manners, in some possible implementation manners, the number of the gravity-sensing lamps is multiple and they are concentrically arranged. Description of the Drawings

[0021] By reading the detailed description of the following embodiments, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of showing the embodiments and are not considered as a limitation to the present application. And in all the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a pipeline drinking water device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of a container detection device and a water level detection device shown in the pipeline drinking water device;

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another pipeline drinking water device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of yet another pipeline drinking water device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] The descriptions of the reference numerals in the drawings are as follows:

[0027] 100, Pipeline drinking water device;

[0028] 1, Front shell;

[0029] 11, Front shell body; 111, Avoidance hole;

[0030] 12, Top plate; 121, Water outlet pipe; 122, Installation bracket; 123, Decorative piece;

[0031] 13, Tray; 131, Gravity - sensing lamp;

[0032] 2, Container detection device; 21, First sensor;

[0033] 3, Water level detection device; 31, Second sensor;

[0034] 101, Container;

[0035] H, Height direction. Specific implementation manner

[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the technical solution of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application, so they are only examples and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0037] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of this application and the above - mentioned accompanying drawing description are intended to cover non - exclusive inclusion.

[0038] Referring to "embodiments" herein means that specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The phrase appears in various places in the specification and does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0039] A drinking water device in the related art can detect whether a container is placed on a tray and measure the height of the container to facilitate automatic water addition. However, its measurement of the container height is not accurate enough, resulting in either too much or too little water addition, which affects the user experience.

[0040] To solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a pipeline drinking water device. The pipeline drinking water device provided by the embodiment of the present application will be introduced in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the specification.

[0041] The pipeline drinking water device, also known as a pipeline water dispenser, is a water supply device directly connected to the main water supply source. Compared with a common water dispenser used in conjunction with barreled water, the pipeline drinking water device does not require a water bucket, eliminates the need to buy and change water, can be directly connected to the water source for supply, and avoids the trouble of frequent water addition, and can fully meet the water use requirements in offices, families, schools, commercial places, etc.

[0042] Figure 1 An exemplary pipeline drinking water device 100 of an embodiment of the present application is shown. Refer to Figure 2 , the pipeline drinking water device 100 includes a front shell 1, a container detection device 2, a water level detection device 3, and a controller (not shown in the figure).

[0043] The front shell 1 includes a connected front shell body 11, a top plate 12, and a tray 13. The front shell body 11, as a part of the outer shell of the pipeline drinking water device, is exposed on the outside of the entire pipeline drinking water device and can provide an installation basis for the top plate 12 and the tray 13.

[0044] The tray 13 is located on one side of the bottom of the front shell body 11 and protrudes outward. The tray 13 is used to place the water receiving container 101. Refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the tray 13 may include a trough body and a grid plate covering the notch of the trough body. Since there are gaps reserved on the grid plate, the water spilled on the tray 13 can flow down from the grid plate and be stored in the trough body. Refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4, the tray 13 can also adopt a plate-like structure. In this case, a gravity sensor lamp 131 can also be provided on the tray 13. The gravity sensor lamp 131 can be lit when it senses that the container 101 is placed on the tray 13, and can be extinguished when it senses that the container 101 is not placed on the tray 13. By the lighting or extinguishing of the gravity sensor lamp 131, a positive atmosphere can be created for the user when using the pipeline drinking water device. The number of gravity sensor lamps 131 can be one, for example, a circular gravity sensor lamp 131 is adopted. Of course, the number of gravity sensor lamps 131 can also be multiple. In this case, gravity sensor lamps 131 in the shape of an arc, a circular ring, or polygons such as a triangle, a quadrilateral, and a pentagon can be selected, and multiple gravity sensor lamps 131 can be nested with each other to form various different style combinations. In order to present a better visual effect, multiple gravity sensor lamps 131 can be arranged concentrically. When it is detected that the container 101 is placed on the tray 13, one of the multiple gravity sensor lamps 131 can be set to be lit, and at least one of the remaining gravity sensor lamps 131 can be lit after a preset time delay, presenting a dynamic lighting effect. In addition, considering that it is convenient for the user to align the opening of the container 101 with the water outlet pipe 121 and avoid water splashing onto the user or spilling to the periphery of the container 101, the water outlet direction of the water outlet pipe 121 can be set to face the geometric center of the gravity sensor lamp 131. In this way, when the container 101 is placed on the gravity sensor lamp 131 and the gravity sensor lamp 131 is lit, the user can conveniently and timely adjust the position of the container 101 placed on the tray 13 according to the geometric center of the gravity sensor lamp 131.

[0045] The top plate 12 is located above the tray 13 and can also present a state of protruding outward relative to the front shell body 11. In order to reduce the occupied space of the pipeline drinking water device, the protruding amplitude of the top plate 12 can be set to be smaller than that of the tray 13. The top plate 12 can provide support for the water outlet pipe 121. Exemplarily, referring to Figure 2 , an installation bracket 122 for supporting the water outlet pipe 121 can be provided at the top plate 12, and the water outlet pipe 121 is arranged above the tray 13 through the top plate 12 and the installation bracket 122. In order to obtain a more beautiful appearance, a decorative part 123 can also be provided on the installation bracket 122. In addition, the top plate 12 can also provide an installation space for the water level detection device 3, which will be described below.

[0046] The container detection device 2 is provided on the front shell body 11 and is used to detect whether the tray 13 places the container 101 and detect the first height of the container 101. The container detection device 2 can adopt a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, etc. The laser sensor uses a laser beam to detect an object and measure the distance between the object and the sensor; the infrared sensor detects an object and measures the distance between the object and the sensor based on the principle of different responses of the object to the reflection, absorption, and emission of infrared rays. The infrared sensor generally includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter emits infrared rays, and the receiver is used to receive the infrared rays reflected by the object. When the infrared rays reach the surface of the object, they will be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted by the characteristics of the object surface. Different object surface materials will have different reflectivities and absorption rates. The receiver detects the infrared rays reflected by the target object and converts them into electrical signals. Among them, the principle of the laser sensor is similar to that of the infrared sensor, and the embodiments of the present application will not be elaborated herein.

[0047] See Figure 2 , in some embodiments of the present application, the container detection device 2 may include a plurality of first sensors 21, and the plurality of first sensors 21 are arranged at intervals in a column on the front shell body 11. The plurality of first sensors 21 are arranged at intervals along the height direction H of the pipeline drinking water device. The front shell body 11 is provided with an avoidance hole 111 for exposing the first sensor 21. In this way, signals such as laser and infrared rays emitted by the first sensor 21 can be smoothly transmitted to the outside through the avoidance hole 111. The form of the avoidance hole 111 can be various. See Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the avoidance hole 111 can be a strip-shaped hole. For this column of first sensors 21, at least one strip-shaped hole can be provided. Exemplarily, as Figure 3 shown, the number of strip-shaped holes can be two and are arranged up and down in a column. In addition, see Figure 3 , the avoidance hole 111 can be a circular hole, or an elliptical hole, a square hole, etc., and the number of avoidance holes 111 of this shape can also be multiple and arranged in a dot matrix. A light-transmitting member is provided on the front shell body 11 corresponding to the avoidance hole 111. The light-transmitting member can effectively seal the avoidance hole 111 on the premise of ensuring the smooth transmission of signals such as laser and infrared rays to the outside, thereby preventing foreign matters such as mosquitoes and dust from entering the pipeline drinking water device through the avoidance hole 111 and affecting the normal operation of the pipeline drinking water device.

[0048] The plurality of first sensors 21 can be integrally arranged on a circuit board (see Figure 2On the dashed line (in the figure), multiple first sensors 21 refer to two or more (including two) first sensors 21. For example, there can be two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, etc. The distance between two adjacent first sensors 21 is greater than or equal to 5 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm. For example, the spacing can be 5 mm, 6 mm, 7.5 mm, 8 mm, 9.5 mm, 10 mm, etc. It can be understood that the designer can select an appropriate number of first sensors 21, and this application does not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0049] It should be noted that the first sensors 21 at different height positions can detect whether there is an object in front of them. Therefore, when a first sensor 21 at a certain height detects that there is an object in front of it, if the other first sensor 21 closest to it above does not detect that there is an object in front of it, then the height of the first sensor 21 at a certain height can be used as the height of the object. For the sake of simple calculation, the following takes fifteen first sensors 21 as an example. See Figure 2 , assuming that the height of the first sensor 21 at the lowest position from the surface of the tray 13 is 30 mm, the height of the first sensor 21 at the highest position from the surface of the tray 13 is 170 mm, and the distance between the remaining adjacent two first sensors 21 is 10 mm; when the container 101 is placed on the tray 13, if the 1st to 10th first sensors 21 from bottom to top all detect that there is an object in front of them, and the 11th first sensor 21 from bottom to top (i.e., the other first sensor 21 closest to it above the 10th first sensor 21) does not detect that there is an object in front of it, then the height 120 mm of the 10th first sensor 21 from bottom to top can be used as the height of the container 101, that is, the height of the container 101 is measured to be 120 mm.

[0050] Since each first sensor 21 can accurately measure whether there is an object in front of it, therefore, the upper end of the container 101 must be higher than the first sensor 21 with an object in front of it and lower than the first sensor 21 without an object in front of it. In this way, the height where the upper end of the container 101 is located can be accurately positioned, so as to accurately obtain the first height of the container 101 on the tray, and further realize accurate water addition, avoid excessive or insufficient water addition, and effectively improve the user experience of using the water dispenser. It can be understood that the more the number of first sensors 21, the higher the detection accuracy of the first height, and correspondingly, the higher the hardware cost of the sensors, etc. In actual applications, the designer can make necessary trade-offs between the measurement accuracy and the cost according to actual needs.

[0051] If the first sensor 21 at the lowest position in this column does not detect an object in front of it, or rather, if all the first sensors 21 do not detect an object in front of them, then it can be determined that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13.

[0052] The water level detection device 3 is arranged on the top plate 12 and is used to detect the second height of the water in the container 101. The water level detection device 3 can also adopt a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, etc. The water level detection device 3 includes a second sensor 31; the second sensor 31 is arranged on the top plate 12 adjacent to the water outlet pipe 121. The second sensor 31 can also be integrally arranged on a circuit board (see the dashed line in Figure 2 ). The circuit board integrating the second sensor 31 can be fixedly arranged inside the top plate 12, and the sensor is exposed by arranging a through hole (not shown in the figure) on the top plate 12. This through hole is similar to the avoidance hole 111 mentioned above, and the description of the avoidance hole 111 above can be referred to, which will not be elaborated here.

[0053] As described above, the second sensor 31 can be an infrared sensor. During use, the second sensor 31 can emit infrared rays and receive the infrared rays reflected back when encountering an obstacle, and calculate the distance between the obstacle and the infrared sensor according to the time when the reflected infrared rays are received. Specifically, when the container 101 is placed on the tray 13, the second sensor 31 emits infrared rays to the container 101, and the infrared rays are reflected back to the second sensor 31 when encountering the water surface in the container 101. According to the time difference between emitting and receiving the infrared rays, the distance between the water surface in the container 101 and the second sensor 31 can be determined. Since the height of the second sensor 31 is usually determined during design, the second height of the water in the container 101 can be determined by subtracting the measured distance between the water surface and the second sensor 31 from the height of the second sensor 31.

[0054] The controller can be a general-purpose processor, which can include a central processing unit, a network processor, etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The controller is electrically connected to the first sensor 21 and the second sensor 31, and is used to control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water when it is detected that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13 or the difference between the first height and the second height is less than a preset threshold.

[0055] When it is detected that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13 according to the method described above, for example, when the user observes by himself that the water volume in the container 101 meets his own needs, the container 101 on the tray 13 can be directly taken away. At this time, the controller can control the electric control valve on the water outlet pipe 121 or control the pumping device in the pipeline drinking water device to control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water, so as to avoid waste of water resources.

[0056] Users can flexibly design the size of the preset threshold according to actual needs. The preset threshold can be set from 5 mm to 20 mm. For example, it can be 5 mm, 8 mm, 12 mm, 16 mm, 18 mm, 20 mm, etc. Taking the preset threshold of 5 mm as an example, when the difference between the first height and the second height is detected to be less than 5 mm, the controller can automatically control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water, and automatic stop of water discharge can be achieved without user operation. It can be understood that when the second height of the water in the container 101 is detected to be 0 mm, that is, when the container 101 is an empty cup, the difference between the first height and the second height is significantly greater than the preset threshold. At this time, the water outlet pipe 121 can be manually or automatically controlled to discharge water until the difference between the first height and the second height is less than the preset threshold, that is, when the container 101 is full of water, the water discharge automatically stops.

[0057] During use, the container detection device 2 provided on the front shell body 11 can detect whether the container 101 is placed on the tray 13 and detect the first height of the container 101. The water level detection device 3 provided on the top plate 12 can detect the second height of the water in the container 101. The controller can automatically control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water based on whether the container 101 is placed on the tray 13 detected and the difference between the first height and the second height of the water in the container 101, so as to automatically stop the water supply when the user is receiving water, avoid water overflowing from the container 101 and wasting water resources, and effectively improve the user experience of using the water dispenser.

[0058] In addition, when the gravity sensing lamp 131 is provided on the tray 13, the controller can also be electrically connected to the gravity sensing lamp 131. In this way, the gravity sensing lamp 131 can be used to detect whether the container 101 is placed on the tray 13 to control the switch of the water outlet pipe 121. Exemplarily, when the gravity sensing lamp 131 detects that the container 101 is not placed on the tray 13, the controller can control the gravity sensing lamp 131 to go out and at the same time control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water.

[0059] It should be noted that since both the container detection device 2 and the gravity sensor lamp 131 can detect whether a container 101 is placed on the tray 13, when the controller is electrically connected to both the container detection device 2 and the gravity sensor lamp 131, different methods can be used to control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water. One possible implementation is that the signal indicating that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13 detected by the container detection device 2 alone or by the gravity sensor lamp 131 alone can be used to control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water. In other words, if the container detection device 2 detects that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13, the controller controls the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water, or if the gravity sensor lamp 131 detects that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13, the controller controls the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water. Another possible implementation is that the signal indicating that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13 detected by both the container detection device 2 and the gravity sensor lamp 131 can also be used to control the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water. In other words, if both the container detection device 2 and the gravity sensor lamp 131 detect that no container 101 is placed on the tray 13, the controller controls the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water. It can be understood that the latter method requires two conditions to be met simultaneously, so the accuracy and reliability of controlling the water outlet pipe 121 to stop discharging water are higher.

[0060] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and they should all be covered by the scope of the claims and the description of the present application. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way. The present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the text, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A pipeline drinking water device, characterized in that: include: The front shell comprises a front shell body and a tray located at the bottom of the front shell body, wherein the tray is used to place a container for receiving water; A plurality of first sensors are arranged on the front shell body, and the plurality of first sensors are arranged at intervals along the height direction of the pipeline drinking water device.

2. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between two adjacent first sensors is greater than or equal to 5 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm.

3. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front shell body is provided with an avoidance hole for exposing the first sensor.

4. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The avoidance holes are multiple and arranged in a lattice, or The avoidance hole is a strip-shaped hole.

5. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A light-transmitting member is arranged on the front shell body at a position corresponding to the avoidance hole, and the light-transmitting member is used to close the avoidance hole.

6. The pipeline drinking water device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The front shell also includes: A top plate, which is relatively arranged above the tray and is equipped with a water outlet pipe; The pipeline drinking water device also includes: A second sensor is disposed on the top plate adjacent to the water outlet pipe.

7. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first sensor and the second sensor are both infrared sensors.

8. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The tray is provided with a gravity sensing lamp.

9. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The water outlet direction of the water outlet pipe is toward the geometric center of the gravity sensing lamp.

10. The pipeline drinking water device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The gravity sensing lamps are multiple and concentrically arranged.

Images