Electric clothes airing machine and air supply system and air duct assembly thereof

Abstract

The air duct assembly comprises an outer guide plate, an inner guide plate and a movable plate which define a semi-closed barrel shape, the movable plate comprises a main swing blade, when the movable plate is opened, the main swing blade abuts against the inner guide plate to form an air duct, and a gap between the main swing blade and the outer guide plate forms an air outlet; when the movable plate is closed, the main swing blade abuts against the outer guide plate to seal the air outlet, the main swing blade is used for forming a part of the air duct assembly, the swing blade is not just used as a blocking structure of the air outlet, the position of the main swing blade is switched by following starting or closing of the draught fan, and therefore the air duct assembly is more convenient to use. The air duct is spliced when the fan is started, only the basic structure is reserved when the fan is closed, the integrity of the air duct structure does not need to be statically maintained, the size of the air duct structure can be reduced, the air outlet can be expanded to reduce air resistance, and therefore the air duct structure can be matched with a fan with higher power.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of electric clothes drying rack technology, and more specifically, to an electric clothes drying rack and its air supply system and air duct assembly. Background Technology

[0002] Natural drying of clothes is greatly affected by the environment. Rainy, humid weather and sandstorms are unsuitable for ventilated drying. Furthermore, with social development and urbanization, housing may only offer enclosed balconies or lack balconies altogether, while some people actively choose enclosed balconies. This increases the demand for active ventilation when drying clothes. Related technologies use electric clothes dryers with air supply systems to address this issue. However, insufficient airflow and speed from the fans affect the effectiveness of active drying. The air supply system in electric clothes dryers needs to balance the space occupied by the duct structure with the power of the available fans, while also considering noise and vibration. This further limits the possibility of using high-powered fans in electric clothes dryers. Utility Model Content

[0003] This application addresses the shortcomings of existing methods by proposing an electric clothes drying rack, its air supply system, and air duct components to solve the technical problems of limited fan usage and large air duct structure in related technologies.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides an air duct assembly, which includes an outer guide plate, an inner guide plate, and a movable plate that are enclosed to form a semi-enclosed cylindrical shape. The movable plate includes a main swing blade. When the movable plate is open, the main swing blade abuts against the inner guide plate to form an air duct, and the gap between the main swing blade and the outer guide plate forms an air outlet. When the movable plate is closed, the main swing blade abuts against the outer guide plate to close the air outlet.

[0005] Alternatively, the outer guide plate includes at least two first guide plates spliced ​​end to end to form a buffer cavity; at least one of the first guide plates has an air inlet slot.

[0006] Alternatively, the outer guide plate may further include an end cap plate for the main swing blade to abut against in order to seal the air outlet.

[0007] Alternatively, the inner guide plate includes a second guide plate, the inner side of which extends a support plate for fixing the fan, and the outer side of which extends a connecting seat.

[0008] Furthermore, pivoting assemblies are respectively configured at both ends of the main swing blade, and a motor is configured at at least one end of the pivoting assembly.

[0009] Furthermore, the outer guide plate and the inner guide plate are respectively connected to the same substrate.

[0010] Alternatively, the movable plate may have a gap with the inner guide plate when closed.

[0011] Alternatively, the movable plate may further include a secondary oscillating blade that pivots following the main oscillating blade.

[0012] Secondly, this application provides an air supply system, including an air duct assembly and a fan disposed within the air duct assembly, wherein the air duct assembly is the air duct assembly as described above.

[0013] Thirdly, this application provides an electric clothes drying rack, including a main unit and a drying assembly, wherein the main unit adopts the air duct assembly as described above, or the main unit adopts the air supply system as described above.

[0014] The beneficial technical effects of the technical solutions provided in this application include:

[0015] (1) The air duct assembly of this application uses the main swing blade to form part of the air duct assembly, rather than using the swing blade as a sealing structure for the air outlet. By switching the position of the main swing blade with the start or stop of the fan, the air duct is assembled when the fan starts and only the basic structure is retained when the fan is stopped. It does not need to statically maintain the integrity of the air duct structure, which is conducive to reducing the volume of the air duct structure and can also expand the air outlet to reduce wind resistance. Therefore, it can be adapted to fans with greater power.

[0016] (2) The air duct assembly of this application includes several components that can be assembled into an air duct structure, and these components can be fixed to the substrate respectively, which provides greater flexibility when debugging or replacement is required.

[0017] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and will become apparent from the description or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a partial cross-sectional view of an electric clothes drying rack provided in an embodiment of this application, showing the structure of the air supply system;

[0020] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the outer guide plate is shown, illustrating the structure of the outer side of the outer guide plate;

[0021] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of the inner guide plate is shown, illustrating the structure of the inner side of the inner guide plate;

[0022] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the main pendulum blade. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary descriptions for explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will understand that, unless specifically stated otherwise, the terms "described" and "the" as used herein may also include plural forms. It should be further understood that the term "comprising" as used in the specification of this application means the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not exclude other features, information, data, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof supported by the art. The term "and / or" as used herein refers to at least one of the items defined by the term; for example, "A and / or B" can be implemented as "A," or as "B," or as "A and B."

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] refer to Figures 1-4 This application provides a duct assembly, including an outer guide plate 1, an inner guide plate 2, and a movable plate. The outer guide plate 1 and the inner guide plate 2 are fixedly enclosed to form a semi-enclosed cylindrical duct structure for accommodating a fan 6. The movable plate is used to control the opening or closing of the air outlet 9. In this embodiment, the movable plate includes a main swing blade 3. By switching the position of the main swing blade 3, the duct structure is changed, thereby reducing wind resistance, increasing air volume, and improving the performance of the air supply system using this duct assembly.

[0027] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2In this embodiment, the outer guide plate 1 is an integrally formed longitudinally elongated component, parallel to the installation axis of the fan 6. The outer guide plate 1 includes at least two first guide plates 11 spliced ​​end to end to form a buffer cavity 12, and at least one of the first guide plates 11 has an air inlet slot 111. The buffer cavity 12 is preferably located outside the vertical projection of the substrate 7, which is the fixing surface of the air duct assembly. If applied to an electric clothes dryer, the substrate 7 has similar longitudinal and transverse dimensions to the main unit of the electric clothes dryer. The buffer cavity 12 being located outside the substrate 7 helps to increase the slotted area of ​​the air inlet slot 111 and increase the air intake. Furthermore, the buffer cavity 12 can also be equipped with a filter layer or an ozone generator, etc., which are beneficial to air purification. Furthermore, the outer guide plate 1 also includes a sealing plate 13 extending from the lowermost first guide plate 11 to the air outlet 9, for the movable plate to abut against to close the air outlet 9. In a possible implementation, the sealing plate 13 is flush with the abutting blade to achieve a better sealing effect. When the movable plate only includes the main blade 3, the sealing plate 13 is flush with the main blade 3 in the closed state, and the flushing direction can be horizontal to obtain a better appearance. When the movable plate includes the main blade 3 and the secondary blade, the sealing plate 13 can be flush with the closest secondary blade in the closed state, and the flushing direction can be horizontal or non-horizontal. The outermost edge of the outer guide plate 1 extends into an upper connecting piece 14 and / or a lower connecting piece 15, respectively. The upper connecting piece 14 is used to fix with the substrate 7, and the lower connecting piece 15 is used to connect with other components. The other components in this application can be components that assist in strengthening the fixation of the outer guide plate 1, components that expand the function of the outer guide plate 1, or components that are attached to the outer guide plate 1 to realize their own functions. The lower connecting piece 15 should not extend beyond the nominal flush line of the end cap 13 to avoid affecting the sealing of the air outlet 9.

[0028] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3The inner guide plate 2 is an integrally formed longitudinal component, parallel to the installation axis of the fan 6. The inner guide plate 2 includes a second guide plate 21, a support plate, and a connecting seat. The second guide plate 21 is constructed as a curved baffle conforming to fluid dynamics and connects with the first guide plate 11 to form the main body of the air duct structure, used to guide the air introduced from the air inlet slot 111 to the air outlet 9. The fan 6 is installed in the air duct structure. In this embodiment, the fan 6 is fixed by the support plate extending from the inner side of the second guide plate 21. Usually, the fan 6 requires fixing at both ends of its rotating shaft. The second guide plate 21 needs to set the number and position of the support plates according to the number of fans 6 arranged along the longitudinal direction. When two fans 6 are arranged, the two ends of the second guide plate 21 are respectively provided with side support plates 22 to fix the far ends of the two fans 6 connected end to end respectively. The middle section of the second guide plate 21 is provided with a middle support plate 23 to fix the close ends of the two fans 6 connected end to end. The side support plate 22 also provides a first connecting seat 24 for connecting with the base plate 7; the outer side of the second guide plate 21 extends a second connecting seat 25 for connecting with another support structure. In this embodiment, the "other support structure" is a base 8 located below the second guide plate 21 and parallel to the base plate 7. An assembly space is formed between the base plate 7, the air supply system, and the base 8, which can be used for wiring or assembling other functional modules. Preferably, the base 8 is basically flush with the boundary line where the air outlet 9 is located. When the movable plate is closed, the movable plate is flush with the base 8, improving the shielding effect on the air outlet 9. Multiple second connecting seats 25 are spaced apart on the inner guide plate 2 and avoid the lower edge of the inner guide plate 2 so that when the movable plate is opened, the main swing blade 3 can abut against the inner guide plate 2 to form a complete air duct structure. Furthermore, it can be seen that when the movable plate is closed, there is a relatively obvious gap 5 between the main swing blade 3 and the inner guide plate 2, which keeps the air duct structure in an open state. This gap 5 does not affect the function of the air supply system. However, when the air supply system or the equipment using the air supply system is equipped with an outer protective shell, the existence of this gap 5 can improve the heat dissipation effect of the fan 6 and reduce unnecessary space-occupying components in the air supply system, which is conducive to simplifying the air duct assembly.

[0029] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4 The movable plate includes at least one main swing blade 3, with pivoting components 4 configured at both ends of the main swing blade 3, and a motor configured at least at one end of the pivoting component 4. When a motor is configured on one side, as shown in this embodiment, the pivoting component 4 on that side is the driving component, and the other side is the driven component; when motors are configured on both sides, the motors of the pivoting components 4 on both sides should drive the swing blade synchronously.

[0030] The main pendulum blade 3 is mounted below the base plate 7 located at the top. The base plate 7 is connected downward to the fixing plate 45, which is located at the two ends of the main pendulum blade 3 and is used to connect to the main body of the main pendulum blade 3 through the active component and the driven component, respectively.

[0031] The active component includes a motor 41 and a connector 42. The motor 41 has a general wiring port 413 for power supply and control signal transmission. The motor 41 also has a first connecting lug 412 for direct connection to one side of the mounting plate 45. After the motor body is connected to the mounting plate 45, the position of the wiring port 413 can be adjusted as needed. Furthermore, the motor 41 has an output shaft 411 for outputting torque. The output shaft 411 can pass through the mounting plate 45 to reach the other side of the mounting plate 45 for pivotal connection with the connector 42.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the connector 42 includes an insertion portion 421 for connection with the main pendulum blade 3, a connecting portion 422 extending vertically from the insertion portion 421, and a pivot portion provided in the connecting portion 422. The pivot portion has a pivot hole 423, the shape of which matches the output shaft 411 of the motor 41, to facilitate rotation driven by the motor 41. The connector, by configuring multiple spatially staggered components, enables the main pendulum blade 3 to connect to the fixed plate and to oscillate back and forth around a specified direction and range, thereby realizing the function of the main pendulum blade 3. This embodiment shows a waist-shaped pivot hole 423; correspondingly, the output shaft 411 of the motor 41 is also configured as a waist-shaped column. In other implementations, other non-cylindrical cross-sectional shapes of the pivot hole 423 can be used, such as polygonal cross-sections or irregular cross-sections based on regular polygons. To meet the requirements of bearing torque, the pivot hole 423 can be provided in the pivot portion protruding from the surface of the connecting portion 422, and the pivot hole 423 extends from the pivot portion to the connecting portion 422.

[0033] Furthermore, mounting cavities 31 are provided on both sides of the main swing blade 3 for mounting the insertion part 421. In one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the mounting cavity 31 is consistent with the cross-sectional shape of the insertion part 421, so that the two can be connected by an interference fit after nesting. The structure of the mounting cavity 31 and the shape formed by its cross-section can be formed by at least two blades stacked together to form an angle, thereby forming a mounting cavity 31 with a triangular cross-section. The cross-section of the insertion part 421 of the connector 42 is configured as a triangle adapted to the mounting cavity 31, so that the insertion part 421 can be inserted into the main swing blade 3 as a whole. The connecting part 422 is preferably located at the center of the insertion part 421 to achieve force balance. In another embodiment, the mounting cavity 31 can be implemented by a structure that is independently connected to the main swing blade 3. Furthermore, the mounting cavity 31 can be integrally formed with the connector 42, and connected to the main swing blade 3 through the mounting cavity 31.

[0034] The driven assembly includes an inner rotating shaft 43 and an outer bushing 44 that can be nested together with clearance, and also includes a reset member and a connector 42. The connector 42 at the driven assembly has a structure basically the same as that at the driving assembly, adapted to the position of the mounting slot of the main swing blade 3. The connector 42 at the driven assembly is mirror-symmetrical to the connector 42 at the driving assembly, that is, the connectors 42 installed on both sides of the main swing blade 3 are mirror-symmetrical. In one possible embodiment, both the inner rotating shaft 43 and the outer bushing 44 are cylindrical, with the outer diameter of the inner rotating shaft 43 being smaller than the inner diameter of the outer bushing 44 to facilitate a clearance fit. Furthermore, the outer bushing 44 is provided with a second connecting lug 441 for direct connection to one side of the fixing plate 45; the inner rotating shaft 43 can pass through the other side of the fixing plate 45 and be fitted onto the outer bushing 44. The inner rotating shaft 43 includes an insert section 431 fitted with the outer bushing 44 and a connector located at the end of the insert section 431. The connector is fitted and fixed with the pivot hole 423 of the connector 42 and can rotate with the rotation of the connector 42. Thus, the cross-sectional shape of the connector is consistent with the cross-sectional shape of the pivot hole 423.

[0035] In this embodiment, the reset component is sleeved outside the inner rotating shaft 43 and connected to the fixing plate 45 and the connecting member 42. This causes the connecting member 42 to rotate relative to the fixing plate 45, and the inner rotating shaft 43 rotates with the connecting plate. The inner rotating shaft 43 can also limit the reset component to prevent it from falling off. In this embodiment, the reset component is a torsion spring, and the two ends of the torsion spring are fixed to the fixing plate 45 and the connecting member 42 respectively. Correspondingly, the fixing plate 45 and the connecting member 42 can be pre-set with fixing holes for the torsion spring. A torsion spring is a mechanical element that uses an elastic material to store and release torsional energy. In this embodiment, the torsional energy stored in the torsion spring comes from the motor 41 on the active side. The torque of the motor 41 is transmitted to the torsion spring in sequence through the connecting member 42 on the active side, the main swing blade 3, and the connecting member 42 on the driven side. When the elastic potential energy of the torsion spring is released, it is transmitted in reverse to the connecting member 42 on the main and driven sides, thereby realizing the reset of the main swing blade 3. When the elastic potential energy of the torsion spring is released, the motor 41 can synchronously reverse to drive the main pendulum 3 to reset; the motor 41 can also stop rotating, allowing the output shaft 411 to reset along with the main pendulum 3. In another possible embodiment, the reset element can be sleeved inside the outer bushing 44, with a working principle similar to that described above. Other reset elements capable of storing the torque of the motor 41 and releasing it for reuse to assist in the reset of the main pendulum 3 can be used in this application. Considering production costs, the fixed plates 45 on the active and driven sides have the same structure, and the mirror-symmetrical connecting parts 42 are pre-drilled with fixing holes for the torsion spring, with the hole spacing of the first connecting ear 412 and the second connecting ear 441 being the same.

[0036] In other embodiments, the movable plate may also include auxiliary swing blades that can pivot following the main swing blade 3. The auxiliary swing blades may be arranged parallel to the main swing blade 3; they may be a single continuous blade; or they may include multiple blades arranged at intervals. The auxiliary swing blades can swing synchronously with the main swing blade 3 via a linkage structure, or they can be linked with the pivot assembly 4 via a linkage structure, or they can be configured with an independent motor to drive the auxiliary swing blades to swing. The auxiliary swing blades can work in conjunction with the main swing blade 3 to adjust the airflow direction. When necessary, when the movable plate is open, the main swing blade 3 remains open, and the auxiliary swing blades are driven to dynamically reciprocate to achieve multi-directional airflow. If the arrangement of the auxiliary swing blades causes noise, the cross-sectional shape of the auxiliary swing blades can be optimized.

[0037] In this embodiment, the outer guide plate 1, the inner guide plate 2, and the main swing blade 3 are all connected to the same base plate 7, but their connection positions to the base plate 7 are different. This is beneficial for distributing the force on each component and avoiding the formation of localized force concentrations. The decentralized assembly also facilitates the disassembly and maintenance of the air supply system. In other embodiments, the connection position of the main swing blade 3 to the pivot assembly 4 can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0038] In one embodiment, the air duct component or the air supply system using the air duct component of this application is applied in an electric clothes dryer to realize the active drying function of the electric clothes dryer. The electric clothes dryer includes a main unit and a drying assembly. The air duct component or air supply system is mounted below the main unit, and the air outlet 9 is directed at the drying assembly to facilitate airflow from top to bottom to the clothes being dried, thereby promoting drying.

[0039] In summary, this application provides a duct assembly comprising an outer guide plate, an inner guide plate, and a movable plate forming a semi-enclosed cylindrical shape. The movable plate includes a main swing blade. When the movable plate is open, the main swing blade abuts against the inner guide plate to form a duct, and the gap between the main swing blade and the outer guide plate forms an air outlet. When the movable plate is closed, the main swing blade abuts against the outer guide plate to seal the air outlet. This duct assembly utilizes the main swing blade as part of the duct assembly, rather than simply using the swing blade as a sealing structure for the air outlet. By switching the position of the main swing blade according to the start or stop of the fan, the duct is assembled when the fan is started, and only the basic structure is retained when the fan is stopped. It does not require static maintenance of the integrity of the duct structure, which helps to reduce the volume of the duct structure and can also enlarge the air outlet to reduce wind resistance, thereby adapting to fans with higher power.

[0040] Those skilled in the art will understand that the steps, measures, and solutions in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application can be alternated, modified, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, other steps, measures, and solutions in the various operations, methods, and processes discussed in this application can also be alternated, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted. Furthermore, steps, measures, and solutions in related technologies that are similar to those disclosed in this application can also be alternated, modified, rearranged, decomposed, combined, or deleted.

[0041] In the description of this application, the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate directions or positional relationships based on the exemplary directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used to facilitate the description or simplification of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0042] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0043] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0044] In the description of this specification, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0045] The above description is only a partial embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, other similar implementation methods based on the technical concept of this application, without departing from the technical concept of this application, also fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. An air duct assembly, characterized by, It includes an outer guide plate, an inner guide plate, and a movable plate that form a semi-enclosed cylindrical shape. The movable plate includes a main swing blade. When the movable plate is open, the main swing blade abuts against the inner guide plate to form an air duct, and the gap between the main swing blade and the outer guide plate forms an air outlet. When the movable plate is closed, the main swing blade abuts against the outer guide plate to seal the air outlet.

2. The air duct assembly of claim 1, wherein, The outer guide plate includes at least two first guide plates spliced ​​end to end to form a buffer cavity; at least one of the first guide plates has an air inlet slot.

3. The air duct assembly of claim 2, wherein, The outer guide plate also includes an end cap plate, which is used for the main swing blade to abut against and seal the air outlet.

4. The air duct assembly of claim 1, wherein, The inner guide plate includes a second guide plate, with a support plate for fixing the fan extending from the inner side of the second guide plate and a connecting seat extending from the outer side.

5. The air duct assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The main swing blade is equipped with pivoting components at both ends, and a motor is configured at at least one end of the pivoting component.

6. The air duct assembly of claim 1, wherein, The outer guide plate and the inner guide plate are respectively connected to the same substrate.

7. The air duct assembly of claim 1, wherein, When the movable plate is closed, there is a gap between it and the inner guide plate.

8. The air duct assembly of claim 1 or 7, wherein, The movable plate also includes a secondary pendulum blade, which pivots following the main pendulum blade.

9. An air supply system comprising an air duct assembly and a fan configured within the air duct assembly, wherein, The air duct assembly is the air duct assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An electric clothes drying machine comprising a main unit and a drying assembly, characterized in that, The host unit employs the air duct assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or the host unit employs the air supply system as described in claim 9.

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