Vehicle-mounted cold and hot cup

Abstract

The vehicle-mounted cold and hot cup comprises a shell, an inner cup arranged at the open end of the shell, a semiconductor chilling plate in thermal contact with the bottom face of the inner cup, a radiator in thermal contact with the bottom face of the semiconductor chilling plate, a cooling fan arranged on the radiator and a control circuit arranged on the shell, and the semiconductor chilling plate and the cooling fan are driven through the control circuit. The inner cup, the semiconductor chilling plate and the radiator are laminated and kept tight through the matching of the connecting column and the connecting part, so that the inner cup, the semiconductor chilling plate, the radiator and the cooling fan can be independent of the shell and preassembled into a module, and then the module is arranged in the shell, so that the design and assembly difficulty is reduced, and the production efficiency is improved. The air flow generated by the fan is difficult to diffuse to the outer wall of the inner cup after exchanging heat with the radiator, the refrigerating and heating efficiency and effect of the inner cup are remarkably improved, the semiconductor refrigerating sheet is not allowed to be started when the inner cup is vacant, then mistaken starting is prevented, energy waste is avoided, and the service life of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet is prolonged. And the service life of the semiconductor chilling plate is ensured to a certain extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of daily necessities technology, specifically a car-mounted hot and cold cup. Background Technology

[0002] Car hot / cold cups are a type of portable car accessory that has become popular in recent years. They are usually placed in the cup holder inside the car and use the vehicle's existing power system to cool or heat drinks or food. They can also be used at home and outdoors.

[0003] One type of existing in-vehicle hot / cold cup utilizes a cooling and heating module constructed from a semiconductor cooling chip, such as the dual-purpose (car / home) cooling and heating cup holder disclosed in Chinese Utility Model No. CN210174701U, and the in-vehicle cooling and heating cup disclosed in Chinese Utility Model No. CN210018797U. The structure of this type of in-vehicle hot / cold cup mainly includes an outer shell, an inner cup disposed within the outer shell, a semiconductor cooling chip in contact with the bottom surface of the inner cup, a heat sink disposed on the bottom surface of the semiconductor cooling chip, and a cooling fan disposed on the heat sink. By changing the direction of the operating current, the cooling and heating surfaces of the semiconductor cooling chip are switched, thereby cooling or heating the beverage or food placed in the inner cup.

[0004] The aforementioned existing in-vehicle hot / cold cups typically have the following shortcomings:

[0005] (1) The internal space of the shell is small, which makes the design and assembly of each component more difficult.

[0006] (2) Insufficient thermal insulation between the inner cup and the heat sink means that the airflow generated by the fan will diffuse to the outer wall of the inner cup after exchanging heat with the heat sink, which reduces the efficiency and effect of cooling and heating the inner cup and increases the energy consumption of the semiconductor cooling chip.

[0007] (3) The thermoelectric cooler is designed to be started with one button. It may still be accidentally started when the inner cup is empty, resulting in energy waste and wasting the service life of the thermoelectric cooler.

[0008] To address the aforementioned shortcomings, it is necessary to propose new iterative technologies for in-vehicle hot and cold cups. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle-mounted hot and cold cup, in order to reduce the difficulty of design and assembly, while reducing energy consumption and improving the efficiency and effect of cooling and heating.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution.

[0011] The vehicle-mounted hot and cold cup includes an open-top outer shell, an inner cup located at the open end of the outer shell, a semiconductor cooling chip in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the inner cup, a heat sink in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor cooling chip, a cooling fan located on the heat sink, and a control circuit located on the outer shell, which drives the semiconductor cooling chip and the cooling fan.

[0012] The outer casing includes an upper housing for accommodating the inner cup and a lower housing for accommodating the radiator and cooling fan. The inner wall at the bottom of the upper housing has a horizontally arranged retaining ring.

[0013] The inner cup includes a cup body with a top opening and an upper support assembled at the opening end of the cup body; the upper support is a cylindrical structure coaxially connected to the opening end of the cup body, and its lower outer wall has a clamping arm extending downward along the outer wall of the cup body, and the lower end of the clamping arm has a connecting post extending downward.

[0014] The radiator has a heat collection block, and the bottom surface of the heat collection block forms a plurality of downwardly extending heat dissipation fins;

[0015] The inner cup also includes a plastic clip assembled at the bottom of the cup body, which has a tray for supporting the bottom of the cup body. The bottom periphery of the tray and the top surface of the retaining ring form an airtight fit and are detachably connected by screws. A through groove is formed in the middle of the tray to accommodate the heat collection block. The lower end of the through groove has an inwardly recessed baffle. The edge of the heat collection block just overlaps the baffle. The semiconductor cooling chip is assembled between the top surface of the heat collection block and the bottom surface of the cup body. The top surface of the tray also has a connecting part that is detachably connected to the connecting post by screws. The inner cup, semiconductor cooling chip and heat sink are stacked and kept tight by the cooperation of the connecting post and the connecting part.

[0016] The bottom surface of the tray also has multiple mounting guide posts distributed around the radiator, and the air outlet of the cooling fan is detachably connected to the mounting guide posts by screws.

[0017] Infrared photocouplers connected to the control circuit are embedded on opposite sides of the inner wall of the upper support. When the optical path between the infrared photocouplers is switched on or off, they respectively feed back electrical signals to the control circuit.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] (1) The inner cup, semiconductor cooling chip and heat sink are stacked and kept tight by the cooperation of the connecting column and the connecting part, and the air outlet of the cooling fan is detachably connected to the mounting guide column by screws, so that the inner cup, semiconductor cooling chip, heat sink and cooling fan can be pre-assembled into a module independently of the outer shell, and then the module is assembled into the outer shell, which reduces the difficulty of design and assembly.

[0020] (2) The bottom edge of the tray and the top surface of the retaining ring form an airtight fit, making it difficult for the airflow generated by the fan to diffuse to the outer wall of the inner cup after heat exchange with the heat sink. This significantly improves the efficiency and effect of cooling and heating of the inner cup and reduces the energy consumption of the semiconductor cooling chip to a certain extent.

[0021] (3) When the infrared optocouplers are not blocked and when they are blocked, they respectively feed back different electrical signals to the control circuit. The control circuit uses these signals as control signals to allow the semiconductor cooling chip to start. It can be configured so that the semiconductor cooling chip is not allowed to start when the inner cup is empty, thereby preventing false start-up, avoiding energy waste, and also ensuring the service life of the semiconductor cooling chip to a certain extent.

[0022] The present invention will now be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model.

[0024] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of the structure of this utility model.

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the inner cup in this utility model.

[0026] Figure 4 This is an assembly diagram of the upper bracket and plastic clips in this utility model.

[0027] Figure 5 This is an assembly diagram of the upper and lower shell sections of this utility model.

[0028] Figure 6 This is an assembly diagram of the annular faceplate in this utility model.

[0029] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the cup lid in this utility model.

[0030] Figure 8 This is an assembly diagram of the height-increasing base in this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0031] Please see Figures 1 to 8 As shown, in one embodiment, the vehicle-mounted hot and cold cup of this utility model includes an outer shell 1 with an open top, an inner cup 2 disposed at the open end of the outer shell 1, a semiconductor cooling chip 20 in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the inner cup 2, a heat sink 3 in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor cooling chip 20, a cooling fan 4 disposed on the heat sink 3, and a control circuit 5 disposed on the outer shell 1, which drives the semiconductor cooling chip 20 and the cooling fan 4.

[0032] The outer shell 1 includes an upper shell 11 for accommodating the inner cup 2 and a lower shell 12 for accommodating the radiator 3 and the cooling fan 4. The inner wall at the bottom of the upper shell 11 has a horizontally arranged retaining ring 111.

[0033] The inner cup 2 includes a cup body 21 with a top opening and an upper support 22 assembled at the opening end of the cup body 21. The upper support 22 is a cylindrical structure coaxially connected to the opening end of the cup body 21. The lower end of its outer wall has a clamping arm 23 extending downward along the outer wall of the cup body 21, and the lower end of the clamping arm 23 has a connecting post 24 extending downward.

[0034] The radiator 3 has a heat collection block 31, and the bottom surface of the heat collection block 31 forms a plurality of downwardly extending heat dissipation fins 32.

[0035] The inner cup 2 also includes a plastic clip 25 assembled at the bottom of the cup body 21, which has a tray 26 for supporting the bottom of the cup body 21. The bottom periphery of the tray 26 and the top surface of the retaining ring 111 form an airtight fit and are detachably connected by screws. A through groove 27 is formed in the middle of the tray 26 to accommodate the heat collection block 31. The lower end of the through groove 27 has an inwardly recessed baffle 28. The edge of the heat collection block 31 just overlaps the baffle 28. The semiconductor cooling chip 20 is assembled between the top surface of the heat collection block 31 and the bottom surface of the cup body 21. The top surface of the tray 26 also has a connecting part 29 that is detachably connected to the connecting post 24 by screws. The inner cup 2, the semiconductor cooling chip 20, and the heat sink 3 are stacked and kept tight by the cooperation of the connecting post 24 and the connecting part 29.

[0036] The bottom surface of the tray 26 also has a plurality of mounting guide posts 261 distributed around the radiator 3, and the air outlet of the cooling fan 4 is detachably connected to the mounting guide posts 261 by screws.

[0037] Infrared photocouplers 6 connected to the control circuit 5 are respectively embedded on the inner walls of the upper support 22 facing each other. When the optical path between the infrared photocouplers 6 is turned on or off, they respectively feed back electrical signals to the control circuit 5.

[0038] In the above embodiments, both the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 can be coated with thermally conductive silicone grease to improve thermal contact.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the inner cup 2, the thermoelectric cooler 20, and the heat sink 3 are stacked and kept in place by the cooperation of the connecting post 24 and the connecting part 29, and the air outlet of the cooling fan 4 is detachably connected to the mounting guide post 261 by screws, so that the inner cup 2, the thermoelectric cooler 20, the heat sink 3, and the cooling fan 4 can be pre-assembled as a module independently of the outer shell 1, and then the module is assembled into the outer shell 1, which reduces the difficulty of design and assembly.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the bottom periphery of the tray 26 and the top surface of the retaining ring 111 form an airtight fit, making it difficult for the airflow generated by the fan to diffuse into the upper housing 11 after heat exchange with the heat sink 3. This significantly improves the efficiency and effect of cooling and heating of the inner cup 2 and reduces the energy consumption of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 to a certain extent.

[0041] In the above embodiment, when the optical path between the infrared optocouplers 6 is not blocked, a first electrical signal is fed back to the control circuit 5; when the optical path between the infrared optocouplers 6 is blocked, a second electrical signal is fed back to the control circuit 5. The control circuit 5 uses this as a control signal to allow the semiconductor cooling chip 20 to start. It can be configured so that the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is not allowed to start when the inner cup 2 is empty, thereby preventing accidental start-up, avoiding energy waste, and also ensuring the service life of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 to a certain extent. It should be noted that the working principle of the infrared optocoupler 6 and its practical application as a circuit trigger switch are common knowledge in the field. The selection of the infrared optocoupler 6 and the circuit structure of the related control circuit 5 can be implemented with reference to the prior art. Therefore, this utility model will not elaborate further.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment, to improve heat dissipation efficiency, the present invention defines the airflow path of the cooling fan 4. Specifically, the cooling fan 4 includes a cylindrical air duct 41, with an air outlet 42 and an air inlet 43 at its upper and lower ends, respectively. The air outlet 42 has multiple mounting seats 44 corresponding to the mounting guide posts 261 around its periphery. The lower ends of the mounting guide posts 261 and the mounting seats 44 are detachably connected by screws. The lower housing 12 has multiple air outlets 121 distributed around the periphery of the heat sink 32 on its side wall, and multiple air inlets 122 surrounding the air inlet end 43 of the cooling fan 4 are also provided on the side wall of the lower housing 12.

[0043] In another preferred embodiment, the top of the upper bracket 22 has a horizontally outwardly flared annular lip 221. The inner wall of the upper housing 11 is provided with multiple first vertical support columns 112 distributed around the inner cup 2. The tops of the first vertical support columns 112 are detachably connected to the annular lip 221 by screws. The top surface of the annular lip 221 is provided with a detachably connected annular cover 7. Multiple circumferentially distributed latches 222 are opened on the top surface of the annular lip 221, and the bottom surface of the annular cover 7 is provided with elastic hooks 71 that match the latches 222 one by one. In this embodiment, the upper bracket 22 achieves a simple yet robust assembly, while also providing top surface protection and decoration through the annular cover 7.

[0044] In another preferred embodiment, the upper end of the upper housing 11 forms an outwardly protruding cavity 113 on the side wall. The lower end of the cavity 113 is provided with a power interface 114 for connecting to an external power source. The edge of the upper bracket 22 forms an electrical bracket 115 placed on the upper end of the cavity 113. The edge of the annular cover 7 forms a panel 72 that covers the top of the cavity 113. The control circuit 5 includes a circuit board 51 disposed on the electrical bracket 115. The circuit board 51 is connected to the power interface 114. The top surface of the circuit board 51 is provided with a display unit 52 and a touch unit 53. The panel 72 has an interactive window 73 that cooperates with the display unit 52 and the touch unit 53. The top surface of the panel 72 is also provided with a semi-transparent lens 74 that covers the interactive window 73. In this embodiment, the control circuit 5, along with the inner cup 2, the semiconductor cooling chip 20, the heat sink 3, and the cooling fan 4, are pre-assembled as a module independently of the outer casing 1, which reduces the assembly difficulty of the electrical structure of this utility model.

[0045] In the preferred embodiment described above, the touch unit 53 may employ a touch spring with its two ends respectively abutting against the circuit board 51 and the semi-transparent mirror 74. To intuitively understand the working mode of this utility model, an exemplary solution is provided here:

[0046] (1) The vehicle-mounted hot and cold cup of this utility model enters standby mode after being powered on;

[0047] (2) In standby mode, press and hold the touch unit 53 for a long time, and the inner cup 2 enters the forced cooling mode. Regardless of whether the light path between the infrared photocouplers 6 is open or closed, the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is forced to start, and the current direction of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is specified so that the side of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 that cooperates with the cup body 21 is the cold side.

[0048] (3) In the forced cooling mode, when the single-point touch unit 53 is touched again, the inner cup 2 enters the forced heating mode. Regardless of whether the light path between the infrared photocouplers 6 is open or closed, the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is forced to start, and the current direction of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is specified, so that the side of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 that cooperates with the cup body 21 is the hot surface.

[0049] (4) In the forced heating mode, touch the unit 53 again and the inner cup 2 enters the automatic cooling mode. The semiconductor cooling chip 20 is activated only when the light path between the infrared photocouplers 6 is blocked. The current direction of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 is specified so that the side of the semiconductor cooling chip 20 that cooperates with the cup body 21 is the cold side.

[0050] In the above exemplary solution, a microcontroller of model SC8F073 is configured in circuit board 51 as the control chip. Of course, the above exemplary solution does not limit the scope of protection of this utility model. The working mode of the vehicle-mounted hot and cold cup of this utility model can be implemented by constructing corresponding circuit logic in the circuit board, but this is not an improvement of this utility model, so it will not be described in detail.

[0051] Optionally, the inner edge of the annular cover 7 has an upwardly extending neck 75, on which a cup lid 8 is detachably fitted. Obviously, using the cup lid 8 can enhance the heat retention effect inside the cup body 21.

[0052] Furthermore, in order to improve the heat preservation effect of the cup body 21, a heat insulation sleeve 211 is provided on the side wall of the cup body 21, and the heat insulation sleeve 211 is tightly fitted between the clamping arm 23 and the cup body 21.

[0053] Furthermore, a heat insulation pad 212 is attached to the bottom surface of the cup body 21, which can further improve the heat preservation effect of the cup body 21. A hollow part 213 is opened in the middle of the heat insulation pad 212, and the semiconductor cooling chip 20 fits with the bottom surface of the cup body 21 through the hollow part 213. The periphery of the through groove 27 of the tray 26 is just blocked by the heat insulation pad 212, making it more difficult for the airflow generated by the fan to diffuse into the upper shell 11 after heat exchange with the heat sink 3.

[0054] In another preferred embodiment, the upper shell 11 and the lower shell 12 are manufactured separately, reducing the difficulty of molding the outer shell 1. In this embodiment, the top of the lower shell 12 has a plurality of second vertical support columns 123 distributed around the cooling fan 4 on the inner wall, and the top of the second vertical support columns 123 is detachably connected to the retaining ring 111 by screws.

[0055] In another preferred embodiment, the bottom end of the lower housing 12 forms a insertion groove 124 in the middle for detachably inserting a heightening base 9. This is to address the possibility of different depths in car cup holders, and to a certain extent, it can accommodate car cup holders of different depths.

[0056] In another preferred embodiment, an NTC resistor 50 connected to the control circuit 5 is also attached to the bottom surface of the cup body 21. The NTC resistor 50, attached to the bottom surface of the cup body 21, can quickly respond to temperature changes in the cup body 21. Based on common knowledge in the art, the NTC resistor 50 connected to the control circuit 5 can be used to achieve real-time temperature detection of the cup body 21, and the temperature can be displayed through the display unit 52. Since this also falls within the scope of existing technology, the selection of the NTC resistor 50 and the circuit configuration will not be described in detail here.

[0057] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup, including an open-top outer shell, an inner cup disposed at the open end of the outer shell, a semiconductor cooling chip in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the inner cup, a heat sink in thermal contact with the bottom surface of the semiconductor cooling chip, a cooling fan disposed on the heat sink, and a control circuit disposed on the outer shell, wherein the control circuit drives the semiconductor cooling chip and the cooling fan. Its features are: The outer casing includes an upper housing for accommodating the inner cup and a lower housing for accommodating the radiator and cooling fan. The inner wall at the bottom of the upper housing has a horizontally arranged retaining ring. The inner cup includes a cup body with a top opening and an upper support assembled at the opening end of the cup body; the upper support is a cylindrical structure coaxially connected to the opening end of the cup body, and its lower outer wall has a clamping arm extending downward along the outer wall of the cup body, and the lower end of the clamping arm has a connecting post extending downward. The radiator has a heat collection block, and the bottom surface of the heat collection block forms a plurality of downwardly extending heat dissipation fins; The inner cup also includes a plastic clip assembled at the bottom of the cup body, which has a tray for supporting the bottom of the cup body. The bottom periphery of the tray and the top surface of the retaining ring form an airtight fit and are detachably connected by screws. A through groove is formed in the middle of the tray to accommodate the heat collection block. The lower end of the through groove has an inwardly recessed baffle. The edge of the heat collection block just overlaps the baffle. The semiconductor cooling chip is assembled between the top surface of the heat collection block and the bottom surface of the cup body. The top surface of the tray also has a connecting part that is detachably connected to the connecting post by screws. The inner cup, semiconductor cooling chip and heat sink are stacked and kept tight by the cooperation of the connecting post and the connecting part. The bottom surface of the tray also has multiple mounting guide posts distributed around the radiator, and the air outlet of the cooling fan is detachably connected to the mounting guide posts by screws. Infrared photocouplers connected to the control circuit are embedded on opposite sides of the inner wall of the upper support. When the optical path between the infrared photocouplers is switched on or off, they respectively feed back electrical signals to the control circuit.

2. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling fan includes a cylindrical air duct with an air outlet and an air inlet at its upper and lower ends, respectively. The air outlet has multiple mounting seats that correspond one-to-one with the mounting guide posts. The lower ends of the mounting guide posts and the mounting seats are detachably connected by screws. The lower housing sidewall has multiple air outlets distributed around the periphery of the heat sink, and the lower housing sidewall also has multiple air inlets surrounding the air inlet of the cooling fan.

3. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the upper support has a horizontally outward-curving annular lip. The inner wall of the upper shell is provided with a plurality of first vertical support columns distributed around the inner cup. The top of the first vertical support columns is detachably connected to the annular lip by screws. The top surface of the annular lip is provided with a detachably connected annular cover. The top surface of the annular lip is provided with a plurality of circumferentially distributed slots. The bottom surface of the annular cover is provided with elastic hooks that match the slots one by one.

4. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 3, characterized in that, The upper end of the upper housing forms an outwardly protruding cavity on the side wall. The lower end of the cavity is provided with a power interface for connecting to an external power source. The edge of the upper bracket forms an electrical support placed at the upper end of the cavity. The edge of the annular cover forms a panel that seals the top of the cavity. The control circuit includes a circuit board mounted on the electrical support. The circuit board is connected to the power interface. The top surface of the circuit board is provided with a display unit and a touch unit. An interactive window for cooperating with the display unit and the touch unit is opened on the panel. The top surface of the panel is also provided with a semi-transparent lens that seals the interactive window.

5. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 3, characterized in that, The inner edge of the ring-shaped lid has an upwardly extending neck, on which a cup lid is detachably attached.

6. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, A heat insulation sleeve is fitted on the side wall of the cup body, and the heat insulation sleeve is tightly fitted between the clamping arm and the cup body.

7. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, A heat insulation pad is attached to the bottom surface of the cup body, and a hollow part is opened in the middle of the heat insulation pad. The semiconductor cooling chip fits into the bottom surface of the cup body through the hollow part, and the periphery of the through groove of the tray is just covered by the heat insulation pad.

8. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper and lower shells are manufactured separately. The top of the lower shell has multiple second vertical support columns distributed around the cooling fan on the inner wall. The top of the second vertical support columns is detachably connected to the retaining ring by screws.

9. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the lower housing has a slot in the middle for detachably inserting a heightening base.

10. The vehicle-mounted hot / cold cup according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom surface of the cup body is also closely attached to an NTC resistor connected to the control circuit.

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