Electric door lock

Abstract

The utility model discloses an electric door lock which comprises a pressing module and a driving module, and the pressing module is provided with a door hook and a locking mechanism which are installed on an electric appliance door cover and an electric appliance machine body respectively. On one hand, the driving module can electrically and inwards pull the door hook to enable the door hook to be further inserted into the locking mechanism and press the sealing strip after a user manually closes the door, and on the other hand, the driving module can electrically and outwards push the door hook to assist in door opening, and the operation hand feeling of the user can be improved while the sealing performance of the sealing strip is considered; and the phenomenon that the electric appliance door cover cannot be automatically opened is not easy to occur.

Description

electric door lock Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of household appliances, and in particular to the technical field of door locks for household appliances. Background Technology

[0002] Many household appliances (such as washing machines, dryers, washer-dryer combos, etc.) require door locks. When the appliance is running, the door lock locks the door to prevent the user from manually opening the door. When the appliance is finished running, the door lock unlocks, allowing the user to manually open the door. In addition, to prevent water leakage, a sealing strip is usually installed between the appliance door and the appliance body.

[0003] For some handleless door designs, push-button locks are often used as door locks, but existing push-button locks often have the following problems:

[0004] 1) High manual closing force: In order to fully compress the sealing strip, the manual pushing force to close the door needs to reach the door lock reset force + sealing strip elasticity and frictional resistance;

[0005] 2) High manual pressing force required to open the door: When manually pressing the door to open, the force required must equal the door lock reset force + the elasticity of the sealing strip and frictional resistance; (not shown in the diagram).

[0006] 3) The automatic door opening function is prone to jamming or failure to open: On the one hand, the door cover is prone to sagging due to its own weight, which causes the door hook to come into contact with the door lock housing and generate a lot of friction. On the other hand, the sealing strip generates a strong adhesive force on the door cover, which ultimately makes it impossible for the door cover to open automatically 100% by relying solely on the door lock reset force. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this utility model is to solve the problems in the prior art and propose an electric door lock that can improve the user's operating feel while taking into account the sealing performance of the sealing strip, and is less likely to cause the door cover to fail to open automatically.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model proposes an electric door lock, including a pressing module and a driving module. The pressing module has a door hook and a locking mechanism respectively installed on the electrical door cover and the electrical body. The driving module can, on the one hand, electrically pull the door hook inward after the user manually closes the door so that the door hook is further inserted into the locking mechanism and presses the sealing strip, and on the other hand, it can electrically push the door hook outward to assist in opening the door.

[0009] Preferably, the appliance door can be manually closed, manually opened, or electrically opened when it is not fully closed.

[0010] Preferably, the drive module includes a door opening auxiliary swing arm, which can force the door hook to move in the closing direction when swinging forward and can also tilt the door hook to simultaneously provide lifting force and outward pushing force to the door hook when swinging backward.

[0011] Preferably, the door opening assist lever is provided with a drive rod at the corner that is driven linearly by the electric drive body.

[0012] Preferably, the locking mechanism has a push-spring drive plate with a lock groove and a push-spring operation plate with a positioning pin. The push-spring drive plate and the push-spring operation plate can move relative to each other during the process of the door hook being inserted into the locking mechanism so that the positioning pin moves along the lock groove from the open position to the closed position and keeps the door hook in the closed state. The drive rod can move upward after the user manually closes the door so that the latch drives the door hook to continue moving in the closing direction to the locked position and hold it there. Then, the locking block is inserted into the push-spring drive plate to restrict the movement of the push-spring drive plate and lock the latch. The drive rod can move downward when the door is electrically opened so that the positioning pin is directly disengaged from the lock groove and the push-spring drive plate is released from restriction before applying an auxiliary opening action to the electric door cover.

[0013] Preferably, the lock groove is heart-shaped with the opening position located at the tip of the heart and the closing position located in the concave area of ​​the heart.

[0014] Preferably, the locking mechanism is built into the housing, the door hook can be inserted into the housing along the lock opening, and the locking mechanism also includes a return torsion spring, which can give the latch an elastic tendency to move the locking part toward the lock opening.

[0015] Preferably, the latch can rotate as the door hook is inserted and use the outward protrusion to push the push-spring drive plate to move relative to the push-spring operation plate. A positioning spring is also installed between the push-spring drive plate and the outer shell. The positioning spring has an elastic tendency to push the push-spring drive plate closer to the latch.

[0016] Preferably, the locking tongue, return torsion spring, push-spring drive plate, and push-spring operation plate are housed in the inner shell, which is hinged to the outer shell. A return spring is provided between the inner shell and the outer shell, and the return spring has an elastic tendency to push the inner shell to rotate and bring the locking part closer to the lock opening.

[0017] Preferably, the door opening auxiliary swing arm is in the shape of a figure 7 and rotates along the part near the corner to achieve forward and reverse swinging. The electric drive body includes a motor and a lead screw. The lead screw is driven to rotate by the motor. The drive rod is threaded to the outside of the lead screw and is slidably connected to the outer shell.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0019] 1) By adding a drive module, the door hook can be electrically pulled inward after the user manually closes the door, so that the door hook is further inserted into the locking mechanism and presses the sealing strip. This eliminates the need for the user to manually fully compress the sealing strip (at this time, the elasticity and frictional resistance of the sealing strip are less than the elasticity and frictional resistance of the sealing strip in the prior art), which can significantly improve the operating feel (taking the manual door pushing and closing process as an example, the manual door pushing and closing force only needs to reach the door lock reset force + the elasticity and frictional resistance of the sealing strip, which is more labor-saving), while also taking into account the sealing performance of household appliances.

[0020] 2) By using a door opening auxiliary swing rod that can swing in both directions to force the door hook to move in the closing direction or to tilt the door hook to simultaneously apply lifting force and pushing force to the door hook, it can not only ensure the effortless sealing of the electrical door cover, but also avoid the phenomenon that the electrical door cover cannot be opened normally due to the door sagging when opening the door.

[0021] 3) The drive module can also use a drive rod to connect the locking block to the push-spring drive plate when locked, thereby further restricting the movement of the push-spring drive plate and making the use more reliable;

[0022] 4) By using an inner shell hinged within the outer shell to support the latch, return torsion spring, push-spring drive plate, and push-spring operation plate, and by using a return spring located between the inner shell and the outer shell to push the inner shell outward, the position for manually pressing to close and open the door is further outward, thus ensuring that the user does not need to manually press the sealing strip completely.

[0023] The features and advantages of this utility model will be described in detail through embodiments and accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 is a front view of the electric door lock of this utility model in the open / released state;

[0025] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pressing module of the electric door lock of this utility model in the open and released state;

[0026] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the push-spring drive plate of the electric door lock of this utility model in the open release state;

[0027] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pressing module of the electric door lock of this utility model in the manual closing state;

[0028] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the push-spring drive plate of the electric door lock of this utility model in the manual closing state;

[0029] Figure 6 is a front view of the electric door lock of this utility model in the automatic closing and locking states;

[0030] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the pressing module of the electric door lock of this utility model in the automatic closing and locking states;

[0031] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the operation of the drive rod of the electric door lock of this utility model in the automatic closing and locking states.

[0032] Figure 9 is a rear view of the electric door lock of this utility model during the electric door opening process;

[0033] Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the drive module of the electric door lock of this utility model during the electric opening process;

[0034] Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the pressing module of the electric door lock of this utility model in the electric open state;

[0035] Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the push-spring drive plate of the electric door lock of this utility model in the electric open state;

[0036] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the movement of the positioning pin when the electric door lock of this utility model is in the electric open state and the door is manually pressed to open.

[0037] In the diagram: 1-outer shell, 11-locking port, 2-pressing module, 21-door hook, 22-lock tongue, 221-locking part, 222-outer protrusion, 23-reset torsion spring, 24-push-spring drive plate, 241-lock groove, 25-push-spring operation plate, 251-positioning pin, 26-positioning spring, 27-inner shell, 28-reset spring, 3-drive module, 31-electric drive body, 311-lead screw, 32-drive rod, 33-door opening auxiliary swing rod. Detailed Implementation

[0038] Referring to Figures 1 to 12, the electric door lock of this utility model includes a pressing module 2 and a driving module 3. The pressing module 2 has a door hook 21 and a locking mechanism respectively installed on the electrical door cover and the electrical body. The driving module 3 can, on the one hand, electrically pull the door hook 21 inward after the user manually closes the door so that the door hook 21 is further inserted into the locking mechanism and presses the sealing strip, and on the other hand, it can electrically push the door hook 21 outward to assist in opening the door.

[0039] When the appliance door is not fully closed, it can be manually closed, manually opened, or electrically opened; that is, in the standby position (when the appliance door is slightly open), manual closing, manual opening, and electric opening operations can be performed.

[0040] The drive module 3 includes a door opening auxiliary swing arm 33, which can force the door hook 21 to move in the closing direction when swinging forward, and can also tilt the door hook 21 to simultaneously give the door hook 21 an upward force and an outward pushing force when swinging backward.

[0041] The door opening auxiliary swing arm 33 is provided with a drive rod 32 at the corner that is driven by the electric drive body 31 to move linearly.

[0042] The locking mechanism has a push-spring drive plate 24 with a lock groove 241 and a push-spring operation plate 25 with a positioning pin 251. The push-spring drive plate 24 and the push-spring operation plate 25 can move relative to each other during the process of the door hook 21 being inserted into the locking mechanism so that the positioning pin 251 moves along the lock groove 241 from the open position to the closed position and keeps the door hook 21 in the closed state. The drive rod 32 can move upward after the user manually closes the door so that the latch 22 drives the door hook 21 to continue moving in the closing direction to the locked position and hold it there. Then the locking block is inserted into the push-spring drive plate 24 to restrict the movement of the push-spring drive plate 24 and lock the latch 22. The drive rod 32 can move downward when the door is opened electrically so that the positioning pin 251 is directly dislodged from the lock groove 241 and the push-spring drive plate 24 is released from restriction before applying an auxiliary opening action to the electric door cover.

[0043] The lock groove 241 is heart-shaped, with the open position located at the tip of the heart and the closed position located in the concave area of ​​the heart; in addition, the position after tightening the door hook 21 can be defined as the locked position.

[0044] The locking mechanism is built into the housing 1. The door hook 21 can be inserted into the housing 1 along the lock opening 11. The locking mechanism also includes a return torsion spring 23, which can give the latch 22 an elastic tendency to make the locking part 221 face the lock opening 11.

[0045] The latch 22 can rotate as the door hook 21 is inserted and push the push-spring drive plate 24 relative to the push-spring operation plate 25 using the outward protrusion 222. A positioning spring 26 is also installed between the push-spring drive plate 24 and the outer shell 1. The positioning spring 26 has an elastic tendency to push the push-spring drive plate 24 closer to the latch 22.

[0046] The locking tongue 22, the return torsion spring 23, the push-spring drive plate 24, and the push-spring operation plate 25 are housed in the inner shell 27. The inner shell 27 is hinged to the outer shell 1. A return spring 28 is provided between the inner shell 27 and the outer shell 1. The return spring 28 has an elastic tendency to push the inner shell 27 to rotate and bring the locking part 221 closer to the lock opening 11.

[0047] The door opening auxiliary swing arm 33 is in the shape of a 7 and rotates along the part near the corner to achieve forward and reverse swing. The electric drive body 31 includes a motor and a lead screw 311. The lead screw 311 is driven to rotate by the motor. The drive rod 32 is threaded to the outside of the lead screw 311 and is slidably connected to the outer shell 1.

[0048] The working process of this utility model:

[0049] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, when the door is released, the drive lever 32 is in the door-opening standby position (it will not provide closing force to the pressing module 2), while the positioning pin 251 is in the heart-shaped tip area of ​​the lock groove 241 (it will not lock the push-pull drive plate 24).

[0050] Referring to Figures 4 and 5, during the manual closing process, the door hook 21 moves closer to the appliance body along the door cover and extends into the outer casing 1 along the lock opening 11 until it engages with the latch 22 through the locking part 221. The latch 22 rotates counterclockwise under the inward pushing action of the door hook 21, and the push-spring drive plate 24 moves upward with the latch 22, causing the positioning pin 251 to move along the lock groove 241 from the heart-shaped tip area to the heart-shaped concave area (the specific movement trajectory of the positioning pin 251 is shown by the arrow in Figure 5), thus switching from the door opening release state to the manual closing state. At this time, the push-spring drive plate 24 is limited by the positioning pin 251 and remains stationary in its position. During the manual closing process, the sealing strip is not fully compressed, and only a comfortable closing force is needed to achieve manual closing.

[0051] The working principle of manual pressing to open the door: During the process of the user manually pressing to open the door, the door hook 21 pushes inward, forcing the lock tongue 22 to rotate counterclockwise. The push-pull drive plate 24 will move upward with the lock tongue 22 and cause the positioning pin 251 to move along the lock groove 241 from the heart-shaped concave area to the heart-shaped tip area (the specific movement trajectory of the positioning pin 251 is shown by the arrow in Figure 13), thereby switching from the closed state to the open state. During the process of manually pressing to open the door, the sealing strip is not fully compressed, and only a comfortable manual pressing force is needed to open the door manually. In addition, the sealing strip is not fully compressed and does not have enough adhesive resistance. Therefore, the door hook 21 can easily disengage from the lock mouth 11 under the action of the door opening auxiliary swing rod 33 to open the door.

[0052] Referring to Figures 6 to 8, after the user manually closes the door, the electric drive body 31 can move the drive rod 32 upward to first move the latch 22 away from the lock opening 11, thereby driving the door hook 21 to continue moving in the closing direction to the lock position and holding it there (fully pressing the sealing strip to achieve a sealing effect). Then, the locking block is inserted into the push-spring drive plate 24 to further fix the position of the push-spring drive plate 24 and lock the latch 22. In other words, the process of switching from Figures 4 to 5 to Figures 6 to 8 is a process of automatically closing the door and then locking it, while the process of switching from Figures 6 to 8 to Figures 4 to 5 is a process of unlocking and then resetting it.

[0053] Referring to Figures 9 to 12, when the door is opened electrically, the electric drive body 31 can cause the drive rod 32 to move down and pull the push-tap operation plate 25 until the positioning pin 251 disengages from the lock groove 241, thereby releasing the limit of the push-tap drive plate 24; when the drive rod 32 continues to move down, it can also drive the door opening auxiliary swing rod 33 to swing clockwise to provide assistance and tilt the door hook 21, so that the door hook 21 can overcome the resistance caused by the drooping through the lifting force and outward pushing force provided by the door opening auxiliary swing rod 33 and open the door smoothly.

[0054] The above embodiments are illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any simple modifications to the present invention are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electric door lock, characterized in that: It includes a pressing module (2) and a driving module (3). The pressing module (2) has a door hook (21) and a locking mechanism respectively installed on the appliance door cover and the appliance body. The driving module (3) can, on the one hand, electrically pull the door hook (21) inward after the user manually closes the door so that the door hook (21) is further inserted into the locking mechanism and presses the sealing strip, and on the other hand, it can electrically push the door hook (21) outward to assist in opening the door.

2. The electric door lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The electrical door can be manually closed, manually opened, or electrically opened when it is not fully closed.

3. The electric door lock as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The drive module (3) includes a door opening auxiliary swing arm (33), which can force the door hook (21) to move in the closing direction when swinging forward. The door opening auxiliary swing arm (33) can also tilt the door hook (21) when swinging backward to simultaneously give the door hook (21) an upward force and an outward force.

4. The electric door lock as described in claim 3, characterized in that: The door opening auxiliary swing arm (33) is provided with a drive rod (32) at the corner that is driven by the electric drive body (31) to move linearly.

5. The electric door lock as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The locking mechanism has a push-spring drive plate (24) with a lock groove (241) and a push-spring operation plate (25) with a positioning pin (251). The push-spring drive plate (24) and the push-spring operation plate (25) can move relative to each other during the process of the door hook (21) being inserted into the locking mechanism, so that the positioning pin (251) moves along the lock groove (241) from the open position to the closed position and keeps the door hook (21) in the closed state. The drive rod (32) can be used by the user to manually close the door. Then move upward to use the latch (22) to drive the door hook (21) to continue moving in the closing direction to the lock position and hold it there. Then insert the locking block into the push-spring drive plate (24) to restrict the movement of the push-spring drive plate (24) and lock the latch (22). The drive rod (32) can move downward when the door is opened by electric means to first make the positioning pin (251) directly disengage from the lock groove (241) and release the push-spring drive plate (24) from restriction before applying an auxiliary opening action to the electric door cover.

6. The electric door lock as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The lock groove (241) is heart-shaped, with the opening position located at the tip of the heart shape and the closing position located in the concave area of ​​the heart shape.

7. The electric door lock as described in claim 5, characterized in that: The locking mechanism is built into the housing (1), and the door hook (21) can be inserted into the housing (1) along the lock opening (11). The locking mechanism also includes a return torsion spring (23), which can give the latch (22) an elastic tendency to make the locking part (221) face the lock opening (11).

8. The electric door lock as described in claim 7, characterized in that: The latch (22) can rotate as the door hook (21) is inserted and push the push-spring drive plate (24) relative to the push-spring operation plate (25) by the protrusion (222). A positioning spring (26) is also installed between the push-spring drive plate (24) and the outer shell (1). The positioning spring (26) has an elastic tendency to push the push-spring drive plate (24) closer to the latch (22).

9. The electric door lock as described in claim 8, characterized in that: The locking tongue (22), the return torsion spring (23), the push-spring drive plate (24) and the push-spring operation plate (25) are housed in the inner shell (27), which is hinged to the outer shell (1). A return spring (28) is provided between the inner shell (27) and the outer shell (1). The return spring (28) has an elastic tendency to push the inner shell (27) to rotate and make the locking part (221) close to the lock (11).

10. The electric door lock as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The door opening auxiliary swing arm (33) is in the shape of a 7 and rotates along the part near the corner to achieve forward and reverse swing. The electric drive body (31) includes a motor and a lead screw (311). The lead screw (311) is driven to rotate by the motor. The drive rod (32) is threaded to the outside of the lead screw (311) and is slidably connected to the outer shell (1).

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