An intelligent electric appliance

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of smart home, in particular to a smart electric appliance; the smart electric appliance comprises a projection device; the projection device comprises a mounting shell for assembling with the smart electric appliance, a light-emitting element, a liquid crystal screen, a condenser lens and a focusing lens; the light-emitting element, the liquid crystal screen, the condenser lens and the focusing lens are arranged in the mounting shell; the condenser lens comprises a first convex surface close to the light-emitting element and a second convex surface close to the liquid crystal screen; the convex surface thickness of the second convex surface is greater than the convex surface thickness of the first convex surface, and the curvature radius of the second convex surface is smaller than the curvature radius of the first convex surface; the light emitted by the light-emitting element passes through the condenser lens, the liquid crystal screen and the focusing lens in sequence to project a projection image to a target area; the structure of the projection device is simplified, so that the volume of the projection device is reduced, and the volume and the manufacturing cost of the smart electric appliance are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of smart home technology, and in particular to a smart appliance. Background Technology

[0002] With the improvement of living standards and the continuous improvement of aesthetic requirements for home appliances, smart appliances with hidden switches are gradually becoming the mainstream in the market. In the existing technology, a projection device is usually used to project the working status or working buttons of the smart appliance, such as a fully hidden cabinet integrated appliance. However, in the existing technology, the projection device in the smart appliance is relatively large, which leads to the overall size of the smart appliance being large and the manufacturing cost being high. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the purpose of this application is to simplify the structure of the projection device, thereby reducing the size of the projection device, and further reducing the size and manufacturing cost of smart appliances.

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a smart appliance, which includes a projection device. The projection device comprises a mounting housing for assembly with the smart appliance, a light-emitting element, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a condenser lens, and a focusing lens. The light-emitting element, the liquid crystal screen, the condensing lens, and the focusing lens are disposed within the mounting housing; The focusing lens includes a first convex surface near the light-emitting element and a second convex surface near the liquid crystal screen; the thickness of the second convex surface is greater than the thickness of the first convex surface, and the radius of curvature of the second convex surface is smaller than the radius of curvature of the first convex surface. The light emitted by the light-emitting element passes sequentially through the condenser lens, the liquid crystal screen, and the focusing lens to project the image onto the target area.

[0005] In this embodiment, the projection device further includes a substrate for supporting the circuit structure, and the liquid crystal screen is electrically connected to the circuit structure.

[0006] In this embodiment, the light-emitting element includes a backlight panel and a light source, with the light source disposed on the backlight panel.

[0007] In this embodiment of the application, the substrate is welded to the backlight panel.

[0008] In this embodiment of the application, the projection device further includes a heat dissipation device, which is fixed to the backlight panel.

[0009] In this embodiment, the inner wall of the mounting housing is spaced apart from the substrate to form a heat dissipation channel.

[0010] In this embodiment, the mounting housing is provided with multiple mounting slots, and the light-emitting element, the liquid crystal screen, the condensing lens, and the focusing lens are fixed to the mounting housing through the multiple mounting slots.

[0011] In this embodiment of the application, the projection device further includes a first lens fixing structure, the plurality of mounting slots include a focusing mounting slot, the focusing lens is sleeved in the first lens fixing structure, and the first lens fixing structure is engaged with the focusing mounting slot.

[0012] In this embodiment, the projection device further includes a second lens fixing structure, the plurality of mounting slots include a focusing mounting slot, the focusing lens is sleeved in the second lens fixing structure, and the second lens fixing structure is engaged with the focusing mounting slot.

[0013] In this embodiment of the application, the smart appliance further includes an interactive monitoring device, the monitoring area of ​​which corresponds to the target area.

[0014] Due to the above technical solution, the smart appliance described in this application has the following beneficial effects: By setting the focusing lens as a double convex surface—specifically, a first convex surface near the light-emitting element and a second convex surface near the LCD screen—and by ensuring that the thickness of the second convex surface is greater than that of the first convex surface, and that the radius of curvature of the second convex surface is smaller than that of the first convex surface, the first convex surface can refract light emitted from the light-emitting element at different angles into a certain angle, and the second convex surface will further refract the refracted light to converge it onto the LCD screen. This reduces the distance between components and eliminates the need for other optical components, such as additional reflectors, simplifying the structure of the projection device and thus reducing its size. Consequently, this reduces the size and manufacturing cost of smart appliances. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a projection device for a smart appliance provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the optical path of a projection device for a smart appliance provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 is a light intensity distribution diagram of the upper half of the projected image in a simulation of a projection device for a smart appliance provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0017] Among them, 1-mounting housing, 2-light-emitting element, 21-backlight panel, 22-light source, 3-LCD screen, 4-focusing lens, 41-first convex surface, 42-second convex surface, 5-focusing lens, 6-target area, 7-substrate, 8-heat dissipation device, 9-heat dissipation channel. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0019] The term "an embodiment" or "embodiment" as used herein refers to a specific feature, structure, or characteristic that may be included in at least one implementation of this application. In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application. Furthermore, 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 indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. Moreover, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein.

[0020] Combination Figure 1-2 This application describes a smart appliance provided by an embodiment of the present application. The smart appliance includes a projection device, which includes a mounting housing 1 for assembly with the smart appliance, a light-emitting element 2, a liquid crystal screen 3, a condenser lens 4, and a focusing lens 5. The light-emitting element 2, the liquid crystal screen 3, the condenser lens 4, and the focusing lens 5 are disposed within the mounting housing 1. The condenser lens 4 includes a first convex surface 41 near the light-emitting element 2 and a second convex surface 42 near the liquid crystal screen 3. The thickness of the second convex surface 42 is greater than the thickness of the first convex surface 41, and the radius of curvature of the second convex surface 42 is smaller than the radius of curvature of the first convex surface 41. The light emitted by the light-emitting element 2 passes sequentially through the condenser lens 4, the liquid crystal screen 3, and the focusing lens 5 to project a projected image onto a target area 6.

[0021] In a specific embodiment of this application, the projection device is used to project the working status and / or control panel of a smart appliance onto a target area 6; the target area 6 may be the floor at a specified location or a wall at a specified location; the position of the target area 6 may be adjusted based on the adjustment of the focal length of the projection device.

[0022] In specific embodiments of this application, the smart appliance can be a smart home appliance such as a dishwasher, a washing machine, or an integrated stove.

[0023] In specific embodiments of this application, the first convex surface 41 and the second convex surface 42 can be spherical surfaces, i.e., single curvature surfaces; the first convex surface 41 and the second convex surface 42 can also be ellipsoidal surfaces, i.e., hypercurvature surfaces.

[0024] In a specific embodiment of this application, the first convex surface 41 is a spherical surface, and the second convex surface 42 is an ellipsoidal surface. Specifically, the radius of curvature of the second convex surface 42 closer to the liquid crystal screen 3 is greater than the radius of curvature farther from the liquid crystal screen 3.

[0025] In a specific embodiment of this application, the light-emitting element 2 is used to emit light, and the liquid crystal screen 3 is used to generate the projected image for display; the condenser lens 4 is used to focus the light emitted by the light-emitting element 2 onto the liquid crystal screen 3 after at least two refractions; the focusing lens 5 is used to adjust the projection position and projection angle of the projected image in order to adjust the color difference and distortion of the projected image, thereby improving the image clarity of the projection device.

[0026] In a specific embodiment of this application, the light-emitting element 2, the liquid crystal screen 3, the condenser lens 4, and the focusing lens 5 are arranged with their centers overlapping.

[0027] In a specific embodiment of this application, the light-emitting element 2 can be a point light source 22, and the light-emitting point of the light-emitting element 2, the central axis of the liquid crystal screen 3, the central axis of the condenser lens 4, and the central axis of the focusing lens 5 are located on the same axis.

[0028] In a specific embodiment of this application, the light-emitting element 2 may also be a surface light source 22, and the central axis of the light-emitting element 2, the central axis of the liquid crystal screen 3, the central axis of the condenser lens 4 and the central axis of the focusing lens 5 are located on the same axis.

[0029] In specific embodiments of this application, the liquid crystal screen 3 can be a thin-film transistor (TFT) screen or a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen.

[0030] In a specific embodiment of this application, the size of the LCD screen 3 is related to the projection distance and the projection area. Specifically, the size of the LCD screen 3 is determined based on the diagonal length of the projection area, and can be calculated using the following formula:

[0031] in, The dimensions are the three diagonal dimensions of the LCD screen. B is the length corresponding to the projected area, and B is the width corresponding to the projected area. denoted as the diagonal length of the projected area, C is the projection distance, and h is the distance between the light-emitting element 2 and the LCD screen 3.

[0032] In a specific embodiment of this application, when the projection distance is 135mm, the projection area is greater than 35×25mm, and the distance between the light-emitting element 2 and the liquid crystal screen 3 is 30mm, the minimum size of the liquid crystal screen 3 is 10mm; preferably, the size of the liquid crystal screen 3 is 0.85 inches, so that the content displayed on the screen is uniform.

[0033] In this embodiment, by setting the focusing lens 4 as a double convex surface, specifically a first convex surface 41 near the light-emitting element 2 and a second convex surface 42 near the liquid crystal screen 3, and by setting the convex surface thickness of the second convex surface 42 to be greater than that of the first convex surface 41 and the radius of curvature of the second convex surface 42 to be smaller than that of the first convex surface 41, the first convex surface 41 can refract light emitted from the light-emitting element 2 at different angles to a certain angle, and the second convex surface 42 will refract the refracted light a second time to converge the light onto the liquid crystal screen 3. This can reduce the distance between the components and avoid the setting of other optical components. For example, there is no need to set an additional reflector, simplifying the structure of the projection device, thereby reducing the size of the projection device, and further reducing the size and manufacturing cost of smart appliances.

[0034] In this embodiment, the projection device further includes a substrate 7 for carrying the circuit structure, and the liquid crystal screen 3 is electrically connected to the circuit structure.

[0035] In a specific embodiment of this application, the circuit structure is used to transmit control electrical signals to change the arrangement direction of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal screen 3, thereby forming a projected image; specifically, the display area in the liquid crystal screen 3 allows light to pass through due to liquid crystal deflection, while the non-display area of ​​the liquid crystal screen 3 cannot allow light to pass through due to liquid crystal blocking.

[0036] In a specific embodiment of this application, the substrate 7 and the liquid crystal screen 3 are disposed separately.

[0037] In this embodiment, by separating the substrate 7 from the liquid crystal screen 3, light can directly penetrate the liquid crystal screen 3 to form a projected image without the need for an additional reflector to reflect the light to the liquid crystal screen 3. This simplifies the structure of the projection device, thereby reducing the size of the projection device, and consequently reducing the size and manufacturing cost of smart appliances.

[0038] In this embodiment, the light-emitting element 2 includes a backlight panel 21 and a light source 22, with the light source 22 disposed on the backlight panel 21.

[0039] In a specific embodiment of this application, the light source 22 is used to emit a light beam, and the backlight plate 21 is used to convert the light beam emitted by the light source 22 into a uniform and stable surface light source 22.

[0040] In a specific embodiment of this application, the backlight panel 21 may be made of aluminum substrate 7, thereby improving the heat dissipation capability of the light-emitting element 2.

[0041] In a specific embodiment of this application, by setting the light-emitting element 2 as a backlight 21 and a light source 22, the surface light source 22 is emitted, thereby improving the color and brightness of the projected image and reducing the energy consumption of the light-emitting element 2.

[0042] In this embodiment, the substrate 7 is welded to the backlight panel 21.

[0043] In a specific embodiment of this application, the substrate 7 and the backlight plate 21 are arranged at an angle, preferably, the substrate 7 and the backlight plate 21 are arranged at a 90° angle.

[0044] In this embodiment of the application, the projection device further includes a heat dissipation device 8, which is fixed to the backlight panel 21.

[0045] In a specific embodiment of this application, the heat dissipation device 8 may be a plurality of heat sinks, which are arranged in an array on the backlight panel 21; the plurality of heat sinks and the light source 22 are respectively located on two sides of the backlight panel 21.

[0046] In the embodiment of this application, the substrate 7 and a plurality of heat sinks are fixed with thermally conductive silicone.

[0047] In a specific embodiment of this application, the number of heat sinks can be five or four.

[0048] In this embodiment, a heat dissipation device 8 is provided to dissipate heat from the backlight panel 21, thereby reducing the temperature of the backlight panel 21, avoiding the impact of excessively high temperature on the light source 22, and improving the service life of the projection device.

[0049] In a specific embodiment of this application, by separating the substrate 7 from the backlight plate 21, it is easier to assemble the heat dissipation device 8 with the backlight plate 21, thereby improving the heat dissipation capacity of the light-emitting element 2, avoiding the influence of excessively high temperature on the light source 22, and improving the service life of the projection device.

[0050] In this embodiment, the inner wall of the mounting housing 1 is spaced apart from the substrate 7 to form a heat dissipation channel 9.

[0051] In this embodiment, a heat dissipation channel 9 is provided between the substrate 7 and the interior of the mounting housing 1 to dissipate heat from the projection device, thereby avoiding the impact of excessively high temperatures on the projection device and improving the service life of the projection device.

[0052] In this embodiment, the mounting housing 1 is provided with multiple mounting slots, and the light-emitting element 2, the liquid crystal screen 3, the condenser lens 4 and the focusing lens 5 are fixed to the mounting housing 1 through the multiple mounting slots.

[0053] In this embodiment, multiple mounting slots are provided to fix the light-emitting element 2, the liquid crystal screen 3, the condenser lens 4, and the focusing lens 5, thereby improving the stability of the components inside the projection device, ensuring the stability of the optical path, and improving the reliability of the projection device.

[0054] In a specific embodiment of this application, the mounting housing 1 is divided into a first housing and a second housing. The first housing and the second housing are detachably connected. When the first housing and the second housing are assembled, multiple mounting slots are formed and an assembly space is formed that can accommodate the light-emitting element 2, the liquid crystal screen 3, the condenser lens 4 and the focusing lens 5.

[0055] In specific embodiments of this application, the first outer shell and the second outer shell can be detachably connected by snap-fit ​​or by bolts and screws.

[0056] In this embodiment of the application, the projection device further includes a first lens fixing structure, a plurality of mounting slots including a focusing mounting slot, a focusing lens 4 being sleeved in the first lens fixing structure, and the first lens fixing structure being snapped into the focusing mounting slot.

[0057] In this embodiment, the condenser lens 4 is wrapped and fixed by setting a first lens fixing structure, thereby avoiding damage to the condenser lens 4 due to external forces and improving the reliability of the projection device.

[0058] In this embodiment, the projection device further includes a second lens fixing structure, and a plurality of mounting slots including a focusing mounting slot. The focusing lens 5 is sleeved in the second lens fixing structure, and the second lens fixing structure is engaged with the focusing mounting slot.

[0059] In a specific embodiment of this application, the focusing lens 5 includes multiple focusing lenses, all of which are fitted within the second lens fixing structure.

[0060] In this embodiment, the focusing lens 5 is wrapped and fixed by setting a second lens fixing structure, thereby avoiding damage to the focusing lens 5 due to external forces and improving the reliability of the projection device.

[0061] In this embodiment, the smart appliance also includes an interactive monitoring device, the monitoring area of ​​which corresponds to the target area 6.

[0062] In a specific embodiment of this application, the interactive monitoring device is used to monitor interactive information in the monitoring area; wherein, the interactive information can be interactive actions or interactive voice.

[0063] In a specific embodiment of this application, the smart appliance further includes a control device, an interactive monitoring device electrically connected to the control device, and a control device electrically connected to the circuit structure on the substrate 7.

[0064] In a specific embodiment of this application, the interactive monitoring device can send the monitored interactive information to the control device, and the control device can control the operation of the dishwasher based on the interactive information, and adjust the image changes of the projection device based on the interactive information.

[0065] In specific embodiments of this application, the interactive monitoring device may be an image acquisition device, such as a camera, an infrared detection device, such as an infrared sensor, or a voice receiving device, such as a microphone.

[0066] In a specific embodiment of this application, an interactive monitoring device is set up to realize the function of projection plus interaction, thereby improving the intelligence of smart appliances.

[0067] In a specific embodiment of this application, the projected light intensity of the projection device is simulated and analyzed, with reference to... Figure 3 , Figure 3 The projection image shows the light intensity distribution in the upper half, where the horizontal axis represents the distance between each point and the center point of the upper half, and the vertical axis represents the light intensity at each point. Therefore, it can be determined that the projection device of this application not only solves the technical problems of small size and low cost, but also achieves projection with high brightness and high uniformity.

[0068] The smart appliances in this application embodiment have the following beneficial effects: By setting the focusing lens 4 as a double convex surface, specifically a first convex surface 41 near the light-emitting element 2 and a second convex surface 42 near the liquid crystal screen 3, and by setting the convex thickness of the second convex surface 42 to be greater than that of the first convex surface 41 and the radius of curvature of the second convex surface 42 to be smaller than that of the first convex surface 41, the first convex surface 41 can refract light emitted from the light-emitting element 2 at different angles to a certain angle, and the second convex surface 42 will refract the refracted light a second time to converge the light onto the liquid crystal screen 3. This can reduce the distance between the components and avoid the setting of other optical components. For example, there is no need to set up additional reflectors, simplifying the structure of the projection device, thereby reducing the size of the projection device, and thus reducing the size and manufacturing cost of smart appliances.

[0069] The foregoing description has fully disclosed the specific embodiments of this application. It should be noted that any modifications made by those skilled in the art to the specific embodiments of this application do not depart from the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the claims of this application is not limited to the foregoing specific embodiments.

Claims

1. A smart appliance, characterized in that, The device includes a projection unit, comprising a mounting housing (1) for assembly with the smart appliance, a light-emitting element (2), a liquid crystal screen (3), a condenser lens (4), and a focusing lens (5). The light-emitting element (2), the liquid crystal screen (3), the condenser lens (4), and the focusing lens (5) are disposed inside the mounting housing (1); The focusing lens (4) includes a first convex surface (41) near the light-emitting element (2) and a second convex surface (42) near the liquid crystal screen (3); the convex surface thickness of the second convex surface (42) is greater than the convex surface thickness of the first convex surface (41), and the radius of curvature of the second convex surface (42) is smaller than the radius of curvature of the first convex surface (41). The light emitted by the light-emitting element (2) passes sequentially through the condenser lens (4), the liquid crystal screen (3), and the focusing lens (5) to project the image onto the target area (6).

2. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that, The projection device also includes a substrate (7) for carrying the circuit structure, and the liquid crystal screen (3) is electrically connected to the circuit structure.

3. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that, The light-emitting element (2) includes a backlight panel (21) and a light source (22), wherein the light source (22) is disposed on the backlight panel (21).

4. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that, The substrate (7) is welded to the backlight panel (21).

5. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that, The projection device also includes a heat dissipation device (8), which is fixed to the backlight panel (21).

6. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner wall of the mounting housing (1) is spaced apart from the substrate (7) to form a heat dissipation channel (9).

7. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting housing (1) is provided with multiple mounting slots, and the light-emitting element (2), the liquid crystal screen (3), the condenser lens (4) and the focusing lens (5) are fixed to the mounting housing (1) through the multiple mounting slots.

8. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 7, characterized in that, The projection device further includes a first lens fixing structure, the plurality of mounting slots include a focusing mounting slot, the focusing lens (4) is sleeved in the first lens fixing structure, and the first lens fixing structure is engaged with the focusing mounting slot.

9. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 7, characterized in that, The projection device further includes a second lens fixing structure, the plurality of mounting slots include a focusing mounting slot, the focusing lens (5) is sleeved in the second lens fixing structure, and the second lens fixing structure is engaged with the focusing mounting slot.

10. The intelligent electrical appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an interactive monitoring device, the monitoring area of ​​which corresponds to the target area (6).

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