Hollow joint and heating device

Abstract

The utility model relates to water supply device technical field discloses a hollow joint, including inside hollow joint body, the joint body is along the axial at least part and is arranged in the cooperation hole, the joint body is equipped with the raised part in the one side of cooperation hole, is equipped with the turn -over portion in the other side, the raised part and the turn -over portion respectively with the end surface of cooperation hole abut, jointly form the limit structure to restrict the joint body from the cooperation hole and separate, the utility model discloses a raised part and the turn -over portion constitute bidirectional limit structure along the axial in the through -hole both sides, can directly realize the pre -fixing of hollow joint and upper cover, need not first with the upper cover of hollow joint and divide the welding of time, greatly reduced the welding frequency, reduced manpower, equipment loss and the cumulative cost of welding material consumption, the bidirectional limit structure can ensure that the relative position of hollow joint and upper cover is fixed, need not design complex special tooling to support hollow joint when welding, only needs simple tooling to support upper cover, simplifies the tooling design and production cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of water supply device technology, and in particular to a hollow connector and heating device. Background Technology

[0002] The heating device of the household appliance is equipped with a water channel. The inlet and outlet are provided on the surface of the chamber. Cold water enters the chamber through the inlet and flows to the steam outlet in the water channel inside the chamber. During this process, the heating tube heats the water inside the chamber and generates steam which is discharged from the steam outlet. Hollow connectors are installed at both the inlet and outlet.

[0003] In existing technology, the water channel of the heating device is formed by welding an upper cover with continuous ribs to a lower cover, with through holes at both ends of the ribs for welding hollow joints. During the welding process, since the hollow joint, upper cover, and lower cover are all independent moving parts, the welding typically employs the following method: 1. Welding in stages: First, the hollow joint is welded to the top cover, and then the bottom cover is welded to the top cover. The two welding operations increase production costs. Each welding involves manpower, equipment wear and tear, and the consumption of welding materials. The cumulative effect makes the overall cost rise significantly. Moreover, due to slight differences in welding parameters during multiple welding processes, inconsistencies in product quality may occur, increasing the defect rate. 2. Designing Dedicated Tooling: Using dedicated tooling to support each component and hold it in a preset position allows for one-time welding, reducing welding costs. However, different models of heating devices require different tooling designs, and the tooling accuracy is difficult to guarantee. This is mainly because the welding area between the lower and upper covers is large, requiring a significant amount of solder. The lower cover must be on top, and the hollow connector is inserted into the through-hole from below. The tooling must support both the upper cover and the hollow connector while ensuring the hollow connector doesn't push up the lower cover. This design is extremely complex, and precisely controlling the tooling height is very difficult. Any deviation in height can lead to inaccurate welding positions and weak welds, thus affecting product quality and production efficiency. Furthermore, complex tooling designs result in high R&D costs and long development cycles, which is extremely disadvantageous for the home appliance industry, which pursues efficient and low-cost production. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a hollow joint and a heating device to solve the problems in the prior art. It can effectively avoid the problem of the hollow joint shifting during the welding process, and can reduce the number of welding operations and reduce the overall welding cost.

[0005] This utility model provides a hollow connector for assembly into a mating hole of a heating device, comprising: The connector body is hollow inside, and at least a portion of the connector body is inserted into the mating hole along the axial direction. The connector body has a protrusion on one side of the mating hole and a folded portion on the other side. The protrusion and the folded portion respectively abut against the end face of the mating hole, forming a limiting structure to prevent the connector body from detaching from the mating hole.

[0006] In the hollow connector described above, preferably, the protrusion extends radially outward from the outer peripheral wall of the connector body.

[0007] In the hollow joint described above, preferably, the folded portion extends radially outward along the mating hole, and the radial extension direction of the folded portion is parallel to the radial direction of the mating hole.

[0008] In the hollow joint described above, preferably, the folded portion is gradually widened in the direction away from the mating hole, and its radial diameter gradually increases with axial extension.

[0009] In the hollow joint described above, preferably, the folded portion is formed by stamping using an existing stamping process.

[0010] In the hollow connector described above, preferably, there is a preset gap S between the outer wall of the connector body and the inner wall of the mating hole, and the preset gap S≤2mm.

[0011] In the hollow connector described above, preferably, the protrusion, the folded portion, and the connector body are all integrally formed structures.

[0012] This utility model also provides a heating device, which is equipped with the above-mentioned hollow joint.

[0013] As described above, the heating device preferably includes an upper cover, a lower cover, a heat-conducting plate, and a heating element welded sequentially. The upper cover has a continuous and curved rib facing away from the lower cover. The inner cavity of the rib and the lower cover form a chamber capable of fluid flow. The two ends of the rib have mating holes communicating with the chamber. At least a portion of the hollow joint passes through the mating holes. The protruding part and the folded part abut against the mating holes at their respective axial ends.

[0014] In the heating device described above, preferably, the outer diameter of the folded portion is smaller than the inner cavity size of the rib where the mating hole is located.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, this utility model forms a bidirectional limiting structure on both sides of the through hole along the axial direction by protruding part and folding part, which can directly realize the pre-fixation of hollow joint and top cover without having to weld hollow joint and top cover in stages, greatly reducing the number of welding times and reducing the cumulative cost of manpower, equipment wear and welding material consumption. This bidirectional limiting structure ensures that the hollow joint and the top cover are fixed in relative position. During welding, there is no need to design complex special tooling to support the hollow joint. Only simple tooling is needed to support the top cover. This not only simplifies the tooling design and manufacturing costs, but also avoids problems such as inaccurate welding position and weak welding caused by tooling height deviation. This ensures product quality and production efficiency, and better meets the high-efficiency and low-cost production needs of the home appliance industry. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view of the hollow joint provided in an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the hollow connector provided in an embodiment of this utility model before stamping; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the hollow joint after assembly, provided in an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the hollow joint after assembly, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 yes Figure 3 Enlarged view of point A in the image; Figure 6 yes Figure 3 Enlarged view of point A in another type of through hole; Figure 7 This is an exploded view of the heating device provided in an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 8 This is a top view of the heating device provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 yes Figure 8 Sectional view at point BB in the middle; Figure 10 yes Figure 9 Enlarged view of point C in the image.

[0017] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 10. Connector body; 11. Protrusion; 12. Folding part; 20. Top cover; 200. Mating hole; 201. Rib; 202. Chamber; 21. Bottom cover; 22. Heat-conducting plate; 23. Heating element. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0019] In the prior art, before welding, the upper cover 20, lower cover 21, and hollow joint of the heating device are independent movable parts. Since the part of the hollow joint inserted into the upper cover 20 is a vertical section, it will detach from the upper cover 20 if there is no support. Therefore, solder is usually applied between the hollow joint and the upper cover 20 and welded first, and then the upper cover 20 and the lower cover 21 are welded. Welding in stages increases costs. Alternatively, special tooling can be designed to support each part separately and keep it at a preset height, which can be welded in one go. However, the tooling requires high precision and it is difficult to ensure that the relative positions of the hollow joint, the upper cover 20, and the lower cover 21 are fixed, which can easily cause incomplete welding or missing welding. After welding, the chamber 202 is closed, and it is difficult to check whether the part of the hollow joint in the chamber 202 meets the welding requirements. Using special tooling not only has poor versatility, but also increases manufacturing costs.

[0020] See Figure 1-10As shown, this embodiment provides a hollow connector for assembly into a mating hole 200 of a heating device. It includes a hollow connector body 10, at least a portion of which passes through the mating hole 200 along the axial direction. The connector body 10 has a protrusion 11 on one side of the mating hole 200 and a folded portion 12 on the other side. The protrusion 11 and the folded portion 12 abut against the end face of the mating hole 200 respectively, forming a limiting structure to prevent the connector body 10 from disengaging from the mating hole 200. In the embodiments provided in this application, the protrusion 11 abuts against one end of the mating hole 200 along the axial direction, and the folded portion 12 forms a limit at the other end of the mating hole 200. The two together form a complete limiting structure from both sides of the axial direction, pre-fixing the hollow connector and the upper cover 20. In actual assembly scenarios, when the inner side of the upper cover 20 is facing upward and the lower cover 21 is closed, the connector body 10 will be downward due to its own weight, and the folded portion 12 abuts against the end face of the mating hole 200, which can prevent the connector body 10 from falling off from the mating hole 200. Since the relative position of the connector body 10 and the upper cover 20 has been fixed by the bidirectional limiting structure, after applying solder, the upper cover 20, the lower cover 21 and the connector body 10 can be welded as a whole, without the need to weld the connector body 10, the upper cover 20 and the lower cover 21 separately in steps. Pre-fixing not only reduces the number of welding operations but also avoids positioning deviations that may occur during step-by-step welding, significantly improving welding efficiency and the stability of welding quality. In addition, since the joint body 10 and the upper cover 20 are pre-fixed, no additional tooling is needed to support the joint. Operators only need to focus on fixing the upper cover 20 and controlling the welding parameters, reducing the difficulty of operation and the product scrap rate caused by operational errors, further improving overall production efficiency and product qualification rate. Moreover, the upper cover 20, lower cover 21, and joint body 10 are all fitted together under the action of gravity, avoiding the problem that the joint body 10 may lift the lower cover 21 due to poor precision or operational errors when designing special tooling, effectively improving welding quality.

[0021] See Figure 1-2 As shown, in this embodiment, the protrusion 11 extends radially outward from the outer peripheral wall of the connector body 10. The protrusion 11 can be a protrusion structure that is arranged in a full circle along the outer wall of the connector body 10, or it can be a protrusion structure that is arranged at intervals. The outer diameter of the protrusion 11 is larger than the inner diameter of the mating hole 200. It is only necessary to ensure that the protrusion 11 can restrict the connector body 10 from moving further inside the upper cover 20. The specific structure is not limited here.

[0022] In some embodiments of this application, the protrusion 11, the folded portion 12, and the connector body 10 are all integrally formed structures. The protrusion 11 can be formed in one step by processes such as casting, extrusion, and injection molding, eliminating the connection gap or splicing interface between the protrusion 11 and the connector body 10, making the two form a complete whole, improving structural strength and damage resistance. In addition, the integrally formed structure can significantly simplify the production process of hollow connectors, reduce processing steps and time costs, and improve mass production efficiency.

[0023] See Figure 3-4 As shown, in some embodiments of this application, the folded portion 12 is formed by stamping using existing stamping processes. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the hollow joint before stamping. The joint body 10 is inserted into the mating hole 200 until the protrusion 11 abuts against the outer end face of the mating hole 200. The assembled joint body 10 and the top cover 20 are fixed on the positioning fixtures of the stamping worktable. The existing stamping process is used to impact one end of the joint body 10 located inside the mating hole 200 along the axial direction, causing it to extend outward into a preset posture, thereby forming the folded part 12. Compared with welding in stages or designing special tooling, the stamping forming process is lower in cost, has lower precision requirements, and is more convenient.

[0024] See Figure 3 and Figure 5-6 As shown, in this embodiment, the folded portion 12 extends radially outward along the mating hole 200, and the radial extension direction of the folded portion 12 is parallel to the radial direction of the mating hole 200. The parallel relationship between the folded portion 12 and the inner wall of the upper cover 20 simplifies the stamping process, reduces processing difficulty, and reduces the amount of solder used. The solder is applied to the outer periphery of the folded portion 12, and the molten solder during welding can be evenly distributed circumferentially to form a continuous and dense weld layer, optimize the solder filling space, effectively block media leakage, and improve the overall sealing performance.

[0025] See Figure 4 and Figure 5-6As shown, in this embodiment, there is a preset gap S between the outer wall of the connector body 10 and the inner wall of the mating hole 200, and the preset gap S ≤ 2mm. Setting a preset gap can avoid interference fit between the connector body 10 and the mating hole 200 due to machining errors, allowing the connector body 10 to be easily inserted into the mating hole 200, reducing assembly difficulty, and avoiding deformation of the connector body 10 or scratches on the mating hole 200. A gap within 2mm can accommodate the normal machining tolerances of the outer diameter of the connector body 10 and the inner diameter of the mating hole 200, reducing the part machining cost and scrap rate, while not affecting the limiting effect after the subsequent forming of the folded part 12. In addition, the preset gap should not be too large, strictly controlling the radial movement range of the connector body 10 in the mating hole 200, preventing large shaking or radial displacement of the connector body 10 after insertion, ensuring the stability of the connector position during the stamping forming of the folded part 12, and avoiding the impact of radial offset on the subsequent overall assembly accuracy.

[0026] See Figure 4 As shown, in another embodiment of this application, the difference from the above embodiment is that the folded portion 12 gradually expands in the direction away from the mating hole 200, and its radial diameter gradually increases with axial extension. The folded portion 12 is stamped into a gradually expanding preset posture, and a beveled gap is formed between the folded portion 12 and the inner wall of the upper cover 20. Solder can be applied into this gap to increase the stress area of ​​welding. The size of the bevel angle can be set as needed. For example, different types of solder have different fluidity and solidification strength, and the bevel angle needs to be adjusted to match the characteristics of the solder, or the material thickness of the upper cover 20 and the hollow joint, welding process requirements, etc.

[0027] It should be noted that, see Figure 5-6 As shown, due to the different materials of the top cover 20, for a thicker top cover 20, its mating hole 200 may be a flat mating hole 200, while for a thinner top cover 20, in order to increase structural stability, its mating hole 200 may be a boss mating hole 200. The height of the flat mating hole 200 is only the thickness of the top cover 20 itself, while the height of the boss mating hole 200 is increased due to the extension of the boss. The height difference between the two mating holes 200 is obvious. The purpose of the bidirectional limiting of the protrusion 11 and the folding part 12 is to prevent the hollow connector from falling out of the mating hole 200. Regardless of the type of mating hole 200, the distance between the protrusion 11 and the folding part 12 is adapted to the height of the mating hole 200. That is, during stamping, the folded part 12 must be stamped to ensure that the stamped folded part 12 and the protrusion 11 abut against the upper and lower ends of the mating hole 200 respectively, and the folded part 12 and the protrusion 11 have no relative displacement in the axial height of the mating hole 200. The specific stamping process can be achieved by those skilled in the art based on common knowledge, and will not be elaborated here.

[0028] See Figure 3-4 and Figure 7As shown, a heating device is provided, which is equipped with the aforementioned hollow joint. The heating device includes an upper cover 20, a lower cover 21, a heat-conducting plate 22, and a heating element 23, which are welded together in sequence. The upper cover 20 is provided with a continuous and curved rib 201 facing away from the lower cover 21. The inner cavity of the rib 201 and the lower cover 21 form a chamber 202 in which fluid can flow. Both ends of the rib 201 are provided with mating holes 200 communicating with the chamber 202. At least a portion of the hollow joint passes through the mating holes 200. The protruding part 11 and the folded part 12 abut against the mating holes 200 at their respective ends along the axial direction of the mating holes 200 to prevent the hollow joint from falling out of the mating holes 200 and affecting the welding process.

[0029] See Figure 8-10 As shown, further, the outer diameter of the folded portion 12 is smaller than the inner cavity size of the rib 201 where the mating hole 200 is located. Since the mating hole 200 is opened on the rib 201, and the inner cavity of the rib 201 and the lower cover 21 enclose a fluid chamber 202, the fact that the outer diameter of the folded portion 12 is smaller than the inner cavity size of the rib 201 where the mating hole 200 is located can prevent the outer periphery of the folded portion 12 from colliding with the side wall of the inner cavity of the rib 201, avoid assembly interference, ensure the sealing performance of the fluid chamber 202 and the smooth flow of fluid, and reduce the area of ​​solder applied between the folded portion 12 and the upper cover 20.

[0030] The above description, based on the embodiments shown in the drawings, details the structure, features, and effects of this utility model. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this utility model, but the scope of implementation of this utility model is not limited to what is shown in the drawings. Any changes made in accordance with the concept of this utility model, or modifications to equivalent embodiments, that do not exceed the spirit covered by the specification and drawings, shall be within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A hollow connector for assembly into a mating hole of a heating device, characterized in that, include: The connector body is hollow inside, and at least a portion of the connector body is inserted into the mating hole along the axial direction. The connector body has a protrusion on one side of the mating hole and a folded portion on the other side. The protrusion and the folded portion respectively abut against the end face of the mating hole, forming a limiting structure to prevent the connector body from detaching from the mating hole.

2. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusion extends radially outward from the outer peripheral wall of the connector body.

3. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, The folded portion extends radially outward along the mating hole, and the radial extension direction of the folded portion is parallel to the radial direction of the mating hole.

4. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, The folded portion gradually expands in the direction away from the mating hole, and its radial diameter gradually increases as it extends axially.

5. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, The folded part is formed by stamping using existing stamping processes.

6. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, There is a preset gap S between the outer wall of the connector body and the inner wall of the mating hole, and the preset gap S≤2mm.

7. The hollow joint according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusion, the folded portion, and the connector body are all integrally formed structures.

8. A heating device, characterized in that, The heating device is equipped with a hollow joint as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. The heating device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The heating device includes an upper cover, a lower cover, a heat-conducting plate, and a heating element that are welded together in sequence. The upper cover has a continuous and curved rib that is away from the lower cover. The inner cavity of the rib and the lower cover form a chamber that can flow fluid. The two ends of the rib have mating holes that communicate with the chamber. At least part of the hollow joint passes through the mating hole. The protruding part and the folded part abut against the mating hole at both ends along the axial direction of the mating hole.

10. The heating device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The outer diameter of the folded part is smaller than the inner cavity size of the rib where the mating hole is located.

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