Door lock assembly and electrical apparatus

Abstract

To provide a door lock assembly and an electrical apparatus.SOLUTION: A door lock assembly includes a rotation wheel and a pin shaft. The rotation wheel has a rotation wheel door closing position and a rotation wheel door opening position. When the door receives an internal pressing force, the door is driven so as to rotate the rotation wheel from the rotation wheel door closing position towards the rotation wheel door opening position, and the pin shaft and the rotation wheel abut on each other and move during the movement of the rotation wheel. The rotation wheel has a cam structure. The cam structure abuts on the pin shaft, and has an outer surface and an inner surface connected to each other. The inner surface has a first work side surface and a second work side surface connected to each other. The outer surface has a third work side surface. In a door opening process, an abutting position of the cam structure of the rotation wheel moving towards the pin shaft successively shifts from the first work surface to the second work surface and the third work surface, which causes a change in the internal pressing force.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a door lock assembly and an electrical device, and more particularly to a door lock assembly used in an electrical device and capable of withstanding a certain degree of internal pressing force, and an electrical device using the door lock assembly. [Background technology]

[0002] In some commercial or domestic electrical appliances, a door lock mechanism may be used to lock or open the door of the electrical appliance (such as a dryer, a washing machine, or a dishwasher). A biasing spring is typically provided inside the conventional door lock mechanism, and when the door opening displacement does not reach the critical door opening displacement, the door lock mechanism can return the door to a closed state under the action of the biasing spring after the door opening force is removed. The above door lock mechanism should further include a child safety mechanism. For example, in a door lock mechanism for a dryer with a vertical door, if a child accidentally enters the dryer, the closed door should be able to be pushed open from the inside of the door with a relatively small force, allowing the child to easily get out of the drum of the dryer. In addition, such a door lock mechanism should prevent the laundry inside the dryer from accidentally pushing the door open while the dryer is running. Summary of the Invention

[0003] A door lock mechanism typically includes a rotating wheel therein, the rotating wheel including a locking hook capable of engaging with a door hook provided on the door to lock the door. The rotating wheel is capable of rotating about a rotating shaft, causing the locking hook of the rotating wheel to engage or disengage with the door hook.

[0004] In one aspect, when the biasing spring acts directly on the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel, the rotating wheel and its rotating shaft move linearly inside the door lock mechanism, compressing the biasing spring, thereby generating a biasing force that moves the rotating wheel in the opposite direction. However, during the compression process or return process in which the biasing spring is pressed by the rotating shaft, it undergoes elastic deformation that deviates from the compression direction (the direction of movement of the rotating shaft), for example, it undergoes elastic deformation that occurs in a direction other than the compression direction, and may generate a biasing force against the rotating shaft in a direction other than the compression direction. For example, the acting force in a direction that deviates from the compression direction causes the rotation of the rotating shaft to receive additional interference force, resulting in a jerky, unstable, or non-smooth up and down movement of the rotating wheel, which causes an overall non-smooth response of the door opening operation, i.e., the door opening and closing action.

[0005] In another aspect, in a door lock mechanism with a child safety mechanism, the force required to push open the door from inside the dryer should not be too large, for example, less than 67 Newtons. However, too low opening force will lead to the door being accidentally pushed open by the laundry rotating during the drying process. Considering the above two situations, it is necessary to make the door difficult to be pushed open by the laundry rotating by centrifugal force, and yet be able to be pushed open by a child from inside the dryer with a relatively small force.

[0006] In order to meet the above requirements for a door lock mechanism, the present disclosure provides a door lock assembly. A rotating wheel seat is provided inside a door lock housing, and a rotating wheel can be rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat. The rotating wheel seat includes at least one barrel-shaped cavity. The cavity may be sized to accommodate a biasing spring, so that the biasing spring can be accommodated in the barrel-shaped cavity for compression or spring return. The cavity wall of the barrel-shaped cavity can limit the bending of the biasing spring deviating from the compression direction, and the biasing spring can generate a spring return force proportional to the compression displacement in the compression process, and the spring return force is applied to the bottom of the barrel-shaped cavity of the rotating wheel seat, so that the biasing force can be applied to the linear movement of the rotating wheel seat and the rotating wheel inside the door lock housing. The biasing spring generates a steady biasing force so that the rotating wheel seat and the rotating wheel move steadily within the housing, making the overall feel of the door opening and closing action smooth, without any jerks, instability or unevenness.

[0007] In a further aspect, a pin shaft is fixedly provided inside the door lock housing of the present disclosure, and the pin shaft can always abut against the rotating wheel by the biasing force of the biasing spring, and the pin shaft can apply a variable working force to the rotating wheel during the rotation of the rotating wheel. The cam portion of the rotating wheel of the present disclosure has two curved surfaces with different curvatures, and the rotating wheel abuts against the pin shaft by either one of the two curved surfaces with different curvatures. When the rotating wheel starts to rotate from the door closed position, the working force applied to the rotating wheel by the pin shaft quickly increases the internal pressing force required for opening the door to an amount close to the maximum door opening force. During the subsequent rotation, the door opening force remains stable and increases slowly until the rotating wheel reaches the critical position for opening the door. After the rotating wheel rotates beyond the critical position for opening the door, even if the internal pressing force for opening the door is removed, the rotating wheel will also automatically rotate to the corresponding position where the door is opened under the combined action of the biasing spring and the pin shaft. If the door opening force is removed before the rotating wheel rotates to the critical position for door opening, the rotating wheel will return under the action of the biasing force of the biasing spring to the corresponding position in which the door is closed.

[0008] The advantage of providing the above-mentioned cam portion of the rotating wheel is that it takes into consideration the characteristics of the force applied to the door when the laundry is rotating centrifugally inside the dryer, that is, the force is generated by the fact that the laundry clumps collide with the door under the action of centrifugal force, and when the laundry is displaced in the centrifugal direction, the clumps break apart and the impact force on the door disappears immediately. That is, the force of the laundry applied to the door disappears before the rotating wheel rotates to the critical position for opening the door, and the door cannot be pushed open even if it is slightly displaced. However, a child who accidentally enters the dryer can rotate the rotating wheel beyond the critical position for opening the door by applying a continuous internal pressure to the door, and therefore the child can push the door open from the inside.

[0009] Therefore, the technical means of the door lock assembly in the present disclosure are described below.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is provided for locking a door of an electrical appliance, the door lock assembly includes a rotating wheel and a pin shaft, the rotating wheel has a rotating wheel door closed position and a rotating wheel door open position during rotation, the rotating wheel is configured such that when the door receives an internal pressing force in the closed position, the door can drive the rotating wheel to rotate from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the pin shaft and the rotating wheel abut and move relative to each other during the movement of the rotating wheel, the rotating wheel is The door opening door has a cam structure, the cam structure abuts against a pin shaft and has an outer side and an inner side connected to each other, the inner side has a first working side and a second working side connected to each other, and the outer side has a third working side, the first working side is a concave surface, the second working side protrudes in a first direction, and the third working side protrudes in a second direction, and during the door opening process, the abutment position of the cam structure of the rotating wheel against the pin shaft transitions sequentially from the first working side through the second working side to the third working side, thereby causing a change in the internal pressing force.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that during rotation of the rotating wheel from a rotating wheel door closed position to a rotating wheel door open position, the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel transitions sequentially from a first working side through a second working side to a third working side, and during the transition of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel from the first working side to the second working side, the internal pressing force increases at a first rate, and during the movement of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel on the second working side, the internal pressing force increases at a second rate or remains stable, the second rate being smaller than the first rate.

[0012] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that it further comprises at least one biasing device, the at least one biasing device configured to bias a rotating wheel on the pin shaft during rotation of the rotating wheel to maintain the rotating wheel and the pin shaft in abutment against each other.

[0013] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that when the internal pressing force is removed before the rotating wheel rotates to allow the pin shaft to abut against the third work side, the rotating wheel returns to a rotating wheel door closed position under the action of the biasing force of the at least one biasing device, and when the internal pressing force is removed after the rotating wheel rotates to allow the pin shaft to abut against the third work side, the rotating wheel moves to a rotating wheel door open position under the action of the biasing force of the at least one biasing device.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly further comprises a housing, the pin shaft being fixedly connected to the housing, the rotating wheel being movable relative to the pin shaft and the housing during rotation of the rotating wheel, the rotating wheel door closed position corresponding to a door closed position, and the rotating wheel door open position corresponding to a door open position.

[0015] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly includes a rotating wheel having: a rotating wheel mid-section, the rotating wheel mid-section comprising a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel being capable of linear movement relative to the pin shaft during rotation of the rotating wheel; a rotating wheel head section, the rotating wheel head section including a locking hook, the locking hook being configured to be removably connected to a door hook of a door, such that opening or closing of the door causes the rotating wheel to rotate about the rotating shaft toward a rotating wheel door-opening position or a rotating wheel door-closing position; a rotating wheel rear section, the rotating wheel rear section including a cam structure, a second working side of the cam structure having a variable curvature; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0016] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly further comprises a rotating wheel seat, the rotating wheel seat being movably accommodated inside the housing, a rotating shaft of the rotating wheel being rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat, the at least one biasing device being abutted between the rotating wheel seat and the housing, the rotating wheel seat being configured to move with the rotation of the rotating wheel when the rotating wheel rotates, such that the rotating wheel and the rotating wheel seat are movable inside the housing, and the at least one biasing device is compressed or spring-returned during movement of the rotating wheel seat inside the housing.

[0017] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that the first working side is a notch, the inner second segment is an ascending slope provided on the inner side of the cam structure, and the outer surface is a descending slope provided on the outer side of the cam structure, the notch and the ascending slope are connected at a slope inflection point, and the ascending slope and the descending slope are connected at a slope meeting point.

[0018] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that the curvature of the ascending slope surface gradually increases from the slope surface inflection point to the slope surface meeting point.

[0019] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft abuts against a door opening stop point of the rotating wheel on a downward inclined surface, and the notch and the door opening stop point on the inside of the cam structure are stable positions during the rotation of the rotating wheel, and the position of the cam structure other than the notch and the door opening stop point is a transition position during the rotation of the rotating wheel.

[0020] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door closed position, the pin shaft is located at a stable position of the notch, and when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door open position, the pin shaft is located at a stable position of the door open stop point, and during rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the abutment position of the pin shaft against the cam structure of the rotating wheel is moved so that the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel passes sequentially from the notch through an ascending inclined surface and a descending inclined surface, and finally reaches the door open stop point.

[0021] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that, during a door opening process, when an internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel relative to the pin shaft to abut against a position between the notch and the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device is configured to return the rotating wheel relative to the pin shaft to abut against the pin shaft at a stable position of the notch after the internal pressing force is removed, and when an internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel relative to the pin shaft to abut against a position between the inclined surface meeting point and the door opening stop point, the at least one biasing device is configured to continue to move the rotating wheel relative to the pin shaft to abut against the pin shaft at a stable position of the door opening stop point after the internal pressing force is removed.

[0022] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that when an internal pressing force is generated by clumped laundry in the electrical appliance colliding with the door, as the internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position towards the rotating wheel door open position, before the rotating wheel moves to a position where its outer surface abuts the pin shaft, the clumped laundry loosens and the internal pressing force is eliminated, allowing the rotating wheel to return to the rotating wheel door closed position, thus closing the door.

[0023] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that when an internal pressing force is generated by manually pressing and holding the door from inside the electrical appliance, as the internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel from a rotating wheel door closed position toward a rotating wheel door open position, after the rotating wheel moves to a position where its outer surface abuts the pin shaft, when the internal pressing force is removed, the rotating wheel can move to the rotating wheel door open position, thus opening the door.

[0024] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that, when "internal pushing force" is the ordinate and "door opening displacement" is the abscissa, a transition of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel from a first working side to a second working side corresponds to a first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, and a movement of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel at the second working side corresponds to a second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, and a slope of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is greater than a slope of the second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve.

[0025] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that a slope of a first "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is in the range of 80 degrees to 90 degrees, and a span of the first "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a first displacement, and the first displacement is in the range of 0 mm to 2 mm.

[0026] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that the slope of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve is in the range of 0 degrees to 15 degrees, and the span of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a second displacement, and the second displacement is in the range of 5 mm to 10 mm.

[0027] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a door lock assembly for locking a door of an electrical appliance, the door lock assembly comprising a rotating wheel and a force adjusting device, the rotating wheel having a rotating wheel door closed position and a rotating wheel door open position during rotation, the rotating wheel being configured to rotate from the rotating wheel door closed position towards the rotating wheel door open position when the door is subjected to an internal pressing force in the closed position, the force adjusting device being configured to apply an adjusting force to the rotating wheel, the rotating wheel having two sections of a rotation path during rotation from the rotating wheel door closed position towards the rotating wheel door open position, the two sections of the rotation path including a first section of the rotation path and a second section of the rotation path, the first section of the rotation path having a first path starting point and a first path ending point, the second section of the rotation path having a second path starting point and a second path ending point. the first path end point coincides with the second path start point, the first section of the rotation path corresponds to a first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, the second section of the rotation path corresponds to a second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, the slope of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is greater than the slope of the second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, the internal pushing force is a variable internal pushing force, if the variable internal pushing force is capable of moving the rotating wheel to any position between the first path start point and the second path end point, the rotating wheel returns to the rotating wheel door closed position after the variable internal pushing force is removed, and if the variable internal pushing force is capable of moving the rotating wheel to a position beyond the second path end point, the rotating wheel moves to the rotating wheel door open position after the variable internal pushing force is removed.

[0028] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly is characterized in that a slope of a first "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is in the range of 80 degrees to 90 degrees, a span of the first "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a first displacement, the first displacement being in the range of 0mm to 2mm, a slope of a second "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is in the range of 0 degrees to 15 degrees, and a span of the second "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a second displacement, the second displacement being in the range of 5mm to 10mm.

[0029] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that a ratio of the second displacement to the first displacement is in the range of 5-20.

[0030] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly further comprises a rotating wheel seat and at least one biasing device, the rotating wheel seat being configured to be driven to move by the rotating wheel when rotating together with the rotating wheel, the at least one biasing device being configured to move the rotating wheel to a rotating wheel door open position after the variable internal pressing force is removed if an adjustment force applied to the rotating wheel by the force adjustment device is capable of moving the rotating wheel to a position beyond the second path end point, and the at least one biasing device being configured to return the rotating wheel to a rotating wheel door closed position after the variable internal pressing force is removed if an adjustment force applied to the rotating wheel by the force adjustment device is capable of moving the rotating wheel to any position between the first path starting point and the second path end point, the at least one biasing device being configured to return the rotating wheel to a rotating wheel door closed position after the variable internal pressing force is removed, the rotating wheel door closed position corresponding to a door closed position, and the rotating wheel door open position corresponding to a door open position.

[0031] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly includes: the rotating wheel includes a rotating wheel head section, a rotating wheel middle section, and a rotating wheel rear section, the rotating wheel middle section includes a rotating shaft, the rotating wheel head section includes a locking hook, the locking hook is configured to be engageable with a door hook, and inserting the door hook into the door hook hole or pulling the door hook out of the door hook hole rotates the rotating wheel around the rotating shaft in a door-opening direction or a door-closing direction; the rolling wheel rear section comprises a cam structure, the cam structure comprising an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface having an inner first segment and an inner second segment, the first working side and the second working side having different curvatures; The first working side is characterized by corresponding to a first "inner pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve and the inner second segment corresponds to a second "inner pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve.

[0032] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a door lock assembly includes a force adjusting device, a pin shaft, a first working side is a notch provided on the inside of the cam structure, a second working side is an ascending inclined surface provided on the inside of the cam structure, and an outer surface is a descending inclined surface provided on the outside of the cam structure, the ascending inclined surface and the descending inclined surface are connected at an inclined surface meeting point, and when the rotating wheel is in a rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft abuts against a door opening stop point of the rotating wheel on the descending inclined surface, and the notch on the inside of the cam structure and the door opening stop point are stable positions during the rotation of the rotating wheel, and the notch The position of the cam structure other than the notch and the door opening stop point is a transition position during the rotation of the rotating wheel, and when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door closing position, the pin shaft is located at a stable position of the notch, and when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft is located at a stable position of the door opening stop point, and during the rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closing position to the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft and the rotating wheel come into contact with each other and move relative to each other, so that the pin shaft reaches the door opening stop point from the notch by passing through an ascending inclined surface and a descending inclined surface.

[0033] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that the relative movement of the pin shaft from the notch of the rotating wheel to the rising inclined surface corresponds to a first section of the rotational path, and the relative movement of the pin shaft from the rising inclined surface of the rotating wheel to the inclined surface meeting point corresponds to a second section of the rotational path.

[0034] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that the shape of a first "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve depends on the shape of the notch, and the shape of a second "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve depends on the shape of the ascending slope.

[0035] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that there is further a third section of the rotational path during rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, and the relative movement of the pin shaft from the inclined surface meeting point of the rotating wheel to the door open stop point by passing through the descending inclined surface corresponds to the third section of the rotational path.

[0036] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly is characterized in that, during a door opening process, if the variable internal pressing force moves the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to a position before the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device is configured to return the pin shaft to a stable position of the notch after the variable internal pressing force is removed, and if the variable internal pressing force moves the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to a position beyond the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device is configured to continue moving the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to a stable position of the door opening stop point after the variable internal pressing force is removed.

[0037] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the door lock assembly further comprises a housing and a rotating wheel seat, the force adjustment device is fixed to the housing, the rotating wheel seat is movably accommodated inside the housing, the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel is rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat so that the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel can drive the rotating wheel seat to perform a linear movement relative to the housing when the rotating wheel rotates, the at least one biasing device abuts between the rotating wheel seat and the housing, when the rotating wheel rotates on the rotating wheel seat, the rotating wheel and the rotating wheel seat can move inside the housing, and the at least one biasing device can be compressed or spring-returned during the movement of the rotating wheel seat inside the housing.

[0038] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electrical appliance comprising a door lock assembly as described in the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0039] Additional aspects and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0040] [Figure 1A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door lock assembly of the present disclosure with the door hook in a non-inserted state; [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the door lock assembly with the housing shown in FIG. 1A hidden to show more components inside the housing. [Figure 1C] FIG. 1C is a state diagram of the door lock assembly shown in FIG. 1B after the door hook is inserted. [Figure 1D] FIG. 1B is a bottom perspective view of the door lock assembly shown in FIG. 1A to illustrate the assembly relationship between the pin shaft and the housing, and the cooperative relationship between the pin shaft and the rotating wheel. [Figure 1E] FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of the door lock assembly along the direction MM to show the assembly relationship between the spring, the housing and the rotating wheel seat. [Figure 1F] FIG. 1C is a side view of the door lock assembly shown in FIG. 1B to illustrate the cooperative relationship between the microswitch assembly actuating portion of the rotating wheel seat and the microswitch assembly, with the microswitch assembly in a non-triggered state. [Figure 1G] FIG. 1D is a side view of the door lock assembly shown in FIG. 1C to illustrate the cooperative relationship between the microswitch assembly actuating portion of the rotating wheel seat and the microswitch assembly, with the microswitch assembly in a triggered state. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the door lock assembly of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] 1 is a front view of a rotating wheel showing the relative positions between the rotating wheel and the pin shaft when the rotating wheel is in various stages of motion. FIG. [Figure 3B] 1 is a graph of the curvilinear relationship between the upward movement displacement of the rotating wheel seat (door opening displacement) and the inward pushing force experienced by the door. [Figure 4A] FIG. 1 is a side view of the interior of the door lock assembly of the present disclosure with the door hook in a maximum insertion state and the pin shaft abutting against point O on the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a close-up view and force analysis diagram N of the rotating wheel shown in FIG. 4A. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a door hook pulling a rotating wheel upwards, with the pin shaft abutting against point A on the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a door hook pulling a rotating wheel upwards, with the pin shaft abutting the AB segment of the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a door hook pulling a rotating wheel upwards, with the pin shaft abutting against point B on the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel. [Figure 8A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pin shaft abutting against a BC segment of a force bearing surface of a rotating wheel. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a close-up view and force analysis diagram Q of the rotating wheel shown in FIG. 8A. [Figure 8C] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pin shaft abutting a force bearing surface of a rotating wheel at point C. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a dryer with the door lock assembly of the present disclosure in the door open position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0041] Various specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure, but are not intended to limit the disclosure. In this disclosure, directional terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front" and "rear" are used to describe the orientation of various structural parts and elements of the present disclosure, but it should be understood that these terms are used merely for ease of description and are determined based on the exemplary orientations shown in the accompanying drawings. Because embodiments of the present disclosure can be arranged in different orientations, these directional terms are merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting.

[0042] The term "comprise" and its derivatives mean inclusion without limitation. Unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms "mounted", "connected" and "connected" should be understood broadly. For example, it may be a mechanical or electrical connection, an internal communication between two elements, or a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms may be understood depending on the particular case. Where possible, the same or similar reference numbers used in this disclosure refer to the same components.

[0043] 1A-1G are perspective views of the door lock assembly 100 of the present disclosure from different perspectives. FIG. 1B shows more components inside the housing 102 by hiding the housing 102 in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a state diagram of the door lock assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1B after the door hook 101 is inserted. FIG. 1D is a bottom perspective view of the door lock assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1A to show the assembly relationship between the pin shaft 112 and the housing 102 and the cooperation relationship between the pin shaft 112 and the rotating wheel 108, and FIG. 1E is a cross-sectional view of the door lock assembly 100 along the MM direction of FIG. 1D to show the assembly relationship between the springs 110 and 111, the housing 102, and the rotating wheel seat 104. FIG. 1F and FIG. 1G are side views of the door lock assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1B to show the cooperation relationship between the microswitch assembly actuating portion 172 of the rotating wheel seat 104 and the microswitch assembly 114.

[0044] For ease of explanation and observation, it should be noted that in the following, Fig. 1A is taken as a reference, the direction in which the housing 102 is oriented from front to rear is defined as the positive X direction, the direction in which the housing 102 is oriented from right to left is defined as the positive Y direction, and the direction in which the door hook 101 is pulled out of the housing 102 is defined as the positive Z direction (the direction in which the housing 102 is oriented from top to bottom). Since the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided in various orientations, these directional terms X, Y, and Z should be considered as merely exemplary and not limiting.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1A, the door lock assembly 100 includes a housing 102 and a rotating wheel seat 104 provided inside the housing 102. The upper surface of the housing 102 includes a door hook hole 182 configured to receive a door hook 101 attached to a door of an electrical appliance. The door hook 101 is located above the door hook hole 182. After the door hook 101 is inserted into the door lock assembly 100 through the door hook hole 182 in the upper surface of the housing 102, the door hook 101 can be engaged in a hooked manner with a rotating wheel (see rotating wheel 108 in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C ) inside the door lock assembly 100. When the rotating wheel 108 is locked, the door of the electrical appliance is also locked.

[0046] The door hook 101 includes a door hook base 122, a door hook opening 124, and a door hook head 126, the door hook base 122 is attached to the door of an electrical appliance, and the door hook head 126 has a door hook head upper surface 128. When the door hook 101 is inserted into the door lock assembly 100, the door hook head 126 can push the rotating wheel 108 to rotate it, and when the door hook 101 is pulled out from the inside of the door lock assembly 100, the door hook head upper surface 128 can pull the rotating wheel 108 to rotate it in the opposite direction, and when the door is in a closed state, a part of the door hook 101 is held inside the door lock assembly 100, and the door hook opening 124 is captured by the rotating wheel 108, so that the door hook 101 is locked and cannot move.

[0047] 1A, a housing limiting hole 103 provided in the Z direction is provided in the housing 102, and a rotating wheel seat limiting protrusion 106 is provided on the outer wall of the rotating wheel seat 104. The rotating wheel seat limiting protrusion 106 may protrude outward from the inside of the housing limiting hole 103 and may reciprocate in the Z direction in a groove defined by the housing limiting hole 103, so that the rotating wheel seat 104 can be limited to reciprocate in the Z direction within the housing 102.

[0048] 1B and 1C further show schematic diagrams of the door hook 101 in an uninserted and inserted state.

[0049] 1B and 1C, the door lock assembly 100 further includes a rotating wheel 108, which is rotatably mounted in the rotating wheel seat 104 so that the rotating wheel 108 can rotate in a door-opening direction or a door-closing direction within the rotating wheel seat 104. Specifically, the rotating wheel seat 104 includes rotating wheel receiving portions 152 and 153 configured to mount a rotating shaft 208 (see FIG. 2) of the rotating wheel 108, so that the rotating wheel 108 is rotatably fixed to the rotating wheel seat 104 and can rotate.

[0050] 1B and 1C, the door lock assembly 100 further includes two biasing springs 110 and 111. Barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 are provided on the left and right sides of the rotating wheel seat 104 in the Y direction, respectively, and each of the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 is configured to accommodate one of the biasing springs 110 and 111. The inner diameters of the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 are slightly larger than the outer diameters of the biasing springs 110 and 111, so that the biasing springs do not bend out of the compression direction when compressed in the barrel-shaped cavities. One end of each of the biasing springs abuts against the bottom surface of the corresponding barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134, and the other end abuts against the inside of the housing 102. When the housing 102 is fixed, as the rotating wheel seat 104 moves in the Z direction toward the housing 102, the biasing springs 110 and 111 are compressed, enabling the biasing springs 110 and 111 to apply a biasing force to the rotating wheel seat 104 in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the rotating wheel seat 104, thus causing the rotating wheel seat 104 to tend to move away from the housing 102.

[0051] For those skilled in the art, as long as the rotating wheel seat 104 can receive the biasing force of the biasing spring when it moves toward the housing 102 in the Z direction, the rotating wheel seat 104 may only have one barrel-shaped cavity and the corresponding door lock assembly 100 may only have one biasing spring, or the rotating wheel seat 104 may have three or more barrel-shaped cavities and each barrel-shaped cavity may be configured to accommodate one biasing spring. Specifically, during the door opening process, the rotating wheel seat 104 moves toward the housing 102, and the biasing spring is compressed; during the door closing process, the rotating wheel seat 104 moves away from the housing 102, and the biasing spring gradually springs back to its initial state from the compressed state.

[0052] 1B and 1C, the door lock assembly 100 further includes a microswitch assembly 114, which is disposed near the rotating wheel seat 104 in the Z direction. The microswitch assembly 114 is configured such that when the rotating wheel 108 rotates from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the microswitch assembly 114 is decoupled from the rotating wheel seat 104, and when the rotating wheel 108 rotates from the rotating wheel door open position to the rotating wheel door closed position, the microswitch assembly 114 can be triggered by the rotating wheel seat 104. The rotating wheel door closed position corresponds to a door closed position, and the rotating wheel door open position corresponds to a door open position.

[0053] FIG. 1D is a bottom perspective view of the door lock assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1A to illustrate the assembly relationship between the pin shaft 112 and the housing 102, and the cooperative relationship between the pin shaft 112 and the rotating wheel 108.

[0054] 1D , the door lock assembly 100 further includes a pin shaft 112, and the housing 102 further includes left and right pin shaft mounting portions 144 and 146, each having one of a corresponding pin shaft mounting hole 145 and 147 configured to securely mount the pin shaft 112. The housing 102 includes a microswitch assembly receiving portion 142 configured to receive the microswitch assembly 114.

[0055] FIG. 1E is a cross-sectional view of the door lock assembly 100 along the MM direction shown in FIG. 1D to show the assembly relationship between the springs 110 and 111, the housing 102 and the rotating wheel seat 104.

[0056] 1E, the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 of the rotating wheel seat 104 have cavity bottom surfaces 133 and 135, and one end of one of the biasing springs 110 and 111 housed in the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 can abut against the corresponding one of the cavity bottom surfaces 133 and 135. Also, spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164 are provided correspondingly on the inside of the housing 102, and the other end of one of the biasing springs 110 and 111 can abut against the corresponding one of the spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164. Therefore, the biasing springs 110 and 111 are restricted to be compressed between the cavity bottom surfaces 133 and 135 of the rotating wheel seat 104 and the spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164 of the housing 102, the cavity bottom surface 133 being provided on the opposite side of the spring abutment surface 162, and the cavity bottom surface 135 being provided on the opposite side of the spring abutment surface 164. The cavity walls of the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 can restrict the bending deformation of the biasing springs 110 and 111 deviating from the compression direction, allowing the biasing springs 110 and 111 to generate a spring return force proportional to the compression displacement during compression, which acts on the spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164 of the barrel-shaped cavities 132 and 134 to generate a biasing force against the rotating wheel seat 104 and the rotating wheel 108. Because the biasing spring generates a consistent biasing force, the movement of the rotating wheel seat 104 and the rotating wheel 108 within the housing 102 is more consistent compared to rotating wheels in the prior art, resulting in a smoother overall feel to the door opening and closing action.

[0057] 1F and 1G are side views of the door lock assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1B to illustrate the cooperative relationship between the microswitch assembly actuating portion 172 of the rotating wheel seat 104 and the microswitch assembly 114. FIG.

[0058] As shown in Figures 1F and 1G, the rear side of the rotating wheel seat 104 further comprises a microswitch assembly actuation portion 172, which has a microswitch assembly actuation ramp 174. The microswitch assembly 114 has a button 116, and when the button 116 is pressed, the microswitch assembly 114 is triggered, and when the button 116 is not pressed, the microswitch assembly 114 is not triggered. The microswitch assembly actuation portion 172 is configured such that when the rotating wheel seat 104 moves close to the spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164 of the housing 102, the microswitch assembly actuation ramp 174 does not press the button 116, preventing the microswitch assembly 114 from being triggered, and when the rotating wheel seat 104 moves away from the spring abutment surfaces 162 and 164 of the housing 102, the microswitch assembly actuation ramp 174 presses the button 116, causing the microswitch assembly 114 to be triggered.

[0059] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the door lock assembly 100 of the present disclosure to illustrate the mounting and positioning of the various components in the door lock assembly 100.

[0060] As shown in Fig. 2, the door hook 101 attached to the door of the electrical appliance can be inserted into the housing 102 through the door hook hole 182 on the top surface of the housing 102, so that the door hook engages with the rotating wheel 108 provided inside the housing 102. When inserted into the housing 102, the door hook 101 can strike the rotating wheel 108 to rotate the rotating wheel in the door closing direction, and when pulled out from the housing 102, the door hook 101 can pull the rotating wheel 108 to rotate the rotating wheel in the door opening direction. The rotating wheel 108 is rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat 104 by its rotating shaft 208, so that the rotating wheel 108 can rotate in the rotating wheel seat 104 in the door opening direction or the door closing direction, and no other type of movement of the rotating wheel 108 relative to the rotating wheel seat 104 occurs except for rotation. The rotating wheel seat 104 is restricted in the housing limiting hole 103 of the housing 102 by the rotating wheel seat limiting protrusion 106, so that the rotating wheel seat 104 can move relative to the housing 102 only in the extension direction (Z direction) of the housing limiting hole 103. The rotating wheel 108 and the rotating wheel seat 104 can move simultaneously relative to the housing 102 during the linear movement of the rotating wheel seat 104 relative to the housing 102. The pin shaft 112 is fixedly mounted at the lower end of the housing 102 and remains abutted against the rotating wheel 108 by the biasing springs 110 and 111. The cam circumferences of the rotating wheel 108 have different rotation radii, so that the rotating wheel 108 can move relative to the housing 102 during rotation by the abutment of its cam circumference against the pin shaft 112, thereby driving the rotating wheel seat 104 to move relative to the housing 102. During movement of the rotating wheel seat 104 relative to the housing 102, a microswitch assembly 114 provided inside the housing 102 can be actuated such that the microswitch assembly 114 is turned on or off.

[0061] FIG. 3A is a front view of the rotating wheel 108 and shows the relative positional relationship between the rotating wheel 108 and the pin shaft 112 at various stages of movement, and FIG. 3B is a graph of the curvilinear relationship between the upward movement displacement of the rotating wheel seat 104 (door opening displacement) and the inward pressing force experienced by the door.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3A , the rotating wheel 108 includes a rotating wheel top section 222, a rotating wheel mid section 224, and a rotating wheel rear section 226, where the rotating wheel mid section 224 includes the rotating shaft 208, and the rotating wheel top section 222 includes the lower locking hook 202, the upper locking hook 204, and the locking hook receiving cavity 206. When the door hook 101 is inserted into the housing 102, the door hook head 126 of the door hook 101 can collide with the lower lock hook 202 of the rotating wheel 108, causing the rotating wheel 108 to rotate in the door closing direction (clockwise direction), and when the door hook 101 is pulled out of the housing 102, the door hook head upper surface 128 of the door hook 101 can pull the upper lock hook 204 of the rotating wheel 108, causing the upper lock hook to rotate in the door opening direction (counterclockwise direction), and when the door is in a closed state, the door hook 101 is held inside the door lock assembly 100, and the door hook opening 124 of the door hook 101 is restricted in the lock hook receiving cavity 206 of the rotating wheel 108, causing the door hook 101 to be locked and unable to move.

[0063] The rotating wheel rear section 226 has a cam structure, the outer circumference of which has a different turning radius. The cam structure is configured to be able to abut against the pin shaft 112, so that when the rotating wheel 108 rotates in the rotating wheel seat 104 in the door opening direction or the door closing direction, the rotating wheel 108 can move together with the rotating wheel seat 104 in the housing 102, and during the movement of the rotating wheel seat 104 inside the housing 102, the biasing springs 110 and 111 are compressed or spring-backed in the barrel-shaped cavities 132, 134, so that a biasing force is applied to the rotating wheel seat 104 and the rotating wheel 108.

[0064] The cam structure of the rotating wheel 108 has an inner side and an outer side connected to each other, the inner side has a first working side 212 and a second working side 214 connected to each other, and the outer side has a third working side 216, the first working side 212 is a concave surface, the second working side 214 protrudes in a first direction, and the third working side 216 protrudes in a second direction, and during the door opening process, the abutment position between the cam structure of the rotating wheel 108 and the pin shaft 112 transitions sequentially from the first working side 212 through the second working side 214 to the third working side 216, thereby causing a change in the internal pressing force.

[0065] Specifically, with continued reference to FIG. 3A, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner side includes a circular cutout 212 and an ascending slope 214, and the outer side includes a descending slope 216. The circular cutout 212 connects to the ascending slope 214 at point A, and the ascending slope 214 connects to the descending slope 216 at point B. The cutout inner diameter of the circular cutout 212 is the same as the shaft outer diameter of the pin shaft 112, allowing the pin shaft 112 to be precisely snap-connected into the circular cutout 212, and the position where the pin shaft 112 is snap-connected into the circular cutout 212 is a stable position corresponding to the position where the rotating wheel 108 is in the rotating wheel door closed position.

[0066] When the rotating wheel 108 tends to rotate in the door-opening direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3A), the force point where the pin shaft 112 abuts against the circular notch 212 occurs at point O of the circular notch 212, and in this case, the rotating wheel 108 is in the rotating wheel door-closed position. When the door is fully opened, the rotating wheel 108 abuts against the rotating wheel stop 402 (see FIG. 8C) of the rotating wheel seat 104. In this case, the rotating wheel 108 is in the rotating wheel door-opening position, and the pin shaft 112 abuts against point C of the downward inclined surface 216 of the rotating wheel 108, i.e., the stable position of the rotating wheel 108 in the rotating wheel door-opening position.

[0067] 3A, for ease of the following description, the outer contour of the cam structure is divided into three segments: an OA segment at the inner circular cutout 212 of the cam structure, an AB segment at the inner ascending slope 214 of the cam structure, and a BC segment at the outer descending slope 216 of the cam structure. Other segments of the outer contour of the cam structure besides the OA, AB, and BC segments will not be described herein.

[0068] It can be seen that the cam structure of the rotating wheel 108 has different curvatures in the OA segment, the AB segment and the BC segment, the curvature of the OA segment is approximately equal to the curvature of the outer diameter of the pin shaft 112, the curvature of the AB segment increases gradually from point A to point B, and the curvature of the BC segment remains constant. In the process of the rotating wheel 108 rotating from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the pin shaft 112 abuts against the rotating wheel 108 at these segments of the rotating wheel 108 with different curvatures, while the rotating wheel 108 further has different rotating wheel rotation radii at these segments with different curvatures, so that the interaction force generated when the pin shaft 112 abuts against the rotating wheel 108 at these segments with different curvatures is variable, and under the combined action of the variable working force of the pin shaft 112 and the biasing force of the biasing spring, the force required to pull the rotating wheel 108 (i.e., the internal pressing force or the door opening force) has a variable tendency, as shown in FIG. 3B. Therefore, in the door lock mechanism of the present disclosure, the pin shaft 112 can also be considered as a force adjusting device for the internal pressing force.

[0069] As shown in Fig. 3B, by taking "internal pressing force" as the ordinate and "door opening displacement" as the abscissa, an "internal pressing force vs. door opening displacement" curve (hereinafter referred to as "curve") can be obtained. The curve indicated by the solid line is the curve of the correlation between the door opening displacement and the internal pressing force in the technical means of the present disclosure, and the curve indicated by the dotted line is the curve of the correlation between the door opening displacement and the internal pressing force in the prior art.

[0070] The curve of the technical means of the present disclosure has four critical points O, A, B and C. The four points O, A, B and C correspond to four abutment positions of the pin shaft 112 and the rotating wheel 108, namely, the abutment point O of the pin shaft 112 corresponding to the rotating wheel door closed position, the abutment point A of the pin shaft 112 at the joint of the OA segment and the AB segment of the rotating wheel 108, the abutment point B of the pin shaft 112 at the joint of the AB segment and the BC segment of the rotating wheel 108, and the abutment point C of the pin shaft 112 corresponding to the rotating wheel door open position. The OA segment, the AB segment and the BC segment of the curve correspond to the abutment positions of the pin shaft 112 against the cam structure of the rotating wheel 108 at the OA segment, the AB segment and the BC segment, respectively. If the rotating wheel 108 is considered stationary, during the door opening process, the pin shaft 112 moves from the circular notch 212 through the OA, AB and BC segments relative to the rotating wheel 108 to point C on the descending slope 216. During the door closing process, the pin shaft 112 moves from point C on the descending slope 216 through the BC, AB and OA segments relative to the rotating wheel 108 to the circular notch 212.

[0071] When the door is subjected to an internal pressing force in a closed position, the rotating wheel 108 can rotate counterclockwise from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position. The pin shaft 112 functions as a force adjusting device for the internal pressing force, and can apply an adjusting force to the rotating wheel 108 by abutting against the rotating wheel 108. This adjusting force allows the rotating wheel 108 to take on two rotating path curves in the process of rotating from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, including a first segment of the rotating path (OA segment) and a second segment of the rotating path (AB segment), where the first segment of the rotating path (OA segment) has a first path starting point (O) and a first path ending point (A), and the second segment of the rotating path (AB segment) has a second path starting point (A) and a second path ending point (B), where the first path ending point coincides with the second path starting point. It can be seen that in the "inner push force vs. door opening displacement" curve, the slope of the first segment of the rotation path (the OA segment) is much larger than the slope of the second segment of the rotation path (the AB segment).

[0072] The inclination and shape of the first segment of the rotation path (OA segment) depend on the curvature and shape of the circular cutout 212, and the inclination and shape of the second segment of the rotation path (AB segment) depend on the curvature and shape of the ascending inclined surface 214. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first segment of the rotation path (OA segment) has an inclination in the range of 80 degrees to 90 degrees, a displacement corresponding to the first segment of the rotation path (OA segment) is in the range of 0 mm to 2 mm, the second segment of the rotation path (AB segment) has an inclination in the range of 0 degrees to 15 degrees, a displacement corresponding to the second segment of the rotation path (AB segment) is in the range of 5 mm to 10 mm, and a ratio of the displacement corresponding to the second segment of the rotation path (AB segment) to the displacement corresponding to the first segment of the rotation path (OA segment) is in the range of 5 to 20.

[0073] The adjustment force from the pin shaft 112 (force adjustment device) makes the internal pressing force embodied as a variable internal pressing force, as depicted in Fig. 3B. If the variable internal pressing force can only move the rotating wheel 108 to any position between the first path starting point (O) and the second path ending point (B), the rotating wheel 108 will return to the rotating wheel door closing position, i.e., the position where the pin shaft 112 is snap-connected to the circular notch 212 of the rotating wheel 108, after the variable internal pressing force is removed. If the variable internal pressing force can move the rotating wheel 108 to a position beyond the second path ending point B, the rotating wheel 108 will move to the rotating wheel door opening position after the variable internal pressing force is removed. That is, when the rotating wheel 108 rotates to abut against the pin shaft 112 by the BC segment, under the combined action of the biasing force of the biasing spring and the abutting force of the pin shaft, the rotating wheel 108 can automatically rotate to the rotating wheel door opening position, i.e., the position where the rotating wheel 108 abuts against the pin shaft 112 at point C, even without any internal pressing force. Considering actual factors such as friction force, the BC segment of the curve approximates a vertical line perpendicular to the horizontal axis.

[0074] In the technical means of the present disclosure, it can be seen that there is a door opening displacement caused by machine manufacturing tolerance before point O on the curve, and the first path starting point O starts after the tolerance movement. And the internal pressing force required by the initial displacement corresponding to point O on the curve ranges from 5N to 10N, which indicates that the rotating wheel 108 cannot rotate or move initially until it overcomes the static friction force from the adjacent components.

[0075] Therefore, when the door receives an external pressing force in the open position, the rotating wheel 108 can rotate in a clockwise direction from the rotating wheel door open position to the rotating wheel door closed position. Inversely to the above process, the pin shaft 112 first abuts against the rotating wheel 108 at point C, and with the further insertion of the door hook 101, the rotating wheel 108 rotates clockwise, and the abutment position between the pin shaft 112 and the rotating wheel 108 is moved from point C to point B by passing through the BC segment, then to point A by passing through the AB segment, and finally to point O by passing through the OA segment.

[0076] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3B, the correlation curve between door opening displacement and internal pressing force in the prior art has three critical points O', B and C, where point O' is very close to point O, and the O'B segment approximates a straight line, and the slope of the O'B segment is smaller than the slope of the OA segment in the technical means of the present disclosure.

[0077] As known to those skilled in the art, the internal pressing force received by the door does work on the door lock assembly during the door opening process, and the magnitude of the work is the accumulation (integration) of the internal pressing force with respect to the door opening displacement, reflecting the area enclosed by the curve and the horizontal and vertical axes in Figure 3B. It can be seen that the work done by the internal pressing force during the door opening process in the technical means disclosed herein is obviously larger than the work done by the internal pressing force during the door opening process in the conventional technology, because in the technical means disclosed herein, the internal pressing force required for door opening in the initial stage of door opening (for example, the stage before point A corresponding to the door opening displacement of 1.2 mm) increases rapidly to the range of 35 Newtons to 45 Newtons, and the door can only be pushed open by continuous pressing that cumulatively achieves a displacement of about 8 mm under the action of the internal pressing force (which increases slowly continuously), while the door opening displacement corresponding to the same door opening force achieved in the conventional technology is about 7 mm. However, the maximum internal pushing force required for door opening in the technical means of the present disclosure is kept consistent with that in the prior art, i.e., in the range of 40 Newtons to 45 Newtons (the magnitude of the internal pushing force corresponding to point B), and therefore the technical means of the present disclosure does not increase the difficulty of pushing the door from the inside by a child. Conversely, for the same laundry impact force (initial impact kinetic energy of the laundry), if the impact force is just enough to overcome the door opening resistance in the prior art for pushing the door open by doing work, the door in the technical means of the present disclosure cannot be pushed open by this impact force. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the required work done to overcome the door opening resistance in the technical means of the present disclosure is 55% greater than the work required in the prior art.

[0078] 4A-8C are schematic diagrams of the rotating wheel 108 and the pin shaft 112 in various abutment positions during the door opening process.

[0079] Figure 4A is an interior side view of the door lock assembly 100 of the present disclosure with the door hook 101 in a maximum insertion state and the pin shaft 112 abutting against point O on the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel 108, with some of the structure of the housing 102 hidden to show the cooperation between the various components inside the door lock assembly 100. Figure 4B is a close-up view and force analysis diagram N of the rotating wheel 108 shown in Figure 4A.

[0080] As shown in Fig. 4A, the rotating wheel seat 104 includes a rotating wheel stop 402 configured to limit the rotation range of the rotating wheel 108, so that when the rotating wheel 108 rotates from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the rotating wheel 108 can be stopped by the rotating wheel stop 402 and thus stabilized at a position where the pin shaft 112 abuts against point C of the descending slope 216 of the cam. Fig. 4A shows the rotating wheel 108 in the rotating wheel door closed position, i.e., the door is in the closed position, where the pin shaft 112 abuts within the circular notch 212 of the rotating wheel 108.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 4B, when the rotating wheel 108 in the rotating wheel door closing position receives a door opening pulling force P (corresponding to the inner pressing force received by the door) from the door hook, the rotating wheel 108 tends to rotate counterclockwise, and before the rotating wheel 108 rotates or moves, it needs to overcome the influence of the initial manufacturing tolerance and static friction force and generate an interaction force F with the pin shaft 112 before moving. In this case, the biasing spring is not yet compressed, and therefore the rotating wheel seat 104 and the rotating wheel 108 are not yet subjected to the spring force T of the biasing spring in the Z direction (vertical direction). When the rotating wheel 108 starts to rotate counterclockwise, the biasing spring is compressed, and then the rotating wheel seat 104 and the rotating wheel 108 are subjected to the spring force T of the biasing spring in the Z direction, and the spring force T acts on the center of the rotating shaft 208 of the rotating wheel 108, and therefore no additional torque is provided to the rotating wheel 108. The door opening pull force P and the reaction force F of the pin shaft 112 each exert a directionally opposite torque on the rotating wheel 108, and the torques generated by the two forces are equal in magnitude. The door opening pull force P, the reaction force F, and the action force exerted on the rotating wheel 108 in the Z direction (vertical direction) by the spring force T of the biasing spring are balanced with each other.

[0082] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the door hook 101 pulling the rotating wheel 108 upwards, with the pin shaft 112 abutting against point A on the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel 108.

[0083] As shown in Figures 4A and 5, after the rotating wheel 108 starts to rotate, a continuous door opening pull force P is applied to the rotating wheel 108, and the rotating wheel 108 can rotate from the position shown in Figure 4A and translate upward to the position shown in Figure 5. In this case, the pin shaft 112 moves relative to the rotating wheel 108 from the position where it abuts in the circular notch 212 of the rotating wheel 108 to point A on the force bearing surface and abuts against the rotating wheel 108 at point A. In the process of abutting against the pin shaft 112, the rotating wheel 108 translates upward in a counterclockwise direction, and the outer contour of the rotating wheel 108 in the OA segment is shaped to allow the pin shaft 112 to generate a reaction force F against it, which makes the door opening pull force P increase rapidly with the door opening displacement, thus forming the shape of the curved OA segment shown in Figure 3B. At point A shown in FIG. 5, the door opening pull force P or the inward pushing force is in the range of 35 Newtons to 45 Newtons, and the door opening displacement is only about 1.2 mm.

[0084] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the door hook 101 pulling the rotating wheel 108 upwards, with the pin shaft 112 abutting against the AB segment of the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel 108, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the door hook 101 pulling the rotating wheel 108 upwards, with the pin shaft 112 abutting against point B of the force bearing surface of the rotating wheel 108.

[0085] 5-7, the door opening pull force P continues to be applied to the rotating wheel 108 at the rotating wheel position shown in FIG 5, and the rotating wheel 108 can rotate from the position shown in FIG 5 and translate upward to the position shown in FIG 6. In this case, the pin shaft 112 is moved relative to the rotating wheel 108 from a position of point A to the AB segment where the pin shaft abuts the rotating wheel 108. By continuing to apply the door opening pull force P, the position of the pin shaft 112 relative to the rotating wheel 108 can pass through the AB segment and reach a position of point B.

[0086] In the AB segment, the rotating wheel 108 rotates counterclockwise and translates upward in the process of abutting against the pin shaft 112, and the curvature of the outer contour of the rotating wheel 108 in the AB segment gradually increases from point A to point B, making the pin shaft 112 generate a reaction force F against it, and the door opening pull force P steadily increases along with the door opening displacement, thus forming the shape of the curved AB segment shown in Figure 3B. At point B shown in Figure 7, the door opening pull force P or the inner pushing force reaches a peak value in the range of 40 Newtons to 45 Newtons, and the door opening displacement is about 8 mm.

[0087] FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of pin shaft 112 abutting against the BC segment of the force bearing surface of rotating wheel 108, FIG. 8B is an enlarged view and force analysis diagram Q of rotating wheel 108 shown in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8C is a schematic diagram of pin shaft 112 abutting against the force bearing surface of rotating wheel 108 at point C.

[0088] As shown in Figures 7 and 8A, the door-opening pull force P continues to be applied to the rotating wheel 108 at the rotating wheel position shown in Figure 7, and the rotating wheel 108 can rotate from the position shown in Figure 7 and translate upward to the position shown in Figure 8A. In this case, the pin shaft 112 is moved relative to the rotating wheel 108 from the position of point B to the BC segment where the pin shaft abuts the rotating wheel 108.

[0089] 8B, when the position of the pin shaft 112 relative to the rotating wheel 108 passes point B and reaches the BC segment, the rotating wheel 108 will automatically rotate counterclockwise to a stop position under the action of the spring force T of the biasing spring and the reaction force F of the pin shaft 112 even without the door opening pulling force P. Specifically, the force analysis of the rotating wheel 108 will be described below.

[0090] The curvature and shape of the BC segment are set so that a torque for counterclockwise rotation can be generated on the rotating wheel 108 in the direction of the reaction force F generated when the pin shaft 112 abuts against the rotating wheel 108 at the BC segment. Specifically, the line of action of the reaction force F is located to the right of the rotation center of the rotating wheel 108 (see the dotted line shown in FIG. 8B). Meanwhile, the rotation radius of the rotating wheel 108 at the BC segment increases slightly from point B to point C, and the curvature of the rotating wheel 108 at the BC segment remains unchanged, so that in the process of the rotating wheel 108 abutting against the pin shaft 112 at the BC segment, the rotating wheel can continue to rotate counterclockwise and move upward. Under the action of the above counterclockwise torque, the rotating wheel 108 can rotate to a position where the rotation contacts the rotating wheel stop portion 402, and stops at this position. As shown in FIG. 8C, in this case, the pin shaft 112 moves to point C on the force bearing surface relative to the rotating wheel 108 and abuts the rotating wheel 108 at point C, which abuts against the rotating wheel stop 402 of the rotating wheel seat 104.

[0091] Since the rotating wheel 108 has a constant rotational speed when it abuts against the pin shaft 112 at the BC segment, the door hook 101 can be driven to move upward at a constant speed, so that after the rotating wheel 108 passes the position of point B and the internal pressing force is removed, the door can be flipped outward to the door open position at a constant speed.

[0092] In the process of closing the door, under the action of an external pressing force, the rotating wheel 108 can rotate clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 8C to the position shown in FIG. 4A, and this movement process and force bearing manner are opposite to those in the door opening process, and the description will not be repeated.

[0093] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a dryer 900 with the door lock assembly 100 of the present disclosure in the door open position.

[0094] 9, dryer 900 includes a dryer body 902, a door 904, a cavity 906, and a door lock assembly 100, with a door hook 101 provided on the inside of door 904 and other components of door lock assembly 100 provided in positions on dryer body 902 corresponding to door hook 101. By closing door 904, door hook 101 passes through door hook hole 182 and is locked in a manner that engages with rotating wheel 108 inside door lock assembly 100, thereby closing cavity 906.

[0095] The dryer 900 shown in FIG. 9 is merely exemplary, and the door lock assembly 100 of the present disclosure may also be installed in various types of electrical appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and microwave ovens, each of which has a cavity and a door for closing the cavity, as well as other non-electrical appliances.

[0096] The present disclosure aims to at least partially solve the technical problems set forth herein. The door lock assembly of the present disclosure can achieve at least the following beneficial technical effects:

[0097] First, in the present disclosure, the compression or spring return of the biasing spring is confined within the barrel-shaped cavity in the rotating wheel seat, and the biasing spring can generate a stable biasing force against the rotating wheel seat and the rotating wheel, so that the movement of the rotating wheel seat and the rotating wheel inside the housing is smoother than in the prior art, thus making the overall feel of the door opening and closing operation smoother without any jerky, unstable or uneven feel.

[0098] Secondly, the cam portion of the rotating wheel in the present disclosure has two curved surfaces with different curvatures, and the rotating wheel abuts against a pin shaft fixedly provided inside the door lock housing by either one of the two curved surfaces with different curvatures described above, and when the rotating wheel starts to rotate from the door closed position, the internal pressing force for opening the door can be increased quickly to a magnitude close to the maximum door opening force, and during the subsequent rotation of the rotating wheel, the door opening force remains stable and increases slowly until the rotating wheel reaches the critical position for opening the door. This configuration has the advantage that the force applied to the door by the laundry is eliminated before reaching the critical position for opening the door, and the door cannot be pushed open even if it is slightly displaced, and a child who accidentally enters the dryer can apply a continuous internal pressing force to the door, which can rotate the cam beyond the critical position for opening the door, and therefore the child can push the door open from the inside.

[0099] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with the example embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and / or substantial equivalents, whether currently known or expected in the near future, will be apparent to at least one skilled in the art. Moreover, the technical effects and / or technical problems described in the present disclosure are illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the disclosed descriptions in the present disclosure may be used to solve other technical problems, have other technical effects, and / or solve other technical problems. Thus, the example embodiments of the present disclosure described above are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is intended to include all known or previously developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and / or basic equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A door lock assembly for locking a door of an electrical appliance, comprising: a rotating wheel having a rotating wheel door closed position and a rotating wheel door open position during rotation, the rotating wheel being configured such that when the door is subjected to an internal pressing force in a closed position, the rotating wheel can be driven to rotate the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position toward the rotating wheel door open position; a pin shaft, the pin shaft and the rotating wheel moving relative to each other in contact with each other during the movement of the rotating wheel; Equipped with a cam structure is provided on the rotating wheel, the cam structure abuts against the pin shaft and has an outer side and an inner side connected to each other, the inner side has a first working side and a second working side connected to each other, the outer side has a third working side, the first working side is a concave surface, the second working side protrudes in a first direction, and the third working side protrudes in a second direction; during the door opening process, the abutment position of the cam structure of the rotating wheel against the pin shaft sequentially transitions from the first working side through the second working side to the third working side, thereby causing a change in the internal pressing force; Door lock assembly.

2. During rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position to the rotating wheel door open position, the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel transitions sequentially from the first working side through the second working side to the third working side, and during the transition of the abutment position of the pin shaft and the rotating wheel from the first working side to the second working side, the internal pressing force increases at a first rate, and during the movement of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel on the second working side, the internal pressing force increases at a second rate or remains stable, the second rate being smaller than the first rate.

2. The door lock assembly of claim 1.

3. Furthermore, at least one biasing device configured to bias the rotating wheel against the pin shaft during rotation of the rotating wheel to maintain the rotating wheel and the pin shaft in abutment against each other; The door lock assembly of claim 2 comprising:

4. when the internal pressing force is removed before the rotating wheel rotates to allow the pin shaft to abut against the third working side, the rotating wheel returns to the rotating wheel door closing position under the action of the biasing force of the at least one biasing device; When the internal pressing force is removed after the rotating wheel rotates to allow the pin shaft to abut against the third working side surface, the rotating wheel moves to the rotating wheel door open position under the action of the biasing force of the at least one biasing device.

4. The door lock assembly of claim 3.

5. Furthermore, a housing, the pin shaft being fixed to the housing; Equipped with the rotating wheel is movable relative to the pin shaft and the housing during rotation of the rotating wheel; the rotating wheel door closed position corresponds to a closed position of the door, and the rotating wheel door open position corresponds to an open position of the door; 2. The door lock assembly of claim 1.

6. The rotating wheel is a rotating wheel mid-section, the rotating wheel mid-section being provided with a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel being capable of linear movement relative to the pin shaft during rotation of the rotating wheel; a rotating wheel head section, the rotating wheel head section being provided with a locking hook, the locking hook being configured to be detachably connected to a door hook of the door, such that opening or closing the door causes the rotating wheel to rotate around the rotating shaft towards the rotating wheel door opening position or the rotating wheel door closing position; a rotating wheel rear section, the rotating wheel rear section being provided with the cam structure, the second working side of the cam structure having a variable curvature; 6. The door lock assembly of claim 5, comprising:

7. Furthermore, a rotating wheel seat, the rotating wheel seat being movably accommodated inside the housing, the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel being rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat, the at least one biasing device being abutted between the rotating wheel seat and the housing, the rotating wheel seat being configured to move with the rotation of the rotating wheel when the rotating wheel rotates, whereby the rotating wheel and the rotating wheel seat are movable inside the housing, and the at least one biasing device being compressed or spring-returned during the movement of the rotating wheel seat inside the housing.

7. The door lock assembly of claim 6.

8. the first working side is a notch; the second working side is an ascending inclined surface provided on the inner side of the cam structure; the outer surface being a downwardly sloping surface provided on the outer side of the cam structure; the notch and the upward inclined surface are connected at an inflection point of the inclined surface, The upward inclined surface and the downward inclined surface are connected at an inclined surface intersection point, The curvature of the upward inclined surface gradually increases from the inflection point of the inclined surface to the meeting point of the inclined surface.

8. The door lock assembly of claim 7.

9. When the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft abuts against a door opening stop point of the rotating wheel on the downward inclined surface; the notch and the door opening stop on the inner side of the cam structure are stable positions during the rotation of the rotating wheel, and all positions of the cam structure other than the notch and the door opening stop are transitional positions during the rotation of the rotating wheel.

9. The door lock assembly of claim 8.

10. When the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door closing position, the pin shaft is located in the stable position of the recess, and when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft is located in the stable position of the door opening stop point; During the rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closing position to the rotating wheel door opening position, the abutment position of the pin shaft (112) against the cam structure of the rotating wheel (108) is moved, so that the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel passes from the notch through the ascending slope and the descending slope in sequence, and finally reaches the door opening stop point.

10. The door lock assembly of claim 9.

11. The at least one biasing device may, during a door opening process, When the internal pressing force causes the rotating wheel to move relative to the pin shaft and abut at a position between the notch and the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device can move the rotating wheel back relative to the pin shaft and abut against the pin shaft at the stable position of the notch after the internal pressing force is removed, When the internal pressing force causes the rotating wheel to move relative to the pin shaft and abut against a position between the inclined surface meeting point and the door opening stop point, the at least one biasing device can continue to move the rotating wheel relative to the pin shaft and abut against the pin shaft at the stable position of the door opening stop point after the internal pressing force is removed. The door lock assembly of claim 10, wherein the door lock assembly is configured as follows:

12. if the internal pressing force is generated by a clump of laundry in the appliance colliding with the door, as the internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position towards the rotating wheel door open position, if the clump of laundry relaxes before the rotating wheel moves to a position where the outer surface abuts against the pin shaft, the internal pressing force is eliminated and the rotating wheel can return to the rotating wheel door closed position, thus closing the door; When the internal pressing force is generated by manually continuing to press the door from inside the electrical appliance, as the internal pressing force moves the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position toward the rotating wheel door open position, after the rotating wheel moves to a position where the outer surface abuts against the pin shaft, when the internal pressing force is removed, the rotating wheel can move to the rotating wheel door open position, thus opening the door.

3. The door lock assembly of claim 2.

13. When the "internal pushing force" is the ordinate and the "door opening displacement" is the abscissa, the transition of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel from the first working side to the second working side corresponds to a first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, the movement of the abutment position of the pin shaft against the rotating wheel on the second working side corresponds to a second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, and the slope of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is greater than the slope of the second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve; 3. The door lock assembly of claim 2.

14. The slope of the first "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve ranges from 80 degrees to 90 degrees, the span of the first "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a first displacement, and the first displacement ranges from 0 mm to 2 mm; 14. The door lock assembly of claim 13.

15. The slope of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve ranges from 0 degrees to 15 degrees, the span of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a second displacement, and the second displacement ranges from 5 mm to 10 mm; 14. The door lock assembly of claim 13.

16. 1. A door lock assembly for locking a door of an electrical appliance, comprising: a rotating wheel having a rotating wheel door closed position and a rotating wheel door open position during rotation, the rotating wheel being configured such that when the door is subjected to an internal pressing force in a closed position, the rotating wheel can rotate from the rotating wheel door closed position toward the rotating wheel door open position; a force adjustment device configured to apply an adjustment force to the rotating wheel, such that the rotating wheel has two sections of a rotational path during a rotation from the rotating wheel door closed position toward the rotating wheel door open position, the two sections of the rotational path including a first section of a rotational path and a second section of a rotational path, the first section of the rotational path having a first path starting point and a first path ending point, the second section of the rotational path having a second path starting point and a second path ending point, the first path ending point coinciding with the second path starting point; Equipped with With the "internal pushing force" as the ordinate and the "door opening displacement" as the abscissa, a first section of the rotation path corresponds to a first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, a second section of the rotation path corresponds to a second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, and a slope of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve is greater than a slope of the second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve; The internal pressure force is a variable internal pressure force, and if the variable internal pressure force can move the rotating wheel to any position between the first path start point and the second path end point, the rotating wheel returns to the rotating wheel door closed position after the variable internal pressure force is removed, and if the variable internal pressure force moves the rotating wheel to a position beyond the second path end point, the rotating wheel moves to the rotating wheel door open position after the variable internal pressure force is removed. Door lock assembly.

17. the slope of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve ranges from 80 degrees to 90 degrees, the span of the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a first displacement, and the first displacement ranges from 0 mm to 2 mm; The slope of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve ranges from 0 degrees to 15 degrees, and the span of the second "internal pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve corresponding to the door opening displacement is a second displacement, and the second displacement ranges from 5 mm to 10 mm; 17. The door lock assembly of claim 16.

18. Furthermore, a rotating wheel seat configured to be driven to move by the rotating wheel when rotating therewith; At least one biasing device, when the adjustment force applied to the rotating wheel by the force adjustment device is capable of moving the rotating wheel beyond the second path end point, the at least one biasing device moves the rotating wheel to the rotating wheel door open position after the variable internal pressing force is removed; When the adjustment force exerted on the rotating wheel by the force adjustment device is capable of moving the rotating wheel to any position between the first path start point and the second path end point, the at least one biasing device returns the rotating wheel to the rotating wheel door closing position after the variable internal pressing force is removed. At least one biasing device configured to Equipped with the rotating wheel door closed position corresponds to the closed position of the door, and the rotating wheel door open position corresponds to the open position of the door.

17. The door lock assembly of claim 16.

19. The rotating wheel is The present invention relates to a door opening and closing mechanism for a door, the door opening mechanism including a door opening hole, a door closing hole, a door opening ... a cam structure on the rear section of the rotating wheel, the cam structure having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface having a first working side and a second working side, the first working side and the second working side having different curvatures from one another; The first working side corresponds to the first "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve, and the second working side corresponds to the second "internal pushing force vs. door opening displacement" curve; 20. The door lock assembly of claim 18.

20. the force adjustment device is a pin shaft; the first working side is a notch on the inner side of the cam structure; the second working side is an ascending inclined surface provided on the inner side of the cam structure; the outer surface being a downwardly sloping surface provided on the outer side of the cam structure; the ascending inclined surface and the descending inclined surface are connected at the inclined surface intersection point, When the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft abuts against the door opening stop point of the rotating wheel on the downward inclined surface; the notch and the door opening stop on the inner side of the cam structure are stable positions during a rotation of the rotating wheel, and all positions of the rotating wheel other than the notch and the door opening stop are transitional positions during a rotation of the rotating wheel; When the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door closing position, the pin shaft is located in the stable position of the notch, and when the rotating wheel is in the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft is located in the stable position of the door opening stop point; During the rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closing position to the rotating wheel door opening position, the pin shaft and the rotating wheel come into contact with each other and move relative to each other, so that the pin shaft passes through the ascending inclined surface and the descending inclined surface to reach the door opening stop point from the notch.

20. The door lock assembly of claim 19.

21. a relative movement of the pin shaft from the notch of the rotating wheel to the rising inclined surface corresponds to a first section of the rotational path; a relative movement of the pin shaft from the rising inclined surface of the rotating wheel to the inclined surface meeting point corresponds to a second section of the rotation path; 21. The door lock assembly of claim 20.

22. the shape of the first "inner pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve depends on the shape of the notch; The shape of the second "inner pressure force vs. door opening displacement" curve depends on the shape of the rising slope.

22. The door lock assembly of claim 21.

23. a third section of a rotational path during rotation of the rotating wheel from the rotating wheel door closed position toward the rotating wheel door open position; A relative movement of the pin shaft from the inclined surface meeting point of the rotating wheel to the door opening stop point by passing through the descending inclined surface corresponds to a third section of the rotation path.

23. The door lock assembly of claim 22.

24. The at least one biasing device may, during a door opening process, When the variable internal pressing force moves the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to a position before the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device can return the pin shaft to the stable position in the notch after the variable internal pressing force is removed, When the variable internal pressing force moves the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to a position beyond the inclined surface meeting point, the at least one biasing device can continue to move the pin shaft relative to the rotating wheel to the stable position of the door opening stop point after the variable internal pressing force is removed.

24. The door lock assembly of claim 23, wherein the door lock assembly is configured as follows:

25. further comprising: a housing, the force adjustment device being secured to the housing; and a rotating wheel seat movably accommodated inside the housing, the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel being rotatably mounted on the rotating wheel seat, such that the rotating shaft of the rotating wheel can drive the rotating wheel seat to perform a linear motion relative to the housing during rotation of the rotating wheel; Equipped with the at least one biasing device abuts between the rotating wheel seat and the housing; When the rotating wheel rotates on the rotating wheel seat, the rotating wheel and the rotating wheel seat are movable inside the housing, and the at least one biasing device can be compressed or spring-returned during the movement of the rotating wheel seat inside the housing.

25. The door lock assembly of claim 24.

26. An electrical appliance comprising a door lock assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 25.

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