COOLING APPLIANCE

Abstract

A cooling appliance, contains a water path component for supplying water and a circuit component for supplying electricity or transmitting a control signal. An isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component to mechanically isolate the water path component from the circuit component. The isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component, so that when water is leaked from the water path component, the leaked water is blocked by the isolation component from spraying and scattering or from splashing to the circuit component, avoiding adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuits caused by undesired contact between the circuit component and the water.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of Chinese patent application CN 201621270853.8, filed Nov. 25, 2016; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of cooling technologies, and in particular, to a cooling appliance including a water path component.

German patent DE 112006000552, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,345, describes a cooling device with a liquid delivery system that is used for user equipment. The liquid delivery system has a protection system, to avoid an overflow resulting from possible liquid leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a cooling appliance that can mechanically isolate a circuit component from a water path component having a potential water leakage threat, so that the circuit component of the cooling appliance can be protected to a large extent, avoiding possible adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuits.

The objective is achieved by the subject having the characteristics described in the independent claims. Beneficial embodiments of the present invention form the subject of the accompanying drawings, the specification, and the dependent claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the objective is achieved by using a cooling appliance, including: a water path component for supplying water; and a circuit component for supplying electricity or transmitting a control signal. An isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component to mechanically isolate the water path component from the circuit component.

Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows: The isolation component is disposed between the water path component and the circuit component, so that when water is leaked from the water path component, the leaked water is blocked by the isolation component from spraying and scattering or from splashing to the circuit component, avoiding adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuits caused by undesired contact between the circuit component and the water.

The cooling appliance should be construed as, especially, a household cooling appliance, that is, a cooling appliance used for housekeeping in the domestic or catering application. The cooling appliance is especially used to store food and/or drinks at a particular temperature, for example, a refrigerator, a freezer, a fridge freezer, or a wine cooler.

The water path component refers to, especially, a component for holding or controlling flow of water in a water path system of the cooling appliance, for example, a water pipe, a switch, or various water valves.

The circuit component should be construed as a component in the cooling appliance for bearing electricity transmission, supplying electricity, or transmitting a control signal, and is especially an integrated or a modular component such as a power supply circuit board, a display circuit board, or a control circuit board.

In a preferred embodiment, the isolation component is configured as a cover for at least partially covering the circuit component. Therefore, for example, achieved technical advantages are as follows: Water leaked from the water path component is blocked by the cover from coming into contact with the circuit component. In addition, the cover needs to cover only a part or a surface of the circuit component that may be in contact with the leaked water rather than completely cover or wrap the entire circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover at least covers a part or a surface of the circuit component that may be in contact with water leaked from the water path component. Therefore, the cover does not need to completely cover or wrap the entire circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover is slidably installed on the circuit component by using a guide mechanism, and the guide mechanism includes a guide rib and a guide slot that cooperate with each other. Therefore, for example, achieved technical advantages are as follows: The guide mechanism facilitates the assembly of the cover to the circuit component, and a production process is simple or the cover is easy to remove, facilitating maintenance of the circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the isolation component is configured as a housing for at least partially surrounding the water path component. Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows: When water is leaked from the water path component, the water is blocked by the housing and kept inside the housing from coming into contact with the circuit component.

In a preferred embodiment, the water path component includes a valve body and a water pipe connected to the valve body, and the housing at least surrounds a part connecting the valve body and the water pipe. Therefore, for example, an achieved technical advantage is as follows: The housing needs to surround and wrap only a part of the valve body from which water is easily leaked or a connecting point between the valve body and the water pipe due to a high water leakage possibility of the connecting point rather than surround and wrap the entire water pipe or the valve body.

In a preferred embodiment, the valve body includes a functional valve and a check valve, and the check valve is serially connected to the functional valve by using the water pipe.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes a first housing and a second housing buckled with each other.

In a preferred embodiment, the circuit component is connected to an external power source.

In a preferred embodiment, the water path component and the circuit component are disposed in a same cavity.

In a preferred embodiment, the cavity serves as a compressor compartment of the cooling appliance; a compressor, a fan, and a condenser of the cooling appliance are disposed in the compressor compartment; and the circuit component is electrically connected to the compressor and the fan separately.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a cooling appliance, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a structure of a refrigerator representative of a common cooling appliance 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a water path system of the refrigerator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a cavity in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a separated cover from a circuit component according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing surrounds a water path component according to the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing in FIG. 6 being divided into a first housing and a second housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a simplified schematic diagram of a structure of a refrigerator representative of a common cooling appliance 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a water path system of the refrigerator in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the refrigerator 100 is provided with the water path system. Water supplied from an external water source flows into the refrigerator through the pipeline 11, and the pipeline 11 is connected to the external water source by using a pipe connector 12. In this embodiment, the external water source is a tap. A peripheral pipeline (represented by a dashed line in FIG. 2) is connected to the tap, and then is connected to the pipeline 11 by using the pipe connector 12. The water flowing into the refrigerator is purified by a ventilation filter 13. In this embodiment, the ventilation filter 13 is disposed in a refrigeration compartment (not shown in the figures) of the refrigerator 100.

Purified water flows into a check valve 31 through a water inlet pipe 14, and then flows into a functional valve 15 through the water inlet pipe 14. In an embodiment, the functional valve 15 is a water valve having one inlet and two outlets, and the functional valve 15 is connected to two water outlet pipes, which are respectively a water outlet pipe 16 and a water outlet pipe 17. The water outlet pipe 16 is used to supply water to an ice-making machine 20, and the water outlet pipe 17 is used to supply water to a water storage tank 24. In an embodiment, the water outlet pipe 16 is connected to an inlet nozzle 19 by using a pipe joint 18, so that purified water may be supplied to the ice-making machine 20 by using the inlet nozzle 19. In a specific embodiment, the inlet nozzle 19 is disposed in a freezing compartment of the refrigerator 100. The ice-making machine 20 includes an ice-making unit 21 and an ice storage unit 22. A discharge outlet for discharging ice is disposed at a front end of the ice storage unit 22, and the ice storage unit 22 includes an ice discharge apparatus 23 for pushing the ice to the discharge outlet. In a specific embodiment, the ice discharge apparatus 23 includes a screw rod (not shown in the figures) and a motor for driving the screw rod (not shown in the figures).

In an embodiment, the water outlet pipe 17 is directly connected to an inlet end of the water storage tank 24. In a specific embodiment, the water storage tank 24 is disposed in the refrigeration compartment of the refrigerator 100, to store potable water that has been filtered. In an embodiment, the water storage tank 24 is connected to a pipeline 25, and the pipeline 25 is connected to an outlet nozzle 27 by using a pipe connector 26. The outlet nozzle 27 has a tail end disposed towards an allocation cavity of an allocator (not shown in the figures), to allocate water to an external container 28.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cavity 101 in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cavity 101 serves as a compressor compartment of the refrigerator. The compressor 102, a fan 103, a condenser 104, a part of a water path component 105, and a part of a circuit component 106 of the refrigerator are all disposed in the cavity 101, to make full use of limited space of the refrigerator. The water path component 105 is mainly exemplified as valve bodies and water pipes in FIG. 1 that hold or control flow of water such as the water inlet pipe 14, the check valve 31, the functional valve 15, the water outlet pipe 16, and the water outlet pipe 17. The circuit component 106 especially serves as a power supply circuit board connected to an external high pressure power source, and the power supply circuit board is further connected to an electrical component such as the compressor 102 or the fan 103, to supply high pressure electricity.

Because internal space of the cavity 101 is limited, the water path component 105 and the circuit component 106 are both disposed in the cavity 101 and are close to each other. Therefore, when water is leaked from the water path component 105, the leaked water is easy to spray and scatter to the circuit component 16 nearby, resulting in adverse consequences of electric leakage or short circuits caused due to contact between the circuit component 16 and the water. This is also one of key technical problems to be resolved in the present invention.

To resolve the foregoing technical problem, an isolation component is disposed between the water path component 105 and the circuit component 106, to mechanically isolate the water path component 105 from the circuit component 106 in the narrow space of the cavity 101. Therefore, the circuit component 106 cannot be in contact with the water leaked from the water path component 105.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged diagram of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, in a possible embodiment, the isolation component is configured as a cover 40 for at least partially covering the circuit component 106. With reference to FIG. 5, the cover 40 mainly covers a part or a surface of the circuit component 106 exposed in an area to which the water leaked from the water path component 105 may spray or scatter. That is, the cover mainly covers a front surface 1061, a top surface 1062, a bottom surface 1063, a left surface 1064, and the like of the circuit component 106, to avoid, to the largest extent, a possibility of contact between the circuit component 106 and the water leaked from the water path component 105.

In a process in which the cover 40 is covered on the circuit component 106, the cover 40 is slidably installed on the circuit component 106 by using a guide mechanism. The guide mechanism includes a guide rib 51 and a guide slot 52 that cooperate with each other. Specifically, the guide rib 51 is disposed on the circuit component 106, and the guide slot 52 is provided on the cover 40. In a process in which the cover 40 is slidably installed on the circuit component 106, the guide rib 51 slides into the guide slot 52, and engagement with each other occurs, so that the cover 40 is installed on the circuit component 106 more easily or is removed from the circuit component 106 more easily.

In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the isolation component is configured as a housing 60 for at least partially surrounding the water path component 105. With reference to FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the water path component 105 is mainly exemplified as valve bodies and water pipes that hold or control flow of water such as the water inlet pipe 14, the check valve 31, the functional valve 15, the water outlet pipe 16, and the water outlet pipe 17. The housing 60 surrounds and wraps, especially, a connecting node between the water inlet pipe 14 and the check valve 31, a connecting node between the water inlet pipe 14 and the functional valve 15, or even a connecting node between the functional valve 15 and the water outlet pipe 16 and a connecting node between the functional valve 15 and the water outlet pipe 17, because water leakage possibilities of the connecting nodes are the largest. As long as these connecting nodes are accommodated in the housing 60, even if water leakage occurs in these connecting nodes, leaked water is blocked by the housing 60 from coming into contact with the circuit component 106 nearby. The housing 60 includes a first housing 61 and a second housing 62 buckled with each other, facilitating the installation of the housing 60 to the water path component 105.

The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments enables a person skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to the embodiments are obvious to the person skilled in the art, and general principles defined in this specification may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments described in this specification but extends to the widest scope that complies with the principles and novelty disclosed in this specification.

Reference Numerals: 100: Cooling appliance; 101: Cavity; 102: Compressor; 103: Fan; 104: Condenser; 105: Water path component; 106: Circuit component; 1061: Front surface; 1062: Top surface; 1063: Bottom surface; 1064: Left surface; 11: Pipeline; 12: Pipe connector; 13: Ventilation filter; 14: Water inlet pipe; 15: Functional valve; 16: Water outlet pipe; 17: Water outlet pipe; 18: Pipe joint; 19: Inlet nozzle; 20: Ice-making machine; 21: Ice-making unit; 22: Ice storage unit; 23: Ice discharge apparatus; 24: Water storage tank; 25: Pipeline; 26: Pipe connector; 27: Outlet nozzle; 28: External container; 31: Check valve; 40: Cover; 51: Guide rib; 52: Guide slot; 60: Housing; 61: First housing; 62: Second housing

Claims

1. A cooling appliance, comprising:

a water path component for supplying water;

a circuit component for supplying electricity or transmitting a control signal; and

an isolation component disposed between said water path component and said circuit component to mechanically isolate said water path component from said circuit component.

2. The cooling appliance according to claim 1, wherein said isolation component is a cover for at least partially covering said circuit component.

3. The cooling appliance according to claim 2, wherein said cover at least covers a part or a surface of said circuit component that may be in contact with the water leaked from said water path component.

4. The cooling appliance according to claim 2, further comprising a guide mechanism, said cover is slidably installed on said circuit component by using said guide mechanism, and said guide mechanism has a guide rib and a guide slot formed therein that cooperate with each other.

5. The cooling appliance according to claim 1, wherein said isolation component is configured as a housing for at least partially surrounding said water path component.

6. The cooling appliance according to claim 5, wherein said water path component contains a valve body and a water pipe connected to said valve body, said housing at least surrounds a part connecting said valve body and said water pipe.

7. The cooling appliance according to claim 6, wherein said valve body contains a functional valve and a check valve, said check valve is serially connected to said functional valve by using said water pipe.

8. The cooling appliance according to claim 5, wherein said housing contains a first housing and a second housing buckled with each other.

9. The cooling appliance according to claim 1, wherein said circuit component is connected to an external power source.

10. The cooling appliance according to claim 1, further comprising a cavity and said water path component and said circuit component are both disposed in said cavity.

11. The cooling appliance according to claim 10,

further comprising a compressor, a fan, and a condenser;

wherein said cavity serves as a compressor compartment of the cooling appliance;

wherein said compressor, said fan, and said condenser are disposed in said compressor compartment; and

said circuit component is electrically connected to said compressor and said fan separately.