Patent Application
20230228070
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202220149733.1, filed on Jan. 20, 2022, entitled “Multifunctional Water Outlet Device,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The disclosure relates to a fluid outflowing apparatus, in particularly to a multifunctional water outlet device.
Currently, more and more electrical appliances are installed under the sink. There are tankless water heaters that provide hot/warm water for washing, water purifiers that provide clean water, and water boilers that provide boiled water. Accordingly, the limited installation space under the sink is becoming a problem. Even for compact electrical appliances, the outlet pipes for the different waters will occupy a lot of space and make it inconvenient to find the installation location. Moreover, the use of multiple electrical appliances needs to more outlet pipes, and it is inconvenient for first-time users to find the correct outlet positions of boiled water and clean water.
Accordingly, in view of the above problems, the present disclosure provides a multifunctional water outlet device.
The multifunctional water outlet device includes a body, a filter assembly, a water tank, a instant heat assembly, and a communication assembly. The body has a water inlet pipe and a water outlet pipe. The filter assembly is connected to the water inlet pipe of the body. The water tank is arranged in the body. The water tank includes a heat exchange element and a heating element arranged inside the water tank. A warm washing water is formed by a communication of a hot water generated by the heating element and the water outlet pipe. The instant heat assembly includes an expansion tank, a boiling water solenoid valve disposed at a water inlet port of the expansion tank, an instant heater connected to a water outlet port of the expansion tank. The boiling water solenoid valve includes a first switch port and a second switch port. The second switch port is connected to a water output end of the heat exchange element via a pipe. The communication assembly includes an inlet interface connected to the filter assembly, a drinking water interface in communication with an external pipe, a first interface connected to a water input end of the heat exchange element, a second interface connected to the first switch port of the boiling water solenoid valve of the instant heat assembly, a third interface connected to the instant heater, and a clean water solenoid valve configured for switching on/off state of the interfaces. The first switch port and the second interface is in communication via a connect pipe.
In some embodiments, the expansion tank includes a jet section connected to the water inlet port of the expansion tank, a siphon port connected to the jet section, an diffusion section in communication with an end of the siphon port; the diffusion section is connected to a water incoming port of the instant heater.
In some embodiments, the heat exchange element includes a heat exchange body that is spiral-shaped, a water inlet head and a water outlet head respectively arranged at two open ends of the heat exchange body; the water inlet head is connected to the first interface, the water outlet head is connected to the second switch port of the boiling water solenoid valve by a connection pipe.
In some embodiments, bottoms of the water inlet head and the water outlet head both includes a connection groove fitted for the heat exchange body, an external sleeve secured within the water tank and arranged on the connection groove, and a buckle arranged on the external sleeve.
In some embodiments, the heating element is arranged on a tank bottom of the water tank, and a conduction pipe is arranged in a half bottom of the water tank; the conduction pipe is extended and penetrated the heat exchange body and in communication with the water outlet pipe.
In some embodiments, a mix pipe is arranged between the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe; a control valve is arranged on the mix pipe.
In some embodiments, a booster pump is arranged between the water inlet pipe and the filter assembly.
In some embodiments, a flow sensor is arranged between the filter assembly and the clean water solenoid valve.
The present disclosure has the following advantages.
The device provided by the present disclosure can divide the output water filtered by the filter assembly into three flow paths through the provided communication assembly and the instant heat assembly. First of the three flow paths is a warm washing water formed by the water heated in the water tank and output through the water outlet pipe. The second one is a warm drinking water formed by the heat exchange element and output through the drinking water interface. The third one is a boiled drinking water formed by the instant heat assembly via the heat exchange element and output through the drinking water interface. In the present disclosure, the warm water and the boiled water can be output from the same interface. This arrangement reduces the internal water path arrangement and switch, simplifies the internal structure of the device, greatly saves the space which is occupied in the prior art, enriches the installation environment for the devices, and applicable for more environments.
In order to illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings required in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other related drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.
The specific implements of the present disclosure will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The following embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure more clearly and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In the description of the present invention, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as “first” or “second” may expressly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, “plurality” means two or more, unless otherwise expressly and specifically defined.
During the use of instant heaters, most of instant heaters may provide warm washing water, clean water (or purified water) and boiled water. However, when the three waters all can be provided by an instant heater, the internal pipelines will be so complicated and crowded that the manufacture will cost a lot. Furthermore, the overall size of the instant heater will increase and makes it hard to be installed in a narrow kitchen. The installation environment for the prior art is limited. Moreover, in order to avoid some of the residual boiled water hurt users during the switch of warm water, the output of the warm water and the boiled water are totally separated in the prior art. The warm water and the boiled water will go different paths. Accordingly, this will need more pipelines and switch structure. In view of this, the present disclosure provides a multifunctional water outlet device.
The multifunctional water outlet device includes a body 1, a filter assembly 2, a water tank 3, an instant heat assembly 4, and a communication assembly 5. The body 1 has a water inlet pipe 11 and a water outlet pipe 12. The filter assembly 2 is connected to the water inlet pipe 11 of the body 1. The water tank 3 is arranged in the body 1. The water tank 3 includes a heat exchange element 32 and a heating element 31 arranged inside the water tank 3. A warm washing water is formed by a communication of a hot water generated by the heating element 31 and the water outlet pipe 12. The instant heat assembly 4 includes an expansion tank 42, a boiling water solenoid valve 41 disposed at a water inlet port of the expansion tank 42, an instant heater 43 connected to a water outlet port of the expansion tank 42. The boiling water solenoid valve 41 includes a first switch port 411 and a second switch port 412. The second switch port 412 is connected to a water output end of the heat exchange element 32 via a pipe 34. The communication assembly 5 includes an inlet interface 51 connected to the filter assembly 2, a drinking water interface 52 in communication with an external pipe, a first interface 53 connected to a water input end of the heat exchange element 32, a second interface 54 connected to the first switch port 411 of the boiling water solenoid valve 41 of the instant heat assembly 4, a third interface 55 connected to the instant heater 53, and a clean water solenoid valve 56 configured for switching on/off state of the interfaces. The first switch port 411 and the second interface 412 is in communication via a connect pipe 57.
By the above arrangement, three flow paths can be conceivable.
The first one is the frequently used warm washing water. The warm washing water is the warm water (or hot water) for washing dishes or the like. The warm washing water can be obtained by directly heating up the water within the water tank 3 through the heat element 31 and output by the water outlet pipe 12. The warm washing water in the present disclosure is easy to get. Since the warm washing water is not for drinking, users do not have to worry about the water in the tank being re-boiled, and the water in the water tank can be heated up in advance for use.
The second one is the warm drinking water. A filtered water is introduced into the heat exchange element 32 through the first interface 53 of the communication assembly 5, so that cold water can be heated up to be warm water by the heat exchange element 32. The warm water is then lead into the second switch port 412 of the boiling water solenoid valve 41 through the water outlet port of the heat exchange 32. By the switch of the boiling water solenoid valve 41, the warm water is introduced to the connect pipe 57 through the first switch port 411. Accordingly, the warm water can be output through the outlet pipe 12 via the communication assembly 5.
The last one is the boiled drinking water. The filtered water is introduced into the heat exchange element 32 through the first interface 53 of the communication assembly 5, so that cold water can be heated up to be the warm water by the heat exchange element 32. The warm water is then lead into the second switch port 412 of the boiling water solenoid valve 41 through the water outlet port of the heat exchange 32. By the switch of the boiling water solenoid valve 41, the warm water is introduced into the expansion tank 42 and then the warm water enters the instant heater 43 which is turn on. The warm water in the instant heater 43 can be quickly heated up to be the boiled water and then output by the water outlet pipe 12. In this time, the boiled water can be drink directly because it is the first time boiled. There will be not concerns about twice boiled water or re-boiled water. By the combination of the clean water solenoid valve 56 of the communication assembly 5 and the boiling water solenoid valve 41 of the expansion tank 42, the multiple flow paths can be switched smoothly. The switching of flow paths makes single pipe and single connector able to function as multi-path communication without extra pipes. Each pipe and structures in the device can be more compact and the space within the water outlet device can be more reasonable.
In the process of switching from the boiled drinking water to the warm water (e.g., warm washing water, warm drinking water), if the warm water is followed by the boiled water, there usually is part of the boiled water be left in front of the warm water inside the pipe. The direct switching from the boiled water to the warm water, the faucet will easily spray the left boiled water and hurt users. Therefore, the expansion tank 42 includes a jet section 421 connected to the water inlet of the expansion tank 42. The siphon port 422 is connected to the jet section 421. T diffusion section 423 is connected to an end of the siphon port 422. The diffusion section 423 is connected to the water inlet of the instant heater 43. During the process of having boiled water, the water flows through the jet section 421, the siphon port 422, and the diffusion section 423 normally. When stop supplying the boiled water, the water resident in the pipe can be sucked into the cavity of the expansion tank 42 through the siphon port 422. When it is changed to supply warm water, the boiled water in the expansion tank 42 will integrate into the warm water, so that the warm water with moderate temperature will not scald the user. Meanwhile, the jet section 4212 located at a front end of the siphon port 422 and the diffusion section 423 at a rear end of the siphon port 422 are designed to be capable of accelerating the output water (e.g., the boiled water or the warm water), so that the output warm water or boiled water can the supply of boiling water is stopped, the water in the pipeline will be sucked into the cavity of the expansion water tank 42 through the siphon port 422, and after switching to warm water, the boiling water in the expansion water tank 42 will melt into the warm water. At the same time, the design of the jet section 421 at the front end of the siphon port 422 and the design of the diffusion section 423 at the rear end can speed up the output of boiled water and warm water, so that the output of warm water and boiled water can be completely take out the water left in the expansion tank 42, avoiding the residual water from becoming twice boiled water or re-boiled water.
In the process of heat exchange, the shape of the heat exchange element 32 will determine the heat exchange efficiency. In view of this, the heat exchange element 32 in the present disclosure includes a spiral-shaped heat exchange body 321. A water inlet head 323 and a water outlet head 322 are respectively arranged at two open ends of the heat exchange body 321. The water inlet head 323 is connected to the first interface 53. The water outlet head 322 is connected to the water inlet port of the expansion water tank 42, enabling the heat exchange of the warm water which enters the heat exchange element 32 to reach the required temperature of users. In order to avoid the water inlet and outlet from being interference, the water inlet head 323 and the water outlet head 324 of the heat exchange element 32 are independent.
In order to improve the matching relationship between the heat exchange element 32 and its connection structure, the bottoms of the water inlet head 323 and the water outlet head 322 both include a connection groove 3233 that is adapted to the heat exchange body 321 and is secured in the water tank. 3, an external sleeve 3232 located inside the connection groove 3222, and a buckle 3231 arranged on the external sleeve 3232. At the water inlet head 323, one end of an L-shaped pipe 35 is fitted to the buckle 3231, while the other end is screwed to the first interface. At the water outlet head 322, one end of a connecting pipe 34 is fitted into the buckle 3231, while the other end extends to the second switch port 411 of the boiling water solenoid valve 41 to block both ends of the water inlet head 323 and the water outlet head 322. The block avoids the water within the heat exchange 32 permeate into the water tank 3, ensuring the warm water output by the heat exchange element 32 is the warm drinking water rather than the warm washing water.
Because the heating element 31 is arranged at a position lower than the heat exchange element 32, the thermal energy of the hot water at the bottom is obviously better than the thermal energy of the hot water at the upper portion. As so, in order to utilize the hot water at the bottom, the lower half of the water tank 3 is provided with a conduction pipe 34. The conduction pipe 34 extends through the heat exchange body 321 and communicates with the water outlet pipe 12. The conduction pipe 34 can extract the hot water at the bottom and output it to the water outlet pipe 12, so that the output warm washing water has enough thermal energy.
Furthermore, a mix pipe 13 is arranged between the water inlet pipe 11 and the water outlet pipe 12. The mix pipe 13 is provided with a control valve. When the warm washing water is overheated, users can mix some water within the water inlet pipe 11 and the hot water within the water outlet pipe 12 through the mix pipe 13 by using the control valve to obtain a warm water (or hot water) with intermediate temperature, so as to avoid scald accidents while using the warm washing water.
The original water used in the present disclosure is directly connected to municipal water, which is prone to water pressure fluctuations. In order to avoid insufficient power, a booster pump (not shown) is also provided between the water inlet pipe 11 and the filter assembly 2, which can pressurize the original water by using the power of the booster pump, so that the water maintains a high pressure from entry to output, and stays in a state of rapid water output even after a series of heating.
In this embodiment, the filter assembly 2 is an RO (reverse osmosis) filter element. In other embodiments, filter elements of other structures may also be used.
Additionally, in order to improve the intelligence of the whole device, a PBC-based control component 6 is also provided on the body 1. During the activation of the control component 6, each solenoid valve and control valve can be turn on/off by electricity without manual. However, in other embodiments, the device may be used in a combination of mechanical and electrical control to ensure that the water filtered by the filter assembly 2 can still be used in the absence of electricity. The PBC-based control component 6 may be an existing circuit control structure and will not be described in detail here.
Furthermore, a water flow sensor is arranged between the filter assembly and the clear water solenoid valve.
In addition, temperature sensors are provided on the water tank 3, the instant heat assembly 4, and the communication assembly 5 for monitoring the temperature of each water paths, collecting and feeding the monitored temperature data to the control component 6. By doing so, users may set up the temperatures of the warm washing water, the warm drinking water, and the boiled drinking water friendly.
The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, or the like, made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202220149733.1 | Jan 2022 | CN | national |
