EP4111921A1

EP4111921A1 - Hand dryer assembly

Info

Publication number: EP4111921A1
Application number: EP20921611.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jiyong BAI
Original assignee: Good Wind Co Ltd
Current assignee: Good Wind Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-02-27
Filing date: 2020-02-27
Publication date: 2023-01-04
Also published as: WO2021168717A1; EP4111921A4

Abstract

A hand dryer assembly (100), comprising a hand dryer (1) and a mounting bracket (2) detachably fitting with the hand dryer (1). A power supply connector assembly which is assembled by plugging is disposed between the hand dryer (1) and the mounting bracket (2). According to such an arrangement, when the hand dryer (1) needs to be maintained or replaced, it is only necessary to quickly detach the hand dryer (1) from the mounting bracket (2), which is simple and convenient and does not cause secondary damages to the wall body.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of household appliance, and particularly to a hand dryer assembly which can be maintained or replaced conveniently.

BACKGROUND

As cleaning appliance used in a bathroom to dry both hands by blowing out air or hot air, hand dryers have already been widely used by people. The hand dryer usually has a housing and a functional element such as a blower disposed in the housing. A rear housing of the housing is usually provided with screw-fixing holes so that the whole of the hand dryer is fixed on a wall surface through anti-explosion screws. The conventional hand dryer is usually provided as a unitary machine. When it needs to be maintained, it is necessary to open the housing of the whole machine, remove the anti-explosion screens fixed on the wall surface, and then maintain the whole machine product, so that the operations are very inconvenient; furthermore, when the circuit needs to be repaired, such an operation must be performed by a professional electrician, and the maintenance risks and costs are high. In addition, when the product needs to be replaced due to running out of the service life or other reasons, a new product needs to be re-installed, which causes superimposed damages to the wall surface of the usage space, affects the overall aesthetics of the usage space, and also increases manpower maintenance costs; furthermore, such a replacement will increase the consumption of materials and is not environment-friendly.
In view of this, it is necessary to provide a hand dryer assembly capable of solving the above problem.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a hand dryer assembly which may be maintained or replaced conveniently.
To achieve the above object, technical solutions provided by the present inventions are as follows: a hand dryer assembly, comprising a hand dryer and a mounting bracket detachably fitting with the hand dryer 1, a power supply connector assembly which is assembled by plugging being disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.
Furthermore, the hand dryer has a mounting direction in which the hand dryer is mounted and fitted with the mounting bracket, and the power supply connector assembly is assembled by plugging in the mounting direction.
Furthermore, a limiting structure for limiting the hand dryer from disengaging downward from the mounting bracket after mounting together is disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.
Furthermore, the hand dryer has air outlets disposed opening downward, and the mounting direction coincides with an air egress direction.
Furthermore, the hand dryer has a mounting surface for mounting and fitting with the mounting bracket, the power supply connector assembly comprises a power supply connector disposed on the hand dryer and a docking connector disposed on the mounting bracket, and the power supply connector is disposed on the hand dryer and exposed outward from the mounting surface; the mounting bracket has a docking surface opposite to the mounting surface, the docking connector is disposed on the mounting bracket and exposed outward from the docking surface, and the mounting bracket further has a power line connected to the docking connector.
Furthermore, the mounting bracket has a fixing surface away from the docking surface, and a lead wire hole running through the docking surface and the fixing surface, the docking connector is fixed to the docking surface, and the power line extends through the lead wire hole to the fixing surface.
Furthermore, the mounting bracket has a fixing region for fixing the docking connector, and a lead wire groove recessed into the docking surface beside the fixing region, a recessed cavity for receiving the power line is concavely disposed in the fixing surface, and the lead wire hole laterally communicates the lead wire groove with the recessed cavity.
Furthermore, the hand dryer has a mounting cavity recessed from the mounting surface so that after the hand dryer is mounted to the mounting bracket, the mounting bracket is received in the mounting cavity, and up-down limitation is formed at a top of the mounting bracket and an inner top wall of the mounting cavity.
Furthermore, the mounting bracket has a body portion and a positioning protrusion protruding upward from a top of the body portion, the mounting cavity has a positioning region shaped to match the positioning protrusion, the hand dryer further has a limiting baffle fixed on a rear side of the positioning region so that after the hand dryer is mounted to the mounting bracket, the positioning region and the limiting baffle form limitation of the positioning protrusion, thereby mounting and positioning the hand dryer to the mounting bracket.
Furthermore, the hand dryer further has a plugging cavity further recessed from a side of an inner bottom surface of the mounting cavity, the plugging cavity is communicated with an interior of the hand dryer, and the power supply connector is disposed in the plugging cavity.
Furthermore, the hand dryer further has a blower component disposed in the interior, a first power supply circuit and a second power supply circuit disposed in parallel outside the blower component, an additional power line perforation disposed matchingly with the second power supply circuit, and an additional fixing hole for fixing the hand dryer directly to a wall body, the first power supply circuit and the power supply connector being electrically connected with a wall with power supply circuit.
Furthermore, the additional power line perforation and the additional fixing hole are disposed on an outer periphery of the mounting cavity.
Furthermore, the power supply connector and the additional power line perforation are disposed on both sides of the blower component.
Furthermore, the hand dryer has air outlets disposed opening downward, the mounting direction is set perpendicular to the air egress direction or inclined relative to the air egress direction by a certain angle, and a slide groove and a slide rail that slidingly engage each other in the mounting direction are disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.
As compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: in the present invention, the hand dryer and the mounting bracket are matchingly and detachably arranged so that when the hand dryer needs to be maintained or replaced, it is only necessary to quickly detach the hand dryer from the mounting bracket, which is simple and convenient and does not cause secondary damages to the wall body; furthermore, the mounting bracket can be always reused, which reduces the waste of the raw materials and is environment-friendly; in addition, through the cooperation of the power supply connector and the docking connector, the mounting operation may be made more convenient, electrical connection may be achieved while the mounting is completed, and the power line is not exposed to the outside, which provides aesthetics as well as higher safety; no professional technicians are required to perform operations, so the mounting and maintenance costs are low; in addition, the hand dryer may be adapted for multiple models so long as it is matched with the mounting bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described later in detail in an exemplary but unrestrictive manner with reference to figures. The same reference numbers in the figures denote the same or like components or parts. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that these figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hand dryer assembly in the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view of the hand dryer assembly of FIG. 1 as viewed from another perspective.
FIG. 3 is a view of the hand dryer assembly of FIG. 1 in which a hand dryer is dismantled from a mounting bracket.
FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 as viewed from another perspective.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a front housing of the hand dryer in the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the hand dryer in the present invention with the front housing removed.
FIG. 7 is a rear view of partial structures of the hand dryer shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting bracket in the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a view of FIG. 8 as viewed from another perspective.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the present invention, the technical solutions in embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely with reference to figures in the embodiments. Obviously, the embodiments described are only partial embodiments of the present application other than all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those having ordinary skill in the art without making any inventive efforts based on the embodiments in the present invention should all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1 through Fig. 9, the present invention provides a hand dryer assembly 100, which comprises a hand dryer 1 and a mounting bracket detachably fitting with the hand dryer 1. A power supply connector assembly which is assembled by plugging is disposed between the hand dryer 1 and the mounting bracket 2. The power supply connector assembly comprises various connector assemblies capable of performing current transmission. The power supply connector assembly in the present invention comprises a power supply connector 124 on the hand dryer 1 and a docking connector 22 disposed on the mounting bracket 2.
With reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 8, the hand dryer 1 has a housing 11 and a functional element 12 disposed on the housing 11.
The functional element 12 has a blower component 121 disposed in the housing 11, and a power supply circuit connected to the blower component 121. In the embodiment, the power supply circuit comprises a first power supply circuit 122 and a second power supply circuit 123 disposed in parallel outside the blower component 121, and the power supply connector 124 matched with the first power supply circuit 122. The second power supply circuit 123 is provided with an additional power line connection. Alternatively, an additional power line (not shown) may be directly provided, and then connected to the second power supply circuit 123. The power supply connector 124 is exposed to the outside of the housing 11 and electrically connected with an external power supply (not shown). An additional power line may be lead out of the second power supply circuit 123 to the outside of the housing 11 to connect with the external power supply; in this way, the hand dryer 1 in the present invention may be made adapted for two different usage scenarios: the hand dryer 1 may be connected via the power supply connector 124 or directly connected via the additional power line.
With reference to FIG. 5 through FIG. 7, the housing 11 is formed by combining a front housing 3 with a rear housing 4. A receiving space 10 for receiving most of the above functional element 12 is formed between the front housing 13 and rear housing 14. The front housing 13 is provided in a streamlined manner, and mainly reflects the aesthetics of the whole hand dryer 1 product. Several snap hooks 131 are disposed on an inner periphery of the front housing 13 protrusively towards the rear housing 14 and are configured to snap-fit with the rear housing 14.
The rear housing 14 has a rear housing body 141 and an air outlet plate 15 fixed below the rear housing body 141. A plurality of vertically-through air outlets 151 are provided in the middle of the air outlet plate 15. The air egress direction of the air outlets 151 is downward.
The rear housing body 141 comprises a rear wall 1411 and a surrounding wall 1412 connected around the rear wall 1411. The surrounding wall 1412 is provided with snap-fitting structures 1413 configured to snap-fit with the snap hooks 131 of the front housing 13.
The blower component 121 in the present embodiment is fixed at a transversely-intermediate position of the rear wall 1411, and disposed towards the air outlets 151. The first power supply circuit 122 and the second power supply circuit 123 are disposed on both sides of the blower component 121. Here, the entirety of the first power supply circuit 122 and the entirety of the second power supply circuit 123 are disposed on both sides of the blower component 121. Alternatively, it is also possible that external power supply connecting ends of the first power supply circuit 122 and second power supply circuit 123 are disposed on both sides of the blower component 121 to facilitate arrangement and recognition.
The hand dryer 1 of the present invention has a mounting direction in which the hand dryer 1 is mounted and fitted with the mounting bracket 2. The power supply connector 124 and the docking connector 22 are plugged together in the mounting direction. In addition, a limiting structure for limiting the hand dryer 1 from disengaging downward from the mounting bracket 2 after the mounting is disposed between the hand dryer 1 and the mounting bracket 2.
In the present embodiment, the mounting direction coincides with the air egress direction.
Specifically, the rear wall 1411 has a mounting surface 1413 on a rear side. The power supply connector 124 is exposed outward from the mounting surface 1413 to facilitate the docking connection.
In the present embodiment, the rear wall 1411 has a mounting cavity 1414 recessed from the mounting surface 1413, an additional power line perforation 1415 disposed matchingly with the second power supply circuit 123, and an additional fixing hole 1416 for fixing the hand dryer 1 directly on the wall body; the additional power line is lead out of the additional power line perforation 1415 to the rear side of the mounting surface 1413.
The mounting cavity 1414 is mainly used to fit with the mounting bracket 2 so that after the hand dryer 1 is mounted with the mounting bracket 2, the mounting bracket 2 is received in the mounting cavity 1414, and a top of the mounting bracket 2 and an inner top wall of the mounting cavity 1414 form up-down limitation of positions, i.e., form the abovementioned limiting structure. To avoid mutual interference, the additional power line perforation 1415 and the additional fixing hole 1416 are disposed on an outer periphery of the mounting cavity 1414. Specifically, the power supply connector 124 and the additional power line perforation 1415 are disposed on both sides of the blower component 121. That is, as stated above, external power supply connecting ends of the first power supply circuit 122 and second power supply circuit 123 are disposed on both sides of the blower component 121.
Preferably, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, the mounting cavity 1414 has a positioning region 14141 whose rear side is covered by a limiting baffle 1417. As a result, after the mounting, partial structures of the mounting bracket 2 protrude into the positioning region 14141, and form front-rear limitation of positions together with the limiting baffle 1417, thereby further limiting the whole of the hand dryer 1 and preventing the disengagement of the hand dryer 1.
The positioning region 14141 is disposed on an upper side of the mounting cavity 1414. The hand dryer 1 in the present invention is vertically mounted and positioned on the mounting bracket 2; the mounting cavity 1414 may be disposed open downward to facilitate mounting. In the present embodiment, a height of the mounting cavity 1414 in an up-down direction is larger than a dimension of the mounting cavity 2 in the up-down direction so that the mounting bracket 2 can be received in the rear side of the rear housing 14, and convenient mounting can be provided.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the rear wall 1411 further has a plugging cavity 1418 further recessed from a side of an inner bottom surface of the mounting cavity 1414, the plugging cavity 1418 is communicated with a receiving space 10 in the hand dryer 1, and the power supply connector 124 is disposed in the plugging cavity 1418 and electrically connected with the first power supply circuit 122 in the receiving space 10. As shown in FIG. 2 through FIG. 4, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the mounting bracket 2 in the present invention has a bracket body 21, the docking connector 22 disposed on the bracket body 21 and configured to be plugged with the power supply connector 124, and the power line 23 connected to the docking connector 22.
The bracket body 21 in the present embodiment takes a shape of the character "
", i.e., has a body portion 211 and a positioning protrusion 212 protruding upward from the top of the body portion 211. The positioning protrusion 212 fits with the positioning region 14141 of the mounting cavity 1414 and the limiting baffle 1417 of the rear housing 14 to effectively position the mounted hand dryer 1.
On the whole, the bracket body 21 has a docking surface 213 opposed to the mounting surface 1413, a fixing surface 214 away from the docking surface 213, and a lead wire hole 215 running through the docking surface 213 and the fixing surface 214. The docking connector 22 is fixed to the docking surface 213 and exposed outward from the docking surface 213. The power line 23 extends through the lead wire hole 215 to the fixing surface 214. In compliance with the setting of the mounting direction of the hand dryer 1, plugging portions of the power supply connector 124 and the docking connector 22 are also plugged and fitted together in the up-down direction, i.e., the power supply connector 124 and the docking connector 22 are plugged to each other in the mounting direction.
Specifically, the bracket body 21 has a fixing region 216 disposed on the docking surface 213 and configured to fix the docking connector 22, and a lead wire groove 217 recessed into the docking surface 213 beside the fixing region 216. A recessed cavity 218 for receiving the power line 23 is concavely disposed in the fixing surface 214. The lead wire hole 215 laterally communicates the lead wire groove 217 with the recessed cavity 218. After being connected to the docking connector 22 of the fixing region 216, the power line 23 goes along the lead wire groove 217 and extends through the lead wire hole 215 into the recessed cavity 218 to electrically connect with an external power supply line finally fixed on the wall body. The bracket body 21 in the present embodiment is further provided with a perforation 219 communicating the interior with the exterior of the recessed cavity 218 so that the power line 23 may extend through the perforation 219 to the outside of the bracket body 21, thereby fulfilling the mounting by matching with the external power supply line on the wall body.
Certainly, the bracket body 21 is provided with fixing holes 210 which are through from front to rear. Three fixing holes 210 are disposed on an upper side and a lower side of the body portion 211 of the bracket body 21 and arranged in an inverted triangle shape to fix the mounting bracket 2 on the wall body by mating with screws.
In addition to the positions of the power supply connector 124 and the docking connector 22 described above, as other embodiments of the present invention, the power supply connector 124 may also be disposed at the inner top of the mounting cavity 1414, with a plugging interface thereof opening downward. At this time, the docking connector 22 is disposed at the top of the bracket body 21 accordingly. The power supply connector 124 may also be disposed at other positions of the mounting surface 1413 as long as the plugging can be smoothly performed in the mounting direction when the hand dryer 1 is mounted to the mounting bracket 2.
In the above embodiments of the present invention, the mounting direction of the hand dryer 1 is the same as the air egress direction. As another preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the mounting direction of the hand dryer 1' may also be set to be perpendicular to the air egress direction; accordingly, the power supply connector 124' and the docking 22' are also plugged together in the mounting direction perpendicular to the air egress direction.
In this case, a slide rail 17' and a slide groove 27' that slidingly engage each other in the mounting direction may be disposed between the hand dryer 1' and the mounting bracket 2'. The slide groove 27' and the slide rail 17', after having engaged each other, limit relative positions of the hand dryer 1' and mounting bracket 2 in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, thereby ensuring stable mounting of the hand dryer 1', and thereby also achieving the object of the present invention.
Certainly, as other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the hand dryer 1 may also be mounted with the mounting bracket 2 in other directions, for example, the mounting direction is set inclined relative to the air egress direction by a certain angle. The inclination direction may be an inclination direction from up to down and from left to right, or from up to down and from right to left, etc. as long as the provided limiting structure can limit the hand dryer 1 from going down to disengage from the mounting bracket 2 after the mounting. Certainly, preferably, a guide rail and a slide groove that engage each other slidingly in the mounting direction may also be disposed between the hand dryer 1 and the mounting bracket 2, for example, the abovementioned slide groove 27' and slide rail 17' are disposed inclinedly, or other guide structures are disposed to thereby provide guidance for the mounting of the hand dryer 1.
To conclude, in the present invention, the hand dryer 1, 1' and the mounting bracket 2, 2' are matchingly and detachably arranged so that when the hand dryer 1, 1' needs to be maintained or replaced, it is only necessary to quickly detach the hand dryer 1, 1' from the mounting bracket 2, 2', which is simple and convenient and does not cause secondary damages to the wall body; in addition, through the cooperation of the power supply connector 124, 124' and the docking connector 22, 22', the mounting operation may be made more convenient, electrical connection may be achieved while the mounting is completed, and the power line 23 is not exposed to the outside, which provides aesthetics as well as higher safety; in addition, as known from the above solutions of the present invention, the hand dryer 1, 1' in the present invention may be adapted for multiple models so long as it is matched with the mounting bracket 2, 2'.
It should be understood that although the description is described according to the embodiments, not every embodiment only includes one independent technical solution, that such a description manner is only for the sake of clarity, that those skilled in the art should take the description as an integral part, and that the technical solutions in the embodiments may be suitably combined to form other embodiments understandable by those skilled in the art.
The detailed descriptions set forth above are merely specific illustrations of feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. All equivalent embodiments or modifications that do not depart from the art spirit of the present invention should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A hand dryer assembly, wherein the hand dryer assembly comprises a hand dryer and a mounting bracket detachably fitting with the hand dryer, a power supply connector assembly which is assembled by plugging being disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the hand dryer has a mounting direction in which the hand dryer is mounted and fitted with the mounting bracket, and the power supply connector assembly is assembled by plugging in the mounting direction.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 2, wherein a limiting structure for limiting the hand dryer from disengaging downward from the mounting bracket after mounting together is disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 3, wherein the hand dryer has air outlets disposed opening downward, and the mounting direction coincides with an air egress direction.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 4, wherein the hand dryer has a mounting surface for mounting and fitting with the mounting bracket, the power supply connector assembly comprises a power supply connector disposed on the hand dryer and a docking connector disposed on the mounting bracket, and the power supply connector is disposed on the hand dryer and exposed outward from the mounting surface; the mounting bracket has a docking surface opposite to the mounting surface, the docking connector is disposed on the mounting bracket and exposed outward from the docking surface, and the mounting bracket further has a power line connected to the docking connector.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 5, wherein the mounting bracket has a fixing surface away from the docking surface, and a lead wire hole running through the docking surface and the fixing surface, the docking connector is fixed to the docking surface, and the power line extends through the lead wire hole to the fixing surface.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 6, wherein the mounting bracket has a fixing region for fixing the docking connector, and a lead wire groove recessed into the docking surface beside the fixing region, a recessed cavity for receiving the power line is concavely disposed in the fixing surface, and the lead wire hole laterally communicates the lead wire groove with the recessed cavity.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 5, wherein the hand dryer has a mounting cavity recessed from the mounting surface so that after the hand dryer is mounted to the mounting bracket, the mounting bracket is received in the mounting cavity, and up-down limitation is formed at a top of the mounting bracket and an inner top wall of the mounting cavity.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 8, wherein the mounting bracket has a body portion and a positioning protrusion protruding upward from a top of the body portion, the mounting cavity has a positioning region shaped to match the positioning protrusion, the hand dryer further has a limiting baffle fixed on a rear side of the positioning region so that after the hand dryer is mounted to the mounting bracket, the positioning region and the limiting baffle form limitation of the positioning protrusion, thereby mounting and positioning the hand dryer to the mounting bracket.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 8, wherein the hand dryer further has a plugging cavity further recessed from a side of an inner bottom surface of the mounting cavity, the plugging cavity is communicated with an interior of the hand dryer, and the power supply connector is disposed in the plugging cavity.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 8, wherein the hand dryer further has a blower component disposed in the interior, a first power supply circuit and a second power supply circuit disposed in parallel outside the blower component, an additional power line perforation disposed matchingly with the second power supply circuit, and an additional fixing hole for fixing the hand dryer directly to a wall body, the first power supply circuit and the power supply connector being electrically connected with a wall with power supply circuit.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 11, wherein the additional power line perforation and the additional fixing hole are disposed on an outer periphery of the mounting cavity.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 11, wherein the power supply connector and the additional power line perforation are disposed on both sides of the blower component.
The hand dryer assembly according to claim 3, wherein the hand dryer has air outlets disposed opening downward, the mounting direction is set perpendicular to the air egress direction or inclined relative to the air egress direction by a certain angle, and a slide groove and a slide rail that slidingly engage each other in the mounting direction are disposed between the hand dryer and the mounting bracket.