ITAN20100133A1 - SUCTION HOOD WITH WIRING AND INTEGRATED CIRCUIT. - Google Patents

Description

"SUCTION HOOD WITH INTEGRATED WIRING AND CIRCUITERY"

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a suction hood with integrated wiring and circuitry.

Kitchens are generally equipped with a household appliance, known by the name of the suction hood, which is placed above the stove to extract the cooking fumes and / or to filter and recirculate the air.

The production of an extractor hood involves several costs:

- costs of components (sheet metal, motor, electronics, wiring, lamps)

- semi-processing costs (bending, welding, polishing, etc ..) normally performed by subcontractors,

- costs of the final assembly of the electrical components of the hood, such as control board, display board, motor wiring, lamp wiring, halogen lamps (for lighting the floor below and / or the environment), and

- indirect costs due to complexity and therefore to the possibility of errors in the assembly phase and lack of robustness.

It must be considered that assembly costs and indirect costs significantly affect the overall cost of the hood.

Generally, for reasons of spatial arrangement of the components, the internal wiring is complex and based on a large number of connections on the electronic board.

With reference to Fig. 1, a typical example of wiring of the electrical components of a hood according to the known art is illustrated. These electrical components are:

- an input terminal block (1) for connection to the domestic electrical system,

- an electric motor (2) that drives a hood suction fan,

- lighting devices (4), such as two halogen lamps, to illuminate the hob,

- a low voltage transformer (3) to power the lamps (4),

- a control board (6) that manages all the electrical components, and

- a user interface (7) which can be, for example, a keyboard, buttons, sliders, signal lights and the like.

The electricity for the user arrives at the hood from the input terminal board (1) connected to the domestic electrical system. A first cable (c1) starts from the input terminal board (1) and is connected to the motor terminal board (2), which normally performs the role of distributor of the driving force inside the appliance. A second cable (c2), of the multipolar type, carries the mains supply voltage and the connections of the motor windings (2) to the electronic board (6).

A transformer (3) is often mounted inside the hood to manage the low voltage supply of the halogen lamps (4). This transformer (3) is powered through a third cable (c3) coming from the terminal board (1). The transformer (3) supplies low voltage to the electronic board (6), through a fourth cable (c4), to power the halogen lamps (4).

From the electronic board (6) are distributed, in turn, respective wiring (c5) and (c6) for the two lamps (4), normally placed at the two opposite ends of the appliance, and a wiring (c7) that connects the user interface board (7).

In the embodiment of Fig. 1, seven harnesses are required (c1 - c7).

In the following, elements identical or corresponding to those already described are indicated with the same reference numbers and their detailed description is omitted.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig.2, the condition of complexity is accentuated by the presence of an electronic dimmer (5) in place of the low voltage transformer (3). The lighting devices (4) are low voltage lamps. Then the electronic dimmer (5) allows the management of the brightness variation of the low voltage lamps (4).

In this embodiment, instead of the four harnesses (c3, c4, c5, c6) there are four other harnesses (c3â € ™, c4â € ™, c5â € ™, c6â € ™).

The wiring (c3â € ™) carries the mains voltage from the terminal board (1) to the dimmer (5). The dimmer (5) is controlled through an analogue or digital signal from the control board (6) through the wiring (c4â € ™). Therefore, the dimmer (5) supplies a voltage proportional to the desired brightness to the lamps (4), by means of the respective wiring (c5â € ™, c6â € ™).

The complexity highlighted in Figure 2 is topological, but it can be understood how, in real situations, it can increase due to limited space, forced cable routes and accessibility of the internal parts of the hood by the assembler.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the known art, providing a suction hood with integrated wiring and circuitry that is versatile, economical, compact and easy to assemble for the operator.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention, with the characteristics listed in the attached independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments appear from the dependent claims.

The extractor hood according to the invention comprises an electronic board that integrates many electrical components that are normally found distributed in the space inside an extractor hood.

This electronic board contains, in a single assembly (and possibly container) the following functions:

â € ¢ Electronic control board of the extractor hood;

â € ¢ User interface card; And

â € ¢ Lighting devices.

Together with the functions described above, the electronic board carries with it the circuit incorporation of the following wiring:

â € ¢ Connection of the lamps; And

â € ¢ User interface connection.

Advantageously, LEDs mounted directly on the control board are used as lighting devices. This eliminates the need for the low voltage transformer and electronic dimmer and therefore the elements:

â € ¢ Transformer;

â € ¢ Terminal block-transformer wiring; And

â € ¢ Transformer-electronic board wiring.

The hood according to the invention has the following advantages:

â € ¢ Simplification of wiring (only one cable inside the hood) and reduction of costs associated with wiring;

â € ¢ Reduction of hood components and costs associated with its assembly; And

â € ¢ Increase in reliability due to the reduction of assembly operations and the reduction of connection points and connectors.

â € ¢ Elimination of the lighting subsystem with halogen lamps and reduction of the cost of lamps, wiring, fixtures and transformers.

â € ¢ Increased efficiency through the use of high-power LEDs or other light sources that have this and other prerogatives.

â € ¢ Standardization of the control and lighting solution, cost reduction with regard to economies of scale and increase in robustness and reliability with regard to scale factors.

Further characteristics of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram, illustrating a first embodiment of the wiring of the electrical components of a hood according to the known art;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the wiring of the electrical components of a hood according to the known art;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram, illustrating the wiring of the electrical components of a hood according to the invention; and Fig. 4 is a block diagram and a legend that illustrate in greater detail the control board of the hood according to the invention.

With reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the hood according to the invention comprises a single control board (100) comprising a printed circuit board (101) in which the functions of control electronics and power supply (6), of lighting (4) and user interface (7).

The printed circuit board (101) has a front side (102) and a rear side (103).

The user interface (7) is integrated on the front side (102) of the printed circuit board, so as to be accessible to the user.

For example, the user interface (7) comprises a plurality of buttons (SW / T) for hood functionality and a plurality of signal lights (LS). The buttons (SW / T) can be mechanical, touch or proximity switches. The signal lights (LS) are advantageously LEDs.

The user interface (7) associated with the card can be of different topology, buttons, LEDs, displays of various complexity and rotary encoders, touch and capacitance type interfaces, and the like.

The lighting devices (4) are mounted on the printed circuit board (101), near the rear side (103). These lighting devices (4) are advantageously LEDs (LL) which require low power supply voltages, directly supplied by the control board (6) without the need for transformers and dimers. For example, in the embodiment of Fig. 4 ten LEDs are provided, arranged in series or in parallel with each other.

The control and power electronics (6) is mounted in the central part of the printed circuit board (101) and includes a plurality of integrated circuits and other electronic components (EL).

A single wiring connector (CNU) is mounted on the printed circuit board (101) eg near the right side of the board.

In this way, as shown in Fig. 3, only two cables are required to assemble the hood:

- a first wiring (c1) from the input terminal board (1) to the motor (2); And

- a second wiring (c2) from the motor (2) to the single connector (CNU) of the control board (100).

For example, the power supply of the control board (100) can be taken directly from the terminal board (1), by means of a wiring (c2â € ™) which joins the wiring (c2) coming from the motor (2).

Fig.3 shows the architectural simplification made for the household appliance. Furthermore, the elimination of many single parts of the object is highlighted, which represent direct costs in terms of material and assembly, and indirect costs in terms of reliability and sturdiness.

The components as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 have the sole purpose of indicating the main types, they do not intend to define, for example, the position on the board, nor the side of the circuit on which they are mounted. These characteristics may vary according to the requirements of the particular model of appliance on which the electronic board will be mounted.

Numerous variations and modifications of detail can be made to the present embodiments of the invention, within the reach of a person skilled in the art, however falling within the scope of the invention expressed by the appended claims.

Claims (6)

CLAIMS 1) Suction hood comprising: - an input terminal block (1) for connection to a domestic electrical system, - an electric motor (2) which drives a hood suction fan, said electric motor (2) being connected to the input terminal board (1) by means of an electric cable (cl), - lighting devices (4) to illuminate the hob, - a control electronics (6) that manages all the electrical components, ed - a user interface (7) accessible to the user, characterized by the fact of understanding - a printed circuit board (101) on which said lighting devices (4), said control electronics (6) and said user interface (7) are mounted; wherein said lighting devices (4) are LEDs (LL) mounted on said printed circuit board (101); And said user interface (7) comprises pushbuttons (SW / T) and light signaling devices (LS) mounted on said printed circuit board (101). 2) Suction hood according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a single connector (CNU) mounted on said printed circuit board (101) and connected, by means of a single cable (c2, c2 '), to said electric motor ( 2) and / or to said input terminal board (1). 3) Suction hood according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lighting devices (4) are mounted near the rear side (103) of said printed circuit board (101). 4) Suction hood according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said pushbuttons (SW / T) are mechanical, touch or proximity switches and said light signaling devices (LS) are LEDs. 5) Suction hood according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said user interface (7) comprises pushbuttons (SW / T) and light signaling devices (LS) mounted on said printed circuit board (101). 6) Suction hood according to claim 5, characterized in that said user interface (7) is mounted near the front side (102) of said printed circuit board (101).