WO2020237595A1

WO2020237595A1 - Housing of waterproof handheld electric appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2020237595A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/089372
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吴姝潜
Original assignee: 吴姝潜
Priority date: 2019-05-30
Filing date: 2019-05-30
Publication date: 2020-12-03

Abstract

A housing (1, 1') of a waterproof handheld electric appliance. The housing (1, 1') is provided with a channel for communicating an internal space of the housing (1, 1') with an external space thereof. A complete flexible film (3, 3') having high airtightness and a mounting structure for the flexible film (3, 3') are provided in the channel. The mounting structure fixedly mounts the flexible film (3, 3') in the channel, and implements seal between all the peripheries of the flexible film (3, 3') and the wall of the channel, such that the flexible film (3, 3') closes the channel. When atmospheric pressures on either side of the flexible film (3, 3') are inconsistent, the flexible film (3, 3') can automatically shift or deform towards the side having a lower atmospheric pressure. The housing (1, 1') of a waterproof handheld electric appliance can improve the waterproof performance, reduces the overall manufacturing costs of an electric appliance, prolongs the service life of a housing seal structure, and prolongs the life of the electric appliance.

Description

Shell of waterproof handheld electric appliance

Technical field

The invention relates to a housing of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance. Particularly suitable for the housing of electric toothbrushes.

Background technique

In the field of home appliances, there are many waterproof handheld electrical appliances, such as electric shavers, electric toothbrushes, electric hair clippers, electric nose hair trimmers, etc., which require a certain degree of waterproof performance. Some of these appliances even have complete machines for easy cleaning. The function of washing. Especially the electric toothbrush among them also needs to be used in an environment that is in contact with water. The waterproof performance of these electrical appliances is mainly manifested in the waterproof performance of their shells.

The shells of these electrical appliances include multiple shell parts, which are connected to each other through a connecting structure, and a sealing structure is arranged at the joint to achieve a waterproof function.

In the beginning, they used a detachable shell structure. That is, the shell has at least two shell parts that can be manually separated and combined. The shell of this structure can easily replace the battery. The relatively independent housing part generally adopts threaded connection, and a sealing ring is arranged at the joint. The sealing effect is related to the force of the mutual combination. When the tightening is insufficient, the sealing effect will become worse. At the same time, due to the frequent replacement of the battery, the sealing ring will wear out quickly. Therefore, the waterproof performance of the sealing structure using the manual coupling method is not good. Manufacturers of products with this structure generally require users to replace the sealing ring regularly in half a year or less to achieve good sealing performance.

With the advancement of battery technology, the cost of lithium batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged and have a long service life is getting lower and lower. At the same time, wireless charging technology is becoming more mature. There is an inseparable integral shell structure. The shell of this structure adopts a fixed connection between multiple shell parts, and the joint between each other is sealed by a sealing structure with a certain waterproof level, and the rechargeable battery and the battery charging circuit are all enclosed in the shell. The multiple casing parts cannot or are difficult to separate after being combined with each other, and the battery is enclosed in the casing and cannot be replaced.

The waterproof performance of the shell of this structure has been improved to a certain extent, but due to the improvement of the overall structure, the cost increase brought about is also huge. The shells of this structure are currently mostly used in high-end electrical products.

However, even if it is an integral housing structure with a high waterproof level, there is a certain degree of water ingress in the housing. At the same time, the high cost has also caused certain obstacles to the promotion of products.

Analyzing the reasons for the insufficient waterproof performance of the housing sealing structure, we found that this is caused by the use environment of the handheld electrical appliance. The environment in which hand-held electrical appliances are used will often cause rapid changes in the temperature of the electrical shell in a short period of time: Hand-held electrical appliances are generally used in toilets with small spaces, and the temperature in the space of the toilet will increase in a short period of time. Or reduce, the temperature will be transmitted to the electrical housing; handheld electrical appliances will be in contact with water during use, if there is a certain temperature difference between the water temperature and room temperature, the water temperature will be transmitted to the electrical housing and affect the electrical housing in a short time Temperature: Hand-held electrical appliances will be held and used by human hands when in use, and the temperature of the human palm will be transmitted to the electrical housing; after the handheld electrical appliances are used, the above-mentioned temperature changes will be eliminated, and the electrical housing will be short again. Return to the original ambient temperature within time.

When the temperature of the electrical housing changes, the temperature change will be further transmitted to the air in the internal space of the housing, causing the internal air to expand and contract with heat, causing a pressure difference between the air inside and outside the housing. This air pressure difference will act on the sealing structure. When the external air pressure is high, for a housing with a poor sealing level, external moisture will enter the housing through the pressure difference; for a housing with a high sealing level, even if the sealing structure prevents the entry of moisture, the outside contains The water vapor air enters the shell by this pressure difference. The moist air from the outside enters the shell and condenses into water after the temperature drops, thereby producing water in the shell. The accumulation of moisture in the case can cause a short circuit of the battery and damage the internal circuit.

In addition, the repeated alternating pressure difference acting on the sealing structure will also damage the sealing structure, reduce and ultimately destroy the sealing effect of the sealing structure.

Chinese patent CN1394158A discloses a "waterproof housing of a device", the housing is provided with an opening, the opening is sealed with a film, and the film is provided with an incision.

When there is an air pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the shell of this structure, the elastic deformation of the film is used to open the cut on the film, so that the gas inside and outside the shell is exchanged, and the air pressure inside and outside the shell is balanced. When the air pressure inside and outside the shell is in a balanced state, a film with a certain elasticity will close the incision so that foreign matter will not enter the shell.

The film used in this technology is actually an elastic sheet. Although it can achieve the pressure balance between the inside and outside of the shell, it is achieved through gas exchange between the inside and the outside. This does not solve the problem of external water vapor entering the shell and condensing into water. At the same time, when the cut of the elastic sheet is opened, if there is water at the cut, it is very likely that the water will enter the housing while the cut is opened.

Summary of the invention

technical problem

The solution to the problem

Technical solutions

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and provide a housing structure of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance that can realize the air pressure balance inside and outside the housing without gas exchange.

The present invention includes a casing. The technical solution is that the casing is provided with a channel connecting the inner and outer spaces of the casing, and the channel is provided with a complete flexible membrane with high airtightness and a flexible membrane. The flexible film installation structure fixedly installs the flexible film in the channel, and seals all the periphery of the flexible film with the channel wall, so that the flexible film closes the channel. The membrane can automatically shift or deform to the side with low air pressure when the atmospheric pressure on both sides of the membrane is inconsistent. Both sides of the flexible membrane have a certain flexible membrane containing space, and the flexible membrane faces the containing space inside the shell and the shell. The internal space is connected, and the accommodating space facing the outside of the casing of the flexible membrane is connected to the outer space of the casing.

For the enclosed space inside the shell, the offset or deformation of the flexible membrane can increase or shrink the space in the shell, and thereby make the air pressure in the shell space consistent with the external atmospheric pressure, thereby eliminating or reducing the The air pressure on the sealing structure of the housing caused by the inconsistency of air pressure inside and outside the housing eliminates or reduces the leakage of gas and moisture from the sealing structure. Fundamentally eliminate water ingress caused by gas penetration. The above structure reduces the sealing requirements for the sealing structure of the housing, and enables the use of a low-level sealing structure to achieve the sealing effect that can only be achieved by the previous high-level sealing structure, and greatly reduces the overall manufacturing cost of the electrical appliance. At the same time, the service life of the housing sealing structure is prolonged, and the service life of the electrical appliance is also prolonged.

The beneficial effects of the invention

Brief description of the drawings

Description of the drawings

The specific content of the present invention is further explained below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments.

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the structure of Example 1.

Figure 2: A partial enlarged view of Figure 1.

Figure 3: Schematic diagram of the structure of Embodiment 2.

Invention embodiment

Detailed ways

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, Embodiment 1 shows a separate electrical appliance housing. The housing 1 includes two first housing parts 11 and second housing parts 12 that are connected to each other by threads. A sealing ring 13 is provided at the joint. At the bottom of the second housing part 12 is a bottom wall 14. On the bottom wall 14 is installed an electrode spring 15 for battery electrodes to contact. The bottom wall 14 is provided with a bottom wall through hole 17. The second housing portion 12 continues to extend toward the bottom wall 14 to form a housing extension portion 16. The housing extension portion 16 is formed with an opening at its end, and the end cap 21 is threaded with the housing extension portion 16 in its The openings at the ends realize the connection, and an opening direction toward the inner sealing ring groove 4 is formed at their joint position. At the same time, a blocking wall 22 is formed at the end of the end cover 21 forming the sealing ring groove 4, and the end cover 21 A protective partition 23 is provided in the axial middle of the protective partition 23, a plurality of partition through holes 24 are provided on the protective partition 23, and a vent 25 is provided at the end of the side wall of the end cover 21 away from the housing. The flexible film 3 is located at the position of the sealing ring groove 4 formed by the end cap 21 and the second housing part 12, and the edge of the flexible film 3 is thickened to form an edge thickening portion 31, which is located in the sealing ring groove 4 Inside.

In this embodiment, the bottom wall 14 and the housing extension 16 constitute the accommodation space of the flexible film 3 facing the inside of the housing. The accommodation space communicates with the inner space of the housing through the bottom wall through hole 17, and the arrangement of the bottom wall 14 can prevent the housing The components inside the body enter the accommodating space; the protective partition 23 and the end cover 21 constitute the accommodating space of the flexible film 3 facing the outside of the housing. The accommodating space is connected to the outer space of the housing through the partition through hole 24. The protective partition 23 The arrangement of, can prevent foreign matter from entering the containing space, and also prevent foreign matter from causing damage to the flexible film 3. Ensuring that the accommodating space on both sides of the flexible film 3 is not affected can make the flexible film 3 freely deform within the space accommodating range, so that the air pressure inside and outside the housing can be as balanced as possible. The inner space of the casing and the outer space of the casing are completely separated by the flexible membrane 3, and gas exchange cannot be realized between each other.

In this embodiment, the flexible membrane 3 is made of rubber elastomer or silicone elastomer material, so that under the premise of ensuring the air tightness of the flexible membrane 3, the thickened portion 31 of the edge can also serve as a sealing ring. The above-mentioned thickened edge portion 31 may be made into a solid structure, or may be formed by curling the edge portion of the flexible film 3. The thickened edge portion 31 is formed by curling the edge portion of the flexible film 3 so that the flexible film 3 only needs to be manufactured in the form of a thin film, which is more convenient to manufacture.

In this embodiment, the barrier wall 22 inside the sealing ring groove 4 can prevent the thickened edge 31 of the flexible film 3 from falling off from the sealing ring groove 4. The above-mentioned blocking wall 22 may be provided at the end of the end cap 21, may also be provided at the end of the housing extension 16, or at the same time.

In this embodiment, the end cover 21 is provided with a vent 25 at the end of the side wall on the side away from the housing because when the housing is in use, water will enter the housing space outside the housing of the flexible membrane 3. People are accustomed to placing the shell in a vertical position. At the same time, placing the shell in a vertical position will also allow the water to be discharged as soon as possible, but the vertical placement will make the gap between the end of the shell and the placing platform too small. The air permeability of the end is insufficient, which is not conducive to the ventilation and drying of the internal space of the end. The above problem can be solved by providing the vent 25.

As shown in Figure 3, embodiment 2 shows an integral electrical appliance housing, including a housing 1', and the housing 1'has a housing extension 16' protruding into the housing 1'. The casing extension portion 16' is formed with an opening at its end, and the end cover 21' is connected with the casing extension portion 16' through the opening at the end portion of the casing extension portion 16' through a screw, and the end cover 21' is opposite to the casing extension portion 16' The surfaces of the two seal ring grooves 41' and 42' are respectively provided with corresponding sealing ring grooves 41' and 42'. The two sealing ring grooves 41' and 42' are respectively provided with sealing rings 43' and 44', and the flexible film 3'is located at the end cover 21' The flexible membrane 3'extends into the middle of the two sealing rings 43', 44' and is sandwiched by the two sealing rings 43', 44' at the junction with the extension part 16' of the housing. There is a housing through hole 18' which leads from the outside of the housing 1'to the inner cavity of the housing extension part 16', and the housing through hole 18' includes an inclined extension from the outside of the housing 1'to the housing extension The first part 181 ′ of the housing through hole in the middle of the part 16 ′, and, in communication with the first part 181 ′ of the housing through hole, extends along the axis of the housing extension part 16 ′ to the inner cavity of the housing extension part 16 ′. The shell through the second part 182'. There are two through-holes 18' in the housing, which are respectively located on both sides of the housing extension 16' in the axial direction of the housing 1'. An observation window 19' is provided at the position of the casing 1'corresponding to the extension portion 16' of the casing, and a lens 5'is arranged in the observation window 19'. A manual valve 6'is provided on the housing 1'outside of the housing extension 16'.

In this embodiment, the lens 5', the surrounding casing 1', and the casing extension 16' constitute the accommodation space of the flexible film 3'facing the outside of the casing. The accommodation space passes through the casing through hole on the casing 1'. 18' is in communication with the outer space of the housing; the end cover 21' and the elements in the cavity of the housing 1'constitute the accommodation space of the flexible film 3'facing the inside of the housing.

In this embodiment, the flexible film 3'is made of PET aluminized film material. Since the edge of the flexible film 3'in this embodiment is sandwiched by two sealing rings, the flexible film 3'only functions to prevent the passage of gas, and the airtightness of the PET aluminized film material is very superior.

In this embodiment, due to the limitation of the space layout of the housing 1', the flexible film 3'is arranged on the side of the housing 1'. At the same time, in order not to affect the overall shape of the housing 1'and thus affect the hand feeling of the human hand, the housing The body extension portion 16' extends toward the inside of the housing 1'.

In this embodiment, the shell through hole 18 ′ on the shell 1 ′ is designed in the shape of a broken line to prevent external rigid sharp objects from directly passing through the shell through hole 18 ′ to damage the flexible film 3 ′. At the same time, this embodiment is an integrated electrical appliance housing, and its bottom is generally designed as a wireless charging interface. After the electrical appliance is used, it will be placed vertically. The position and shape of the through hole 18' of the housing can be beneficial in use. Into the discharge of moisture in the outer containing space of the flexible film. In order to prevent the flexible film 3'from being damaged by the external linear rigid sharp object passing through the shell through hole 18', the shell through hole 18' can also be designed in other shapes. The shape of 18' requires that the flexible film 3'cannot be directly observed through the opening of the shell through hole 18' located outside the shell 1'through the shell through hole 18'. Such a housing through hole 18' may be a non-linear shape; it may be a linear shape but not facing the flexible film 3'; it may be a linear shape but it is located at the position of the exit of the housing extension portion 16’ or the exit direction extension position is obstructed物 block. In addition, the observation window 19' of the housing 1'is covered by the lens 5'to protect the flexible film 3'from damage by external objects.

In this embodiment, the observation window 19' and the manual valve 6'are provided because, under the conditions of the prior art, a common rechargeable battery will generate gas when the battery is overcharged or over-discharged. Accumulation in 1', once the accumulation exceeds the limit of the external accommodation space of the flexible film 3', the function of the flexible film 3'to balance the air pressure will be invalidated, thereby causing damage to the sealing structure of the housing 1'. In this case, the state of the flexible film 3'can be clearly seen through the observation window 19' to determine the accumulation of gas inside the casing 1', and the manual valve 6'can be manually opened under appropriate circumstances to make the casing 1' The air pressure inside and outside is balanced, and the flexible film 3'is restored to its original state. In addition, the manual valve 6'has various structures in the prior art, and its structure is not described in detail in this embodiment.

The reason why the manual valve is not provided in embodiment 1 is that, embodiment 1 uses a separate electrical appliance housing, and the state of flexible film 3 can be directly observed through the partition through hole 24 in embodiment 1. When the limit state is reached or is about to reach, the air pressure inside and outside the housing 1 can be balanced by separating the two

housing parts

11 and 12. At the same time, the non-rechargeable battery is used in embodiment 1, and no gas is generated during normal use. Moreover, the air pressure inside and outside the casing 1 will be balanced when the battery is usually replaced.

In addition, in the prior art, there is already a rechargeable battery technology that does not generate gas. When using this type of rechargeable battery, the viewing window 19' and the manual valve 6'are not required.

It can be seen from the above two embodiments that the flexible film of the present invention requires high air tightness, and it may or may not have elasticity. If a non-elastic flexible film is used, the surface area of the part of the flexible film located in the channel when fully expanded needs to be larger than the cross-sectional area of the channel where the flexible film is located. In this way, the flexible film will be in a relaxed state under the initial condition of no force. When the air pressure on both sides of the flexible film is inconsistent, the flexible film will shift to the side with low air pressure. Among the film materials, a film with high airtightness generally has poor elasticity. Therefore, an inelastic flexible film can be considered for the housing of an electrical appliance that requires high airtightness. If a flexible film with elasticity is used, the surface area of the flexible film in the channel can be larger than the cross-sectional area of the channel, or it can be equal to the cross-sectional area of the channel. The elastic flexible film itself preferably has a low elastic coefficient, so that when the flexible film is stretched and deformed under a force, the pressure difference between its two sides will not be too large.

Taking into account that the non-elastic flexible film has a poor restoring force, the periphery of this type of flexible film can be partially overlapped, and the overlapped part gradually decreases from the periphery to the center, so that the overlapped part will support and restore the flexible film to a certain extent .

It is also possible to combine a non-elastic high-airtight film with an elastic material, so that it has the characteristics of high airtightness and elastic recovery.

One of the cases is that the flexible membrane is elastic and has a low elasticity coefficient. The surface area of the part located in the channel when fully expanded is larger than the cross-sectional area of the channel where the flexible membrane is located. The flexible membrane is designed to be concentric Corrugated shape. In this way, under the condition that the gas volume in the housing does not change much, the pressure inside and outside is balanced by the deviation of the flexible membrane. If the volume of the shell gas continues to change and reaches the limit of the deflection of the flexible film, the flexible film is compensated by stretching deformation. In this way, the deviation of the air pressure on both sides of the flexible film can be minimized. The concentric corrugated shape allows most of the flexible film to be restored to the vicinity of its installation position when it is restored.

In the above-mentioned two embodiments, corresponding components are used to construct accommodating spaces for the flexible film on both sides of the flexible film to provide space for the flexible film to deviate or deform. Reasonably setting the size of the accommodation space can prevent the flexible film from deviating or deforming beyond the limit. Excessive stretching and deformation will reduce the air tightness of the flexible film, and will also cause the pressure deviation on both sides of the flexible film to be too large and excessive. Movement or deformation may even damage the flexible film. At the same time, restricting the flexible film in the containing space can also prevent the flexible film from being damaged by foreign substances.

The above two embodiments only give two specific sealing structures. The sealing structure belongs to the prior art, and its structure has many forms. The sealing structure between the flexible membrane and the housing channel of the present invention is not limited to the above two types. The invention does not list them one by one.

Claims

A housing of a waterproof handheld electrical appliance, including a housing, is characterized in that: the housing is provided with a channel connecting the inner and outer spaces of the housing, and the channel is provided with a complete, high-air-tight The flexible film is provided with a flexible film installation structure. The flexible film installation structure fixes and installs the flexible film in the channel and seals all the periphery of the flexible film with the channel wall, so that the flexible film is closed Living in this channel, the flexible membrane can automatically shift or deform to the side with low air pressure when the atmospheric pressure on both sides is inconsistent. Both sides of the flexible membrane have a certain flexible membrane containing space, and the flexible membrane faces The accommodating space inside the housing is in communication with the inner space of the housing, and the accommodating space facing the outside of the housing by the flexible membrane is in communication with the outer space of the housing.
The housing of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the part of the flexible membrane located in the channel has a surface area when the flexible membrane is fully expanded, which is larger than the cross-sectional area of the channel where the flexible membrane is located.
The housing of a waterproof handheld electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the accommodation space of the flexible membrane facing the outside of the housing is communicated with the outer space of the housing through a through hole, and the through hole cannot pass through the The through hole is located on the outside of the housing to directly observe the flexible film through the through hole.
A housing for a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance. The bottom of the housing is a bottom wall. The bottom wall of the housing is characterized in that a bottom wall through hole is provided on the bottom wall, and the housing continues to extend toward the bottom wall to form an extension of the housing. The extension part is formed with an opening at its end, and the end cover is connected with the shell extension part at the opening at the end of the shell extension part. The connection is provided with a sealing structure. The flexible film is located at the position of the sealing structure, and the edges of the flexible film are at the same time It is sealed by the sealing structure.
The housing of a waterproof handheld electrical appliance according to claim 4, wherein a protective partition is provided in the axial middle of the end cover, and a partition through hole is provided on the protective partition.
The housing of a waterproof handheld electrical appliance according to claim 4, wherein a vent hole is provided at the edge of the end of the end cover on the side away from the housing.
A housing of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance, including a housing, is characterized in that the housing has a housing extension protruding into the housing, and the housing extension is formed at the end of the housing There is an opening, and the end cover is connected with the opening of the extension part of the casing at the end of the extension part of the casing. The connection is provided with a sealing structure, the flexible film is located at the position of the sealing structure, and the edge of the flexible film is simultaneously sealed by the sealing structure.
The housing of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance according to claim 7, wherein the housing is provided with a housing through hole which leads from the outside of the housing to the inner cavity of the extension part of the housing, and the housing The through hole includes a first portion of the through hole of the housing that extends obliquely from the outside of the housing to the middle of the extension of the housing, and, in communication with the first portion of the through hole of the housing, extends to the extension of the housing along the axis of the extension of the housing. Part of the inner cavity of the shell through the second part.
The housing of a waterproof hand-held electrical appliance according to claim 7, wherein an observation window is provided at the position of the housing corresponding to the extension part of the housing, and the observation window is provided with a lens. In addition, the housing The area outside the extension is equipped with a manual valve.
An electric toothbrush, characterized in that it comprises the housing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.