Patent Publication Number: US-2015083557-A1

Title: Water tank with a magnetic reed switch

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a water tank, especially to a water tank for household appliances. 
     2. Description of the Prior Arts 
     Some household appliances such as dehumidifiers have water tanks to collect water. When the household appliance is operated, the moist air is drawn into the household appliance. Then the moist air is transformed into water and is collected in the water tank. When the water tank collects a certain amount of water, the household appliance stops operating until the user empties the water tank. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , to stop the household appliance via change of the water level, a conventional water tank comprises a shell  50 , a container  60 , a float  70  and a micro switch  80 . The container  60  is mounted slidably in the shell  50 . The float  70  is mounted pivotally in the top of the container  60 . The float  70  has an actuating rod  701  extending from one side thereof. The actuating rod  701  protrudes through the container  60 . The micro switch  80  is mounted out of the shell  50  and has a pivoting lever  801 . The pivoting lever  801  corresponds to the actuating rod  701 . 
     In a normal status, the float  70  is positioned horizontally and the actuating rod  701  presses against the lever  801  such that the micro switch  80  is switched on and the household appliance is operated. Then water is collected continuously in the container  60 . 
     When the collected water in the container  60  is gradually increased, the water lever raises to pivot the float  70  until the actuating rod  701  leaves the lever  801 . The lever  801  is pivoted toward the container  60  and the actuating rod  701  abuts between the bottom of the lever  801  and the sidewall of the container  60 . Then an open circuit is formed and the household appliance is stopped from operating and the water stops from flowing into the container  60 . The user needs to pull the container  60  out of the shell  50  to empty the water inside so that the float  70  is allowed to pivot back to the horizontal status. Then the container  60  is pushed back into the shell  50  so that the actuating rod  701  presses the lever  801  again. The micro switch  80  is then on and the household appliance is restarted. 
     However, since the actuating rod  701  abuts between the bottom of the lever  801  and the sidewall of the container  60  when the float  70  is pivoted, if the float  70  is accidentally pivoted because the household appliance is placed upside down or is vibrated, the float  70  cannot self-pivot back to the original position. Even if the container  60  has no water inside, the actuating rod  701  may abut against the bottom of the lever  801  and cannot press the lever  801  to actuate the micro switch  80 . Therefore, the user needs to pull out and push back the container  60  to restart the household appliance regardless that the container  60  is full or not. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a water tank with a magnetic reed switch to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide a water tank with a magnetic reed switch. The water tank is mounted in a household appliance and has a shell, a container, a float and a magnetic reed switch. The container is mounted slidably in the shell. The float is mounted pivotally in the container and has an actuating rod. The magnetic reed switch is mounted securely on the outside wall of the shell and corresponds to and separates from the actuating rod. Since the actuating rod utilizes magnetic force to switch the magnetic reed switch on and off, the actuating rod and the magnetic reed switch need no abutting structures. Therefore, when the actuating rod is pivoted by an accidental force, the actuating rod self-pivots back to its original position once the accidental force is removed. Then the magnetic reed switch is switched on again so that the household appliance is restarted without any extra acts by a user. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a water tank in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the water tank in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded perspective view of the water tank in  FIG. 1 ; in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a magnetic reed switch of the water tank in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an operational side view in partial section of the water tank in  FIG. 1 , showing a closed circuit; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged operational side view in partial section of the water tank in  FIG. 1 , showing a closed circuit; 
         FIG. 8  is an operational side view in partial section of the water tank in  FIG. 1 , showing an open circuit; 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged operational side view in partial section of the water tank in  FIG. 1 , showing an open circuit; 
         FIG. 10  is an operational side view in partial section of a conventional water tank in accordance with the prior art, showing a closed circuit; and 
         FIG. 11  is an operational side view in partial section of the conventional water tank in  FIG. 10 , showing an open circuit. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a water tank in accordance with the present invention is mounted in a household appliance and comprises a shell  10 , a container  20 , a float  30  and a magnetic reed switch  40 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  6 , the shell  10  is hollow and has an opening  11  formed through a side thereof and a gap  12  formed through an opposite side thereof. 
     The container  20  is hollow, is mounted slidably in the opening  11  of the shell  10  and has an opening  21  and a gap  22 . The opening  21  of the container  20  is formed through a top of the container  20 . The gap  22  of the container  20  is formed through a side of the container  20  and communicates with the gap  12  of the shell  10 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the float  30  is mounted pivotally on a sidewall of the container  20  near the top of the container  20  and has an actuating rod  31  and a magnet  32 . The actuating rod  31  extends from a side of the float  30  and is mounted through the gap  22  of the container  20  and the gap  12  of the shell  10 . The magnet  32  is mounted securely on an end of the actuating rod  31 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the magnetic reed switch  40  is mounted on an outside wall of the shell  10  and corresponds to the end of the actuating rod  31 . The magnetic reed switch  40  and the actuating rod  31  separate from each other. The magnetic reed switch  40  has a tube  41  mounted on the outside wall of the shell  10  and two magnetic reeds  42 . Each magnetic reed  42  is mounted through the tube  41  and has an outer end  421  and an inner end  422 . The outer ends  421  of the magnetic reeds  42  protrude out of the tube  41  and connect electrically to a circuit. The inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42  are mounted in the tube  41  and are adjacent to each other. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , in a normal status, the float  30  is positioned horizontally and the magnet  32  on the actuating rod  31  aligns with the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42 . Through the magnetic field generated by the magnet  32 , the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42  resist the magnetic reeds&#39; own resilience and deform, such that the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  422  are forced to abut each other. Therefore, the household appliance is operated. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the collected water in the container  20  reaches a threshold water level to pivot the float  30  such that the magnet  32  on the actuating rod  31  misaligns with the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42 . Without the magnetic force, the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42  depart from each other by the resilient force of the magnetic reeds  42 . Then the open circuit is formed and the household appliance is stopped from operating. 
     Since on-and-off of the magnetic reed switch  40  is changed by the alignment between the magnet  32  on the actuating rod  31  and the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42 , the magnetic reed switch  40  and the actuating rod  31  do not have to contact or abut against each other. Therefore, if the household appliance is accidentally moved or positioned upside down to pivot the float  30  and the magnet  32  on the actuating rod  31  misaligns with the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42 , the magnet  32  on the actuating rod  31  can always re-align with the inner ends  422  of the magnetic reeds  42  once the household appliance is reinstated to the original position. Therefore, the magnetic reed switch  40  is automatically on again and the household appliance is restarted without any extra acts by the user. 
     Moreover, since the magnetic reed switch  40  is mounted securely on the outside wall of the shell  10  and needs no other pivoting structures, the structures of the water tank as described are simplified. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. 
     Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.