Patent Description:
At present, a quick installation method of a filter on the market is commonly rotary fixation, and the installation and fixation of the filter can be achieved by screwing the filter to a certain angle and snapping the filter into a specific position. However, due to a cylindrical shape of the filter, users cannot find a correct position where the filter is snapped into a machine. As a result, first the filter needs to be rotated many times to find the correct position, and then to rotate and snap the filter into fixed holes of the machine. Thus, this installation process is cumbersome. In addition, when a service life of a filter of a water purifier is up, and the filter needs to be removed, a large amount of water remains inside the filter. During the removal process, the water inside the filter will flow out, causing a large amount of water to remain at the water purifier, cabinets, and the ground, which is difficult to deal with. Further, the water flowing out from the water purifier will cause damages to the water purifier, cabinets or other furniture and appliances, the filter is not friendly for replacement and usage. Therefore, further improvement is urgently needed.

<CIT> describes a water purifier including a housing with a discharge port for discharging purified water, a filter connector detachably mounted inside the housing, a purified water filter that filters raw water supplied from outside to generate purified water, the water purifier that can be opened and closed on one side of the housing to expose the cover part of the purified water filter when it is opened. <CIT> further describes selectively opening and closing a raw water valve of a raw water channel pipe through which the raw water flowing into the water purification filter passes, selectively opening and closing a residual water valve of a residual water channel pipe through which the clean water generated through the water purification filter passes but not discharged, and alternately opening and closing the raw water valve and the driving part of the residual water valve. The filter connector is integrated inside the housing and can be rotated at a small angle.

<CIT> describes an assembly structure of a filter element assembly and a mounting seat, the filter element assembly has a mounting head fixed to the mounting seat, a sliding block and a sliding groove are provided in the mounting seat, a clamping part is provided on the sliding block, and a clamping mating part is provided on the mounting head; the sliding block has a first working position and a second working position during the reciprocating translation movement within the sliding groove, the clamping part and the clamping mating part are clamped and fixed in the first working position so that the mounting head is fixed on the mounting seat, and the clamping part and the clamping mating part are disconnected in the second working position so as to enable the mounting head to be released from the mounting seat; when a user detaches the filter element assembly, the sliding block is controlled to translate from the first working position to the second working position, the filter element assembly is detached from the mounting seat, and then a new filter element assembly is installed in the mounting seat, and the sliding block is controlled to translate from the second working position to the first working position, so as to complete the assembly of the new filter element assembly.

The scope of the invention is set out in the appended claims.

A purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a household water purifier and a filter knockdown mechanism thereof, so as to solve the problem of inconveniently disassembling and assembling a filter in the prior art, and to facilitate disassembling and assembling as well as positioning of the filter.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the disclosure provides the following solutions.

A filter quick knockdown mechanism, including a first positioning mechanism and a locking mechanism, wherein the first positioning mechanism provided on a filter is configured to be mated with the second positioning mechanism provided on a housing, when the first positioning mechanism and the second positioning mechanism are mated with each other, the filter is coupled with the housing via the locking mechanism.

According to the invention, the locking mechanism includes snapping blocks and a translation rod, the translation rod is configured to be slidably arranged on the housing, an upper end of the filter is provided with a connection boss for connecting a water flow pipeline, and the translation rod and the connection boss each are provided with the snapping blocks at equal intervals, when the connection boss is abutted against a bottom surface of an inner cavity of the housing, ones of the snapping blocks which are arranged on the translation rod are coupled with ones of the snapping blocks which are arranged on the connection boss, so as to lock the filter.

Preferably, the connection boss includes two symmetrical side surfaces, the translation rod is a Y-shaped translating fork, two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork are symmetrically arranged at the two side surfaces of the connection boss, the two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork each are connected with a first spring, a handle portion of the Y-shaped translating fork is connected with a linkage mechanism which is provided at top thereof with a recess with a gradually changing depth, and the handle portion of the Y-shaped translating fork is abutted aginst the recess, such that the Y-shaped translating fork is moved inward as the linkage mechnism is moved upward.

Preferably, the linkage mechanism includes a first link and a second link, a second spring is provided between the first link and the second link, a lower end of the second link is provided with a pressing lid for pressing, and an upper end of the first link is provided with the recess.

Preferably, the snapping blocks includes fixed blocks and movable blocks, the fixed blocks and the movable blocks are wedge-shaped blocks with a same width, upper surfaces of the fixed blocks and lower surfaces of the movable blocks are beveled surfaces, inclination angles of the beveled surfaces are not less than an inclination angle of a lower sloping surface of the recess, a displacement of the Y-shaped translation fork laterally moved by a push from the linkage mechnism is at least a width of one of the wedge-shaped blocks; when the first spring returns to a original position, a lower surface of each of the fixed blocks is abutted with an upper surface of corresponding one of the movable blocks.

According to the invention, the first positioning mechanism includes a guide groove andthe second positioning mechanism is provided with the positioning protrusion mated with the guide groove, and the guide groove and the positioning protrusion are both parallel to an axis of the filter; or the first positioning mechanism includes a positioning protrusion and the second positioning mechanism is provided with a guide groove mated with the positioning protrusion, the guide groove and the positioning protrusion are both parallel to an axis of the filter.

A household water purifier is provided by the disclosure, which includes the above filter quick knockdown mechanism. A lower end surface of the filter is movably connected with a pressing plate, and the pressing plate is configured to lift the filter and press the pressing lid of the filter quick knockdown mechnism upon disassembling the filter.

Preferably, the lower end surface of the filter is provided with a U-shaped groove along a radial direction, a pair of sliding grooves is symmetrically provided at two sides of the U-shaped groove, a pair of sylindrical sliding blocks matching with the sliding grooves is symmetrically provided at two sides of a middle portion of the pressing plate, such that the pressing lid is flushed with the lower end surface of the filter.

Preferably, the connection boss of the filter is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet with a same shape, the water inlet and the water outlet are provided therein with a water-stop mechanism respectively, the water-stop mechanism is hermetically connected with a shell of the filter and the water flow pipeline; and a water outlet of the water flow pipeline is connected to a water quality monitor provided on a water faucet.

Preferably, the water-stop mechanism includes an elastic element and a rebound water-stop valve, the rebound water-stop valve includes a water-inlet valve plate, a water-stop valve plate and a support rod, shapes of both the water-inlet valve plate and the water-stop valve plate are matched with a shape of the water inlet or a shape of the water outlet, the water-inlet valve plate is provided with a plurality of water passage holes, a bottom portion of the water inlet or a bottom portion of the water outlet is provided with an annular boss surface of which a center is provided with a water-inlet through hole, an upper end of the support rod is connected with a center portion of the water-inlet valve plate, a lower end of the support rod is connected with a center portion of the water-stop valve plate, the elastic element is a spring that is sleeved on the support rod and located between the water-inlet valve plate and the annular boss surface, a diameter of the water-inlet through hole is greater than a diameter of the support rod and less than a diameter of the water-stop valve plate, the water-stop valve plate is located below the annular boss surface, an upper end of the water inlet or an upper end of the water outlet as well as an upper surface of the water-stop valve plate are provided with sealing rings, the diameter of the water-stop valve plate is greater than an inner diameter of each of the sealing rings on the water inlet or the water outlet, and less than an inner diameter of the water inlet or an inner diameter of the water outlet.

Compared with the prior art, the disclosure has the following technical effects.

The filter quick knockdown mechanism in the disclosure is convenient for assembling and disassembling the filter, which can realize an one-key assembling and disassembling. The household water purifier also makes an inner structure of the filter to have a function of automatically stopping water through a water-stop mechanism, thereby avoiding a case where water flows out from the filter to pollute the ground and even dagmage furniture and appliances, which greatly improves user experience. And the household water purifier is equipped with a water quality monitor, so as to monitor the water quality in real time, which is convenient for monitoring and replacing the filter.

In order to explain the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the drawings needed in the embodiments will be briefly introduced herein below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only a part of the drawings of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

List of reference numbers: <NUM>-household water purifier, <NUM>-filter quick knockdown mechanism, <NUM>-housing; <NUM>-second link; <NUM>-spring; <NUM>-first link; <NUM>-fixed block; <NUM>-movable block; <NUM>-pressing lid; <NUM>-positioning protrusion; <NUM>-guide groove; <NUM>-filter; <NUM>-pressing plate; <NUM>-U-shaped groove; <NUM>-sliding groove; <NUM>-slider; <NUM>-Y-shaped translating fork; <NUM>-sealing ring; <NUM>-water-inlet valve plate; <NUM>-water-stop valve plate; <NUM>-support rod; <NUM>-water flow pipeline; <NUM>-recess; <NUM>-connection boss; <NUM>-water quality monitor.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive efforts would fall within the protection scope of protection of the present disclosure.

The purpose of the disclosure is to provide a household water purifier and a filter quick knockdown mechanism, so as to solve the problems existing in the prior art and facilitate to disassemble and assemble, as well as to position the filter.

In order to make the above objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and easy to understand, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

As shown in <FIG>, in the embodiment, there provides a filter quick knockdown mechanism <NUM>, which includes a first positioning mechanism and a locking mechanism. The positioning mechanisms (i.e., the first positioning mechanism and a second positioning mechanism) provided on both the filter <NUM> and the housing <NUM> are matched each other. When the first positioning mechanism and the second positioning mechanism are matched, the filter <NUM> is coupled with the housing <NUM> by the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism includes a snapping block and a translation rod. The translation rod is slidably arranged on the housing <NUM>. An upper end of the filter <NUM> is provided with a connection boss <NUM> for connecting a water flow pipeline <NUM>. The translation rod and the connection boss <NUM> each are provided with a plurality of snapping blocks at equal intervals. When the connection boss <NUM> is abutted against a bottom surface of an inner cavity of the housing <NUM>, the snapping blocks of the translation rod can be coupled with the snapping blocks of the connection boss <NUM>, so that the filter <NUM> is locked.

The connection boss <NUM> includes two symmetrical side surfaces, and a cross section of the connection boss may be a shape with a waist-shaped hole, or other shapes with two symmetrical side surfaces. The translation rod is a Y-shaped translating fork <NUM>, of which two branches and a handle portion are an integral part. The two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork <NUM> are symmetrically arranged at two side surfaces of the connection boss <NUM>. The two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork <NUM> are respectively connected with a spring <NUM>'(aslo referred to as a first spring), and the handle portion is connected with a linkage mechanism. A top portion of the linkage mechanism is provided with a recess <NUM> with a gradient depth. When the linkage mechanism moves upward, the Y-shaped translating fork <NUM> moves inward. A cross-section of the recess <NUM> may be triangular, arc-shaped or other special shapes with a smoothly transitional depth, which is convenient for a link to convert a vertical movement into a horizontal translation. The handle portion of the Y-shaped translating fork <NUM> is abutted against a lower sloping surface (i.e., a plane where a long side of an oblique triangle is located) of a recess <NUM>. The linkage mechanism includes a first link <NUM> and a second link <NUM>. The spring <NUM> (aslo referred to as a second spring) is provided between the first link <NUM> and the second link <NUM>. After pressing a pressing lid <NUM>, the second link <NUM> may be ejected to be flush with a surface of the housing. A lower end of the second link <NUM> is provided with the pressing lid <NUM> for pressing. An upper end of the first link <NUM> is provided with the recess <NUM>. And an inclination angle of the lower sloping surface is in a range of <NUM>°-<NUM>°. The snapping block includes a fixed block <NUM> and a movable block <NUM>. The fixed block <NUM> and the movable block <NUM> are wedge-shaped blocks with the same width. An upper surface of the fixed block <NUM> and a lower surface of the movable block <NUM> are both beveled surfaces, and each of the beveled surfaces has an inclination angle not less than the inclination angle of the lower sloping surface. A displacement of the Y-shaped translation fork <NUM> laterally moved by squeezing is at least a width of one of the wedge-shaped blocks, and a distance between adjacent two wedge-shaped blocks is at least the width of one of the wedge-shaped blocks, so that the wedge-shaped block on the branch of the Y-shaped translation fork <NUM> can pass through when the filter <NUM> is inserted. When the spring <NUM> is reset, a lower surface of the fixed block <NUM> and an upper surface of the movable block <NUM> are abutted. And when the filter <NUM> is inserted, the beveled surfaces of both the the fixed block <NUM> and the movable block <NUM> are abutted, and the beveled surface of the fixed block <NUM> pushes the movable block <NUM> to move along the beveled surface of the movable block <NUM>,in a process of squeezing the Y-shaped translation fork <NUM> to move laterally. When the filter <NUM> is withdrawn, the pressing lid <NUM> is pressed, the Y-shaped translating fork <NUM> is moved horizontally inward via squeezing of the lower sloping surface of the first link <NUM>, so as to squeeze the spring <NUM> and stagger the lower surface of the fixed block <NUM> and the upper surface of the movable block <NUM>, so that the movable block <NUM> is moved along a side surface and the beveled surface of the fixed block <NUM>.

The first positioning mechanism includes a guide groove <NUM>, and the second positioning mechanism includes a positioning protrusion <NUM>. The filter <NUM> is provided with the guide groove <NUM>, the housing 110is provided with the positioning protrusion <NUM> matching with the guide groove <NUM>. Optionally, the housing <NUM> is also provided with the guide groove (not shown), and the filter <NUM> is also provided with the positioning protrusion (not shown) matching with the guide groove. The guide groove <NUM> and the positioning protrusion <NUM> are both parallel to an axis of the filter <NUM>. After the guide groove <NUM> and the positioning protrusion <NUM> in this embodiment are aligned and matched, a coplanar matching of the fixed block <NUM> and the movable block <NUM> is realized.

As shown in <FIG>, this embodiment also discloses a household water purifier <NUM> including the filter quick knockdown mechanism <NUM>, the housing <NUM> and at least two filters <NUM> in the first embodiment. The filter <NUM> and the housing <NUM> are connected by the filter quick knockdown mechanism <NUM>. A lower end surface of the filter <NUM> is movably connected with a pressing plate <NUM>. The pressing plate <NUM> is configured to lift the filter <NUM> and press the pressing lid <NUM> of the filter quick knockdown mechnism <NUM> when disassembling the filter <NUM>. The filter <NUM> may be a filter element made of various materials such as reverse osmosis membrane, ultrafiltration membrane, activated carbon, ceramics, etc. A U-shaped groove <NUM> is provided on the lower end surface of the filter <NUM> in a radial direction to facilitate the pressing plate <NUM> to slide a certain distance, so as to press the pressing lid <NUM>. A pair of waist-shaped sliding grooves <NUM> is symmetrically provided at both sides of the U-shaped groove <NUM>. The sliding grooves <NUM> are preferably arranged at one end close to an opening of the U-shaped groove, so as to facilitate the pressing of the pressing plate <NUM>. A pair of cylindrical sliding blocks <NUM> is symmetrically arranged at both sides of a middle portion of the pressing plate <NUM>, which can realize a rotation of the pressing plate <NUM> in the sliding grooves <NUM> to press the pressing lid <NUM> and match the sliding block <NUM> and the sliding groove <NUM>. Two ends of each of the sliding grooves <NUM> are also provided with a convex point respectively, so that the sliding block <NUM> can be stably rotated at the two ends of the sliding groove <NUM>, and the pressing lid <NUM> can be kept flush with the lower end surface of the filter <NUM>. The connection boss <NUM> of the filter <NUM> is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet with a same shape. The water inlet and the water outlet are both provided with a water-stop mechanism therein. The water-stop mechanism is hermetically connected with a shell of the filter <NUM> and the water flow pipeline <NUM>. The water flow pipeline <NUM> includes a water-inlet pipe and a water-outlet pipe. And a water outlet of the water-outlet pipe is connected to a water quality monitor <NUM> provided on a water faucet, so as to facilitate the real-time monitoring of the water quality and replacement of the filter.

The water-stop mechanism includes an elastic element and a rebound water-stop valve. The rebound water-stop valve includes a water-inlet valve plate <NUM>, a water-stop valve plate125 and a support rod126, shapes of both the water-inlet valve plate <NUM> and the water-stop valve plate <NUM> are matched with a shape of the water inlet or a shape of the water outlet of the connection boss <NUM>. And the water-inlet valve plate <NUM> is provided with a plurality of water passage holes. A bottom portion of the water inlet or the water outlet of the connection boss <NUM> is provided with an annular boss surface. A center of the annular boss surface is provided with a water-inlet through hole. An upper end of the support rod <NUM> is connected with a center portion of the water-inlet valve plate <NUM>,and a lower end of the support rod <NUM> is connected with a center portion of the water-stop valve plate <NUM>. The elastic element is a spring <NUM> that is sleeved on the support rod <NUM> and located between the water-inlet valve plate <NUM> and the annular boss surface. A diameter of the water-inlet through hole is greater than a diameter of the support rod <NUM> and less than a diameter of the water-stop valve plate <NUM>, so as to faciliate a squeezed seal between the water-stop valve plate <NUM> and the annular boss surface under a restoring force of the spring <NUM> to prevent the water in the filter from flowing out, which plays a water-stop function. The water-stop valve plate <NUM> is located beneath the annular boss surface, and an upper end of the water inlet or an upper end of the water outlet of the connection boss <NUM>, as well as an upper surface of the water-stop valve plate <NUM> are provided with sealing rings <NUM>. The diameter of the water-stop valve plate <NUM> is greater than an inner diameter of the sealing ring <NUM> on the water inlet or the water outlet and a diameter of the water-inlet through hole, and less than an inner diameter of the water inlet or an inner diameter of the water outlet. In this way, the water-stop valve plate is not slided out the water inlet or the water outlet by the limiting of the sealing ring <NUM>. When the water-inlet pipe or water-outlet pipe presses the water-inlet valve plate <NUM>, the water-stop valve plate <NUM> moves down along with the support rod <NUM>, thereby generating a gap between the water-stop valve plate and the annular boss surface, opening the water-inlet through hole, and realizing a flow of water.

The filter quick knockdown mechanism <NUM> in the disclosure is convenient for assembling and disassembling the filter, which can realize an one-key assembling and disassembling. The household water purifier <NUM> also makes an inner structure of the filter to have the function of automatically stopping water through the water-stop mechanism, thereby avoiding a case where water flows out from the filter to pollute the ground and even dagmage furniture and appliances, which greatly improves the user experience. And the household water purifier is equipped with the water quality monitor <NUM>, so as to monitor the water quality in real time, which is convenient for monitoring and replacing the filter.

Claim 1:
A filter quick knockdown mechanism for positioning a filter (<NUM>) in a housing (<NUM>) of a household water purifier, the filter quick knockdown mechanism (<NUM>) comprising:
a first positioning mechanism configured to be arranged on the filter;
a second positioning mechanism configured to be arranged on the housing; and
a locking mechanism,
wherein the first positioning mechanism comprises a guide groove (<NUM>) or a positioning protrusion configured to mate with a corresponding positioning prostrusion (<NUM>) or guide groove of the second positioning mechanism respectively, and
wherein, when the first positioning mechanism and the second positioning mechanism are mated with each other, the guide groove and the positioning prostruction are both parallel to an axis of the filter, and the filter is configured to couple with the housing via the locking mechanism,
wherein, the locking mechanism comprises snapping blocks and a translation rod, the translation rod is configured to be slidably arranged on the housing, an upper end of the filter is provided with a connection boss (<NUM>) for connecting a water flow pipeline (<NUM>), and the translation rod and the connection boss each are provided with the snapping blocks at equal intervals, when the connection boss is abutted against a bottom surface of an inner cavity of the housing, ones of the snapping blocks which are arranged on the translation rod are coupled with ones of the snapping blocks which are arranged on the connection boss, so as to lock the filter;
wherein the connection boss (<NUM>) comprises two symmetrical side surfaces, the translation rod is a Y-shaped translating fork (<NUM>), two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork are symmetrically arranged at the two side surfaces of the connection boss, the two branches of the Y-shaped translating fork each are connected with a first spring (<NUM>' ),
characterized in that, a handle portion of the Y-shaped translating fork is connected with a linkage mechanism which is provided at top thereof with a recess (<NUM>) with a gradually changing depth, and the handle portion of the Y-shaped translating fork is abutted against the recess, such that the Y-shaped translating fork is moved inward as the linkage mechanism is moved upward.