Patent Description:
As the pace of life is accelerated and the consumers' energy-saving awareness is improved, they pay more attention to the energy-saving and convenient function and feature when purchasing domestic electrical appliances. As a domestic electrical appliance that is frequently used, being energy-saving and convenient has become an important factor for the consumers to choose and purchase washing machines. Therefore, washing machines with a function of automatically delivering detergent are favored by the consumers increasingly. At present, when we use a common washing machine on the market to wash clothes, we often need to deliver detergent manually, so the dosage is hard to control. If it is small, the washing effect will be poor and the cleaning ratio will be slightly low; and if it is large, detergent is wasted and the rinsing difficulty is also increased, water and electricity are wasted and the wear degree of clothes is increased, and the cost for a single clothes washing is increased. On this basis, manufacturers successively launch washing machines where the detergent is delivered automatically.

The automatic detergent delivery device of the washing machine is now primarily designed on the basis of two thoughts: the first one is to utilize the arrangement of the inlet tube and the detergent delivery pipeline. When the influent water flow flows, the detergent delivery pipeline will produce a Venturi negative pressure effect, and under such a negative pressure, detergent is sucked in the delivery tube for delivery; and the second one is to use various liquid pumps to pump detergent so as to achieve the delivery of detergent. For automatic detergent delivery devices designed on the basis of the above thoughts, it is difficult to accurately measure the delivered detergent because the viscosity of detergent under different temperature differs greatly. When the environment temperature is low, the viscosity is large, and due to the increase of load, the rotating speed of the drive motor of the device is reduced and the addition quantity is also reduced; and when the environment temperature is high, the viscosity is small, and due to the decrease of load, the rotating speed of the drive motor is increased and the addition quantity is also increased, thus it is difficult to accurately measure the delivery quantity.

<CIT> document discloses a washing machine where detergent is delivered automatically, comprising a wash bucket, a control panel with cloth control key, a weight sensor, a temperature sensor, a water hardness sensor, a washing water turbidity sensor, a detergent box and a computer board; the detergent box is comprised of an upper storage box and a lower dilution box, and the computer board is used to control the quantity of detergent entering the dilution box from the storage box according to the detection results of each sensor. In this technical solution, the structure is complicated and the cost is high.

<CIT> document discloses an automatic delivery device based on the detergent concentration, comprising an automatic detergent delivery device and a detergent storage container, and further comprising a quantitative dissolution container above which an inlet tube is connected, and an inlet valve is installed on the other end of the inlet tube, and the inlet valve is connected to the controller of the washing machine; the storage container is connected to the automatic delivery device, and the automatic delivery device is connected to the storage container and the controller; there is an overflow hole above the quantitative dissolution container, a probe is installed on the overflow hole and the probe is connected to the controller, and the overflow hole is connected to the wash bucket through the conduit; an outlet valve is installed on the bottom of the quantitative dissolution container, and the outlet valve is connected to the wash bucket and the controller. In this technical solution, the delivery quantity of detergent cannot be controlled flexibly according to washing conditions and the control accuracy is not good enough, and the structure is complicated, so it remains to be improved.

<CIT> document discloses an automatic detergent delivery device for washing machines, comprising a microprocessor and an inlet pipeline. An inlet valve, a constant volume box and a detergent box are set successively on the inlet pipeline, and the exit end of the detergent box is connected to the wash bucket; the inlet valve is connected electrically to the microprocessor, a conveying device for introducing detergent is set on the inlet pipe of the constant volume box, and the conveying device is connected to the storage tank for containing detergent. In this technical solution, we need to start the conveying device first to introduce the detergent to the constant volume box for quantification and then close it, and open the inlet valve to wash the detergent into the detergent box. Such operating process is very complicated, and there is a time-lag effect to some extent. Moreover, we need to start the conveying device more than once to weigh the detergent, and to wash the detergent into the box more than once, so the process is complicated and the efficiency is low.

<CIT> document discloses a detergent delivery controller. The end of its main channel is an entrance for water inflow, and the other end is an exit that can be connected to the liquid inlet of the wash bucket. It is characterized in that a valve A, valve B, valve C, valve D, pump and nozzle are provided. The entrance of valve A is connected to the bypass orifice A of the main channel, the entrance of valve B can be connected to the storage box of detergent A, the exits of valve A and valve B are connected to the entrance of valve C, the entrance of valve D can be connected to the storage box of detergent B, the exits of valve C and valve D are connected to the entrance of the pump, and the exit of the pump is connected to the bypass orifice B of the main channel. The relative position of the bypass orifice A and the bypass orifice B is as follows: the bypass orifice A is relatively close to the entrance of the main channel and the bypass orifice B is relatively close to the exit of the main channel, and the nozzle is connected to the main channel in series and located between the bypass orifice A and the bypass orifice B. This controller must use the electromagnetic valve to control the delivery of detergent, relatively increasing the quantity of circuits controlled by the electromagnetic valve.

Further attention is drawn to <CIT>, disclosing a valve element for a valve for opening/closing a fluid flow channel.

To solve the problems of the device for automatically delivering the detergent to the washing machine in complicated structure and high cost in the prior art, the present invention provides a flow path switcher and a liquid detergent delivery device, which are simple in structure and low in cost.

To solve the above problems a flow path switcher according to claim <NUM> is provided.

The flow path switcher may comprise the features:.

A liquid detergent delivery device with the flow path switcher described in the present invention, whose specialness is that: comprising a main channel, a piston, a one-way valve D, a one-way valve E, a detergent box A and a Venturi negative pressure generator. The entrance of the main channel is connected with an inlet valve, and the exit of the Venturi negative pressure generator is connected with the water inlet of the wash bucket. The flow path switcher is connected between the entrance of the Venturi negative pressure generator and the exit of the main channel, wherein the inlet of the flow path switcher is connected to the exit of the main channel, the outlet of the flow path switcher is connected to the entrance of the Venturi negative pressure generator, the channel of valve seat B of the flow path switcher is connected to the exit of the one-way valve D, the exit of the one-way valve D is connected to the entrance of the piston, the entrance of the one-way valve D is connected to the detergent box A, the exit of the piston is connected to the entrance of the one-way valve E, and the exit of the one-way valve E is connected to the negative pressure port of the Venturi negative pressure generator.

For the liquid detergent delivery device, a two-position three-way valve and a one-way valve F can be connected between the exit of the one-way valve D and the entrance of the piston, and the exit of the two-position three-way valve is connected to the entrance of the one-way valve F, the exit of the one-way valve F is connected to the entrance of the piston, the entrance <NUM> of the two-position three-way valve is connected to the exit of the one-way valve D, a detergent box B is provided, and the entrance <NUM> of the two-position three-way valve is connected to the detergent box B.

The original electromagnetic switching valve which has complicated structure and high cost and needs electronic control is replaced by a mechanical one-way valve without electronic control, to simplify control and save cost. For the detergent delivery device in the prior art, when the tap-water pipe network is under a negative pressure, detergent inside the detergent box will be pumped to the water supply pipe network. Even if a one-way valve is used to prevent this situation, but as the failure risk of the one-way valve is relatively large, once it loses efficacy, detergent may still be pumped to the water supply pipe network. The one-way valve D described in the present invention can be used to prevent detergent from being pumped to the water supply pipe network. In the present invention, a one-way valve F is provided. When the one-way valve D loses efficacy, the one-way valve E can be used to prevent detergent from being pumped out, and air can be added from the one-way valve F to destroy the vacuum inside the flow path switcher, so as to prevent detergent from being pumped to the tap water pipe network.

The present invention is further described below in connection with embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Marks and corresponding parts shown in the <FIG> flow path switcher, <NUM>-<NUM> valve core, <NUM>-<NUM> shell, <NUM>-<NUM> valve seat A, <NUM>-<NUM> valve seat B, <NUM>-<NUM> channel of valve seat A, <NUM>-<NUM> channel of valve seat B, <NUM>-<NUM> outlet, <NUM>-<NUM> valve chamber, <NUM>-<NUM> inlet, <NUM>-<NUM> base, <NUM>-<NUM> valve seat C, <NUM>-32air vent, <NUM>-<NUM> valve A, <NUM>-<NUM> valve B, <NUM>-<NUM> valve C, <NUM> main channel, <NUM> one-way valve D, <NUM> detergent box A, <NUM> one-way valve E, <NUM> piston, <NUM> Venturi negative pressure generator, <NUM>-<NUM> exit, <NUM>-<NUM> entrance, <NUM>-<NUM> negative pressure port, <NUM> inlet valve, <NUM> detergent box B, <NUM> pipeline, <NUM> two-position three-way valve, <NUM>-<NUM> exit, <NUM>-<NUM> entrance <NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM> entrance <NUM>, <NUM> one-way valve F.

A flow path switcher. The flow path switcher <NUM> comprises a valve core <NUM>-<NUM>, a shell <NUM>-<NUM> and a base <NUM>-<NUM>. The shell <NUM>-<NUM> comprises a valve chamber <NUM>-<NUM>, a valve seat A1-<NUM>, a valve seat B <NUM>-<NUM>, a channel of valve seat A <NUM>-<NUM>, a channel of valve seat B <NUM>-<NUM>, an outlet <NUM>-<NUM> and an inlet <NUM>-<NUM> connected with the channel of valve seat A <NUM>-<NUM>. The base <NUM>-<NUM> comprises a valve seat C1-<NUM> and an air vent1-<NUM>. The valve seat A1-<NUM> and the valve seat B1-<NUM> are located on one side of the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> and correspond to this side of the valve core, and can be covered by this side of the valve core. The valve seat C1-<NUM> is located on the other side of the valve core. The valve seat A1-<NUM> and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> form a valve A1-<NUM>, the valve seat B1-<NUM> and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> form a valve B1-<NUM>, and the valve seat C1-<NUM> and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> form a valve C1-<NUM>; the valve A, the valve B and the valve C are non-electromagnetic mechanical valves. The distance between the edge of the valve seat B1-<NUM> and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> is less than that between the edge of the valve seat A1-<NUM> and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM>, that is to say, the valve seat B is higher than the valve seat A for a small distance H; and the valve core <NUM>-<NUM> is an elastic body. The valve seat B1-<NUM> can be nested inside the valve seat A1-<NUM>, see <FIG>, and the valve seat B1-<NUM> can also be located on one side of the valve seat A1-<NUM> adjacently, see <FIG>.

A liquid detergent delivery device with the flow path switcher described in Example <NUM>, see <FIG>, comprising a main channel <NUM>, a piston <NUM>, a one-way valve D3, a one-way valve E5, a detergent box A <NUM> and a Venturi negative pressure generator <NUM>. The entrance of the main channel <NUM> is connected with an inlet valve <NUM>, and the exit of the Venturi negative pressure generator <NUM>-<NUM> is connected with the water inlet of the wash bucket. The flow path switcher is connected between the entrance of the Venturi negative pressure generator <NUM>-<NUM> and the exit of the main channel, wherein the inlet of the flow path switcher <NUM>-<NUM> is connected to the exit of the main channel, the outlet of the flow path switcher <NUM>-<NUM> is connected to the entrance of the Venturi negative pressure generator, the channel <NUM>-<NUM> of the valve seat B of the flow path switcher is connected to the exit of the one-way valve D3, the exit of the one-way valve D3 is connected to the entrance of the piston <NUM>, the entrance of the one-way valve D3 is connected to the detergent box A <NUM>, the exit of the piston <NUM> is connected to the entrance of the one-way valve E5, and the exit of the one-way valve E5 is connected to the negative pressure port <NUM>-<NUM> of the Venturi negative pressure generator. The one-way valve D and the one-way valve E are both non-electromagnetic mechanical valves.

The valve seat B is higher than the valve seat A for a small distance H, so during delivery of detergent, the valve B can reliably prevent air from being pumped to the pipeline. Therefore the valve B must be closed first during delivery. Even if the valve A is not closed, the function of the device will not be affected either.

When the valve core is a non-elastic body, the valve A cannot be closed.

When the valve core is an elastic body, the valve A can also be closed. In this way, when the inlet <NUM>-<NUM> is under a negative pressure, the negative pressure cannot be transmitted to the system.

A liquid detergent delivery device with the flow path switcher described in Example <NUM>, see <FIG>. The difference between this Example and Example <NUM> is that a two-position three-way valve <NUM> and a one-way valve F12 are connected between the exit of the one-way valve D3 and the entrance of the piston <NUM>, and the one-way valve F is a non-electromagnetic mechanical valve. The exit of the two-position three-way valve <NUM>-<NUM> is connected to the entrance of the one-way valve F, the exit of the one-way valve F is connected to the entrance of the piston <NUM>, the entrance <NUM> of the two-position three-way valve <NUM>-<NUM> is connected to the exit of the one-way valve D3, a detergent box B <NUM> is provided, and the entrance <NUM> of the two-position three-way valve <NUM>-<NUM> is connected to this detergent box B <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A flow path switcher, wherein the flow path switcher (<NUM>) comprises:
- a valve core (<NUM>-<NUM>),
- a shell (<NUM>-<NUM>) engaging with the valve core (<NUM>-<NUM>), and
- a base (<NUM>-<NUM>) engaging with the valve core (<NUM>-<NUM>),
the shell comprises a valve chamber (<NUM>-<NUM>), a valve seat A (<NUM>-<NUM>), a valve seat B (<NUM>-<NUM>), a channel of valve seat A (<NUM>-<NUM>), a channel of valve seat B (<NUM>-<NUM>), an outlet (<NUM>-<NUM>) and an inlet (<NUM>-<NUM>) connected to the channel of valve seat A, the base comprises a valve seat C (<NUM>-<NUM>) and an air vent (<NUM>-<NUM>), the valve seat A and the valve seat B are located on one side of the valve core and correspond to this side of the valve core, the valve seat C is located on the other side of the valve core, the valve seat A and the valve core form a valve A (<NUM>-<NUM>), the valve seat B and the valve core form a valve B (<NUM>-<NUM>), and the valve seat C and the valve core form a valve C (<NUM>-<NUM>),
characterized in that the distance between the edge of the valve seat B and the valve core is less than that between the edge of the valve seat A and the valve core.