阅读说明：本技术 联锁机构和家用电器 (Interlocking mechanism and household appliance ) 是由 吴延岐 位帅帅 于 2021-08-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种联锁机构和家用电器。联锁机构,包括：用于安装在家用电器门体的门钩；用于安装在家用电器腔体的支架；阻尼组件,安装在支架,阻尼组件包括直线式阻尼器及转换结构,转换结构包括转动连接直线式阻尼器的驱动件,在门钩向转换结构施加作用力的情况下,转换结构使门钩向上移动与驱动件连接使得驱动件带动门钩加速并压缩直线式阻尼器,直线式阻尼器被压缩时向门钩提供阻尼并发生转动。上述联锁机构中,在门钩向转换结构施加作用力的情况下,阻尼组件可带动直线式阻尼器转动并向门钩提供先加速再减速的作用力,进而可实现门体的缓关门/软关门,避免造成关门噪音急剧增大而影响用户体验。(The invention discloses an interlocking mechanism and a household appliance. An interlock mechanism comprising: the door hook is used for being installed on a door body of the household appliance; the bracket is used for being installed in a cavity of the household appliance; the damping assembly is installed on the support and comprises a linear damper and a conversion structure, the conversion structure comprises a driving piece which is rotatably connected with the linear damper, under the condition that the door hook applies acting force to the conversion structure, the conversion structure enables the door hook to move upwards and is connected with the driving piece, so that the driving piece drives the door hook to accelerate and compress the linear damper, and the linear damper provides damping for the door hook and rotates when being compressed. Among the above-mentioned interlocking device, under the condition that the door hook applyed the effort to transform structure, damping subassembly can drive linear damper and rotate and provide the effort that accelerates earlier then slows down for the door hook, and then can realize the slow door/soft door that closes of the door body, avoids causing the noise sharp increase of closing the door and influences user experience.)

1. An interlock mechanism, comprising:

the door hook is used for being installed on a door body of the household appliance;

the bracket is used for being installed in a cavity of the household appliance;

the damping assembly is installed on the support and comprises a linear damper and a conversion structure, the conversion structure comprises a driving piece which is rotatably connected with the linear damper, under the condition that the door hook applies acting force to the conversion structure, the conversion structure enables the door hook to move upwards and is connected with the driving piece, so that the driving piece drives the door hook to accelerate and compress the linear damper, and when the linear damper is compressed, the linear damper provides damping for the door hook and rotates.

2. The interlock mechanism of claim 1, wherein the door hook comprises a first door hook and a second door hook, the first door hook being connected to the door body by a first door hook elastic member, the second door hook being connected to the door body by a second door hook elastic member.

3. The interlock mechanism of claim 2, wherein the first door hook includes a first body and a first rotation pin rotatably coupled to the first body, and/or,

the second door hook comprises a second body and a second rotating pin, and the second rotating pin is rotatably connected with the second body.

4. The interlock mechanism of claim 1, wherein the switching structure comprises:

the limiting structure is arranged on the bracket, the driving piece is limited by the limiting structure under the condition that the door hook is separated from the limiting structure, and the driving piece can drive the door hook to accelerate under the condition that the door hook abuts against the limiting structure and the limiting structure releases the limiting of the driving piece;

a guide installed at the bracket, the guide for moving the door hook upward.

5. The interlock mechanism of claim 4, wherein the switching structure further comprises a first resilient member, the first resilient member connecting the bracket and the driving member.

6. The interlock mechanism of claim 5, wherein said actuating member includes spaced first and second arms, said first resilient member connecting said first arms;

the limiting structure comprises a movable limiting protrusion, and the limiting structure is limited by the second arm through the limiting protrusion.

7. The interlock mechanism of claim 6, wherein the stop structure includes a guide projection, and the door hook drives the guide projection to drive the stop projection to release the stop of the second arm during the closing of the door body.

8. The interlock mechanism as recited in claim 7 wherein said stop structure comprises a support plate and a second resilient member, said support plate comprising first and second opposing faces, said guide projection and said stop projection being disposed on said first face, said second resilient member connecting said second face to said bracket.

9. The interlock mechanism of claim 6, wherein said linear damper includes a connecting rod, an end of said connecting rod being pivotally connected to said first arm.

10. A household appliance, characterized in that it comprises:

a cavity;

the door body is rotationally connected to one side of the cavity;

an interlock as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said bracket is mounted to said cavity and said door hook is mounted to said door body.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to an interlocking mechanism and a household appliance.

Background

In the related art, a home appliance may include a main body in which a chamber is provided, and a door body rotatably connected to the main body to open or close the chamber. The cavity can be used for storing articles, cooking food and the like by a user. When a user stores articles and cooks food, the door body is opened, the articles and the food are placed in the cavity, and then the door body is closed. However, there is no cushioning design depending on user force or inertia of the door body during opening and closing of the door body. If the closing speed of the door body is too high, the noise of closing the door is increased, and adverse effects are brought to user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides an interlocking mechanism and a household appliance.

An interlock mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention includes:

the door hook is used for being installed on a door body of the household appliance;

the bracket is used for being installed in a cavity of the household appliance;

the damping assembly is installed on the support and comprises a linear damper and a conversion structure, the conversion structure comprises a driving piece which is rotatably connected with the linear damper, under the condition that the door hook applies acting force to the conversion structure, the conversion structure enables the door hook to move upwards and is connected with the driving piece, so that the driving piece drives the door hook to accelerate and compress the linear damper, and when the linear damper is compressed, the linear damper provides damping for the door hook and rotates.

Among the above-mentioned interlocking device, under the condition that the door hook applyed the effort to transform structure, damping subassembly can drive linear damper and rotate and provide the effort that accelerates earlier then slows down for the door hook, and then can realize the slow door/soft door that closes of the door body, avoids causing the noise sharp increase of closing the door and influences user experience.

In some embodiments, the door hook includes a first door hook connected to the door body by a first door hook elastic member and a second door hook connected to the door body by a second door hook elastic member.

In some embodiments, the first door hook includes a first body and a first rotating pin that is rotatably coupled to the first body, and/or,

the second door hook comprises a second body and a second rotating pin, and the second rotating pin is rotatably connected with the second body.

In some embodiments, the conversion structure comprises:

the limiting structure is arranged on the bracket, the driving piece is limited by the limiting structure under the condition that the door hook is separated from the limiting structure, and the driving piece can drive the door hook to accelerate under the condition that the door hook abuts against the limiting structure and the limiting structure releases the limiting of the driving piece;

a guide installed at the bracket, the guide for moving the door hook upward.

In some embodiments, the switching structure further comprises a first resilient member connecting the bracket and the driving member.

In certain embodiments, the drive member includes spaced first and second arms, the first resilient member connecting the first arms;

the limiting structure comprises a movable limiting protrusion, and the limiting structure is limited by the second arm through the limiting protrusion.

In some embodiments, the limiting structure includes a guide protrusion, and during the closing process of the door body, the door hook drives the guide protrusion to drive the limiting protrusion to release the limiting of the second arm.

In some embodiments, the position-limiting structure includes a supporting plate and a second elastic member, the supporting plate includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the guide protrusion and the position-limiting protrusion are disposed on the first surface, and the second elastic member connects the second surface and the bracket.

In some embodiments, the linear damper includes a connecting rod, an end of the connecting rod being rotatably connected to the first arm.

A home appliance of an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a cavity;

the door body is rotationally connected to one side of the cavity;

in the interlock mechanism according to any one of the above embodiments, the holder is mounted to the cavity, and the door hook is mounted to the door body.

Among the above-mentioned domestic appliance, under the condition that the door hook applyed the effort to transform structure, damping subassembly can drive orthoscopic attenuator and rotate and provide the effort that accelerates earlier then slow down to the door hook, and then can realize the slow door/soft door that closes of the door body, avoids causing the noise sharply-increased and influence user experience of closing the door.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 is a partial structural schematic view of a home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 to 4 are partial structural schematic views of an interlocking mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a limiting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view of a first door hook according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a second door hook according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 to 13 are schematic views illustrating a door closing operation process of the interlock mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are used only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be considered as limiting the present invention. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited. Either mechanically or electrically. Either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, "above" or "below" a first feature means that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other via another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly under and obliquely below the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

The disclosure herein provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the invention. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described herein. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples, such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize applications of other processes and/or uses of other materials.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, an interlocking mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a door hook for being mounted on the door body 200 of the home appliance;

a bracket 102 for mounting in a household appliance cavity;

the damping assembly 104 is mounted on the bracket 102, the damping assembly 104 includes a linear damper 106 and a switching structure 108, the switching structure 108 includes a driving member 109 rotatably connected to the linear damper 106, in the case that the door hook applies a force to the switching structure 108, the switching structure 108 moves the door hook upward to connect with the driving member 109, so that the driving member 109 accelerates the door hook and compresses the linear damper 106, and the linear damper 106 provides damping to the door hook and rotates when compressed.

In the interlock mechanism 100, when the door hook applies an acting force to the switching structure 108, the damping component 104 may drive the linear damper 106 to rotate and provide an acting force for accelerating and then decelerating the door hook, so as to achieve the slow door closing/soft door closing of the door body 200, and avoid the influence on user experience due to the sharp increase of the door closing noise.

Specifically, the household appliance may include a door 200 and a cavity, and the door 200 is rotatably connected to one side of the cavity, for example, to the left or right side of a front plate 202 of the cavity, forming a side-opening type household appliance. The interlocking mechanism 100 of the embodiment of the present invention may be applied to a side-opening type home appliance, and the bracket 102 may be fixed to the cavity front plate 202. The side-opening type household appliances include, but are not limited to, microwave ovens, ovens (including electric ovens, microwave ovens, and micro-steaming and baking integrated machines), steamers, dishwashers, disinfection cabinets, and other household appliances having the door 200. The cavity is provided with a cavity for storing articles or food. The household appliance can perform cleaning, storing, sterilizing, cooking and other operations on the articles placed in the chamber.

The specific number of the door hooks can be set according to actual needs, for example, the number of the door hooks can be single, two or more than two. In an embodiment of the present invention, the door hook includes two door hooks, i.e., a first door hook 110 and a second door hook 112. In the illustrated embodiment, the first door hook 110 is an upper door hook and the second door hook 112 is a lower door hook.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first door hook 110 is coupled to the door body 200 by the first door hook elastic member 114, and the second door hook 112 is coupled to the door body 200 by the second door hook elastic member 115. During the closing process of the door body 200, the second hook 112 may be opposite to the switching structure 108, and in a case that the second hook 112 applies a force to the switching structure 108, the switching structure 108 moves the second hook 112 upward to connect with the driving member 109, so that the driving member 109 drives the second hook 112 to accelerate and compress the linear damper 106, and the linear damper 106 provides damping to the hook and rotates when compressed.

Specifically, the first hook is provided on the left side of the first door hook 110, one end of the first door hook elastic member 114 hooks the first hook, and the other end hooks the second hook of the door body. The initial state of the first door hook elastic member 114 may be a natural state, i.e., an unstretched state, or a stretched state subjected to a certain force, and is not particularly limited herein.

The left side of the second door hook 112 is provided with a third hook, one end of the second door hook elastic member 115 hooks the third hook, and the other end hooks a fourth hook of the door body. The initial state of the second door hook elastic member 115 may be a natural state, i.e., an unstretched state, or a stretched state subjected to a certain force, and is not particularly limited thereto.

Since the driving member 109 can drive the second hook 112 to accelerate, the door 200 can be closed by the force of the driving member 109 during the acceleration stage. In the acceleration process of the second door hook 112, the compression amount of the linear damper 106 is increased, the provided damping force is also increased, when the damping force provided by the linear damper 106 is greater than the acting force provided by the driving member 109, the second door hook 112 starts to decelerate, and in the deceleration stage, the noise generated when the door body 200 is closed is not too large. In the embodiment of the present invention, the linear damper 106 can rotate when compressed, and can cooperate with the upward movement of the second door hook 112, so that the second door hook 112 can enter the cavity more smoothly. In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 102 is further provided with a damper cover 117, and the damper cover 117 is provided with an accommodating space therein. Referring to fig. 2, the linear damper 106 includes a thick rod portion 119 and a thin rod portion 121, the thin rod portion 121 is telescopically connected to the thick rod portion 119, the thick rod portion 119 is accommodated in the accommodating space and rotatably connected to the inside of the accommodating space, and the linear damper 106 can rotate around the connection between the thick rod portion 119 and the inside of the accommodating space. The thin rod portion 121 extends beyond the damper cover 117 and is rotatably coupled to the driver 109.

For convenience of description, the following embodiments of the present invention will be described with a first case where the first door hook 110 is an upper door hook and the second door hook 112 is a lower door hook. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement the second case that the first door hook 110 is a lower door hook and the second door hook 112 is an upper door hook with reference to the first case, and the embodiment of the present invention does not expand the second case in detail.

In an example, the first door hook elastic member 114 and the second door hook elastic member 115 may be both springs, in this embodiment, the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 are both connected by a door hook spring, and the limit is guided by a sheet metal through hole of the door body 200 and a sheet metal bent structure, so that the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 can be prevented from being in poor fit due to position deviation.

Compared with the method of integrally connecting the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112, the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 according to the embodiment of the present invention are connected to the door body 200 by the door hook elastic member, and therefore, the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 may be allowed to move upward along the door body 200 by a distance during the door closing process, the door body 200 may be easily closed, and the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 may be reset by the door hook elastic member.

In some embodiments, the bracket 102 defines a first guide hole 116, and a lower sidewall of the first guide hole 116 is inclined upward toward the inside of the bracket 102 along a vertical direction for guiding the first door hook 110 to move upward. Thus, the first door hook 110 can be guided to be clamped on the bracket 102.

Specifically, during the closing process of the door body 200, the first door hook 110 starts to move upwards along the lower sidewall of the first guide hole 116 under the driving of the door body 200, and at this time, the first door hook elastic member 114 is stretched. In the process that the door body 200 is continuously closed, the first door hook 110 moves to the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, the stretched first door hook elastic member 114 resets the first door hook 110, and the first door hook 110 is clamped on the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, so that the first door hook 110 is locked with the cavity. In addition, a switch 118 (e.g., a microswitch) is further mounted on the bracket 102, and when the first door hook 110 is clamped on the right side of the lower sidewall of the first guide hole 116, the bottom of the first door hook 110 triggers the switch 118 (as shown in fig. 13), so that the switch 118 outputs a door closing signal. The controller of the household appliance receives the door closing signal, and can determine that the door body 200 is closed in place. Only when the door body 200 is closed to the right position, the controller can control the household appliance to work, so that certain accidents, such as microwave leakage, steam leakage and the like, are avoided, and the use safety of the household appliance is ensured.

Preferably, the second hook 112 protrudes from the door body 200 more than the first hook 110, on one hand, when the second hook 112 enters the cavity and is accelerated by the driving member 109, the door body 200 is also accelerated, and simultaneously drives the first hook 110 to enter the first guiding hole 116, so as to realize interlocking. On the other hand, during the period from when the second door hook 112 enters the cavity to when the second door hook abuts against the switching structure 108, the first door hook 110 does not enter the cavity yet, and the door closing resistance can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the hook directions of the first door hook 110 and the second door hook 112 are opposite, so that the overall length of the door hook in the vertical direction can be reduced, and accordingly, the overall length of the bracket 102 in the vertical direction can also be reduced.

In some embodiments, the bracket 102 defines a second guiding hole 120, and the second door hook 112 passes through the second guiding hole 120 to apply a force to the converting structure 108. In this manner, the second door hook 112 may be caused to exert a force on the switch structure 108.

Specifically, the inner diameter of the second guiding hole 120 is sized to allow the second door hook 112 to freely enter and exit, so as to avoid physical interference with the second door hook 112 and ensure smooth door opening and closing.

In some embodiments, the first door hook 110 includes a first body 123 and a first rotation pin 125, the first rotation pin 125 being rotatably coupled to the first body 123, and the second door hook 112 includes a second body 127 and a second rotation pin 129, the second rotation pin 129 being rotatably coupled to the second body 127. In this manner, the rotation pin of the first door hook 110 (upper door hook) may make the first door hook 110 more flexible. The pivot pin of the second hook 112 (lower hook) allows for flexibility in the touch actuator 109, and the pivot pin rotates during contact, reducing impact noise compared to no pivot pin.

Specifically, when the first rotating pin 125 abuts against the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, the first rotating pin 125 rotates, so that the amount of extension of the elastic member of the first door hook 110 is reduced, and the door opening and closing resistance is reduced. When the first rotation pin 125 crosses the right side of the lower sidewall of the first guide hole 116, the first rotation pin 125 is reset. The lower side of the first body 123 is further provided with a hook 136, and when the first door hook 110 continues to move to the cavity side, the hook 136 can block the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116.

Specifically, referring to fig. 6, the hook 136 and the first rotating pin 125 are sequentially arranged in a direction approaching the cavity, and the first rotating pin 125 is rotatably connected to the right side of the hook 136. The first rotating pin 125 is provided to protrude from the lower surface of the first body 123 than the hook 136. The hook 136 is substantially V-shaped, and the lowest end of the hook 136 is a rounded structure, so that the hook 136 has less resistance when crossing over the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, and the movement is smoother. When the bottommost end of the hook portion 136 crosses the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, the first door hook elastic member 114 pulls the first body 123 downward, so as to drive the hook portion 136 to move downward, and the left side of the hook portion 136 is clamped on the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole 116, so that the cavity blocks the first door hook 110.

During the door closing process, the second rotating pin 129 abuts against the driving member 109, and the second rotating pin 129 rotates, so that on one hand, the stretching amount of the second hook elastic member 115 can be reduced, and the door opening and closing resistance can be reduced, and on the other hand, a part of acting force generated when the second hook elastic member and the driving member 109 abut against each other can be removed, and the collision noise of the second hook 112 and the driving member 109 can be reduced.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first door hook 110 elastic member connects the door body and the first body 123, and the second door hook elastic member 115 connects the door body and the second body 127.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the first door hook 110 includes a first body 123 and a first rotation pin 125, the first rotation pin 125 being rotatably coupled to the first body 123, or the second door hook 112 includes a second body 127 and a second rotation pin 129, the second rotation pin 129 being rotatably coupled to the second body 127.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 1-5, the conversion structure 108 includes:

the limiting structure 122 is mounted on the bracket 102, the driving part 109 is limited by the limiting structure 122 when the door hook is separated from the limiting structure 122, and the driving part 109 can drive the door hook to accelerate when the door hook abuts against the limiting structure 122 and the limiting structure 122 releases the limitation of the driving part 109;

and a guide 124 installed at the bracket 102, the guide 124 for moving the door hook upward. Thus, the driving member 109 can be limited and released, and the door hook can be guided to move upwards.

Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, during the door closing process, the second hook 112 is opposite to the switching structure 108, the guide 124 is used for moving the second hook 112 upward, the driving member 109 is limited by the limiting structure 122 when the second hook 112 is separated from the limiting structure 122, and the driving member 109 can accelerate the second hook 112 when the second hook 112 abuts against the limiting structure 122 and the limiting structure 122 releases the limitation of the driving member 109.

The guide 124 may be fixed to the bracket 102, and in the illustrated embodiment, the guide 124 has a plate shape and is installed obliquely upward to the bracket 102. During the door closing process, when the second door hook 112 slides into the guiding element 124, the oblique upward guiding element 124 lifts the second door hook 112 upward, and particularly when the door is completely closed, the driving element 109 can be ensured to hook the end of the second door hook 112 to clamp the door body.

With the second door hook 112 disengaged from the limit structure 122, the driving member 109 is limited by the limit structure 122, and it is understood that the driving member 109 is limited by the limit structure 122 from freely rotating or the driving member 109 remains stationary. In the case where the second door hook 112 abuts against the limiting structure 122, the limiting structure 122 releases the limitation of the driving member 109 so that the driving member 109 can drive the door hook to accelerate, and it can be understood that the limitation of the driving member 109 by the limiting structure 122 is released so that the driving member 109 can rotate to drive the door hook to accelerate under the acting force.

In some aspects and implementations, the switch structure 108 further includes a first resilient member 128, the first resilient member 128 connecting the bracket 102 and the driving member 109. In this manner, the first resilient member 128 may apply a force to the actuating member 109 such that the actuating member 109 may accelerate the second door hook 112.

In particular, the first resilient member 128 is configured to provide a force to the actuating member 109 to cause the actuating member 109 to have a tendency to rotate, which may be used to accelerate the second door hook 112. Referring to fig. 2, the driving member 109 includes a first arm 130 and a second arm 132 spaced apart from each other, and the second arm 132 is closer to the door body 200 (door hook) than the first arm 130, and the second arm 132 is shorter than the first arm 130 relative to the rotation axis of the driving member 109. The first arm 130 and the second arm 132 form a generally U-shaped space 134 therebetween.

One end of the first elastic member 128 is connected to the first arm 130, and the other end of the first elastic member 128 is assembled to the positioning post of the bracket 102. In the initial state of the actuation member 109 (i.e., the second hook 112 is not yet in contact with the switch structure 108), the first resilient member 128 is in tension, applying a pulling force to the first arm 130. In the illustrated embodiment, the first elastic member 128 is a tension spring.

During the door closing process, the second door hook 112 may first release the limit of the limit structure 122 on the driving member 109, and then the second rotating pin 129 may extend into the space 134 between the first arm 130 and the second arm 132, one side of the second rotating pin 129 rotates when abutting against the first arm (shown as rotating counterclockwise), and pushes the driving member 109 to rotate counterclockwise, so that the second arm 132 abuts against the other side of the second rotating pin 129 and resets the second rotating pin 129, thereby allowing the second arm to be locked with the second door hook 112. Under the pulling force of the first elastic member 128, the driving member 109 rotates counterclockwise, and the second hook 112 is pulled by the second arm 132, so that the second hook 112 can be accelerated. In the illustrated embodiment, the drive member 109 may be a drive lever.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the first resilient member 128 may be coupled to other portions of the driving member 109. The first resilient member 128 may also be in a compressed state to provide a pushing force to the driving member 109.

In some embodiments, the drive member 109 includes spaced apart first and second arms 130, 132, with the first resilient member 128 connected to the first arm 130;

referring to fig. 3, the position-limiting structure 122 includes a movable position-limiting protrusion 131, and the position-limiting structure 122 limits the second arm 132 through the position-limiting protrusion 131. In this way, the driving member 109 can make the driving member 109 in a force system equilibrium state under the limit of the limit protrusion 131 and the action of the first elastic member 128.

Specifically, referring to fig. 2 to fig. 3, the limiting protrusion 131 extends into the gap 134 along a direction perpendicular to the bracket 102 and abuts against the right side of the second arm 132 to form a limiting, and the first elastic element 128 applies a pulling force to the first arm 130, so that the driving element 109 tends to rotate counterclockwise. Since the limiting protrusion 131 supports and limits the second arm 132, the driving member 109 is disposed at the leftmost side, the force system is balanced, and the converting structure 108 is stationary.

In some embodiments, the limiting structure 122 includes a guiding protrusion 133, and during the closing process of the door body, the door hook drives the guiding protrusion 133 to drive the limiting protrusion 131 to release the limiting of the second arm 132. Thus, during the door closing process, the door hook can release the limit of the limit structure 122 to the driving member 109.

Specifically, the guide protrusion 133 has a guide slope, during the door closing process, the guide protrusion 133 is first contacted by the second door hook 112, the second door hook 112 slides on the guide slope, the second door hook 112 has an extrusion effect on the guide protrusion 133, and the extruded guide protrusion 133 can drive the limit protrusion 131 to move along the same direction, so that the limit protrusion 131 moves out of the gap 134, the limit on the second arm 132 is released, and the limit on the driving member 109 is released.

In some embodiments, the position-limiting structure 122 includes a supporting plate 135 and a second elastic member 137, the supporting plate 135 includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the guiding protrusion 133 and the position-limiting protrusion 131 are disposed on the first surface, and the second elastic member 137 connects the second surface and the bracket 102. Thus, the guide protrusion 133 can drive the limiting protrusion 131 to move.

Specifically, the guide protrusion 133 and the position-limiting protrusion 131 are disposed at an interval on the same side of the support plate 135, the second elastic member 137 is disposed on the other side of the support plate, and the second elastic member 137 is used to provide a pushing force to the support plate 135, so that the position-limiting protrusion 131 keeps limiting the second arm. When the second door hook 112 presses the guide protrusion 133, the pressed guide protrusion 133 drives the limit protrusion 131 to move toward the bracket 102 through the support plate 135, so that the limit protrusion 131 moves out of the gap 134, and the limit of the driving member 109 is released. After the second door hook 112 is disengaged from the guide protrusion 133 during the door opening process, the second elastic member 137 drives the position-limiting protrusion 131 to reset through the support plate, so as to form the position limitation on the driving member 109 again. In the illustrated embodiment, the second elastic member 137 is a compression spring. It is understood that in other embodiments, the second elastic member 137 may provide a pulling force to the supporting plate 135 to restore the position-limiting protrusion 131.

In the illustrated embodiment, the stop structure 122 is mounted to the bracket 102 by snaps on either side of the support plate 135. The stopper protrusion 131 may be a cylinder. Specifically, two sides of the supporting plate 135 are respectively provided with a buckle, the bracket 102 is provided with an installation space, and two sides of the bottom of the installation space are respectively provided with a clamping hole. When assembling, the second elastic member 137 is first assembled at the bottom of the installation space and positioned. Then, the support plate 135 having the guide protrusions 133 and the stopper protrusions 131 is installed toward the installation space such that the snaps are aligned with the snap holes, the snaps are snapped into the snap holes, and the support plate 135 compresses the second elastic members 137 in the installation space. And (5) finishing the assembly.

Applying a pressure to any one of the support plate 135, the guide protrusion 133 and the restriction protrusion 131 may cause the support plate 135, the guide protrusion 133 and the restriction protrusion 131 to integrally move toward the bracket 102, and the second elastic member 137 is further compressed. After the pressure is removed, the second elastic member 137 restores the support plate 135, the guide protrusion 133 and the stopper protrusion 131.

In some embodiments, the linear damper 106 comprises a connecting rod, the end of which is rotatably connected to the first arm. In this way, a rotational connection of the driver 109 to the linear damper 106 can be achieved.

Specifically, the connecting rod may be a thin rod portion 121 or a thick rod portion 119 of the linear damper 106, and in the illustrated embodiment, the connecting rod is the thin rod portion 121 of the linear damper 106.

The first arm 130 is formed with a coupling hole 139, the coupling hole 139 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an opening is formed in a side surface of the coupling hole for the coupling rod to pass through. The end connection of connecting rod has cylinder portion 141, and cylinder portion 141 is connected with the connecting hole cooperation, realizes rotating the connection. The cylindrical portion 141 may be integrated with the connecting rod or may be separated from the connecting rod, and the same material or different materials may be used when the cylindrical portion 141 is integrated with the connecting rod. And is not particularly limited herein.

It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the shape of the connection hole 139 may be other shapes, such as a spherical shape, as long as the shape of the end of the connection rod matches the shape of the connection hole, i.e. is spherical. And is not particularly limited herein.

The following describes a principle process of the interlock mechanism 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

At the initial time (the second hook 112 is not yet abutted to the switching structure 108, as shown in fig. 8), the driving member 109 is stationary under the action of the limiting structure 122, the first elastic member is elongated to the maximum, the tensile force of the first elastic member is the maximum, and the linear damper 106 is elongated to the maximum, as seen from fig. 8, the first elastic member makes the driving member 109 have a tendency to rotate counterclockwise, and at this time, the limiting protrusion 131 of the limiting structure 122 makes the driving member 109 unable to rotate counterclockwise, so that the driving member 109 achieves the force balance. At this time, the plane force system is balanced and the structure is static. In the planar force system, the deformation of the bracket 102 is small, and the existence of the force system perpendicular to the third direction of the bracket 102 in the related art is avoided, so that the deformation of the bracket 102 is large.

The door closing process of the soft closing/opening mechanism comprises the following steps: (clockwise and counterclockwise, with FIG. 1 as a front view.)

1) As shown in fig. 8 to 13, the second door hook 112 firstly passes through the left end of the driving member 109 (i.e. the left end of the second arm) at a certain initial speed or under a certain inertial force, the two ends have a certain gap without interference, the second door hook 112 firstly contacts the guiding protrusion 133 of the limiting structure 122 in the process of entering the cavity, the second door hook 112 has a squeezing action on the guiding protrusion 133, the guiding protrusion 133 drives the limiting protrusion 131 to generate a displacement perpendicular to the bracket 102 under the squeezing action, when the limiting protrusion 131 is separated from the driving member 109, the driving member 109 rotates counterclockwise under the pulling force of the first elastic member, and the driving member 109 rotates counterclockwise to accelerate the second door hook 112 into the cavity. Specifically, when the second door hook 112 is accelerated to enter the cavity, the linear damper 106 generates a damping force, the motion state of the driving member 109 is accelerated to be decelerated, meanwhile, the second door hook 112 is linked with the door body to be accelerated and then decelerated, and the linear damper 106 performs a damping and decelerating function and rotates integrally to adapt to the rotation of the driving member 109. The initial velocity or the certain inertia force of the second door hook 112 may be generated by applying the force to the door body 200 and then to the second door hook 112 when the user closes the door

2) At the moment of closing the door, the driving member 109 reaches the rightmost position, and the door 200 is closed in place.

3) During the door closing process, the first door hook 110 starts to move upwards along the lower side wall of the first guide hole under the driving of the second door hook 112 entering the cavity until the first door hook 110 moves to the right side of the lower side wall of the first guide hole, and the second door hook 112 is blocked to the rightmost side by the driving member 109. The door body 200 is closed in place.

4) In the whole process of closing the door, the first door hook 110 and the second rotating pin 129 can rotate to a certain degree, so that the flexible contact and impact buffering effects are achieved.

(II) the door opening process of the slow door closing/soft door closing mechanism: (reverse movement of door closing process)

1) Under the manpower drive, first door hook 110 moves to the lower lateral wall top of first guiding hole, first rotation pin 125 can take place anticlockwise rotation, second door hook 112 simultaneous movement, second door hook 112 begins to contact with the second arm of driving piece 109 this moment, driving piece 109 rotates clockwise, in the whole process of opening the door, second door hook 112 inboard is straight pressing guide protrusion 133, when second door hook 112 inboard and guide protrusion 133 take place to break away from, spacing protruding 131 and the contact of the second arm right side of driving piece 109 play spacing effect, the door body is opened this moment, damping component 104 reaches force system balance. The manual force may be formed by the user pulling the door outward by a handle of the door body.

2) Under the drive of manpower, the second door hook 112 drives the driving member 109 to rotate clockwise, and simultaneously the first door hook 110 slides along the first guide hole and is separated, and the door body is opened.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a home appliance, including:

a cavity;

a door body 200 rotatably connected to one side of the cavity;

in the interlock mechanism 100 according to any of the above embodiments, the holder 102 is mounted in the cavity, and the door hook is mounted in the door 200.

Among the above-mentioned domestic appliance, under the condition that the door hook applyed the effort to transform structure 108, damping subassembly 104 can drive orthoscopic attenuator 106 and rotate and provide the effort that accelerates earlier then slow down to the door hook, and then can realize the slow closing door of the door body 200/soft closing door, avoid causing the noise sharply-increased and influence user experience of closing the door.

Specifically, the household appliance includes, but is not limited to, a microwave oven, an oven (including an electric oven, a microwave oven, and a micro-steaming and baking all-in-one machine), a steam box, a dishwasher, a sterilizing cabinet, and the like having the door 200. It should be noted that the above explanation of the embodiment and the advantageous effects of the interlocking mechanism 100 is also applicable to the household appliance used in the present embodiment, and is not detailed here to avoid redundancy.

In the description herein, references to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.