CN220729399U - Liquid level detection device and household appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

The application provides a liquid level detection device and tame electric installation, above-mentioned liquid level detection device includes: the liquid level sensing device, the prism, the light emitter and the light receiver; all or part of the liquid level sensing piece is a light-transmitting part, and the light-transmitting part comprises a reflecting surface; the prism is arranged on the outer side of the liquid level sensing piece and comprises an incident surface, a matching surface and an emergent surface, and all or part of the matching surface is arranged corresponding to the light transmission part; the light emitter is arranged on one side of the incidence surface of the prism, and light emitted by the light emitter enters the incidence surface and is reflected by all or part of the reflection surface; the light receiver is arranged on one side of the emergent surface of the prism and is used for receiving the light totally reflected by the reflecting surface.

Description

Liquid level detection device and household appliance

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a liquid level detection device and household appliances.

Background

In the related art, the photoelectric liquid level detection needs to be matched with a prism accommodated in a container for liquid level detection, but the prism is arranged in the container, and liquid stored in the container can cause dirt on the surface of the container, so that the accuracy of the photoelectric liquid level detection is affected.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model provides a liquid level detection device and a household electrical appliances, through using this liquid level detection device and household electrical appliances can avoid carrying out liquid level detection through the prism of soaking in liquid, have solved at least in the correlation technique because the prism often leads to the fact the surface dirty with the liquid contact easily to influence the problem of measurement accuracy.

To this end, a first aspect of the present application proposes a liquid level detection device.

A second aspect of the present application proposes a home appliance.

In view of this, a first aspect of the present application provides a liquid level detection apparatus comprising: the liquid level sensing device, the prism, the light emitter and the light receiver; all or part of the liquid level sensing piece is a light-transmitting part, and the light-transmitting part comprises a reflecting surface; the prism is arranged on the outer side of the liquid level sensing piece and comprises an incident surface, a matching surface and an emergent surface, and all or part of the matching surface is arranged corresponding to the light transmission part; the light emitter is arranged on one side of the incidence surface of the prism, and light emitted by the light emitter enters the incidence surface and is reflected by all or part of the reflection surface; the light receiver is arranged on one side of the emergent surface of the prism and is used for receiving the light totally reflected by the reflecting surface.

In this technical scheme, the liquid level detection device includes: the liquid level sensing device comprises a liquid level sensing piece, a prism, a light emitter and a light receiver. All or part of the liquid level sensing piece is a light transmission part, the light transmission part comprises a reflecting surface, and the reflecting surface can refract or totally reflect light entering the light transmission part.

In particular, the reflective surface may be used in contact with air, or with a liquid.

Further, the light-transmitting portion of the liquid level sensing member may be made of plastic or glass.

When light enters an optically dense medium (medium having a relatively high refractive index) and an optically sparse medium (medium having a relatively low refractive index), the refraction angle θ increases as the incident angle α increases. In the case where the refraction angle θ increases to some extent, total reflection occurs, and in this case, the angle of reflection angle β is the same as the incident angle α. In the case where the refraction angle θ is 90 °, the corresponding incident angle α is a critical angle, i.e., a total reflection angle.

It should be noted that, under the condition that the position detected by the liquid level detection device is free from liquid, the light transmitting part is in contact with air, the light can generate total reflection, and the light receiver can receive stronger light, so that corresponding electric signals are generated. Under the condition that liquid exists at the position detected by the liquid level detection device, the light transmitting part is in contact with the liquid, the light cannot be totally reflected, part of the light can be refracted into the liquid, the light received by the light receiver is weaker, and the light receiver cannot generate corresponding electric signals. Therefore, by judging the intensity of the light received by the light receiver, it can be judged whether or not the liquid is present at the detection position.

In general, the liquid may be water or a mixed liquid containing water as a main component.

Further, the prism is arranged on one side of the liquid level sensing piece, specifically, the prism is arranged on one side of the liquid level sensing piece, which is away from the reflecting surface of the liquid level sensing piece, namely, the prism is not required to be in contact with liquid under any condition, so that the situation that impurities in the liquid are attached to the surface of the prism in the related technology is avoided, the prism is prevented from being corroded by the liquid due to the fact that the prism is soaked in the liquid for a long time, the reflecting effect of the prism is affected, and the accuracy of liquid level detection is reduced.

Further, the prism includes an incident surface, a mating surface, and an exit surface, and in particular, the prism may be a triangle structure, and the prism is formed by enclosing the incident surface, the mating surface, and the exit surface. By adjusting the angles of the incident surface and the emergent surface, the direction of the light emitted by the light emitting part and entering the light transmitting part can be adjusted, so that the light entering the light transmitting part can judge whether the light transmitting part is in contact with liquid or not through the reflecting surface.

Further, all or part of the matching surface is arranged corresponding to the light-transmitting part, so that light entering the prism can directly enter the light-transmitting part after passing through the matching surface, and total reflection of the light occurs on the reflecting surface under the condition that the liquid level sensing piece contacts air.

Specifically, the materials of the prism and the light transmission part are the same or similar, namely the refractive indexes of the prism and the light transmission part are the same or have smaller difference, so that after the light emitted by the prism enters the light transmission part, the light can continue to propagate along the original direction, and the incident angle of the light entering the reflecting surface due to the refraction generated when the light enters the light transmission part through the prism is avoided.

Further, the light emitter is arranged on one side of the incidence surface of the prism, the light emitter can emit light rays, and the light emitted by the light emitter enters the prism through the incidence surface. The light receiver is arranged on one side of the emergent face of the prism and is used for receiving light totally reflected by the reflecting face, and the light reflected by the reflecting face passes through the emergent face and then passes through the prism to be received by the light receiver.

It can be understood that, in the case that the light rays emitted by the light emitter are totally reflected by the reflecting surface, the light receiver receives all the light rays reflected by the reflecting surface; under the condition that most of light rays emitted by the light emitter are refracted by the reflecting surface, the light receiver can receive weaker part of light rays reflected by the light transmitting part, but the light receiver cannot be triggered to generate corresponding electric signals due to the fact that the strength of the weaker part of light rays is very weak.

It should be noted that, the position of the liquid level sensing member may be set as required, and when the liquid level sensing member is set at the target position, the liquid level detecting device may detect whether liquid or air exists at the target position, thereby completing the liquid level detection at the target position.

Thus, all or part of the liquid level sensing piece is a light transmission part, and the reflection surface of the light transmission part is used for carrying out total reflection or refraction on light rays emitted by the liquid level detection device. The prism is arranged on one side of the liquid level sensing piece, so that the reflection effect of the prism is guaranteed, and the accuracy of liquid level detection is improved. All or part of the matching surface of the prism is arranged corresponding to the light-transmitting part; the light emitter is arranged on one side of the incidence surface of the prism, and light emitted by the light emitter enters the incidence surface and is reflected by all or part of the reflection surface; the light receiver is arranged on one side of the emergent surface of the prism and is used for receiving light totally reflected by the light transmitting part, and whether liquid exists at the detection position can be judged by judging the intensity of light received by the light receiver.

In addition, the liquid level detection device in the technical scheme provided by the application can also have the following additional technical characteristics:

in one technical scheme of the application, a first included angle is formed between light emitted by the light emitter and the reflecting surface, and the first included angle is an acute angle; the first included angle is larger than or equal to the complementary angle of the first critical angle, and smaller than or equal to the complementary angle of the second critical angle, the first critical angle is the critical angle of the light-transmitting part relative to the liquid, and the second critical angle is the critical angle of the light-transmitting part relative to the air.

Therefore, the first included angle is larger than or equal to the residual angle of the first critical angle and smaller than or equal to the residual angle of the second critical angle, the first critical angle is the critical angle of the light transmitting part relative to the liquid, the second critical angle is the critical angle of the light transmitting part relative to the air, the light receiver can receive all light rays reflected by the reflecting surface under the condition that the light transmitting part contacts with the air, the light receiver can only receive part of the light rays reflected by the reflecting surface under the condition that the light transmitting part contacts with the liquid, and the light receiver can generate or not generate electric signals under the condition that the light transmitting part contacts with the air and the liquid respectively, so that the liquid level detection is completed.

In one aspect of the present application, the light received by the light receiver is totally reflected once within the prism.

Therefore, the light received by the light receiver is subjected to primary total reflection in the prism, and the detection accuracy and the detection efficiency are improved.

In one aspect of the present application, the light receiver is located on an optical path of total reflection of light emitted from the light emitter through the reflecting surface.

Thus, the light receiver is positioned on the light path of the total reflection generated by the light emitter through the reflecting surface, so that the light reflected by the reflecting surface can be received by the light receiver.

In one aspect of the present application, the entrance face is perpendicular to the direction of the emitted light of the light emitter and/or the exit face is perpendicular to the direction of the totally reflected light.

In this way, the incident surface is perpendicular to the direction of the light emitted by the light emitter and/or the emergent surface is perpendicular to the direction of the light totally reflected, so that the light emitted by the light emitter propagates in the prism along the original emitting direction, and the light reflected by the reflecting surface leaves the prism along the original reflecting direction, and the refraction deviation does not need to be calculated in a compensating way.

In one embodiment of the present application, the liquid level sensor is configured as a container.

Therefore, the liquid level sensing piece is constructed into a container, the container can contain liquid, and whether the light transmission part is in contact with the liquid or not can be detected through the prism, the light emitter and the light receiver, and further whether the liquid exists at the corresponding position of the light transmission part or not is detected.

In one aspect of the present application, the reflective surface for contact with liquid or air is a flat surface.

Therefore, the reflecting surface is a flat surface, and the detection accuracy and the cleanliness of the liquid level detection device are improved.

In a technical scheme of this application, liquid level sensing piece includes a plurality of testing point positions, and every testing point position sets up a set of printing opacity portion, prism, light emitter and light receiver.

So, liquid level sensing spare includes a plurality of testing point positions, and every testing point position sets up a set of printing opacity portion, prism, light emitter and light receiver, makes liquid level detection device can carry out liquid level detection to a plurality of different positions.

In one technical scheme of the application, the light-transmitting part is a plastic light-transmitting part or a glass light-transmitting part, and/or; the light emitter is an infrared light emitting diode, and/or; the light receiver is an infrared receiving diode.

Therefore, the light transmission part is a plastic light transmission part or a glass light transmission part, the light emitter is an infrared light emitting diode, the light receiver is an infrared receiving diode, the detection accuracy of the liquid level detection device is improved, and the cost of the detection device is reduced.

A second aspect of the present application provides an electric home appliance comprising the liquid level detection device provided in the first aspect of the present application.

In this technical scheme, the home appliance may be one of an air cleaner, a food processor, a humidifier, or an air conditioner.

It can be understood that the containers for holding the liquid are required to be set in the above home appliances, and meanwhile, the liquid level position in the container is also a parameter required to be obtained when the home appliances work, so that the liquid level detection device can be applied to the home appliances, and the liquid level sensing element can be configured as the container for holding the liquid in the home appliances, and the detection of the liquid level is completed by using the light emitter and the light receiver.

It should be noted that, the home appliance includes the liquid level detection device provided by any one of the above technical solutions of the present application, so that the home appliance has all the beneficial technical effects of the liquid level detection device, and in order to avoid repetition, the description is omitted here.

Additional aspects and advantages of the application 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 application.

Drawings

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

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a liquid level detection device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a liquid level detection device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Wherein, the correspondence between the reference numerals and the component names in fig. 1 and 2 is:

10 liquid level detection device, 100 liquid level sensing piece, 110 light transmission part, 111 reflecting surface, 200 prism, 210 incident surface, 220 emergent surface, 230 mating surface, 300 light transmitter, 400 light receiver.

Detailed Description

In order that the above-recited objects, features and advantages of the present application will be more clearly understood, a more particular description of the application will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings and appended detailed description. It should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application, however, the present application may be practiced otherwise than as described herein, and thus the scope of the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

A liquid level detection apparatus 10 and a home appliance according to some embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to fig. 1 and 2.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in one embodiment of the present application, an embodiment of the present application provides a liquid level detection apparatus 10, the liquid level detection apparatus 10 comprising: a liquid level sensing member 100, a prism 200, a light emitter 300, and a light receiver 400; all or part of the liquid level sensing member 100 is a light-transmitting portion 110, and the light-transmitting portion 110 includes a reflecting surface 111; the prism 200 is disposed outside the liquid level sensor 100, the prism 200 includes an incident surface 210, a mating surface 230, and an exit surface 220, and all or part of the mating surface 230 is disposed corresponding to the light-transmitting portion 110; the light emitter 300 is disposed at one side of the incident surface 210 of the prism 200, and light emitted from the light emitter 300 can enter the incident surface 210 and be reflected in whole or in part by the reflecting surface 111; the light receiver 400 is disposed at the exit surface 220 side of the prism 200 for receiving the light totally reflected by the reflection surface 111.

In this embodiment, the liquid level detection apparatus 10 includes: the liquid level sensing member 100, the prism 200, the light emitter 300, and the light receiver 400. All or part of the liquid level sensing member 100 is a light-transmitting portion 110, the light-transmitting portion 110 includes a reflecting surface 111, and the reflecting surface 111 can refract or totally reflect the light entering the light-transmitting portion 110.

Specifically, the reflecting surface 111 may be used to contact air or liquid, and the prism 200 is disposed on a side of the light-transmitting portion 110 facing away from the reflecting surface 111, that is, the prism 200 is disposed on an outer side of the light-transmitting portion.

Further, the light-transmitting portion 110 of the liquid level sensor 100 may be made of plastic or glass.

As shown in fig. 2, when light enters an optically dense medium (medium having a relatively high refractive index) and an optically sparse medium (medium having a relatively low refractive index), the refraction angle θ increases as the incident angle α increases. In the case where the refraction angle θ increases to some extent, total reflection occurs, and in this case, the angle of reflection angle β is the same as the incident angle α. In the case where the refraction angle θ is 90 °, the corresponding incident angle α is a critical angle, i.e., a total reflection angle.

In the case where there is no liquid at the position detected by the liquid level detecting device 10, the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with air, so that the light is totally reflected, and the light receiver 400 may receive stronger light, thereby generating a corresponding electrical signal. In the case that the liquid exists at the position detected by the liquid level detecting device 10, the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with the liquid, so that the light is not totally reflected, part of the light is refracted into the liquid, the light received by the light receiver 400 is weak, and the light receiver 400 is insufficient to generate a corresponding electrical signal. Therefore, by determining the degree of intensity of the light received by the light receiver 400, it can be determined whether or not the liquid is present at the detection position.

In general, the liquid may be water or a mixed liquid containing water as a main component.

Further, the prism 200 is disposed at one side of the liquid level sensing member 100, specifically, the prism 200 is disposed at one side of the liquid level sensing member 100 facing away from the reflecting surface 111 of the liquid level sensing member 100, that is, the prism 200 does not need to be in contact with the liquid in any case, so as to avoid the situation that impurities in the liquid adhere to the surface of the prism in the related art, and avoid the prism from being corroded by the liquid due to long-time immersion of the prism in the liquid, which affects the reflecting effect of the prism, and reduces the accuracy of liquid level detection.

Further, the prism 200 includes an incident surface 210, a mating surface 230, and an exit surface 220, and in particular, the prism 200 may have a triangular structure, and the prism 200 is formed by enclosing the incident surface 210, the mating surface 230, and the exit surface 220. By adjusting the angles of the incident surface 210 and the exit surface 220, the direction of the light emitted from the light emitting portion into the light transmitting portion 110 can be adjusted, so that the light incident into the light transmitting portion 110 can determine whether the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with the liquid through the reflecting surface 111.

Further, all or part of the mating surface 230 is disposed corresponding to the light-transmitting portion 110, so that the light entering the prism 200 can directly enter the light-transmitting portion 110 after passing through the mating surface 230, and thus, when the liquid level sensing member 100 contacts air, total reflection of the light occurs on the reflecting surface 111.

Specifically, the materials of the prism 200 and the light-transmitting portion 110 are the same or similar, that is, the refractive indexes of the prism 200 and the light-transmitting portion 110 are the same or have smaller difference, so that after the light emitted from the prism 200 enters the light-transmitting portion 110, the light can continue to propagate along the original direction, and the incident angle of the light entering the reflecting surface 111 due to refraction generated when the light enters the light-transmitting portion 110 through the prism 200 is avoided.

Further, the light emitter 300 is disposed at one side of the incident surface 210 of the prism 200, and the light emitter 300 may emit light, and the light emitted from the light emitter 300 enters the prism 200 through the incident surface 210. The light receiver 400 is disposed on the outgoing surface 220 side of the prism 200, and the light receiver 400 is configured to receive the light totally reflected by the reflecting surface 111, and the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 passes through the prism 200 through the outgoing surface 220 and is received by the light receiver 400.

It can be understood that, in the case where the light emitted from the light emitter 300 is totally reflected by the reflecting surface 111, the light receiver 400 receives all the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111; in the case where the light emitted from the light emitter 300 is refracted by the reflecting surface 111 to a large extent, the light receiver 400 can receive a weaker part of the light reflected from the light transmitting portion 110, but the light receiver 400 is not triggered to generate a corresponding electrical signal due to the weaker part of the light.

It should be noted that, the position of the liquid level sensing member 100 may be set as required, and when the liquid level sensing member 100 is set at the target position, the liquid level detecting device 10 may be able to detect whether liquid or air is present at the target position, thereby completing the liquid level detection at the target position.

In this way, all or part of the liquid level sensing member 100 is the light-transmitting portion 110, and the reflecting surface 111 of the light-transmitting portion 110 totally reflects or refracts the light emitted from the liquid level detecting device 10. The prism 200 is disposed at one side of the liquid level sensing member 100, thereby ensuring a reflection effect of the prism 200 and improving accuracy of liquid level detection. All or part of the mating surface 230 of the prism 200 is disposed corresponding to the light-transmitting portion 110; the light emitter 300 is disposed at one side of the incident surface 210 of the prism 200, and light emitted from the light emitter 300 can enter the incident surface 210 and be reflected in whole or in part by the reflecting surface 111; the light receiver 400 is disposed on the exit surface 220 side of the prism 200, and is configured to receive the light totally reflected by the light transmitting portion 110, and determine whether the liquid exists at the detection position by determining the intensity of the light received by the light receiver 400.

In addition, the liquid level detection device 10 in the above embodiment provided in the present application may further have the following additional technical features:

in one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2, the light emitted by the light emitter 300 forms a first included angle with the reflecting surface 111, and the first included angle is an acute angle; the first included angle is greater than or equal to the complementary angle of the first critical angle, which is the critical angle of the light-transmitting portion 110 relative to the liquid, and less than or equal to the complementary angle of the second critical angle, which is the critical angle of the light-transmitting portion 110 relative to the air.

In this embodiment, the light emitted by the light emitter 300 forms a first angle γ with the reflecting surface 111, and the first angle γ is an acute angle, i.e. the first angle γ is the complementary angle of the incident angle α.

Further, the first included angle gamma is greater than or equal to the first critical angle theta ₁ The complementary angle of (a), i.e. the angle of incidence alpha of the light rays emitted by the light emitter 300 is smaller than the first critical angle theta ₁ . First critical angle theta ₁ In the case that the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with the liquid, the light entering the light transmitting portion 110 is refracted, so that the light receiver 400 can only receive the light with weaker light intensity reflected by the reflecting surface 111.

Further, the first included angle gamma is smaller than or equal to the second critical angle theta ₂ The complementary angle of (a), i.e. the angle of incidence alpha of the light rays emitted by the light emitter 300 is larger than the second critical angle theta ₂ . Second critical angle θ ₂ In the case that the light transmitting portion 110 contacts with air, the light entering the light transmitting portion 110 is totally reflected, so that the light receiver 400 can receive all the stronger light reflected by the reflecting surface 111, and the light receiver 400 is triggered to generate a corresponding electrical signal.

The relationship between the refractive index and the angle is: n1×sinα=n2×sinθ.

Where n1 is the refractive index of the optically dense medium (prism 200, light transmitting portion 110), α is the incident angle of light, n2 is the refractive index of the optically sparse medium (liquid or air), and θ is the refractive angle of light. I.e. the product of the sine of the angle of incidence and the refractive index of the optically dense medium is equal to the product of the sine of the angle of refraction and the refractive index of the optically sparse medium.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 2, the prism 200 and the light-transmitting portion 110 are made of the same PC (plastic) material, the refractive index of the PC material is about 1.58, and the second critical angle θ of total reflection of light occurs when light is injected into the air through the PC material ₂ Arcsin (1/1.58) =39.3°. Under the condition that the light rays are injected into liquid (water) through PC material, the light rays generate total reflection at a first critical angle theta ₁ Arcsin (1.33/1.58) =57.3°. An angle between the normal line and the light beam incident on the prism 200 and the light transmitting portion 110 of the PC material is set at 39.Between 3 ° and 57.3 °, in the case where there is no liquid at the position detected by the liquid level detecting device 10, the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with air, and since the incident angle α is greater than the critical angle of the PC material with respect to air, the light is totally reflected, and the light receiver 400 can receive stronger light. In the case that water exists at the position detected by the liquid level detecting device 10, the light transmitting portion 110 is in contact with the water, so that light cannot be totally reflected, most of the light can be refracted into the water, the light received by the light receiver 400 is weaker, and the light receiver 400 cannot be triggered to generate a corresponding electric signal. Therefore, by determining the intensity of the light received by the light receiver 400, it is possible to determine whether or not water is present at the detection position.

In this way, the first included angle is greater than or equal to the complementary angle of the first critical angle, and is less than or equal to the complementary angle of the second critical angle, the first critical angle is the critical angle of the transparent portion 110 relative to the liquid, the second critical angle is the critical angle of the transparent portion 110 relative to the air, the light receiver 400 can receive all the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 under the condition that the transparent portion 110 contacts with the air, the light receiver 400 can only receive part of the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 under the condition that the transparent portion 110 contacts with the liquid, and the light receiver 400 can generate or not generate an electric signal under the condition that the transparent portion 110 contacts with the air and the liquid respectively, thereby completing the liquid level detection.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the light received by the light receiver 400 is totally reflected once within the prism 200.

In this embodiment, the light received by the light receiver 400 is totally reflected once in the prism 200, so that the light emitted by the light emitter 300 is prevented from being reflected multiple times in the prism 200, and the light is affected by the uniformity of the light propagation medium during multiple reflections, which may affect the detection process multiple times, and the accumulated error is large, resulting in reduced detection accuracy and detection efficiency.

In this way, the light received by the light receiver 400 is totally reflected once by the prism 200, and the detection accuracy and the detection efficiency are improved.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the light receiver 400 is located on the optical path of the total reflection of the light emitted from the light emitter 300 through the reflection surface 111.

In this embodiment, the light receiver 400 is located on the optical path of the total reflection of the light emitted from the light emitter 300 by the reflecting surface 111, so that the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 can be received by the light receiver 400.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the entrance face 210 is perpendicular to the direction of the emitted light of the light emitter 300 and/or the exit face 220 is perpendicular to the direction of the totally reflected light.

In this embodiment, the incident surface 210 is perpendicular to the direction of the light emitted by the light emitter 300, so that the light emitted by the light emitter 300 is prevented from being refracted when entering the prism 200 through the incident surface 210, and the light propagates in the prism 200 along the light path direction emitted by the light emitter 300 after entering the prism 200.

Further, the light emitting surface 220 is perpendicular to the direction of the totally reflected light, so that the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 is prevented from being refracted when the light exits the prism 200 through the light emitting surface 220, and the light exits the prism 200 along the original reflecting direction.

It can be understood that by reasonably setting the shape of the prism 200, both the light emitted from the light emitting portion and the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 into the prism 200 can be maintained in the original optical path, and refraction is not generated, so that compensation calculation of the angle of refraction deviation caused by the change of the incident angle of the light entering the prism 200 and the incident angle of the light entering the light transmitting portion 110 from the prism 200 is not required.

In this way, the incident surface 210 is perpendicular to the direction of the light emitted by the light emitter 300 and/or the exit surface 220 is perpendicular to the direction of the totally reflected light, so that the light emitted by the light emitter 300 propagates in the prism 200 along the original emitting direction, and the light reflected by the reflecting surface 111 leaves the prism 200 along the original reflecting direction, without performing compensation calculation for refractive deviation.

In one embodiment of the present application, the level sensing member 100 is configured as a container.

In this embodiment, the liquid level sensing member 100 is configured as a container, which can hold a liquid, and the light transmitting part 110 can be detected whether it is in contact with the liquid through the prism 200, the light emitter 300, and the light receiver 400, thereby detecting whether the liquid is present at the corresponding positions thereof.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 1, the reflective surface 111 for contact with liquid or air is a flat surface.

In this embodiment, the reflecting surface 111 is a flat surface, so that the reflecting surface 111 can reflect or refract the light entering the light transmitting portion 110, and the detection accuracy of the liquid level detection device 10 is improved.

It will be appreciated that in the case where the level sensing key is configured as a container, since the reflecting surface 111 of the light transmitting portion 110 forms the accommodating cavity of the container, the reflecting surface 111 is configured as a plane surface capable of making the wall surface of the accommodating cavity smooth and flat, without hygienic dead angle, and further improving the capacity of the container.

In this way, the reflecting surface 111 is a flat surface, and the detection accuracy and the cleanliness of the liquid level detection device 10 are improved.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the liquid level sensing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of detection points, each of which is provided with a set of light transmitting parts 110, a prism 200, a light emitter 300, and a light receiver 400.

In this embodiment, the liquid level sensing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of detection points, and each detection point is provided with a group of light transmitting portions 110, prisms 200, light emitters 300 and light receivers 400, so that the liquid level detecting device 10 can detect the liquid level at a plurality of different positions, thereby meeting different requirements of users.

For example, in the case that the liquid level sensing member 100 is a cylindrical container, a plurality of detection points may be disposed along the height direction of the liquid level sensing member 100, so that the liquid level condition of the liquid level sensing member 100 at different heights may be detected, and if the detection points are sufficiently densely and uniformly arranged, the approximate height of the liquid in the liquid level sensing member 100 may be obtained according to the detection result.

In this way, the liquid level sensing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of detection points, and each detection point is provided with a set of the light transmitting portion 110, the prism 200, the light emitter 300 and the light receiver 400, so that the liquid level detection device 10 can perform liquid level detection on a plurality of different positions.

In one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the light-transmitting portion 110 is a plastic light-transmitting member or a glass light-transmitting member, and/or; the light emitter 300 is an infrared light emitting diode, and/or; the light receiver 400 is an infrared receiving diode.

In this embodiment, the light-transmitting portion 110 is a plastic light-transmitting member or a glass light-transmitting member, and the light-transmitting portion 110 is made of plastic or glass, so that the light-transmitting effect is good, the detection accuracy of the liquid level detection device 10 is high, the material cost is low, and the cost of the liquid level detection device 10 is further reduced.

Further, the light emitter 300 is an infrared light emitting diode, the light receiver 400 is an infrared light emitting diode, the emitted light is reliable and stable, the structure is firm and durable, the price is low, the detection accuracy of the liquid level detection device 10 is further improved, and the cost of the detection device is reduced.

Thus, the light transmitting part 110 is a plastic light transmitting part or a glass light transmitting part, the light emitter 300 is an infrared light emitting diode, the light receiver 400 is an infrared receiving diode, the detection accuracy of the liquid level detection device 10 is improved, and the cost of the detection device is reduced.

Embodiments of the present application also provide an electrical home appliance, which includes the liquid level detection device 10 provided in any of the embodiments of the present application.

In this embodiment, the home appliance may be one of an air cleaner, a food processor, a humidifier, or an air conditioner.

It will be appreciated that the containers for holding liquid are required to be disposed in the above-mentioned home appliances, and meanwhile, the liquid level position in the container is also a parameter to be obtained when the above-mentioned home appliances are in operation, so that the above-mentioned liquid level detecting device 10 can be applied to the above-mentioned home appliances, and the liquid level sensing member can be configured as a container for holding liquid in the above-mentioned home appliances, and the detection of the liquid level is completed by using the light emitter 300 and the light receiver 400.

It should be noted that, since the home appliance includes the liquid level detection device 10 provided in any of the embodiments of the present application, the home appliance has all the beneficial technical effects of the liquid level detection device 10, and is not repeated here.

In one possible embodiment, the liquid level detecting device 10 is formed by a water level sensing surface S (i.e. the light transmitting portion 110, a material made of transparent material, such as transparent PC and glass, etc.), a prism 200 (a material made of transparent material, such as transparent PC and glass, etc.), an infrared light emitting diode (i.e. the light emitter 300) and an infrared receiving diode group (i.e. the light receiver 400), wherein the infrared light emitting diode (the infrared receiving diode) is as perpendicular as possible to the incident surface 210 (the emergent surface 220) of the prism 200, if not perpendicular, the refraction deviation angle due to the change of the incident angle needs to be calculated, if the materials of the prism 200 and the water level sensing surface are close, the angle of the internal light does not change, as shown in fig. 2, when the incident angle alpha from the water level sensing surface is between the total reflection angle with water and air, no refraction light C is generated, the reflected light B is received by the infrared light emitting diode, the signal is strong, when the total reflection is not generated, the reflected light B is very weak, and the infrared light receiving signal is very weak, based on the above principle that whether the water level detecting function can be realized.

In the claims, specification and drawings of the present application, the term "plurality" means two or more, unless explicitly defined otherwise, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, merely for the convenience of describing the present application and making the description process simpler, and not for the purpose of indicating or implying that the apparatus or element in question must have the particular orientation described, be constructed and operated in the particular orientation, and therefore such description should not be construed as limiting the present application; the terms "connected," "mounted," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, a fixed connection between a plurality of objects, a removable connection between a plurality of objects, or an integral connection; the objects may be directly connected to each other or indirectly connected to each other through an intermediate medium. The specific meaning of the terms in this application will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the above data.

The descriptions of the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "particular embodiments," and the like in the claims, specification, and drawings of this application 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 application. In the claims, specification and drawings of this application, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

The foregoing description is only of the preferred embodiments of the present application and is not intended to limit the same, but rather, various modifications and variations may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims (9)

1. A liquid level detection device, characterized in that the liquid level detection device comprises:

the liquid level sensing piece is wholly or partially a light-transmitting part, and the light-transmitting part comprises a reflecting surface;

the prism is arranged on the outer side of the liquid level sensing piece and comprises an incident surface, a matching surface and an emergent surface, and all or part of the matching surface is arranged corresponding to the light-transmitting part;

the light emitter is arranged on one side of the incidence surface of the prism, and light emitted by the light emitter can enter the incidence surface and be reflected by the reflection surface in whole or in part;

the light receiver is arranged on one side of the emergent surface of the prism and is used for receiving light totally reflected by the reflecting surface;

the light received by the light receiver is totally reflected once in the prism.

2. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 1, wherein,

a first included angle is formed between the light emitted by the light emitter and the reflecting surface, and the first included angle is an acute angle;

the first included angle is larger than or equal to the residual angle of the first critical angle and smaller than or equal to the residual angle of the second critical angle, the first critical angle is the critical angle of the light-transmitting part relative to liquid, and the second critical angle is the critical angle of the light-transmitting part relative to air.

3. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 1, wherein,

the light receiver is positioned on a light path of total reflection generated by the light emitted by the light emitter through the reflecting surface.

4. The liquid level detecting device according to claim 1, wherein,

the incident surface is perpendicular to the direction of the emitted light of the light emitter, and/or;

the exit face is perpendicular to the direction of the totally reflected light.

5. The liquid level detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein,

the level sensing member is configured as a container.

6. The liquid level detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein,

the reflecting surface for contact with liquid or air is a flat surface.

7. The liquid level detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the liquid level sensing member includes a plurality of detection points, each of which is provided with a set of the light transmitting portion, the prism, the light emitter, and the light receiver.

8. The liquid level detection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein,

the light-transmitting part is a plastic light-transmitting part or a glass light-transmitting part, and/or

The light emitters are infrared light emitting diodes, and/or

The light receiver is an infrared receiving diode.

9. An electric home appliance, characterized in that it comprises:

the liquid level detection apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the home appliance is one of an air cleaner, a food processor, a humidifier, or an air conditioner.