Search

EP-4096361-B1 - HOME APPLIANCE

EP4096361B1EP 4096361 B1EP4096361 B1EP 4096361B1EP-4096361-B1

Inventors

  • KIM, MIJUNG
  • CHO, Junghyeon

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220530

Claims (14)

  1. A home appliance, comprising: a case (10); a cover plate (20) coupled to an upper end of the case (10); a plurality of heaters (30) disposed under the cover plate (20); a heat sink (71), wherein electronic elements (761, 762) forming a drive circuit are attached on an outer surface of the heat sink (71); an air blowing fan (80) spaced from the heat sink (71) and mounted in the case (10), and supplying the air into the case (10), wherein at least a portion of air discharged from the air blowing fan (80) flows into and flows in the air guide (85); and an air guide (85) wherein the air guide (85) surrounds the heat sink (71), the air guide (85) is adapted to provide a passage through which air for cooling the heat sink (71) flows, wherein air flowing in the air guide (85) contacts a portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) attached to the outer surface of the heat sink (71), and the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) are cooled by the contact between the flowing air and the outer surface of the heat sink (71). characterized in that the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) comprises: a rectifying element (761a, 762a) of the drive circuit; and an inverter switching element (761b, 762b) of the drive circuit, wherein the rectifying element (761a, 762a) is attached closer to the air blowing fan (80) than the inverter switching element (761b, 762b).
  2. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the heat sink (71) comprises: a first portion (710); a second portion (720) inclined downward from a first side of the first portion (710); and a third portion (730) inclined downward from a second side of the first portion (710), wherein the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) is attached to outer slanted surfaces of the second portion (720) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71).
  3. The home appliance of claim 2, wherein the second portion (720) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71) are arranged to face each other with respect to the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71), and a mounting structure of the air blowing fan (80) is set to minimize a difference in temperature between the second portion (720) of the heat sink (71) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71).
  4. The home appliance of claim 3, wherein first lateral-side and second lateral-side distances of the air blowing fan (80) is set with respect to a direction of rotational of the air blowing fan (80) and the heat sink (71), to minimize a difference in temperature between the second portion (720) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71).
  5. The home appliance of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) comprises: a first electronic element group (761) attached to the outer slanted surface of the second portion (720) of the heat sink (71); and a second electronic element group (762) attached to the outer slanted surface of the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71).
  6. The home appliance of claim 5, wherein the first electronic element group (761) is configured to drive a first portion of the plurality of heaters (30), and the second electronic element group (762) is configured to drive a second portion (720) of the plurality of heaters (30).
  7. The home appliance of claim 6, wherein the first portion of the plurality of heaters (30) is disposed on a first side of the case (10), wherein the second portion (720) of the plurality of heaters (30) is disposed on a second side of the case (10), wherein the first side of the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71) corresponds to the first side of the case (10), and wherein the second side of the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71) corresponds to the second side of the case (10).
  8. The home appliance of claim 6 or 7, wherein the first portion of the plurality of heaters (30) is a high-output first heater (30), wherein the second portion (720) of the plurality of heaters (30) are low-output second and third heaters (30), wherein the first electronic element group (761) comprises a first rectifier (761a) and a plurality of first inverter switches (761b) for driving the first heater (30), and wherein the second electronic element group (762) comprises a second rectifier (761b) and a plurality of second inverter switches (762b) for driving the second and third heaters (30).
  9. The home appliance of any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein a first air flow path (711) having a hollow hole shape is formed in the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71), wherein a temperature of the heat sink (71) is reduced by air flowing through the first air flow path (711), and wherein the second and third portions (720, 730) of the heat sink (71) respectively connect to the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71), to minimize a difference in temperature between the second portion (720) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71).
  10. The home appliance of any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein a lower surface of the first portion (710) of the heat sink (71), an inner slanted surface of the second portion (720) of the heat sink (71), and an inner slanted surface of the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71) defines a second air flow path (740), wherein a plurality of heat dissipation fins (741) is formed in such a way that the plurality of heat dissipation fins (741) protrudes downward from a wall of the second air flow path (740), and wherein a temperature of the heat sink (71) is reduced by air flowing through to the second air flow path (740).
  11. The home appliance of any one of claims 2 to 10, further comprising: at least one vane (514) disposed in a portion where the air blowing fan (80) and the air guide (85) communicate with each other, the vane (514) adapted to guide a flow of air discharged from the air blowing fan (80), wherein air uniformly flows to each of the second portion (720) and the third portion (730) of the heat sink (71) due to the at least one vane (514).
  12. The home appliance of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein an outlet of the air blowing fan (80) is disposed at a slant near one end of the heat sink (71) to form a predetermined angle with respect to the one end of the heat sink (71).
  13. The home appliance of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising: a circuit board (70) with the drive circuit that drives the plurality of heaters (30), wherein the air guide (85) is mounted on the circuit board (70); and a base bracket (50) on which the circuit board and the air blowing fan (80) are mounted, wherein a first vent (111a) is formed in a first side of a lower surface of the case (10), a first penetration hole (511) is formed in a first side of the base bracket (50) corresponding to an upper side of the first vent (111a), wherein the air blowing fan (80) is mounted on the first penetration hole (511) and wherein the air blowing fan (80) is configured to supply at least a portion of external air having flown through the first vent (111a) and the first penetration hole (511) to a first side of the air guide (85) coupled to an outlet of the air blowing fan (80), and wherein the external air flowing in the air guide (85) contacts the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762).
  14. The home appliance of claim 13, wherein a second vent (111b) is formed in a second side of the lower surface of the case (10), wherein a second penetration hole (512) is formed on a second side of the base bracket (50) corresponding to an upper side of the second vent (111b), wherein a second side of the air guide (85) is mounted on an upper portion of the second penetration hole (512), and wherein external air contacting the portion of the electronic elements (761, 762) is discharged out of the case (10) through the second penetration hole (512) and the second vent (111b).

Description

A home appliance, and a heat sink installed therein are disclosed herein. Various types of cooking appliances are used to heat food or other items (hereinafter, collectively "food") at homes or restaurants. The cooking appliances include gas ranges using gas and electric ranges using electricity. The electric ranges are classified as resistance heating-type electric ranges and induction heating-type electric ranges. In terms of electrical resistance heating, electric current is supplied to a metallic resistance wire or a non-metallic heat generation element, such as silicon carbide, to generate heat, and the generated heat is radiated or conducted to heat an object to be heated, for example, a cooking container, such as a pot, or a frying pan, for example. In terms of induction heating, high-frequency power is supplied to a coil to generate a magnetic field around the coil, and eddy current produced in the generated magnetic field is used to heat an object to be heated made of a metallic material. In basic theories of induction heating, when electric current is supplied to a working coil or a heating coil, heat is generated while an object to be heated is inductively heated, and the object to be heated is heated by the generated heat. Additionally, electric ranges are provided with a drive circuit for driving a heater, such as a working coil, for example. The drive circuit is embodied by a plurality of electronic elements, and the plurality of electronic elements is disposed on a printed circuit board. In this case, heat is generated as the electronic elements operate, increasing a temperature in the electric range. Additionally, as the heater operates, the temperature in the electric range increases further. An increase in the temperature of the electronic elements themselves causes damage to the electronic elements and operational errors of the electric range. To cool the electronic elements, a heat sink is mounted on a printed circuit board. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat sink included in a related art home appliance. FIG. 1 is from the drawings (FIG. 1) of EP 2,679,913 B1. Referring to FIG. 1, as an induction apparatus, the home appliance 10a includes an electronic unit 40a, a heat sink unit 20a, and a fan unit 30a. The electronic unit 40a is comprised of two electronic circuit boards 42a, 44a that generate high-frequency AC. Each of the electronic boards 42a, 44a includes five electric power components 46a. The heat sink unit 20a is comprised of two heat sinks 22a, 24a that are spaced from each other. The heat sink 22a, 24a connects to any one of the electronic circuit boards 42a, 44a. The heat sink 22a, 24a has five cooling fins that are arranged horizontally in a basic shape in relation to a standard operational orientation of each home appliance 10a. The basic shape includes a slant accommodation area 23a, 25a that is provided for thermal contact of an electric power component 46a. The fan unit 30a includes a radial fan 32a. The fan unit 30a is surrounded by the heat sink unit 20a. The fan unit 30a includes a fan cover 34a that partially overlaps the heat sink 22a, 24a. The fan cover 34a includes a suction opening 36a. The fan unit 30a and the heat sink unit 20a form two different cooling channels 60a, 62a. The fan unit 30a and the heat sink unit 20a are arranged symmetrically in a double layer with respect to a rotational axis 38a of the radial fan 32a. The cooling channels 60a, 62a are formed to face each other. Most of the air output from the fan unit 30a flows into the heat sink unit 20a. A temperature of the heat sink unit 20a is reduced by the air, and a temperature of the electric power component 46a is decreased by the reduced temperature of the heat sink unit 20a. That is, as the air output from the fan unit 30a is not directly delivered to the electric power component 46a, the electric power component 46a indirectly cools. A method of indirect cooling used in the home appliance 10a of FIG. 1 is less efficient in cooling than a method of direct cooling. US 2008/142512 (A1) relates to a cooking appliance efficiently cooling electric heating elements thereof. DE 199 35 835 (A1) relates to an inductive cooking hob comprising an electric cooling fan incorporated in front part of hob below hob surface for removing waste heat from electrical circuit components for inductors. EP 3 651 550 (A1) provides an induction heating device capable of controlling a temperature of an inverter substrate and a resonance substrate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color.. The invention is specified by the independent claim. Preferred embodiments are defined by the dependent claims. Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat sink included in a related art home appliance;FIG. 2 i