Heat-generating assembly and water heater

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202420510997.4, filed on Mar. 15, 2024 the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure belongs to a technical field of electrical apparatus, and in particular to a heat-generating assembly and a water heater.

BACKGROUND

Heat-generating assemblies are widely used in different electrical appliances and can play a role of heating. When a heat-generating assembly heats a liquid, a high-power instant heating cup is used to improve a heating efficiency of the heat-generating assembly. During a heating process, a cold water enters a heat-generating pipe from a first water inlet, and is heated by the heat-generating pipe into a hot water. The hot water is discharged from a first water outlet to an outside of the heat-generating pipe.

SUMMARY

The disclosure aims to solve a technical problem that a heat-generating assembly occupies a large space, at least to a certain extent. To this end, the disclosure provides a heat-generating assembly and water heater.

A heat-generating assembly according to some embodiments of the disclosure includes: a plurality of heat-generating pipes, which are disposed along a first direction and have a first water inlet and a first water outlet; a water inlet pipe in communication with the first water inlet; and a water outlet pipe comprising a transition portion, a bend portion, and a water outlet portion which are connected in sequence, an end of the transition portion away from the bend portion being in communication with the first water outlet. A plane on which an axis of the bend portion is located is perpendicular to a plane on which both the first direction and a second direction are located, the second direction being a length direction of the heat-generating pipe.

A water heater according to some embodiments of the disclosure includes the heat-generating assembly as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description only illustrate some embodiments of the disclosure, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other accompanying drawings can also be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure from a first angle of view.

FIG. 2 shows a partial enlarged view of a portion indicated by B in FIG. 1 of the heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of a heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure from a first angle of view.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of the heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure from a second angle of view.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of the heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure from a third angle of view.

FIG. 6 shows a partial enlarged view of a portion indicated by A in FIG. 3 of the heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a partial enlarged view of a portion indicated by C in FIG. 7 of the heat-generating assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an upper cover of a heat-generating pipe according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of a sealing structure of a housing of the heat-generating pipe according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings, corresponding relationships between reference signs and component names in FIG. 1 to FIG. 10 are as follows:

• • 100, heat-generating assembly; 110, water inlet pipe; 112, second water inlet; 114, second water outlet;
  • 120, heat-generating pipe; 121a, first water inlet; 121b, first water outlet; 122, housing;
  • 122a, accommodation chamber; 122b, opening; 122c, first installation section; 122d, second installation section; 122e, heating bin; 122f, sealing joint; 122g, first subsection; 122h, second subsection; 123, heating element; 124, upper cover; 124a, installation groove; 124b, main body; 124c, cover plate; 124d, partition plate; 125, sealing element; 126, first connection portion; 127, second connection portion; 128, cover body;
  • 130, water outlet pipe; 131a, third water inlet; 131b, third water outlet; 132, transition portion; 134, bend portion; 134a, first connection section; 134b, second connection section; 134c, third connection section; 136, water outlet portion; 136a, transition section; 136b, water outlet section;
  • 140, first connection pipe; 150, second connection pipe; 160, fix member.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments, rather than all embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the embodiments in the disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts fall within the protection scope sought for by the disclosure.

It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the disclosure are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. among various components in a specific posture. If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

In the disclosure, unless otherwise clearly stipulated and limited, the terms “connected”, “fixed”, etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, “fixed” can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

In addition, descriptions such as “first”, “second”, etc. in the disclosure are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be understood as indication or implications of relative importance or implicit indication of the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features defined as “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, the technical solutions in various embodiments can be combined with one another, but the combined technical solutions must be based on that they can be implemented by those skilled in the art. When the combined technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, it should be considered that such combined technical solutions do not exist, and are not within the protection scope sought for by the disclosure.

Technical solutions of the disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

As shown in to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a heat generating assembly 100 is provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The heat-generating assembly 100 according to the embodiments of the disclosure can be applied to electrical apparatus that are required for heating, such as water heaters, water dispensers, smart toilets, and bathroom fixtures. The heat-generating assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure can reduce a size of the heat-generating assembly 100 and reduce a space occupied by the heat-generating assembly 100.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, for the convenience of description, the heat-generating assembly 100 heating water is taken as an example for explanation. When the heat-generating assembly 100 heats other liquids or heats gas, the same can be applied. A temperature of a water in a water outlet pipe 130 is greater than or equal to that of a water in a water inlet pipe 110. In order to distinguish waters of different temperatures, the water in the water inlet pipe 110 is defined as cold water, and the water in the water outlet pipe 130 is defined as hot water.

In the embodiment of the present application, the heat-generating assembly 100 includes: a plurality of heat-generating pipes 120, a water inlet pipe 110 and a water outlet pipe 130, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are arranged along a first direction, the heat-generating pipes 120 have a first water inlet 121a and a first water outlet 121b; the water outlet pipe 130 is in communication with the first water outlet 121b, and the water inlet pipe 110 is in communication with the first water outlet 121b.

In some embodiments, the water outlet pipe 130 includes a transition portion 132, a bend portion 134 and a water outlet portion 136 which are sequentially connected. An end of the transition portion 132 away from the bend portion 134 is in communication with the first water outlet 121b. The plane on which the axis of the bend portion 134 is located is perpendicular to the plane on which both the first direction and the second direction are located. The second direction is the length direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. The axis of the bend portion 134 is an axis of a roughly cylindrical water pipe that forms the bent portion 134.

In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 is a primary apparatus of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 for heating. The cold water in the water inlet pipe 110, after entering into the heat-generating pipe 120, is heated by the heat-generating pipe 120 and then flows out from the water outlet pipe 130. The cold water, after entering into the heat-generating pipe 120, flows along an extension direction of the heat-generating pipe 120, is heated by different positions of the heat-generating pipe 120, and finally flows out from the water outlet pipe 130.

The water inlet pipe 110 is a strip-shaped through pipe. The second water inlet 112 of the water inlet pipe 110 is in communication with an external water source, and the second water outlet 114 of the water inlet pipe 110 is in communication with the first water inlet 121a, for guiding an external cold water into the entire heat-generating assembly 100, and thus the heat-generating assembly 100 can heat a cold water into a hot water. The third water inlet 131a of the water outlet pipe 130 is in communication with the first water outlet 121b, and the third water outlet 131b of the water outlet pipe 130 will be used to connect to an external use end, for outputting the hot water heated by the heat-generating assembly 100 to the outside of the heat-generating assembly 100 for a user to use.

In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 is substantially in a shape of a long strip. The first water inlet 121a and the first water outlet 121b are two different ends of the heat-generating pipe 120, respectively. A temperature of the hot water flowing out of the first water outlet 121b is related to a length and power of the heat-generating pipe 120. In a condition that the heat-generating pipe 120 has a constant power, the longer the heat-generating pipe 120 is, the higher the temperature of the hot water entering into the water outlet pipe 130 is. Conversely, the shorter the heat-generating pipe 120 is, the lower the temperature of the hot water entering into the water outlet pipe 130 is. In a condition that the heat-generating pipe 120 has a constant length, the higher a power is, the higher the temperature of the hot water entering into the water outlet pipe 130 is, and conversely, the lower the power is, the lower the temperature of the hot water entering into the water outlet pipe 130 is. The length and power of the heat-generating pipe 120 can be set according to working requirements of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 to meet a demand for the hot water.

In some embodiments, the water outlet pipe 130 is in communication with the heat-generating pipe 120, and thus it can be considered that the water outlet pipe 130 and the heat-generating pipe 120 form a communication vessel. The hot water in the heat-generating pipe 120, after entering into the water outlet pipe 130, needs to pass through a highest point in the water outlet pipe 130 before flowing out of the water outlet pipe 130.

In some embodiments, a plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are disposed along the first direction. Since a single heat-generating pipe 120 is substantially strip-shaped, the second direction is a length direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. If the heat-generating pipe 120 is cylindrical, the second direction is an axial direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. The plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 being disposed in the first direction can be considered as the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 being disposed in sequence and spaced apart in the first direction, that is, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are disposed side by side in the first direction. The first direction may be a radial direction of the heat-generating pipes 120. The plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 may be disposed along the radial direction of the heat-generating pipes 120. Since the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are disposed in sequence in the first direction, the more the number of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 is, the longer a length of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 in the first direction is. For a convenience of description, it can be defined that the first direction is a width direction of the heat-generating assembly 100 and the second direction is a length direction of the heat-generating assembly 100.

For the convenience of description, a third direction is defined to be perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction. The first direction, the second direction and the third direction form a coordinate system, that is, the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction may be perpendicular to one another. The third direction refers to a thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120 (as shown in FIG. 1, X represents the first direction, Y represents the second direction; and Z represents the third direction).

The plane on which the axis of the bend portion 134 is located is perpendicular to the plane on which both the first direction and the second direction are located. The first direction is the width direction of the entire heat-generating assembly 100, and the second direction is the length direction of the entire heat-generating assembly 100. The plane on which the axis of the bend portion 134 is located being perpendicular to the plane on which both the first direction and the second direction are located indicates that the bend portion 134 is not disposed on a plane defined by the first direction and the second direction. The plane on which the axis of the bend portion 134 is located may be a plane on which both the second direction and the third direction are located, or may be a plane on which both the first direction and the third direction are located. Regardless of whether the plane, on which the axis of the bend portion 134 is located, is a plane on which both the second direction and the third direction are located or a plane on which the first direction and the third direction are located, at least one portion of the bend portion 134 is disposed in the third direction, that is, at least one portion of the bend portion 134 is disposed along the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120, to make the bend portion 134 not occupy a space of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 in the width direction, to be capable of reducing a width of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 and miniaturizing the heat-generating assembly 100.

It should be noted that the third direction being perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction does not indicate absolutely 90 degrees therebetween, but indicates that an angle between the third direction and the first direction is between 80 degrees to 100 degrees, and an angle between the third direction and the second direction is between 80 degrees to 100 degrees. Likewise, one object being perpendicular to another object mentioned in this disclosure indicates that an angle between these two objects is between 80 degrees to 100 degrees.

In some embodiments, at least one portion of the bend portion 134 is located above the heat-generating pipe 120, which indicates that the at least one portion of the bend portion 134 is higher than the heat-generating pipe 120. At least one portion of the bend portion 134 being higher than the heat-generating pipe 120 may indicate that the entire bend portion 134 may be higher than the heat-generating pipe 120, or may also indicate that a portion of the bend portion 134 is higher than the heat-generating pipe 120 and a portion of the bend portion 134 is lower than the heat-generating pipe 120. In either case, the hot water, before being discharged out of the heating element 100 during operations of the heat-generating assembly, needs to pass through the bend portion 134 above the heat-generating pipe 120 100. Since the bend portion 134 is in communication with the heat-generating pipe 120, when the hot water passes through the portion of the bend portion 134 above the heat-generating pipe 120, it is indicated that the heat-generating pipe 120 is completely filled with hot water, that is, the entire heat-generating pipe 120 is filled with the hot water, and thus there is basically no situation that a portion of the heat-generating pipe 120 has no the hot water. A dry burning in the heat-generating pipe 120 can be avoided as much as possible. The failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120 can be reduced. The service life of the heat-generating pipe 120 can be increased.

The entire heat-generating pipe 120 in a working state is disposed along a vertical direction, that is, the second direction. The first water outlet 121b is located at a top of the heat-generating pipe 120, the first water inlet 121a being located at a bottom of the heat-generating pipe 120, at least one portion of the bend portion 134 being higher than the first water outlet 121b.

The water, after entering into the heat-generating pipe 120, flows from the bottom of the heat-generating pipe 120 to the top of the heat-generating pipe 120, to enable the water to flow through the entire heat-generating pipe 120, to increase a heat exchange time between the water and the heat-generating pipe 120, effectively take away a heat on a surface of the heat-generating pipe 120, reduce a heat density of the heat-generating pipe 120 when working, extend a service life of the heat-generating pipe 120 and reduce a failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120.

Since the first water outlet 121b is located at the top of the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, the first water outlet 121b is located to be a topmost portion of the entire heat-generating pipe 120.

At least one portion of the water outlet pipe 130 is disposed higher than the first water outlet 121b. When the hot water in the heat-generating pipe 120 flows out from the first water outlet 121b through a higher portion of the water outlet pipe 130, the entire heat-generating pipe 120 is filled with water. Thus the dry burning of a portion at some height within the heat-generating pipe 120 is basically avoided, to reduce the failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120 and increase the service life of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, the bend portion 134 includes a first connection section 134a, a second connection section 134b and a third connection section 134c connected in sequence. An end of the first connection section 134a away from the second connection section 134b is in communication with the transition portion 132. An end of the third connection section 134c away from the second connection section 134b is in communication with the water outlet portion 136. The first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are extended along the first direction, and the second connection section 134b is extended along the third direction.

The second connection section 134b mainly serves to connect the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c. The second connection section 134b is extended along the third direction, to make the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c to be spaced apart in the third direction, that is, the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are arranged in the third direction. In other words, the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are disposed in the thickness direction of the entire heat-generating assembly 100, and thus an occupied space in the width direction of entire water outlet pipe 130 can be reduced in comparison with a situation that the first connection section 134a, the second connection section 134b and the third connection section 134c are disposed along the width direction of the heat-generating assembly 100, to be capable of reducing a width of the heat-generating assembly 100 as much as possible, and miniaturizing entire heat-generating assembly 100.

The second connection section 134b is located above the heat-generating pipe 120, and the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are both located below the second connection section 134b.

The second connection section 134b is a highest portion of the entire water outlet pipe 130. A water flowing out from the first water outlet 121b, after passing through the transition portion 132, enters into the first connection section 134a and flows upward into the second connection section 134b and then enters into the third connection section 134c and finally flows out of the water outlet pipe 130 through the water outlet portion 136.

That is to say, in the water outlet pipe 130, the second connection section 134b is the highest portion of the entire water outlet pipe 130. A hot water flowing out of the water outlet section 136b, rises through the first connection section 134a, and then enters into an inflection point in the second connection section 134b to flow downward, and then enters into the third connection section 134c, and is finally discharged from the water outlet portion 136 to the outside of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

During the hot water rises through the first connection section 134a, a gas will enter into the second connection section 134b through the first connection section 134a along an upward path if there is the gas in the hot water, to be capable of reducing the gas gathering at the first water outlet 121b and a damage to the heat-generating pipe 120 due to high gas pressure therein.

In some embodiments, projections of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c on a plane, on which both the first direction and the second direction are located, overlap. With such arrangement, a space occupied by the water outlet pipe 130 in the width direction of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 can be reduced, to reduce the width of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, as for the projections of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c on the plane, on which both the first direction and the second direction are located, overlapping, it may be that the projections of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c on the plane, on which both the first direction and the second direction are located, overlap completely, or it may be that the projections of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c on the plane, on which both the first direction and the second direction are located, overlap only partially.

The first direction is the width direction of the heat-generating assembly 100, and the second direction is the length direction of the heat-generating assembly 100. The projections of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c on the plane, on which both the first direction and the second direction are located, overlap, to make the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c to overlap and be spaced apart in the third direction. The first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are sequentially disposed in the thickness direction of the entire heat-generating assembly 100. In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 is substantially cylindrical. A diameter of the heat-generating pipe 120 is larger than that of the water outlet pipe 130. The first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are disposed in sequence in the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120, to make a thickness of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c as a whole not much different from the thickness of the heat-generating pipe 120. The thickness of the heat-generating assembly 100 is hardly increased while the width of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 is reduced.

In some embodiments, the water outlet portion 136 includes a transition section 136a and a water outlet section 136b. The third connection section 134c is in communication with the water outlet section 136b through the transition section 136a. The transition section 136a is inclined. The water outlet section 136b is located below the first connection section 134a.

In a state of use, the first connection section 134a is disposed behind the third connection section 134c, the water outlet section 136b being disposed below the first connection section 134a, the transition section 136a being inclined, to enable the water outlet section 136b to be disposed below the first connection section 134a to facilitate an installation and fixation of the water outlet section 136b.

In some embodiments, the water outlet section 136b and the heat-generating pipe 120 are disposed side by side. That is, the water outlet section 136b and the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are disposed side by side, it is indicated that the water outlet section 136b is arranged in the width direction of the heat-generating pipes 120, to facilitate the installation and fixation of the water outlet section 136b.

A connection portion between the transition section 136a and the bend portion 134 forms a first inflection point. A connection portion between the transition section 136a and the water outlet section 136b forms a second inflection point.

In some embodiments, the transition section 136a is in communication with the third connection section 134c. Since the second connection section 134b of the bend portion 134 is extended in the third direction, the third connection section 134c may protrude out of the heat-generating pipe 120. The connection portion between the transition section 136a and the third connection section 134c forming the first inflection point may allow the transition section 136a to be tilted inward to facilitate an arrangement of the entire water outlet portion 136. In some embodiments, the connection portion between the transition section 136a and the third connection section 134c forming the inflection point indicates that an extension direction of the transition section 136a is different from an extension direction of the third connection section 134c. During a water enters into the transition section 136a from the third connection section 134c, a direction of flowing of the water can be changed, to enable the water to collide with a pipe wall of the third connection section 134c and a pipe wall of the transition section 136a, to be capable of having a buffering effect on a flow rate of the water to slow down the flow rate of the water, to enable a more fully mixed water to achieve a uniformity of temperature of outlet water from the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, the connection portion between the transition section 136a and the water outlet section 136b forming a second inflection point indicates that an extension direction of the transition section 136a is different from an extension direction of the water outlet section 136b. During a water enters into the water outlet section 136b from the transition section 136a, a direction of flowing of the water can be changed, to enable the water to collide with a pipe wall of the water outlet section 136b and a pipe wall of the transition section 136a, to be capable of having a buffering effect on a flow rate of the water to slow down the flow rate of the water, to enable a more fully mixed water to achieve a uniformity of temperature of outlet water from the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, a projection of the water outlet section 136b on a plane, on which both the second direction and the third direction are located, coincides with a projection of the heat-generating pipe 120 on the plane on which both the second direction and the third direction are located.

In some embodiments, the second direction is the length direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. The third direction is the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. Thus, the plane on which both the second direction and the third direction are located is parallel to the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. A projection of the water outlet section 136b on the plane, on which both the second direction and the third direction are located, coinciding with a projection of the heat-generating pipe 120 on a plane, on which both the second direction and the third direction are located, indicates that the water outlet section 136b is located within a thickness range of the heat-generating pipe 120 and does not protrude out of the thickness range of the heat-generating pipe 120. Since the water outlet section 136b is a portion for discharging the hot water for the entire heat-generating assembly 100, the water outlet section 136b needs to be in communication with an external use end. The water outlet section 136b being located within the thickness range of the heat-generating pipe 120 can facilitate a connection between the water outlet section 136b and the external use end, to enable to facilitate an installation of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, cross-sections of the water outlet pipe 130 and the heat-generating pipe 120 are both circular, and a diameter of the water outlet pipe 130 is smaller than a radius of the heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 is a component for heating of the entire heat-generating assembly 100, and is mainly used for heating the water. The water outlet pipe 130 is used for allowing the water heated by the heat-generating pipe 120 to flow out of the heat-generating assembly 100. The diameter of the water outlet pipe 130 is smaller than the radius of the heat-generating pipe 120, and thus it can be considered that the diameter of the water outlet pipe 130 is relatively small, while the diameter of the heat-generating pipe 120 is relatively large. During a heating process, since the diameter of the water outlet pipe 130 is relatively small, a flow rate of a water in the water outlet pipe 130 is relatively small. An external cold water, after entering into the heat-generating pipe 120 from the water inlet pipe 110, can stay in the heat-generating pipe 120 for a longer time to increase a heat exchange time with the heat-generating pipe 120, to enable the water to fully exchange heat with the heat-generating pipe 120, to ensure a temperature of the water flowing out of the water outlet pipe 130 and improve a user experience.

In some embodiments, diameters of all portions of the water outlet pipe 130 are equal, that is, the diameters of the transition portion 132, the bend portion 134 and the water outlet portion 136 are all smaller than the radius of the heat-generating pipe 120. That is to say, the diameters of the first connection section 134a, the second connection section 134b and the third connection section 134c are all smaller than the radius of the heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, since the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are overlapped in the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, a sum of the diameter of the first connection section 134a, the diameter of the third connection section 134c and a distance between the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c in the thickness direction of the heat-generating pipe 120 is a thickness of entire bend portion 134. Since the diameters of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c are both smaller than the radius of the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, a sum of the diameters of the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c is smaller than the diameter of the heat-generating pipe 120, and the distance between the first connection section 134a and the third connection section 134c is not too large, to make the thickness of the entire bend portion 134 substantially equal to the thickness of the heat-generating pipe 120 or the thickness of the bend portion 134 slightly larger than the thickness of the heat-generating pipe 120. In this way, a portion of the bend portion 134 protruding from the heat-generating pipe 120 can be reduced as much as possible, and the thickness of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 can also be avoided from being increased as much as possible.

In some embodiments, the transition portion 132 is directly in communication with the first water outlet 121b of one of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120, and the transition portion 132 is extended along the first direction.

The transition portion 132 is a water inlet end for the entire water outlet pipe 130. A water flowing out from the first water outlet 121b of the heat-generating pipe 120 directly enters into the transition portion 132. The transition portion 132 is extended along the first direction, that is, the transition portion 132 is extended along the width direction of the heat-generating assembly 100. Since a length of the transition portion 132 is very short, a size of the entire heat-generating assembly 100 in the width direction is not basically increased.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the heat-generating pipes 120 includes a plurality of the heat-generating pipes 120 which are sequentially disposed side by side. The first water inlets 121a of various heat-generating pipes 120 are all in communication with the water inlet pipe 110, and the first water outlets 121b of various heat-generating pipes 120 are all in communication with the water outlet pipe 130.

Since the first water inlets 121a of various heat-generating pipes 120 are all in communication with the water inlet pipe 110, and the first water outlets 121b of various heat-generating pipes 120 are all in communication with the water outlet pipe 130, it is indicated that the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in parallel, that is, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 heat waters independently from one another. The water in the water inlet pipe 110 becomes the hot water after passing through and being heated by one of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 and then enters into the water outlet pipe 130. That is to say, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 can heat different waters at the same time, and thus a flow quantity of water of the hot water in the water outlet pipe 130 can be increased at a same time period, to enable the water output of the hot water from the third water outlet 131b to be increased in a short time, to enable the users to use enough hot water in a short time to improve a comfort experience of the users.

In some embodiments, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in parallel, and thus each heat-generating pipe 120 only needs to heat a portion of water. A working load of the heat-generating pipe 120 is low, to reduce the failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120 and increase the service life of the heat-generating pipe 120.

An axis of the first connection pipe 140 is offset from a middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120, and thus it is indicated that the axis of the first connection pipe 140 does not pass through the middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, it can be considered that the first connection pipe 140 is eccentrically disposed on the heat-generating pipe 120. The axis of the first connection pipe 140 can also indicate a flow direction of a water entering into the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, a water outlet direction of the first connection pipe 140. As the axis of the first connection pipe 140 is offset from the middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120, it is indicated that the water entering into the heat-generating pipe 120 from the first connection pipe 140 may not pass through the middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120 and may collide with an inner wall of the heat-generating pipe 120, to form a spiral water path inside the heat-generating pipe 120, which can achieve full mixing of a liquid in the heat-generating pipe 120 and make a temperature of outlet water as uniform as possible. In some embodiments, since a spiral water path is formed inside the heat-generating pipe 120, a flow path of a water in the heat-generating pipe 120 is increased, and a heat exchange time between the water and the heat-generating pipe 120 is increased, to enable the water effectively take away a heat on a surface of the heat-generating pipe 120, to improve a heat exchange efficiency, reduce a heat density of the heat-generating pipe 120 when working, and extend service life of the heat-generating pipe 120 and reduce a failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, the water forms a spiral water path inside the heat-generating pipe 120, which can increase a flow path of the water in the heat-generating pipe 120, increase a heat exchange time between the water and the heat-generating pipe 120, and make full use of the heat from the heat-generating pipe 120, to enable the water to reach a target temperature value when flowing out of the heat-generating pipe 120 from the first water outlet 121b, to improve a heating effect of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, a middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120 refers to an area which is inside a cylinder with a center of the heat-generating pipe 120 as a center and a radius of half or one-third of a minimum dimension of the heat-generating pipe 120. A dimension of the heat-generating pipe 120 refers to a distance between a center of the heat-generating pipe 120 and any point on an inner wall of the heat-generating pipe 120, and in turn the minimum dimension of the heat-generating pipe 120 refers to a minimum distance between a center of the heat-generating pipe 120 and a point on an inner wall of the heat-generating pipe 120. In some embodiments, when the heat-generating pipe 120 is a cylinder, a middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120 refers to an area which is inside a cylinder with a center of the heat-generating pipe 120 as a center and a radius of half or one-third of a radius of the heat-generating pipe 120. In a condition that the heat-generating pipe 120 is a cylinder, the axis of the first connection pipe 140 being offset from the middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120 can also be considered as the axis of the first connection pipe 140 being offset from the center of the heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 includes a housing 122 and a cover body 128 connected to the housing 122. The first water inlet 121a is disposed at the cover body 128. The first water outlet 121b is disposed at the housing 122. The first connection pipe 140 is in communication with the cover body 128.

In some embodiments, the housing 122 and the cover body 128 are separated structures. The cover body 128 is disposed at an end of the housing 122. The cover body 128 can be connected to the housing 122 by means of threads. Components such as heat-generating members or the like are mainly installed in the housing 122. If the heat-generating members in the housing 122 fail or the housing 122 is therein blocked, the cover body 128 can be removed from the housing 122 to facilitate maintenance of the components in the housing 122.

In some embodiments, the cover body 128 and the first connection pipe 140 are integrally formed. The cover body 128 and the first connection pipe 140 can be integrally formed by welding. The first connection pipe 140 is mainly used to connect the water inlet pipe 110 and the heat-generating pipe 120. The first connection pipe 140 and the cover body 128 being integrally formed indicates that the first connection pipe 140 and the cover body 128 are an integrated structure, and thus assembly processes between the first connection pipe 140 and the cover body 128 can reduced and an assembly between the first connection pipe 140 and the cover body 128 can be facilitated. At the same time, a risk of leakage between the first connection pipe 140 and the cover body 128 can also be avoided.

In some embodiments, the first connection pipe 140 may be a straight pipe, and an extension direction of the straight pipe is tangent to an inner wall surface of the cover body 128. An interior of the cover body 128 is a hollow structure. An extension direction of the first connection pipe 140 being tangent to the inner wall surface of the cover body 128 indicates that a flow direction of a water entering into the first connection pipe 140 is tangent to the inner wall surface of the cover body 128, and thus it is indicated that a position at which the water from the first connection pipe 140 enters into the heat-generating pipe 120 is farthest from a middle portion of the heat-generating pipe 120. Therefore, the water, after entering into the cover body 128 from the first connection pipe 140, forms a spiral water path with a longer length in the entire heat-generating pipe 120, and thus a time of flowing of the water in the heat-generating pipe 120 can be longer, which can increase a heat exchange time between the water and the heat-generating pipe 120 as much as possible, take away a heat on a surface of the heat-generating pipe 120 effectively, reduce a heat density of the heat-generating pipe 120 when working, extend a service life of the heat-generating pipe 120 and reduce a failure rate of the heat-generating pipe 120. The heat from the heat-generating pipe 120 is fully utilized to enable the water to reach the target temperature when flowing out of the heat-generating pipe 120 from the first water outlet 121b, to improve a heating effect of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, when the water from the first connection pipe 140 enters into the cover body 128, a vortex can be formed in the heat-generating pipe 120 during the water flows from bottom to top in the heat-generating pipe 120, to enable a water in the heat-generating pipe 120 to be fully mixed and make a temperature of the water relatively uniform. In some embodiments, open areas of the water inlet pipe 110 decrease sequentially along a flow path direction which is away from the second water inlet 112.

In some embodiments, a flow path direction refers to a flow direction of a water in the water inlet pipe 110. The heat-generating pipes 120, the first connection pipes 140, and the second water outlets 114 are disposed to be several and in a one-to-one correspondence respectively. The water inlet pipe 110 is in communication with different heat-generating pipes 120 through different first connection pipes 140, that is, a plurality of first connection pipes 140 are disposed on the water inlet pipe 110 in sequence. The water inlet pipe 110, in a direction from the second water inlet 112 to the second water outlet 114, needs to supply a water to different heat-generating pipes 120, that is, the water inlet pipe 110 needs to allocate the water to a first heat-generating pipe 120 and all subsequent heat-generating pipes 120 in communication with the first connection pipes 140. In order to ensure that flow quantities of water allocated for various heat-generating pipes 120 to be heated are equal as much as possible, an open area of the water inlet pipe 110 closer to the second water inlet 112 should be larger, to ensure substantially equal flow quantities of water for subsequent various heat-generating pipes 120.

In some embodiments, the number of the heat-generating pipes 120 may be three, and the number of the first connection pipes 140 may also be three. A rightmost heat-generating pipe 120 is closest to the second water inlet 112. An order of the three heat-generating pipes 120 from right to left is No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. An order of the first connection pipes 140 in communication with the three heat-generating pipes 120 from right to left is No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. A flow quantity of water in the water inlet pipe 110 before No. 1 first connection pipe 140 needs to be allocated to the three heat-generating pipes 120. A flow quantity of water in the water inlet pipe 110 between No. 1 first connection pipe 140 and No. 2 first connection pipe 140 needs to be allocated to No. 2 heat-generating pipe 120 and No. 3 heat-generating pipe 120. A flow quantity of water in the water inlet pipe 110 between the No. 2 first connection pip 140 and No. 3 first connection pip 140 only needs to be allocated to No. 3 heat-generating pipe 120. That is, an open area of the water inlet pipe 110 at the No. 1 first connection pipe 140>an open area of the water inlet pipe 110 at the No. 2 first connection pipe 140>an open area of the water inlet pipe 110 at the No. 3 first connection pipe 140.

That is, the pipe diameter of inlet pipe 110 at the No. 1 first connection pipe 140>the pipe diameter of inlet pipe 110 at the No. 2 first connection pipe 140>the pipe diameter of inlet pipe 110 at the No. 3 first connection pipe 140.

In this way, it can be ensured as much as possible that under different pressures or flow quantities of water, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 can have approximately same quantities of water, to enable a more uniform heat exchange performance and water outlet temperature of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

In some embodiments, the plurality of second water outlets 114 are located at a same height. It is indicated that, the plurality of second water outlets 114 have the same height, and the water in the water inlet pipe 110, after flowing from the second water inlet 112 to the second water outlets 114, enters into different first connection pipes 140 through different second water outlets 114. The plurality of second water outlets 114 being the same height makes the resistances for the water flowing into different first connection pipes 140 to be substantially the same, to enable the water to flow quickly into different heat-generating pipes 120, to avoid as much as possible different flow quantities of water in the heat-generating pipes 120 due to uneven flow quantities of water from different second water outlets 114 which can result in a dry burning in some heat-generating pipe 120 due to a small flow quantity of water therein.

In some embodiments, the plurality of first water inlets 121a are located at a same height.

The plurality of first water inlets 121a being located at the same height indicates that the first water inlets 121a of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are located at a same height. When the heat-generating assembly 100 after being installed is in use, an axial direction of the heat-generating pipe 120 is substantially vertical. In the axial direction of the heat-generating pipe 120, that is, in a vertical direction, the first water inlets 121a of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are located at the same height.

The first water inlets 121a of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are located at the same height. When the water flow into different heat-generating pipes 120 from different first connection pipes 140, since the plurality of first water inlets 121a are located at the same height, the water can have substantially same resistances at different combinations of the first connection pipes 140 and heat-generating pipes 120, to enable the water to quickly enter into the different heat-generating pipes 120 and to be quickly allocated into each heat-generating pipe 120, to avoid the dry burning in the heat-generating pipe 120 far away from the second water inlet 112 due to that there is no water in this heat-generating pipe 120 when the heat-generating assembly 100 is just started.

In some embodiments, since the plurality of first water inlets 121a are located at the same height, that is, the plurality of first water inlets 121a are located on a same horizontal line, to make waters entering into heat-generating pipes 120 in different combinations of the first connection pipes 140 and the heat-generating pipes 120 to be subjected to substantially same resistances, to maintain the waters to flow into each heat-generating pipe 120 at an always stable flow rate, to improve a working stability of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

As shown in FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are sequentially connected and in communication with one another, and the first water outlet 121b of one of the plurality of heat-generating pipe 120 is directly in communication with the water outlet pipe 130.

The first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in sequence, that is, the water inlet pipes 110 of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are in communication with one another. The water in different heat-generating pipes 120, after flowing to first water outlets 121b thereof, can flow among the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120. If one of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 cannot work normally due to blockage or damage or the like, the water can flow into the first water outlet 121b of an adjacent heat-generating pipe 120, and be discharged through the water outlet pipe 130 after being heated by this heat-generating pipe 120. This can alleviate a problem of excessive water pressure in a branch path where a blocked heat-generating pipe 120 is located, to be capable of avoiding a problem of pipe burst due to the blockage.

That is to say, in some embodiments, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in parallel, but the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in series. Through this way of connection, the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are in communication with one another, to be capable of reducing a possibility of burst of one heat-generating pipe 120 due to an increase of a water pressure thereof caused by a blockage of the one heat-generating pipe 120. In some embodiments, as the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in parallel, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 can heat different waters at the same time, and the water output of the hot water from the water outlet pipe 130 can be increased at the same time. The water output from the third water outlet 131b can be increased in a short time, to enable users to use enough hot water in a short time to improve a comfort experience of the users. The plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are in parallel with one another and each heat-generating pipe 120 heats up a same amount of water at the same time, and thus a degree of wear and tear of each heat-generating pipe 120 is basically the same. Therefore, the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 have a same service life to avoid a situation in which operating parameters of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 as a whole are abnormal due to a failure of one heat-generating pipe 120 with a shorter service life, and have to replace the heat-generating pipes 120 which still have long service lives.

In some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 may include two first water outlets 121b. The two first water outlets 121b are located at a same end of the heat-generating pipe 120. The heat-generating assembly 100 may further include a plurality of second connection pipes 150. The first water outlets 12s1b of two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 are in communication with each other through the second connection pipes 150, and the third water inlet 131a is in communication with any second connection pipe 150 or to one first water outlet 121b of the two first water outlets 121b.

In some embodiments, a plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are disposed in sequence. The heat-generating pipe 120 located in middle may be provided with two first water outlets 121b. As for the two heat-generating pipes 120 at two ends, the heat-generating pipe 120 in communication with the water outlet pipe 130 may be provided with two first water outlets 121b, and the other heat-generating pipe 120 may be provided with only one first water outlet 121b. Two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 may be respectively connected via the two first water outlets 121b. In some embodiments, the first water outlets 121b of two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 may be connected directly or through a second connection pipe 150. The second connection pipe 150 can connect the two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120, to maintain a gap between the two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 to avoid the two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 from affecting each other during operation. The gap between two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 can facilitate a heat dissipation of each heat-generating pipe 120 and increase the service life of the heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, a plurality of second connection pipes 150 are connected in series through the heat-generating pipes 120, that is, the plurality of second connection pipes 150 and the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are alternately in communication with one another. The plurality of second connection pipes 150 and the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are alternately connected in series, to connect the first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 in series with one another. After a water enters into the first water outlet 121b of one of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120, the water can flow among the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120. The second connection pipes 150 play a role of connecting the first water outlets 121b of the heat-generating pipes 120 in series, and can also allow two adjacent heat-generating pipes 120 to be disposed at an interval.

In some embodiments, the third water inlet 131a may be in communication with any second connection pipe 150, or may be in communication with a first water outlet 121b which is not in communication with the second connection pipe 150, as long as it can be ensured that the third water inlet 131a is in communication with the plurality of first water outlets 121b.

In some embodiments, open areas of the plurality of first water outlets 121d increase sequentially in a direction approaching the third water inlet 131a.

In some embodiments, a direction of flowing of the water in a same heat-generating pipe 120 is also towards the third water inlet 131a. A first water outlet 121b of the same heat-generating pipe 120 close to the third water inlet 131a can be understood as an outlet, and a first water outlet 121b of the same heat-generating pipe 120 far away from the third water inlet 131a can be understood as an inlet. The first water outlets 121b of the plurality of heat-generating pipes 120 are connected in series. The closer the first water outlets 121b of the heat-generating pipe 120 are to the third water inlet 131a, the greater the flow quantity of water converging at the first water outlets 121b, and thus the open areas of the first water outlets 121b of the heat-generating pipes 120 which are closer to the third water inlet 131a need to be increased, to enable a hot water heated by the heat-generating pipe 120 to be discharged to the water outlet pipe 130 in time. Therefore, each heat-generating pipe 120 can be reasonably utilized to improve an efficiency of heating energy efficiency of the entire heat-generating assembly 100.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in some embodiments, the heat-generating pipe 120 includes: a housing 122, a heating element 123, an upper cover 124 and a sealing element 125. The housing 122 has an accommodation chamber 122a and an opening 122b in communication with the accommodation chamber 122a. The housing 122 has a first connection portion 126 therein. The heating element 123 is installed in the accommodation chamber 122a. The upper cover 124 is provided with a second connection portion 127. The second connection portion 127 cooperates with the first connection portion 126. The sealing element 125 is sleeved at the upper cover 124, is spaced apart from the second connection portion 127, and abuts against an inner wall of the housing 122.

In some embodiments, the housing 122 is a basic component for the entire heat-generating pipe 120, to provide a foundation for installing components such as the heating element 123 and the sealing element 125, and can accommodate and protect the heating element 123 and other components. The heating element 123 is disposed inside the housing 122 to heat a water entering into the housing 122. The water, after being heated to a set temperature, is discharged to outside of the housing 122.

The accommodation chamber 122a is mainly used to accommodate water. Therefore, the accommodation chamber 122a needs to be a sealed cavity. The upper cover 124 covers at the opening 122b. A gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122 needs to be sealed. The sealing element 125 is installed at the upper cover 124 to seal the gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122. The first connection portion 126 cooperates with the second connection portion 127, to enable the upper cover 124 to be installed at the opening 122b of the housing 122. Since the first connection portion 126 needs to cooperate with the second connection portion 127, and may be subjected to an interaction force during cooperating with each other, the sealing element 125, if the sealing element 125 contacts the second connection portion 127, may be deformed due to an acting force of the first connection portion 126 during a cooperation of the second connection portion 127 with the first connection portion 126, to result in a gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122 which will cause water leakage.

In some embodiments, the sealing element 125 and the second connection portion 127 are spaced apart, to make the sealing element 125 and the second connection portion 127 to have a distance therebetween. During the cooperation of the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127, since the sealing element 125 and the second connection portion 127 have a distance therebetween, the acting force of the first connection portion 126 is basically not applied to the sealing element 125, to reduce a deformation of the sealing element 125 due to other acting forces,, to be capable of avoiding the gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122 as much as possible, and improving a sealing performance between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122.

In some embodiments, the heating element 123 is fixedly connected to the upper cover 124. When the heat-generating pipe 120 is assembled, it is only required to assemble the heating element 123 and the upper cover 124 as a whole onto the housing 122. Such assembly is simple. When the heating element 123 needs to be inspected, the upper cover 124 is first detached from the housing 122, and then the upper cover 124 and the heating element 123 as a whole are removed from the housing 122.

As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, in some embodiments, the upper cover 124 is provided with an installation groove 124a. The installation groove 124a is spaced apart from the second connection portion 127. The sealing element 125 is installed in the installation groove 124a.

The installation groove 124a is disposed around an outer periphery of the upper cover 124. It can be considered that the sealing element 125 is sleeved on the upper cover 124 and abuts against the inner wall of the housing 122 to seal the gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122, to make the accommodation chamber 122a to be a sealed cavity. The sealing element 125 is installed in the installation groove 124a. The installation groove 124a can seal and fix the sealing element 125, to reduce a risk of the sealing element 125 falling off the upper cover 124.

In some embodiments, the installation groove 124a and the second connection portion 127 are spaced apart, to make the installation groove 124a and the second connection portion 127 to have a distance therebetween. A groove wall of the installation groove 124a can also play a role of blocking the sealing element 125 to a extent, and can separate the sealing element 125 from the first connection portion 126, and reduce a risk of the acting force of the first connection portion 126 being applied to the sealing element 125 during the cooperation of the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127.

In some embodiments, a width of the installation groove 124a ranges from 2 mm to 5 mm. The installation groove 124a is annular. A diameter of a bottom of the installation groove 124a ranges 20 mm to 50 mm.

In some embodiments, a width of the installation groove 124a refers to a width in a direction approaching to the accommodation chamber 122a, and also refers to a width in an extension direction of the heat-generating pipe 120. The installation groove 124a is disposed around an outer peripheral surface of the upper cover 124, and the bottom of the installation groove 124a is also annular. In some embodiments, the sealing element 125 is also annular and is snapped in the installation groove 124a. The sealing element 125 is annular and an outer diameter of the sealing element 125 ranges from 20 mm to 50 mm. It is indicated that a size of the entire upper cover 124a is very small, and it is required to enable the installation groove 124a to fit with the sealing element 125 to avoid water leakage.

In some embodiments, the upper cover 124 includes a main body 124b, a cover plate 124c and a partition plate 124d. The cover plate 124c is disposed at an end of the main body 124b. The partition plate 124d is disposed on the main body 124b and forms an installation groove 124a with the cover plate 124c. The second connection portion 127 is disposed around the main body 124b and is located on a side of the partition plate 124d away from the cover plate 124c.

The cover plate 124c is covered at the opening 122b. The partition plate 124d is installed in the accommodation chamber 122a, and the sealing element 125 is located in the installation groove 124a formed by the cover plate 124c and the partition plate 124d, that is, the sealing element 125 and the second connection portion 127 are respectively located on two sides of the partition plate 124d, and the partition plate 124d separates the sealing element 125 from the second connection portion 127. During the cooperation of the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127, the partition plate 124d can isolate the sealing element 125 from the second connection portion 127, and can reduce the acting force of the first connection portion 126 applied onto the sealing element 125 to cause the sealing element 125 to deform under the acting force, to result in a gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122. Since the partition plate 124d separates the sealing element 125 from the second connection portion 127, a risk of deformation of the sealing element 125 due to other external forces can be avoided as much as possible, to improve a sealing effect of the sealing element 125 on the housing 122 and the upper cover 124.

In some embodiments, the second connection portion 127 may be extended to the partition plate 124d. In a condition that the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127 are threads, the second connection portion 127 can be extended to the partition plate 124d, i.e., a thread can be extended to the partition plate 124d. Even if the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127 are threadedly engaged, to cause a top portion of the first connection portion 126 to move to the partition plate 124d, the second connection portion 127 may not move towards the accommodation chamber 122a due to an obstruction of the partition plate 124d, that is, the first connection portion 126 may not move to the sealing element 125 and may not squeeze the sealing element 125, to avoid the sealing element 125 from being deformed due to the acting force as much as possible.

In some embodiments, the partition plate 124d is disposed around the main body 124b, and the cover plate 124c is disposed at an end of the main body 124b. The installation groove 124a formed by the partition plate 124d, the main body 124b and the cover plate 124c is also of an annular structure. The installation groove 124a is disposed around an outer periphery of the main body 124b, to make the sealing element 125 also to be disposed around the outer periphery of the main body 124b, to be capable of contacting the inner wall of the housing 122 and abutting against the inner wall of the housing 122, to seal the gap between the main body 124b and the inner wall of the housing 122.

In some embodiments, cross sections of the cover plate 124c, the main body 124b and the partition plate 124d are all circular. The main body 124b has a smallest diameter. The cover plate 124c has a largest diameter. The partition plate 124d has a diameter which is larger than that of the main body 124b and smaller than that of the cover plate 124c. The diameter of the cover plate 124c may be slightly larger than a size of the opening 122b of the accommodation chamber 122a, to completely cover the opening 122b.

In some embodiments, a projection of the second connection portion 127 on the partition plate 124d is located inside the partition plate 124 d. The second connection portion 127 is disposed around an outer periphery of the partition plate 124d, and the partition plate 124d is also disposed around the outer periphery of the main body 124b. The projection of the second connection portion 127 on the partition plate 124d is located inside the partition plate 124d, it is indicated that a height of the second connection portion 127 protruding from the main body 124b is less than a height of the partition plate 124d protruding from the main body 124b. During the cooperation of the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127, the first connection portion 126 may be extended to be blow the partition plate 124d to cooperate with the second connection portion 127. The partition plate 124d can isolate the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127. During the cooperation of the first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127, the first connection portion 126 basically does not contact the sealing element 125, and the sealing element 125 may not basically be subjected to other acting forces except an acting force from the housing 122, and thus a sealing effect of the sealing element 125 can be improved.

In some embodiments, the installation groove 124a is disposed around the upper cover 124, and at least one portion of the sealing element 125 protrudes out of the installation groove 124a. The sealing element 125 is of an annular structure and is installed in the installation groove 124a, that is, the sealing element 125 is disposed around and within the installation groove 124a. The portion of the sealing element 125 protruding from the installation groove 124a can facilitate the sealing element 125 to abut against the inner wall of the housing 122. The portion of the sealing element 125 protruding from the installation groove 124a abuts against the inner wall of the housing 122, to be capable of sealing the gap between the upper cover 124 and the housing 122, to reduce a risk of water leakage of the entire heat-generating pipe 120 and improve a sealing performance of the entire heat-generating pipe 120.

In some embodiments, as for the second connection portion 127 and the installation groove 124a, the second connection portion 127 is disposed close to the accommodation chamber 122a, and the installation groove 124a is disposed away from the accommodation chamber 122a. In a state of use, the second connection portion 127 is disposed below the installation groove 124a, that is, the second connection portion 127 is disposed below the sealing element 125. The heating element 123 is installed in the accommodation chamber 122a. The sealing element 125 can seal an upper portion of the entire accommodation chamber 122a.

In some embodiments, the accommodation chamber 122a has a first installation section 122c and a second installation section 122d that are in communication with each another. An open area of the second installation section 122d is larger than an open area of the first installation section 122c. The heating element 123 is disposed in the second installation section 122d. The sealing element 125 is disposed in the first installation section 122c.

The first installation section 122c and the second installation section 122d are stepped. An open area of the second installation section 122d is larger, and an open area of the first installation section 122c is smaller. The sealing element 125 and the upper cover 124 are disposed in the first installation section 122c, to enable the upper cover 124 and the sealing element 125 to seal the opening 122b of the entire accommodation chamber 122a.

In some embodiments, the first connection portion 126 is disposed around and within the accommodation chamber 122a. The second connection portion 127 is disposed around an outer periphery of the upper cover 124. The first connection portion 126 and the second connection portion 127 are both threaded. The first connection portion 126 is an internal thread disposed around the accommodation chamber 122a. The second connection portion 127 is an external thread disposed around the outer periphery of the upper cover 124. The internal threads may be formed integrally with the housing 122.

In some embodiments, the housing 122 includes a heating bin 122e and a sealing joint 122f. The sealing joint 122f is connected to an end of the heating bin 122e. The heating bin 122e and the sealing joint 122f together form an accommodation chamber 122a. The first installation section 122c is disposed in the sealing joint 122f. The second installation section 122d is disposed in the heating bin 122e. The first connection portion 126 is also disposed in the sealing joint 122f.

In some embodiments, the first installation section 122c includes a first subsection 122g and a second subsection 122h which are in communication with each other. The first subsection 122g is disposed close to the second installation section 122d, and the second subsection 122h is disposed away from the first installation section 122c. An open area of the first subsection 122g is smaller than an open area of the second subsection 122h. The cover body 128 is installed in the second subsection 122h. The first connection portion 126 is disposed on an inner wall of the first subsection 122g. The second connection portion 127 is installed in the first subsection 122g and assembled with the first connection portion 126.

In some embodiments, a diameter of the second subsection 122h ranges from 20 mm to 50 mm, and a thickness of the second subsection 122h ranges from 4 mm to 8 mm. A thickness of a portion of the housing 122 corresponding to the second subsection 122h ranges from 1 mm to 4 mm. The second subsection 122h is mainly used to accommodate the cover plate 124c. The second subsection 122h, since it is not connected to the first connection portion 126, will not be subjected to the acting force from the first connection portion 126. Therefore, a width of the second subsection 122h does not need to be provided too large, and may range from 4 mm˜8 mm. In some embodiments, a thickness of a portion of the housing 122 corresponding to the second subsection 122h does not need to be provided too thick, and may range from 1 mm˜4 mm. As for a diameter of the second subsection 122h, it only needs to fit the sealing element 125.

Based on a same inventive concept, a water heater is also provided according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The water heater according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes the above-mentioned heat-generating assembly 100, and also includes a housing 122. The housing 122 serves as a basic component of entire water heater and provides a foundation for installing components such as the heat-generating assembly 100. The heat-generating assembly 100 is disposed in the housing 122.

A flow sensor, a temperature sensor and so on may be disposed at the water inlet pipe 110 to detect a flow quantity and temperature of an incoming water. In some embodiments, a temperature sensor may be disposed at the water outlet pipe 130 to detect a temperature of an outcoming water.

In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms “one embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some examples” and so on means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the disclosure. In the present specification, the exemplary expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may combine and merge different embodiments or examples described in this specification.

In addition, the technical solutions in various embodiments can be combined with one another, but the combined technical solutions must be based on that they can be implemented by those skilled in the art. When the combined technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, it should be considered that such combined technical solutions do not exist, and are not within the protection scope sought for by the disclosure.

Although the embodiments of the disclosure have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, and that the scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims and their equivalents.