EP3444397A1 - Ironing device and method for controlling a heating unit of an ironing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an ironing apparatus (100) with a liquid-filled steam generating unit (102) for generating steam by evaporation of the liquid, a storage tank (108) for storing steam generated by the steam generating unit (102), a coupling valve (112), configured to fluidly couple the steam generating unit (102) and the storage tank (108) when an internal pressure of the steam generating unit (102) reaches an operating pressure, and a shuttle valve (118) having a first input coupled to the storage tank (108) (116), a second input (120) coupled to the steam generating unit (102), and an output (122) for providing a vapor flow rate dependent on a pressure applied to the first input (116) and / or the second input (120).

Description

The invention relates to an ironing device and a method for driving a heating unit of an ironing device.

For steam generators in steam ironing stations, a compromise between short standby times and high steam volumes is usually taken. For example, a water heater can generate very small amounts of steam very quickly, but with longer steam consumption this will break in its performance. A boiler, on the other hand, can better buffer a continuous load, but requires very long heat-up times to start in order to heat a large volume.

Against this background, the present invention has the object to provide an improved ironing apparatus and an improved method for driving a heating unit of an ironing device.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by an ironing apparatus and a method having the features of the main claims. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention will become apparent from the following subclaims.

The invention has the advantage that by combining a steam generator unit with a storage container, for example in the form of a structure in which an inner boiler is arranged in an outer boiler, steam can be provided for immediate ironing after a short heating time, while the positive Characteristics of a boiler such as high steam levels and steam stability with slight delay are available. For example, the heater remains in small pauses for flipping or changing the textiles to be ironed to produce additional amounts of steam, which are then buffered and ready for long bursts of steam. Advantageously, only a few additional parts are required for this purpose. Above all, can be dispensed with an additional heating.

• einer mit einer Flüssigkeit befüllbaren Dampferzeugungseinheit zum Erzeugen von Dampf durch Verdampfen der Flüssigkeit;
• einem Speicherbehälter zum Speichern von von der Dampferzeugungseinheit erzeugtem Dampf;
• einem Koppelventil, das ausgebildet ist, um die Dampferzeugungseinheit und den Speicherbehälter fluidisch miteinander zu koppeln, wenn ein Innendruck der Dampferzeugungseinheit einen Betriebsdruck erreicht; und
• einem Wechselventil mit einem mit dem Speicherbehälter gekoppelten ersten Eingang, einem mit der Dampferzeugungseinheit gekoppelten zweiten Eingang, und einem Ausgang zum Bereitstellen eines Dampfvolumenstroms abhängig von einem am ersten Eingang und am zweiten Eingang anliegenden Druck.

An ironing machine with the following features is presented:

• a liquid-filled steam generating unit for generating steam by vaporizing the liquid;
• a storage tank for storing steam generated by the steam generating unit;
• a coupling valve configured to fluidly couple the steam generating unit and the storage tank when an internal pressure of the steam generating unit reaches an operating pressure; and
• a shuttle valve having a first input coupled to the reservoir, a second input coupled to the vapor generator, and an output for providing a vapor flow rate dependent on a pressure applied to the first input and the second input.

Under an ironing device, for example, a steam iron or a steam ironing station can be understood. Depending on the embodiment, the steam generating unit may be a water heater or a boiler. Under a storage tank, a boiler can be understood. For example, the steam generating unit and the storage container may differ in volume from each other. By way of example, a coupling valve can be understood to mean an overpressure valve which allows a flow of the vapor into only one direction of flow. Under an operating pressure can be understood a pressure at which the ironing device can be operated. For example, the shuttle valve may be a simple mechanical valve having a slide body for sealing either the first input or the second input in the sense of a non-exclusive OR operation. The shuttle valve may be designed to release either the first input or the second input or both inputs simultaneously depending on a pressure applied to the two inputs.

By arranging a boiler for steam generation in a boiler can be a quick steam standby with high storage volume realize.

According to one embodiment, the steam generating unit may be arranged at least in sections within the storage container. As a result, the steam in the storage container can be heated by means of the steam generating unit without additional heating.

According to another embodiment, the steam generating unit may have a smaller volume than the storage tank. As a result, the time required for evaporation of the liquid by the steam generating unit can be kept short.

Depending on the embodiment, the steam generating unit may be formed as a water heater, as a further storage tank or as a combination of both. This allows the steam to be generated in different ways depending on the requirement.

The ironing device may have a control valve connected downstream of the shuttle valve for changing the steam volume flow. The control valve may be, for example, a shut-off valve. As a result, the steam volume flow can be adjusted in a controlled manner to a steam requirement.

Advantageously, the coupling valve can be designed as a spring-loaded check valve. As a result, the coupling valve can be provided in a particularly cost-effective manner.

The ironing apparatus may further comprise a heating unit for heating the steam generating unit and a control unit. The controller may be configured to drive the heating unit depending on an internal pressure of the storage container. In the present case, a control device can be understood as meaning an electrical device which processes sensor signals and outputs control and / or data signals in dependence thereon. The control unit may have an interface, which may be formed in hardware and / or software. In the case of a hardware-based design, the interfaces can be part of a so-called system ASIC, for example, which contains various functions of the control unit. However, it is also possible that the interfaces are their own integrated circuits or at least partially consist of discrete components. In a software training, the interfaces may be software modules that are present, for example, on a microcontroller in addition to other software modules. By this embodiment, a robust control of the heating unit can be ensured.

In this case, the control unit may be designed to switch off the heating unit when the internal pressure of the storage tank reaches the operating pressure. This allows an efficient and safe operation of the ironing device.

The approach presented here finally creates a method for driving a heating unit of an ironing apparatus according to one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the method comprises at least the following step:
Outputting a drive signal for driving the heating unit using a pressure signal representing an internal pressure of the storage tank.

This method can be implemented, for example, in software or hardware or in a mixed form of software and hardware, for example in a control unit.

Figur 1

eine schematische Darstellung eines Abschnitts eines Bügelgeräts gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel;

Figur 2

ein Diagramm zur Darstellung eines jeweiligen Innendruckverlaufs der Dampferzeugungseinheit und des Speicherbehälters beim Bügeln mit dem Bügelgerät aus Figur 1; und

Figur 3

ein Ablaufdiagramm eines Verfahrens gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel.

An embodiment of the invention is shown purely schematically in the drawings and will be described in more detail below. It shows

FIG. 1

a schematic representation of a portion of an ironing apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2

a diagram illustrating a respective internal pressure curve of the steam generating unit and the storage container when ironing with the ironing device FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 3

a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a portion of an ironing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. The ironing apparatus 100 comprises a steam generating unit 102, which can be filled with water via a water inlet 104. A heating unit 106 thermally coupled to the steam generating unit 102 is configured to heat the steam generating unit 102 and evaporate the water therein. Furthermore, the ironing apparatus 100 has a storage tank 108 for storing steam generated by the steam generating unit 102. By way of example, the storage container 108 is designed as an outer boiler with a significantly larger volume than the steam generating unit 102. The steam generating unit 102 is designed as an inner boiler and completely disposed within the storage container 108. For directing the steam into the storage container 108, the steam generating unit 102 has a coupling opening 110 opening into the storage container 108, which can be closed via a coupling valve 112, for example a spring-loaded pressure relief valve. The coupling valve 112 is configured to release the coupling port 110 when an internal pressure of the steam generating unit 102 reaches an operating pressure of the ironing apparatus 100. For example, the operating pressure represents a maximum allowable pressure. Exemplary is in FIG. 1 Also, the heating unit 106 is arranged in the storage container 108, so that by means of the heating unit 106 and the storage container 108 can be heated.

The storage tank 108 is connected via a first steam line 114 to a first input 116 of a shuttle valve 118, which acts as a pressure switch. A second input 120 of the shuttle valve 118 is connected to the steam generating unit 102 via a second steam line 121. Further, the shuttle valve 118 has an output 122, also called steam outlet, through which the steam is passed, for example, to a soleplate of the ironing device 100. Within the shuttle valve 118 is a displaceable between the two inputs 116, 120 slide body 124 which is adapted to release the first input 116 when a pressure applied to the second input 120 is less than a pressure applied to the first input 116, or the release second input 120, when the pressure applied to the first input 116 is lower than the pressure applied to the second input 120, or release both inputs 116, 120, when the pressure applied to the first input 116 and the pressure applied to the second input 120 equal are.

Optionally, the output 122 is preceded by a control valve 126, also called a steam valve, which is designed to regulate a steam volume flow leaving the shuttle valve 118.

The shuttle valve 118 is arranged, for example, outside of the storage container 108 and outside the steam generating unit 102.

According to this embodiment, the heating unit 106 is connected to a controller 128 that is configured to turn on or off the heating unit 106 depending on an internal pressure of the storage container 108 by outputting a corresponding drive signal 130. For this purpose, the control unit 128 receives from a corresponding measuring device of the ironing device 100 a pressure signal 132 which represents an internal pressure of the storage container 108 measured by the measuring device.

According to one embodiment, the controller 128 is configured to turn off the heater 106 when the evaluation of the pressure signal 132 indicates that the internal pressure of the reservoir 108 has reached the operating pressure.

According to the in FIG. 1 In the embodiment shown, the ironing device 100 is realized with a boiler-in-boiler construction in which a small amount is first evaporated in the inner smaller boiler 102 in order to keep the heating times short. The inner boiler 102 may also be designed as a water heater. If the steam is not demanded or not in the quantity produced, further steam is initially generated via the inner boiler 102 until the maximum pressure has been reached. Instead of switching off the heating unit 106 as in conventional appliances, the steam generating unit 102 is further heated, with the steam passing through the coupling valve 112 into the outer boiler 108. Thus, the amount of steam storage can be increased while the user already has the first smaller quantities available through the inner boiler 102. The boiler-in-boiler design also allows the waste heat from the internal boiler 102 to be used to reheat the volume of the exterior boiler 108 and maintain it at operating temperature without the need for additional heaters.

About the shuttle valve 118, such as a simple mechanical valve, steam is removed from that of the two boilers 102, 108, in which the greater pressure is present, whereby alternately both boilers 102, 108 are emptied again. If the maximum permissible pressure is also reached in the outer boiler 108, the heating unit 106 is switched off by the control unit 128.

As a result, long heating times of three to five minutes can be avoided. Furthermore, this can be the disadvantages of pure water heater, which only reduced in continuous operation Provide steam volumes to be bypassed. The fact that the ironing device 100 permanently provides high amounts of steam in a short time, the ease of use when ironing can be significantly increased.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram for illustrating a respective internal pressure waveform of the steam generating unit and the storage container when ironing with the ironing device FIG. 1 , Shown is an exemplary state profile with two boilers in the ironing machine. Here, a first curve 200 represents the course of the internal pressure of the steam generating unit, here the inner boiler, and a second curve 202 shows the course of the internal pressure of the storage tank, here the outer boiler. The internal pressure is plotted as boiler pressure P on a y-axis. A horizontal line represents the operating pressure of the ironing device.

Below the diagram showing the internal pressure curves are a second diagram with a third curve 204 showing an operation of the steam valve when ironing and a third diagram with a fourth curve 206 showing an operating state of the heating unit.

In a period A, the cold ironing device is turned on, so that the ironing device heats up. Since initially only the inner boiler is heated with a small volume, the pressure rises quickly. The curve 200 is correspondingly steep here. At the end of the period A, the operating pressure in the inner boiler is reached and the ironing device is ready for operation. The ironing device is thus operational much faster than if the volume of both boilers had already been heated.

In a period B is not immediately started with the ironing, so that the available heating power continues to be used, since now steam escapes from the inner to the outer boiler through the pressure relief valve. Due to the large volume of the outer boiler, the pressure increases only slowly, while the internal operating pressure in the inner boiler is maintained.

In a period C is ironed. This steam is required. Since the outer boiler is not yet at operating pressure, only steam is taken from the inner boiler. The pressure breaks. There is no more steam left in the outer boiler.

In a period D ironing is interrupted. Using the heating unit, the pressure in the inner boiler is increased again and quickly brought to the nominal pressure.

In a period E steam flows from the inner boiler again in the outer boiler until this has reached the operating pressure. From now on, the entire volume of both boilers is available for very long bursts of steam.

If no steam continues to be removed, the heating unit is switched off because no pressure increase is required any more. This is represented by a period F.

When re-ironing steam is now withdrawn from two boilers in a period of time G now. Due to the common volume of both boilers, the pressure drops much slower than with the exclusive removal from the small boiler. It is thus possible a much longer burst of steam. The heating unit is switched on again.

In a period H, the inner boiler is brought back to operating pressure.

In a period I, the outer boiler is brought back to operating pressure.

FIG. 3 FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of a method 300 according to one embodiment. The method 300 for activating a heating unit of an ironing device can be achieved, for example, by a control device as described above with reference to FIG FIGS. 1 and 2 is described, executed. In this case, the pressure signal is initially received in an optional step 310. In a further step 320, the drive signal for driving the heating unit is generated and output using the pressure signal.

Claims (9)

Ironing device (100) with the following features: a liquid-filled steam generating unit (102) for generating steam by vaporizing the liquid; a storage tank (108) for storing steam generated by the steam generating unit (102); a coupling valve (112) configured to fluidly couple the steam generating unit (102) and the storage tank (108) when an internal pressure of the steam generating unit (102) reaches an operating pressure; and a shuttle valve (118) having a first input (116) coupled to the storage container (108), a second input (120) coupled to the steam generation unit (102), and an output (122) for providing a vapor flow rate dependent on one at the first input (116) and / or pressure applied to the second input (120). Ironing device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the steam generating unit (102) is arranged at least in sections within the storage container (108). An ironing apparatus (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the steam generating unit (102) has a smaller volume than the storage tank (108). Ironing device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the steam generating unit (102) is designed as a water heater and / or as a further storage container. Ironing device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, with a control valve (126) downstream of the shuttle valve (118) for changing the steam volume flow. Ironing device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the coupling valve (112) is designed as a spring-loaded check valve. Ironing apparatus (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a heating unit (106) for heating the steam generating unit (102) and a A controller (128) configured to drive the heating unit (106) in response to an internal pressure of the storage container (108). The ironing apparatus (100) according to claim 7, wherein the controller (128) is configured to turn off the heating unit (106) when the internal pressure of the storage tank (108) reaches the operating pressure. A method (300) for driving a heating unit (106) of an ironing apparatus (100) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the method (300) comprises at least the following step: Outputting (320) a drive signal (130) for driving the heating unit (106) using a pressure signal (132) representing an internal pressure of the storage tank (108).

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