JP2001112621A - Electric water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric water heater that water entering inside a device body is speedily discharged by simple structure without flowing into the upper side of the device body as it is. SOLUTION: The electric water heater is provided with an inner container for housing a liquid, a heater for heating the liquid within the inner container, an external body in the shape of a bottomed cylinder for housing the inner container and the heater and electric parts having lamps, switches, etc., on the upper side or lateral side of the external body, and a hole for draining is arranged on the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the external body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an electric water heater for quickly discharging water entering a container when the water in the container is discarded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric water heater such as a microcomputer type heat retaining pot has a control board on which a transformer, a relay and the like are mounted below the body. In addition, on the upper part of the body, there are provided operation switches for reboil, heat retention temperature selection, timer setting, etc., and an operation board mounted with a display device such as an LED corresponding thereto. It is connected. Wash this kind of electric kettle with a sink,
When water supply and drainage is performed, water infiltrates the inside of the body from the bottom or the mating surface of the structural parts, and the water splashes on the electrical components on the control board, causing a partial short circuit, causing malfunctions, Because there is a problem such as deterioration of insulation,
A drain hole is provided at the bottom of the bottom surface where water easily accumulates in order to drain water that has penetrated.
In No. 027, when the container is turned upside down for drying after washing or washing the inner container, water that has penetrated into the container flows upward and causes a short circuit or poor insulation of electric components such as the operation board. An example is disclosed in which a packing or a waterproof rib is provided in a lead wire lead-out portion.

[0003] Recently, there is an electric water heater of a detachable inner container in which only the inner container can be detached, and this kind of electric water heater has a gap for detachment between the inner container and the outer casing, and the inside of the container is removed. When the hot water was thrown away without removing the inner container, water easily penetrated into the container through the gap.

Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to a bottom sectional view of a process of discarding water of the electric water heater of FIG. Reference numeral 100 denotes a cylindrical outer case in which an inner container and the like are provided. A bottom cover 101 covering the lower opening surface of the outer case 100 is attached by screws or the like. Drain holes 102 are provided at appropriate places on the bottom surface of the bottom cover 101. The drain hole 102 is provided on the lowest surface of the bottom cover 101 so that water can easily drain. FIG. 8A shows a so-called upright state in which the electric water heater is standing upright. In this state, even if water W has infiltrated into the body, the water heater 102 is moved in the direction of the arrow from the drain hole 102 in the figure. Water is drained quickly. However, when the water in the inner container is discarded, the container is tilted slightly further as shown in FIG.
When the body is turned upside down from the state of (c) and the water is completely discarded, the water that has entered the body is placed at the corner of the body (the corner of the bottom cover 101) as shown in FIG. 8B. The accumulated water flows upward as it is through the state of FIG. 8 (c), and the electric components such as the operation board get wet.
This could cause a short circuit or poor insulation. In particular, if the direction of discarding water is the direction of the operation board, hot water spout or water level display, or if it is an electric water heater with a removable inner container, the possibility of water intrusion from joints and gaps of structural parts Was higher.

[0005]

The conventional drainage structure is
It is easy to drain water when the container is in the upright state where it is standing correctly, and it is assumed that it will return to the upright state once after cleaning or water supply and drainage as described above. The amount of retained water was very small, and could be handled with simple ribs or packing to prevent water from entering the operation board. However, the body was turned upside down while gradually tilting the drainage body (the body was once When the water was drained in such a manner that the water did not enter the erect state, the water that had entered the container could not escape, causing an electrical problem. In particular, when the inner container was a detachable electric water heater, the water easily penetrated when the inner container was attached to the container and drained. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent water that has entered the interior of a body from being quickly discharged with a simple structure, and to prevent water from directly flowing above the body.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an inner container for containing a liquid, a heater for heating the liquid in the inner container, In an electric water heater provided with a bottomed cylindrical exterior body for housing a vessel and a heater and an electric component having a lamp, a switch, and the like above or on the side of the exterior body, water is drained on the outer periphery of the bottom surface of the exterior body. It is characterized by having a hole for use. With this configuration, when the container is tilted obliquely and the hot water in the inner container is discarded, water that has entered the container can be quickly discharged from the drain hole even if the container is inclined.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the drain hole is an elongated hole along the bottom side surface. With this configuration, the appearance is good, and the influence of the surface tension on the reduction of the discharge capacity is reduced.

[0008] The invention of claim 3 is claim 1 or claim 2.
The drain hole described in (1) is provided at a position facing the electric component. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the strength of the bottom surface from deteriorating by minimizing the area of the drain hole.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the electric water heater according to the present invention, in particular, a warming type electric water heater (also referred to as an electric microcomputer jar pot) controlled by a microcomputer of an electric tapping system in which an inner container can be attached and detached is concretely described. An example will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a metal tubular interior case 1 is housed in a metal tubular exterior case 2 to form a double wall configuration, and an inner container 3 for filling water is opened from the upper end opening of the interior case 1. It is designed to be detachably accommodated.
The upper part of the inner case 1 and the upper part of the outer case 2 are connected by an upper frame 4 made of resin. The upper frame 4 is formed in a ring shape so that the inner container 3 can be attached and detached, and has a front portion having a beak-shaped protrusion 4a having an open lower surface. Inside the beak-shaped protruding portion 4a, an operation board 5 on which various operation switches for water heater, tapping and the like, and circuit parts such as LEDs for indicating a selected state of the switches and a heating state are mounted together with the board cover 6. Have been. On the outer surface of the beak-shaped protruding portion 4a facing the operation substrate 5, an operation sheet 7 having an operation portion of switches, an LED display window, operation display characters, and the like is attached.

A bottom plate 8 is attached to a lower opening of the interior case 1, and a heating plate 10 in which a sheath heater 9 is embedded is provided on an upper surface of the bottom plate 8. When the inner container 3 is housed, the inner container 3 and the hot plate 10 are brought into close contact with each other so that heat of the heater can be transferred. The bottom plate 8 has a drain hole 8a as appropriate.
Is provided. A through-hole provided in the center of the bottom plate 8 and the hot plate 10 is provided with a tubular aluminum heat-sensitive plate 11 which is vertically movable and has a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of hot water in the inner container 3 inside. 11a and a thermal fuse 11b as a safety device.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a dish-shaped resin bottom cover that covers the lower opening of the outer case 2, and the bottom cover 12 is attached by metal legs 13 attached to the bottom plate 8. As a result, the outer case 2, the upper frame 4, the inner case 1, the bottom plate 8, and the bottom cover 12 are integrated, and the body is firmly fixed. A ring-shaped turntable 14 is rotatably fitted to the outer bottom surface of the bottom cover 12 by a plurality of claws provided on the bottom cover 12, and the body is slightly rotated on the turntable 14 in the upright state. be able to. A board housing box 15 is provided in the space between the bottom plate 8 and the bottom cover 12 so as to open downward, and houses a control board 16 therein.

The control board 16 has a microcomputer mounted thereon, and is connected to the operation board 5 and the temperature sensor 11a by lead wires 17. The microcomputer receives an output signal of each switch from the operation board 5 and a detection signal from the temperature sensor 11a, controls the heater, heats the water in the inner container 3 to a predetermined temperature after boiling, and keeps the water in the inner container 3 at a predetermined temperature. By operating the hot water switch on the operation board 5 when necessary, the electric pump 27 described later can be operated to pump out the hot water in the inner container 3.

The bottom cover 12 will be described in detail. As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 6 and the bottom view of FIG. 7, the bottom cover 12 has a front rear circular shape, and a plurality of ribs 12a are reinforced toward the center. Is formed for. The bottom surface 12b of the front rectangular portion and the bottom surface 12c of the rear circular portion are provided with steps for preventing twisting and reinforcing, and the bottom surface 12c slightly closer to the center of the circular portion is the lowest surface. These bottom surfaces 12c and 12b have drain holes 12 respectively.
d and 12e are provided at appropriate locations. That is, the drain hole 12d is provided in the bottom surface 12c where water is most likely to accumulate in the upright state. (In FIG. 7, the drainage hole 12d is represented by a square for convenience.) Also, the drainage hole 12e is provided at an appropriate position on the outermost periphery of the bottom surface 12b of the square portion or the bottom surface 12c of the circular portion. I have.

Next, the inner container 3 will be described in detail.
An aluminum container 20 having a bottomed cylindrical shape and an upper end subjected to flange processing, and a substantially ring-shaped container frame 22 made of resin and attached to the flange portion by means of screws or forced shrinkage via packing (not shown). A substantially U-shaped handle 23 pivotally attached to the left and right side surfaces of the container frame 22;
A pump unit 27a to be described later for guiding water in the container 20 to the outside of the container.
And a protective cover 25 for protecting the pouring path 24. Container frame 22 of inner container 3
The outer case 2 and the upper frame 4 are fitted together to form a double frame structure, and an appropriate gap 26 is provided over the entire circumference so that the inner container 3 can be smoothly attached and detached.

In this embodiment, an electric pump 27 is used to pump hot water from the container 20.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a pump unit 27a having a built-in impeller, and a driving unit 27b having an electric motor for rotating the impeller. Pump part 27a attached to the lower front part of inner container 3
Then, the driving portion 27b facing the pump portion 27a and attached to the bottom plate 8 comes into contact separably, and transmits the rotational force of the electric motor to the impeller by magnetic coupling means. As a result, when the inner container 3 is taken out, the driving portion 27b and the pump portion 27a are separated, and the pump portion 27a is taken out together with the inner container 3. The pouring path 24 communicates from the lower part of the container 20 with the inlet of the pump part 27a by a connecting pipe 28, and from the outlet of the pump part 27a through the liquid pumping pipe 29 made of a transparent glass pipe that rises vertically and in front of the container frame 22. And is communicated with a substantially inverted U-shaped bent passage 30 provided on an eave-shaped projection 22a formed at the bottom of the vehicle.

The eave-shaped protrusion 22a fits into the recess of the beak-shaped protrusion 4a provided on the upper frame 4 and protruding forward. A tap hole cover 31 made of resin is integrally formed with a tap hole 31a for receiving hot water discharged from the bent passage 30 and pouring the tap into a cup or the like. It also covers the lower opening.

Next, the protective cover 25 made of resin is provided with a rib that fits into the liquid pumping pipe 29 to support the liquid pumping pipe 29, and the lower part is formed by using the connection structure between the pump part 27 a and the container 20. It is attached, and the upper part is a protruding portion 22a of the container frame 22.
And is held from below to cover the pumping pipe 29 and the pump section 27a. The protective cover 25 is provided with a rectangular see-through window 25a so that the liquid pumping tube 29 can be visually observed. Further, rectangular slits 1a and 2a are respectively provided at positions of the inner case 1 and the outer case 2 facing the see-through window 25a.
Is provided so that the liquid level of the content liquid, that is, the liquid level of the liquid pumping pipe 29 can be seen from the outside through the slits 1a and 2a and the see-through window 25a. A transparent cover sheet 32 is attached to the slit 2a of the outer case 2, and the cover sheet 3
2, a scale corresponding to the liquid level that can be seen through is displayed by printing or the like.

Next, a cover 4 for covering the upper end opening of the upper frame 4
0 is provided. The lid body 40 is pivotally connected to be openable and closable by a hinge structure including a hinge pin 41 attached to a rear portion thereof and a bearing 4c formed integrally with the upper frame 4. An inner lid 42 made of stainless steel is provided on the lower surface of the lid 40. When the lid 40 is closed, the inner lid 42 covers the opening of the upper surface of the inner container 3 via the packing 43 in a watertight manner. Also,
The lid 40 can be attached to and detached from the upper frame 4 while being opened at a predetermined angle. By removing the lid 40, cleaning and the like become easy.

When the lid 40 is opened and the handle 23 is lifted up, the inner container 3 can be taken out of the container and can be carried as it is. Also lid 4
When 0 is closed, the entire body can be carried by holding the handle 23.

In operation, when the inner container 3 is filled with water and the lid 40 is closed and then the power is turned on, the sheath heater 9 is automatically energized and the water in the inner container 3 is heated and boiled. After boiling, it is kept at a predetermined temperature. A microcomputer mounted on the control board 16 controls these temperature control and energization control. That is, the microcomputer controls the output of the sheath heater 9 in response to the detection signal from the temperature sensor 11a. Operation sheet 7
When a switch on the operation board 5 is operated through the controller, for example, when a selection switch or a timer switch of the heat retaining temperature is operated, the microcomputer issues a command corresponding to an output signal from each switch.

When hot water is required, when the hot water button of the operation sheet 7 is pressed, the hot water switch of the operation board 5 is turned on correspondingly, and the electric pump 27 is turned on by the output signal.
I do. When the electric pump 27 operates, the hot water in the inner container 3 rises from the connection pipe 28, which is the pouring path 24, through the pumping section 27 a via the pumping section 27 a, and changes its direction downward by the bent passage 30 and flows out. The spout is discharged to the spout 31a and the spout 31a
From the desired hot water. The liquid level in the inner container 3 is the same as the liquid level in the pumping pipe 29, and the cover sheet 32 of the outer case 2, the slit 1 a of the inner case 1 and the see-through window 2
It can be confirmed from outside through 5a.

Since the inner container 3 is of a detachable type that can be removed, only the inner container 3 can be carried to a sink to perform the work when water is supplied or drained or the inner container 3 is cleaned. When water is spilled into the interior case 1 after the inner container 3 is taken out, the water flows out from the drain hole 8a of the bottom plate 8 toward the bottom cover 12 through a gap around the heat sensitive plate 11 or the hot plate 10,
The water is discharged out of the body through a drain hole 12d provided in the bottom cover 12. In addition, the water may flow out of the slit 1a of the interior case 1 toward the bottom cover 12, but is discharged out of the body through the drain hole 12d of the bottom cover 12 as described above. When the water flows out to the bottom cover 12, the substrate storage box 1
However, since the substrate storage box 15 is box-shaped and opens downward, water does not splash on the internal control substrate 16.

On the other hand, when the body is placed in a place where water is accumulated in a sink or the like of a sink, water may enter vigorously upward through the drain hole 12d of the bottom cover 12. Although not shown, the substrate storage box 15
A back cover is not provided on the opening surface of the base, and a drain hole 12d is not provided in a portion of the bottom cover 12 facing the substrate accommodating box 15 so as to cope with flooding from below.

The above is the operation state of the detachable electric water heater in a normal use method. However, there is a case where the water is drained without removing the inner container 3. That is, when the lid 40 is opened, and especially when there is a lot of hot water in the inner container 3, the container is drained while slightly tilting the container as shown in FIG. 4, gradually increasing the inclination, and finally turning the container upside down. Drain completely. In this case, the water W enters the interior case 1 from the gap 26 between the container frame 22 and the outer frame during the drainage with a slight inclination (when the inclination angle is 90 degrees or less), and the corner portion of the bottom cover 12 as shown in FIG. However, since water flows out of the body through the drain hole 12d provided here, even if the body is continuously tilted and finally turned upside down, most of the water that has entered inside is discharged outside the body. For,
It does not flow toward the operation board 5 provided on the upper part of the body,
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the abnormality of the circuit and the deterioration of the electrical insulation.

Especially, a drain hole 12d provided at a corner portion
Because, even if many small holes are provided, it is difficult for water to drain due to surface tension, and too large holes make it easy for insects such as cockroaches to enter, and the inside becomes easy to see and even the bottom part looks bad By providing a narrow elongated hole 112e substantially along the outer periphery of the bottom cover 12, a drainage hole structure having a good drainage effect and a good appearance can be obtained.

Further, the provision of the drain holes 12d provided at the corners of the bottom cover 12 over substantially the entire circumference reduces the strength of the bottom surface of the bottom cover 12, so that the bottom cover 12 located substantially below the operation board 5 is provided. By providing the drain holes 12d intensively at the corners of the above, effective drainage can be achieved without lowering the strength of the bottom cover 12 and preventing water from entering the operation board 5. Of course, except for the corner portion of the bottom cover 12 located substantially below the operation board 5, the area and number of the drain holes 12d can be reduced so as not to reduce the strength.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment in which the electric parts such as the operation board 5 are located on the upper part of the outer case 2, the same effects can be exerted when the electric parts are present on the side surfaces of the outer case 2. It is. In the present embodiment, the exterior body described in the claims includes an exterior case and a bottom cover, and the exterior case and the bottom cover may be an exterior body formed by integrally molding a resin. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, for example, in a hot water supply system, a manual air pump system other than the electric pump system,
Further, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a case where the inner container cannot be detached.

[0028]

As described above, when the hot water in the inner container is drained by tilting the container, the water infiltrating into the container can be processed by simply providing a hole in the outermost periphery of the bottom surface of the bottom cover to perform the processing steps and parts. Since the drainage can be quickly performed without increasing the number, it is possible to eliminate a short circuit or insulation failure of the electric component due to the intruded water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional side view of an electric kettle having a detachable inner container showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the electric kettle of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a state diagram when the inner container is taken out of the electric kettle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a state diagram of the electric kettle of FIG. 1 when water in an inner container is being drained.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the vicinity of a bottom cover in the state of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bottom cover in the electric water heater of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the electric kettle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a state diagram of a conventional electric kettle when water in an inner container is being drained.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Interior case 1a Slit 2 Exterior case (exterior body) 2a Slit 3 Inner container 4 Upper frame 4a Beak-shaped protrusion 4c Bearing 5 Operation board (electric part) 6 Substrate cover 7 Operation sheet 8 Bottom plate 8a Drain hole 9 Seed heater DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Heat plate (heater) 11 Heat sensitive plate 11a Temperature sensor 11b Temperature fuse 12 Bottom cover (exterior body) 12a Rib 12b Bottom surface of square part 12c Bottom surface of circular part 12d Drain hole 12e Drain hole of the present invention 13 Legs 14 Turntable DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Substrate storage box 16 Control board 17 Lead wire 20 Container 21 Packing 22 Container frame 22a Eaves-like projection part 23 Handle 24 Outflow path 25 Protective cover 25a Transparent window 26 Gap 27 Electric pump 27a Pump part 27b Drive part 28 Connection pipe 29 Lift Liquid pipe 30 Bent passage 31 Outlet cover 31a tap hole 32 cover sheet 40 the cover 41 hinge pin 42 in the lid 43 seals 112e slot (drain holes)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inner container for storing a liquid, a heater for heating the liquid in the inner container, a bottomed cylindrical outer housing for storing the inner container and the heater, and an upper or side surface of the outer housing An electric water heater provided with an electric component having a lamp, a switch, and the like, wherein a hole for draining water is provided on an outer periphery of a bottom surface of the exterior body. 2. The electric water heater according to claim 1, wherein the drain hole is an elongated hole along a bottom side surface. 3. The electric water heater according to claim 1, wherein the drain hole is provided at a position facing the electric component.