JP2007307127A - Steam port case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deforming of an upper case which is pressed with a packing in a condition of high temperature in a steam port case provided with the packing interposed between the upper case and a lower lower case. <P>SOLUTION: The packing 23 has a tongue part 23b extending from a fitting part 23a closely contacting with the upper case 22 so as to press the tongue part 23b to the upper end of the annular wall 21b of the lower case 21 while the upper case 22 is fitted to the lower case 21. The tongue part 23b absorbs the pressing load of the packing 23 by deformation of itself, so that the pressing load of the packing 23 which the fitting part 23a receives is reduced, and force which the upper case 22 receives from the fitting part 23a is also reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steam port case provided in a steam generator such as a rice cooker, an electric water heater, or a humidifier.

  In this type of steam generator, steam generated in a boiler section inside the container is discharged to the outside through a steam passage. The steam port case is connected to the steam passage in order to lower the temperature of the discharged steam or to separate the liquid contained in the steam.

  For example, in the case of a rice cooker, as shown in FIG. 4, a main body 2 that heats the inner pot 1 and a lid 3 that is attached to the main body 2 so as to be opened and closed are closed. It is like that.

  The lid 3 is provided with a steam passage 4 that communicates between a lower surface that closes the inner pot 1 and an upper surface of the outer shell of the lid 3. During cooking, some rice balls (sticky liquid in which the umami component of rice is dissolved in hot water) are discharged into the steam passage 4 together with the steam. In order to separate the rice cake from the steam, a steam port case 10 for temporarily retaining the steam is provided at the outlet of the steam passage 4.

  The steam port case 10 includes a lower case 11 in which a steam inlet 11 a to be inserted into the terminal port 4 a on the lid 3 side of the steam passage 4 is provided at the bottom, and an upper case 12 attached to the lower case 11. Yes. The lower case 11 receives the rice balls separated in the steam port case 10. The upper case 12 can be attached to and detached from the lower case 11 so that the stomach attached to the inside of the steam port case 10 can be cleaned. The upper case 12 has a steam exhaust port 12a.

  The upper plate portion 12b of the upper case 12 has a shape that substantially matches the upper surface shape of the lid 3 in order to configure the appearance of the product. In order to easily form such a shape, the upper case 12 is a molded product of synthetic resin.

  A packing 13 that seals the liquid received by the lower case 11 is provided between the upper and lower cases 11 and 12. The packing 13 uses an annular molded product having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the U-shaped leg portion is pushed between the opposing wall portions 12c and 12d formed on the upper plate portion 12b of the upper case 12. Has become a department. By this pushing, the packing 13 is detachably attached to the upper case 12.

  When the upper case 12 is attached to the lower case 11, the crotch portion of the packing 13 is pressed against the upper end of the side periphery 11 b of the lower case 11. By this pressing contact portion, the liquid and vapor in the vapor port case 10 are sealed between the upper and lower cases 11 and 12.

  However, in a configuration such as the steam port case 10 shown in FIG. 4, the upper case 12 is heated during steam generation to a high temperature and repeatedly exposed to a temperature change that becomes a low temperature as the operation is stopped. Since the upper plate portion 12b is easily deformed under a high temperature condition, the upper plate portion 12b is slightly bent upward by being pushed by the tips of both leg portions of the packing 13. The deformation does not disappear completely even under low temperature conditions, and is gradually fixed by repeated cooling and heating cycles (the state of deformation is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 for reference). As a result, the contact between the upper plate portion 12b and the packing 13 becomes loose, and there is a risk that liquid or vapor leaks as shown by the arrow in FIG.

  Accordingly, a first problem of the present invention is to prevent deformation of the upper case pushed by the packing in the steam port case provided with the packing interposed between the upper and lower cases, and the second problem is further leakage. It is to obtain a difficult seal.

  In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides a lower case having an annular wall continuous from the bottom to the upper side, an upper case attached to the lower case, and between the upper case and the annular wall. In a steam port case comprising an intervening packing, a steam inlet that communicates with a seal space formed by the upper case, the bottom, the annular wall, and the packing, and a steam outlet that communicates with the seal space The packing includes a tongue piece portion extending from an attachment portion that is in close contact with the upper case, and the tongue piece portion is pressed against the annular wall in a state where the upper case is attached.

According to the above configuration, only the tongue piece portion is pressed against the annular wall of the lower case in a state where the upper case is attached to the lower case. Here, the tongue piece portion extending from the attachment portion absorbs the pressing load of the packing by its deformation. Thereby, the pressing load of the packing received by the mounting portion is reduced, and the force received by the upper case from the mounting portion is also reduced.
Therefore, according to the said structure, a deformation | transformation of the said upper case pushed by the said packing can be prevented. As a result, the contact between the upper case and the packing is hardly loosened by repeated cooling and heating cycles, and leakage of liquid and vapor is also prevented.

In order to achieve the second object, in the present invention, in the configuration described above, the upper case has a wall portion that is located on the seal space side from the attachment portion and protrudes along the attachment portion, A configuration is adopted in which the tongue piece is in contact with the lower end edge of the wall portion on the tip side from the contact portion with the annular wall.
According to this configuration, in a state where the upper case is attached to the lower case, the tongue piece portion is on the lower end edge of the wall portion protruding along the attachment portion on the tip side from the contact portion with the annular wall. Since it contacts, it will be in the state pressed against the lower end edge.
Here, since the wall portion protrudes from the mounting portion on the seal space side, the tongue piece portion pressed against the lower end edge of the wall portion passes through the liquid received in the lower case and the inside of the seal space. It is prevented that the vapor | steam which carries out reaches the contact | adherence part of the said attaching part and the said upper case. As a result, the liquid and vapor in the seal space are less likely to leak.

As described above, the present invention has a configuration in which the packing has a tongue piece portion extending from an attachment portion in close contact with the upper case, and the tongue piece portion is pressed against the annular wall in a state where the upper case is attached. By adopting, in the steam port case provided with the packing interposed between the upper and lower cases, it is possible to prevent the upper case from being deformed by the packing.
Further, according to the present invention, the upper case has a wall portion that is located on the seal space side from the attachment portion and protrudes along the attachment portion, and the tongue piece portion has a tip from a contact portion with the annular wall. By adopting a configuration that contacts the lower end edge of the wall portion on the side, a seal that is difficult to leak can be obtained.

Hereinafter, a steam port case according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the steam port case 20 according to the embodiment includes a lower case 21, an upper case 22 attached to the lower case 21, and a packing 23 that seals between the upper and lower cases 21 and 22. Is. In addition, the steam inlet case which concerns on embodiment is comprised as what is applied to the cover body 3 of the rice cooker shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower case 21 has an annular wall 21 b that is continuous from the bottom 21 a to the upper side.

  The upper case 22 is formed in a cover shape that largely covers the upper side of the lower case 21, and the upper plate portion 22 a is along the upper end shape of the annular wall 21 b of the lower case 21. In order to enable such a complicated shape, the upper case 22 is made of a synthetic resin. The thickness of the upper plate portion 22a is substantially uniform to prevent sink marks.

  A steam inflow port 21c located inside the annular wall 21b is formed at the bottom 21a of the lower case 21. The steam inlet 21c is inserted into and connected to the steam passage 4. The connection structure between the lower case 21 and the steam passage 4 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the steam inlet 21c may be a simple opening, and the pipe portion of the steam passage 4 may be inserted.

  The upper case 22 has a bearing portion 22b that receives a hinge shaft 21d provided outside the annular wall 21b of the lower case 21. The upper case 22 can be opened and closed around the hinge shaft 21d in a state where the hinge shaft 21d is fitted in the bearing portion 22b.

  On the opposite side of the upper case 22 from the bearing portion 22b, a claw portion 22c protruding downward is provided. The claw portion 22c is locked to a claw receiving portion 21e provided outside the annular wall 21b of the lower case 21 when the upper case 22 is closed and rotated. By this locking, the upper case 22 is attached to the lower case 21. Note that the upper case 22 may be attached by another structure such as a screw.

  The packing 23 is interposed between the upper case 22 and the annular wall 21b in a state where the upper case 22 is attached to the lower case 21. A seal space S is formed by the upper plate portion 22 a of the upper case 22, the bottom portion 21 a of the lower case 21, the annular wall 21 b and the packing 23.

  The steam inlet 21c located on the inner side of the annular wall 21b communicates with the seal space S so that mixed steam flows laterally into the seal space S. The upper plate portion 22a is formed with a steam exhaust port 22d communicating with the seal space S. The steam flowing into the seal space S is deflected against the annular wall 21b of the lower case 21, and then steam exhaust. Head to mouth 22d.

  Note that the upper plate portion 22a is formed with a protruding wall portion 22e that prevents the steam that has flowed sideways from the outlet of the steam inlet 21c from directly reaching the steam outlet 22d.

  Since the rice cake that flows into the seal space S together with the steam is temporarily retained in the seal space S, it adheres to the bottom portion 21a and the annular wall 21b of the lower case 21 and also adheres to the lower surface of the upper plate portion 22a. Will fall later. A portion of the rice bowl received by the lower case 21 returns into the steam passage 4 from the steam inlet 21c. This is because rice balls contain the umami component of rice. It is also possible to configure so that all rice balls are collected in the lower case 21.

  When cleaning the lower case 21 and the like, the upper case 22 can be removed from the lower case 21 by releasing the locking of the claw portion 22c and rotating the upper case 22 open.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the packing 23 includes a mounting portion 23a to be pushed between opposing wall portions 22f and 22g formed on the lower surface of the upper plate portion 22a, and a lower side from the mounting portion 23a. And a tongue piece portion 23b extending in a straight line. The packing 23 is an annular body, and silicon rubber is used in consideration of non-toxicity to the human body. The material of the packing 23 may be any material as long as desired elasticity and durability can be obtained.

  When the attachment portion 23a is pushed between the wall portions 22f and 22g, the attachment portion 23a comes into close contact with the wall portions 22f and 22g, and is detachably attached to the upper case 22 by its frictional contact.

  The lower surface of the tongue piece 23 b is pressed over the entire circumference against the upper end of the annular wall 21 b of the lower case 21 by the closed rotation of the upper case 22. This pressing state is maintained by the upper case 22 being locked to the lower case 21. Thereby, the seal space S is formed, and leakage of liquid or vapor is prevented between the upper and lower cases 21 and 22.

  Here, a space is formed between the contact portion p1 of the tongue piece portion 23b with the annular wall 21b and the mounting portion 23a. Thereby, only the tongue piece part 23b is pressed against the upper end of the annular wall 21b, and the deformation | transformation of the tongue piece part 23b is permitted. The pressing load of the packing 23 received by the mounting portion 23a is absorbed and reduced by the deformation of the tongue piece portion 23b, and the force received by the upper case 22 from the mounting portion 23a is also reduced.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, deformation of the upper case 22, particularly the upper plate portion 22a, can be prevented. As a result, the contact between the upper plate portion 22a and the mounting portion 23a becomes difficult to loosen due to repeated cooling and heating cycles, and liquid and vapor are prevented from leaking from the seal space S.

  Further, the wall portion 22g located on the seal space S side from the mounting portion 23a is formed so as to be in contact with substantially the entire circumference along the side surface of the mounting portion 23a on the seal space S side. The lower end edge of the wall 22g protrudes downward from the mounting portion 23a over the entire edge. The tongue piece portion 23b is provided so as to contact the lower end edge of the wall portion 22g on the tip side from the contact portion p1 with the annular wall 21b. For this reason, in a state where the upper case 22 is attached to the lower case 21, the tongue piece portion 23b is pressed against the lower end edge of the wall portion 22g.

  The tongue piece 23b pressed against the lower end edge of the wall portion 22g on the seal space S side is covered under the contact portion p2 between the attachment portion 23a and the wall portion 22g, and the liquid or vapor in the seal space S is applied to the contact portion p2. To prevent reaching. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to make it difficult for the liquid and vapor in the seal space S to leak.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although the said wall part 22g was provided so that the substantially whole periphery of the said attaching part 23a might be provided, it can also be provided so that it may extend along a perimeter. The reason why the wall portion 22g is partially cut out in this embodiment is because a fitting space for the protruding piece portion is formed in advance in preparation for forming a protruding piece portion for restricting the mounting direction in the packing 23. .

  The steam port case 20 according to this embodiment can be provided as a steam separator at the outlet of a steam passage such as an electric water heater or a humidifier.

  The configurations of the lower case 21, the upper case 22, and the packing 23 can be changed as appropriate as long as the effects of the present invention are exhibited. For example, by forming the bottom 21a of the lower case 21 also outside the annular wall 21b and forming another annular wall surrounding the annular wall 21b from this portion, a liquid receptacle at the time of seal leakage can be provided integrally. .

The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the steam-mouth case which concerns on embodiment 1 is an exploded perspective view of the steam port case shown in FIG. Enlarged sectional view of the packing portion of the steam port case shown in FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the whole structure of the rice cooker provided with the steam port case of the prior art example Expanded cross-sectional view of the packing part of the conventional steam port case

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inner pan 2 Main body 3 Lid 4 Steam passage 4a Termination port 10, 20 Steam port case 11, 21 Lower case 11a, 21c Steam inlet 11b Side periphery 12, 22 Upper case 12a, 22d Steam exhaust port 12b, 22a Upper board Portions 12c, 12d, 22f, 22g Wall portions 13, 23 Packing 21a Bottom portion 21b Annular wall 21d Hinge shaft 21e Claw receiving portion 22b Bearing portion 22c Claw portion 22e Projecting wall portion 23a Mounting portion 23b Tongue piece portion S Seal space

Claims (2)

A lower case having an annular wall provided continuously from the bottom to the upper side;
An upper case attached to the lower case;
A packing interposed between the upper case and the annular wall;
A steam inlet communicating with a sealing space formed by the upper case, the bottom, the annular wall, and the packing;
In a steam port case provided with a steam discharge port communicating with the seal space,
The steam port case, wherein the packing includes a tongue piece portion extending from an attachment portion in close contact with the upper case, and the tongue piece portion is pressed against the annular wall in a state where the upper case is attached.   The upper case has a wall portion that is located on the seal space side from the attachment portion and protrudes downward along the attachment portion, and the tongue piece portion is closer to the tip side than the contact portion with the annular wall. The steam port case according to claim 1, which comes into contact with a lower end edge of the wall portion.

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