JP2007313115A - Steam iron - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steam iron capable of flexibly varying a steam amount. <P>SOLUTION: An iron body 1 includes a pump device 87 for supplying water in a cassette tank 10 to a vaporizing chamber 6. A pressure sensor 86 for detecting force imposed on the steam iron in ironing is arranged in the upper part of a handle part 35 and electrically connected to a board 46. A steam amount control means 88 varies the flow rate of the pump device 87 in response to the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 86 so as to vary the steam amount. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steam iron used for wrinkling and press finishing of clothing and the like.

A conventional steam iron is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This type of steam iron will be described with reference to FIG. 11. Reference numeral 1 denotes an iron body, and the iron body 1 includes a base 3 in which a heater as a heating means is embedded. A jet hole is provided in the base 3, and steam is jetted from the jet hole.
JP 2003-265898 A

  However, conventionally, this type of steam iron has a constant amount of steam according to a set temperature, and when wrinkles are strong, it has been necessary to give more moisture by using a sprayer or the like in addition to steam. In addition, it was necessary to strengthen the ironing force and perform wrinkle stretching.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron capable of varying the amount of steam flexibly.

  In the steam iron according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the steam varies depending on the force when ironing, it is not necessary to apply more moisture by using, for example, a spray sprayer.

  In the steam iron according to claim 2 of the present invention, the force applied to the steam iron can be detected by mounting the pressure detecting means on the iron body.

  In the steam iron according to claim 3 of the present invention, by attaching the pressure detection means to the handle portion, it is possible to directly detect the force applied to the steam iron and to protect the pressure detection means from heat.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to vary the amount of steam flexibly using the force accompanying ironing.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to vary the steam flexibly by utilizing the force applied to the iron body during ironing.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to change the steam in a flexible manner by using the force applied to the handle portion that the user directly touches when ironing.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a steam iron according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in these embodiments, the same portions as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of common portions will be omitted as much as possible.

  First, the overall configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Reference numeral 1 denotes an iron body, and the iron body 1 includes a base 3 formed of, for example, aluminum in which a heater 2 as a heating unit is embedded. . A base back plate 5 is fixed to the bottom surface of the base 3 with screws 4 and is detachable. Inside the base 3, a steam chamber, that is, a vaporizing chamber 6 is formed in the vicinity of the heater 2, and an ejection hole 7 communicating with the vaporizing chamber 6 is provided on the lower surface of the base 3. The vaporization chamber 6 may not be formed in the base 3 but may be a separate body. Reference numeral 8 denotes a cover provided on the upper portion of the base 3, 9 denotes a handle provided above the cover 8, and a cassette tank 10, which is a container corresponding to a water tank, is located in front of the handle 9. 1 is detachably provided.

  The cassette tank 10 is made of, for example, synthetic resin, and has a substantially U shape when viewed from the upper surface. The cassette tank 10 is disposed so that both sides of the cassette tank 10 extend from the front end side to the rear end side of the handle 9. 11 is an openable / closable water inlet lid provided at the front of the cassette tank 10, from which water can be stored in the cassette tank 10 and waste water in the cassette tank 10 can be discarded. . The lock mechanism of the cassette tank 10 is slightly protruded on one side surface of the handle 9 and is provided with a tank lock button 12. An elevator 13 that moves up and down by operating the tank lock button 12 is an elastic member. The spring 14 is always urged downward by the barrel spring 14. Then, the lock portion 15 projecting from the lower portion of the elevating body 13 is configured to be engaged with the concave portion 16 formed on the inclined upper surface of the cassette tank 10. In the present embodiment, the detachable cassette tank 10 has been described, but a fixed water tank that does not include the lock mechanism may be used. In the present embodiment, the cordless iron is described, but an iron with a cord may be used.

  A valve device 17 is provided inside the cassette tank 10, and a water passage joint 18 serving as a water conduit that communicates with the vaporizing chamber 6 is provided below the valve device 17. The valve device 17 includes a steam opening / closing rod 20 as a steam opening / closing body supported upright and slidably by the support body 19, a packing 21 provided on the concave bottom surface of the support body 19, and the packing 21 at all times. And a spring 22 as an urging member that urges toward the concave bottom surface side of the support body 19 to protect the close contact state, and the elastic valve body 66 formed at the lower end of the steam opening / closing rod 20 is a cassette tank. 10 is provided facing the center of the outflow hole 23 formed on the bottom surface. In addition, a heat shield plate 24 that blocks heat from the base 3 is interposed between the water flow joint 18 and the base 3. A lid 25 is provided below the heat shield 24 so as to cover the upper opening of the vaporizing chamber 6. 26 is a nozzle provided in the middle of the water passage joint 18, and an open / close valve 27 for opening and closing the nozzle 26 is provided on the base from the opening 32 provided in common to the heat shield plate 24 and the lid body 25. 3 protrudes downward toward the concave portion 33. An inversion-type bimetal 34 corresponding to a heat sensitive body is accommodated in the recess 33 of the base 3, and when the vaporizing chamber 6 near the recess 33 reaches a predetermined temperature, the bimetal 34 is moved into the interior of the recess 33. And the nozzle 26 is opened by pushing up the on-off valve 27 against the bias of the spring 30. In this manner, a steam mechanism is configured to eject the steam generated in the vaporizing chamber 6 from the ejection hole 7 of the base 3. Apart from these steam mechanisms, the iron body 1 is provided with a pump device 87 comprising, for example, an electric pump for supplying water in the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6. This pump device 87 is also included in the steam mechanism.

  In addition to the handle portion 35 corresponding to the grip portion, the handle 9 has a cavity 37 for inserting a hand between the abdomen 36 and the handle portion 35 of the iron body 1 located below the handle portion 35. It is formed. Here, the abdomen refers to a flat central upper surface portion of the iron body 1 facing the handle portion 35 excluding both sides of the cassette tank 10.

  A setting button 39 for changing the set temperature of the base 3 is disposed at the upper part of the handle 9, and the base 3 is kept at a predetermined temperature by appropriately turning off the heater 2 inside the handle 9. A control device 42 is provided for controlling. Specifically, the control device 42 includes a buzzer as a notification means for notifying the user of a change in temperature setting or an inappropriate temperature state in addition to the switch portion 43 of the setting button 39 and the plurality of light emitting diodes, that is, the LEDs 40. 44 and a power storage device 45 such as a secondary battery or a capacitor that stores and holds the current set temperature and allows the setting button 39 to be received are mounted on the upper surface of the substrate 46. The light of the LED 40 is transmitted through the handle portion 35, and the current set temperature is displayed by the temperature display portion 41 disposed in a part of the cassette tank 10 disposed above the handle portion 35. 47 is a substrate support portion formed behind the substrate 46, and another substrate 48 is provided behind the iron body 1 by being supported by the substrate support portion 47. Reference numeral 49 denotes a rear cover that forms a rear outline of the iron body 1, and is attached to a recess 50 formed on the lower side of the rear cover 49 with a pair of power supply terminals 51 protruding from the iron body 1 protruding. It has been. A pressure sensor 86 as a detecting means for detecting the force applied to the steam iron during ironing is disposed on the upper portion of the handle portion 35 and is electrically connected to the substrate 46. A steam amount control means 88, which will be described later, can change the flow rate of the pump device 87 according to the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 86, and the steam amount can be changed.

  On the other hand, reference numeral 52 denotes a mounting table on which the iron body 1 can be mounted, and a receiving portion 54 is provided on the inclined lower end side of the mounting portion 53 whose upper surface is inclined in one direction. The receiving portion 54 is provided with a leaf spring-shaped power contact 55 corresponding to the power supply terminal 51, and when the iron body 1 is placed on the placement portion 53 of the placement table 52, the power supply terminal 51 becomes a power contact. Power is supplied to the iron body 1 as needed from a power cord 56 connected to an outlet (not shown) in contact with the power outlet 55.

  Next, an electrical configuration will be described with reference to FIG. Specifically, the control device 42 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and is configured to perform a series of operations in accordance with a control sequence of a program stored in a storage device (not shown) of the microcomputer. . On the input side of the control device 42, in addition to the setting button 39, it is determined whether or not the temperature detection means 57 such as a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the base 3 and the iron body 1 is mounted on the mounting table 52. The iron placement detection means 58 and the pressure sensor 86 are connected to each other.

  Further, a heater 2, a temperature display unit 41, a buzzer 44, a pump device 87, and the like are connected to the output side of the control device. Regardless of whether or not the iron body 1 is placed on the placing table 52, the control device 42 receives an operation signal from the setting button 39 and makes the set temperature of the base 3 sensitive to a temperature such as acrylic. There are four levels: “Delicate” meaning temperature for fibers (heat resistant temperature of 100 ° C. or less), “Low” meaning low temperature, “Medium” meaning medium temperature, and “High” meaning high temperature. Regardless of whether or not the temperature setting means 59 for switching setting and the iron body 1 is mounted on the mounting table 52, the operation signal from the setting button 39 is received and the iron body 1 is set to the off state. State setting means 60. In this embodiment, each time the setting button 39 is pressed once, each setting mode in the temperature setting means 59 or the off state setting means 60 changes from “OFF” → “Delicate” → “Low” → “Medium”. The temperature is switched to a higher temperature step by step in the order of “→” High ”→“ Off ”. However, when the temperature is set to high, when the setting button 39 is operated, the setting mode is set to the off state. As in the present embodiment, the temperature setting means 59 may be configured so that the set temperature of the base 3 can be variably set continuously instead of stepwise. In this case, the operation means is not a push button type, and for example, a slide type switch or the like may be used. Further, the control device 42 may be provided with a setting means for switching the set temperature of the base 3 and a temperature setting means 59 for accepting an operation signal from the operation means and switching the set temperature of the base 3 even during separation. That's fine. The setting mode once set by the temperature setting means 59 or the cut state setting means 60 is held and stored for a predetermined time by the backup power storage device 45 while the iron body 1 is detached. When the control unit 42 detects that the iron body 1 is mounted on the mounting table 52 by the iron mounting detection unit 58, the temperature of the base 3 detected by the temperature detection unit 57 is changed to the temperature setting unit 59. The heater 2 which is a heating means is controlled to be cut off so as to coincide with the set temperature set in. Further, the control device 42 is provided with a notification / display control means 61 for controlling the temperature display section 41 and the buzzer 44, and the temperature of the base 3 detected by the temperature detection means 57 when the iron body 1 is placed. When the temperature is within the appropriate temperature range near the set temperature, the LED 40 of the temperature display unit 41 corresponding to the set temperature is turned on and notification is given by the buzzer 44, while when the temperature of the base 3 is outside the appropriate temperature range, The LED 40 of the temperature display unit 41 corresponding to the set temperature is set in a blinking state, and notification by a buzzer is not performed.

  On the other hand, when the iron body 1 is detached from the mounting table 52, the power supply from the mounting table 52 to the iron body 1 is cut off, so that the heater 2 is turned off. At this time, the control device 42 continues to operate by power feeding from the power storage device 45, monitors the temperature of the base 3 detected by the temperature detecting means 57, and accepts an operation signal from the setting button 39. Then, when the temperature of the base 3 falls below the appropriate temperature range near the set temperature set by the temperature setting means 59, or by operating the setting button 39, the set temperature in the temperature setting means 59 becomes higher than before. When the temperature is switched to a high temperature, the notification / display control means 61 uses the buzzer 44 or the LED 40 of the temperature display section 41 to perform power supply leaving or display for prompting the iron body 1 to be placed on the placing table 52. It is composed.

  The pressure sensor 86 sends the detection result obtained by detecting the pressure to the control device 42 as a pressure signal. The steam amount control means of the control device 42 varies the flow rate of the pump device 87 according to the pressure signal sent from the pressure sensor 86. As the relationship between the pressure and the flow rate at this time, for example, various changes such as linearly changing the flow rate according to the pressure (proportional relationship), changing the flow rate stepwise for each predetermined pressure range, etc. A control mode is conceivable.

  Here, the structure of the cassette tank 10 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Inside the cassette tank 10, a pump device 62 for temporarily pumping a large amount of water from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 is provided. The pump device 62 includes a cylindrical cylinder 63 formed near the rear of the support body 19, a piston 64 slidably provided along the vertical direction in the cylinder 63, and a manual operation of the piston 64. The operation button 65 is generally configured, and normal steam or increased steam is ejected from the ejection hole 7 communicating with the vaporizing chamber 6. The operation button 65 protrudes from the upper surface of the operation panel 38 and can be pushed. A valve body 66 provided in a water passage extending from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 can be operated according to the operation of the operation button 65. A rotor 67 as an opening / closing control unit that opens and closes, and is connected to the upper part of the steam opening / closing bar 20 below the rotor 67 and is moved up and down inside the cassette tank 10 according to the pushing position of the operation button 65. And a moving joint 68.

  The rotor 67 is formed in a concave shape having an open bottom surface, and a rod body 80 formed on the upper portion of the piston 64 is inserted into the concave portion, and an upper end thereof is in contact therewith. The flange portion 81 formed at the lower portion of the piston 64 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 63, and is surrounded by the bottom surface and inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 63 and the lower surface of the piston 64. A spring 69 serving as a piston urging body that urges the piston 64 upward is disposed therein. Also, a spring 70 is provided between the upper surface of the cylinder 63 and the joint 68 as a joint biasing body that biases the joint 68 and thus the steam opening / closing valve 20 upward. The rotor 67 is coupled to the operation button 65 to transmit the pushing force of the operation button 65 to the piston, and when the operation button 65 is pushed down to the lower end of the operation, an engaging portion (not shown) formed in the cassette tank 10 is shown. And the operation button 65 and thus the piston 64 are held in that position. At this time, the joint 68 and the steam opening / closing rod 20 connected to the joint 68 move downward against the bias of the spring 70, and the valve body 66 at the lower end of the steam opening / closing rod 20 closes the outflow hole 23. Thus, the supply of water from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 is shut off. On the other hand, when the operation button 65 is pushed further downward from the locked state of the rotor 67, the engaged state between the rotor 67 and the engaging portion in the cassette tank 10 is released, and the spring 69 in the cylinder 63 is released. Due to the elastic repulsive force, the piston 64 and thus the rotor 67 and the operation button 65 are pushed up to return to their original positions. In the middle of the operation, the elastic repulsive force of the spring 70 also acts, the joint 68 is pushed up, the valve body 66 at the lower end of the steam opening / closing rod 20 opens the outflow hole 23, and the vaporization chamber is opened from the cassette tank 10. 6 to allow water supply. In this manner, the operation button 65 is pressed to open / close the outflow hole 23 by the valve body 66, that is, to switch between dry and steam.

  An inflow port 83 and an outflow port 84 communicating with the water introduction chamber 82 are formed below the pump device 62. A check valve 71 with a spring is provided in the inlet 83 for taking water in the cassette tank 10 into the cylinder 63, and another outlet 84 for sending water from the cylinder 63 to the vaporization chamber 6 is provided in the inlet 83. A spring check valve 85 is provided. When the operation button 65 is pushed halfway within the range where the rotor 67 is not locked, the check valve 85 in the outlet 84 opens instead of closing the check valve 71 in the inlet 83. While the water in the water introduction chamber 82 is discharged from the outlet 84 to the vaporization chamber 6, when the finger is released from the operation button 65, the elastic repulsive force of the spring 69 acts, and the piston 64 and thus the rotor 67 and the operation button. Instead of 65 being pushed up and the check valve 85 in the outlet 84 being closed, the check valve 71 in the inlet 83 is opened, and the water in the cassette tank 10 passes through the inlet 83 into the water introduction chamber 82. Is housed. Thus, while operating the operation button 65 in a range where the rotor 67 is not in the locked state, the pump device 62 is used so that a so-called increase steam can be made in which a large amount of water is temporarily sent to the vaporizing chamber 6. It is configured. Note that the load of the spring 70 is set larger than that of the spring 68 in order to eliminate malfunctions between the increased steam and the normal steam / dry switching. Here, not only the iron body 1 is used in a horizontal state, but also the clothing body such as a suit hung on a hanger or the like is made substantially vertical, and the pump device 62 sprays an increased amount of steam onto the clothes. There is also usage.

  Next, the operation of the steam iron having the above configuration will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. When water is previously stored in the cassette tank 10 from the water inlet lid 11 and this cassette tank 10 is inserted from the front part of the handle 9, the upper surface of the cassette tank 10 pushes up the lock part 15 against the spring 14, and finally The cassette tank 10 is set at a predetermined position of the iron body 1 by the locking portion engaging with the recess 16. Next, in step S1, when the power cord 56 is inserted into an outlet (not shown) in a state where the iron body 1 is placed on the placing table 52, the control device 42 in the iron body 1 from the power contact 55 of the placing table 52. Power is supplied to the power storage device 45. In the control device 42, the off state setting mode by the off state setting means 60 is first set as an initial state, and the LED 40 corresponding to “off” on the operation panel 38 is turned on by the notification / display control means 61. In this cut-off state, the heater 2 is not energized for safety. After that, when the setting button 39 is pushed in step S2, the setting mode is switched from “OFF” to “Delicate”, “low”, “medium”, “high” in this order, and the LED 40 corresponding thereto is lit. . In step S 3, when the temperature setting unit 59 is switched to a setting mode other than “OFF”, the controller 42 energizes the heater.

  In the next step S <b> 4, the control device 42 detects whether the iron body 1 is being placed or detached by the iron placement detection means 58. In a state where the iron body 1 is continuously placed on the placing table 52, the heater 3 is heated to the base 3 until the base 3 reaches the temperature set by the temperature setting means 59. At this time, the control device 42 determines whether or not the base 3 is within an appropriate temperature range close to the set temperature, based on the detection output from the temperature detection means 57 (step S5). When the temperature of the base 3 is out of the appropriate temperature range, the process proceeds to the next step 6 to turn on the LED 40 of the temperature display unit 41 corresponding to the set temperature so that the notification by the buzzer 44 is not performed. Thus, the user is informed that the base 3 is in an inappropriate temperature state. On the other hand, in step S5, when the temperature of the base 3 is within the appropriate temperature range, the process proceeds to step S7, the LED 40 of the temperature display unit 41 corresponding to the set temperature is turned on, and the buzzer 44 is sounded for a certain time. Let the user know that ironing is possible. And as long as the iron main body 1 is mounted on the mounting table 52, the control device 42 controls turning off the heater 2 so that the temperature of the base 3 is maintained within an appropriate temperature range. Regardless of whether the temperature is appropriate or inappropriate, the process returns to step S4.

  Thereafter, in step S4, when the iron body 1 is detached from the mounting table 52 for ironing, the power supply from the mounting table 52 to the iron body 1 is cut off, and the heater 2 is turned off. The control device 42 continues to operate by the power supply from the power storage device 45, but when the temperature of the base 3 falls below the appropriate temperature range in the next step S8, or by operating the setting button 39, the temperature setting means When the temperature is switched to a higher temperature than before in 59, the buzzer 44 or the LED 40 is used to perform power supply notification or display for urging the iron body 1 to be placed on the placing table 52. Thereafter, the process returns to step S4 again.

  When ironing, after inserting a hand from the cavity 37 of the iron body 1, the handle portion 35 of the handle 9 is held with a palm. At this time, the width of the rear end portion of the handle portion 35 is gradually increased from the substantially central portion, and the height is lowered so that the iron body 1 does not come out of the hand during ironing. Further, in order to improve the visual observation of the tip of the base 3, the front end surface of the cassette tank 10 is inclined so as to fall relatively large toward the rear side of the iron body 1, but the cassette in the present embodiment. Since both sides of the tank 10 are secured high enough to accommodate a sufficient amount of water, it is possible to eliminate the conventional capacity shortage of the water tank. When wrinkle stretching is performed, the user strongly presses the lower surface of the base 3 against clothing or the like, so that pressure is applied to the handle portion 35. When the pressure sensor 86 provided in the handle portion 35 detects the pressure, a pressure signal corresponding to the detection result is sent to the control device 42, and the steam amount control means of the control device 42 pumps according to the pressure signal. The flow rate of the device 87 is varied. Thereby, since the amount of steam ejected from the ejection hole 7 of the base 3 varies according to the force when the user performs ironing, it is not necessary to give more moisture by using, for example, a spray sprayer when ironing. In particular, by attaching the pressure sensor 86 to the handle portion 35 that is directly touched by the user, the pressure applied by the user to the steam iron can be detected directly, and the pressure sensor 86 is protected from the heat of the base 3 and the like. Can do.

  To perform the dry operation during ironing, as shown in FIG. 9, the operation panel is moved to the position where the rotor 67 is engaged with the engaging portion in the cassette tank 10 against the elasticity of the springs 69 and 70. The operation button 65 at 38 is depressed. Then, the operation button 65 is locked by the rotor 67 at the operation lower end, and the other rotor 67, the joint 68, the piston 64, and the like are also held at the positions pushed by the operation button 65. During the operation of depressing the operation button 65, when the joint 68 comes into contact with the lower part of the rotor 67 and the joint 68 moves downward, the steam opening / closing rod 20 connected to the joint 68 also moves downward, and the steam opening / closing rod 20 The lower end of the valve body 66 at the lower end closes the outflow hole 23, and the outer peripheral surface of the valve body 66 closes the conical surface that extends radially from the outflow hole 23 in a close contact state. Thereby, the passage of the water supplied from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 through the valve device 17 is reliably blocked. Further, when the operation button 65 is locked by the rotor 67, the piston 64 in the cassette tank 10 also stops moving, so that the water supply to the vaporizing chamber 6 by the pump device 62 is also blocked. In this way, all the water supply from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 is shut off, and a dry operation in which steam is not ejected from the ejection holes 7 is performed.

  On the other hand, in order to switch from the dry operation to the normal steam operation, the operation button 65 is pushed down again to release the locked state of the operation button 65 by the rotor 67. As a result, the elastic repulsion force of the spring 69 in the cylinder 63 acts as shown in FIG. 10, and the piston 64 is pushed up, and the rotor 67 and the operation button 65 are pushed up simultaneously. In conjunction with the release of the locked state by the rotor 67, the spring 70 below the joint 68 lifts the joint 68 and operates the valve body 66 and the steam opening / closing rod 20 in the direction to open the outflow hole 23. Thereby, although the pump device 62 does not operate, a passage of water supplied from the cassette tank 10 to the vaporizing chamber 6 through the valve device 17 is secured, and water heated in the vaporizing chamber 6 by the heater 2 is discharged from the ejection hole 7. It spouts as steam. The amount of steam at this time is a normal amount defined by the amount of water passing through the valve device 17.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the increased steam operation in which a larger amount of steam than usual is temporarily ejected from the ejection hole 7 is performed by operating the rotor 67 with the operation button 65 within a range where the rotor 67 is not locked. The piston 64 is slidably operated in the cylinder 63 using the elastic repulsive force of the spring 69. Specifically, when the operation button 65 is pushed halfway within the range where the rotor 67 is not locked, the check valve 71 in the inlet 83 is closed and discharged from the outlet 84 to the vaporizing chamber 6. . Thereafter, when the finger is released from the operation button 65, the elastic repulsive force of the spring 69 acts, and the piston 64 and consequently the rotor 67 and the operation button 65 are pushed up, and the check valve 85 in the outlet 84 is closed, The check valve 71 in the inflow port 83 is opened, and the water in the cassette tank 10 is accommodated in the water introduction chamber 82 through the inflow port 83. If the operation of the operation button 65 is repeated, a large amount of water can be temporarily sent out to the vaporizing chamber 6 using the pump device 62.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the iron body 1 having the heater 2 as the heating means and the handle portion 35, the base 3 heated by the heater 2, and the steam mechanism for ejecting steam from the base 3 are provided. In the steam iron, a pressure sensor 86 as a detection means for detecting the force accompanying the user's ironing, and the flow rate of the pump device 87 corresponding to the steam amount of the steam mechanism is varied according to the detection result of the pressure sensor 86. Steam amount control means 88 is provided.

  If it does in this way, since the amount of steam changes according to the power at the time of ironing by a user, it becomes unnecessary to give more moisture using iron spray etc. at the time of ironing. Therefore, the amount of steam can be varied flexibly using the force accompanying the user's ironing.

  In this embodiment, the detection means is constituted by a pressure sensor 86 as pressure detection means for detecting the force applied to the iron body 1.

  If it does in this way, the pressure which a user applies to the said steam iron can be detected by mounting | wearing the iron body 1 with the pressure sensor 86. FIG. Therefore, the amount of steam can be varied flexibly using the force applied to the iron body during ironing.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pressure sensor 86 is provided on the handle portion 35.

  In this way, by attaching the pressure sensor 86 to the handle portion 35, it is possible to directly detect the pressure applied by the user to the steam iron and to protect the pressure sensor 86 from heat. Therefore, the amount of steam can be varied flexibly using the force applied to the handle portion 35 that the user directly touches when ironing.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. The position where the detection means is provided may be on the lower surface or inside of the base 3 as long as the problem of heat is solved, or may be configured systematically by providing a pressure sensor on the ironing board side, for example, without being provided on the steam iron. Moreover, since the detection means should just detect the force at the time of a user ironing, it is good also as a speed sensor etc. which detect the speed of a steam iron, for example.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the iron main body in the Example of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the state which mounted the iron main body on the mounting base same as the above. It is a side view of an iron main body same as the above. It is a top view of an iron main body same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows an electrical structure same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of an iron main body same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of the iron main body at the time of a dry setting same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of the iron main body at the time of steam setting same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the principal part of the iron main body at the time of an increase steam setting same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows an operation | movement procedure same as the above. It is a top view of the iron main body in a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Iron body 2 Heater 3 Base
35 Handle
86 Pressure sensor (detection means, pressure detection means)
87 Pump device (steam mechanism)
88 Steam quantity control means

Claims (3)

In a steam iron provided with an iron body having a heating means and a handle, a base heated by the heating means, and a steam mechanism for ejecting steam from the base, a detection means for detecting a force associated with ironing; The steam iron is provided with steam means for changing the steam according to the detection result of the detection means. The steam iron according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means is a pressure detecting means for detecting force. The steam iron according to claim 2, wherein the pressure detection means is provided in the handle portion.

Images