JP2699515B2 - Electric water heater - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric water heater having an electric hot water supply function for heating a stored liquid and keeping it warm.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional electric water heater having an electric hot water supply function is, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-173247.
The configuration was as shown in FIG. That is, by applying an AC voltage to the electromagnetic pump 51 to drive the electromagnetic pump 51, pressurized air is sent into the container 52,
The pressure inside the container 52 is increased, and the liquid in the container 52 is led out of the container.The operation method is to press the knob 54 provided on the lid 53 to energize the electromagnetic pump 51. ON−
The switch 55 for turning off and opening is opened and closed, and it is a control as to whether or not the liquid is led out.

However, in such a conventional configuration, when deriving the liquid in the container 52, only a predetermined constant outflow amount is derived. When placed in a small-capacity container, the momentum is so strong that hot water may scatter and cause burns.On the other hand, in a large-capacity container such as a pan, it takes time and is easy to use. Was bad.

In addition, since air is pressurized, it is necessary to close the vapor passage when the liquid is led out.Therefore, a mechanism for closing the vapor passage in conjunction with the pressing operation of the discharge button is required, resulting in a large operation load. In addition, there has been a problem that the configuration becomes complicated and the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, it is possible to easily obtain an arbitrary amount of derivation, it is also easy to perform the operation of adjusting the amount of derivation, and can also reliably perform the adjustment operation, Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric water heater in which the space for the adjusting function section can be saved.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, an electric water heater of the present invention comprises:
An electric pump that discharges the liquid in the container to the outside of the container, a drive circuit that controls the operation of the electric pump, and a variable part that forms a part of the drive circuit and adjusts the rotation speed of the electric pump. A cam having a link function for providing a bearing and a knob interlocked with the rotational movement of the variable portion, and making the knob slidable in the axial direction, and repeatedly holding the knob at the retracted position and the projected position every time a pressing operation is performed; A spring is provided, and a stopper for regulating the position of the cam is provided. The stopper is pressed from the outer periphery by a return spring, and a rib for locking a lower end of the return spring is provided on the bearing. The winding direction is opposite to the rotation direction of the knob.

According to the above configuration, since the variable portion for adjusting the amount of liquid per unit time which is proportional to the rotation speed of the electric pump and the knob associated therewith are rotated, the fine adjustment at the time of operation is not performed. It is easy to perform, and each time the knob is pressed, the sliding position, that is, the position can be repeatedly held at substantially both ends of the storage position and the protruding position, for example, when the knob is pushed in, the knob is pushed If you hold it in a position that is almost stored inside the main body, you can not operate it in that state, and as a result,
It is safe because it can prevent unexpected operations,
In addition, the appearance is clean without irregularities.

Also, since the winding direction of the return spring is opposite to the rotation direction of the knob, the position of the return spring tends to shift in the reverse direction by natural return after rotating the knob.
The return spring is held at a fixed position by the engagement between the rib and the lower end of the return spring, and the stopper is pressed with a constant force because of a constant diameter (position), so that a smooth operation can be performed. is there.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electric water heater.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a container 2 having an open upper surface is provided in a water heater main body 1, and an upper surface opening of the container 2 is covered by a lid 3, and the lid 3 is provided in front of the lid 3. By pressing the lock knob 4 provided in the section,
The container 2 can be opened and closed with respect to the opening on the upper surface and can be attached to and detached from the main body 1. The lid 3 is provided with a vapor passage 5 communicating with the inside of the container 2. The liquid in the container 2 is heated by a heating element 6 provided at the bottom of the container 2, and an electric pump 7 is driven by a motor 8, and a suction hole 9 provided at a lower portion of the container 2 and suction of the electric pump 7. The liquid in the container 2 is sucked through the first conduit 11 that communicates with the port 10 and the discharge port of the electric pump 7
Second communication pipe 14 for communicating between 12 and outlet 13 to the outside of the body
The liquid is led out of the container via the.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a rotary variable resistor that constitutes a variable portion. The variable resistor 15 constitutes a part of a drive circuit that controls the operation of the electric pump 7 and adjusts the rotation speed of the electric pump 7. It is. Reference numeral 16 denotes a knob that is linked to the variable resistor 15 and constitutes an operation unit 17 together with some components described later.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a drive circuit 40 in which the variable resistor 15 is used as a speed adjusting means for the electric pump 7. The voltage applied to the motor 8 is changed by the variable resistor 15 so that the motor 8, That is, the rotation speed of the electric pump 7 is controlled.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show an example of the configuration of the operation unit 17, in which a cam 18 is mounted inside a knob 16, and the cam 18 has a groove 19 formed on the side surface. A method of fixing the cam 18 to the knob 16 is to form a flange portion 20 on the upper portion of the cam 18 and to allow the main body of the cam 18 to pass therethrough and the flange portion 20 to pass through a hole 21 having a size and shape that cannot pass therethrough. Is fixed by press-fitting into a hole 21 of a knob mounting plate 22 having

A bearing provided with a guide portion 24 which is substantially in sliding contact with the main body of the cam 18.
A return spring 25 is disposed between the knob 23 and the knob 16, and the return spring 25 constantly urges the knob 16 and the cam 18 upward as a winding direction opposite to the rotation direction of the knob 16. I have. Further, a stopper 26 is attached to the bearing 23, and the stopper 26 is urged by the inside of the return spring 25, so that the end 27 is always pressed against the groove 19 of the cam 18 with a slight force. . And also the return spring 25
Is locked to a rib 23a provided on the bearing 23. Further, the variable resistor 15 is provided in a mounting hole 28a of the case 28.
Is mounted with a nut 29. Also the rotating shaft
Reference numeral 30 is fitted with the bearing 23, and rotates in conjunction therewith.

A hook spring 31 having one end attached to the bearing 23 and the other end attached to the case 28 urges the knob 16 and the bearing 28 rotating in conjunction therewith, and the rotation direction of the rotary shaft 30 of the variable resistor 15 in a fixed direction. ing. Motor 8 for driving the electric pump 7
The switch 32 for turning on and off the power of the
Reference numeral 33 is attached to the case 28 so that the lever 33 can be pressed against the lever 34 of the switch 32.

When the knob 16 is not operated, the arm 33 of the bearing 23 urged by the hook spring 31 is pressed against the lever 34 of the switch 32, so that the power supply to the motor 8 is OFF.

When the knob 16 is rotated against the urging force of the hook spring 31, the lever 34 of the switch 32 is in a free state and the power supply to the motor 8 is turned on.
In conjunction with this, the rotating shaft 30 of the variable resistor 15 rotates to change the resistance value, and accordingly, the voltage applied to the motor 8 increases, and the rotation speed of the electric pump 7 increases.

In this case, by adjusting the rotation angle of the knob 16, the number of rotations of the electric pump 7 can be increased or decreased, so that the amount of the liquid discharged from the container 2 can be set to a desired state. Reference numeral 35 denotes a cover that covers the opening of the case 28.

The operation unit 17 is constituted by the above components, and the knob 16 is a part of the exterior of the body by attaching the case 28 to the bosses 36 and 37 formed on the main body 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the shape of the groove 19 of the cam 18, in which the path is closed and a plurality of steps 41 are formed at the bottom. The vertical relationship of the step 41 is one-way, and when the stopper 26 is urged by the inside of the return spring 25 and the end 27 moves while being pressed against the groove 19,
The movement is always counterclockwise. Further, since the cam 18 is always urged upward by the return spring 25, the position is maintained at the sliding position of the cam 18 when the end 27 of the stopper 26 is located at the points a and b. And
Each time the knob 16 is pressed, the end 27 of the stopper 26 is alternately held at the points a and b.

FIG. 7 shows a non-operation state, in which case the knob is used.
16 is pushed in, and the end 27 of the stopper 26 is held at the point a of the groove 19 of the cam 18 shown in FIG.

The rotational position of the knob 16 is urged by the hook spring 31, and the voltage applied to the motor 8 is zero if the resistance of the variable resistor 15 linked to the rotation is set to zero or substantially zero. Or it becomes substantially zero, and the electric pump 7 does not operate.

At this time, the arm 33 of the bearing 23 is connected to the lever 34 of the switch 32.
Therefore, the power supply to the motor 8 is turned off, and the motor 8 is completely stopped.

In this state, if the upper surface 38 of the knob 16 is set to be substantially the same plane or curved surface as the peripheral portion 39 of the knob 16 of the main body 1, the container can have a clean appearance with no irregularities. At this time, since the knob 16 cannot be operated, an accident such as a burn due to an unexpected operation can be prevented.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 8 show the state at the time of operation.
In this case, the knob 16 projects from the main body 1 by a pressing operation, and the end 27 of the stopper 26 is inserted into the groove of the cam 18 shown in FIG.
It is held in a state located at point b of FIG.

When the knob 16 is rotated in this state, the rotating shaft of the variable resistor 15 rotates in conjunction therewith, and the voltage applied to the motor 8 increases with the change in the resistance value. Rotation speed increases.

At this point, when the knob 16 is slightly rotated, the bias of the arm 33 of the bearing 23 is released and the lever 34 of the switch 32 is released, and the power to the motor 8 is turned on.

If the hand is released during operation, the knob 16 immediately returns to the original state by the urging force of the hook spring 31, so that the voltage applied to the motor 8 becomes zero or almost zero, and the electric pump 7
Stops.

By adjusting the rotational position of the knob 16, the amount of liquid per unit time in the container 2 can be selected as desired. At this time, since the lower end 25a of the return spring 25 is held by the rib 23a provided on the bearing 23, the knob 16 is rotated, and when the hand is released, the knob 16 returns naturally. Since the spring 25 is suddenly stopped by the arm 33 of the bearing 23, it rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the knob 16, but the winding direction of the return spring 25 is
Direction, that is, counterclockwise, so that even when the hook spring 31 returns to the original position due to the reaction force of the urging force, the lower end 25a of the return spring 25 abuts the rib 23a of the bearing 23. Since it is always held at a fixed position, the pressing of the stopper 26 of the return spring 25 can be made constant.

According to the present invention, as is apparent from the description of the above embodiment, the variable portion for adjusting the amount of liquid per unit time that is proportional to the rotation speed of the electric pump and the knob associated therewith are rotated. Because it is easy to perform fine adjustment at the time of operation, and the sliding position, that is, the storage position and the position can be repeatedly held at substantially both ends of the protruding position every time the knob is pressed, for example, When the knob is pushed in and stored in the main body, the knob cannot be operated, so that accidents such as burns due to unexpected operation can be prevented, and the appearance can be reduced to a clean shape with little unevenness.

In addition, since the rotation direction of the knob and the winding direction of the return spring are reversed, and the lower end of the return spring is engaged with the rib of the bearing, the return spring is moved by the rotation of the knob. Can be kept at a fixed position with respect to the stopper, so that the pressing of the stopper against the cam can be made constant, and as a result, the operating force and operation at the time of the pressing operation are always stable, and therefore, the knob is pushed down. A stable operation can always be performed without causing an operation failure or the like that the operation is not stopped when the stop is released or the knob is lifted by releasing the lock.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electric water heater showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electric water heater, FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram of the electric water heater, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the essential part of the water heater, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cam which is a constituent member of the essential part, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams of the electric water heater. FIG. 9 is a cutaway side view showing a conventional electric water heater. 1 ... water heater body, 2 ... container, 3 ... lid, 6 ...
Heating element, 7 Electric pump, 15 Variable resistor (variable part), 16 Knob, 18 Cam, 23 Bearing, 23a
... Rib, 25 ... Return spring, 25a ... Lower end of return spring, 2
6 ... Stopper, 40 ... Drive circuit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A water heater main body, and disposed in the main body,
And a container for storing the liquid, a lid covering the upper end opening of the container, a heating element for heating the liquid in the container, an electric pump for discharging the liquid in the container out of the container, and the electric pump A drive circuit that controls the operation of the motor, and a variable part that constitutes a part of the drive circuit and adjusts the rotation speed of the electric pump, and is provided with a bearing and a knob that interlock with the rotational movement of the variable part. And a cam having a ring function and a return spring for holding the knob slidably in the axial direction and repeatedly holding it in the storage position and the protruding position for each pressing operation, and a stopper for regulating the position of the cam is provided. A stopper is pressed from the outer periphery by a return spring, and a rib for locking a lower end of the return spring is provided on the bearing, and a winding direction of the return spring is opposite to a rotation direction of the knob. Electric kettle.