JP3068177B2 - Electric iron - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an electric iron used for press finishing of fabric.

(Prior Art) In an electric iron, a base heated by a heater is provided, and ironing is performed by moving the iron back and forth while pressing the lower surface of the base against a fabric. The temperature of the base can be set to several levels according to the material of the fabric to be ironed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, even if the temperature of the base is set to a temperature based on the material of the fabric, when the lower surface of the base is actually pressed against the fabric, the heat of the base is generated by the fabric. Due to the absorption, the temperature of the base becomes lower than the set temperature. This state is shown in FIG. 6, and when the iron is tilted almost horizontally from the non-use state in which the iron is self-standing and the actual ironing is started, the temperature of the base falls below the set temperature, and the iron becomes free-standing again. The base temperature returns to the set temperature. The degree of such a decrease in the temperature of the base varies considerably depending on how fast the iron is moved back and forth by pressing against the fabric.

For example, in a cloth with a large area such as sheets,
The temperature of the base is greatly reduced because the iron moves vigorously back and forth to widen wrinkles, and the temperature drops to about 20 ° C lower than the set temperature. On the other hand, even with the same material, in the case of a cloth with a small area such as a handkerchief, the range in which the wrinkles are stretched is small, so that the iron moves slowly, so that the temperature of the base does not decrease much and the temperature is lower than the temperature setting. Is about 10 ° C.

Therefore, a configuration in which the temperature of the base is simply set according to the material of the fabric as in the related art is insufficient to effectively reduce the wrinkles of the fabric, and is more efficient especially in the case of a sheet having a large area. However, there is a drawback that is reduced. The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and its purpose is to efficiently maintain the base temperature not only according to the material of the fabric but also at an appropriate temperature according to the area thereof. It is to provide an electric iron that can be ironed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a base heated by a heater, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the base, and a temperature of the base. Temperature setting means for setting
A state detection sensor that detects a reciprocating operation of the iron in a horizontal state, and processes signals of the temperature sensor and the state detection sensor, and a frequency of detection of the reciprocating operation of the iron within a predetermined time by the state detection sensor is less than a certain value. In this case, the base has a first predetermined temperature higher than the temperature set by the temperature setting means, and the base has a second predetermined temperature higher than the first predetermined temperature when the detection frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. And a temperature control circuit for controlling energization of the heater.

(Operation) When the ironing work is performed by pressing the base against the fabric and moving the iron back and forth, the number of reciprocating operations is sequentially detected by the state detection sensor. When the frequency of the detection within a predetermined time is equal to or more than a predetermined value, that is, when the area of the fabric is large, the energization of the heater is controlled so that the base becomes higher than the set temperature by, for example, 20 ° C. On the other hand, if the frequency of detection is less than a certain value, that is, if the area of the fabric is small, the base is at a temperature lower than the control temperature, for example, about 10 ° C. higher than the set temperature of the base. The energization of the heater is controlled.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 shows the structure of the electric iron, 1 is the base,
A heater 2 is embedded in the base 1, and a vaporization chamber 3 is formed on an upper surface of the base 1. The vaporization chamber 3 communicates with a lower surface of the base 1 through a steam ejection hole 4.
A handle 5 is mounted on the base 1 and a cassette type water tank 6 is provided in front of the handle 5.
Is detachably mounted. The water tank 6 has a nozzle 7 communicating with the vaporization chamber 3. Water in the water tank 6 is supplied into the vaporization chamber 3 through the nozzle 7 as appropriate, and this water is vaporized by the heat of the base 1 to become steam. The steam is ejected to the lower surface side of the base 1 through the steam ejection hole 4.

A temperature sensor 10 for detecting the temperature of the base 1 is provided on the upper surface of the base 1, and a state detection sensor 11 for detecting the state of the iron is provided inside the handle 5.
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the state detection sensor 11, wherein 12 is a horizontally long case, and a ball 13 capable of reflecting light is provided on the case 12.
Are movably accommodated. At the bottom of the case 12, an arc portion 14 that is curved downward in an arc shape is formed.
A photo-interrupter 15 is provided at an intermediate portion of the photo-interrupter 15, and a light-emitting diode 15a and a photo-transistor 15b are built in the photo-interrupter 15. When the iron is in a substantially horizontal state, the ball 13 is arranged in the middle of the arc portion 14, and the light emitted from the light emitting diode 15a
The light reflected from the surface of No. 3 is incident on the phototransistor 15b, thereby keeping the phototransistor 15b in the ON state and detecting that the iron is in a substantially horizontal state. If the iron is placed on a floor or the like in an independent state during ironing, the case 12 will be in an almost vertical state
13 is disposed on one end side of the case 12, so that light emitted from the light emitting diode 15a does not enter the phototransistor 15b, thereby keeping the phototransistor 15b in an OFF state,
It detects that the iron is free standing. Furthermore, when the iron is moved down and back and forth almost horizontally, that is, during the actual ironing operation, the ball 13 reciprocates in the case 12, thereby causing the light emitting diode 15 to move.
The incidence and blocking of light from a to the phototransistor 15b are repeated to turn on / off the phototransistor 15b, thereby detecting the continuation of ironing.

As shown in FIG. 3, an operation button 18 as a temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the base 1 is provided on the rear end side surface of the handle 5, and the temperature sensor 10 and A temperature control circuit 20 is provided for controlling the energization of the heater 2 by comparing a signal output from the state detection sensor 11 and a signal output by operating the operation button 18 with an electronic circuit including a microcomputer 19. Further, the operation button is provided on the rear end side of the handle 5.
A temperature display section 21 is provided alongside the display section 18.
The temperature of the base 1 is about 20
A plurality of LEDs 22 are provided to display each stage up to “high” at 0 ° C. by lighting.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When ironing, first, the operating button 18 is operated to set the temperature of the base 1, the iron is placed in an independent state, and the temperature of the base 1 is awaited. Then, after the base 1 has risen to the set temperature T, the iron is lowered to the horizontal state and actual ironing is started. After the base 1 has reached the set temperature T, the posture of the iron is lowered to the horizontal state. And this is detected by the state detection sensor 11,
This detection signal causes the timer circuit in the temperature control circuit 20 to start counting. When the iron is moved down horizontally and the base 1 is pressed against the fabric, the iron is moved back and forth, and the ironing operation starts, the state detection sensor 11 is turned ON / OFF, and this one operation is performed as one pulse as the temperature. The counting is performed by the counting circuit in the control circuit 20 in parallel with the counting by the timer circuit.

If the total number of output pulses of the state detection sensor 11 at the time when the timer circuit counts, for example, 15 seconds is, for example, 5 or more, the temperature of the base 1 when the influence of the fabric is not taken into consideration is equal to the set temperature T. The temperature of the heater 2 is increased by 20 ° C, for example.
Controlled via 20 (first control).

On the other hand, when the total number of output pulses of the state detection sensor 11 at the time point when the time of 15 seconds is counted is less than 5, the temperature of the base 1 when the influence of the fabric is not taken into consideration is lower than the set temperature T by, for example, 10 ° C. The energization of the heater 2 is controlled via the temperature control circuit 20 so as to be higher (second
Control).

As described above, in general, when the object to be ironed is a cloth such as a large sheet, the iron is moved back and forth relatively hard, and
Is relatively large. On the other hand, when the object is the same material, such as a handkerchief having a small area, the iron is moved slowly, and the temperature of the base 1 is relatively low.

And in the former case, the iron moves violently,
Since the number of pulses output from the state detection sensor 11 is large, the temperature of the base 1 is increased by the first control to the set temperature T +
The energization of the heater 2 is controlled so as to reach 20 ° C., whereby the temperature drop of the base 1 is quickly corrected as shown in FIG.
In the latter case, since the movement of the iron is slow, the number of pulses output by the state detection sensor 11 is small. Therefore, the temperature of the base 1 is set to the set temperature T + 10 ° C. by the second control. The energization of the heater 2 is controlled, whereby the temperature drop of the base 1 is corrected, and the base 1 is eventually maintained at the set temperature T substantially.

As described above, the temperature of the base 1 is appropriately maintained without being affected by the size of the area of the fabric, and therefore, the wrinkles of the respective fabrics can always be efficiently performed.

By the way, during ironing, when the iron is temporarily made to stand on the floor temporarily to change the direction and position of the fabric, the state detection sensor 11 is turned off, the control for correction is released, and the initial Return to control. When the iron is returned to the horizontal state again, the state detection sensor 11 is turned on, and the above-described control for correction is performed.

In addition, when the iron is placed in a self-standing state and the iron is not returned to the horizontal state after a certain period of time from when the state detection sensor 11 is turned off, the heater 2 is automatically turned off for safety. It is also possible to configure.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a decrease in the temperature of the base caused when the base is pressed against the fabric can be corrected in accordance with the size of the fabric. Irrespective of the size, there is an advantage that the temperature of the base can be kept almost constant and ironing can be always efficiently applied to each fabric.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 5 relate to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of an electric iron, and FIG. 3 is an electric iron. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the state detection sensor, FIG. 5 is a graph showing a temperature change of the base, FIG.
The figure is a graph showing the temperature change of the base in the conventional electric iron. 1 ... base, 2 ... heater, 10 ... temperature sensor, 11 ...
... state detection sensor, 20 ... temperature control circuit.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Sakai 2570-2 Gosuda, Kamo-shi, Niigata Prefecture Inside Toshiba Heat Appliance Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-31800 (JP, A) JP-A Heihei 4-164500 (JP, A) JP 2-37200 (JP, B2) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 75/26

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A base heated by a heater, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the base, a temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the base, and a state detection sensor for detecting a reciprocating operation of the iron in a horizontal state. And processing the signals of the temperature sensor and the state detection sensor, and when the frequency of detection of the reciprocating operation of the iron within the predetermined time by the state detection sensor is less than a certain value, the base is set at a temperature lower than the temperature set by the temperature setting means. And a temperature control circuit for controlling energization of the heater such that the base is at a second predetermined temperature higher than the first predetermined temperature when the detection frequency is higher than a first predetermined temperature. An electric iron, characterized in that: