JP3464643B2 - an electronic pot - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric pot for discharging hot water in an inner container from a discharge port by operating a hot water supply pump by operating a hot water supply switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of electric pot has an operation member for turning on and off a hot water supply switch for operating a hot water supply pump. This operation member is composed of a movable structure made of resin with a bottom opening, and is rotatably attached to a predetermined position of an operation panel arranged on an exterior body that houses an inner container. Further, a hot water supply switch composed of a micro switch is arranged on the side portion of the operation member. When the operating member is pushed, the operating member is rotated, and its outer surface interferes with the contact member of the hot water supply switch to turn the hot water supply switch on and off.

[0003]

However, in the electric pot, the hot water supply switch is arranged so as to be located on the side of the operating member, so that the operating member may be different due to the gap and the height difference in the vertical direction. Operation amount (stroke)
Changes. As a result, the operating timing is different for each electric pot, so high mounting accuracy is required,
There is a problem that assembly workability is poor. In addition, the rear surface of the operation panel requires a space for disposing the hot water supply switch, which reduces design freedom. Further, since water enters between the mounting hole provided in the operation panel and the operation member, it is necessary to apply an expensive waterproof type micro switch as the hot water supply switch.

Therefore, in the present invention, the assembly workability is improved,
Also, the present invention provides an electric pot that can reduce costs.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, in the electric pot of the present invention, the hot water supply pump is operated by operating the hot water supply switch, and the hot water in the inner container is discharged from the discharge port through the pumping pipe. In the electric pot, a box-shaped operating member having a bottom opening is movably provided, and the hot water supply switch is disposed inside the operating member, and at a position facing the contact member of the hot water supply switch in the moving direction of the operating member. An operating member is provided.

According to the electric pot, since the hot water supply switch is provided in the operating member, no error occurs in the width direction. Therefore, high attachment accuracy is not required, and it is possible to suppress the difference in the operation amount of the operation member in each electric pot. As a result, assembly workability can be improved. Moreover, a space for arranging the hot water supply switch is not required on the back surface of the operation panel, which improves the degree of freedom in design.
Further, since the hot water supply switch is covered with the operation member material, it is not necessary to apply a waterproof type switch, and the cost can be reduced.

In the electric pot, the operating member is constituted by a shaft portion of a normally closed type flow control valve that opens and closes a liquid passage between the pumping pipe and the discharge port, and the hot water supply switch of the hot water switch is operated by operating the operating member. The operability can be improved by performing the on operation and the valve opening operation of the flow rate control valve.

In this case, it is preferable that the force with which the flow rate control valve operates is made larger than the force with which the contact member of the hot water supply switch operates so that fine flow rate control can be performed at the same time as the start of discharge.

Alternatively, when the flow rate adjusting mechanism is not mounted on the electric pot, the actuating member may be integrally provided on the outer casing containing the inner container.

Further, a mounting member to be mounted on the bottom opening of the operating member is provided, and the hot water supply switch is arranged on the mounting member to simplify the mold for manufacturing the operating member and improve the assembling workability. It is preferable.

In this case, the mounting member is provided with a tongue portion facing the contact member of the hot water switch, and the contact member of the hot water switch and the operating member are brought into contact with each other via the tongue portion, It is preferable to increase these contact areas.

Further, it is preferable that the operating member is provided with a seal member for closing the bottom opening so as to surely prevent the hot water supply switch from coming off the operating member and surely prevent water from entering from below. .

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electric pot 1 of the present invention. In this electric pot 1, an inner container 3 for accommodating water is arranged inside an exterior body 2, and the water in the inner container 3 is heated by a heater, and a hot water supply pump is operated to open a liquid passage. The hot water is discharged from the discharge port 7 through the pumping pipe 4 that is configured. The inner container 3, the heater, the hot water supply pump, and the mounting structure thereof are the same as in the prior art.

The exterior body 2 comprises a body 5, a shoulder body 23 mounted on the upper body 5, and a lid body 46 attached to the shoulder body 23 so as to be openable and closable.

The body 5 is provided with a nose portion 6 projecting outwardly on the front surface, and the nose portion 6 is provided on the nose portion 6.
A connection member 8 that connects the discharge port 7 and the discharge port 7 is provided.
The connecting member 8 includes a flow rate adjusting mechanism 9 that adjusts the discharge amount from the discharge port 7 according to the operation amount of the operation member 32 described later. Specifically, this flow rate adjusting mechanism 9
In general, the first casing 10 and the second casing 16,
And a flow rate control valve 18.

The first casing 10 is provided with a main body 11 having a bottom opening and a lid member 12 attached to the main body 11 in a hermetically sealed state. A communication hole 13 that communicates with the second casing 16 is provided in the main body 11. Lid member 1
2 is provided with a connecting portion 14 protruding in a tubular shape, and the connecting portion 14 and the pumping pipe 4 are connected in a sealed state via a joint 15.

The second casing 16 connects the first casing 10 and the discharge port 7, and is provided with a cylindrical insertion portion 17 located above the communication hole 13.

The flow rate control valve 18 is made of a resin such as PP (pre-propylene) and has a shaft portion 20 protruding from the valve body 19 having a substantially conical shape. This flow control valve 18
Is the valve body 19 is located in the first casing 10,
The shaft portion 20 is arranged so as to project to the outside through the communication hole 13 and the insertion portion 17. And this flow control valve 1
8 is a spring 21 arranged in the first casing 10.
Is urged upward by the valve body 19 and the communication hole 1
3 is always closed. Further, a seal member 22 is provided outside the insertion portion 17 so as to cover the protruding shaft portion 20.

In the present embodiment, the spring 21 is used so that the force that operates by pressing the shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 becomes larger than the force that operates the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31, which will be described later. The bias is set.

The shoulder body 23 has a shape that matches the upper end opening of the body 5, and the lid body 4 shown in FIG.
There is provided a receiving portion (not shown) for detachably and rotatably attaching the device 6. In addition, this shoulder body 23,
An operation panel 27 and a housing portion 24 that houses the circuit board of the operation panel 27 are provided on the upper portion, and a mounting hole 25 and a mounting receiving portion 26 in which the operation member 32 of the hot water supply switch 31 is disposed are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 27 has a first liquid crystal display 28 for displaying the temperature of hot water in the inner container 3 and a discharge amount at the time of hot water supply, and a second liquid crystal display for showing the remaining amount of hot water. 29 and 29. In addition, these liquid crystal displays 28,
Around 29, reboil switch, timer switch,
Non-movable operation parts 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d of the selection switch and the lock release switch are provided, and a movable operation member 3 of the hot water supply switch 31 is provided.
Two are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the operating member 32 is capable of accommodating the hot water supply switch 31, which is a micro switch, through a mounting member 37. The shaft of the flow rate control valve 18 is accommodated in the operating member 32. It is provided so as to correspond to the portion 20 and the moving direction. The operation member 32 is a box-shaped structure having a bottom opening. The operation member 32 is provided at one end with a mounting portion 33 having a rotation shaft for rotatably mounting to the mounting receiving portion 26. Further, inside the operation member 32, a hooking portion 34 for positioning the end portion of the attachment member 37 is provided so as to project, and the locking groove 3 is formed.
5 are provided. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 36 denotes a protrusion that engages with a guide groove (not shown) that regulates the rotation direction.

The mounting member 37 includes a substrate 38 having a shape that closes the bottom opening of the operating member 32.
8 is a mounting portion 3 of the hot water supply switch 31 protruding in a substantially concave shape
9 is provided. The mounting portion 39 includes an insertion shaft 40 that is inserted into a through hole 31 b provided in the hot water supply switch 31, and an elastic locking piece 41 having a claw portion 41 a that locks the outer surface of the hot water supply switch 31. Further, in this mounting portion 39,
A hook 42 that hooks on the hook 34 is provided. Further, the base plate 38 is provided with a tongue piece portion 43 having elasticity matching the contact member 31a of the switch when the hot water supply switch 31 is attached. Furthermore, an elastic locking portion 44 having a claw portion 44a that locks in the locking groove 35 is provided.

In this embodiment, the bottom surface opening of the operating member 32 is covered with a sealing member 45 made of a resin sheet while the mounting member 37 is disposed inside the operating member 32. In FIG. 1, 60 is a mounting member 37.
The spring 60 is a spring that returns the operating member 32 to a predetermined mounting position when not operated. In the present embodiment, the spring 60 prevents the mounting member 37 and the shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 from contacting each other. It is urged upward so that it can be held in place.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the lid 46 is provided with an upper plate 47, a lower plate 48, and an inner lid 49 made of stainless steel that covers the lower surface of the lower plate 48. ing. The lid body 46 has an exhaust passage through which the vapor generated in the inner container 3 is exhausted from the space between the inner lid 49 and the lower plate 48 to the exhaust port 50 of the upper plate 47. A leakage prevention mechanism 51 is provided to prevent water condensed in the exhaust passage from leaking outside when the body 46 is opened. The leakage prevention mechanism 51 includes a cylindrical protrusion 5 provided at a lower portion of the exhaust port 50.
2, a spherical check member 53 movably arranged in the cylindrical protrusion 52, and a circulation hole 54. This return hole 5
4 is provided in the vicinity of the upper part of the protrusion 55a located at the bottom of the plurality of protrusions 55 provided on the inner lid 49 so as to project toward the inner container 3 when opened, and when the lid 46 is opened. It is located below the exhaust port 50. Also,
On the back surface side of the lid body 46, a mounting portion 56 that is detachably and rotatably attached to the receiving portion of the shoulder body 23 is provided.

In the lid 46, when the lid 46 is opened, the condensed water adhering to the surface of the inner lid 49 is gathered in the center along the ridge 55, and the inside of the exhaust passage is provided through the lower circulation hole 54. It is possible to prevent the exhaust gas from flowing in to the surface of the exterior body 2 by using the exhaust passage as a water storage portion. Then, when the lid 46 is closed, the stored water is returned into the inner container 3 through the circulation hole 54. The structure in which the ridge 55 is provided can be modified in various ways. Further, a concave groove may be provided instead of the ridge 55. Further, as shown by a broken line in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a water storage hole 57 is provided separately from the circulation hole 54 so as to be located at the lower portion in an open state, and a circulation flow constituted by an exhaust passage is formed. A partition wall 58 may be provided to partition the space for use and the space for storing condensed water.

Next, the operating member 32 and the hot water supply switch 3
The assembly of No. 1 will be described. When assembling these, first, the insertion shaft 40 of the mounting member 37 is inserted into the through hole 31b of the hot water supply switch 31, and the hot water supply switch 31 is pressed. As a result, the elastic locking pieces 41 on both sides are bent to fix the hot water supply switch 31 in the mounting portion 39 in a non-separable manner. In this state, the tongue 43 having elasticity matches the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31.

Next, the hook 42 of the mounting member 37 to which the hot water supply switch 31 is fixed is connected to the hook 34 of the operating member 32.
The attachment member 37 in a state of being hooked on the operation member 32.
Push it inside. Thereby, the pair of elastic locking portions 44
Is locked in the locking groove 35 in the operating member 32, and the mounting member 3
A hot water supply switch 31 is arranged in the operation member 32 via the switch 7.

After that, a seal member 45 is attached to the bottom opening of the operating member 32 to completely seal the inside of the operating member 32.

Then, in this state, the operating member 32 is positioned in the mounting hole 25 from the back side of the shoulder body 23, and the mounting portion 3
3 is attached to the attachment receiving portion 26 of the shoulder body 23. Then, in this state, the shoulder body 2 is attached to the body 5 provided with the flow rate adjusting mechanism 9.
By mounting 3, it is possible to assemble the operation member 32 and the shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG.

Thus, in the electric pot 1 of the present invention,
Since the hot water supply switch 31 is provided in the operation member 32, an error due to a gap in the width direction does not occur during assembly. Therefore, high attachment accuracy is not required, and it is possible to suppress the difference in the operation amount of the operation member 32 for each electric pot. Further, the assembling workability can be improved, and since the space for arranging the hot water supply switch 31 is not required on the rear surface of the operation panel 27, the degree of freedom in design is improved. Further, since the hot water supply switch 31 is covered with the operation member material, it is not necessary to apply a waterproof type switch, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the hot water supply switch 31 is arranged on the operating member 32 via the mounting member 37, the mold for manufacturing the operating member 32 can be simplified and the assembling workability can be improved. And the assembling accuracy can be improved. Further, the mounting member 37 is provided with a tongue piece 43 facing the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31, and the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31 and the shaft of the flow rate control valve 18 are provided via the tongue piece 43. Since the parts 20 are in contact with each other, the contact area is increased, and the assembling workability can be further improved. Furthermore, since the operation member 32 is provided with the seal member at the bottom opening, the hot water supply switch 31 is reliably prevented from falling off from the operation member 32, and the ingress of water such as steam from below is also ensured. Can be prevented.

On the other hand, the electric pot 1 assembled in this way
When the user presses the operating member 32 when the hot water in the inner container 3 is discharged, the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31 arranged in the operating member 32 causes the operating member 3 to operate.
The shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 positioned in the moving direction of 2 is abutted. As a result, the shaft member 20 is used as an operating member to operate the contact member 31a, the hot water supply switch 31 is turned on, and the hot water supply pump is operated.

Further, by the pressing force of the operating member 32 by the user, the flow rate control valve 18 operates downward against the urging force of the spring 21, and the valve body 19 separates from the communication hole 13, whereby the inner container 3 The liquid passage from the discharge port to the discharge port 7 is in communication, and hot water can be discharged.

In this state, the operating member 32 is
The separation distance between the valve body 19 and the communication hole 13 changes according to the pressing force of, and the opening area of the communication hole 13 also increases or decreases accordingly. Therefore, the amount of hot water supplied from the discharge port 7 can be reliably adjusted. Moreover, in the present embodiment, since the force with which the shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 operates is greater than the force with which the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31 operates, immediately after the start of discharge. It is possible to finely control the flow rate.

The electric pot 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above construction. For example, in the above embodiment,
The biasing force of the spring 21 is set so that the force that operates by pressing the shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 becomes larger than the force that the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31 operates. The force with which the member 31a operates may be greater. In this case, when the hot water supply pump is in operation, the liquid passage is in communication with the discharge port 7, so that the load on the hot water supply pump can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the flow rate adjusting mechanism 9
The shaft portion 20 of the flow rate control valve 18 constituting the above is used as an actuating member for operating the contact member 31a of the hot water supply switch 31, but in the case of a model without the flow rate control function, as shown in FIG. The actuating member 70 may be provided exclusively for the shoulder 23.

[0038]

As is apparent from the above description, in the electric pot of the present invention, since the hot water supply switch is provided in the operating member, no error occurs in the width direction during assembly. Therefore, high attachment accuracy is not required, and it is possible to suppress the difference in the operation amount of the operation member in each electric pot. As a result, assembly workability can be improved.
Moreover, a space for arranging the hot water supply switch is not required on the back surface of the operation panel, so that the space can be saved and the degree of freedom in design can be improved. Further, since the hot water supply switch is covered with the operation member material, it is not necessary to apply a waterproof type switch, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing an electric pot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an operation panel of the electric pot of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an operation member and a mounting member of FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a lid of the electric pot of FIG. 1, (A) being a cross-sectional view and (B) being a bottom view.

FIG. 5 is a main-portion cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the electric pot.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric pot, 2 ... Exterior body, 3 ... Inner container, 4 ... Pumping pipe, 5 ... Body, 6 ... Nose part, 7 ... Discharge port, 8 ... Connection member, 9 ... Flow control mechanism, 18 ... Flow control valve , 19 ... Valve body, 20 ... Shaft part (operating member), 22 ... Sealing member, 23
... Shoulder body, 31 ... Hot water supply switch, 31a ... Contact member, 32
... Operating member, 37 ... Mounting member, 38 ... Substrate, 43 ... Tongue portion, 45 ... Sealing member, 46 ... Lid body.

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electric pot that operates a hot water supply pump by operating a hot water supply switch to discharge hot water in an inner container from a discharge port through a pumping pipe, and a box-shaped operation member having a bottom opening is movably provided. An electric pot characterized in that the hot water supply switch is arranged inside the operation member, and an actuating member is arranged at a position facing a contact member of the hot water supply switch in a moving direction of the operation member. 2. The actuating member is constituted by a shaft portion of a normally closed type flow control valve that opens and closes a liquid passage between the pumping pipe and the discharge port, and the hot water supply switch is turned on by operating the operating member. The electric pot according to claim 1, wherein the flow control valve is opened. 3. The electric pot according to claim 2, wherein the force with which the flow rate control valve operates is larger than the force with which the contact member of the hot water supply switch operates. 4. The electric pot according to claim 1, wherein the actuating member is provided integrally with an exterior body accommodating the inner container. 5. The mounting member for mounting to the bottom opening of the operating member is provided, and the hot water supply switch is arranged on the mounting member.
The electric pot according to the item. 6. The electric pot according to claim 5, wherein the attachment member is provided with a tongue portion facing the contact member of the hot water switch. 7. The electric pot according to claim 1, wherein the operation member is provided with a seal member for closing a bottom opening.