JP4307684B2 - Iron - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to an iron, and more particularly, to a technique for shortening the waiting time at startup.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the electric iron has been configured to heat the bottom surface as uniformly as possible. That is, it has an iron base that forms an ironing surface at the bottom of the iron body, and the ironing surface is heated by one electric heater built in the iron base. Also, the temperature control of the ironing surface has been performed by controlling the energization of the heater with a bimetal or thermistor so that the center of the surface of the ironing surface becomes almost the set temperature.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Ironing is not the main housework, unlike cooking such as preparing dinner. However, there is no doubt that it must be done. Therefore, everyone wants to use a little free time to get rid of it quickly. However, with the above-described uniform heating type iron, no matter how short it is estimated, it takes about 1 minute to 1 and a half minutes to start the work. Busy housewives accumulate a great deal of psychological stress due to this waiting time.
[0004]
By the way, if an auxiliary heater is built in like an iron disclosed in JP-A-10-277298, the waiting time can be shortened to some extent by using the auxiliary heater at the time of start-up. However, this case is not economical because extra power is required to heat the auxiliary heater.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its object is to reduce the waiting time at the start-up without increasing the power consumption, and for the user to be psychologically stressed by the waiting time. It is to prevent you from feeling.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The iron according to the first invention is specified by the following items (11) to (18).
(11) a first electric heater that heats the pointed front portion of the ironing surface;
(12) a second electric heater that heats an intermediate portion of the hanging surface;
(13) a third electric heater for heating a rear portion of the hanging surface;
(14) a temperature detector that detects the temperature of each front, middle, and rear part of the hanging surface;
(15) a temperature setting unit for arbitrarily setting the temperature of the hanging surface;
(16) a control unit that controls energization of the first, second, and third heaters based on an input of the temperature setting unit and an output of the temperature detection unit;
(17) The control unit preferentially energizes the first heater over energization of the second and third heaters at the start of heating,
(18) After the front part of the ironing surface reaches the set temperature, the control unit preferentially energizes the second and third heaters over the energization of the first heater. Do.
[0007]
The iron according to the second invention is specified by the following items (21) to (28).
(21) a first electric heater that heats a pointed front portion of the ironing surface;
(22) a second electric heater for heating the intermediate portion of the hanging surface;
(23) a third electric heater for heating a rear portion of the hanging surface;
(24) a temperature detector that detects the temperature of each front, middle, and rear part of the hanging surface;
(25) a temperature setting unit for arbitrarily setting the temperature of the hanging surface;
(26) a control unit that controls energization to the first, second, and third heaters based on an input of the temperature setting unit and an output of the temperature detection unit;
(27) The control unit performs energization of the first heater preferentially over energization of the second and third heaters at the start of heating,
(28) The control unit controls the total electric power supplied to the first, second, and third heaters to be constant during the heating period.
[0008]
The iron according to the present invention is preferably provided with a temperature notification unit that informs the user of the part being heated and the part that has reached the set temperature among the front, middle, and rear parts of the hanging surface.
[0009]
Further, the iron according to the present invention preferably includes a remaining time display unit that displays an estimated remaining time until the temperature rising portion reaches the set temperature.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
=== Basic configuration ===
An external view and a block diagram of an iron according to one embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an iron body, which has an iron base 2 at the lower part and an iron handle 3 at the upper part. The front of the base 2 has a pointed shape, and the lower surface thereof serves as an ironing surface 2a.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 3, three electric heaters A1, A2, and A3 for heating a front portion (hereinafter referred to as area A) of the hanging surface 2a are embedded in the base 2. In addition, electric heaters B1, B2, and B3 for heating the intermediate portion (B area) of the hanging surface 2a and electric heaters C1, C2, and C3 for heating the rear portion (C area) of the hanging surface 2a are embedded. . Further, a temperature sensor S for detecting the temperature of each area is embedded in the base 2 for each of the A, B, and C areas.
[0012]
On the upper surface of the handle 3, as shown in FIG. 4, there are a status display lamp 31 (LED or the like) for informing the user of the area being heated and the area that has reached the set temperature, and the area being heated A remaining time display panel 32 (liquid crystal or the like) for displaying an estimated remaining time until the set temperature is reached, and a changeover switch 33 for switching the start mode are formed. Further, a temperature setting dial 11 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 1 so that the user can arbitrarily set the temperature.
[0013]
The 11 and 31 to 33 are respectively connected to a microcomputer 4 embedded in the handle 2. Hereinafter, the basic operation of the iron will be described focusing on the control by the microcomputer 4.
[0014]
=== Basic operation ===
Each heater is turned on and off individually by the switch circuit 41 of the microcomputer 4. The control of the switch circuit 41 is performed based on the output from the information processing unit 42 built in the microcomputer 4.
[0015]
For the processing in this unit 42, the built-in ROM 43 of the microcomputer 4 has a “temperature transition calculation model (calculation formula)” with parameters such as the heater output, the heating part, the initial temperature of the ironing surface, the current temperature, and the temperature. Stored.
[0016]
If at least one heater is energized, the unit 42 blinks the status display lamp 31 corresponding to the area, and the corresponding calculation model is read from the ROM 43 based on the information from the temperature sensor S in the area. read out. Subsequently, the remaining time until the set temperature is reached is sequentially calculated according to the read calculation model, and the result is displayed on the display panel 32. Further, an appropriate switching signal is output to the switch circuit 41 based on the set temperature input from the dial 11 and the temperature information from the temperature sensor S, and temperature control is performed in area units.
[0017]
=== Start-up in quick mode ===
Set the start mode selector switch 33 to "quick mode" and turn on the power switch. Then, first, power corresponding to the set temperature is supplied only to the three electric heaters A1 to A3 in the A area. The reason for concentrating power in the A area is that the heat capacity of the A area is smaller than others and the temperature raising efficiency is good. In addition, it is necessary to design the heater in A area so that it can endure this electric power concentration. For example, when the total power consumption is 1200 W, the three heaters A1 to A3 are all equivalent to 400W.
[0018]
The temperature change in the A area is detected by the temperature sensor S in the A area. During the temperature rise, the display lamp 31a corresponding to the A area is blinked and the time required for the A area to reach the set temperature is displayed on the display panel 32. For example, a message such as “Up to ** seconds until the blinking area can be used” is displayed.
[0019]
Then, after this display becomes “0 second”, that is, after the A area reaches the set temperature, the display lamp 31a is changed from blinking to lighting to notify the user. At the same time, the process proceeds to the stage of heating the B / C area while keeping the power consumption constant. The heating of the B / C area is performed by shifting from B to C step by step. For example, the energizing heater is shifted from two B areas + one C area to one B area + two C areas. At this time, the display lamps 31b and c and the display panel 32 are controlled in the same manner as the control of 31a and 32 described above. Note that the heating method at this stage is not limited to this. For example, after heating up the B area completely, start heating the C area, or when the temperature of the A area starts to decrease, keep the power consumption constant and turn on the heater in the A area to reheat it. It is possible to go.
[0020]
When all the A, B, and C areas reach the set temperature, all the display lamps 31a to 31c are turned on, and the display on the display panel 32 is turned off or "0 second" is displayed. After that, the operation is almost the same as that of a normal iron, and the description is omitted.
[0021]
=== Others ===
The iron can be used as a conventional uniform heating method by setting the start mode switch 33 to the “average mode” and turning on the power switch. In this mode, all the display lamps 31a to 31c corresponding to the A, B, and C areas are blinking, indicating that all the areas are being heated. The display panel 32 displays the time until all areas reach the set temperature.
[0022]
In this embodiment, the ironing surface is divided into an A area, a B area, and a C area in order from the front, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when it is desired to reduce the waiting time by a factor of four compared to the conventional uniform heating method, the waiting time may be divided into four. Incidentally, in this embodiment, it is set to one third.
[0023]
The number of heaters arranged in each area and the power consumption thereof are not limited to those of this embodiment. For example, it is good also as a structure which arranges one 1200W heater in each area. However, in this case, it is necessary to consider the material and structure of the base 2 and the arrangement of the heaters so that the entire area can be quickly heated even with one heater.
[0024]
It can also be used as a power-saving mode if heat generation is limited in area units. This is convenient when handling only small items such as handkerchiefs.
[0025]
If it is set as the structure which arrange | positions an electric heater fully from the front to the back of an ironing surface, it can choose arbitrarily which of the front and back is heated preferentially.
[0026]
Instead of visually displaying the start time of use on a liquid crystal display or the like, it may be announced by voice that "use is possible in XX seconds".
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the heating power is first concentrated on the front part of the ironing surface after the power is turned on, the user uses the front part of the ironing surface immediately after turning on the power. Can do. In other words, if ironing is started from small items such as handkerchiefs or cuffs of shirts, the waiting time is almost eliminated.
[0028]
In addition, since the total power supplied for heating is kept constant while heating from the front part to the rear part of the hanging surface, the heating efficiency per unit energy is excellent.
[0029]
In addition to notifying the user of the heated part of the ironing surface and displaying the estimated remaining time until the part can be used, the user can perform the ironing systematically. it can.
[0030]
In addition, since the remaining time is sequentially calculated according to the temperature transition calculation model using the initial temperature of the heater output / heating part / ironing surface and the current temperature / air temperature as parameters, the temperature change of the ironing surface High accuracy and quick response.
[0031]
In addition, unlike the case where the entire surface is turned on / off with the total output, since the low power can be turned on / off, the width of temperature change is reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an iron according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the above.
FIG. 3 is a layout view of the electric heater and the temperature sensor.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the upper surface of the handle.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Iron main body 2 Iron base 2a Iron hanging surface 3 Iron handle 31 Status display lamp 32 Remaining time display panel 33 Start mode changeover switch 4 Microcomputer 41 Switch circuit 42 Information processing unit 43 ROM
A1-3 Electric heater (A area)
B1-3 Electric heater (B area)
C1-3 Electric heater (C area)
S Temperature sensor

Claims (4)

A first electric heater that heats the pointed front portion of the ironing surface;
A second electric heater for heating an intermediate portion of the hanging surface;
A third electric heater for heating the rear part of the hanging surface;
A temperature detector for detecting the temperature of each front, middle, and rear part of the hanging surface;
A temperature setting unit for arbitrarily setting the temperature of the hanging surface;
A control unit that controls energization to the first, second, and third heaters based on an input of the temperature setting unit and an output of the temperature detection unit;
The control unit preferentially energizes the first heater over energization of the second and third heaters at the start of heating,
The controller preferentially energizes the second and third heaters over the energization of the first heater after the front portion of the ironing surface reaches the set temperature. A first electric heater that heats the pointed front portion of the ironing surface;
A second electric heater for heating an intermediate portion of the hanging surface;
A third electric heater for heating the rear part of the hanging surface;
A temperature detector for detecting the temperature of each front, middle, and rear part of the hanging surface;
A temperature setting unit for arbitrarily setting the temperature of the hanging surface;
A control unit that controls energization to the first, second, and third heaters based on an input of the temperature setting unit and an output of the temperature detection unit;
The control unit preferentially energizes the first heater over energization of the second and third heaters at the start of heating,
The control unit controls the total electric power supplied to the first, second, and third heaters to be constant during a heating period. The iron according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature notification unit that notifies a user of a part being heated and a part that has reached the set temperature among front, middle, and rear parts of the hanging surface. The iron according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a remaining time display unit that displays an estimated remaining time until the temperature rising portion reaches the set temperature.

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