JPH0137560Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention is designed to prevent the liquid from flowing out of the inner stopper of an electric pot, especially an electric pot that keeps the liquid warm after it has been heated and boiled. This invention relates to an inner plug that prevents the internal pressure of the electric pot body from decreasing due to pressure drop.

(Prior art) In general, electric pots are placed on a tabletop to heat liquid to near boiling temperature and keep the water warm, while also allowing water to be poured from that position.
So-called tabletop electric pots are commercially available.

(Problem that the invention aims to solve) However, with the diversification of lifestyles and the expansion of outdoor activities, it becomes increasingly necessary to boil water outdoors, and desk-top electric pots are unable to secure a power supply. Even so, due to its structure, it is inevitable that the contents will spill out if it is tilted or overturned when being carried or transported, and there is a safety problem when taking it outdoors. This problem of the contents leaking out when carrying or transporting the bottle can be solved by making the inner stopper airtight like in a portable thermos flask.

However, if you use a sealed inner stopper, you can prevent the contents from flowing out, but if you boil water with the inner stopper in place, a new problem arises: the container and inner stopper will be damaged due to a sudden increase in the pressure inside the container during boiling. In addition to this, if the internal pressure of the container decreases due to a decrease in the temperature of the contents inside the container, there is also the problem that the inner stopper cannot be removed. Therefore, in order to make electric pots portable, it is necessary to fundamentally modify the structure of the inner plug.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a sealed inner stopper that is attached to the mouth of an electric pot consisting of a pot body and a lid, and seals the mouth. The inner plug body has a cylindrical part forming a through-hole, and a bottomed cylindrical part that can move up and down within the cylindrical part, and can be brought into close contact with a valve seat part formed deep inside the mouth of the pot body. The valve opening/closing mechanism includes a valve body, a spring disposed within the bottomed cylindrical portion and biasing the valve body toward the valve seat, and a valve opening/closing mechanism including a knob mounted on the upper end side of the cylindrical portion. a valve stem whose body has a through hole at the bottom of its bottomed cylindrical portion, which can pass through the knob and come into contact with the lid, and which moves up and down in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid; A sealing member attached to the lower end of the rod opens and closes the through hole of the valve body and allows outside air to enter the inside of the pot body when the internal pressure of the pot body decreases, and a seal member that urges the valve stem upward. The present invention provides an inner stopper for an electric pot, characterized in that it is equipped with a valve mechanism consisting of a spring that acts as a stopper.

(Function) The inner stopper of the electric pot according to the present invention is basically a sealed inner stopper, but when boiling water, the lid is usually removed and the inner stopper is left in place to boil water. The steam escapes to the outside through the through hole of the valve body, but if the steam pressure rises abnormally to the extent that exhausting only through the through hole is insufficient, for example, the internal pressure of the container suddenly increases due to boiling, and the container When the internal pressure of the valve rises above a predetermined pressure, the valve body, which was pressed against the valve seat by the spring, is lifted upward against the spring, creating a gap between the valve body and the valve seat. Therefore, the steam inside the pot body escapes to the outside through the gap. This prevents damage to the container and inner stopper due to a sudden increase in the internal pressure of the pot body.

In addition, when carrying or keeping warm, not only the mouth of the container but also the through hole of the inner stopper are completely sealed.
Even if the pot rolls over or tips over, the contents of the container will not spill out. Further, when the pot is tilted and the contents are poured outside, the through hole formed in the knob is closed by the valve stem due to the action of the spring, so that liquid is prevented from flowing out from the through hole.

On the other hand, when the internal pressure decreases due to a drop in the temperature of the liquid inside the pot body during heat retention, the sealing member is sucked inward due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the pot body, creating a gap between the valve body and the sealing member. Therefore, outside air flows into the pot body through the gap, thereby maintaining the pressure inside the pot body substantially equal to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the inner stopper is prevented from becoming impossible to remove due to a decrease in the internal pressure of the container.

In addition, when in use, an opening/closing mechanism that moves the valve body forward and backward relative to the valve seat part, for example, by rotating a knob described later, separates the valve body from the valve seat part and places the valve body between the valve body and the valve seat part. By creating a gap and tilting the pot, liquid within the pot body flows into the through-hole through the gap and flows out to the outside through the space between the inner stopper body and the mouth. When the knob is rotated in the opposite direction and the valve body is advanced toward the valve seat and returned to its original state, the valve body is pressed against the valve seat by the action of the spring and the mouth is sealed deep inside the mouth of the pot body. , as with a sealed stopper, liquid will not leak out.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An electric pot to which the inner stopper of the present invention is applied basically consists of a pot body, a lid 14, and an inner stopper that closes the mouth of the pot body. It is made up of. In the figure, 3 is an annular groove formed deep inside the mouth of the inner container 1, 4 is the inner plug body, 5 is the through hole formed in the inner plug body, 6 is the opening/closing knob, 7 is the valve body, and 8 9 is a cylindrical member that converts the rotational motion of the opening/closing knob 6 into a linear motion of the valve body 7; 9 is the knob 6 for opening/closing the valve body 7;
This is a spring that urges the valve seat portion 1a in the direction away from the valve seat portion 1a formed at the lower end shoulder portion of the annular groove 3 formed deep inside the mouth of the inner container 1.

The inner plug main body 4 has a funnel-shaped outer shape, and an annular rib 4b is formed on the outer periphery of the lower end side of a cylindrical portion 4a on the lower end side, and a cylindrical portion 4c for forming a through hole is integrally formed inside the cylindrical portion 4a. is formed. The cylindrical portion 4c for forming a through-hole has an annular rib 4d on the outer periphery of the upper end, and its lower end ends at approximately the same level as the lower end of the cylindrical portion 4a. The inner plug main body 4 is detachably attached to an electric pot by fitting the annular rib 4b of the lower end side cylindrical portion 4a into the upper end of the annular groove 3.

The opening/closing knob 6 has a through hole 6a formed in its center, a cylindrical projection 6b having a locking rib 6c therein, and is rotatably attached to the upper end of the through hole forming cylindrical portion 4c. Together with the cylindrical member 8, it constitutes a valve opening/closing mechanism that moves the valve body 7 forward and backward relative to the valve seat portion 1a.

The valve body 7 consists of a bottomed cylindrical portion 7a and a valve body 7c integrally formed at the lower end of the bottomed cylindrical portion 7a.
A through hole 7d is formed in the center of the bottom of the cylinder 7a, and an annular rib 7b that is engaged with an annular rib 8c of the cylindrical member 8 is formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the bottomed cylindrical portion 7a. A seal ring 1 is attached to the valve body 7c.
3 is attached, and is biased toward the valve seat portion 1a of the inner container 1 by a spring 9 disposed between the annular rib 7b and the opening/closing knob 6, and the inner container 1
The mouth is sealed deep inside.

The cylindrical member 8 is a bottomed cylindrical portion 7a of the valve body 7.
and the cylindrical portion 4c for forming the through-hole of the inner plug main body 4, a screw 8a is formed on the outer periphery of the screw 8a to be screwed into the cylindrical portion 4c for forming the through-hole, and the upper end is engaged with the opening/closing knob 6. Slit 8b that engages with the stopper rib 6c
is formed, and an annular rib 8 provided internally on the lower end side
The valve body 7 is held by c.

Further, the valve body 7 is provided with a valve mechanism that opens and closes the through hole 7d and allows outside air to enter the inside of the pot body when the internal pressure of the pot body decreases. 10, a sealing member 11 having a thin tapered skirt portion 11a,
It is composed of a spring 11 that biases the valve stem 10 in a direction away from the valve body 7.

The valve stem 10 has a disc-shaped stopper 10a on the upper end side.
, each has a cross-shaped stopper 10b at the lower end, a seal member 11 is attached to a mid-plate-shaped rib 10c formed above the cross-shaped stopper 10b, and a spring locking portion 10d formed above the valve It is urged upward by a spring 12 disposed between the main body 7c and the main body 7c. The upper end of this valve stem 10 protrudes slightly upward from the through hole 6a of the opening/closing knob 6 even when the lid 14 is closed.
The length is set so that it touches the

Note that a cylindrical protrusion 1 is provided on the bottom wall 1b of the inner container 1.
c is formed on its outer periphery, and a large diameter part smaller than the inner diameter of the inner container 1, and a heater 21 with a smaller diameter than the large diameter part.
A stepped cylindrical member 22 consisting of a small diameter portion and an inner diameter larger than the dimensions of is fixedly provided. This stepped cylindrical member 22 is surrounded by the lower end of an outer container 2 having a similar shape, and is joined to the outer container 2 at its lower end, and is attached to the outer surface of the inner container 1 as well as to the inner wall of the vacuum insulation layer 23. These members collectively constitute a pot body having a vacuum double wall structure. The heater 21 is fixed by a holding member 24, a spring 25, and a fitting 26. In addition, 20 is an exterior body, 27 is a handle, 2
Reference numeral 8 represents a power supply connection socket, and reference numeral 29 represents a microswitch, which are arranged to stop power supply to the heater 21 when the lid 14 is completely closed.

When using the inner stopper of the electric pot according to the present invention having the above structure, the micro switch 29 is off when the lid 14 is completely closed as shown in FIG. 21, the valve stem 10 is pushed down by the lid 14, the cross-shaped stopper 10b comes into contact with the valve body 7c, and the skirt portion 11 of the sealing member 11
a seals around the through hole 7d of the valve body 7c, while the seal ring 13 contacts the valve seat 1a provided deep inside the mouth of the inner container 1, so the inside of the inner container 1 is completely sealed. ing. Therefore, even if you fall or tilt the device while carrying it,
No liquid leaks inside. On the other hand, when the internal pressure of the inner container 1 decreases, the thin tapered skirt portion 11a of the seal ring 13 is sucked toward the through hole 7d of the valve body 7c, so that the relationship between the skirt portion 11a and the valve body 7c is reduced. A gap is created between them, and air flows into the inner container 1 from the gap through the through hole 7d, so that the inner stopper is prevented from being sucked, and the inner stopper does not become stuck.

When boiling water, when the lid 14 is removed,
The valve stem 10 is pushed upward by the action of the spring 12 until the disc-shaped stopper 10a comes into contact with the opening/closing knob 6, and the micro switch 29 is turned on. When the power switch is turned on, power is supplied to the heater 21, and the inner container is turned on. The liquid placed inside 1 is heated. The steam generated at this time is
Steam escapes to the outside through the through hole 7d of the valve body 7, but if the steam pressure inside the inner container 1 rises abnormally, the valve body 7 is lifted against the spring 9, and the steam inside the container 1 is lifted up against the spring 9.
Internal steam is released to the outside through a gap created between the valve body 7 and the valve seat. Therefore, damage to the container 1 and the inner stopper is prevented.

Also, when pouring liquid, first turn the opening/closing knob 6.
When the cylindrical member 8 is rotated, the cylindrical member 8 rotates and rises accordingly, so that the annular rib 7b of the valve body 7 is engaged with the annular rib 8c and lifted upward, and the seal ring 13 of the valve body 7 is rotated. A gap is created between the lid and the valve seat portion 1a, and when the pot is tilted, the liquid in the container 1 flows out through the spout 4e formed in the cylindrical portion 4a of the inner stopper body 4. At this time, open/close knob 6
The through hole 6a is a disc-shaped stopper 10 of the valve stem 10.
Since the through hole 6a is closed, liquid will not spill out from the through hole 6a. When the knob 6 is reversely rotated to return to its original state, the valve body 7 is pressed against the valve seat portion 1a by the action of the spring 9 and is sealed. Therefore,
In this state, even if the pot falls over, the liquid will not spill out.

When the liquid inside the container 1 runs out, the inner stopper body 4
It can be removed from the mouth of the container 1 by simply pulling it upward, and therefore it can be easily refilled. Note that if heat retention is not so important, the pot body may have a single layer structure and be surrounded by a heat insulating material instead of having a vacuum double wall structure.

3 and 4 show another embodiment of the invention, which is basically the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but in this embodiment, the rotational movement of the knob 6 is The cylindrical member 8 that converts the linear motion of the valve body 7 into a linear motion of the valve body 7 is omitted, and the valve body 7 itself is a component of the motion conversion mechanism. The protrusion formed on the opening member 31 prevents loosening when the knob 6 is turned, and a seal ring 32 is interposed between the opening member 31 and the opening member 31 to prevent liquid leakage. There is. The inner plug main body 4 has a cylindrical shape, and a female thread 33 is formed on the inner wall of the through hole 5, and the length L ₁ of the root of the female thread 33 is longer than the length L ₂ of the base of the thread. has been done. Further, a male screw 34 is formed on the outer circumferential wall of the cylindrical portion 7a of the valve body 7 and is screwed into the female screw 33. The ratio of the length L ₁ of the root of the female thread 33 to the length L ₂ of the base of the thread is:
As shown in an exaggerated manner in FIG. 4, when the valve body 7 is screwed into the inner plug body 4, the flank 33a of the female thread of the inner plug body 4 and the flank 34a of the male thread of the cylindrical portion 7a of the valve body opposite thereto. During this period, the valve body is lifted against the spring 9 by the steam pressure inside the container 1, and there is play such that a gap is formed between the seal ring 13 attached to the valve body 7c and the valve seat portion 1a. It is made possible to do so. The valve body 7 has its cylindrical portion 7
A slit 35 that engages with the locking rib 6c of the opening/closing knob 6 is formed on the upper end side of a, and a step 36 for receiving the spring 9 is formed.
6 and the opening/closing knob 6, the spring 9 is biased toward the valve seat 1a provided deep inside the mouth of the inner container 1. Other configurations are first
It is the same as the one shown in the figure.

In the case of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, by rotating the opening/closing knob 6, the valve body 7 rotates and moves forward and backward relative to the valve seat 1a, thereby opening and closing the opening of the container 1. In addition, if the steam pressure rises abnormally, the female thread 33 of the inner plug body 4 and the male thread 34 of the valve body
Since there is some play between the spring 9
The steam is pushed up against the pressure, and a gap is created between the seal ring 13 and the valve seat portion 1a, so that steam is discharged.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following excellent effects.

That is, since the inner stopper is a sealed type, there is no possibility of hot water spilling even if the electric pot falls over or tilts.

Additionally, even if you boil water with the inner stopper in place, if the steam pressure inside the pot body exceeds a predetermined pressure, the valve body will be lifted by that pressure, creating a gap between it and the mouth of the pot body. Since the steam is discharged by the container, damage to the container due to an abnormal increase in pressure can be prevented, and the safety of the portable electric pot is therefore guaranteed.

Furthermore, even if the internal pressure of the pot body decreases due to the temperature drop caused by leaving the electric pot filled with boiling water for a long time, if the internal pressure drops below a certain value determined by the sealing member, the external pressure will drop. Since air flows into the pot body from the inside, there is no possibility that the inner stopper will become impossible to remove due to reduced pressure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electric pot using the inner plug according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the inner plug of the electric pot shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of the main part of the inner stopper shown in FIG. 3. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Inner container, 1a... Valve seat part, 2... Outer container, 3... Annular groove, 4... Inner stopper body, 4c...
...Cylindrical part for forming through-hole, 5... Through-hole, 6... Opening/closing knob, 6c... Locking rib, 7... Valve body,
7a...Cylindrical portion with bottom, 7d...Through hole, 8...Cylindrical member, 8b...Slit, 8c...Annular rib, 9...Spring, 10...Valve stem, 11...
Seal member, 12... spring, 13... seal ring.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A cylindrical part 4c forming a through-hole 5, which is a sealed inner plug that is attached to the mouth of an electric pot and seals the mouth, which consists of a pot body and a lid. a valve body 7 having a bottomed cylindrical portion 7a that can move up and down within the cylindrical portion 4c and that can be brought into close contact with a valve seat portion 1a formed deep inside the mouth of the pot body; , a valve opening/closing mechanism 30 including a spring 9 disposed inside the bottomed cylindrical portion and urging the valve body toward the valve seat side, and a knob 6 mounted on the upper end side of the cylindrical portion 4c; The valve body 7 has a through hole 7d at the bottom of its bottomed cylindrical portion 7a,
and a valve rod 10 that can pass through the knob 6 and come into contact with the lid and move up and down in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid, and a through hole of the valve body that is attached to the lower end side of the valve rod 10. a sealing member 11 that opens and closes the pot body and allows outside air to enter the inside of the pot body when the internal pressure of the pot body decreases; and the valve stem 1.
An inner stopper for an electric pot, characterized in that it is equipped with a valve mechanism consisting of a spring 12 that urges a spring 12 upward. (2) the valve opening/closing mechanism has a locking rib 6c;
A utility model registration claim comprising a knob 6 rotatably mounted on the upper end of the through-hole of the inner plug body 4, and a motion conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the knob 6 into linear motion of the valve body 7. The inner stopper described in paragraph 1. (3) The motion conversion mechanism includes a funnel-shaped outer part having a cylindrical part 4a that is fitted into the mouth of the electric pot, and a cylindrical part 4c for forming a through hole formed coaxially with the cylindrical part. A cylindrical member 8 having a female thread formed on the inner wall of the through-hole of the inner plug body 4, and a male thread that engages with the female thread, and a slit 8b that engages with the locking rib 6c of the knob 6. The inner stopper according to claim 2 of the utility model registration claim. (4) The motion conversion mechanism is a female thread 33 formed on the inner wall of the through-hole of the inner plug body 4 made of a cylindrical member.
and a valve body having a male thread 34 that engages with the female thread 33 and a slit 35 that engages with the locking rib 6c of the knob 6. plug. (5) The play in the axial direction between the female thread 33 and the male thread 34 of the valve body 7 that is screwed into the female thread 33 causes a sealing of the valve body when the valve body 7 is pushed up against the spring 9. Ring 13 and the valve seat part 1
The inner stopper according to claim 4 of the utility model registration claim, which has a size such that a gap is formed between the inner stopper and the inner stopper.