JPH02136187A - Steam and dry iron - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the only change-over operation of a switch on its change- over operation and reduce bearing for a user by changing the change-over of steam and dry by the use of a first solenoid, and that of power shot by the use of a second solenoid, to the electrical change-over. CONSTITUTION:A first water channel switchgear 16 is provided with a first water channel switch 17 between a first nozzle 9a and a water tap 7, and is engaged with a first solenoid 18 for working the water channel switch 17. A second water channel switchgear 21 is provided with a second water channel switch 22 with a ball 22a between a second nozzle 9b and the water tap 7, a pump chamber 23 set engaged with the upper section of the water channel switch 22, a cylinder 24 sliding vertically on a cylindrical internal surface, a second solenoid 25 for working the cylinder 24, and an energizing spring 26. As a result, in a carbureter chamber 3, explosive steam is generated, and from a jet slot 4, strong steam is energetically jetted, and the state of power shot is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a steam iron with a power shot mechanism for general household use.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of steam iron generally has a structure shown in FIG. 3, and this structure will be explained based on the drawing.

In the figure, 1 is the base of the iron, inside of which a heater 2 is buried and a vaporizing chamber 3 for instantaneously evaporating water.
is formed, and a fumarole 4 for spewing out steam is formed.
is provided. Reference numeral 5 denotes a water tank, which can be attached to and detached from the main body 6.

7 is a faucet provided at the bottom of the water tank 5;
When it is attached to the main body 6, it is pushed up and the water inside can flow out. Reference numeral 8 denotes a water guide case, which communicates between the water faucet 7 and the nozzle 9 installed at the top of the vaporization chamber 3, and guides the water in the water tank 5 to the vaporization chamber 3 in the base 1 (acts as a water flow path). 10 is a bimetal type waterway switch installed in a part of the water guide case 8, and when the heater 2 is energized, the bimetal 11 installed on the base 1
When the temperature rises, the resulting reversal action pushes the shaft upward and opens the water flow path.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a waterway opening/closing ball, which can freely move in the space created between it and the upper poll biasing spring 13 in the state shown in the figure during steam operation. 14 is a pump shaft for pumping water, and is linked to a steam button 15 attached to the top.

To explain the operation in the above configuration, when the base 1 is heated by energizing the heater 2 and reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, the bimetal 11 is reversed, and the bimetal type waterway switch 1
0 is released. At this time, when the steam button 15 is in the state (steam state) shown in FIG. It flows into the case 8, pushes up the waterway opening/closing ball 12, and opens the bimetallic waterway switch 10.
The water passes through the opening and drips into the vaporization chamber 3 through the nozzle 9 in the form of water droplets. The dropped water instantly evaporates in the gas chamber 3 and is ejected from the fumarole 4 as steam.

Furthermore, when the steam button 15 is pushed in in this state, the waterway opening/closing ball 12 is pressed downward by the ball biasing spring 13, and the water supply from the water tank 5 is cut off. The accumulated water is pushed out at once from the nozzle 9 by the pumping action of the pump shaft 14, and a larger amount of water than usual is pumped out at once into the vaporization chamber 3.
Explosive evaporation occurs, and more powerful steam than usual is ejected from the fumarole 4. This is a power shot.

Furthermore, when the steam button 15 is pushed all the way down and latched by a latch mechanism (not shown), the waterway opening/closing ball 12 remains pressed downward by the ball biasing spring 13, and the water supply from the water tank 5 is completely stopped. This creates a situation in which no steam is generated. In this state,
The condition is dry.

In this way, conventional steam irons can produce three types of steam, power shot, and dry, and furthermore, the temperature of the base 1 decreases, and the vaporization chamber 3
When it becomes difficult for water to evaporate within the vaporization chamber 3, the bimetallic waterway switch 10 is activated by the action of the bimetal 11 to close the flow channel and prevent water from flowing into the vaporization chamber 3.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional configuration, there are
In order to switch between the three dry states, the user must press the steam button deeply with their finger each time.
In particular, when generating a power shot, it is necessary to push it vigorously to increase the pump effect, and -
Only one power shot can be generated by pressing the button once, so if you use the power shot many times under normal usage conditions, you will have to press the steam button many times each time. It sometimes required a considerable amount of finger strength, which was quite hard work for a weak housewife, and it was extremely difficult to use.

Furthermore, the bimetal used to open and close the waterway to prevent water leakage at low temperatures has to be structurally attached to the top of the base. There is considerable variation in the reversal action of 4 degrees, and the opening/closing mechanism has to be set to operate at a fairly high temperature due to the design.As a result, steam may not come out even though the base 1 temperature is still extremely high. There was a problem.

The present invention solves these problems by changing the switching operation between steam, power shot, and dry from the conventional manual switching operation to an electrical switching operation using a bush type solenoid. The present invention provides a simple and easy-to-use steam iron that also functions as an opening/closing operation.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to solve this problem, the steam iron of the present invention has a steam iron with a built-in heater and a vaporizing chamber, a water tank removably provided on the upper part of the base, and A water conduction case that forms a waterway from a faucet installed at the bottom of the water tank to two nozzles installed at the top of the vaporization chamber, and two waterway opening/closing devices each corresponding to the nozzles are provided in the middle of this water conduction case. The first waterway opening/closing device includes a first waterway switch that opens and closes the waterway and a first solenoid that operates the same, and the second waterway opening/closing device includes a second waterway switch and a first solenoid that operates the same. It consists of a piston-shaped pump chamber made up of a cylinder and a cylinder, a second solenoid for operating the cylinder of this pump chamber, and a biasing spring.

Function: With this configuration, the switching between steam and dry is done by the first solenoid, and the power shot is changed to electrical switching by the second solenoid, so the switching operation itself is just a simple switching operation of a switch (for example, a touch switch, etc.) This greatly reduces the burden on housewives who use the power shot, and once the power shot repeat operation is set, it can be automatically triggered over and over again every few seconds. . Furthermore, by adopting a configuration that also opens and closes the flow channel to prevent water leakage, there is no need to use a bimetal with large variations in temperature detection at the base, and a highly accurate thermistor can be used to detect steam generation. This makes it possible to expand the range of possible temperature conditions.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 1, 16 is a first waterway opening/closing device, and the first waterway opening/closing device 1 is located between the first nozzle 9a and the faucet 7.
7 is provided, and a first solenoid 18 for operating this first waterway switch 17 is engaged. The first solenoid 18 is a pull type solenoid, and when it is energized, a suction force is generated, and the first waterway switch 17 is pulled up and the waterway is opened. Further, in the non-energized state, the first waterway switch is pressed against the lower part by the spring 19, and the waterway is closed. 20 is a waterproof seal. 21 is the second
This waterway opening/closing device includes a second waterway switch 22 with a ball 22a between the second nozzle 9b and the faucet 7, and the second waterway switch 22 with a ball 22a.
A pump chamber 23 that engages with the upper part of the waterway switch 22, a cylinder 24 that slides up and down on the cylindrical inner surface, a second solenoid 25 that operates this cylinder 24, and a biasing spring 26. We are prepared. Said second solenoid 25
A suction force is generated by applying current to the cylinder 2.
4 can be pulled down, and when the second solenoid 25 is de-energized, the cylinder 24 is pushed upward by the biasing spring. 27 is a gasket for sealing the pump chamber, and 28 is a pump chamber. This is a check valve to prevent backflow of water.

The operation when realizing the three states of steam, power shot, and dry using the above configuration will be explained.

That is, the state of the steam is shown in FIG. 2(a), and the first solenoid 18 is energized, and as shown in the figure, the waterway switch 17 is pulled up and the waterway is opened. Therefore, the water passes through the water channel switch 17 of the water tank 5, is squeezed by the nozzle 9, and drips into the vaporization chamber 3 little by little. As a result, normal steam is ejected from the fumarole 4. Next, drying is realized in the state shown in FIG. 2(b). That is, the first solenoid 18 is in a non-energized state, and the force of the spring 19 pushes the first waterway switch 20 downward, thereby completely blocking the waterway.

Finally, the power shot is shown in FIG. 2(c). By energizing the second solenoid 25, the cylinder 24 is pushed downward at once by the adsorption force, and the volume inside the pump chamber 23 is rapidly compressed.
A large amount of water in the vaporizing chamber 3 pushes down the ball 22a of the second waterway switch 22 and flows out through the nozzle 9b into the vaporizing chamber 3.

As a result, explosive evaporation occurs in the vaporization chamber 3, and powerful steam is ejected from the fumarole hole 4, creating a power shot state.After the power shot, as shown in Figure 2 (
As shown in d), when the second solenoid is de-energized, the cylinder 24 is pushed up by the biasing spring 26, the suspension in the pump chamber 23 expands, and water flows from the water faucet 7 through the check valve 28 to the pump. The second waterway switch 2 is stored in the chamber 26
The second ball 22a is pressed onto the upper part by a ball spring 22b to close the waterway.

Here, the hole diameter of the first nozzle 9a is set to the optimum size for steam (approximately 0.6 mm), and the hole diameter of the second nozzle is set to be larger than that of the first nozzle (by making the hole diameter of the second solenoid larger). Since the flow resistance can be reduced, the load on the second solenoid can be reduced while ensuring optimal steam during steaming.Also, when the temperature of base 1 drops and steam cannot be generated, this is detected by a separately provided thermistor (not shown), the first solenoid 18 and the second solenoid 25 are de-energized, and the dry state is forcibly created.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the opening/closing of the water channel and the pumping effect are realized by the energizing/de-energizing operation of a single solenoid. You can now easily switch between the three states of steam, power shot, and dry with a simple operation without having to press the button with force, and you can also use the power shot repeatedly. This makes it possible to provide a steam iron that is extremely user-friendly.

Furthermore, in terms of preventing water leakage, it is now possible to avoid the use of conventional bimetals (but it is better), the structure is simpler, there are great advantages in terms of manufacturing, and it is also possible to accurately detect the temperature at which steam can be generated. It is extremely practical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a steam iron according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 a to 2 d are explanatory views of the operation of the waterway switch portion thereof, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of a conventional example. 1... Base, 2... Heater, 3... Vaporization chamber, 5
・・・Water tank, 7... Faucet, 8... Water guide case,
9a... Nozzle, 9b... Second nozzle, 16...
- First waterway opening/closing device, 17... first waterway opening/closing device,
18... First solenoid, 21... Second waterway opening/closing device, 22... Second waterway opening/closing device, 23... Pump chamber, 24... Cylinder, 25... Second solenoid, 26...biasing spring. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano

Claims (1)

[Claims] A base with a built-in heater and a vaporization chamber, a water tank removably provided on the top of the base, and water channels from a water faucet provided at the bottom of the water tank to two nozzles provided on the top of the vaporization chamber. and two waterway opening/closing devices each corresponding to the nozzle in the middle of the water guiding case, and the first waterway opening/closing device includes a first waterway opening/closing device that opens and closes the waterway, and a waterway opening/closing device that opens and closes the waterway. The second waterway opening/closing device is composed of an operating first solenoid, and includes a second waterway opening/closing device, a piston-shaped pump chamber formed of a cylinder and a cylinder engaged with the second waterway switch, and a cylinder of this pump chamber. A steam iron consisting of a second solenoid and a biasing spring to operate the iron.