JPH02136190A - Steam and dry iron - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the title iron, improve its usage, make a space narrow, and enable a solenoid to be used in an atmosphere at a high temperature, by arranging the solenoid having two coils, an energizing spring, and a driving circuit for applying current to the solenoid, and by electrifying the only one side coil of the solenoid in the initial period of electrification in the drive circuit, to electrify both the ends of both the coils later. CONSTITUTION:By a solenoid 26 for working a plunger 25, through an attracting force, the plunger 24 can be retained in a state that it is pulled downward. Then, an energizing spring 27 for pushing the plunger 24 of released retaining upward, a packing 28 for sealing a pump chamber, and a drive circuit 29 for applying current to the solenoid are arranged, and the first coil 26a and second coil 26b of the solenoid 26 are connected in series. As a result, the opening and closing of a water channel and pump effect are realized by the working of attraction, retaining, and non-electrification with the single solenoid, and then the bearing of pushing a button or the like is not applied to a user.

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 has generally had the structure shown in FIG. 4, and this structure will be explained based on the drawing.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a base of the iron, in which a heater 2 is embedded, a vaporizing chamber 3 is formed for instantaneously evaporating water, and a blowhole 4 is provided for blowing out steam. Reference numeral 5 denotes a water tank, which can be attached to and detached from the main body 6. A faucet 7 is provided at the bottom of the water tank 5, and is configured to be pushed up when the water tank 5 is attached to the main body 6, allowing the water inside to flow out.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a water guiding case, which communicates between the faucet 7 and the nozzle 9 provided at the top of the vaporizing chamber 3, and guides the water in the water tank 5 to the vaporizing chamber 3 in the base 1 (it serves as a water flow path). ing.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a bimetallic waterway switch installed in a part of the water guide case 8. When the heater 2 starts to be energized and the temperature of the bimetal 11 mounted on the base 1 rises, the axis moves upward due to the reversal action caused by this. The structure is such that it is pushed up and the water flow path is opened. 12 is the waterway opening/closing ball,
During steam operation, it is in the state shown in the figure and can freely move in the space created between it and the upper ball biasing spring 13. 14 is a pump shaft for pumping water, and is linked to a steam button 15 attached to the top.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained. 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 waterway switch 1
0 is released. At this time, when the steam button 15 is in the state (steam state) shown in FIG. The water flows into the vaporization chamber 3 through the nozzle 9, pushes up the waterway opening/closing ball 12, passes through the opening of the bimetallic waterway switch 10, and drips into the vaporization chamber 3 through the nozzle 9. The dropped water is instantaneously evaporated in the vaporization 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 forced out of the nozzle 9 at once by the pumping action of the pump shaft 14, and a larger amount of water than usual flows into the vaporization chamber 3 at once, causing explosive evaporation and a stronger steam than usual being emitted. It will be ejected from hole 4. This is a power shot. Further, 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. This state is the dry state.

In this way, conventional steam irons can create three states: steam, power shot, and dry. Furthermore, the TH degree of the base 1 decreases, and the vaporizing chamber 3
When water evaporates within the vaporization chamber 3, the bimetallic waterway switch 10 operates under the action of the bimetal 11 to close the waterway and prevent water from flowing into the vaporization chamber 3. .

Problems to be Solved by the Invention With such a conventional configuration, in order to switch between the three states of steam, power shot, and dry, the user must press the steam button deeply with his or her finger each time. When generating a shot, it is necessary to push it in forcefully to increase the pump effect.Also, since only one power shot can be generated with a - degree push operation, it must be repeated many times like normal usage conditions. When using a power shot, a considerable amount of finger strength is required, such as having to press the steam button many times each time.In other words, it is quite hard work for a weak housewife. It was an extremely user-friendly and ugly item.

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, which makes the base structure complicated, and the bimetal's reversal action. There is considerable variation in temperature, and the opening/closing mechanism must be designed to operate at a fairly high temperature. This caused problems such as no steam coming out even though the base temperature was still high enough.

The present invention solves these problems, and
By changing the switching operation between Power Shot and Dry from the conventional manual switching operation to electrical switching operation using a solenoid, and also using a bimetal to open and close the flow channel, it is simple and easy to use.
The present invention provides a steam iron with a drive circuit modified so that the solenoid can be used in a narrow space and in a high-temperature atmosphere.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve this problem, the present invention has a base having a built-in heater and forming a vaporizing chamber, a water tank removably provided on the top of the base, and a water tank provided below the water tank. A water conduction case forming a waterway from the water faucet to the nozzle provided at the upper part of the vaporization chamber, a waterway switch provided in the middle of the water flow case, and a cylinder provided to engage with the waterway switch. A piston-shaped pump chamber consisting of a plunger, a solenoid having two coils connected in series for operating the plunger of this pump chamber, an urging spring, and a drive circuit for applying current to the solenoid, The drive circuit is configured to energize only one coil of the solenoid at the initial stage of energization, and thereafter energize both ends of both coils.

Function: With this configuration, the three-stage switching of steam, power shot, and dry is changed to electrical switching using a solenoid, so the switching operation itself is simply switching a switch (for example, a touch switch, etc.), and the user is not required to switch. The burden on some housewives is greatly reduced, and once the power shot repeat operation is set, it can be automatically generated over and over again every few seconds. Furthermore, by adopting a structure 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 high-precision thermistor can be used, so steam can be removed). It becomes possible to expand the range of temperature conditions that can be generated.Furthermore, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of a solenoid used in a high-temperature atmosphere and to reduce the size of the solenoid.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 1, 16 is the first waterway switch,
A faucet 17 is engaged at the base, a pump water supply hole 18 is engaged at the upper part, and the interior has a substantially vibrator shape with a waterway opening/closing ball 19a. 20 is the second waterway switch,
A nozzle 21 is engaged at the base, and a pump drain hole 22 is engaged at the upper part, forming a substantially vibrator shape with a waterway opening/closing ball 19b, and the waterway opening/closing ball 19b is urged upward by a ball biasing spring 23. . A pump chamber 24 is provided in engagement with the first waterway switch 16 and the second waterway switch 20, and is provided with a plunger 25 that slides up and down on a cylindrical inner surface. 26 is a solenoid that operates the plunger 25, and can hold the plunger 24 in a downwardly pulled state by suction force. Reference numeral 27 is a biasing spring that pushes upward the plunger 24 that has been released from holding, 28 is a gasket for sealing the pump chamber, and 29 is a drive circuit that applies current to the solenoid. FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram of the drive circuit 29, in which 26a is the first coil of the solenoid 26;
The second coil 6b is connected in series with the first coil 26a. 30 is an AC power supply, 31 is a rectifier for rectifying the AC current, 32 is a switch a connected to one output of the rectifier, and the other end is connected to the second coil 23b. The other end of the first coil 26a is connected to the rectifying element. 33 is a switch connected in parallel to the second coil. That is, when the switch a32 is turned on and the switch b34 is turned off, a current flows through the first coil 26a and the second coil 26b, so a weak current flows through the solenoid 25, and when the switch b34 is turned on, a weak current flows through the solenoid 25. , both ends of the second coil 26b are short-circuited, and the current flows to the first coil 26b.
Since the current flows only through the solenoid coil, a strong current flows through the solenoid, creating a strong attraction force.

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

First, drying is realized in the state shown in FIG. 2(a).

That is, the solenoid 26 is de-energized and the switch a32 is turned off), the plunger 25 is pushed upward by the force of the biasing spring 23, and the ball biasing spring 23
As a result, the waterway opening/closing ball 19b is pressed against the pump drain hole 22, thereby completely blocking the waterway.

Next, the state of the steam is shown in Fig. 2 (b), and the solenoid 26 is set to suction (switch a32 is turned on, switch b33 is turned on during suction - temporarily turned on to flow a strong current, and after suction is turned off). As shown in the figure, the first waterway opening/closing ball 19a is in a state where it can move freely, and the second waterway opening/closing ball 19b is pulled down by the plunger 25 to close the waterway. will be released.

Therefore, water passes through the faucet 17 due to the water pressure in the water tank 5,
Push up the waterway opening/closing ball 19a to open the pump water supply hole 18,
The liquid passes through the pump drain hole 22 and the second waterway switch 20, is pierced by the nozzle 21, and drips into the vaporization chamber 3 little by little. As a result, normal steam is ejected from the fumarole 4.

Finally, the power shot is shown in Figures 2(a) to 2(b).
) is realized in the process of transitioning to

That is, in FIG. 2(a), the switch a32 is turned OFF to de-energize the solenoid 26, and this solenoid 2
6 (switch a32 is ON, switch b
33 is turned ON), the plunger 25 is pushed downward at once and shifts to the state shown in FIG. 2(b). At this time, the pump chamber 24 is sealed by the gasket 28, so as the plunger 25 descends, the body inside one pump chamber is rapidly compressed, and this action causes the pump chamber 2
A large amount of water in the vaporizer 4 flows out into the vaporization chamber 3 through the pump drain hole 22 and the nozzle 21. As a result, explosive evaporation occurs in the vaporizing chamber 3, and powerful steam is ejected from the fumarole 4, creating a power shot state.

Note that the force of the solenoid 26 when suctioning is significantly increased compared to when suctioning. Utilizing this characteristic, a strong current is generated during the bowing,
After adsorption, the amount of heat generated by the solenoid 26 can be kept low by using a weak current. Therefore, solenoid 2
6 can be made smaller, making the steam iron body lighter and lighter.
Can be made smaller.

Furthermore, when the temperature of the base 1 drops and steam cannot be generated, this is detected by a separately provided narmistor (not shown), and the bush type solenoid 26 is de-energized to force the above-mentioned All you have to do is create a dry state.

Note that the solenoid explained in this embodiment is a button type solenoid that pushes the plunger while energized, but it goes without saying that this may also be a pull type solenoid that pulls the plunger while energized. That's true.

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 suction, holding (adsorption), and non-energized operation by a single solenoid, thereby making it easier for users (mainly Now housewives can easily switch between the three states of steam, power shot, and dry with a simple operation without having to press the button with force with their fingertips. In addition to making it possible to use shots repeatedly, the time during which a strong current is applied can be kept to an extremely short period of time, making it possible to suppress the temperature rise of the solenoid and making it possible to downsize the solenoid. , it is possible to provide a lightweight and compact steam iron that is extremely easy to use. In addition, in terms of preventing water leakage, there is no need to use bimetals as in the past, and the structure is simple, which is a big advantage in terms of manufacturing (also, it is possible to accurately detect the temperature at which steam can be generated). It is now possible to do so and is extremely practical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

3 is a circuit diagram of the drive circuit, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional steam iron. 1... Base, 2... Heater, 3... Vaporization chamber, 5
...Water tank, 8...Water guide case, 16...1st
Waterway switch, 17... Faucet, 18... Pump water supply hole, 19a/19b... Waterway opening/closing ball, 20...
2nd waterway switch, 21... Nozzle, 22... Pump drain hole, 23... Ball biasing spring, 24... Pump chamber, 25... Plunger, 26... Solenoid, 26a... first coil, 26b... second coil, 27... biasing spring, 28... packing, 29...
...Drive circuit. Name of agent Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person

Claims (1)

[Claims] A base having a built-in heater and forming a vaporization chamber, a water tank removably provided on the top of this base, and a water channel from a faucet provided at the bottom of the water tank to a nozzle provided at the top of the vaporization chamber. A water guide case, a waterway switch installed in the middle of the water channel switch, a piston-shaped pump chamber consisting of a cylinder and a plunger that is provided to engage with the waterway switch, and a plunger of the pump chamber. The drive circuit includes a solenoid having two coils connected in series for operation, an urging spring, and a drive circuit that applies current to the solenoid, and the drive circuit energizes only one coil of the solenoid at the initial stage of energization. Then, the steam iron is configured so that electricity can be applied to both ends of both coils.