JPH0246238B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronically controlled iron.

As we continue to improve the performance and usability of irons, it is natural to consider research into advanced functions through the adoption of electronic components, but irons are used at elevated temperatures and require manual intervention. There are still many disadvantages to having to hold the iron while working, especially when it comes to making the iron easier to use by lowering its overall height. In other words, even electronic components with high functionality and performance have the disadvantage of being sensitive to temperature, and some components such as power transformers, power control elements, and capacitors are relatively large in shape, and in the case of specifications with many added functions. ,
Effectively incorporating these parts is an extremely difficult task given the limited size of the iron.

It should be noted that some irons that use electronic components have been put into practical use, but looking at their form,
It is not built into the iron itself, but is built into a separate case and electrically connected to the iron itself.This is to overcome the problem of electronic components being sensitive to temperature, as explained above. It was commercialized without. In other words, when ironing, it is best to iron at a temperature that suits the fiber, such as synthetic fibers, wool, cotton, linen, and steam, and gradually increase the temperature from low to high, and the number of times you need to adjust the temperature is surprisingly high. It can be seen that it is troublesome to operate the separately provided control case each time, and it is not easy to use. In addition, it is not easy to store, making it inconvenient for general household use.

Another method is to position the control board in the space near the grip where the temperature rise of the iron body is relatively low, but in order to incorporate large parts such as a power transformer and power control element, it is necessary to have a comfortable grip. It was common knowledge that it was impossible to make it larger than the current size when taking into account the current situation.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to be able to incorporate electronic circuit components without making the shape and size difficult to use, to provide sufficient thermal protection for the electronic circuit components, and to simplify wiring work. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronically controlled iron that can be easily operated.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 7. In these drawings, 1 is a base portion of the iron, 2 is a temperature detection element that detects the temperature of the base portion 1, 3 is a cover that covers the base, and 4 is a temperature sensing element that detects the temperature of the base portion 1.
is a heat shield plate provided on the cover 3, which has a locking claw 4a at the rear of the upper surface, a through hole 4b at the front, and a plurality of protrusions 4c at arbitrary positions in the center for positioning. The cover 3 is fixed to a boss 4d provided on the lower surface with screws 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a handle body consisting of a grip part, a front leg part, a rear leg part, and a body part, and is attached to the heat shield plate 4 with the lower surface of the body part opened,
A locking hole 6a in the rear part is fitted with the locking claw 4a.
A boss 6b is provided at the front portion of the handle body 6 at a position that protrudes downward from the inner wall of the body portion and faces the through hole 4b.
In addition, notches 6c are provided on both sides of the opening, and stepped portions 6d are partially provided on the inner surface of the opening. Lock the locking hole 6a of the handle body 6,
By tightening the screw 7 to the boss 6b through the through hole 4b, a wide space is formed by combining the space A in the rear leg of the handle and the space B in the handle body.
Therefore, a larger space can be secured by positioning the boss 6b of the handle body 6 as far forward as possible, and positioning the boss portion 8a for tightening and fixing the handle rear cover body 8 as high as possible.

9 has a power transformer 10 and a power control element 1 on the top surface.
1 and integrated circuits adopted according to the purpose of the specification,
It is a control board that is equipped with temperature display elements 12 arranged to set the temperature of the iron, as well as other electronic components, and has printed wiring on its bottom surface. Hole 9 through which 6b passes
It has a hole 9a and is installed through this hole 9a. The control board 9 is fixed so as to be sandwiched between a stepped portion 6d provided on a part of the handle body 6 and a convex portion 4c provided on the heat shield plate 4, and its outer edge 9b are attached to the inner wall of the body portion of the handle body 6 with only a portion thereof in contact and spaced apart from each other by a certain distance.

13 is a hole provided at the rear of the cover 3;
The cut end face is smoothed so as not to damage the sheathing of the lead wire, which will be described later. 14 is provided at the rear of the heat shield plate 4, and is provided in the hole 1 of the cover 3.
It is a hole similarly provided at a position opposite to 3,
Near it, attach a metal terminal block 15 with a screw 16.
etc. are provided.

17 is a heater, 18 and 18' are lead wires whose ends are welded to the heater 17, and 19 and 19' are lead wires from the temperature sensing element 2; Said holes 13, 14
The lead wires 18 and 18' are connected to the terminal block 15, respectively. Furthermore, the lead wire 2 from the control board 9
0, 20' and one terminal 21 of the power cord are connected to the terminal block 15. In this case, the terminal 21' of the power cord, whose lead wires are not affected by heat, and the lead wires 19, 19' are connected to the connector 2.
It is connected to the control board 9 via 2 and 23.

24 is a water tank provided in the front part of the handle body 6, a button 25 for switching between steam and dry is provided at the top, and an opening/closing nozzle 26 for supplying water to the base part 1 is formed at the bottom. It is controlled by moving the operating stick 27 up and down. Water supply nozzle 2
6 is opened, water in the water tank 24 drips into the vaporization chamber 28 of the base part 1 to generate steam, which is ejected from a steam hole (not shown) formed in the base part 1. Further, the water tank 24 can be removed from the handle body 6 by operating a lock knob 29 provided near the grip portion.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a switch board connected to the control board 9, on which a switch device 31 and the like having a head 31a protruding from the handle body 6 is mounted, arranged to the minimum size and screwed into the grip part of the handle body 6. It is attached by 32. 33 is a control board 9 and a switch board 30
This is the lead wire that connects the.

The main function of the electronically controlled iron configured in this way is to use a temperature detection means for setting the temperature by replacing the conventional bimetal type with a temperature detection element 2 such as a thermistor. In addition to reducing the temperature difference between
Reduce the temperature difference between the initial stage and the stable stage after the input is turned on,
Next, we improved the operation method for setting the temperature from a rotating operation knob to a one-touch switching method using a switch, and also changed the display method by adjusting the position of the operation knob with respect to the fiber scale and using a light-emitting display that corresponds to the desired fiber name. It has features that include ease of use, such as a method of lighting elements, and its features are unprecedented. In other words, to explain its general structure, it consists of an output switching circuit, and when a switch is pressed, a light-emitting display element displays the set temperature selected in accordance with the output of the output switching circuit, and at the same time, it also corresponds to the output of the output switching circuit. A comparator compares the output of a bridge circuit including a resistor selected by the operator and a thermistor (temperature sensing element 2) that detects the temperature of the base part 1, and the output of the comparator drives a relay (power control element) to turn on the heater. It controls the energization to. Note that a specific explanation of the circuit will be given later.

Next, structural features related to heat insulation for positioning the control board 9 that satisfies the above functions in the largest possible handle space will be described. Heater 1
7 is energized, the base part 1 is heated, and the cover 3 becomes high temperature due to conduction heat and radiant heat, giving radiant heat to the heat shield plate 4. The heat shield plate 4 is processed with heat-resistant resin, and the handle body 6 is heated. Since the space necessary for heat to be dissipated to the outside from the notch 6c is maintained, it has an extremely heat insulating effect. Furthermore, since the control board 9 is set on any boss of the heat shield plate 4 in a point-contact state, the structure is almost unaffected by conductive heat. Furthermore, when the heater generates heat, the heater terminals, heater lead wires 18, 18', etc. are in a high temperature state, and since these lead wires 18, 18' become heat conductors, if they are directly connected to the control board 9, their conduction will be reduced. The temperature of the control board 9 increases due to heat, which deteriorates the reliability of the components.In contrast, this embodiment uses a terminal block 15 provided at the rear of the heat shield plate 4 where the temperature rise is relatively low. Since the lead wires 18 and 18' are connected to the control board 9, problems caused by conduction heat of the lead wires 18 and 18' are alleviated.

In this way, it is possible to secure a temperature rise that the electronic components can sufficiently withstand, and the large space obtained by this invention also has a large base area, making it possible to mount a considerable number of electronic components. By locating the tall parts such as the power transformer 10 and the relay (power control element 11) in the space A inside the rear leg of the handle, it is highly praised for eliminating obstacles to the design elements, and at the same time, it is easy to assemble. This also has the advantage that the control board 9, heat shield plate 4, and cover 3 can be assembled smoothly in an orderly manner to the opening of the body of the handle body 6, and furthermore, a terminal block 15 is provided for ease of assembly. As a result, the lead wires 18, 18' of the heater 17 and the lead wires 20, 20' from the control board 9 can be connected at the rearmost part where it is easiest to work.

FIG. 7 shows a specific electrical circuit diagram of the electronically controlled iron. In FIG. 7, 50 is an AC power source, to which a series circuit of a heater 17 and a normally open relay contact 51a is connected. This relay contact 51a closes when current flows through a relay coil 51b, which will be described later, and energizes the heater 17. Further, a series circuit of a low resistor 52 and a capacitor 53 is connected to the AC power supply 50. This capacitor 53 serves as a constant voltage DC power source for a control circuit to be described later. 54 is a ring counter with a preset function connected in parallel to the capacitor 53;
is connected to one end of the capacitor 53, and the other end 54b
is connected to the other end of the capacitor 53 and kept at ground potential. 55 is a switch (corresponding to 31 in FIG. 1), which connects one end of the capacitor 53 and the first input terminal 54 of the ring counter 54 with a preset function.
connected between c. 56 is a second input terminal 54d and a third input terminal of the ring counter 54 with a preset function.
A resistor 57 is connected between the input terminal 54e and the third input terminal 54e of the ring counter 54 with a preset function and the other end of the capacitor 53.
Ring counter 54 with preset function
The time constant of the clock pulse for output switching is determined. 54f, 54g, 54h, and 54i are a first output terminal, a second output terminal, a third output terminal, and a fourth output terminal, respectively, of the ring counter 54 with a preset function;
g, 54h, and 54i are light emitting display elements 12, respectively.
A, 12b, 12c, and 12d are commonly connected to one end of a resistor 58, and the other end of this resistor 58 is connected to one end of a capacitor 53. Note that the circuit diagram shows four light emitting display elements 12a, 1 as an example.
2b, 12c, and 12d constitute a set temperature display.

One end of the temperature sensing element 2 is connected to one end of the capacitor 53, and the other end is connected to the inverting input terminal 5 of the comparator 59.
9a, to the second output terminal 54g of the ring counter 54 with a preset function via a resistor 60, and to the third output terminal 54h of the ring counter 54 with a preset function via a resistor 61.
Furthermore, it is connected via a resistor 62 to a fourth output terminal 54i of a ring counter 54 with a preset function.

63 and 64 are resistors connected in series,
This series circuit is connected in parallel to the capacitor 53. The connection point between the resistor 63 and the resistor 64 is connected to the non-inverting input terminal 59b of the comparator 59. 65 is a transistor connected in series to the relay coil 51b, and this series circuit is connected in parallel to the capacitor 53. The output of the comparator 59 is inputted to the base electrode of the transistor 65 via the resistor 66, and when the output of the comparator 59 is at H level, it is driven and current flows through the relay coil 51b.
Close the relay contact 51a. 67 is a diode connected in parallel to the relay coil 51b.

Next, the operation will be explained.

First, when the AC power supply 50 is connected, the first output terminal 54 of the ring counter 54 with preset function is connected.
The output of f becomes L level, and the first light emitting display element 1
Current flows through 2a and lights up. Second output terminal 54
g, the outputs of the third output terminal 54h and the fourth output terminal 54i are at H level, so the potential at the connection point between the temperature sensing element 2 and the resistor 60 is high, and therefore the input of the inverting input terminal 59a of the comparator 59 is higher than the input of the non-inverting input terminal 59b, and the output of the comparator 59 becomes L level, the transistor 65 is not driven, and no current flows through the relay coil 51b, so the relay contact 51a is opened and the heater 17 is not energized. . Therefore, the lighting of the first light emitting display element 12a indicates the "off" state in which the heater 17 is not energized.

Next, when the switch 55 is closed, only the output of the second output terminal 54g becomes L level, and the second light emitting display element 12b lights up. Furthermore, since the output of the second output terminal 54g is at the L level, the potential at the connection point between the resistor 6 and the temperature sensing element 2 decreases, and the comparator 5
The input to the inverting input terminal 59a of No. 9 becomes lower than the input to the non-inverting input terminal 59b, and the output of the comparator 59 becomes H level. Therefore, transistor 65
is driven, current flows through the relay coil 51b, and the relay contact 51a is closed, so that the heater 17 is energized and the temperature of the base portion 1 rises.

As the temperature of the base portion 1 rises, the resistance value of the temperature sensing element 2 decreases, and when the input level of the inverting input terminal 59a and the non-inverting input terminal 59b of the comparator 59 are reversed, the output of the comparator 59 is inverted. Then L
level, and power supply to the heater 17 is stopped. As a result, when the resistance value of the temperature sensing element 2 becomes high, the heater 17 is energized again. By repeating such operations, the temperature of the base portion 1 is maintained at the first predetermined temperature _T1 . That is, when the second light emitting display element 12b lights up, it means that the set temperature has been set to the first predetermined temperature _T1 . The resistance value R _TH1 of the temperature sensing element 2 at this time is determined by the following equation.

R _TH1 = R ₆₃・R ₆₀ / R ₆₄ Note that R ₆₀ , R ₆₃ , and R ₆₄ are resistors 60 and 6, respectively.
3 and 64 resistance values are shown.

Next, when the switch 55 is closed, only the output of the third output terminal 54h becomes L level, the third light emitting display element 12c lights up, and the temperature of the base part 1 is maintained at the second predetermined temperature _T2. It will be done. That is, when the third light emitting display element 12c lights up, it means that the set temperature has been set to the second predetermined temperature _T2 . The resistance value R _TH2 of the temperature sensing element 2 at this time is determined by the following equation.

R _TH2 = R ₆₃ · R ₆₁ /R ₆₄ Note that R ₆₁ is the resistance value of the resistor 61.

Further, when the switch 55 is closed, only the output of the fourth output terminal 54i becomes L level, and the output of the fourth output terminal 54i becomes L level.
The light emitting display element 12d lights up and the set temperature reaches the third level.
This means that the temperature is set to the predetermined temperature _T3 . The resistance value R _TH3 of the temperature sensing element 2 at this time is determined by the following equation.

R _TH3 = R ₆₃ · R ₆₂ / R ₆₄ Note that R ₆₂ is the resistance value of the resistor 62.

As mentioned above, the set temperature is sequentially changed by turning on and off the switch 55, and the relationship between each predetermined temperature T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ is determined by the resistance 6
Since it is determined by the relationship between the resistance values R ₆₀ , R ₆₁ , and R ₆₂ of 0, 61, and 62, by setting R ₆₀ > R ₆₁ > R ₆₂ , the temperature of the base part 1 can be set at low temperature, medium temperature, The temperature will be sequentially switched to high temperature.

Another embodiment of the invention will be described based on FIG. That is, in this electronically controlled iron, the terminal block 15 is attached to the inner surface of the handle rear lid body 8 instead of the rear part of the heat shield plate 4, and the heater 17
The conductive heat of the lead wires 18, 18' is radiated to the handle rear cover body 8 through the terminal block 15, so that constant temperature buffering can be achieved.

As described above, the electronically controlled iron of the present invention consists of a base portion with a built-in heater, a temperature detection element that detects the temperature of the base portion, a grip portion, a front leg portion, a rear leg portion, and a body portion. , a handle body provided with the lower surface of the body part open, a heat shield plate covering the body part, a rear handle cover body closing the rear face of the handle body, and a temperature sensing element that controls the supply of electricity to the heater. A terminal block is provided in the space formed by the handle body and the handle rear cover body to relay the lead wire of the heater, so that the shape and size are difficult to use. It is possible to embed electronic circuit components without any problems, provide sufficient thermal protection for the electronic circuit components, facilitate wiring work, and provide temperature buffering between the control board and the heater. It has the effect of being able to

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an electronically controlled iron according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof, Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the main parts thereof, and Fig. 5 is Similarly, FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the main part, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main part, FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main part of another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Base part, 2...Temperature detection element, 3...
Cover, 4... Heat shield plate, 6... Handle body, 8... Handle rear cover body, 9... Control board, 15... Terminal stand, 17... Heater.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Consisting of a base portion with a built-in heater, a temperature detection element that detects the temperature of the base portion, a grip portion, a front leg portion, a rear leg portion, and a torso portion, the lower surface of the torso portion is A handle body provided in an open manner, a heat shield plate that covers the body portion, a rear handle cover body that closes the rear surface of the handle body, and a temperature control circuit that controls energization to the heater using the temperature detection element. An electronically controlled iron comprising: a terminal block for relaying a lead wire of the heater in a space formed by the handle body and the handle rear cover body. 2. The electronically controlled iron according to claim 1, wherein the terminal stand is attached to the rear of the heat shield plate. 3. The electronically controlled iron according to claim 1, wherein the terminal stand is attached to the inner surface of the rear lid of the handle.