JPH03251601A - Steam generating section of electric steamer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the attachment of scale to a heater and improve the comfortableness in the subject electric steamer used for steam baths by forming a heating chamber and a steam chamber in an air-tightly closed vessel which is laterally long and the both ends of which are closed and providing a resistance heater for electrical heating tightly along the outer shape of the vessel. CONSTITUTION:A controller 30 is actuated with an operation switch 27 turned ON and water is supplied to a supply water tank 7 by opening and closing a supply water valve 9, and the water level is kept constant by the water level signal of a water level controlling electrode 10. And, when the water is stored at a specified level, a supply water pump 11 is operated and water is supplied to an air-tightly closed vessel 13. The water level in the air-tightly closed vessel 13 is detected by a water level control chamber 18 and the operation of the pump 11 is controlled. Then a resistance heater 11 is electrically energized and the water in a heating chamber 20 is heated to generate steam, and, further, the steam of a steam chamber 21 is heated by the resistance heater 15. When the steam pressure rises, the steam is blown out of a discharge port 25. The attachment of scale to the heater can be thereby prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a steam generation section of an electric steamer that generates steam using electric power as a heat source in order to discharge steam into a bathroom and heat it for a steam bath. .

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, the steam generating section of this type of electric steamer is supplied with a certain amount of water from a water supply port 6 and stored in a water storage tank 1, and an immersion type resistance heater 2 is immersed in the water. It directly heats the water storage 3 and always generates a certain amount of steam, collects the steam in the upper space 4 where water is not stored, and when the internal pressure rises, the steam port 5
Steam was supplied to a bathroom (not shown).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above configuration, when the water is heated by the heater and the water temperature rises, Mg, Ca, etc. in the water are liberated from the water as scales and adhere to the inner surface of the tank and the heater, resulting in increased usage. As time progressed, the amount of adhesion increased. As a result, the scale adhering to the heater becomes an obstacle to the transfer of heat from the heater to the water, and the amount of heat dissipated by the heater decreases, causing the heater to generate internal heat, causing the insulating material to rise to an excessive temperature and deteriorate. This resulted in accidents such as damage to the heater, making it impossible to continue normal operation.

In addition, after the bathroom has been heated to the appropriate bathing temperature of 40°C to 50°C and started up, it is only necessary to heat the bathroom with a smaller amount of heat than when starting up, which is equivalent to the amount of heat dissipated from the bathroom. If steam is supplied, the amount of heating will be excessive, so the steam generator will operate intermittently, and the steam supply to the bathroom will be interrupted.
There was a problem that the feeling of taking a bath when it was turned off was unpleasant.

Furthermore, the steam generated by this type of steam generator has a high degree of humidity, and when the steam is discharged and filled into a bathroom, it creates a high moisture content (
There were also problems, such as the transparency of the bathroom space worsening due to the inclusion of water, which caused inconvenience to bathers.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention does not install a heater that heats water underwater, but installs it outside the water storage tank, prevents scale from adhering to the heater, and also heats the steam chamber that stores steam. The purpose of this system is to increase the dryness of the steam, control the amount of heating by the heater, and supply steam for a comfortable steam bath.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned objects, a first means of the present invention is to provide a resistance heater using electric power as a heat source in close contact with the outer periphery of a closed container with both sides of a horizontally long tube closed. A heater heats water stored in a lower heating chamber in a closed container to generate steam, the steam is stored in the upper space of the heating chamber, and the resistor reheats and dries the steam before discharging it to the outside. . In the second method, the amount of heating of the closed container is controlled by a plurality of divided spiral resistance heaters attached in close contact with the outer shape of the closed container.

Effect The present invention uses the first means described above to heat water from the outside of a closed container storing water to generate steam, prevent scale adhesion to a resistance heater, and recycle moist steam collected in a steam chamber. It heats and produces steam in a dry state.

In addition, by the second means, during bathing, the closed container is heated with an amount of heat commensurate with the amount of heat dissipated in the bathroom, the amount of steam per unit time is reduced compared to the time of startup, and steam is continuously supplied. It is something.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the steam generating section of an electric steamer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment. When the operation switch 27 provided in the bathroom remote control 26 provided in the steam bathroom 24 is turned on, the controller 30 receiving this signal is energized and the water supply pipe 8 is turned on.
The water supply valve 9 provided in the water supply valve 9 is opened to supply water to the water supply tank 7 constituting the water supply means. Further, a signal from the electrode 10 for water level control is input to the controller 30, and the controller 30 controls the opening and closing of the water supply valve 9 based on the signal, so that the water supply pipe tank 7 always stores water within a constant water level.

Next, when the water is stored up to a predetermined lower limit water level in the water supply tank 7, the controller 30 receives the water level signal from the electrode 10, passes through the water supply channel 12 connecting the water supply tank 7, and operates the water supply pump 11 provided on the way. Water from the water supply tank 7 is supplied into the closed container 13 of the steam generation section.

In addition, the airtight container 13 of the steam generation section has a connecting pipe 16°1.
A controller 30 receives a signal from the electrode 19 and controls the operation of the water supply pump 11 so that the built-in electrode 19 for water level detection controls the stored water within a constant water level. are doing.

The water thus supplied to the heating chamber 20 of the closed container 13 of the steam generating section is heated by the resistance heater 15, which uses electricity as a heat source and is provided in close contact with the outer shape of the closed container WI3, to generate steam. This steam is heated again by the resistance heater 15 in the steam chamber 21 above the heating chamber 20.

As the internal pressure of the steam chamber 21 increases, steam is discharged into the room from the steam outlet 25 provided in the steam bath 24 via the steam port 22 and the steam conveyance path 23, thereby raising the bath temperature.

Then, when the temperature sensor 29 provided in the bathroom remote control 26 detects the temperature T set by the bathroom temperature setting unit 28 and inputs the signal to the controller 30, the controller 30 controls the amount of power supplied to the resistance heater 15. The amount of electric power is then reduced to match the amount of heat consumed in the steam bath 24, and the amount of steam discharged is reduced. By adjusting this amount of electricity, the bathroom temperature can be adjusted to the set temperature To.
The temperature difference ΔT with T1 as the upper limit and T1 as the lower limit temperature is controlled within a small range.

When the operation switch 27 of the bathroom remote control 26 is turned off, the power supply to the resistance heater 15 is stopped, the water supply valve 9 is closed, the water supply pump 11 is stopped, and the drain valve 32 provided in the drain channel 31 is closed. The valve is opened and the closed container 13 of the steam generation section
The water stored inside is discharged outside the device. Then, the drain valve 32 is closed when the operation switch 27 is turned on.

Here, (a) and (b) of Fig. 4 are cylinders of exactly the same shape, and show the cases of horizontal placement and m placement, respectively, and the basis for using the above-mentioned airtight container horizontally is explained below with reference to the figure. explain.

First, set the conditions for the shape of the cylinder, and set the outer diameter to φD.

The length is 2D, and when placed horizontally in FIG. 4(a), the center of the circle is the average water level and the lower part is the heating chamber.

In the vertical arrangement shown in FIG. 4(b), water is supplied from the lower end, and the center position D from the bottom is the average water level, and the lower part is used as the heating chamber.

Next, when the amount of water stored in both cases and the surface area of the water storage surface excluding the end face portions are determined, the amount of water stored in both cases is the same value as -D3, and no difference is recognized.

However, when calculating the surface area of the water storage surface indicated by diagonal lines in the figure, 5L=20'' in Fig. 4(a) and Sv=20'' in Fig. 4(b).
D'', which is a different value. In other words, when placed horizontally, the surface area is more than twice as large as when placed vertically.

(In addition, in the case of horizontal installation, the length of the cylinder is -D, which is shorter than the diameter, and the surface area is the same as in the case of vertical installation.) By the way, the phenomenon of the water storage part during steam generation is that the water is heated and boils. When observing the state in which steam is being generated, the water storage part shakes violently from the heating surface to the water surface, the water surface rises in various places, and at the tip, water droplets are scattered like waves colliding with rocks. It is a place of turbulent energy activity.

This is because the air contained in the water is rapidly separated and grows with high energy, and as it rises through the water, the bubble particle size rises from the bottom, and is also synthesized, causing the water to shake. There is. It is also thought that this is because water is shaken when steam separates from water or when it is released from the water surface.

Therefore, as mentioned above, if the cylinder is placed horizontally to increase the surface area of the water storage surface, unlike when placed vertically, the kinetic energy that causes the water to shake will be dispersed over a wider area, and the ripples on the water surface will be reduced, resulting in water droplets. Since the scattering of the steam is suppressed, the amount of moisture adhering to the steam is reduced, which has the effect of reducing the humidity level from the state in which the steam is produced.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, by reheating the steam in the steam chamber 21, the steam can be dried by projecting radiant heat onto the steam from the inner surface of the closed container 13.

Furthermore, after a long period of suspension of operation or during particularly cold winters, the air temperature around the outer circumference of the sealed container 13 decreases, and due to the cooling effect of this air, the temperature inside the sealed container 13 decreases, causing contact with the inner wall surface of the closed container 13. It is possible to avoid the effects of condensation on the wall surface and increase in humidity due to temperature drop.

In addition, by heating the heating chamber 20 and the steam chamber 21 at the same time with the resistance heater 15, steam is generated and the amount of water stored in the heating chamber 20 is reduced. When the steam is supplied to the chamber 20, the heat of the heater on the heating chamber side is rapidly removed, and the amount of steam generated decreases over time. However, heat transfer quickly occurs from the heater side having a high temperature heat capacity on the steam chamber 21 side, and the heat stored in the steam chamber 21 moves to the heating chamber 20 side.
The heat drop of the heater on the 0 side is alleviated, and the temporal drop in steam amount is covered by a considerable amount, that is, when water is supplied to the heating chamber 20 side, the amount of steam generated is reduced by cooling the heater. Steam stagnation can be prevented and high quality steam can be continuously discharged.

Next, other embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be explained.
The airtight container 3 controls the amount of steam generated by heating in the heating chamber 41.
3. Spiral resistance heater 35.
This is done with a power supply amount of 36. As a control means, the amount of steam generated can be controlled by changing the number of energizations of the divided resistance heaters or the amount of electric power supplied to all the divided resistance heaters. By creating multiple divided spiral resistance heaters 35, 36, (1) ease of processing by dividing the capacity of a single heater, (2) making it possible to connect the heater with a sealed container, and (3) controlling the power of the heater. Examples include making it easier.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention prevents scale adhesion to the heater, discharges steam with good dryness into the bathroom, and controls the amount of heating during bathing to keep the bathroom standing. It provides a comfortable steam bath by continuously supplying less steam than when heating.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the steam generation section of the electric steamer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts showing the embodiment of the same.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining the horizontal placement of the cylinder, and FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the steam generating section of a conventional electric steamer. 13, 33... airtight container, 15.35.36.
... Resistance heater, 20.41 ... Heating chamber, 21.42 ... Steam chamber.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A heating chamber that stores a predetermined amount of water supplied from the water inlet and heats it to generate steam, and a space above this heating chamber to store the steam, and when the internal pressure rises, it is released from the steam outlet to the outside. A steam chamber that discharges steam, a closed container that has the heating chamber and the steam chamber inside, and has both sides of an oblong tube closed, and a resistor that is in close contact with the outside of the closed container and uses electricity as a heat source to heat the container. Steam generation part of electric steamer with heater. (2) The steam generating section of the electric steamer according to claim (1), further comprising a plurality of spiral resistance heaters that are divided into a plurality of parts and heat the closed container in close contact with each other along the outer shape of the closed container.