JPH033520B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a safety device for an electric iron that cuts off power to a heater in the event of an abnormality.

(b) Prior art The most dangerous situation with electric irons is the occurrence of a fire. For this reason, it has long been proposed to cut off the power to the heater when the electric iron is in an abnormal condition that differs from the normal use condition, but this has not yet been put to practical use.

Abnormal conditions when using an electric iron include: when the iron is tipped on its side and the base touches clothing; when the iron is turned upside down and its rear part is placed on the floor for a long time; When the base of the main unit is left stationary on top of clothing for a long time, this may occur. Naturally, there is a risk of fire occurring in a short period of time.

However, it is very difficult to distinguish between a normal state and an abnormal state when using an iron, and it is said to be impossible to detect all of the above-mentioned abnormal states. The specific reason for this is, for example, in the case of case 1, when the clothes have many wrinkles, the user holds the handle and keeps the iron body stationary, and presses the base side strongly against the clothes for a suitable period of time. This is because the user would leave the clothes for an appropriate amount of time when changing clothes to smooth out wrinkles.

For this reason, in the past, methods considered to be the easiest to ensure safety were considered.
As a specific prior art, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 155294/1985, which includes an acceleration feeler having a tubular groove curved downward in an arcuate shape inside the iron, and detects light at the deepest point of the groove. In addition to installing the container, the ball is housed in the groove. The current supply to the heating conductor is then cut off when the iron is in a stationary state where the movement is interrupted for a predetermined period of time.

However, although the above-mentioned safety device is effective against abnormal conditions, since the longitudinal direction of the tube is parallel to the front-rear direction of the iron,
When the iron is moved laterally (left and right) to remove wrinkles, the photodetector detects the iron as being in a stationary state and cuts off the current supply to the heating conductor.
For this reason, there was a drawback that wrinkles could not be straightened by moving the iron in the lateral direction. In addition, when the iron is turned sideways or inverted as described in the abnormal state, the ball moves from the deepest point to the farthest end of the tube, so the photodetector always detects it as a normal state and energizes the heating conductor. It was extremely dangerous.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention uses a single position detection means to cut off power to the heater even if the iron body is in any abnormal state, thereby preventing the occurrence of a fire, etc. .

(d) Means for Solving Problems The present invention provides an iron main body having a base member in which a heater is installed, a handle member, a position detecting means, a determining means, and a control means, wherein the position detecting means has a planar shape on the left and right sides. A storage groove having a rectangular shape with a wide side and a top where the distance between each side becomes narrow, with the top facing toward the rear of the iron body; and a spherical member disposed within the groove. and a sensor provided on the peripheral wall of the storage groove.

(e) Effect The present invention provides a system in which a spherical member disposed in a storage groove is continuously placed in a part of the storage groove and the electric signal of the sensor is continuously held for a certain period of time. Then, the control means is actuated to cut off the power supply to the heater.

(f) Examples Examples of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. 1
2 is an iron body, 2 is a base member with a heater (not shown) inside, 3 is an iron cover fixed above the base member, and 4 is a rod-shaped handle member made of thermoplastic resin fixed above the iron cover. A void 5 is formed inside. Reference numeral 6 denotes a heat-resistant hardening resin heat-insulating cover interposed and fixed between the iron cover 3 and the handle member 4, 7 a tank detachably attached to the upper surface of the heat-insulating cover 6 on the front side of the handle member 4, and 8 a handle member. A rear lid cover is fixed to the rear portion of the handle member 4, and a power cord 9 is led out from the rear upper surface of the handle member 4.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a position detecting means for detecting various positions of the iron main body 1 disposed in the empty space 5 of the handle member 4, and its detailed structure will be explained below. Reference numeral 11 denotes a rectangular base made of black synthetic resin, which has one side 13 connecting the side parts 12 and 12 on both sides extending left and right, and a top part located opposite to this side and narrowing the distance between the sides. A storage groove 15 having a rectangular (approximately triangular) planar shape and supporting portions 16a and 16b are provided opposite to each other on both sides of the groove. Holes 17a and 17b for optical paths are bored. 18
The light receiving element 19, such as a phototransistor, was fixed in alignment with the hole 17b on the side of the support part 16b, and the light receiving element 19, such as a phototransistor, was fixed in alignment with the hole 17a in the support part 16a.
A sensor consisting of a light emitting element 20 such as an LED, the light receiving element 19, a hole 17b, a top part 14, a hole 17a,
The light emitting elements 20 are arranged in a straight line. 2
1 is a spherical member such as a ball stored in the storage groove 15, and 22 is a cover plate made of black synthetic resin that is removably fitted to the base 11.

Thus, the base 11 which is the position detecting means 10
is disposed within the cavity 5 of the handle member 4, one side 13 of the storage groove 15 is orthogonal to the handle member 4 and is disposed toward the front of the handle member, and the top portion 14 is disposed toward the rear. As shown in FIG. 1, the base 11 is fixed in an inclined state with the side 13 side being lower and the top 14 side being higher with respect to a line L ₂ parallel to the line L ₁ on the bottom surface of the base member 2. 21 is always placed on one side 13 side. This inclination angle θ is set within the range of 5 degrees to 15 degrees.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram. Reference numeral 23 denotes a determination means installed at a suitable location in the iron main body 1, which includes a light emitting circuit 24 of the light emitting element 20, a light reception detection circuit 25 of the light receiving element 19, a counting circuit 26 for counting the time of the output signal from the detection circuit, and It consists of an identification circuit 27 that determines the position holding state (usage state) of the iron based on the output of the counting circuit. Reference numeral 28 denotes a control means for energizing or cutting off power to the heater according to the determination content of the identification circuit 27.

Thus, under normal use, the iron main body 1 is moved back and forth, left and right to remove wrinkles by placing the bottom surface of the base member 2 on the clothing as shown in FIG. 1, and in other cases as shown in FIG. In some cases, the back lid cover 8 is placed on the top surface of the ironing board in an inverted state.

When AC power is supplied from the power cord 9 in the state shown in FIG. 5, the spherical member 21 is fixed at the top 14 at the position indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. block the optical path of This state is one of the normal usage states and is the standby position. For this reason, when the spherical member 21 is stationary along the dashed line mentioned above, the light receiving detection circuit 25 detects that there is no output from the light receiving element 19 and inputs the signal to the counting circuit 26 to start counting, and also sends the signal to the heater via the identification circuit 27. energize.
During this time, the temperature will reach a temperature suitable for wrinkle smoothing in about 2 to 3 minutes, but if left in the state shown in Fig. 5, the counting circuit 26 will count for a certain period (10 minutes).
When the output is maintained, the identification circuit 27 determines that there is an abnormal state and cuts off the power supply to the heater.

Also, if the iron main body 1 is held horizontally as shown in Fig. 1 after 2 to 3 minutes of energization in the state shown in Fig. 5, the spherical member 2
1 moves to either side 12 within the storage groove 15 due to the angle θ, but moves within the storage groove 15 as the iron main body 1 moves back and forth and left and right. The optical path is blocked due to this movement, but the output of the light receiving element 19 at this time causes the counting circuit 26 to start counting each time, and when the optical path is blocked again within a certain period of time (1 minute), it is sent to the heater. Continue energizing. However, if the optical path is not blocked within one minute, the power to the heater is cut off.

The above-mentioned operation is the same in the case of FIG. That is, in the case of FIG. 4, since the spherical member 21 moves to the side part 12 located on the ironing board side, at this point, after the light receiving element 19 detects the light emission of the light emitting element 20, the counting circuit 26 starts counting and continues counting for a certain period of time. After that (1 minute), cut off the power to the heater.

Incidentally, the iron body 1 may be moved from side to side during the wrinkle straightening work, but in this case, the spherical member 2
Since the optical path is appropriately interrupted as the iron moves, the counting circuit 26 starts the count each time and continues energizing the heater, allowing normal ironing work to be performed.

Although the present invention uses a combination of a light emitting element and a light receiving element as a sensor, the spherical member may be made of ferromagnetic material and the sensor may be a reed switch. The same applies even if the switch has a Further, the planar shape of the storage groove is not necessarily triangular, but may be a square shape such as a square shape. It is only necessary to provide a side portion.

(g) Effects of Light As described above, the present invention detects the position of an abnormal condition in the iron body and cuts off the power to the heater, thereby preventing the occurrence of fires and the like. In particular, since the storage groove is formed into a rectangular shape, it is possible to accurately distinguish between an abnormal state and a normal state of the iron main body, and there is no possibility of irritation if the power supply to the heater is cut off in the normal state. Furthermore, various abnormal conditions can be detected by one position detection means and power to the heater can be cut off, which greatly simplifies the structure and wiring, increases reliability, and prevents malfunctions. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of an electric iron equipped with the safety device of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a block diagram, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are rear and side views showing the iron body at different angles from those in FIG. 1. 1...Iron body, 2...Base member, 4...
...Handle member, 10...Position detection means, 12,
12...Side part, 13...One side, 14...Top part, 1
5... Storage groove, 18... Sensor, 21... Spherical member, 23... Judgment means, 28... Control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base member containing a heater, a handle member fixed above the member, and a position detection means,
In the iron main body having a determining means and a controlling means, the position detecting means has a rectangular planar shape having side portions that widen from side to side and a top portion where the distance between the respective side portions is narrow. a storage groove with the top facing toward the rear of the iron main body; a spherical member disposed within the groove; and a sensor provided on a peripheral wall of the storage groove that changes an electrical signal by movement of the spherical member. an electric iron, characterized in that when the electric signal from the sensor is continuously held for a certain period of time, the determination means drives the control means by the output thereof to cut off the power supply to the heater. safety equipment.