JPH0346720Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention relates to a steam iron that controls water dripping from a nozzle in a tank body depending on the temperature of the base.

(b) Conventional technology Conventionally, in drip-type steam irons,
If you leave water in the tank horizontally when the base temperature is low and its vaporization capacity is low, or when it is not in use, or when it is not in use, water may leak from the steam hole and wet cloth, clothing, or rugs. There was a risk that the base would rust. As a countermeasure against this, various inventions and ideas have been made. Among them, for example, the one shown in Publication of Utility Model Publication No. 1987-79 is to supply water from the tank to the vaporization chamber through a dripping nozzle. An opening/closing device for opening and closing the passage is provided in the passage, and this opening/closing device is operated by a thermally responsive member that is reversely operated by the heat of the base.
However, this opening/closing device requires watertightness to prevent water leakage, and requires heat resistance because it receives heat directly from the base, making its configuration complex and requiring expensive parts. It was hot.
Furthermore, water tends to remain between the opening/closing device and the nozzle, and there is a risk that malfunctions such as corrosion, deterioration, or clogging due to water stains may occur.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In consideration of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a steam iron that has a simple structure, can control the water dripping from the nozzle of the tank body, and is free from malfunctions.

(d) Means for solving the problem The steam iron of the present invention has an opening/closing rod that is linked to a thermally responsive member that reverses its action due to the heat of the base, and opens and closes the nozzle based on the operation of the thermally responsive member. It has a holding device that selects whether or not to hold the operating state of the operating button to be operated.

(E) Function Since the present invention is constructed as described above, if the thermally responsive member is set to reverse when the temperature of the base reaches the vaporizable temperature, the operation button will not be pressed until the vaporizable temperature is reached. Even if the nozzle is opened by operation, if the operation button is stopped, the operation button returns to its original state. Once the vaporization temperature is reached, the nozzle is opened by operating the operation button, and the state of the operation button remains unchanged even if the operation is stopped.

(f) Embodiments Examples of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. 1
1 is a base in which a heater 2 is embedded, forming a plurality of recesses, and each recess is covered with a base lid 3 to create a vaporizing chamber 5 communicating with a steam hole 4.
and a storage chamber 6 for storing a bimetal plate 11 to be described later.
is formed. 7 is a flexible packing provided on the base lid 3 and communicating with the vaporization chamber 5;
numeral 9 is a heat insulating plate provided above the base 1 such that the packing faces the top surface; 9 is a base provided on the top surface of the heat insulating plate; and 9 is a base having a grip portion 10. 11
is a bimetal plate (thermal responsive member) stored in the storage chamber 6 of the base 1, and is set to reverse from the ) state to the (state) when the temperature of the base 1 reaches the vaporizable temperature. 12 is an operating rod whose lower end is connected to the bimetal plate 11 and whose upper end projects into a recess 13 provided at the upper front surface of the base 9;
Reference numeral 14 denotes a tank detachably disposed between the upper surface of the heat insulating plate 8 and the front surface of the base 9, and will be described in detail below.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a tank body having a nozzle 16 on the bottom that is in close contact with the packing 7 and dripping water into the vaporization chamber 5, and has a water inlet 17 on the front, and this water inlet is connected to a lid that slides up and down. 18, it can be closed freely. Reference numeral 19 denotes an opening/closing rod whose one end opens and closes the nozzle 16 and whose other end protrudes from the upper surface of the tank body 15.
is constantly biased upward. Reference numeral 21 designates a tank cover provided with a space above the tank body 15, and has a rectangular cylindrical guide portion 22 with an open bottom at the rear thereof. When the tank 14 is attached, the guide part 22 enters the recess 13 of the base 9 and guides the upper end of the actuator 12 into the interior through the opening, and the upper surface of the guide part 22 is inserted into the recess 13 of the base 9.
It engages with an attachment/detachment button 23 provided at the front of the. 24 is an operation button provided protruding from the upper surface of the tank cover 21, and is a hollow pusher 2.
5 and a rotating body 26 inserted into the pushing body. The pushing body 25 is provided with eight inverted triangular pressing pieces 27, 27, . . . on the outer periphery of the lower end. The rotating body 26 has four engaging portions 29, 29, . . . having tapered portions 28, 28, . . Reference numeral 31 denotes a guide tube provided on the tank cover 21 to guide the operation button 24, and has an opening 32 at the top and eight guide portions 33, 33, whose lower ends are inclined on the inner wall.
By providing these grooves 34, 34, . . . are formed between the respective guide portions 33, 33, . Note that the grooves 34 are not formed between the guide portions 33, 33, . . . , and an opening 35 is formed between the pair of guide portions 33, 33. Reference numeral 36 denotes a connecting plate which is pivotally supported approximately at the center, and has one end brought into contact with the upper end of the opening/closing rod 19, and the other end brought into contact with the lower end of the pressing rod 30 of the rotating body 26. A second spring 37 having a stronger urging force than the first spring 20 is interposed between the upper surface of one end of the connecting plate 36 and the upper inner surface of the tank cover 21, so that one end of the connecting plate 36 is always directed downward. Pressed by Therefore, the opening/closing rod 19 is biased in the direction of closing the nozzle 16, and the operating button 24 is biased in the direction of protruding. Reference numeral 38 denotes a holding device for selecting whether or not to maintain the operating state of the operation button 24, which is composed of an elastic, approximately L-shaped connecting plate 39, and a holding member 40 fixed to one end of the connecting plate. The connecting plate 39 has a corner portion pivoted, and the other end is positioned within the guide portion 22 so as to be able to come into contact with the operating rod 12, and the upper surface of the other end and the upper inner surface of the guide portion 22 are connected to each other. 3rd between
A spring 41 is interposed. Note that this holding device 38 is configured such that the bimetal plate 11 is inverted and the operating lever 1 is
2, the connecting plate 39 rotates and the holding member 40 is recessed into the opening 35 of the guide tube 31, but due to the biasing force of the third spring 41,
It is positioned outward from the pressing piece 27 of the pushing body 25 and inward from the tip of the engaging portion 29 of the rotating body 26 .

Next, the operation in the above configuration will be explained. First, fill the tank 14 with water and install it. At this time, if the temperature of the base 1 is low and has not reached the vaporizable temperature, the bimetal plate 11 is in the ) state, and the holding member 40 is located outward from the tip of the engaging portion 29 of the rotating body 26. ing. Therefore, the pusher 25
When pressed down, the rotating body 26 moves as shown in A and B in Figure 4.
The engaging portions 29, 29... are the groove portions 34 of the guide tube 31,
34 rotates by sequentially moving them, but the engaging portion 29 and the holding member 40 do not engage, and unless the pushing body 25 is pressed down, the nozzle 16 is always closed due to the urging force of the second spring 37. pressed body 25
It will definitely stand out.

When the temperature of the base 1 rises and reaches the temperature at which vaporization is possible, the bimetal plate 11 is reversed to the (state), so the actuating lever 12 lifts the other end of the connecting plate 39. At this time, as shown in FIG. In this state, the holding member 40 comes into contact with the tip of the engaging portion 29 of the rotating body 26, so the holding member 40 cannot move any further, but since the connecting plate 39 itself has elasticity, the connecting plate 39 It bends to absorb the movement of the actuating rod 12.
After this, when the pusher 25 is pressed down, the holding member 40
moves to the above-mentioned position, so when the pusher 25 is pressed down repeatedly, the holding member 40 and the engaging portion 29,
The engagements of 29... are repeated alternately. When the holding member 40 is not engaged with the engaging parts 29, 29, . It will be closed. or,
When the holding member 40 and the engaging parts 29, 29... are engaged (FIG. 4C), the pushing body 25 is kept in the depressed state, and the nozzle 16 is kept in the open state. , water is dropped into the vaporization chamber 5 to generate steam from the steam hole 4.

5 to 8 show other embodiments of the present invention, and the same members (names) as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same numbers.

In this embodiment, the holding device 38 is clamped and fixed between the inner bottom part of the front part of the base 9 and the grip part cover 10', and the holding device 38 is fixed to the connecting plate 36 housed in the tank 14.
The communication with this holding device 38 is through the tank cover 2.
This is done by a pushing 68 provided at 1. Further, the actuating lever 12 is rotatably provided around a fulcrum 12', and is rotated by the reversing operation of the bimetal plate 11.

To explain the holding device 38 in detail, 42
Reference numeral 45 denotes a case consisting of a lid plate 43 and a box 44, and 45 is a sliding body housed within this case 42. Insertion shafts 46 and 47 passing through the case 42 are provided at the upper and lower portions, and a storage space 48 is provided. . The storage space is provided with an inclined projection 49 and a locking projection 50 connected to the projection on the left side of the upper part of the inner wall, and a locking step 51 and a locking step 51 connected to the step at the back of the right side of the inner wall. A relief stepped portion 52 is provided toward the front side of the cage, and a vertically elongated guide hole 53 is formed in the deep part of the inner wall. 54 is a pressing spring that is housed in the case 42 and is provided with an elastic piece 55 facing the guide hole 53 of the sliding body 45; 56 is a rotating body in which a pin 57 and an actuator 58 are connected and fixed; the actuator is the pin A protruding pin 59 is provided on the opposite side to the protruding pin 57, and as shown in FIG.
b, 62b are provided symmetrically. 63 is a spring inserted through the outside of the insertion shaft 46, and 64 is an E ring fitted to the upper part of the insertion shaft 46.

Note that this holding device 38 has the operation button 24 mounted on the upper end of the insertion shaft 46. Also, the insertion shaft 47
The lower end thereof passes through the base body 9 and is located on the upper surface of the pushing 68.

Next, the operation will be described. First, when the temperature of the base 1 is low and has not reached the temperature at which it can be vaporized, the bimetal plate 11 is in the state of It is pressed to the right side in FIG. 5 by the protruding pin 59 via the rotating body 56. In this state, the rotor 5
6 has moved to the right side of the storage space 48, and the hooking step portions 60a, 60b are disengaged from the locking step portion 51 and are located at the escape step portion 52.

Here, when the operation button 67 is pressed down, the insertion shaft 47 depresses the pushing 68 and pushes up one end of the connecting plate 36 and pulls up the opening/closing rod 19 to open the nozzle 16, but the rotor 56 does not touch the locking step 51. Since it is not locked, when the operation button 67 is released, the opening/closing rod 19 is pushed down by the restoring force of the second spring 37 and the nozzle 16 is closed.

When the temperature of the base 1 rises and reaches the temperature at which it can be vaporized, the bimetal plate 11 rapidly reverses itself. protruding pin 5 against
9 to push the rotating body 56 to the back wall of the storage space 48. (See A and B in Figure 7 and A in Figure 8) In this state, if you press down the operation button 67,
The pawl 62a hits the locking protrusion 50 along the slope of the inclined protrusion 49, causing the rotating body 56 to rotate slightly to the left. (Refer to FIG. 8B) And the operation button 67
When the push-down is released, the sliding body 45 is raised by the spring 63, but as the sliding body 45 rises, the upper end of the locking step 51 is caught on the pawl 62b, and the rotary body 56 is slightly rotated, causing the pawl 61b to move upward. is the locking step portion 51
The rotating body 56 is prevented from rotating. (See C in FIG. 8) As a result, the sliding body 45 stops rising, and the lower end of the insertion shaft 47 moves toward the pushing 6.
8 to operate the connecting plate 36 and open/close the lever 1.
9 and hold the nozzle 16 in an open state.

The water falling from the nozzle 16 flows into the vaporization chamber 5 through the packing 7, is vaporized, and flows out from the steam hole 4.

Thus, to make the dry state, press down the operation button 67 again from the state shown in FIG. 8C. Then, the locking step portion 51 is disengaged from the claws 61b and 62b, and the locking protrusion 50 pushes down the claw 62a, causing the rotating body 56 to rotate slightly to the left. After this, when the push button 67 is released, the spring 6
The sliding body 45 rises due to the restoring force of 3 and the claw 61
b hits the locking step 51, and the rotating body 56 further rotates to the left, returning to the state shown in FIG. 8A.

The structures shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are as follows:
Compared to the structure shown in FIGS. 4 to 4, the structure is simpler, and the holding device can be assembled into a unit separate from the iron body and housed in the recess, resulting in improved accuracy.

9 to 14 show other embodiments of the present invention, and the same members (names) as those shown in FIG. 5 are designated by the same numbers. In this embodiment, the actuating lever 12 is provided by a bimetal plate 11 so as to be movable up and down.

First, the holding device 38 will be described in detail.
is a vertically-shaped iron plate with plating for rust prevention.
The operation button 24 is attached to the upper end of the push button 24, and the lower end thereof is a button shaft that passes through the base body 9 and is positioned on the upper surface of the pushing 68.
A vertically elongated notch hole 71 is formed through which an actuator 89, which will be described later, can pass through. button shaft 6
9 needs to have a solid structure to transmit manual operation to the opening/closing rod 19, and the iron plate thickness is 1 mm.
It is said that If stainless steel is used, anti-rust plating is not required, but the mold life will be shortened due to the thickness of 1 mm, so the above configuration is used in this embodiment. However, it is not necessarily limited to this,
It only needs to be strong enough to withstand the load. 7
2 is a frame made of 0.5mm iron plate with plating,
Round holes 73, 74, cut-out portion 76 with cutout groove 75 at the tip, square elongated hole 77, claw portions 78, 78, 7
8, 78 and protrusions 79, 79 are formed. 8
0 is a cam formed from a 0.5mm stainless steel plate,
Align the round hole 81 formed in the upper part with the round hole 73 of the frame 72, and then connect these holes 73, 81.
It is fixed by inserting and locking a stud 83 through a spring 82. The stud 83 has a large diameter portion 83A,
It has a medium diameter portion 83B and a small diameter portion 83C, and the outside diameter of the medium diameter portion 83B is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the round hole 81 of the cam 80 and the spring 82, so the cam 8
0 can rotate and slide along the middle diameter portion 83B. Note that the small diameter portion 83C is the round hole 81 of the frame 80.
After being press-fitted into the stud 83, the end surface is caulked and this stud 83
is fixed to the frame 80. After this, one end 82A of the spring 82 is installed in the notch 75 of the frame 72, and the other end 82B is installed in the notch groove 84 provided in the cam 80. Therefore, the cam 80 is biased clockwise by the spring 82 when viewed from FIG.
6, so it only rotates to a predetermined position. At the same time, the cam 80 is urged toward the frame 72 by the spring 82. Reference numeral 86 denotes a resin case with an opening at the front, which has a through hole 87 formed approximately in the center and guide grooves 88A, 88B at the top and bottom.
After being placed inside 8B, the opening is covered by the frame 72. The frame 72 is fixed to the case 86 by bending the claws 78, 78, 78, 78 and locking the claws to the wall of the case 86. And this frame 72
The protrusions 79, 79 are in the guide groove 88A of the case 86,
It is located inside 88B and forms a square hole. Further, the button shaft 69 can be slid only in the vertical direction using a square hole formed by the protrusions 79, 79 of the frame 72 and the guide grooves 88A, 88B of the case 86 as a guide. At this time, the small protrusion 70 of the button shaft 69 is located within the rectangular elongated hole 77 of the frame 72 and protrudes slightly (approximately 1 mm) from the hole 77. 89 is
The actuator is molded from resin, and the case 8 is
The small diameter portion 89A is made up of a small diameter portion 89A having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 87 of No. 6, and a collar portion 89B provided at the tip of the small diameter portion 89A.
is inserted into the through hole 87 of the case 86 via the spring 90. Reference numeral 91 denotes a lever formed by molding a stainless steel plate into an L-shape, and has a base 91A with an opening 91B into which the case 86 is inserted, and a raised portion 91C with the flange 8 of the actuator 89.
A square hole 91D into which 9B is inserted is formed. The base 91A of the lever 91 and the lower part of the case 86 are rotatably connected by a stud 92. Further, a spring 9 is provided between the lower surface of the base 91A of the lever 91 and the upper surface of the tongue portion 93 formed at the lower part of the case 86.
4 is attached, and this lever 91 is biased in the direction of pushing the actuator 89 into the case 86 side. At this time, the pressed actuator 8
The end of the small portion 89A of No. 9 can penetrate the round hole 74 of the frame 72 and push up the cam 80 in the direction of separating it from the frame 72.

Next, the operation will be explained. FIG. 11 shows a case where the temperature of the base 1 is low and has not reached the vaporizable temperature, and the bimetal plate 11 is in the ) state.
Therefore, the actuating lever 12 is lowered, the lever 91 is biased by the spring 94, pushes the actuator 89 toward the case 86 against the springs 82 and 90, and the actuator 89 is pressed against the cam at the end surface of the small diameter portion. It's pushing 80. Note that this pushing amount is based on the small protrusion 70 and the cam 8.
0 is the amount at which locking is impossible. Therefore,
When the button shaft 69 is pushed in through the operation button 24 in a dry state (FIG. 12A), the small protrusion 70 slips under the cam 80 (FIG. 12B) and reaches the bottom dead center (the square elongated hole 77 of the frame 72). (Fig. 12C). At this time, the lower end of the button shaft 69 will push the pushing 68, so the opening/closing rod 19 will rise and the nozzle 16 will open. 6
8 is lifted and returns to its original dry state (Fig. 12A). Therefore, if the base temperature is low, it cannot be held in the steam position.

Next, FIG. 13 shows a state in which the temperature of the base 1 rises and reaches the temperature at which it can be vaporized, and the bimetal plate 11
Therefore, the actuator 12 pushes up the lever 91 against the spring 94, and the actuator 89 moves to the side opposite to the case 86 due to the spring 90. As a result, the cam 80 moves against the spring 82. The frame 72 is pressed by
Closely attached to. Therefore, when the button shaft 69 is pushed in using the operation button 24 from a dry state (FIG. 14A), the small protrusion 70 of the button shaft 69 slides down the slope 95 of the cam 80, causing the cam to rotate clockwise. The cam 80 is rotated counterclockwise against the biasing spring 82. The small protrusion 70 comes off the end 96 of the slope 95 of the cam 80 before reaching the bottom dead center, and the cam 80 tries to return clockwise to its original position by the spring 82, but when it returns slightly, the cam The other slope 97 comes into contact with the small protrusion 70 and the cam 8
The button shaft 69 reaches the bottom dead center while the rotation of the button 69 is suppressed (FIG. 14B). In this state, when the pressing operation of the operation button 24 is released, the button shaft 69 is pushed up by the second spring 37, and the button shaft 69 is pushed up by the second spring 37.
When the small protrusion 70 of 9 reaches above the other slope 97 of the cam 80, the cam 80 is rotated clockwise by the spring 82, and the small protrusion 70 is attached to the locking part 98 of the cam 80.
comes into contact. Therefore, the rotation of the cam 80 is stopped, and the button shaft 69 is also unable to move upward, and is held in the state shown in FIG. 14C. In this state, the lower end of the button shaft 69 pushes the pushing 68, so the opening/closing rod 19 rises and the nozzle 16 opens (steam generation state).
In this embodiment, the total stroke of the button shaft 69 is 6
mm, and the holding state is set to 4 mm, so in steam and dry, the operation button 24 is set to 4 mm when dry.
It protrudes outward from the iron by an amount of mm compared to when it is steaming, and can notify the user whether it is set to dry or steam.

From this state, by manual operation, button shaft 6
9 is pushed down, the small protrusion 70 disengages from the cut and raised part 99 of the cam 80, the cam 80 rotates clockwise by the spring 82, and the small protrusion 70 disengages from the cut and raised part 99.
It is located below (Fig. 14 D). When the pressing operation of the operation button 24 is released in this state, the button shaft 69 is pushed up by the spring 37, and the small protrusion 7
0 is guided by the cut and raised portion 99 of the cam 80 and the cam 8
Since the cam 80 enters the back side of the frame 7
2, and the button shaft 69
rises to the top dead center (the highest position of the rectangular elongated hole 77 of the frame 72). Incidentally, since the small protrusion 70 comes off the bottom surface of the cam 80 when the top dead center is reached, the cam 80
is energized by the spring 82 and comes into close contact with the frame again, returning to the state (dry) shown in FIG. 14A. In this way, a single pushing operation switches between dry and steam alternately.

Therefore, when the user lowers the set temperature of the base 1 or turns off the power while the steam position is set, and the base temperature reaches a temperature at which vaporization is impossible, the bimetal plate 11 is reversed to the ) state. , the operating lever 12 is lowered. Therefore, the lever 91 pushes the actuator 89 to release the engagement between the small protrusion 70 and the engagement portion 98 of the cam 80, and automatically switches to dry mode without manual operation.

Note that the biasing force of the spring 94 is the same as that of the spring 90.
, the biasing force of the spring 82 , and the biasing force of the cam 8
0 and the small protrusion 70 is set to be superior to the frictional force when the engagement is released.

The structures shown in FIGS. 9 to 14 are similar to the embodiments of the structures shown in FIGS. 5 to 8,
Compared to the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the structure is simpler, and the holding device can be assembled into a unit separate from the iron body and housed in the base, improving accuracy. Small storage space is good. Furthermore, since the button shaft and the cam plate are made of metal, it is possible to provide a sturdy product that can withstand long-term use.

(g) Effects of the invention As described above, the present invention provides an operation button that operates an opening/closing rod that is linked to a thermally responsive member that is reversely operated by the heat of the base and that opens and closes a nozzle based on the operation of the thermally responsive member. Since it has a holding device that selects whether to maintain the operating state, there is no need to provide a valve device in the tank body separately from the nozzle, and the water dripping from the nozzle in the tank body can be controlled with a simple configuration. In addition, a trouble-free steam iron can be provided.

In addition, since the holding device is assembled as a unit, the dimensions of the holding device can be controlled independently, which eliminates dimensional variation with each member within the iron body when it is assembled into the recess of the iron body, and improves serviceability. will improve.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sectional view of the main parts of the steam iron of the present invention when the temperature of the base has not reached the temperature that allows vaporization, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same parts, and Figure 3 is the temperature of the base FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the main part when the temperature reaches vaporization temperature, A, B, and C of FIG. A sectional view of the main parts of the steam iron when the temperature of the base has not reached the temperature at which it can be vaporized, Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, and Fig. 7 A and B are sectional views of the main parts and the front view with the lid plate removed. Figures 8A to 8D are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the main parts, Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the steam iron when the temperature of the base reaches a temperature at which it can be vaporized, showing another embodiment, and Fig. 10 The figure is an exploded perspective view of main parts, Figure 11 is a side view of the holding device when the temperature of the base does not reach the temperature that can be vaporized, Figure 13 is a side view of the holding device when the temperature of the base reaches a temperature that allows it to vaporize, and Figure 14 A,
B, C, and D are explanatory diagrams of the operation in FIG. 12. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Heater, 5... Vaporization chamber, 9... Base, 11... Bimetal plate (thermal responsive member), 13... Recess, 15... Tank body, 1
6... Nozzle, 19... Opening/closing rod, 24, 67...
Operation button, 38...holding device.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A base having a heater and forming a vaporization chamber; a tank body installed above the base and having a nozzle communicating with the vaporization chamber at the bottom;
The nozzle is provided with an opening/closing rod for opening and closing the nozzle, an operation button for operating the opening/closing rod from the outside, and a thermally responsive member provided on the base and reversely operated by the heat of the base. A steam iron characterized by comprising a holding device that is linked to a response member and selects whether or not to maintain the open state of the nozzle by operating the operation button based on the operation of the thermal response member. (2) The steam iron according to claim 1, wherein the holding device is unitized and housed in a recess of a base provided on the upper surface of the assembly base.