JPH0375196B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a steam iron with a removable tank that is very easy to drain, and to a device for fixing the tank to the iron body.

Structure of a conventional example and its problems The structure of a conventional steam iron with a detachable tank will be explained with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 101 is a base in which a heater 102 is embedded, 103 is a base cover that covers the base 101, and a handle 104 and a removable tank 105 in front of the handle are provided on the top of the base cover. Reference numeral 106 denotes a handle grip part formed on the upper part of the handle 104, and a tank holding body 10 is attached to the front part of the upper surface of the handle grip part 106.
7 is inserted and is urged forward by a spring 108. 109 is a convex portion provided on the rear surface of the tank 105, which engages with the tank holding body 107 to hold the tank 10.
5 is held fixed. 110 is a tank holding body 107
This is a convex finger stop that is integrally molded on the tank holder 107 for sliding operation.

According to such a conventional configuration, the tank 105
is generally attached and detached by sliding the finger stop part 110 of the presser foot 107, and when the handle grip part 106 is held by hand, the finger stop part 11
The downside was that it was difficult to iron because my hand touched the 0. Furthermore, when adding another ironing function, it is more convenient than before to provide another operating body, such as a switch, in front of the handle grip 106.
There was a high risk of malfunction due to contact with hands, etc., and this was virtually impossible. Others, tank 10
When forming the convex part 109 on the fifth part, it was necessary to use a slide mold to form the convex part 109 because there was a concave part 109a on the lower surface of the convex part 109.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron having a tank fixing device that does not impair the function of the handle grip.

Structure of the Invention The present invention has a tank detachably attached to the front part of the handle, a convex part provided on the rear surface of the tank, and a tank fixing device attached to the front leg part of the handle opposite to the convex part, The operating section of this tank fixing device is provided on the front leg of the handle, thereby providing a steam iron that is easy to grip and use.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In Figures 3 and 4,
1 is a base in which a heater 2 is embedded, 3 is a base cover that covers the base 1, and a handle 4 and a removable tank 5 are installed on the base cover in front of the handle 4.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a convex portion formed on the rear surface of the tank 5, and since the convex portion does not have a concave portion or the like in its lower part, it can be easily formed when forming the tank 5 using only the upper and lower molds. 7 is the front leg of the handle 4, and when the tank 5 is attached, the protrusion 6
A through hole 7a is provided at the position of the front leg portion 7 that faces each other,
The tank fixing device includes a presser body 8, an operating lever 9 for operating the presser body 8, and an elastic member described later that biases the presser body 8 toward the tank 5. Since this tank fixing device is located below the handle grip part 10 above the handle 4, it is easy to use because hands do not come into contact with it during ironing work, and the tank fixing device is easy to operate. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the presser body 8 has a hole 11 into which the operating lever 9 fits, a spring body 11a which is an elastic member, and a through hole 7a provided in the front leg of the handle. A substantially L-shaped operating lever 9 having a finger rest 12 and a contact surface 14 with a wall surface 13 provided substantially perpendicularly to the back surface of the front leg portion 7 is engaged through the lever. Here, to unlock the tank 5, rotate the operating lever 9 in the direction of arrow A.
3 and the contact portion 15 of the contact surface 14 of the control lever 9 as a fulcrum, the control lever 9 rotates and the presser foot 8 slides, so that the convex portion 6 of the tank 5 is lower than the tank presser surface 16 at the bottom of the presser foot 8. It comes off. When locking the tank 5, the rear surface 17 of the protrusion of the tank 5 is brought into contact with the presser 8, and the presser 8 is slid. When the protrusion 6 of the tank 5 is located at the lower part of the tank presser surface 16, the spring is released. The presser body 8 urged toward the tank by the body 11a engages with the convex portion 6 and is locked. FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment in which the operating angle θ of the operating lever is made smaller than that of the above-mentioned embodiment to attach and detach the tank 5.
The upper part of the wall surface 13 and the contact surface 1 of the operating lever 9
By tilting the upper part of 4 toward the tank 5 side,
The position of the contact portion 15 is closer to the tank 5 side, and the tank 5 can be attached and detached with a smaller operating angle θ. Furthermore, FIGS. 9 to 11 show another embodiment in which the presser body 8 and the spring body 11a are integrally formed, and a part of the presser body 8 has an elastic piece 18 that is an elastic member. The spring body 11 is made of an elastic resin such as polyacetal, and has a shape that can be biased toward the tank 5 side.
A can be eliminated, improving assembly efficiency and reducing costs.

Effects of the Invention As described above, in the present invention, since the operation part of the tank fixing device is provided on the front leg of the handle, the length of the grip part necessary and sufficient for gripping the iron can be secured, and the usability can be improved. At the same time, it prevents incorrect operation caused by hands touching the control part during use, while at the same time solving contradictory problems, such as when removing the tank, the tank can be easily operated by simply extending the tip of the index finger while grasping the grip part. This allows for improved operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional steam iron.
Figure 2 is an external view of the steam iron with the tank removed, Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the steam iron according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an external view of the steam iron with the tank removed, and Figure 5 is an external view of the steam iron with the tank removed. The figure is an enlarged sectional view of the same tank fixing device, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the same tank fixing device, FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of a tank fixing device of another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the same tank fixing device. FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the holding body 8 of another embodiment, FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of the tank fixing device, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of the tank fixing device. 1...Base, 2...Heater, 3...Base cover, 4...Handle, 5...Tank, 6...Protrusion,
7... Front leg portion, 7a... Through hole, 8... Presser body,
9... Operation lever, 10... Handle grip, 11a
... Spring body (elastic member), 13 ... Wall surface, 18 ...
...Elastic piece (elastic member).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device comprising a base in which a heater is embedded, a base cover that covers the base, a handle provided above the base cover, and a tank detachably attached in front of the handle. A steam iron having a protrusion on the rear surface, a tank fixing device attached to the front leg of the handle opposite to the protrusion, and an operating part of the tank fixing device provided on the front leg of the handle. 2. The tank fixing device consists of a presser body that fits into a through hole provided in the front leg of the handle, an operating section that is composed of an approximately L-shaped operating lever that engages with the presser body, and a control section that is configured by connecting the presser body to the tank side. The operating lever has its upper end facing a wall surface provided substantially perpendicularly to the back surface of the front leg, and the presser body can be moved in and out by rotating the operating lever. A steam iron according to claim 1. 3. The steam iron according to claim 2, wherein the wall surface provided on the front leg of the handle has an upper portion inclined toward the tank side. 4. The steam iron according to claim 2, wherein the presser body is made of an elastic material, and an elastic piece for biasing the presser body toward the tank is formed integrally with the presser body.