JPH04259500A - Iron - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the high temperature heat generation section of an iron from erroneously coming in contact with a human body, a flammable material or the like by alarming the temperature of the heat generation section, even when a power supply is turned off. CONSTITUTION:Thermo-power generation elements 15 are buried in the heat generation section 14 of an iron body 12. These elements 15 detect the temperature of the heat generation section 14, and generate the predetermined thermo- electromotive force, when the heat generation section 14 rises to a temperature equal to or above the predetermined level. An indicator lamp 15 electrically connected to the elements 15 is turned on via the aforesaid thermo-electromotive force.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an iron with a high temperature alarm function.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an iron has a heating mechanism built into the main body of the iron, and a part of the surface of the main body is formed flat to serve as a heat generating part. Turn on/off this heating mechanism
The OFF state was made by a switch, and the ON/OFF state was indicated by an indicator lamp etc. arranged in a part of the main body. The power source for this indicator lamp was the same as that for the heating mechanism. Alternatively, instead of this indicator lamp, an indicator was provided to display the temperature of the heat generating part during use of the iron.

[0003] Therefore, when the power is turned on, a display lamp or indicator indicates whether the temperature of the heat generating part is at an appropriate level. When the power is turned off, the indicator does not perform its display function.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, with such conventional irons, it is not possible to know the temperature of the heat generating part when the power is turned off, so if a person accidentally comes into contact with the high temperature heat generating part, It had the disadvantage of causing burns. Additionally, there was a risk of a fire if a flammable object accidentally came into contact with the high-temperature heat generating part.

[0005]

[Object of the Invention] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an iron that can notify the temperature of the heat generating part even when the power is off, and that prevents people, flammable substances, etc. from accidentally coming into contact with the high temperature heat generating part. is its purpose.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a thermoelectric generating element that detects when a heat generating part reaches a certain temperature and generates an electromotive force, and a warning means that issues an alarm using the electromotive force of the thermoelectric generating element. It is an iron with .

[0007]

According to the present invention, the temperature of the heat generating portion is detected by the thermoelectric generating element, and when the temperature exceeds a certain temperature, a predetermined thermoelectromotive force is generated. Then, the warning means issues an alarm using this thermoelectromotive force. For example, turn on a warning lamp or sound an alarm buzzer.

[0008]

[Example] The iron according to the present invention will be explained below based on an example.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] In these figures, 11 indicates an iron. This iron 11 includes an iron main body 12,
A handle 13 attached to this iron body 12,
have.

[0011] This iron main body 12 has a built-in heating mechanism, and this heating mechanism is turned on/off by a power switch (not shown). The surface of the iron main body 12 opposite to the handle 13 is formed flat, and this flat surface is used as a heat generating part 14.

This heating section 14 has three thermoelectric generating elements 15.
are scattered and buried. These thermoelectric generating elements 15 are arranged in the heat generating section 14 in a distributed manner. These thermoelectric generating elements 15 detect the temperature of the heat generating portion 14 and generate a predetermined thermoelectromotive force when this temperature rises above a certain value.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an indicator lamp 16 is fixedly provided on the bottom side of the iron main body 12 and below the heat generating part 14. This indicator lamp 16 is electrically connected to each thermoelectric generating element 15, and is configured to light up when the thermoelectric generating element 15 generates a thermoelectromotive force.

As shown in FIG. 2, the thermoelectric generating element 15 is composed of a sheet-like thermocouple, and has a thermocouple pattern adhered to an insulating, substantially rectangular substrate 17. This thermocouple pattern consists of an FeSi2 thin film 18 that is an N-type semiconductor and an FeSi2 thin film 19 that is a P-type semiconductor, and one end of each of these strip-shaped thin films 18 and 19 is connected. The connected portion (one end side) of these thin films 18 and 19 is disposed on the heat generating section 14, and the non-connected portion (other end side) is disposed on a non-heat generating portion, for example, a portion where the indicator lamp 16 is disposed, or , is disposed in a portion of the heat generating portion 14 that is not directly heated by the heat generated through the heat shielding material and does not rise in temperature. Further, the other ends of these thin films 18 and 19 are connected to the terminals of the indicator lamp 16, respectively.

[0015] Therefore, in this iron 11, when the power switch is turned on, the heat generating part 14 becomes high in temperature by the heating mechanism, and a predetermined work can be performed. Then, when the power switch is turned off, the temperature of the heat generating section 14 will also gradually decrease.

In this case, the temperature of the heat generating section 14 is detected by the thermoelectric generating element 15, and the temperature of the heat generating section 14 is maintained at a constant temperature (
For example, when the temperature is higher than 60°C, a thermoelectromotive force is generated in the thermoelectric generating element 15, and the indicator lamp 16 is lit. Therefore, even if the power switch is turned OFF, the display lamp 16 is lit for a predetermined period of time, that is, while the heat generating portion 14 is cooled down to below a certain temperature, to issue a warning.

Note that when the heat generating section 14 is cooled down to below the above-mentioned certain temperature, the indicator lamp 16 turns off and the heat generating section 14
It is safe and will not cause burns even if a person touches it.

Further, in the thermoelectric generating element 15, thin film thermocouple patterns 18 and 19 are deposited on an insulating substrate 17 made of glass, epoxy resin, etc. by, for example, vapor deposition or sputtering, and patterned by a lithography process. , deposited and formed. By using this lithography method, a large number of thermocouples can be formed in a small area, so high sensitivity can be easily achieved.

Since FeSi2-based compounds 18 and 19 were used as the material for the thermocouple, it has high oxidation resistance and is stable even at high temperatures, and can easily be operated as a thermoelectric element at the optimum temperature for exothermic reactions.

The thermocouple pattern may be formed from common thermocouple materials such as copper-constantan, alumel-chromel, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows an iron according to a second embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, a thermoelectric generating element 31 formed in the form of a seal is attached to a heat generating portion 32. Also,
As a warning means, a buzzer 33 electrically connected to the thermoelectric generating element 31 is used. This buzzer 33 is activated by the electromotive force from the thermoelectric generating element 31 to issue a warning that the temperature is high. Note that the mounting position of this buzzer 33 is not limited to only below the heat generating part 32 as shown in the figure. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an iron according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a thermoelectric generating element 41 formed in the form of a seal is attached to the heat generating part 42, and a meter 44 is disposed below the heat generating part 42 in a part of the iron main body 43. This meter 44 displays a temperature corresponding to the temperature detected by the thermoelectric generating element 41, and is used as a warning means by, for example, turning the display part of the meter in red when the temperature exceeds a certain temperature (60° C.). The other configurations and operations are the same as those of the above embodiment.

[0025]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, an alarm is issued when the temperature of the heat generating part rises even when the power is off, thereby preventing the human body or combustible material from accidentally coming into contact with the heat generating part. It disappears. Moreover, there is no need to separately provide a power source for the alarm means, and a small and compact iron can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an iron according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the thermoelectric generating element according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an iron according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an iron according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Iron 14 Heat generating part 15 Thermoelectric power generation element 16 Indication lamp

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] It is characterized by comprising a thermoelectric generating element that detects when the heat generating part reaches a certain temperature and generates an electromotive force, and a warning means that issues an alarm by the electromotive force of the thermoelectric generating element. iron.