JPH04361712A - Electric hot-water storing vessel of circulative purification type - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remove bad odor and foreign matters such as bleaching powder, etc.) satisfactorily by furnishing a purification part in a part of a circulation part situated on the lid side, therewith purifying the liquid in circulation using a purifying agent, and furnishing a selecting means to allow either the discharge path or circulation path to be in service alternatively. CONSTITUTION:A pour-out path 11 and a circulation path 301 are put in service alternatively by a selecting means 302, wherein the pour-out path 11 pours out the liquid in circulation to outside the apparatus body 1 in cooperation with a pump 13, while the circulation path 301 leads the liquid once to outside the apparatus body 1 in cooperation with the pump 13, returns it again into the apparatus body 1, and allows it to circulate. A purification part 306 is furnished in a part of the lid side circulating path 301b of this circulation path 11 in order to purify the liquid in circulation while it passes through a purifying agent, so that iterative forced purification can be performed by circulating the liquid as many cycles as the situation requires, and the liquid after purification may be used upon pouring-out.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating purification type electric hot water storage container, and more particularly to a circulating purification type electric hot water storage container that can purify and store hot water while circulating its contents.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Many electric hot water storage containers have been provided as household electric pots.

[0003] This device keeps the liquid in a warm state, or stores hot water in a warm state after boiling, so that the liquid at the temperature required for brewing coffee or tea can be supplied at any time.

[0004] The liquid content is heated for boiling the water or keeping it warm, and in particular, heating for boiling the water brings the liquid to a boiling point, which causes off-odor or foul odors such as calcium chloride or trihalomethane, which is a compound thereof. Foreign matter is emitted.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned foreign substances cannot be sufficiently dissipated only by heating for keeping warm or boiling water.

[0006] Therefore, it has been considered to increase the scale removal effect by continuing the boiling state for a predetermined period of time, or repeating it repeatedly.

[0007] Even with this, however, it is difficult for the dispersed scale to escape from the vessel, and it remains inside the vessel and adheres to the surroundings of the vessel, and the attached scale tends to be returned to the liquid content, so it is difficult to remove scale. However, it is still insufficient.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention focuses on a pump installed in this type of electric hot water storage container, and allows the content liquid to be poured out by circulating the content liquid with the pump and passing it through the purifying agent as necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a circulating purification type electric hot water storage container that can sufficiently remove foreign substances such as foreign substances such as odor and limescale without causing any adverse effects.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a dispensing path for guiding the liquid inside the container to the outside of the container, and a dispensing path for guiding the liquid inside the container to the outside of the container. It is equipped with a circulation path that returns the liquid to the inside of the container again, and a pump that pours out the liquid content outside the container and circulates it through these pouring paths and circulation paths. and a lid-side circulation path connected to the vessel body-side circulation path through a connection part that is provided on the side and allows the lid to be opened and closed by any of disconnection, flexibility, expansion and contraction, and the lid The main feature is that a purification section is provided in a part of the side circulation path to purify the circulating content liquid with a purification agent, and selection means is provided for selectively operating the pouring path and the circulation path.

[0010] The spouting path and the circulation path are formed by branching from a common path inside the container, and the selection means is a switching valve provided at this branching portion to switch and connect the common path between the spouting path side and the circulation path side. Preferably, the pump is one electric pump that drains the liquid inside the container into the common path.

[0011] Furthermore, it is more preferable that the purifying section removably accommodates the purifying agent cassette through a removable opening opened on one side around the lid.

0012

[Operation] According to the above configuration of the main feature of the present invention, the pouring path and the circulation path are selectively operated by the selection means,
The dispensing path works with the pump to pour out the liquid inside the container, and the circulation path works with the pump to lead the liquid out of the container and then return it to the inside of the container for circulation. In particular, a part of the circulation path on the lid side of the circulation path is provided with a purification section to purify the circulated content liquid by passing through the purification agent, so that the content liquid can be circulated as necessary. By doing so, it is possible to perform forced purification repeatedly and pour out the purified content liquid for use.

[0013]Furthermore, the lid takes up space and the purification section can be easily installed therein, and is located at the upper end of the container so that it can be opened and closed, and a part thereof faces the container and the inside of the container. Since the purification section can be opened to the outside, the purification section can be easily located in a part of the flow of the circulated content liquid, and can also be easily subjected to maintenance management from the outside.

[0014] Furthermore, if the pouring path and the circulation path are formed by branching from a common path inside the container, and the side switched by the switching valve is operated by sharing one electric pump, the flow rate will be reduced. Most of the channel structure and the structure for dispensing and circulating the content liquid through this channel are made common, and the content liquid can be circulated for purification or poured out for use with a simple switching operation using a switching valve. can do.

[0015] In addition, when the purification section is configured to removably accommodate the purification agent cassette through an opening on one side around the lid, the purification section is normally stored inside the container with the lid closed and is not exposed to the outside. The cleaning agent cartridge can be protected from dirt and tampering, and if necessary, by opening the lid, it can be exposed to the outside and the cleaning agent cartridge can be easily attached, detached, and replaced.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment shows the case of an electric kettle that can boil water and dispenses the contents using a non-pressurized electric pump. As shown in FIG. 1, the inner container 2 with the heater 61 applied to the lower surface of the bottom is accommodated in the outer case 3 to constitute the container body 1.

The upper end flange of the inner container 2 is received by a synthetic resin shoulder member 4 that is force-fitted onto the upper end of the outer case 3.

A bottom ring 5 made of synthetic resin is applied to the lower end of the outer case 3, and this bottom ring 5 and the bottom of the inner container 2 are connected by a connecting fitting (not shown) to connect the outer case 3.
, the inner container 2 and the bottom ring 5 are integrated with each other. A bottom cover 10 is attached to the opening of the bottom ring 5 by fitting a plurality of claws and fixing with a screw at one place. Sitting body 9
are rotatably fitted, and when the container 1 is placed in place, the container 3 slides on the rotating seat 9 and is rotated.

[0020] A dispensing channel 11 for dispensing the content liquid is connected to the bottom of the inner container 2. This spouting passage 11 is a space between the inner container 2 and the outer case 3, and rises up into the beak-shaped protrusion 12 provided at the front part of the shoulder member 4, and is bent into an inverted U-shape at this part. The discharge port 19 opens downward. A dispensing pump 13 is provided at a portion of the dispensing passage 11 below the inner container 2 and is driven by a motor 14 for delivering the content liquid flowing into the dispensing passage 11 to the discharge port 19.

A liquid injection guide 16 is attached to the lower cover 15 attached to the front part of the exterior case 3, which is attached to the lower side of the beak-like protrusion 12.
The content liquid discharged from the discharge port 19 is once exposed to the atmosphere, and then received by the liquid injection guide 16 and guided and injected. The liquid injection guide 16 has a double pipe structure, which allows the discharged liquid to be easily released to the atmosphere, and when injecting the liquid, it sucks in outside air and, together with the foam-breaking net 20, turns the liquid into fine bubbles, making it very quiet. What's more, the liquid can be injected without splashing.

The liquid injection guide 16 is removably attached to the lower cover 15 by a threaded portion 18 into an opening provided therein. Further, a liquid amount detection section 21 is provided that detects the liquid amount using a capacitance method or a photosensor method, taking advantage of the fact that the rising portion of the pouring path 11 has the same liquid level as the inner container 2.

A heat shield plate 24 is screwed to the bottom of the inner container 2 using metal fittings 23, and a restraining spring 28 is sandwiched between the heat shield plate 24 and the back side of the heater 61. 61 is pressed against the lower surface of the bottom of the inner container 2. The motor 14 is attached to a part of the heat shield plate 24.

A temperature sensor 33 for sensing the temperature of the liquid inside is provided in the central through hole of the heater 61, and a holding plate 35 screwed to the heat shield plate 24 holds the temperature sensor 33 through the heat shield wall. are doing.

A circuit housing box 41 is provided on the bottom ring 5. The circuit housing box 41 consists of a lid part 42 integrally molded with the bottom ring 4, and a container part 44 attached to the lid part 42 from below. A seal packing 47 is sandwiched between the container part 44 and the lid part 42, thereby making the circuit housing box 42 a sealed container. This makes the circuit board 48 housed in the circuit housing box 41 sufficiently waterproof.

A container lid 62 is provided at the upper end of the container 1. The container lid 62 has a hinge pin 6 attached to the shoulder member 4 at the rear thereof.
3, it is pivotally connected so that it can be opened and closed. This pivoting is performed with respect to a bearing member 64 that is removably fitted to the shoulder member 4, so that the container lid 62 can be attached and detached by attaching and detaching the bearing member 64. This makes it easier to clean the inside of the container 1 and to supply and drain the liquid inside.

The bearing member 64 is inserted from above into the recess 65 of the shoulder member 4, and the resin spring piece 164 is elastically engaged with the locking portion 66 within the recess 65, thereby preventing the bearing member 64 from accidentally falling off. In order to reliably lock and release the bearing member 64 in the installed state, a locking member 67 whose hook portion elastically engages with a portion of the bearing member 64 inserted into the recess 65 is used.
is provided, and in order to release this lock, the lock member 67 is slid in the lock release direction against the spring 221.

The spring 6 is connected between the container lid 62 and the bearing member 64.
8 in the opening direction, and the container lid 62 is in the closed state.
A locking member 69 provided at the front end of the shoulder member 4 is engaged with a locking portion 72 provided on a portion of the shoulder member 4 under the bias of a spring 71, thereby being locked.

The locking member 69 is guided in its forward and backward movement by a protrusion 83 formed on the upper surface of the back plate 82 of the container lid 62.

On the slope 75 of the lock member 72, the container lid 6 is attached.
A protrusion 78 at the tip of a lock release lever 77 whose rear portion is pivotally mounted by a shaft 76 is in contact with the bearing 201 in the lock release lever 77 . This lock release lever 77 is connected to the lock member 69.
When the spring 71 advances to the engagement position, the slope 75 pushes upward through the protrusion 78, and the operating portion 79 at the tip moves from the upper opening 81 of the container lid 62 to the container lid 62. It is exposed flush with the surface of 62.

When the operating portion 79 is pressed down in this state, the lock release lever 77 is rotated counterclockwise and the protrusion 78 is rotated.
The slope 75 of the locking member 69 is pushed, the locking member 69 is moved backward against the spring 68, and the locking member 69 is disengaged from the locking portion 72. Therefore, the container lid 62 is unlocked in the closed state. At the time when this unlocking is completed, there is play between the lock release lever 77 and the container lid 62 in the direction of releasing the lock, and the container lid 62 has a lock release lever 77 released from the pressing operation. Irrespective of the reason, the spring 68 rotates a little in the opening direction.

As a result, the locking member 69 is slightly shifted upward from the position of the locking portion 72, so that when the lock is released and the user naturally releases his/her hand from the operating portion 79, the locking member 69 is reattached to the locking portion 72. The container lid 62 is automatically opened to the fully open state by the spring 68 without any engagement.

A safety member 111 is attached to the lock release lever 77.
are forced to work. The safety member 111 is supported by the container lid 62 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the lock release lever 77. When the operating part 112 is operated to slide, the locking part 113 moves forward and backward under the tip of the lock release lever 77, and when it is under the tip, it blocks the movement of the lock release lever 77 and prevents the lock release lever 77 from moving. Prevents unauthorized unlocking.

A spring piece 84 that presses against the outer circumference of the bearing member 64 is attached to the rear part of the container lid 62 with screws 85. This spring piece 84 comes into sliding contact with the outer periphery of the bearing member 64 when the container lid 62 is opened and closed, and the container lid 62 is rotated by the spring 6.
8 exerts a brake on the opening operation when opened. Therefore, the automatic opening operation of the container lid 62 at the time of unlocking is performed slowly.

The inner container 2 is provided on the lower surface of the back plate 82 of the container lid 62.
A metal inner lid 85 is applied to close the rear part of the housing, and is secured with screws at positions not shown. A seal packing 86 facing the mouth edge of the inner container 2 is sandwiched between the outer periphery of the inner lid 85 and the back plate 82, and when the container lid 62 is closed, the inner lid 85 is closed by this seal packing 86. It contacts the mouth edge of the inner container 2 and closes the inner container 2.

A steam passage 87 is provided between the inner lid 85 and the back plate 82 to allow steam generated within the inner container 2 to escape to the outside. The steam passage 87 has an opening 88 to the inner container 2 side in the inner lid 85 and an opening 89 to the outside on the upper surface of the rear side of the container lid 62. A valve chamber 91 that is fitted into the back plate 82 from below is provided in the opening 88, and a water stop valve 92 that closes when the container body 1 falls is provided therein.

Control circuit 1 installed on the circuit board 48
00 uses the microcomputer 101. A dispensing operation key 102 provided on an operation panel 201 provided on the top surface of the beak-shaped protrusion 12 is provided to press a pressure sensor 103, and the pressure sensor 103 detects the difference in pressing force during the dispensing operation. By converting the signal into an electrical signal and inputting it to the microcomputer 101 (FIG. 3), the driving voltage of the dispensing pump 13 is switched and the dispensing flow rate is controlled to increase or decrease.

Further, from the upper end of the inverted U-shaped bent portion of the spouting passage 11, there is a circulation passage 301 for returning the content liquid into the inner container 2.
are branched and connected via a switching valve 302. This circulation path 301 is composed of a container side circulation path 301a that opens from inside the container body 1 to the inner circumferential surface of the shoulder portion, and a lid side circulation path 301b provided in the container lid 62.

When the container lid 62 is closed, the lid-side circulation path 301b has one end 304 opposed to the mouth packing 303 of the opening of the container-side circulation path 301a and is press-contacted to be disconnectably connected to the other. The other end 305 protrudes from the lower surface of the inner lid 85 and faces into the inner container 2.

The switching valve 302 directs the content liquid sent out by the spouting pump 13 through the spouting passage 11 to the discharge port 19.
This switch is used to switch between guiding the water to the side of the circulation path 301 or the side of the circulation path 301.

[0041] Accordingly, the content liquid can be poured out from the spouting passage 11 to the discharge port 19 according to the switching operation of the switching valve 302, and can also be poured out from the spouting passage 11 to the circulation passage 3.
01 and returned to the inner container 2.

[0042] By repeating this process, the content liquid can be circulated for a predetermined period of time by flowing from the pouring path 11 to the circulation path 301 and returning to the inner container 2. In order to repeatedly purify this circulated content liquid, a purifying section 306 is provided on the other end 305 side of the lid-side circulation path 301b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the purifying section 306 consists of a case 307 that is forcefully fitted into the opening 310 of the inner lid 85, and a purifying agent cartridge 309 that is removably attached to the case 307 using a threaded portion 308. The cleaning agent cartridge 309 contains a cleaning agent such as activated carbon 311 that can remove odors and foreign substances.

The switching valve 302 can be connected to an operating lever located outside the container body 1 so that it can be manually operated from the outside, but it can be used as a solenoid valve to operate the switching valve 302 internally by the dispensing operation of the dispensing pump 13. It is convenient to automatically switch so that the solution is guided to the discharge port 19 side, and to switch the other parts so that the content liquid flows to the circulation path 301 side.

In this case, the pouring pump 13 is operated by the switching valve 302.
is switched to the circulation path 301 side at an appropriate time when not pouring, for example, while boiling the content liquid or maintaining boiling for descaling, or at a certain point during keeping warm, or at every predetermined time. Purification can be performed by

Furthermore, when the content liquid is at the lower limit water level, there is no need to carry out the purification operation by circulating the content liquid as described above. It is preferable to control so that the circulation purification process of the content liquid is not performed.

The operation panel 201 is as shown in FIG. 2, and includes, in addition to the pouring operation key 102, a reboiling/scaling setting key 104, a timer setting key 105, and a liquid volume display section 1.
07. Boiling, descaling, and heat retention display sections 108 to 11
0. Display sections 111 to 113 for displaying timer setting times are provided. Furthermore, when the content liquid is in the boiling state or around the boiling state, or when the liquid level of the content liquid is below the pouring lower limit, pouring is controlled to prevent pouring or circulation purification processing. , a standby display section 106 for circulating purification processing is also provided. Further, the switching valve 302 is also connected to the microcomputer 101 so as to be controlled as described above.

The setting mode of the reboiling/scaling key 104 and the dispensing lock/release key 106 changes in a rotary manner each time they are operated.

FIG. 3 shows a control circuit, and as shown in the figure, the microcomputer 101 includes electrical and electronic components related to the various inputs and outputs such as A/D converters 301 and 302, a switch circuit 303, a drive circuit 304, and a display circuit. 305 as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, the circulation path 301 is formed as a branch from the upper part of the spouting path 11, but it may be formed as a branch from any part, and in some cases, it may be provided independently from the spouting path 11. can. In this case, a pump for circulation purification treatment can be provided separately from the pump for pouring out, if necessary.

[0051] Furthermore, the pump is not limited to an electric type, but a manual type can also be used. Furthermore, even if the circulation path 301 is provided so that the container lid 62 can be opened and closed, it is not limited to the structure of the embodiment described above.

For example, the circulation path 3 runs around the pivot joint of the container lid 62.
01 passes through, and the portion around this pivot portion may be made a flexible portion or an extendable portion so as to be able to respond to the opening/closing operation of the container lid 62.

Further, if the vessel lid 62 is removable as in this embodiment, a part of the circulation path 301 can be disconnected as the lid 62 is attached and detached.

[0054]

Effects of the Invention According to the above configuration of the main features of the present invention, the pouring path and the circulation path are selectively activated by the selection means, and the pouring path injects the liquid out of the container in cooperation with the pump. The circulation path cooperates with the pump to once lead the liquid content out of the vessel and then return it to the vessel for circulation.
Particularly, a part of the circulation path on the lid side of the circulation path is provided with a purification section so that the circulated content liquid passes through a purification agent to purify it, and the content liquid is circulated as necessary. Since the content liquid can be repeatedly forcibly purified and the purified content liquid can be poured out for use, the content liquid that has been sufficiently purified can be poured out and used.

Furthermore, the lid takes up space and the purification section can be easily installed therein, and is located at the upper end of the container so that it can be opened and closed, with a part facing the container and the inside of the container. can be opened to the outside, the purification section can be easily located in a part of the flow of the circulated content liquid, and it can also be easily subjected to maintenance management from the outside, so it is small and convenient to use. It can be provided as a structure.

[0056] Furthermore, if the pouring path and the circulation path are formed by branching from a common path inside the container, and the side switched by the switching valve is operated by sharing one electric pump, the flow rate will be reduced. Most of the channel structure and the structure for dispensing and circulating the content liquid through this channel are made common, and the content liquid can be circulated for purification or poured out for use with a simple switching operation using a switching valve. Therefore, the above characteristics can be exhibited with a simple passage structure and pump structure.

[0057] In addition, when the purification part is configured to removably accommodate the purification agent cassette through the attachment/detachment opening opened on one side around the lid, the purification part is normally stored inside the container with the lid closed and is not exposed to the outside. It protects from dirt and tampering, and when necessary, the lid can be opened to expose the outside and allow for easy installation, removal, and replacement of the purifier cartridge, making it easier and safer to use. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric kettle showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the purifying section of the electric kettle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the electric pot of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1　Vessel body 13 Pour pump 14 Motor 100 Control circuit 101 Microcomputer 301 Circulation path 301a　Vessel body side circulation path 301b Lid side circulation path 302 Switching valve 301 Circulation path 301a　Vessel body side circulation path 301b Lid side circulation path 302 Switching valve 303 Mouth packing 304 One end 306 Purification Department 307 case 308 Threaded part 309 Purification agent cartridge 310 Opening 311 Activated carbon

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A spout path for guiding the liquid inside the vessel to the outside of the vessel, a circulation path for once guiding the liquid inside the vessel outside the vessel and then returning it to the inside of the vessel, and a circulation path for guiding the liquid inside the vessel to the outside of the vessel, and a circulation path for guiding the liquid inside the vessel to the outside of the vessel, and a circulation path for guiding the liquid inside the vessel to the outside of the vessel, and a circulation path for guiding the liquid inside the vessel to the outside of the vessel. and a pump for discharging and circulating the water out of the container, and the circulation path includes a container-side circulation path provided on the container side, and a pump provided on the lid side that can be disconnected or flexible with respect to the container-side circulation path. ,
A purification system that consists of a lid-side circulation path connected via a connecting part that allows the lid to be opened and closed by either expansion or contraction, and purifying the content liquid that is circulated through a part of this lid-side circulation path with a purifying agent. A circulating purification type electric hot water storage container characterized by having a selection means for selectively operating the pouring path and the circulation path. 2. The spouting path and the circulation path are formed by branching from a common path in the container, and the selection means is provided at the branching portion to switch and connect the common path between the spouting path side and the circulation path side. 2. The circulating purification type electric hot water storage container according to claim 1, wherein the valve is a valve, and the pump is an electric pump for causing the liquid inside the container to flow out into the common path. 3. The circulating purification type electric hot water storage container according to claim 1, wherein the purification section removably accommodates the purification agent cassette through an attachment/detachment opening opened on one side around the lid.