JPH0521132A - Foot warmer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate switching operations, and thereby enhance handiness as well as to prevent turning-off of a foot warmer from slipping one's mind while safety is enhanced with energy saved. CONSTITUTION:A recessed spot 9 is provided for the lower surface of a foot warmer main body 7 which includes a cover sheet 2, a metallic plate 3 covered by the cover sheet 2 at its upper surface, a heat insulating body 4 disposed at the lower surface of the metallic plate, and an electric heater 5 embedded in the upper surface of the heat insulating body 4, and the recessed spot 9 is provided with a switch 10 which energizes the electric heater 5 when the recessed spot is depressed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foot warmer which can be improved in usability by automating a switch operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the winter, for example, during standing work in a kitchen, a foot warmer placed on the floor is used to reduce the cold feeling from the floor. In such a foot warmer, conventionally, a switch has been manually opened and closed.

[0003]

However, in the case of manually operating the switch as described above, the operation is sometimes troublesome, power is easily wasted due to forgetting to turn it off, and the safety is poor. Met.

The present invention is based on the provision of a switch, which is pressed by the addition of weight to the foot warmer body and energized to an electric heating body, in a recess provided in the lower surface of the foot warmer body. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a foot warmer that can be opened and closed automatically by simply getting on and off, improving usability, forgetting to turn it off, improving safety and saving energy.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a foot warmer of the present invention is provided with an upper cover sheet, and a soaking material which is arranged on the lower surface of the upper cover sheet and whose upper surface is covered by the upper cover sheet. A metal plate, a heat insulating plate disposed on the lower surface of the heat insulating plate and made of a heat insulating material, an electric heating body embedded in the upper surface of the heat insulating plate, and a lower cover sheet provided on the lower surface of the heat insulating plate. A recess is provided on the lower surface of the foot warmer main body, and a switch for energizing the electric heating body by being pressed is provided in the recess, and the recess is urged downward by a spring and expanded downward. The foot warmer body is recessed by adding weight to the body of the foot warmer, and is covered by a cover cover that presses the switch.

[0006]

The foot warmer has an upper cover sheet, a soaking metal plate disposed on the lower surface of the upper cover sheet, a heat insulating plate body disposed on the lower surface thereof, and an upper surface of the heat insulating plate body. It is equipped with an electric heating element. By using, for example, a cushion floor formed by using vinyl chloride resin as the upper cover sheet, it is possible to improve the appearance of the foot warmer and cover the metal plate to exert an effect such as rust prevention. In addition, the metal plate can evenly transfer the heat generated from the electric heating element over the entire metal plate, and can warm the substantially entire surface of the upper cover sheet without a thermal gradient.
Moreover, since the electric heating element is embedded in the upper surface of the heat insulating plate body, heat is not transferred to the lower cover sheet provided on the lower surface of the heat insulating plate body and in contact with the floor surface, and the upper surface of the foot warmer is efficiently Can be warmed to.

Further, a recess is provided on the lower surface of the foot warmer main body, and a switch for energizing the electric heating body which is pressed by the addition of weight to the foot warmer main body is provided in the recess. Since the metal plate, which is a rigid body, is arranged above the switch, the switch can be pressed through the metal plate even if a person does not ride directly on the switch. When the weight is not added, the switch is opened because the cover for shielding the recess is urged downward by the spring and bulges downward.
In this way, it is possible to open and close the switch only by getting on and off people, eliminating the manual switch operation, it is possible to improve usability and prevent waste of power due to forgetting to turn it off, etc.
Moreover, safety can be improved.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The foot warmer 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings by taking as an example the case where the foot warmer 1 is placed on the floor surface in front of a kitchen stand A as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 8, the kitchen stand A has, in this example, a pedestal portion D at the lower end of the kitchen stand body C having a sink B on the upper surface.
In addition, an outlet E to which the electric cord 14 of the foot warmer 1 is connected is provided.

1 to 4, the foot warmer 1 includes an upper cover sheet 2, a metal plate 3, a heat insulating plate body 4, an electric heating body 5, and a lower cover sheet 6.
The foot warmer main body 7 is composed of the above, and a recess 9 is provided in the lower surface of the foot warmer main body 7, and the switch 10 is disposed in the recess 9. Further, the recess 9 is shielded by a cover cover 12 which is urged downward by a spring 11 and swells downward, and in the present embodiment, is connected to the electric heating body 5 at a side edge of the foot warmer main body 7. Electrical cord 14
There is provided a cord cover main body 15 for housing the.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foot warmer main body 7 has a laterally long rectangular outer peripheral shape in this example, and the outer peripheral edge of the upper cover sheet 2 is on the upper surface of the outer peripheral edge of the lower cover sheet 6. In addition to being fixed, the heat insulating plate body 4 in which the electric heating body 5 is embedded and the metal plate 3 are interposed between the upper cover sheet 2 and the lower cover sheet 6.

As the upper cover sheet 2, for example, a cushion floor formed by using vinyl chloride resin can be used, and as the lower cover sheet 6, for example, a felt having elasticity is used. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer cover sheet 2 has its outer peripheral edge sewn on the upper surface of the outer peripheral edge of the lower cover sheet 6, and in the present example, as shown in FIG.
The upper cover sheet 2 is fixed to the lower cover sheet 6 also in the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the fold portion 2 for folding the foot warmer 1 into two folds by facing the upper cover sheet 2 along the fixed portion.
5 is formed.

The metal plate 3 is a substantially rectangular plate for soaking, which is made of, for example, a zinc iron plate, is arranged on the lower surface of the upper cover sheet 2, and the upper surface is covered with the upper cover sheet 2. The metal plates 3 are arranged on both sides of the folding portion 25 and can be folded along the folding portion 25, as shown by a broken line in FIG. Further, the heat insulating plate body 4 is arranged on the lower surface of the metal plate 3.

The heat insulating plate 4 is molded using a heat insulating material such as foamed polyethylene, and an electric heating element 5 is embedded in the upper surface thereof. The electric heating body 5 is formed by embedding a heating wire 5A covered with a protective tube having heat conductivity in a meandering manner over substantially the entire upper surface of the heat insulating plate 4, and the upper surface thereof is covered by the metal plate 3
It is in contact with the bottom surface. Therefore, the heat emitted from the heating wire 5A is conducted to the metal plate 3, and the heat is evenly spread in the metal plate 3. The heating elements 5 and 5 embedded in the heat insulating plates 4 and 4 disposed on both sides of the folding portion 25 are connected by connecting the heating wires 5A and 5A with lead wires covered with a protective tube. To be done.

The heat insulating plate 4 is placed on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet 6 to form the foot warmer body 7, and the lower surface of the foot warmer body 7 has a recess 9 for disposing the switch 10. Is provided.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the recess 9 is formed by cutting out the heat insulating plate 4 and the lower cover sheet 6 in a circular shape, and the switch 9 is provided in the recess 9. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG.
5 is formed in two places on both sides, and the upper side is covered by the metal plates 3 and 3 provided in each part.

The switch 10 is attached to the recess 9 via a switch attachment 33. Switch fixture 33
Is a plastic switch that fits in the recess 9 and has a large-diameter hole portion 30 and a small-diameter cylindrical groove portion 31 integrally formed therein, and a cylindrical switch mounting from the upper surface of the groove portion 31. A piece 32 is hanging. The switch 10 is
In this example, the movable contact portion 10A extending obliquely downward and the switch main body portion 10B fixed to the recess 9 by being fitted in the lower open groove portion 32A formed by the switch mounting piece 32 are provided. The lower edge of the portion 10A is provided so as to project downward from the lower surface of the lower cover sheet 6.

Further, the recess 9 is shielded by a cover 12 fixed to the hole 30. In this example, the cover cover 12 has a horizontal fixing portion 34 whose peripheral portion abuts on the horizontal step portion 30A of the hole portion 30, and an expansion bulging downward from the inner edge of the fixing portion 34 beyond the lower surface of the lower cover sheet 6. The lower cover cover 12A including the projecting portion 35, and the lower cover cover 12
A includes an upper cover cover 12B disposed along the upper surface.
In the lower cover 12A, a rectangular lower plate 36 having a hole into which the bulging portion 35 is fitted is fixed to the lower surface of the lower cover sheet 6 with screws or the like so that the fixing portion 34 is fixed to the lower plate 36. And the stepped portion 30A, and fixed in the recess 9. Further, the lower cover cover 1 along the upper surface of the bulging portion 35
The bulging portion 12B1 of 2B is urged downward by the spring 11 wound around the switch mounting piece 32, whereby the bulging portion 35 maintains its shape and the movable contact portion of the switch 10 is held. 10A is an upper cover 12
It is maintained on the bulging portion 12B1 of B apart from the contact of the switch body 10B. The upper and lower covers 12A, 1
2B is made of a flexible material such as rubber.

However, the main switch S provided on the controller case 44 arranged at the side edge of the foot warmer main body 7 is turned on in advance to make the pilot lamp PL1 emit light as shown in FIG. The electric circuit EA is closed. When a person further rides on the upper cover sheet 2, the bulging portion 35 of the lower cover cover 12A is recessed upward due to the addition of weight, and the movable contact portion 10A causes the switch main body portion 10B.
Then, the switch 10 is closed by being pressed by, and the electric heating element 5 is energized. Further, when the weight is removed, the spring 11 restores the original shape of the bulging portion 35 bulging downward, and the movable contact portion 10A is separated from the switch body portion 10B accordingly, and the electric heating element 5 is energized. Turn off. Thus switch 10
Automatically opens and closes as people get in and out of the car, eliminating the need for manual switch operations and improving usability.

In this example, the timer that is energized when the switch 10 is opened and closed is set to the controller case 44.
It is provided inside. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the switch 10 is closed, a current flows through the drive unit TLR of the timer provided in the electric circuit EB, the timer is energized, and
Simultaneously with the energization, the a contact TLR-a of the electric circuit EC operates to close the electric circuit EC and a current flows through the electric heating element 5.
Further, when the switch 10 is opened, current does not flow to the driving unit TLR of the timer, and the timer is deactivated, but by setting the timer to 10 minutes, for example, the a contact TLR-a does not open immediately and After a lapse of minutes, contact point TLR
-A opens and opens the electrical circuit EC. Therefore, the electric heating element 5
Can maintain the energized state for 10 minutes after the switch 10 is opened, that is, when the person gets off the foot warmer main body 7. The energized state can be known by the light emission of the pilot lamp PL2 connected in parallel to the electric heating element 5.

Further, a bimetal type thermostat 40 is interposed in the electric circuit EC to prevent overheating.

On the side edge of the foot warmer body 7, the heating wire 5 is provided.
A cord cover main body 15 that accommodates the electric cord 14 connected to A is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cord cover main body 15 has a U-shaped cross section which is fixed by sandwiching the upper cover sheet 2 and the lower cover sheet 6 on the respective side edges on both sides of the folding portion 25. A base 16 and a vertically-oriented rectangular front piece 19 forming a downwardly open groove 17 extending along the side edge between the base 16 and the side piece 2 for closing the groove 17 at the side end of the groove 17.
An outer peripheral portion 21 consisting of 0 and 0 is provided. The front piece 19 and the base 16 are connected by a connecting piece 42 to form the upper surface of the groove 17.

Further, the front piece 19 and the side piece 2 of the outer peripheral portion 21.
No. 0 has an electrical cord 14 by notching its lower edge.
To form a fitting insertion portion 22. The electric cord 14 extends from the controller case 44 to the groove portion 17 of the cord cover body 15, and the electric cord 1
4 can be projected to the outside from one of the fitting and inserting portions 22.

Further, in the groove portion 17, a plurality of locking pieces 23 ... In the present example, which are cylindrical bodies having a small diameter and which hang down from the connecting piece 42, are provided at appropriate intervals.

Therefore, the electric cord 14 extending from the controller case 44 is held at an appropriate length by being locked to the locking piece 23 as shown by the one-dot chain line and the solid line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, it can be pulled out from the fitting insertion portion 22 located in the vicinity of the outlet E provided in the kitchen stand main body C. In this way, the electric cord 14 can be connected to the outlet E by pulling out the required length without exposing the extra electric cord, and the outlet E is provided at a low position, so that the danger of stumbling on the electric cord can be prevented. , Can improve safety.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, an opening portion G is provided in the base ring portion D of the kitchen stand main body C so that a drawer F for accommodating the foot warmer 1 can be freely taken in and out.

In the present example, the drawer F includes a housing portion F1 in which a frame material H made of a metal rod is joined in an increasing shape, a vertical front plate F2 fixed to the front surface of the housing portion F1, and the housing. Wheels F3 ... Pivotally attached to both side surfaces of the portion F1, and the drawer F can be freely taken in and out of the opening G using a handle FA attached to a front plate F2. Also opening G
A magnet M is fixed to the lower surface of the kitchen stand main body C that is continuous with the upper edge of the kitchen stand, and the drawer F has an iron piece FE that is in contact with the magnet M and is fixed to the rear surface of the front plate F2 by being housed in the opening G. Therefore, the drawer F contacts the magnet M and the opening G
It is conveniently stored in the lower part of the kitchen stand main body C.

When not in use, the foot warmer 1 is folded in two by the folding section 25 and is accommodated in the accommodation section F1 of the drawer F, and is accommodated in the lower portion of the kitchen stand main body C. Since the storage area for the foot warmer 1 is provided in the kitchen stand A as described above, the kitchen stand A
The foot warmer 1 can be conveniently stored without damaging the outer appearance by effectively utilizing the pedestal portion D of the.

[0030]

As described above, since the foot warmer of the present invention is provided with the switch which is pressed by the addition of the weight to the body of the foot warmer to energize the electric heating body, the switch is automatically opened / closed only by getting on / off the person. In addition to being able to improve usability, it is possible to prevent forgetting to turn it off, improve safety, and achieve energy saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a recess and a switch.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an electric circuit.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the location of the foot warmer.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement location of a foot warmer.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a kitchen stand.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing storage of the drawer in the kitchen stand body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Top cover sheet 3 Metal plate 4 Insulating plate body 5 Electric heating body 7 Foot heater main body 9 Recess 10 Switch 11 Spring 12 Cover cover

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An upper cover sheet, a soaking metal plate which is arranged on a lower surface of the upper cover sheet and whose upper surface is covered with the upper cover sheet, and a heat insulating layer which is arranged on the lower surface of the sheet. A heat insulating plate made of wood,
A recess is provided in the lower surface of the foot warmer main body composed of an electric heating element buried in the upper surface of the heat insulating plate and a lower cover sheet provided on the lower surface of the heat insulating plate, and pressed into the recess. A switch for energizing the electric heating element is provided by, and the recess is shielded by a cover cover that is biased downward by a spring and swells downward and dents by adding weight to the foot warmer body and presses the switch. Foot warmer.