JPH0819698A - Steam iron - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a steam iron capable of suitably maintaining the functions for a long time by cooling the electric motor. CONSTITUTION:This steam iron is equipped with a base 2, a heater 6 to heat the base 2, a vaporization room formed in a part of the base 2, a water tank 16 to stock water to be supplied to the vaporization room 7, and an electric pump 30 to supply water in the water tank 16 to the vaporization room 7. A water suction pass 35 and a water discharge pass 36 are installed on the electric pump 30 to make the electric pump 30 be cooled by water passing through the water suction pass 35 and the water discharge pass 36 corresponding to driving of the electric pump 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steam iron capable of ejecting steam from the lower surface of a base.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional general steam iron, water stored in a water tank is sequentially dropped into a vaporizing chamber of a base, and the water is vaporized by heat of the base to generate steam. Is to be ejected from the bottom surface of the base.

However, it is difficult to increase or decrease the amount of water supplied by the means for supplying water into the vaporization chamber by natural dripping, so that the amount of steam generated is always constant and the amount of steam generated varies depending on the fabric to be ironed. Even if the temperature is set to a high temperature or a low temperature, it is not possible to spout steam commensurate with it.

Therefore, in recent years, an electric pump is used as a water supply means for supplying the water in the water tank into the vaporization chamber of the base, and the amount of electric power supplied to the electric pump is controlled to control the amount of water supplied to the vaporization chamber. A steam iron is provided that can be adjusted according to the set temperature of the base.

In such a steam iron,
For fabrics such as hemp that are ironed at high temperatures, increase the amount of water supplied to the vaporization chamber to increase steam generation, and for fabrics that are ironed at low temperatures such as synthetic fibers, supply water to the vaporization chamber. There is an advantage that the amount of steam can be reduced by reducing the amount.

[0006]

However, when a motor-driven electric pump such as a vane pump or a gear pump is used as the water supply means, its thermal influence becomes a problem. In other words, the electric pump is installed in the iron body and is affected by heat from the base. However, due to the self-heating of the motor during its driving, the oil-impregnated metal of the bearing of the motor is deteriorated, and It may reduce the performance.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to provide a steam iron capable of cooling an electric pump and maintaining its performance properly for a long period of time. To do.

[0008]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a base, heating means for heating the base, and a vaporization chamber formed in a part of the base,
A steam iron comprising a water tank for storing water to be supplied into the vaporization chamber and an electric pump for supplying the water in the water tank into the vaporization chamber, wherein the electric power is supplied via water flowing by driving the electric pump. A pump cooling means for cooling the pump is provided.

[0009]

When the electric pump is driven, the water in the water tank is sequentially supplied into the vaporization chamber by the operation of the electric pump, and the water is vaporized by the heat of the base to become steam, and this steam is on the lower surface side of the base. Gushes into.

When the electric pump is driven, the electric pump is cooled by the water flowing by the operation of the electric pump. Therefore, heat deterioration of the electric pump is prevented, and the performance of the electric pump can be appropriately maintained for a long period of time.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire structure of a steam iron. Reference numeral 1 is an iron main body, and this iron main body 1 is provided with a heat shield plate 3 on an upper surface of a base 2 formed of, for example, aluminum die casting. The upper surface of the plate 3 is covered with a cover 4, and a handle 5 is attached on the cover 4.

A heater 6 is cast in the base 2, and a vaporization chamber 7 is formed on the upper surface thereof, and the inside of the vaporization chamber 7 is passed through a steam ejection hole 8 provided on the lower surface of the base 2 to the lower surface side thereof. Is in communication with.

A water-permeable joint 9 is provided between the heat shield plate 3 and the cover 4, and an opening 10 is formed on the upper surface of the water-permeable joint 9 on one end side, and a push rod 11 is provided inside the opening 10. Is formed, and the upper end portion of the push rod 11 projects above the water through joint 9 through the opening 10. And this water joint 9
Inside, an outflow portion 12 is formed opposite to the push rod 11 and communicates with the opening 10.

At the front of the iron body 1, for example, a water tank 16 of a cassette type is detachably provided. An outlet 17 and a valve mechanism 18 are provided at the bottom of the water tank 16, and the valve mechanism 18 has a disc-shaped valve body 2 at an intermediate portion of a valve rod 20 slidably supported by a support body 19.
1 is attached, and this valve body 21 is elastically biased via a spring 22 in the direction in which the outlet 17 is arranged, that is, in the direction of closing the outlet 17.

The outflow port 17 is the opening 10 of the water passage joint 9.
Liquid-tightly connected to, and in this state, the push rod 11 of the water through fitting 9
Comes into contact with the valve rod 20 and pushes the valve body 21 upward against the spring 22, whereby the outlet 17 is held in an open state, and the water contained in the water tank 16 is opened from the outlet 17. It is designed to flow into the inflow portion 12 of the water through joint 9 through 10.

A water injection port 23 is formed in the upper portion of the front surface of the water tank 16, and a water injection lid 24 is provided in the water injection port 23. The water injection lid 24 is opened to enter the water tank 16 from the water injection port 23. Water can be appropriately injected.

Above the water passage joint 9, for example, a vane type electric pump 30 is provided as a water supply means. The electric pump 30 is composed of a pump case 31 made of synthetic resin or metal having excellent heat conductivity, and a motor 32 provided in the pump case 31.
A pump chamber 33 is formed in the lower portion of the pump case 31, and a rotor 34 driven by the motor 32 and eccentrically rotated is accommodated in the pump chamber 33.

The pump case 31 is provided with a water suction passage 35 connected to one end of the pump chamber 33 and a drainage passage 36 connected to the other end of the pump chamber 32, and the water suction passage 35 is connected to the water passage 9. To the inside of the outflow portion 12. The drainage channel 36 is formed as a relatively long passage extending from the lower portion to the upper portion of the pump case 31 along the motor 32, and a drainage pipe 37 is connected to the upper end portion of the drainage channel 36.

An outflow hole 38, which vertically penetrates and communicates with the inside of the vaporization chamber 7, is formed in an intermediate portion of the water passage joint 9.
The other end of the drain pipe 37 is connected to the outflow hole 38.

When the motor 32 is driven and the rotor 34 is eccentrically rotated, the water in the outflow portion 12 of the water joint 9 is sucked into the pump chamber 33 through the water suction passage 35, and this water is further eccentrically rotated. It is sequentially supplied from the pump chamber 33 into the vaporization chamber 7 through the drainage channel 36, the drainage pipe 37, and the outflow hole 38 by the pressure applied by the rotation. Then, as the water in the water passage joint 9 decreases, the water in the water tank 16 sequentially flows into the water passage joint 9 through the opening 10.

An operating portion 40 is provided on the upper surface of the handle 5 on the front end side.
Is provided, a circuit board 41 is provided inside the handle 5, and a temperature sensor 42 that detects the temperature of the base 2 is provided on the upper surface of the base 2.

The operating section 40 has a temperature setting switch 43.
And a steam / dry changeover switch 44 is provided. The temperature setting switch 43 sets the set temperature of the base 2 to the type of cloth “linen” “cotton” “hair” “chemical 3” “chemical 2” “chemical 1”.
The temperature setting means for switching the heater 6 to "OFF", and the steam / dry switch 44 serves as an operation mode setting means for switching between the steam operation mode and the dry operation mode. I am configuring.

On the circuit board 41, a state detector 45 for detecting whether the iron body 1 is in a self-supporting state or in a horizontal state, and various circuit parts constituting a control circuit section are attached.

In the state detector 45, for example, a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged so as to face each other, and a ball is movably provided between the two elements so that the iron body 1 is in a self-supporting state, that is, during ironing work. At the time of rest, the ball blocks the light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element to detect the rest of the ironing, and when the iron body 1 is in the horizontal state, that is, when the ironing work is performed, the ball is moved by the movement of the ball. It is configured such that the incidence of light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is allowed and the execution of ironing is detected.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the circuit configuration. Reference numeral 47 denotes a control unit, which starts energizing the heater 6 when the set temperature of the base 2 is set by the temperature setting switch 43. Then, the temperature of the base 2 detected by the temperature sensor 42 is monitored,
The energization of the heater 6 is controlled to be turned on and off so that the detected temperature maintains the base set temperature set by the temperature setting switch 43.

The steam / dry changeover switch 44 is also provided.
When the steam operation mode is selected by and the state detector 45 detects that the iron body 1 is in the horizontal state, electric power is supplied to the electric pump 30 to drive the electric pump 30. At this time, when the set temperature of the base 2 is set high by the temperature setting switch 43, the electric power supply amount to the electric pump 30 is largely controlled, and when it is set low, the electric power to the electric pump 30 is set. The supply amount is controlled to be small.

Next, the operation of this embodiment thus constructed will be described based on the control sequence shown in FIG. When using the iron, the iron main body 1 is placed on the floor surface in an independent state, the steam operation mode is selected by the steam / dry changeover switch 44 at the time point t0, and the temperature setting switch 43 controls the temperature of the base 2 of the base 2. When the high temperature "linen" is selected as the set temperature, the heater 6 is energized.

When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 42 of the base 2 reaches the temperature set by the temperature setting switch 43 in the vicinity of the time t1, ironing work becomes possible, and this is caused by an alarm (not shown) or the like by the control unit 47. The heater 6 is turned on and off so that the temperature of the base 2 is maintained at the set temperature.

At time t2, when the iron body 1 is lifted from the floor surface and the iron body 1 is changed from the self-supporting state to the horizontal state and the ironing work is started, this is detected by the state detector 45 and the control unit The electric pump 30 is driven under the control of 47.

Along with this, the outflow portion 1 in the water passage joint 9
The water in 2 is sequentially sucked into the pump chamber 33 from the suction passage 35 by the operation of the electric pump 30, and this water is supplied into the vaporization chamber 7 through the drain passage 36, the drain pipe 37, and the outflow hole 38. It is vaporized by the heat of the base 2 to become steam, and this steam is sequentially ejected from the steam ejection holes 8.

At this time, since the set temperature of the base 2 is set to a high temperature by the temperature setting switch 43, the amount of electric power supplied to the electric pump 30 is largely controlled, so that the electric pump 30 supplies water to the vaporization chamber 7. Increase in quantity,
Large amount of steam is generated.

On the other hand, when the set temperature of the base 2 by the temperature setting switch 43 is low, the electric power supply amount to the electric pump 30 is controlled to be small, so that the water supply amount into the vaporization chamber 7 by the electric pump 30 is reduced. It reduces the amount of steam generated.

At time t3, when the iron body 1 is placed on the floor surface in a self-supporting state during the ironing work,
This is detected by the state detector 45, the electric power of the electric pump 30 is cut off by the control of the control unit 47, and the ejection of steam is stopped.

Similarly, each time the iron main body 1 is changed from the independent state to the horizontal state and the ironing work is started, the electric pump 30 is driven and steam is jetted. When the dry operation mode is selected by the steam / dry changeover switch 44, the electric pump 30 is always held in the non-driving state regardless of the posture of the iron body 1.

In the electric pump 30, the motor 32 self-heats when it is driven, and is also affected by the heat from the base 2. However, as the electric pump 30 is driven, water sequentially flows through the water suction passage 35 and the drainage passage 36 formed in the pump case 31, so that the electric water pump 30 cools the electric pump 30. In particular, since the pump case 31 is made of a material having excellent heat conduction, the temperature rise of the motor 32 can be suppressed. Therefore, the thermal deterioration of the electric pump 30, particularly the bearing portion of the motor 32 is prevented, and the performance of the electric pump 30 can be appropriately maintained over a long period of time. Although the vane pump is used as the electric pump in the above-described embodiment, a gear pump or the like may be used.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the electric pump is driven, the water flowing through the operation of the electric pump cools the electric pump. Therefore, thermal deterioration of the electric pump is prevented, and the performance of the electric pump is appropriately maintained for a long period of time. There is an advantage that can be.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a steam iron according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the steam iron.

FIG. 3 is a control sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the steam iron.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Iron body 2 ... Base 6 ... Heater 7 ... Vaporization chamber 16 ... Water tank 30 ... Electric pump 31 ... Pump case 32 ... Motor 35 ... Water absorption channel 36 ... Drainage channel

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base, a heating means for heating the base, a vaporization chamber formed in a part of the base, a water tank for storing water to be supplied into the vaporization chamber, and water in the water tank. A steam iron provided with an electric pump for supplying into the vaporization chamber, characterized in that a pump cooling means for cooling the electric pump through water flowing by driving the electric pump is provided.