JPH09299251A - Liquid container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily wash a water lifting pipe and the inside of an inner bottle by turning the conductor part housed inside the inner bottle of the detection means of a liquid amount and/or a liquid temperature composed of the conductor part and a sensor part to constitution provided with flexibility and providing a holding means for attachably and detachably holding the conductor part in the water lifting pipe. SOLUTION: For a heat insulation pot (air pot), the inner bottle 2 is housed in a body 1, a shoulder body 10 is attached to an upper opening part and the shoulder body 10 is provided with a lid body 30. Also, a connection pipe 16 is attached to the shoulder ring 12 of the shoulder body 10 and the water lifting pipe 17 suspended inside the inner bottle 2 is connected to the lower end opening. Also, a sensor hole is pierced on the side wall 14 of the shoulder ring 12 and a liquid amount/liquid temperature sensor 20 is passed through sensor packing force-fitted to it. Then, the conductor part of the sensor 20 is attachably and detachably attached by a sensor holder 22 provided on the water lifting pipe 17. Also, an elastic pawl 24 as the holding means is horizontally projected at the lower end part of the sensor holder 22 and the sensor 20 is held and positioned.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid container such as a heat retaining pot (air pot) or an electric pot having a function of detecting a liquid amount and / or a liquid temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in liquid containers such as air pots,
Various types have been proposed in which the amount and temperature of the liquid contained in the inner bottle can be detected.

(1) As a liquid container capable of detecting the amount of liquid,
For example, there is one in which a liquid amount detection sensor is arranged along the inner surface of a middle bottle (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-202). The liquid amount detection sensor includes a plurality of conductive wires having different rigidity and having a shape bent along the inner surface of the inner bottle, and an electrode provided at the tip of each conductive wire. Each conductive wire penetrates a seal member sandwiched between the shoulder body and the mouth portion of the inner bottle and is connected to the liquid amount display device. Further, each electrode is arranged for each water level desired to be detected, and the liquid amount can be displayed on the liquid amount display device based on the presence or absence of conduction between the electrodes.

(2) As a liquid container capable of detecting another liquid amount, for example, a capacitor is constituted by an electrode provided on the outer peripheral surface of a medium bottle and a pump pipe itself or an electrode arranged along the pump pipe. Nigiri (Japanese Patent Publication Sho 61-12021
(See Japanese Patent Publication No. 6), a capacitor is constructed by a pair of electrodes provided along a pumping pipe (Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-63).
2-15418). In these liquid containers,
The liquid amount can be displayed on the liquid amount display device by detecting the capacitance that changes depending on the difference in the liquid amount.

(3) As a liquid container capable of detecting the liquid temperature,
For example, there is one in which a temperature sensor is arranged at the lower end of a pumping pipe (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-43647). In this liquid container, the liquid temperature can be displayed on the liquid temperature display device based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor.

[0006]

However, in the liquid container described in (1) above, since the liquid amount detecting sensor is arranged along the inside of the inner bottle, cleaning around the liquid amount detecting sensor is performed. It was difficult. Further, since the seal member for the conductive wire is sandwiched between the shoulder body and the mouth portion of the inner bottle, it is large and costly. Moreover, since it is difficult to position the liquid temperature detection sensor and the inner bottle, a position shift may occur between the sensor position of the inner bottle and the engagement position of the conductive wire of the seal member when the inner bottle is assembled, Assembly work was difficult.

In the liquid container described in the above (2), since it is of the electrostatic capacity type, the structure is complicated, and it is difficult to detect the liquid amount with high accuracy, and the liquid temperature can be detected. However, it requires a completely different structure, such as disposing a thermistor or the like in the inner bottle, resulting in an increase in cost.

In the liquid container described in the above (3), the temperature sensor, the lead wire and the metal member connected to the temperature sensor are attached to the pumping pipe or the plug body, and it is difficult to wash.

[0009] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid container which can easily clean the inside of the pumping pipe and the inside bottle and can accurately detect the liquid amount and / or the liquid temperature.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a pumping pipe which is detachable via the outer casing, a conducting wire portion, and a sensor portion are provided in a middle bottle accommodated in the outer casing. A liquid amount and / or liquid temperature detecting means is provided,
A liquid container configured to display a liquid amount and / or a liquid temperature on a display unit provided on the exterior body based on a detection signal from the detection unit, wherein a lead wire unit housed in at least the middle bottle of the detection unit. And a holding means for detachably holding the conducting wire portion at a predetermined position are provided on the pumping pipe.

According to this construction, when the inside of the pumping pipe and the inside bottle are washed, if the pumping pipe is pulled up from the inside bottle,
The detection means can be taken out together with the pumping pipe. Then, when the conducting wire portion is detached from the gripping means, the pumping pipe and the detecting means can be cleaned cleanly. Moreover, since the detecting means is taken out from the inside bottle, the inside can be easily washed. On the other hand, when accommodating the pumping pipe and the detecting means in the medium bottle, the grasping means may grasp a predetermined position of the conducting wire portion, and the pumping pipe may be accommodated and positioned in the medium bottle.

The exterior body may have a shoulder body covering the upper portion of the inner bottle, and a display portion may be provided on the upper surface of the shoulder body.

Further, the holding means may be a substantially C-shaped elastic claw, and a recess for engaging and disengaging the holding means may be formed in the conductor portion.

It is preferable that the detecting means is connected to the display section through a sealing means provided on a side wall of the exterior body that abuts the upper opening of the inner bottle.

According to this structure, the sealing means can be made compact and economical, and the sealing can be surely performed.
Further, since the detecting means is not engaged with the middle bottle, it is not necessary to consider the positional deviation, and the assembling work becomes good.

It is preferable that the gripping means has a detaching structure for releasing the gripped state of the conductive wire portion by a predetermined pulling force.

According to this structure, when the pumping pipe is taken out from the middle bottle, the gripping means releases the gripping state before an excessive load that damages the conductor is applied.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an air pot having a bottom body mounting structure according to the present invention. This air pot generally accommodates an inner bottle 2 which is a vacuum double container in a body 1, a shoulder body 10 is attached to an upper opening portion thereof, a lid body 30 is openably and closably provided on the shoulder body 10, and a lower opening portion is provided. This is a structure in which the bottom body 50 is attached to the part.

The body 1 comprises a body 1'and a bottom ring 5
It consists of 1. The body 1'is a plate-shaped body having a cylindrical shape, and its cross-sectional shape is a substantially square shape with a roundness. A curling portion 3 is formed in the lower opening of the body 1 by curling inward. In addition, a bottom body 5 to be described later is provided on the upper portion of the curling portion 3.
A bottom ring 51 for mounting 0 by screwing is mounted.

The shoulder body 10 is fitted in the upper opening of the body 1. A shoulder wall 10 ', which is a main component of the shoulder body 10, is formed with a fitting wall 11 that hangs downward, and a cylindrical shoulder ring 12 is engaged with the inside thereof. The upper opening of the inner bottle 2 is arranged on the shoulder ring 12 via a packing 13 in a pressure contact state. Side wall 1 of shoulder ring 12
4 is provided with a communication hole 15 in which a connecting pipe 16
Is removably attached in a sealed state. The connection pipe 16 is substantially L-shaped, and a pumping pipe 17 that hangs in the middle bottle 2 is connected to the lower end opening of the connection pipe 16.

Further, the side wall 14 of the shoulder ring 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a sensor hole 18 is bored, and a sensor packing 19 which is a sealing means according to the present invention is press-fitted therein. A liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20, which is one mode of the liquid amount and / or liquid temperature detecting means according to the present invention, penetrates through the sensor packing 19 in a sealed state. Liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 2
As shown in FIG. 3, reference numeral 0 denotes a conductor portion 20a formed by bundling and covering a plurality of flexible lead wires, and a plurality of electrodes a provided at one end of each lead wire and exposed from the covered portion. And a sensor unit 20b including one thermistor b. An engagement recess 21 is formed on the outer periphery of the lower end of the conductor 20a. The other end of each lead wire is
It is connected to a liquid crystal panel 27 described below. The liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 having the above configuration can detect the liquid amount based on the presence or absence of conduction between the electrodes a, and can detect the liquid temperature based on the change in the electric resistance value of the thermistor b. The liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 may simply be a liquid amount or liquid temperature detection sensor.

The pumping pipe 17 is the pumping pipe body 1.
7 ', the connection pipe 16 and the sensor holder 22. The sensor holder 22 detachably attaches the conductor portion 20a of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor holder 22 has fitting rings 23 that are fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the pumping pipe main body 17 ′ at three places in the upper, middle, and lower positions. Further, a substantially C-shaped elastic claw 24 that can be engaged with and disengaged from the engagement concave portion 21 of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 is horizontally provided at the lower end of the sensor holder 22. The elastic claw 24 serves as a gripping means according to the present invention to grip and position the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20. The gripping force is
When the pumping pipe 17 is taken out from the middle bottle 2, if an unreasonable load acts, the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 does not drop and is not damaged. The sensor holder 22 has a pair of guide plates 25 extending from both sides in the same direction as the elastic claws 24 at a predetermined interval, so that the pumping pipe main body 17 ′ and the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 can be connected to each other. A guide for attachment is provided, and attachment / detachment work of the pumping pipe 17 to / from the shoulder ring 12 is facilitated. The connection pipe 16 is attached to the pumping pipe body 17 '.

A water injection pipe 26, a liquid crystal panel 27 and the like are housed in the lateral protrusion 20 of the shoulder body 10. One end of the water injection pipe 26 is open downward at the side protrusion 20. On the other hand, the other end of the water injection pipe 26 is attached to the side wall 14 of the shoulder ring 12 via a liquid leakage prevention valve 28 at the time of falling, and communicates with the connection pipe 16 attached to the side wall 14. Lead wires extending from the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 are connected to the liquid crystal panel 27. Then, depending on whether or not the liquid temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature (for example, 80 ° C.), a liquid temperature display unit (not shown) is turned on or off, and a liquid amount display unit (not shown) is turned on or off according to the liquid amount. Has become.

The lid body 30 is composed of a lid body 30 ', a bellows lower plate 31 attached to the bottom surface thereof, and the like, and is rotatably connected to the shoulder body 10 about a support shaft 32. There is. A cylindrical guide wall 33 is erected on the upper surface of the bellows lower plate 31, and its tip edge portion is fitted to the inner peripheral edge of the central opening portion 34 of the lid body 30 ′. A bellows 36, the lower end of which is locked to the bellows lower plate 31 and the upper end of which is locked to the bellows upper plate 35, is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the guide wall 33. A bellows cap 38 is vertically slidably provided in a central hole 37 of the bellows upper plate 35. The bellows cap 38 is biased upward by a spring 39 provided between the bellows cap 38 and the bellows lower plate 31.

In the central opening 34 of the lid body 30 ',
A push button 40 is arranged so that it can be pushed. The push button 40 has a cylindrical shape having a ceiling surface, and the ceiling surface bulges upward in a spherical shape. When the push button 40 is pushed in against the urging force of the spring 39, the bellows cap 38 is pushed and the bellows upper plate 35 is pushed.
The central hole 37 is closed. This allows the bellows 36
When is compressed, its internal air flows into the inner bottle 2,
Water can be injected as described below. When the pressing force applied to the push button 40 is released, the bellows cap 38 moves upward with respect to the bellows upper plate 35 by the urging force of the spring 39, and the central hole 37 is opened.
As a result, air flows into the bellows 36 and
Further, the spring 39 and the bellows 36 are further expanded to return to the state before pressing.

The bottom body 50 includes a bottom member 52 and a tightening screw 53.
And a rotating body 54, and is attached to the lower opening of the body 1.

The tightening screw 53 is screwed into the bottom member 52 and presses against the bottom of the inner bottle 2 housed in the body 1 to position the inner bottle 2. The rotating body 54 is attached to the lower portion of the bottom member 52 and is rotatable in the attached state.

The air pot having the above structure is assembled as follows.

First, the bellows upper plate 35 having the bellows cap 38 mounted thereon is attached to the upper end of the bellows 36 while maintaining the airtight state. In this state, the spring 39
, The lower end of the bellows 36 is attached to the bellows lower plate 31.
Install in an airtight state.

Next, the push button 40 is provided so as to cover the bellows upper plate 35. A plurality of claw portions 38 ′ are formed on the side surface of the bellows upper plate 35 and are housed in the grooves 33 ′ of the guide wall 33 provided on the bellows lower plate 31. In this state, the upper end of the guide wall 33 is attached to the lid body 30 '.
The lid 30 is completed by fitting it in the central opening 34 and engaging it by an arbitrary method. The push button 40 is attached so as to be vertically movable by covering the upper portion of the claw portion 38 'with the lid main body 30' and preventing the push button 40 from coming off.

Then, the shoulder body 19 'is forcibly fitted to the upper opening of the body 1'. Shoulder body 10 'has
The liquid crystal panel 27 and the water injection pipe 26 are housed in advance, and the shoulder ring 12 is engaged with the through hole 7. Also,
A liquid quantity / liquid temperature sensor 20 in which a sensor packing 19 is attached to the shoulder ring 12 in an airtight state and connected to a liquid crystal panel 27
The lead wire portion 20a of the above is penetrated through the sensor packing 19 and pulled out in a sealed state.

Also, by fitting the bottom ring 51 into the lower opening of the body 1'and accommodating the inner bottle 2, the upper opening thereof is brought into contact with the shoulder ring 12 via the packing 13, The bottom member 52 is screwed into the bottom ring 51. In this case, the bottom member 52 is previously provided with the tightening screw 53 and the rotating body 5.
4 is preferably attached.

The tightening screw 5 is attached to the bottom member 52.
Tighten 3. The tip of the tightening screw 53 contacts the lower surface of the inner bottle 2 and pushes the bottom member 52 downward with respect to the bottom ring 51. This eliminates rattling between the bottom ring 51 and the bottom member 52, and stabilizes the mounting state. At the same time, the upper opening of the inner bottle 2 is pressed against the shoulder ring 12 via the packing 13 to perform its positioning. Thereby, the inner bottle 2 is firmly attached between the shoulder body 10 and the tightening screw 53.

Subsequently, the pump holding pipe main body 17 'is provided with the sensor holder 22 and the pump holding pipe main body 17'.
Is connected to the connection pipe 16. And the sensor holder 2
The second elastic claw 24 holds the engagement recess 21 formed at the tip of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20, and positions the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 with respect to the sensor holder 22. In this state, the pumping pipe 17 is inserted into the middle bottle 2 and the connecting pipe 16 is engaged with the communication hole 15 of the shoulder ring 12. Liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 2
Since 0 is accurately positioned with respect to the sensor holder 22 and the pumping pipe 17, each electrode a and the thermistor b can be arranged at desired positions. This allows
It is possible to detect an appropriate liquid amount and liquid temperature.

After that, the lid 30 is attached to the support shaft 32 of the shoulder body 10 to cover the through hole 7 of the shoulder body 10, whereby the assembling work is completed.

In the air pot assembled as described above, the hot water stored can be poured by pushing the push button 40.

That is, when the push button 40 is pushed in, the bellows cap 38 is pushed down against the biasing force of the spring 39. The bellows cap 38 closes the central hole 37 of the bellows upper plate 35 and closes the bellows 3.
Compress 6. At this time, the bellows upper plate 35 is guided by the inner peripheral surface of the push button 40 and descends in a stable state. As the push button 40 descends, the bellows 3
The air inside 6 flows into the inside bottle 2. This makes the medium bottle 2
The liquid level of the hot water stored in the
Water is injected from the water via the water injection pipe 26.

When the pressing force of the push button 40 is released, the bellows upper plate 35 is moved upward by the urging force of the spring 39 via the bellows cap 38. At this time, the bellows cap 38 moves upward with respect to the bellows upper plate 35, and the state in which the central hole 37 of the bellows upper plate 35 is opened is maintained. As a result, air flows into the bellows 36, the bellows 36 smoothly expands to its original shape, and the push button 40 returns to the initial state shown in FIG.

In the air pot, the inside of the inner bottle 2 can be easily cleaned as follows. That is, first, the lid 30 is opened and the connection pipe 16 is connected to the shoulder ring 12.
It is detached from the communication hole 15 of. Then the connection pipe 1
6, the pumping pipe 17, the sensor holder 22, and the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 are integrally taken out from the inner bottle 2. At this time,
Since the conductive wire portion 20a of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 is simply gripped by the elastic claw 24 of the sensor holder 22 at the engagement concave portion 21 at the lower end portion, it does not hinder the taking-out work. Then, the conducting wire portion 20a of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 is detached from the elastic claw 24, and the inside bottle 2 is washed. In this case, since the inside bottle 2 is empty, it can be easily washed. In addition, since the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20, the pumping pipe 17, and the sensor holder 22 can be disassembled, their cleaning is easy,
You can do all the details.

After the cleaning, the engaging recess 21 of the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 is connected to the pumping pipe 17 with the connecting pipe 16.
By engaging the elastic claws 24 of the sensor holder 22 to which is attached, accommodating the pumping pipe 17 in the inner bottle 2 as described above, and engaging the connecting pipe 16 with the communication hole 15 of the shoulder ring 12. Good. Since the liquid amount / liquid temperature sensor 20 is accurately positioned by the elastic claw 24, the detection accuracy does not change before and after cleaning, and it is possible to always detect an appropriate liquid amount. Further, since the thermistor b can be accurately arranged on the bottom side of the inner bottle 2, it is possible to detect the hot water temperature appropriately even when the water level is lowered.

In the above embodiment, the case where the lid structure is applied to the air pot has been described, but the present invention can be applied to the lid structure of various liquid containers such as other heat retaining pots and electric pots.

The number of the elastic claws 24 is not limited to one, but it is preferable that the elastic claws 24 have a structure such that they can be easily removed as they go upward, so as not to obstruct the removal of the pumping pipe 17 from the middle bottle 2. .

[0044]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the liquid container of the present invention, the conductor portion of the liquid amount and / or liquid temperature detecting means is detachably held by the holding means provided on the pumping pipe. By doing so, not only can the pumping pipe be separated and taken out from the middle bottle, but also the detection means can be brought out to the outside. For this reason,
The pumping pipe and the inside bottle can be easily cleaned. Further, since the detecting means can be housed in the inner bottle together with the pumping pipe in a state where the detecting means is positioned at a desired position by the gripping means, a subsequent detection error does not occur. Further, since the detecting means is attached through the sealing means provided on the side wall of the shoulder body, unlike the conventional case, it does not affect the assembling work of the medium bottle and improves the productivity. You can Further, since the holding means for the conducting wire portion provided on the pumping pipe is released by a predetermined pulling force, the conducting wire portion is not damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an air pot which is an example of a liquid container according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the sensor packing of FIG.

3 is an exploded view showing a connection pipe, a pumping pipe, and a sensor holder of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Body 2 Medium Bottle 10 Shoulder 14 Side Wall 16 Connection Pipe 17 Pumping Pipe 18 Sensor Hole 19 Sensor Packing 20 Liquid Volume / Liquid Temperature Sensor 20a Conductor 20b Sensor 22 Sensor Holder 24 Elastic Claw

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pumping pipe, which is detachable via the outer casing, and a liquid amount and / or liquid temperature detecting means including a conductor portion and a sensor portion are arranged in a medium bottle accommodated in the outer casing. A liquid container configured to display a liquid amount and / or a liquid temperature on a display unit provided on the outer casing based on a detection signal from the detection unit, wherein a lead wire contained in at least the middle bottle of the detection unit A liquid container, characterized in that the portion has flexibility, and a holding means for detachably holding the conducting wire portion at a predetermined position is provided on the pumping pipe. 2. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the exterior body has a shoulder body that covers an upper portion of the inner bottle, and a display portion is provided on an upper surface of the shoulder body. 3. The detecting unit is connected to the display unit by penetrating a sealing unit provided on a side wall of an exterior body covering the upper opening of the inner bottle. The described liquid container. 4. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means has a detaching structure for releasing the gripped state of the conductive wire portion by a predetermined pulling force.