JPS5950357B2 - steam iron - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a steam iron for ironing clothes and the like while jetting steam from a steam jet hole in a base.

Switching the steam jet between a dispersed state and a concentrated state,
Steam irons that can be switched to a dry state in which no steam is emitted are known.

This steam iron has a steam outlet and a vaporizing chamber in its base, and by opening and closing valves provided in the communication path between the water storage tank and the vaporizing chamber, and the communication path between the vaporizing chamber and the steam outlet, the above three steps can be performed. It is possible to switch in stages.

The on-off valves are operated by operating buttons provided on the handle of the iron cover via rods, but in the past, two operating buttons were provided corresponding to the two rods. One was a button to switch between steam or dry use, and the other was a button to switch between steam and blowout conditions.

Therefore, it is troublesome to operate, there is a high risk of erroneous operation, and it is also difficult to use when the shape is limited to a certain extent, such as an iron.

Recently, it has been known to have a single operation button, rotate a cam by manually pressing the operation button, and operate two rods via the cam to switch. Because of the friction between the buttons, it was necessary to strengthen the return springs of each rod to ensure reliable operation, and the force required to operate the buttons was large.

On the other hand, if the return spring is weakened in order to reduce the operating force, there is a problem in that the operation becomes uncertain.

This invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its object is to be able to reliably switch between the steam ejection state and the dry state with a single manual push button, and to achieve smooth operation with a small operating force. The purpose of this invention is to provide a steam iron that can

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In the figure, 1 is the base of the iron, and a heating element 2 is embedded inside this base.

A recess 3 is provided in the lower part of the base 1, and a dispersion lid 4 is attached to the recess 3 with a gap 5 around it, and a steam outlet hole 6 is formed in a part of the recess 3. ing.

Further, in the upper part of the base 1 corresponding to the dispersion lid 4, a vaporization chamber 7 consisting of a recess and a communication passage 8 communicating with the gap 5 are provided.
A through hole 9 that communicates with the steam ejection hole 6 is provided adjacently.

Further, an enclosing box 10 is mounted on the upper surface of the base 1 facing the vaporizing chamber 7, the communication passage 8, and the through hole 9 so as to cover the upper part thereof, and a storage chamber 11 is formed inside. ing.

A communication hole 12 is provided at the bottom of the storage chamber 11 to communicate with each of the vaporization chamber 7 communication path 8 and the communication hole 9.
13.14 are drilled.

The base 1 and the enclosing box 10 attached thereto are enclosed by a metal cover 15 that covers the upper part of the base 1, and an iron having a handle 16, a water inlet 17, etc. is provided on the upper part of the metal cover 15. A cover 18 is provided.

The water inlet 17 is located inside this iron cover 18.
A water storage tank 19 that communicates with is installed.

A cylindrical communication passage 20 is provided at the bottom of the water storage tank 19, passing through the storage chamber 11 and having a lower end hanging down to the vaporization chamber 7. A drip hole 21 is provided at the lower end, and a valve seat 22 is provided at the periphery of the water storage tank 19. is formed.

The water storage tank 19 also has a first tube that penetrates in the vertical direction.
An operating rod 23 and a second operating rod 24 are pivotally supported so as to be vertically movable.

A valve portion 23a at the lower end of the first operating rod 23 is inserted into the communication passage 20 and faces the valve seat 22, and the valve portion 23a has a guide needle 25 inserted into the drip hole 21.
is installed protrudingly.

Further, a valve body 26 facing the communication hole 13 of the communication path 8 is fitted into the lower end of the second operating rod 24 so as to be movable up and down.
It is constantly urged downward by a compression spring 27.

An on-off valve mechanism 28 opens and closes the communication path 20 between the water storage tank 19 and the vaporization chamber 7 and the communication path 8 between the storage chamber 11 and the gap 5 by means of the first and second operating rods 23 and 24.
It consists of

Further, interlocking rods 31 and 32 are connected to the upper ends of the first operating rod 23 and the second operating rod 24 via U-shaped interlocking fittings 29 and 30, and these are connected through the support plate 33. It is pivoted by holes 34,35.

Furthermore, a first return spring 36 made of a coil spring is fitted between the interlocking fitting 29 of one of the first operating rods 23 and the upper surface of the water storage tank 19. It is always biased upward.

The washer 3 fitted in the middle part of the other second operating rod 24
A second return spring 38 similar to the first return spring 20 is fitted between 7 and the inner bottom of the water storage tank 19, and constantly urges the second operating rod 24 upward. There is.

On the other hand, a notch 39 is provided in the upper portion of the iron cover 18 located at the handle 16, and a mounting base 40 is fixed to this notch 39 with screws 41, 41.

An operating device 42, which will be described later, is attached to this mounting base 40.

Next, to explain this operating device 42, a pair of locking claws 43, 43 are provided on the mounting base 40 by cutting and raising.

A mounting plate 44 to which the support plate 33 is integrally fixed is provided on the upper surface of the mounting base 40, and an engaging claw that engages with the locking claws 43, 43 is provided at one end of the mounting plate 44. 45
, 45 are provided, and a bent piece 47 having a mounting hole 46 is provided at the other end.

This bent piece 47 faces an end wall 48, which will be described later, provided on the handle 16.

Further, the mounting plate 44 has through holes 49 and 50 into which the interlocking rods 31 and 32 are inserted, and a fitting hole 51 is formed between them.

A rotary cam 53 having a through hole 52 in the center is rotatably fitted into the fitting hole 51.

The lower surface of this rotary cam 53 is divided into an outer cam surface 54 and an inner cam surface 55, and the circumference has six positions 56a,
It is equally divided into 56b...56f.

These 6 positions 56a, 56b...5
Of the positions 1 to 3 of 6f, positions 561 to 56C have engaging portions of different heights, and positions 4 to 6 56d to 56f are the same as positions 56a to 5 of positions 1 to 3 above.
It has engaging portions of different heights corresponding to 6C.

Furthermore, inside this rotary cam 53, six inclined surfaces 573 to 5 are provided on the inner peripheral surface along the periphery of the through hole 52, corresponding to the six positions 56a to 56f of the inner and outer peripheral cam surfaces 54 and 55.
Engagement claws 58a to 58f having a diameter of 7f are provided.

A display board 59 is attached to the top surface of the rotary cam 53, which repeatedly displays the words "dispersed", "concentrated", and "dry" to indicate the state of steam ejection corresponding to the six positions 56a to 56f.

Further, a manual push button 60 is fitted into the rotary cam 53 so as to be movable up and down, and six protrusions 613 to 61 f corresponding to the engaging claws 58 a to 58 f are protruded from the outer circumferential wall of the intermediate portion. has been done.

A connecting plate 62 is protruded from the lower end of the manual push button 60, and a transmission plate 65 having a U-shape and having abutting portions 63 and 64 at both ends thereof is provided at the lower end of the connecting plate 62. It is provided.

The upper end of the interlocking rod 31 connected to the first operating rod 23 is connected to the inner peripheral cam surface 55 of the rotating cam 53, and the upper end of the interlocking rod 32 connected to the second operating rod 24 is connected to the outer peripheral cam surface 55.
are pressed into contact with each other.

Also, one abutting part 63 of the transmission plate 65 connected to the manual push button 60 is connected to the interlocking metal fitting 29 of the first operating rod 23, and the other abutting part 64 is connected to the interlocking metal fitting 30 of the second operating rod 24. They face each other so that they can come into contact with each other.

The operating device 42 composed of the rotary cam 53 and the manual push button 60 configured in this manner is covered by an operating section cover 66, and the mounting plate 44 is attached to the inner surface of the operating section cover 66.

A through hole 67 that fits with the manual push button 60 and a display window 68 that displays characters displayed on the display board 59 are provided on the upper surface of the operation section cover 66.

Further, the bent piece 47 provided at the end of the mounting plate 44 faces the end wall 48 of the hollow handle 16, and the end wall 48 is provided with a mounting hole 69.

Then, after the mounting plate 44 engages its engaging claws 45 and 45 with the locking claws 43 and 43 of the mounting base 40, the mounting holes 46 and 69 are made to face each other, and the mounting holes 46 and 69 are made to face each other, and the mounting holes are screwed from the hollow side of the handle 16. It is attached by screwing in 70.

Next, the operation of the steam iron configured as described above will be explained.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the interlocking rod 31 of the first operating rod 23 is in contact with the peak located on the inner circumferential cam surface 55 of the rotating cam 53, so the first return spring 36 is compressed. Then, the first operating rod 23 is lowered.

Therefore, the valve portion 23a is joined to the valve seat 22 of the communication passage 20 and closes the communication passage 20.

Therefore, the water in the water storage tank 19 does not drip into the vaporization chamber 7, resulting in a dry set in which no steam is generated.

On the other hand, at this time, the upper end of the interlocking rod 32 of the second operating rod 24 is in contact with the trough located on the outer circumferential cam surface 54 of the rotary cam, so that it is raised by the restoring force of the second return spring 38.

Therefore, the valve body 26 is spaced apart from the communication hole 13 of the communication path 8 and opened, and the interlocking metal fitting 30 abuts on the contact portion 64 of the transmission plate 65 to push up the connection plate 62.

As a result, the manual push button 60 integrated with the connecting plate 62 is returned upward by the second return spring 38.

When the manual push button 60 is pressed down against the restoring force of the second return spring 38 in such a dry set state, the protrusion 61a
~61f are engagement claws 58a~58 of the rotating cam 53, respectively.
engages f.

That is, since the protrusions 61a to 61f hang down while sliding on the inclined surfaces 57a to 57f, the rotating cam 53 is rotated 1 in the direction of the arrow.
This will result in 76 rotations.

When the rotary cam 53 rotates 176 times, since the outer cam surface 54 and the inner cam surface 55 formed on the lower surface are also integral, the rotating cam 53 rotates 176 times, and the first and second operating rods 23
, 24, the upper ends of the interlocking rods 31, 32 abut against the valleys of the outer cam surface 54 and the inner cam surface 55, respectively.

Therefore, the first and second operating rods 23, 24 are raised by the first and second return springs 36, 38, and the valve portion 23a is separated from the valve seat 22 to open the communication passage 20 and the valve body 26. is again separated from the communication hole 13 and opened.

When the first and second actuating rods 23, 24 rise in this way, the interlocking fittings 29, 30 come into contact with both the abutting portions 63, 64 of the transmission plate 65 and push them up. 62, and then returned by the first and second return springs 36, 38.

On the other hand, at this time, when the valve portion 23a rises and the communication passage 20 is opened, the water in the water storage tank 19 drips into the vaporization chamber 1 and is vaporized in the vaporization chamber 7.

Therefore, the steam generated in the vaporization chamber 7 is transferred to the communication hole 1.
2 through the storage chamber 11 toward the communication holes 13 and 14.

At this time, since these communication holes 13 and 14 are in an open state, a part of the steam is guided from the communication hole 13 to the gap 5 via the communication path 8, and is ejected to the outside from around the dispersion lid 4, while remaining steam is is guided from the communication hole 14 to the steam ejection hole 6 and ejected to the outside.

Therefore, steam is dispersed and ejected from the lower surface of the base 1.

When the manual push button 60 is pressed from the dispersed set state as described above, the rotary cam 53 rotates 176 times as described above, and the outer cam surface 54 and the inner cam surface 55 also move by 176 revolutions.

Therefore, the first operating rod 23 and the second operating rod 24 once descend against the restoring forces of the first and second return springs 36 and 38, but the interlocking rod 31 of the first operating rod 23 The inner cam surface 55 rises again to come into contact with the trough portion, and the interlocking rod 32 of the second operating rod 24 abuts against the crest portion and is held in the lowered state.

Therefore, the valve body 26 closes the communication hole 13 and cuts off the communication path 8 and the storage chamber 11, and the steam generated from the vaporization chamber 7 is guided to the communication hole 14 through the storage chamber 11. A large amount of steam is concentratedly ejected from the steam ejection hole 6.

Of course, the manual push button 60 at this time is returned to its original state by the first return spring 36, which returns to its original state when the first operating rod 23 is raised.

In this way, by the simple operation of pressing down the single manual push button 60, the rotary cam 53 rotates 176 revolutions at a time, and the first and second operating rods 23 and 24 are moved up and down to switch the steam ejection state. The manual push button 60 can be returned to the first and second buttons.
the first and second return springs 36 and 38 of the operating rods 23 and 24;
It can be restored with.

The structure of the on-off valve mechanism and operating device described in the above embodiment is merely an example, and the order and stages of drying, dispersion, and concentration can be changed as appropriate.

As explained above, this invention provides an on-off valve mechanism provided in a communication path between a water storage tank and a vaporization chamber and a communication path between a vaporization chamber and a steam jet hole, which can be rotated by a manual push button via an operating rod having a return spring. The manual push button is returned to its original position by the return spring of the operating rod, and the rotary cam rotates in conjunction with the vertical movement of the manual push button to move the operating rod up and down, thereby controlling the opening/closing valve mechanism. Therefore, switching between the steam ejection state and the dry state can be reliably performed with a single manual push button.

Moreover, since the manual push button is reset by the return spring of the operating rod, there is no need to provide a spring for returning the push button itself, and the push button can be operated smoothly with a small operating force.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing the main parts of the steam iron, Fig. 2 is an exploded side view of the operating device, and Fig. 3 shows the manual push button and rotating cam. This is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between. 1...Base, 2...Heating element, 6...
...Steam outlet, 7... Vaporization chamber, 8.
...Connection path, 18...Iron cover,
19... Water storage tank, 20... Communication path, 23, 24... Operating rod, 28... Opening/closing valve mechanism, 36, 38... ...Return spring, 42...
...Operating device, 53... Rotating cam, 60.
...Manual push button.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A base in which a heating element is embedded and is equipped with a vaporizing chamber and a steam outlet, an ironing cover placed on top of this base, a water storage tank installed in this ironing cover, and this water storage. A communication path between the tank and the vaporization chamber, and a steam jet between the vaporization chamber and the vaporization chamber. An on-off valve mechanism provided in each communication path with the outlet, a pair of operating rods connected to the on-off valve mechanism and always urged upward by a return spring, and provided on the iron cover in interlocking relationship with these operating rods. It consists of a single manual push button and a rotating cam, and this manual push button is located at the top. The actuating rod is returned by a return spring, and the rotary cam rotates in conjunction with the up and down movement of the manual push button to move the actuating rod up and down to switch the on-off valve mechanism. A steam iron with special features.