JPS6116799A - Steam iron - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a steam iron in which water is supplied to a vaporizing chamber to generate steam, and this steam is ejected from a steam passage in a base.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a steam iron that senses the heat of the base and controls the supply of water from the tank to the vaporization chamber,
No. 3998 is known. The iron disclosed in this publication has a nozzle installed in a through hole that communicates the tank and the vaporizing chamber so that it can be adjusted vertically, and the valve body facing the drip hole of the nozzle is made of a bimetallic material that senses the temperature of the iron base. When installed, the valve body is configured to change the degree to which the drip hole of the nozzle is opened and closed by the displacement of the bimetal.

The bimetal has one end fixed in a vaporizing chamber defined in the base to sense the heat of the iron base, and a drip nozzle at the other free end that is gradually moved up and down by the heat. A valve body is installed to open and close the valve from the bottom.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional structure described above, when the valve body is pressed against the nozzle side and stress is constantly applied to the bimetal when it is cold or at low temperatures, such as when not in use, the operating temperature may decrease due to deformation of the bimetal, etc. Variability increases. At the same time, as the temperature of the iron base increases, the bimetal gradually curves downward, so the drip hole begins to open at a low temperature before reaching the appropriate temperature for water evaporation. When the drip hole is opened in this way, the water supplied to the vaporization chamber flows out from the steam passage without being vaporized, not only wetting the fabric but also vaporizing the water if left in a horizontal position after use. There is a problem in that even if the temperature falls below the appropriate evaporation temperature, water cannot be prevented from flowing out from the tank to the vaporization chamber, causing corrosion of the base.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and prevent malfunctions, the present invention provides a system for distributing water from a tank placed above a heated base to a vaporization chamber provided in the base. The opening/closing device that performs the interruption is operated by a bimetallic thermally responsive member provided on the base, and the opening/closing device is always biased in the closing direction by a spring.

C) The steam iron of the present invention opens and closes by overcoming the biasing force of the spring by the deforming force of the thermally responsive member that senses the heat of the base and operates when the base reaches the appropriate evaporation temperature at which water can be vaporized. When the device is opened, water is supplied from the tank to the vaporization chamber, and when the base falls below the appropriate evaporation temperature, the opening/closing device is closed by the biasing force of the spring, allowing water to flow from the tank to the vaporization chamber. The distribution of the products will be cut off. As mentioned above, the opening/closing device is always biased in the closing direction by the biasing force of the spring, so there is no need for a thermally responsive member to carry the force that always closes the switching device, which prevents variations in operating temperature. In addition, it is possible to prevent the opening/closing device from being opened inadvertently due to the influence of vibration or the like.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a handle, 2 is a main body cover, 3 is a base provided with a heater and heated by the heater as is well known, and 4 is a tank disposed above the base 3.
5 is the tank water inlet, 6 is the iron temperature setting dial, 7
18 indicates a code, and 18 indicates a valve opening temperature dial.

A valve seat (not shown) is provided on the inner surface of the dripping valve 8 formed in the tank 4, and the dripping valve 8 opens into the vaporization chamber 10 formed in the base 3 to connect the tank 4 and the vaporization chamber. It communicates with 10. The base 3 has a steam passage 1 extending between the bottom surface and the vaporization chamber 10.
1 is drilled.

The flow and cutoff of water supplied from the tank 4 to the vaporization chamber 10 through the dripping valve 8 as a passage is performed by an opening/closing device shown in Figure 1, Application No. 9. This embodiment shows a case in which the opening/closing device 9 is formed of a pallblon whose lower end is provided with a needle portion that comes into contact with and separates from the valve seat of the dripping valve 8. Furthermore, the upper end of the opening/closing device 9 passes through the outer wall of the tank 4 and the fixing bracket 25 in sequence, and is guided and supported by the opening/closing device 9 so as to be able to slide up and down and reciprocate therebetween.

Next, the thermally responsive member 12 that automatically operates the opening/closing device 9 that opens and closes the dripping valve 8 will be described.

This thermally responsive member 12 operates by sensing the heat of the base 3, and is made of, for example, a bimetal plate in the form of a strip, and one end thereof is integrally protruded from the upper surface of the base 3 and has a hole 4a formed in the tank 4. The attachment through which it is inserted is fixed to part 3a. The other end of the thermally responsive member 12 is connected to the opening/closing device 9 on the outside of the tank 4 via the engaging means 13 shown in FIG.
installed on.

The engagement means 13 includes a pair of 7 flanges 14 and 14 fixed to the opening/closing device 9 at a distance, and a pair of flanges 14 and 14.
4. It consists of a bifurcated fork member 16 which is inserted between 4 and 14 and has an opening/closing device 9 loosely inserted into the groove 15. The fork member 16 transmits the vertical movement of the other end due to thermal deformation of the thermally responsive member 12 to the opening/closing device 9 via the flange 14.14 to open and close the drip valve 8, and also opens and closes the dripping valve 8. Movement in the left-right direction toward the end of the drawing is allowed to escape by sliding in the groove portion 15 without affecting the opening/closing device 9. The above-mentioned engagement means 13 is not limited to that of this embodiment, and for example, an interlocking element provided on the thermally responsive member side is slidably inserted loosely into a through hole provided on the opening/closing device 9 side. There is no problem as long as it has a mechanism that satisfies the above functions. Note that if the arm portion of the thermally responsive member 12 is short and the opening/closing device 9 is designed to have a small lifting height, the engaging means 13 may be omitted and the thermally responsive member 12 may be directly fixed to the opening/closing device 9. No problem.

Further, a valve opening temperature setting means 17 is provided in a portion of the opening/closing device 9 that passes through the front end of the handle 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the valve opening temperature setting means 17 rotates the valve opening temperature dial 18 to change the compressive force of the spring 19.
The stretching force is transmitted to the opening/closing device @9 so that the opening/closing of the dripping valve 8 by the thermally responsive member 12 can be delayed or accelerated. For example, the valve opening temperature dial 18 is partially inserted in a notch-shaped groove 1- provided at the front end of the handle 1, and the valve opening temperature dial 18 is provided at the center of a threaded body 20 integrally connected to the notch-shaped groove 1- provided at the front end of the handle 1. The device 9 is passed through, and the screw body 20 can rotate around the opening/closing device 9. The rod body 20 is prevented from rotating by a guide 21, but an adjustment plate 22 allows it to move up and down.
are screwed together, and a coiled spring 19 is interposed between the adjusting plate 22 and a flange 23 provided on the opening/closing device 9. Thus, the spring 19 biases the dripping valve 8 into a normally closed state by its spring force. The upper end of the opening/closing device 9 passing through the front end of the handle 1 is exposed above the handle 1 and moves up and down slightly as the drip valve 8 is opened and closed. Therefore, the exposed portion 9 of the opening/closing device 9
- can be used as a valve opening/closing display means and a manual valve opening means.

Since the present embodiment is constructed as described above, in order to use it, first fill the tank 4 with water, set the iron temperature setting dial 6 and the valve opening temperature dial 18 to the required scales, and turn on the switch. Then, since the thermally responsive member 12 is heated through the base 3 and the mounting portion 3a, the temperature rise causes the thermally responsive member 12 to be heated through the mounting portion 3a. Curved deformation of the thermally responsive member 12 due to temperature rise acts to lift the opening/closing device 9 upward in the valve opening direction via the engagement means 13, but the biasing force of the spring 19 causes the thermally responsive member 12 to move upward in the valve opening direction. The dripping valve 8 does not open until the opening temperature of the dial 18 is reached, that is, a temperature sufficient for the vaporization chamber 10 to instantaneously vaporize dripping water.

When the temperature of the thermally responsive member 12 reaches the set temperature, the deforming force of the thermally responsive member 12 overcomes the biasing force of the spring 19, lifts the opening/closing device 9, and automatically opens the drip valve 8. . In this way, when the dripping valve 8 is opened, the water in the tank 4 flows through the dripping valve 8 and drips into the vaporizing chamber 10, and is turned into steam by the vaporizing chamber 10, which is heated to a sufficiently high temperature.

Then, the steam is ejected from the steam passage 11 by its own steam pressure, making it possible to iron with steam.

On the other hand, the base 3 continues to be heated until it reaches the temperature set by the iron temperature setting dial 6, and when the set temperature is reached, the current supply is cut off by a thermomechanism (not shown). During this time, the displacement of the free end of the thermally responsive member 12 caused by thermal deformation is absorbed by the engagement means 13. Note that while steam is being generated, by pressing the exposed part 9- of the opening/closing device 9 provided at the front end of the handle 1, the dripping valve 8 can be manually closed as necessary to stop the steam from blowing out. Yes, this allows dry ironing.

Then, when you have finished ironing and want to store the iron, you only need to turn it off. That is,
When the iron is cooled and the temperature drops below the valve opening setting temperature, the deformation of the thermally responsive member 12 is restored, and the opening/closing device 9 is automatically extended and lowered by the deformation force and the biasing force of the spring 19. The drip valve 8 is opened.

This eliminates the need to close the dripping valve 8, which was conventionally required when ironing is done using residual heat from the iron or when storing the iron. Therefore, there is no leakage of water from the dripping valve 8, and there is no risk of causing problems such as wetting the fabric or the storage area or inviting corrosion of the iron itself.

In addition, since the opening/closing device 9 is always urged to close by the spring 19, the opening/closing device 9 may be inadvertently closed if it receives external vibrational force while the base 3 is at a temperature below the appropriate steam temperature. There is no risk of water leaking from the tank 4 into the vaporization chamber 10 due to malfunction in the opening direction, and therefore corrosion of the base 3 and wetting of the fabric due to the water leakage can be prevented.

Moreover, as described above, since the opening/closing device 9 is held in the closed state by the biasing force of the spring 19, stress is generated in the bimetallic thermally responsive member 12, and this force is used to hold the opening/closing device 9 in the closed state. There's no need.

Therefore, the thermally responsive member 12 can be provided in a state where no stress or only a slight stress is generated when the iron is not in use, so that the thermally responsive member 12 is not deformed when the iron is not in use. This makes it possible to minimize variations in the operating temperature of this member 12.

In carrying out the present invention, the specific structure, shape, position, etc. of the base, vaporization chamber, tank, opening/closing device, thermally responsive member, spring, etc. will be the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, unless it goes against the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the examples and can be configured and implemented in various ways.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the gist of which is the structure described in the above claims, the flow of water supplied from the tank into the vaporization chamber by the deformation force of the thermally responsive member when the heat of the base reaches the appropriate vaporization temperature or higher. At the same time, when the heat of the base drops below the appropriate evaporation temperature, the opening/closing device is closed by the biasing force of the spring, thereby preventing variations in the operating temperature of the thermally responsive members. In addition, the opening/closing device can be reliably opened at the required temperature to ensure stable steam ejection, and it is also possible to prevent malfunctions of the opening/closing device caused by vibrations from the outside.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view, FIG. 2(a) is a side view of the engaging means, and FIG. 2(b) is the same. A plan view of the means, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the valve opening temperature setting means. 3...Base, 4...Tank, 9...Switching device,
10... Vaporization chamber, 12... Thermal response device, 19...
spring. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1, Figure 2N

Claims (1)

[Claims] A heated base, a vaporization chamber provided on the base, a tank disposed above the base, and an opening/closing device that blocks the flow of water supplied from the tank to the vaporization chamber, A steam iron comprising: a bimetallic heat-responsive member provided on the base to operate the opening/closing device; and a spring provided to always bias the opening/closing device in the closing direction.