JPS6238634Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a steam iron capable of ejecting steam from the lower surface of a base as needed.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

As shown in Fig. 1, this type of iron is equipped with a pump b on the top surface of a base a, and this pump b is activated by the heat of the base a to pump water in a water tank c above the water surface in the water tank c. push upwards,
Water is sent to the vaporization chamber e through the dripping pipe d, thereby constantly supplying a constant amount of water to the vaporization chamber e without being affected by changes in the water head height in the water tank c, thereby keeping the amount of steam ejected constant. (Special Publication No. 57-6960).

However, this method has the following problems. In other words, since pump B operates with the heat of base A, it always remains in operation regardless of whether the iron is set to "steam" or "dry." ”, the internal pressure of pump b increases, which is dangerous. Also, pump b is based on base a
Because it operates by receiving conductive heat from
There is a delay in the timing of activation and shutdown, which means that there is a lack of immediate response, and even if base a reaches the operating temperature, steam may not blow out for a while, or base a
Even after the power is turned off, the pump b continues to operate due to the residual heat and pumps water into the vaporization chamber e unnecessarily, and the vaporization chamber e may be corroded by the water. Since the capacity of pump b is determined by the heat of base a, it is important to accurately adjust the mutual relationship between them, but the temperature distribution on the top surface of base a tends to have relatively large variations, Accurate adjustment is likely to be difficult.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed with the above-mentioned points in mind, and its purpose is to eliminate the risk of inadvertently increasing the internal pressure of the pump, and to ensure that the pump can be activated and stopped accurately at predetermined times. To provide a steam iron with which pump capacity can be easily set and adjusted.

[Summary of the idea]

A cover and a heat shield are provided between the base and the water tank, a pump is placed between the two, a dedicated heating element is provided for this pump, and the pump is operated by controlling the power supply to this heating element. It is characterized by causing

[Example of idea]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a base made of aluminum die-casting, and a heating element 2 such as a sheathed heater is cast into this base 1.
A vaporization chamber 3 and a guide chamber 4 are formed on the upper surface of the base 1, and these chambers 3 and 4 communicate with each other via a passage (not shown), and their upper surfaces are hermetically sealed by a common lid plate 5. A guide chamber 4 communicates with the lower surface side of the base 1 via an ejection hole 6. Furthermore, the heating element 2 is placed on the upper surface of the base 1.
A temperature regulator 7 is provided to control the temperature and maintain the base 1 at a predetermined set temperature.To explain this, 8 is a fixed contact plate, 9 is a movable contact plate,
Both of them are arranged to face each other, and the fixed contact plate 8 has a fixed contact 10, and the movable contact plate 9 has a movable contact 11. Movable contact plate 9
A bimetal 12 that senses the temperature of the base 1 and deforms in a curved manner is placed below the base 1.
An insulator 13 is attached to the tip of the insulator 13, and the movable contact plate 9 is in contact with this insulator 13 by its own elasticity.
Then, the movable contact plate 9 is displaced following the bending deformation of the bimetal 12, and this displacement causes both the contacts 1
0 and 11 open and close to maintain the base 1 at a predetermined set temperature.

The upper surface of the base 1 is covered with a metal cover 14, and a heat shield plate 15 made of heat-resistant synthetic resin is arranged at a distance on the upper surface of this cover 14.
A handle 16 made of synthetic resin is attached to the top surface of the handle 5. There is a water tank 17 inside the handle 16.
is formed, and this water tank 17 has a hollow part 18 and an opening 19. A water inlet body 20 integrally molded from synthetic resin is attached to the front end surface of the handle 16, and this water inlet body 20 has a water inlet 21 and a lid plate 22 that can be opened and closed.
is fitted into the opening 19 of the water tank 17. Therefore, open the cover plate 22 to open the water inlet 2 as appropriate.
1 through which water can be supplied into the water tank 17.

A recess 23 is formed in a portion of the upper surface of the cover 14, and a pump 24 is provided between the recess 23 and the inner surface of the heat shield plate 15. This pump 24 communicates with the bottom of the water tank 17 via an inlet pipe 25,
A normally open check valve 26 is provided at the connection between the introduction pipe 25 and the bottom of the water tank 17. A water pump 27 extends and stands up from the side surface of the pump 24 , and a drip pipe 28 is connected to the upper end of the water pump 27 . facing the inside of. A heating element 29 formed in a membrane shape is attached to the outer periphery of the pump 24.
The entire outer periphery of the heating element 29 is covered. A temperature-sensitive switch 30 is provided on the top surface of the base 1 to open and close contacts depending on the temperature of the base 1, and the temperature-sensitive switch 30 is electrically connected to the heating element 29.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a support plate provided at the upper part of the front end of the handle 16, and an operating disk 33 is rotatably supported on the upper surface of the support plate 31 via a shaft portion 32. This operation disk 33 has a first cam surface 34 on the bottom surface.
However, a second cam surface 35 is formed on the upper surface, and each of these cam surfaces 34 and 35 is long along an arc centered on the shaft portion 32, and is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. 36 is the operating lever, this is water tank 1
A bent piece 3 is inserted through the hollow part 18 of the temperature controller 7, has a lower end connected to the free end of the fixed contact plate 8 of the temperature controller 7, and has an upper end bent into an L shape as shown in FIG.
7. The bent piece 37 faces the supporting piece 38 protruding from the inner wall surface of the handle 16, and the screw 39 loosely inserts the bent piece 37 and screws onto the supporting piece 38, so that the bent piece 37 and the supporting piece 38 A spring 40 is interposed between them, and the operating rod 36 is elastically urged upward by this spring 40. A mounting piece 41 is provided on the upper end side edge of the operating rod 36, and an operating rod 42 is attached to this mounting piece 41. This operating rod 42 is connected to the support plate 31.
The first cam surface 34 is slidably penetrated through the spring 40 and elastically abuts on the first cam surface 34 based on the elastic force of the spring 40 . Further, the actuator 44 of the changeover switch 43 is elastically in contact with the second cam surface 35. The operation disk 33 is covered with a cap 45 and has a knob 46 integrally on one edge thereof.
As shown in FIG. 4, this knob 46 is exposed to the outside of the cap 45, and an instruction plate 47 is attached to the surface of the cap 45, and the instruction plate 47 displays instructions for setting "steam" and "dry". is being carried out.

Next, to explain the electric circuit, as shown in FIG. are connected in series, and the series circuits of both are connected in parallel to the power supply 49. In addition, 50 is an operation switch.

Next, the effect will be explained. A heating element 2 cast into the base 1 is energized via a temperature controller 7,
The base 1 is heated by this energization. On this occasion,
When the operating disk 33 is rotated via the knob 46 and the knob 46 is aligned with the "STEAM" range on the indicator plate 47, the operating rod 42 and the operating rod 36 are moved by the inclination of the first cam surface 34. When operated, the fixed contact plate 8 of the temperature regulator 7 is displaced, and the fixed contact 10
is set at a predetermined position, thereby setting the base 1 to a temperature suitable for generating steam (approximately 160 to 190°C). Also, at this time, the operation disk 33
The actuator 44 is pressed by the inclination of the second cam surface 35, and the contact of the changeover switch 43 is closed. When the temperature of the base 1 rises to an appropriate temperature for generating steam, the temperature-sensitive switch 30 senses the temperature and closes, and the heating element 29 of the pump 24 is energized. This energization heats the water in the pump 24 and increases the pressure in the pump 24. With this increase, the water in the water pump 27 is pushed up above the rated water level in the water tank 17, and the water in the drip pipe 28 is pushed up. It is sent out into the vaporization chamber 3 through. When the pressure inside the pump 24 decreases with this delivery, the check valve 26 opens and the water in the water tank 17 is replenished into the pump 24 through the introduction pipe 25. By repeating this process, an appropriate amount of water is sent into the vaporization chamber 3. The water sent into the vaporization chamber 3 is sequentially vaporized by the heat of the base 1 and becomes steam, and this steam is ejected from the guide chamber 4 through the injection hole 6 to the lower surface side of the base 1.

When the knob 46 is operated from this state and the position is set in the "dry" range on the indicator plate 47, the contact point of the changeover switch 43 is opened via the actuator 44 due to the inclination of the second cam surface 35. In addition, the temperature of the base 1 is adjusted by the slope of the first cam surface 34.
The temperature is set according to the position of 6. When the changeover switch 43 is opened, the power supply to the heating element 29 of the pump 24 is cut off, and therefore the operation of the pump 24 is stopped. Therefore, the internal pressure of the pump 24 does not increase.

When operating the pump 24 in this way, instead of operating it by conductive heat from the base 1 as in the past, a dedicated heating element 2 attached to the pump 24 is used.
Since it is operated by directly using the heat of 9,
Immediate response is improved, and the time when the base 1 reaches an appropriate temperature can be accurately matched with the time when the pump 24 starts operating. In addition, the pump 24 can be stopped immediately and accurately by turning off the power to the heating element 29. In other words, the pump 24 does not operate due to the residual heat of the base 1 as in the conventional case, and therefore no water is wasted in the vaporization chamber 3. Therefore, the vaporization chamber 3 will not be corroded. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the pump 24 is not controlled by the heat of the base 1, but is controlled by using the dedicated heating element 29, so that the setting and adjustment of its capacity can be done without being restricted by the temperature situation of the base 1. It is extremely easy to do.

By the way, if the pump 24 is placed close to the base 1, the radiant heat from the base 1 will cause the pump 24 to
4 may malfunction, and the pump 24 may malfunction.
If it is moved far away from the base 1 and close to constituent parts such as the water tank 17, there is a risk that the constituent parts will be thermally damaged by the heating element 29 of the pump 24. However, in this embodiment, the pump 2
4 is placed between the cover 14 and the heat shield plate 15, the pump 24 does not receive radiant heat from the base 1 and malfunction, and the heating element 29 of the pump 24 prevents the structure of the water tank 17, etc. There is no risk of thermal damage to the parts. FIG. 6 shows a case where a heat insulating member 51 is provided on the cover 14 and heat shield plate 15 facing the pump 24, and FIG. 7 shows a case where the pump 24 is surrounded by a heat shield member 52 equivalent to the heat shield plate 15. 8 shows a case where a heat insulating member 53 is interposed between the pump 24 and the heat shield plate 15, and by doing so, the above-mentioned effects can be further improved.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is no risk of inadvertently increasing the internal pressure of the pump, the pump can be started and stopped accurately at predetermined times, and furthermore, the setting of the pump capacity can be easily adjusted. Moreover, it is possible to reliably prevent malfunction of the pump and thermal damage to the water tank, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional steam iron, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the support structure of the operating lever of the same embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional steam iron. Similarly, Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the knobs, and Fig. 5 is an electric circuit diagram, Figs. 6 and 7.
8 are sectional views showing different heat shielding means of the pump. 1... Base, 3... Vaporization chamber, 14... Cover, 15... Heat shield plate, 17... Water tank, 24...
...Pump, 29...Heating element.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A water tank and a pump operated by heat are provided on the upper part of a base having a vaporization chamber, and the water in the water tank is pushed up above the water surface in the water tank and sent to the vaporization chamber by the operation of the pump, A cover and a heat shield plate are arranged between the base and the water tank, the pump is arranged between the two, a heating element is provided in the pump, and the electricity supply to the heating element is controlled. A steam iron characterized by operating a pump.