JPS6241757B2 - - Google Patents

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]

Traditionally, steam irons sense the heat of the base and control the supply of water from the tank to the vaporization chamber.
Publication No. 46-13998 is known. The iron disclosed in this publication has a nozzle installed in a through hole that communicates the tank and the vaporization 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 vaporization chamber defined in the base to sense the heat of the iron base, and the other free end that is gradually moved up and down by the heat. A valve body is installed to open and close the drip nozzle from the bottom.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional structure described above, it is necessary to press the valve body against the nozzle side in order to prevent water from leaking from the nozzle drip hole when the valve body is not in use or when it is cold or at low temperatures. It is. Therefore, stress is constantly applied to the bimetal, and there is a problem in that the operating temperature tends to vary due to deformation of the bimetal due to this stress.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention has the following features:
A bimetallic heat-responsive member provided on the base operates an opening/closing device that switches on and off the flow of water supplied from a tank placed above the heated base to a vaporization chamber provided on the base. At the same time, the opening/closing device is always biased in the closing direction by a spring that closes the opening/closing device at a temperature below the appropriate temperature for the heat of the base to evaporate.

[Function] The steam iron of the present invention uses the biasing force of the spring to close the opening/closing device with the deformation 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 this happens, the opening/closing device is opened and water is supplied from inside the tank to the vaporization chamber, and when the base falls below the appropriate temperature for evaporation, the opening/closing device is closed by the biasing force of the spring, allowing water to be vaporized from inside the tank. The flow of water to the room is 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. It is possible.

〔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, 4 is a tank disposed above the base 3, 5 is a tank water filler port, Reference numeral 6 indicates an iron temperature setting dial, 7 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. A steam passage 11 extending between the bottom surface of the base 3 and the vaporization chamber 10 is bored in the base 3.

The flow and shutoff 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 indicated by the reference numeral 9 in FIG. This embodiment shows a case where the opening/closing device 9 is formed by a valve rod having a needle portion at its lower end that contacts and separates from the valve seat of the dripping valve 8. Moreover, the upper end of this opening/closing device 9 passes through the outer wall of the tank 4 and the fixed bracket 25 in order, and is guided and supported by sliding thereon so as to be able to reciprocate up and down.

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. It is fixed to the mounting part 3a through which it is inserted. The other end of the thermally responsive member 12 is connected to an engaging means 13 shown in FIG.
It is attached to the opening/closing device 9 on the outside of the tank 4 via.

The engagement means 13 includes a pair of flanges 14 , 14 fixed to the opening/closing device 9 with a gap therebetween, and a groove 15 inserted between the pair of flanges 14 , 14 .
A bifurcated fork member 16 into which the opening/closing device 9 is loosely inserted.
It consists of. 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 flanges 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 drawing is allowed to escape by sliding 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, transmits the tension force to the opening/closing device 9, and controls the dripping valve by the thermally responsive member 12. 8 can be opened and closed later or earlier. 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 screw body 20 integrally connected to the notch-shaped groove 1'. The device 9 is passed through, and the screw body 20 can rotate around the opening/closing device 9. and,
The screw body 20 is prevented from rotating by a guide 21, but an adjustment plate 22 that allows vertical movement is screwed together, and a coil-shaped coil is connected between the adjustment plate 22 and a flange 23 provided on the opening/closing device 9. A spring 19 is interposed. However, this spring 19
The spring force urges the drip valve 8 to a normally closed state. Note that the upper end of the opening/closing device 9 passing through the front end of the handle 1 is exposed on the handle 1;
It rises and falls slightly as the dripping valve 8 opens and closes. 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 this 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 via the base 3 and the attachment portion 3a, the temperature rise causes the thermally responsive member 12 to be heated via the attachment portion 3a. Curved deformation of the thermally responsive member 12 due to temperature rise acts to lift the opening/closing device 9 in the valve opening direction (upward) via the engagement means 13, but the biasing force of the spring 19 causes the thermally responsive member 12 to open. The dripping valve 8 does not open until the valve opening setting temperature of the valve temperature dial 18, that is, the temperature sufficient for the vaporization chamber 10 to instantaneously vaporize the dripping water, is reached.

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 and lifts the opening/closing device 9.
The drip valve 8 is automatically opened. Thus, when the dripping valve 8 is opened, the water in the tank 4 flows through the dripping valve 8 and drips into the vaporization chamber 10, where it is turned into steam by the vaporization chamber 10, which is heated to a sufficiently high temperature. Then, steam is ejected from the steam passage 11 by its own steam pressure, making it possible to iron with steam.

On the other hand, base 3 has iron temperature setting dial 6
The heating continues until the temperature reaches a preset temperature, and when the preset temperature is reached, a thermomechanism (not shown) shuts off the current. 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, the dripping valve 8 can be manually closed as necessary by pressing the exposed portion 9' of the opening/closing device 9 provided at the front end of the handle 1.
It can stop the steam from blowing out, which allows dry ironing.

Then, when you have finished ironing and want to store the iron, all you have to do is turn off the iron. 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 deformation force and the spring 19
Due to the urging force, the opening/closing device 9 is automatically pushed down and the drip valve 8 is closed.

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 possibility of wetting the fabric or the storage area.
There is no risk of causing problems such as corrosion of the iron itself.

Moreover, since the opening/closing device 9 is held in the closed state by the biasing force of the spring 19 as described above, it is necessary to generate stress in the bimetallic thermally responsive member 12 and use that force to hold the opening/closing device 9 in the closed state. There is no. For this reason, the thermally responsive member 12 can be provided in a state where no stress is generated or only slight stress is generated when the iron is not in use.
Therefore, the deformation of the thermally responsive member 12 when not in use is minimized, and variations in the operating temperature of this member 12 can be prevented.

In carrying out the present invention, specific structures such as the base, the vaporization chamber, the tank, the opening/closing device, the thermally responsive member, the spring, etc.
Of course, the shape, position, etc. are not limited to the one embodiment described above, 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 falls below the appropriate evaporation temperature, the spring's biasing force causes the switchgear to close, so the heat-responsive member always closes the switchgear. This eliminates the need for the heat-responsive member to bear the brunt of the heat, which has the effect of preventing variations in the operating temperature of the thermally-responsive member.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a side view with a part cut away, FIG. 2a is a side view of the engaging means, FIG. 2b is a plan view of the same means, and FIG.
The figure 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.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Comprising a base to be heated, 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 bimetallic heat-responsive member provided on the base to operate the switchgear; and a bimetallic thermally responsive member provided to always bias the switchgear in the closing direction, and close the switchgear at a temperature below an appropriate temperature for the heat of the base to evaporate. A steam iron characterized by being equipped with a spring that causes the iron to move.