JPH0446600B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a steam iron for general household use.

Structure of a conventional example and its problems A conventional steam iron of this type will be explained based on the attached drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a base equipped with a heater 2, a vaporization chamber 3, and a steam hole 4, and 5 is a temperature regulator that senses the temperature of the base 1 using a bimetal 6 and controls the temperature of the base 1.
The temperature of the base 1 is controlled by intermittent supply of electricity to the heater 2, and the temperature is set by an operating section 8 provided at the front of the upper surface of the handle 7. 9 is a water tank, 1
0 is a nozzle attached to the bottom of this water tank 9, 11 is an opening/closing rod for opening and closing this nozzle 10, and 12 is an operation button for this opening/closing rod 11. Collaborated. Reference numeral 15 denotes an indicator provided in front of the operating section 8, and is provided opposite to a temperature scale (not shown) displayed on the upper part of the operating section 8 of the temperature regulator 5.

In the above configuration, when the user performs steam ironing, the user rotates the operation part 8 of the temperature controller 5 and sets the temperature scale indicating the steam generation range to the index 15.
Set the base 1 temperature accordingly. After that, when the operating part 12 that opens and closes the nozzle is pushed down, the push-up member 13 is pushed down and the reversing member 14 is rotated.
The opening/closing rod 11 is pushed up. and nozzle 10
is opened, water in the water tank 9 passes through the nozzle 10, enters the vaporization chamber 3, becomes steam, and is ejected from the steam hole 4 provided in the base 1.

However, with this configuration, if the nozzle 10 is opened/closed when the temperature of the base 1 is set to a temperature that does not sufficiently vaporize the water, the water remains unvaporized because the temperature inside the vaporization chamber 3 is low. There were cases where the iron leaked from the steam hole 4 and wet the item to be ironed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve these conventional problems and provide a steam iron at a regular price that prevents erroneous operation.

Composition of the Invention The steam iron of the present invention includes a base heated by a heater and equipped with a vaporizing chamber, a temperature regulator that controls the temperature of the base and has an operating section, and a water tank disposed above the base. ,
The water tank is equipped with a nozzle that communicates with the vaporizing chamber, and an opening/closing rod that opens and closes this nozzle by vertical movement. A lock means is provided which is released when the temperature is set above a predetermined temperature value, and this lock means prevents water from being supplied to the vaporization chamber at a low set temperature.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, 17 is the heater 1
8, a base equipped with a vaporization chamber 19 and a steam hole 20; 21 is a temperature regulator having a bimetal 22, which controls the supply of electricity to the heater 18 by opening and closing contacts 23;

Reference numeral 24 denotes an operating section of this temperature regulator 21, which has a temperature scale 25 indicating the steam temperature range.
26 is a water tank, and 27 is a nozzle attached to the bottom of this water tank 26. 28 is an opening/closing rod for opening and closing this nozzle 27, and 29 is the opening/closing rod 2.
8, and is linked to the opening/closing rod 28 via a push-up member 30 and a reversing member 31. Reference numeral 32 denotes a lock bar formed horizontally at the lower part of the push-up member 30, and is opposed to a lock part 33 formed at the lower part of the operating part 24 of the temperature regulator 21. Reference numeral 34 denotes an indicator provided on the front part of the handle 35, and is provided opposite to the temperature scale displayed on the upper surface of the operating section 24 of the temperature regulator 21. Here, the lock part 33 of the operating part 24 is arranged so that when the temperature scale 25 indicating the steam temperature range and the indicator 34 face each other, the open part a of the lock part 33 faces the lock rod 32, as shown in FIG. The vertical dimensions of the open portion a of the lock portion 33 are set so that the lock rod 32 does not protrude below the lock portion 33 at the lower limit position of the lock rod 32.

To explain the operation in the above configuration, as shown in FIG.
3 restricts the downward movement. Therefore, the operation button 29 is not allowed to move, and the opening/closing rod 2
8 does not open. In addition, when the operation part 24 of the temperature regulator 21 is operated and the steam temperature scale 25 is aligned to face the indicator 34, the temperature regulator 2
1 heats the base 17 and keeps the temperature inside the vaporization chamber 19 sufficiently high. If the operation button 29 for opening and closing the nozzle 10 is then pushed down, the lock rod 32 is opposed to the open section a of the lock section 33, so its movement can be moved downward without being restricted. Therefore, the entire push-up member 30 moves downward, and the reversing member 31 is reversed to push the opening/closing rod 28 upward, so that the nozzle 27 becomes open. At this time, since the temperature of the vaporization chamber 19 is sufficiently high, when water is supplied from the water tank 26, it immediately vaporizes and becomes steam.
More erupts.

As mentioned above, the temperature in the base 17 and the vaporization chamber 19 is sufficient for water to vaporize, so that the water in the base 1
There is no leakage from the steam hole 20 of No.7.

As described above, in the steam iron of the embodiment, the opening operation of the nozzle 27 is not permitted unless the temperature setting of the base 17 is adjusted to the steam temperature scale.
Therefore, water will not leak due to erroneous operation, and the problem of getting the ironed item wet can be prevented.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which an indicator portion 36 is provided rotatably about a fulcrum 37, and a locking rod 38 is formed at the opposite end. Further, a lock plate 40 having a notch b is attached to the upper part of the opening/closing rod 39. The temperature scale 41 is fixed, and when the indicator 36 indicates a temperature scale outside the steam temperature range, the lock rod 38 and the lock plate 40 restrict the movement of the opening/closing rod 39.

In this case, the temperature scale 41 can be made small, and a large dial-shaped operating section 24 is provided at the front of the handle 35.
This is effective when there is no space to provide a handle, and the front part of the handle 35 can be made smaller.

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment in which a part of the operation button 42 is cut out to face the cutout part of the operation part 43 of the temperature regulator. Therefore, the operation button 42 can be operated only within the range of the steam temperature scale. In this case, the effects of the present invention can be obtained with the simplest structure, so it can be realized particularly at low cost.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment, in which a magnet 45 is embedded in a part of the operation part 44 of the temperature controller and is configured to attract a locking member 46 formed of a magnetic material. In the temperature scale range, the lock member 46 is attracted in the direction of arrow A and the operation button 29 is pressed.
It is now possible to release the lock. In the locked state, the lock member 46 moves in the direction of arrow B due to the gravity of the weight 47 attached to the lock member 46. In this case, when the user presses down the operation button 29, all the force is applied to the lock member 46, so no extra force is applied to the operation part 44 of the temperature regulator.
The effect is that the temperature can always be set stably without being affected by the force that locks the delicate temperature adjustment settings.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, the steam iron of the present invention responds particularly to the opening/closing rod of the nozzle that supplies water to the vaporizing chamber and the operation status of the temperature controller to set the base temperature within a certain range. By providing a locking means for the opening/closing rod that allows the opening/closing rod to open when the water is heated, the nozzle opening/closing rod will be locked if the temperature is set at a temperature that does not sufficiently vaporize the water. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous operations in which unused water leaks and wets the item to be ironed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a conventional steam iron, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a steam iron showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the same main part. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of still another embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of still another embodiment. be. 17... Base, 19... Vaporization chamber, 21... Temperature controller, 27... Nozzle, 28... Opening/closing rod (switch), 29, 42... Operation button (switch), 30...
... Push-up member (switch), 31... Reversing member (switch), 32, 38... Lock bar (locking means), 3
3...Lock part (lock means), 40...Lock plate (lock means), 43... Operation part (lock member).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base heated by a heater and equipped with a vaporization chamber, a temperature regulator that controls the temperature of this base and has an operating section, a water tank disposed above the base, and a water tank that controls the temperature of this base and has an operation section. It is equipped with a nozzle that communicates between the tank and the vaporization chamber, and an opening/closing rod that opens and closes this nozzle by vertical movement, and a base temperature is controlled by the temperature controller between the operation part of the temperature controller and the opening/closing rod. A steam iron equipped with a locking means that is released when the temperature is set above a predetermined temperature value. 2. Provided in the operating section of the rotatable temperature controller,
It consists of a lock part with an open part on a part of the outer periphery, a push-up member located on the lock part and linked to an operation button that can be moved up and down, and a reversing member provided between the push-up member and the opening/closing rod. A steam iron according to claim 1, which comprises a locking means. 3. A locking rod is protruded to the opposite side from the rotational fulcrum of the operation part of the rotatable temperature regulator, and a locking plate is provided in the middle of the opening/closing rod located within the rotation locus range of the locking rod to constitute the locking means. A steam iron according to claim 1. 4. A locking means is provided by providing a notch in a part of the outer periphery of the operating part of the rotatable temperature regulator and a notch in the lower part of the operating button of the opening/closing rod with which the outer periphery of the operating part engages. The steam iron described in item 1. 5. A patent claim in which a magnet is provided on a part of the outer periphery of the operation part of a rotatable temperature regulator, and a locking member made of a magnetic material that is attracted by the magnet and reversed is arranged below the operation button of the opening/closing lever to constitute a locking means. A steam iron according to item 1 of the range.