JPH0449440B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an iron that uses a heat storage material to suppress a drop in the temperature of the base.

PRIOR ART Conventionally, so-called cordless irons have been developed in which a heat storage material is housed in the base of the iron to suppress the temperature drop of the base, and the iron can be disconnected from the power source to perform ironing operations to improve operability. ing.

The heat storage material used in such irons is
Pentaerythritol is the most suitable in terms of heat storage amount, heat storage temperature, etc. Pentaerythritol has a crystal transition point at 188℃, and its latent heat of transition is extremely large, approximately 300 J/g. Therefore, by utilizing the heat dissipation of this latent heat of transition, a cordless iron that is compact and can be ironed for a long time can be created. At the same time, it also makes it easier to make a steam iron with a steam generation function that requires a large amount of heat cordless.

When this pentaerythritol is to be put to practical use as a heat storage material for irons, another consideration must be given to its heat transfer means.

That is, the thermal conductivity of pentaerythritol itself is very low compared to metals and the like, and is comparable to that of general resins. Therefore, when pentaerythritol is housed in a base and used as a heat storage material, it becomes necessary to provide a heat transfer protruding member on the inner surface of a storage chamber formed in the base that accommodates the heat storage material. In particular, when a vaporization chamber is provided to generate steam, the amount of heat dissipated is large, so the performance of the iron is greatly influenced by this heat transfer characteristic.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when providing a protruding member on the inner surface of the storage chamber formed in the base in order to improve heat transfer characteristics,
In the conventional molding method of the base using aluminum casting, there are manufacturing limits to increasing the height of the protruding parts molded integrally with the base or increasing the density of the protruding parts, and it is difficult to obtain sufficient heat transfer characteristics. is difficult,
The amount of time it takes for heat to be stored in the heat storage material increases, resulting in a longer wait time before ironing can be done, or the amount of heat stored in the heat storage material is not dissipated sufficiently, resulting in a shorter ironing time. There were other problems.

Moreover, even if a protruding member with a high height and high density could be manufactured, it was not easy to efficiently fill the protruding member with a heat storage material, and the productivity was not good.

Means for Solving the Problem In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a heat storage element in which a heat storage material made of a mixture of pentaerythritol and a heat medium is filled and sealed in a heat storage container made of fluororesin. It is accommodated in a storage chamber provided in the base by being clamped in contact between the inner bottom surface of the storage chamber and the base upper member.

Effect With this configuration, the heat medium mixed with pentaerythritol improves heat transfer throughout the heat storage material, resulting in a uniform temperature distribution, and the heat storage element is securely in contact with both the inner bottom surface of the storage chamber and the upper base member. Since the heat storage material and the base are held together, heat transfer between the heat storage material and the base is improved, and there is no need to provide a protruding member in the storage chamber, and since the heat storage element itself can be handled as a unit component, productivity is improved.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a base having a storage chamber 2 on its upper surface, in which a heating body 3 made of a sheathed heater is embedded. Reference numeral 4 denotes a base upper member integrally provided with a vaporization chamber 5 on its upper surface. 6 is a heat storage element in which a heat storage container 8 made of fluorocarbon resin is filled and sealed with a heat storage material 7 made of a mixture of pentaerythritol and a heat medium such as silicone oil. The heat storage element 6 is housed in the storage chamber 2, and is fixed and clamped in contact between the bottom surface 2A of the storage chamber and the base upper member 4. 9 is tank 1
This is a dripping nozzle that supplies water stored in the vaporizer chamber 5 to the vaporizer chamber 5, and is connected to the vaporizer chamber 5 through a packing 12 attached to a vaporizer chamber lid 11 that covers the upper part of the vaporizer chamber 5. Reference numeral 13 denotes an opening/closing rod which is interlocked with a steam button 15 provided at the top of the handle 14, and is moved up and down to supply and stop water from the drip nozzle 9. 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a steam ejection hole provided on the bottom surface of the base 1, communicating with the vaporization chamber 5 via a steam passage 17, and ejecting steam generated in the vaporization chamber 5. Reference numeral 18 denotes a power supply terminal connected to the heating body 3 via a temperature regulator (not shown), and connected to a power source to supply power. Reference numeral 19 denotes a temperature adjustment lever connected to a temperature controller, which is used to set the temperature of the base 1.

The operation of the iron configured as above will be explained below.

When a power supply is connected to the power supply terminal 18 and energized, the heating body 3 generates heat, the base 1, the storage chamber 2, and the base upper member 4 are heated, and the heat storage element 6 accommodated in contact therewith is also heated. At this time, since the heat storage element 6 is clamped between the storage chamber bottom surface 7A and the base upper member 4, both the upper and lower surfaces are reliably heated, and the mixture of pentaerythritol and heat medium In the heat storage material 7, the thermal conductivity is improved by the heat medium, so that the entire pentaerythritol of the heat storage material is uniformly heated, and heat is efficiently stored inside in a short time. FIG. 4 shows this situation. Figure A shows the inside of the heat storage material 7 when a mixture of pentaerythritol and silicone oil at a weight ratio of 10:3 is used as the heat storage material 7 in this example, and the base temperature is set to 200°C. It shows the temperature rise characteristics in the center. Figure B
is the temperature increase characteristic when pentaerythritol alone having the same shape is used instead of the heat storage material 7 under the same conditions. As is clear from this figure, by mixing pentaerythritol and a heat medium, the heat storage material 7
It can be seen that the time required for pentaerythritol to accumulate heat is considerably shorter than that for pentaerythritol alone. The stored heat storage material 7 starts dissipating heat when the power source is disconnected from the power supply terminal 18, and the heat is efficiently transmitted to the base 1 and the base upper member 4 for the same reason as described above, and a temperature drop is suppressed for a long time. Ironing is possible in this state, and since the power cord does not lead out from the iron itself, the power cord does not get caught on clothes or limit the range of operation, making it easier to use. It is. In addition, when generating steam, when the steam button 15 is operated to open the opening/closing rod 13, water is supplied from the dripping nozzle 9 to the vaporization chamber 5 via the packing 12, and the steam generated here flows through the steam passage 17. The steam is ejected from the steam ejection hole 16 through the steam outlet. At this time, a large amount of heat is taken away from the vaporization chamber 5, but since the vaporization chamber 5 is provided integrally with the base upper member 4 over a large area, stable steam can be maintained for a long time without a sudden temperature drop. Obtainable. In addition, the vaporization chamber 5 is connected to the base upper member 4.
By providing this, the temperature of the bottom surface of the base 1 is less affected by the temperature of the vaporization chamber 5,
The temperature of the bottom surface of the base 1 does not partially drop when steam is generated.

Next, the heat storage element 6 will be explained.

The heat storage element 6 is made by filling and sealing a heat storage container 8 made of fluororesin with a heat storage material 7 made of a mixture of pentaerythritol and a heat medium. From the relationship between conduction and heat storage, it is desirable to mix 10 to 10 parts of the heat medium in a weight ratio of 1 to 10 parts of the heat medium. As the heat medium to be mixed, a silicone-based heat medium that hardly accelerates the decomposition of pentaerythritol, or a hydrocarbon-based heat medium such as paraffin-based or diphenylethane-based heat medium is suitable. As the fluorine-based resin for the heat storage container 8, tetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) or perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer resin (PFA), which does not affect the life of pentaerythritol and has excellent heat resistance, is suitable. ing. As a manufacturing method, for example, in the case of PTFE, there is a method in which a film is formed in advance and then glued into a bag shape, the heat storage material 7 is filled and sealed in the bag, and then the bag is molded. In the case of PFA, in addition to the above method, a method may be used in which the heat storage container 8 is formed by injection molding or blow molding, and the heat storage material 7 is filled into the container and sealed.

By filling and sealing the heat storage material 7 in the heat storage container 8 made of fluororesin in this way, pentaerythritol, which is a heat storage material, does not come into direct contact with air or metals, so that it can be oxidized by air or decomposed by metal catalysts. In addition to preventing a decrease in the amount of heat storage caused by heat storage, productivity is also improved because the heat storage element 6 can be treated as a unit component.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention has a heat storage element in which a heat storage container made of fluororesin is filled and sealed with a heat storage material made of a mixture of pentaerythritol and a heat medium, and is stored in a storage chamber provided at a base. By storing the heat storage material in contact with the inner bottom surface of the chamber and the upper base member, sufficient heat transfer between the heat storage material and the base can be ensured without providing any protruding members in the storage chamber. To provide an iron with short waiting time until ironing becomes possible, ironing for a long time without pulling out a power cord, and excellent productivity.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an iron according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional view of the iron, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part, and Fig. 4 is a heat storage material. FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing temperature increase characteristics. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Storage chamber, 2A... Bottom surface of storage chamber, 4... Base upper member, 5... Vaporization chamber, 6... Heat storage element, 7... Heat storage material, 8... Heat storage container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat storage element in which a heat storage material made of a mixture of pentaerythritol and a heat medium is filled and sealed in a heat storage container made of fluororesin, and a base provided with a storage chamber for accommodating the heat storage element; An iron consisting of a base upper member that clamps a heat storage element in contact with the inner bottom surface of a storage chamber. 2. The iron according to claim 1, which has a steam generation function by providing a vaporization chamber in the base upper member. 3. The iron according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat medium is silicone-based or hydrocarbon-based.