JPS6238638Y2 - - 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 appropriately from the lower surface of a base.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

In this type of iron, water stored in a water tank is introduced into a vaporizing chamber in the base, where the water is evaporated into steam, and the steam is sequentially jetted out from the bottom surface of the base. Conventionally, water in a water tank is generally supplied to the vaporization chamber by a drop. However, in this type of head type, the amount of water supplied to the vaporization chamber changes as the water level in the water tank changes, and due to this change, the amount of steam ejected is not constant but changes sequentially. There was a difficult point.

Therefore, recently, a heat pump has been installed in the water guide path between the water tank and the vaporization chamber, and the water in the water tank flows into this pump, and when steam is ejected, the water is pushed up from this pump and sent to the vaporization chamber. A device has been developed that allows a constant amount of steam to be ejected regardless of changes in the water level in the water tank.

However, since a heat pump heats the water inside it and supplies water to the vaporization chamber through expansion, its actual capacity varies depending on the temperature of the water introduced into the heat pump. There is a problem in that when the water temperature in the tank is low, the amount of water supplied to the vaporization chamber decreases, resulting in an insufficient amount of steam to be ejected.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed with attention to these points, and its purpose is to supply enough water from the tank to the vaporization chamber to generate steam even when the water temperature in the water tank is low. An object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron that does not cause a shortage in the amount of ejection.

[Summary of the idea]

The present invention is characterized in that a heat transfer member that transfers heat from the base is attached to an introduction pipe that introduces water in a water tank into a heat pump, and the heat transfer member preheats the water flowing into the heat pump. iron.

[Example of idea]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the figure, 1 is 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.
are in communication with each other via a passage (not shown), and their upper surfaces are hermetically sealed by a common cover plate 5, and one guide chamber 4 communicates with the lower surface of the base 1 via an ejection hole 6. Furthermore base 1
A temperature regulator 7 is provided on the top surface to control the heating element 2 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, These two are arranged opposite to each other, and the fixed contact plate 8 has the fixed contact 1
0 and the movable contact plate 9 has movable contacts 11, respectively. A bimetal 12 that senses the temperature of the base 1 and deforms in a curved manner is arranged below the movable contact plate 9. An insulator 13 is attached to the tip of this bimetal 12, and the movable contact plate 9 is attached to the insulator 13 by its own elasticity. It is in contact with. The movable contact plate 9 is displaced following the bending deformation of the bimetal 12, and this displacement opens and closes both the contacts 10 and 11, thereby maintaining 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 formed of 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 heat pump 24 is provided between the recess 23 and the inner surface of the heat shield plate 15. The heat pump 24 communicates with the bottom of the water tank 17 via an introduction pipe 25, and a normally open check valve 26 is disposed 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, and the entire outer periphery is covered with this heating element 29. On the top surface of the base 1 is a temperature-sensitive switch 3 that opens and closes the contacts depending on the temperature of the base 1.
0 is provided, and this temperature-sensitive switch 30 is electrically connected to the heating element 29.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a support plate provided on the upper 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 rod, this is water tank 1
7, a bent piece 3 whose lower end is connected to the free end of the fixed contact plate 8 of the temperature controller 7, and whose upper end is 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 A spring 40 is interposed between the lever 38 and the lever 38, and the spring 40 elastically urges the operating rod 36 upward. 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 operating element 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. 3, this knob 46 is exposed to the outside of the cap 45, and an indicator plate 47 is attached to the surface of the cap 45, and on this indicator plate 47 are displayed settings for "steam" and "dry". It is being carried out.

A heat transfer member 51 is attached to the outer periphery of the introduction pipe 25 that connects the water tank 17 and the heat pump 24 so as to be deviated toward the arrangement side of the introduction pipe 25 . As shown in FIG. 4, this heat transfer member 51 is made of a metal material with good thermal conductivity such as copper, and one end covers the outer periphery of the introduction pipe 25 and is in close contact with the circumferential surface thereof, and the other end is attached to the base 1, for example, in the vaporization chamber. 3, and this makes the base 1
The heat is transferred to the introduction tube 25. Note that one end of the introduction pipe 25 is covered with a heat-insulating packing 52.
It is connected to the heat pump 24 via.

Next, to explain the electric circuit, as shown in FIG. The two series circuits 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 through 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). At this time, the actuator 44 is pressed by the inclination of the second cam surface 35 of the operating disk 33, 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, causing the heating element 29 of the heat pump 24 to close.
is energized. This energization causes the heat pump 24
The water in the pump 24 is heated and the pressure in the pump 24 increases, and with this rise, the water in the water pump 27 is pushed upwards above the rated water level in the water tank 17, and the water is pumped into the vaporization chamber 3 through the drip pipe 28. sent to. 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 heat 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 heating element 2 of the heat pump 24 is
The power supply to the heat pump 9 is cut off, and therefore the operation of the heat pump 24 is stopped. For this reason, heat pump 2
There is no possibility that the internal pressure of 4 will increase.

However, the heat of the base 1 is constantly transmitted to the introduction pipe 25 through the heat transfer member 51, and therefore the water flowing into the heat pump 24 through the introduction pipe 25 is preheated. Therefore, even if the water temperature in the water tank 17 is low, water with a higher temperature flows into the heat pump 24, and therefore the heat pump 24 can sufficiently supply water to the vaporization chamber 3 without reducing its capacity. Therefore, the amount of steam ejected is never insufficient. The heat of the base 1 is constantly transmitted to the introduction pipe 25, and this introduction pipe 25 is connected to the heat pump 2 through the heat insulating packing 52.
4, the heat pump 24 will not receive heat from the introduction pipe 25 and inadvertently malfunction when set to "dry". Also,
When setting "steam", for example, if the power cord is pulled out and the temperature of the vaporization chamber 3 becomes unsuitable for vaporization, the temperature-sensitive switch 30 is opened and the operation of the heat pump 24 is automatically stopped. The water supply to the vaporization chamber 3 is cut off.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the water temperature in the water tank is low, sufficient water can be supplied into the vaporizing chamber to reliably prevent the occurrence of insufficient steam output. play.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall cross-sectional view, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing how the operating rod is supported, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the knob, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the operating lever is supported.
The figure is a sectional view showing the state in which the heat transfer member is supported, and FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram. 1...base, 3...vaporization chamber, 17...water tank, 24...heat pump, 25...introduction pipe, 5
1... Heat transfer member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Water in a water tank is introduced into the heat pump through an introduction pipe, and this water is pushed up by the operation of the heat pump and supplied to the vaporization chamber of the base, in which a heat transfer member that transfers the heat of the base is attached to the introduction pipe, A steam iron that uses a heat transfer member to preheat the water flowing from the water tank to the heat pump.