JP3009180B2 - Cordless iron - Google Patents

Description

Description: Object of the Invention (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a cordless iron including an iron main body and a mounting table on which the iron main body is mounted to energize a heater of the iron main body.

(Prior Art) In this type of cordless iron, an iron body has an ironing base, a heater is provided on the base, and a power supply terminal for conducting the heater is provided at a rear end of the iron body. ing. In addition, the mounting table is provided with a power terminal that is electrically connected to a power source. According to an operation of mounting the iron body on the mounting table, the power supply terminal of the iron body contacts the power terminal of the mounting table, thereby energizing the heater. The base is heated by the heater.

Conventionally, as a method of controlling the temperature of the base, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-22000, a heat-sensitive element is provided on the base, and a communication terminal for conducting the heat-sensitive element is provided on the outer portion of the iron body. The mounting table is provided with a temperature control circuit and a receiving terminal that is electrically connected to the temperature control circuit, and the transmitting terminal is brought into contact with the receiving terminal by an operation of mounting the iron body on the mounting table. The temperature information is transmitted to the temperature control circuit of the mounting table, and based on this information, the power supply to the heater is controlled by the temperature control circuit to maintain the base temperature at the set temperature.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional control method, the signal of the thermosensitive element is transmitted to the temperature control circuit by mechanical contact between the transmission terminal and the reception terminal. The signal transmission is inaccurate due to poor contact between the transmission terminal and the reception terminal, and the accuracy of the temperature control is likely to be incorrect, which is insufficient in terms of reliability. Since it must be incorporated, the structure of the iron body becomes complicated and large, and there is a problem that handling when ironing is inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cordless iron that can control the temperature of a base with high accuracy and can reduce the size of an iron body.

[Constitution of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve such an object, the present invention includes a base for ironing, a heater for heating the base, and a power supply terminal for conducting to the heater. An ironing body, and a mounting table having a power supply terminal on which the ironing body can be placed and in which the power supply terminal is energized by contacting the power supply terminal in accordance with the mounting and energizing a heater of the ironing body, An infrared sensor is provided opposite to the base of the iron body in accordance with the placement of the iron body, and the intensity of infrared energy in the wavelength range of 8 to 14 μm radiated from the base is used as information on the temperature of the base. This is detected by an infrared sensor, and based on this detection, the energization of the heater is controlled so that the base reaches the set temperature.

(Operation) When the iron body is placed on the mounting table, the power supply terminal comes into contact with the power supply terminal, and the heater is energized. The heater heats the base, and radiates infrared energy in the 8 to 14 μm wavelength range radiated from the base. Is detected by the infrared sensor as information on the temperature of the base, and based on this detection, the energization of the heater is controlled and the base is maintained at the set temperature.

In this way, the temperature of the base is captured by optical means without using mechanical means, so the heater can be controlled with high precision without mechanical contact failure, and the iron body is heat sensitive. Since it is not necessary to incorporate an element or a transmission terminal, it is possible to reduce the size of the iron body.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the figure, 1 is an iron main body, and 2 is a mounting table. The iron body 1 has a handle 5 made of synthetic resin mounted on a base 3 made of metal via a heat shield cover 4. A heater 6 is integrally provided on the base 3, and a rear end of the handle 5 is provided. Is provided with a pair of power supply terminals 7 (only one is shown) which is electrically connected to the heater 6. A cassette type water tank 8 is detachably attached to a front portion of the handle 5, and water in the water tank 8 is appropriately dropped into a vaporization chamber (not shown) formed on the upper surface of the base 3 to form steam. The steam blows out from the lower surface of the base 3.

The mounting table 2 is formed of a heat-resistant synthetic resin such as FR-PET, and a mounting section 10 in an inclined state on which the iron body 1 can be mounted is formed on an upper surface, and one end side of the mounting section 10. A pair of power terminals 12 (only one is shown) corresponding to the power supply terminal 7 is provided on the side surface of the abutment wall 11, and the iron body 1 with respect to the mounting table 2 is provided. The power supply terminal 7 contacts and electrically connects to the power supply terminal 12 in accordance with the mounting. A plurality of holders 13 made of heat-resistant silicone rubber or the like are attached to the upper surface of the mounting portion 10, and a concave portion 14 is formed substantially at the center of the upper surface. An infrared sensor 15 for detecting the intensity of the infrared energy and outputting the signal is provided. When the iron body 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 10, the light receiving portion 15a of the infrared sensor 15
And is opposed to the lower surface of the. The light receiving section 15a is provided with a filter 16 that allows only infrared energy in a certain wavelength range, that is, a wavelength range of 8 to 14 μm. On the bottom surface of the concave portion 14, a water receiving portion 17 which is further concaved below is formed.

An energization control device 20 and a code reel device 21 are housed inside the mounting table 2, and the energization control device 20 includes an energization control circuit unit 22, a temperature setting circuit unit 23, and a temperature calculation unit, which are configured by a microcomputer, an IC, a transistor, and the like. A power supply cord 26 is wound around the code reel device 21 so as to be able to be pulled out.
The tip end of 26 is led out from one end face of the mounting table 2, and a power plug 27 is attached to the end. Further, a temperature setting switch 28 is provided on the upper surface of the abutment wall 11 of the mounting table 2. The power terminal 12, the infrared sensor 15, the power cord 26, and the temperature setting switch 28 are electrically connected to the energization control device 20, respectively.

 Next, the operation will be described.

When the iron body 1 is used, the power plug 27 is connected to the indoor outlet, and the temperature is set via the temperature setting switch 28.
Is placed on the mounting portion 10 of the mounting table 2. The power supply terminal 17 comes into contact with the power supply terminal 12 in accordance with this placement, and the heater 6 is energized by this contact, and the base 3 is heated by the heater 6 to increase the temperature.

The infrared energy of each wavelength is radiated from the lower surface of the base 3. As is well known, there is a certain correlation between the intensity of the infrared energy and the temperature of the base 3. Strength increases. Therefore, the temperature of the base 3 can be known by detecting the intensity of the infrared energy with the infrared sensor 15.
However, the change in the intensity of the infrared energy depends on the temperature of the base 3 depending on the wavelength range. If the infrared energy in the wavelength range having a large range of the change is collected and detected, the temperature can be accurately grasped. When steam is selected to be ejected, steam is ejected from the lower surface of the base 3. However, infrared energy in a certain wavelength range has a property of being absorbed by steam. Suitable for detecting temperature range (−10 to 250 ° C.), and wavelength range (about 5 to 8) absorbed by steam.
μm) and a filter 16 that passes only infrared energy in a wavelength range (8 to 14 μm) avoiding the infrared light sensor 15a of the infrared sensor 15
To detect the intensity of infrared energy in that wavelength range.

Thus, the intensity of the infrared energy radiated from the lower surface of the base 3 is detected by the infrared sensor 15 as information on the temperature of the base 3. The detection signal is input to the energization control device 20, and upon receiving this signal, the temperature of the base 3 is calculated by the temperature calculation circuit unit 24. The temperature of the base 3 and the temperature set by operating the temperature setting switch 28 are calculated. The comparison is performed by the comparison circuit unit 25, and based on the comparison, the energization control circuit unit
The energization of the heater 6 is controlled by the heater 22, and the base 3 is maintained at the set temperature by such control.

In such a state, the user takes out the iron body 1 from the mounting table 2, performs ironing work via the base 3, and places the iron body 1 on the mounting table 2 during the work. The heater 6 is energized to prevent the temperature of the base 3 from dropping, thereby enabling continuous use.

As a heating method for heating the base 3, the base 3
A magnetic body such as iron is formed, and an electromagnetic coil for electromagnetic induction is incorporated in the mounting table 2, and the base 3 is opposed to the electromagnetic coil by mounting the iron body 1 on the mounting table 2. A method of exciting the coil and heating the base 3 by electromagnetic induction with the base 3 is also conceivable.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, instead of controlling the heater through mechanical means by contact between the transmission terminal and the reception terminal as in the related art, the infrared energy radiated from the base is controlled. The heater is controlled via an optical means that detects the strength of the base as information on the base temperature with an infrared sensor, so there is no mechanical contact failure and always high accuracy and high reliability Therefore, there is no need to incorporate a heat-sensitive element or a transmission terminal into the iron main body at all, so that there is an advantage that the iron main body can be made compact and the usability can be improved. An infrared sensor detects infrared energy in a wavelength range of 8 to 14 μm, which avoids a wavelength range absorbed by steam spouted from the base, and controls energization of the heater according to the intensity of the infrared energy. Therefore, it is possible to prevent malfunction due to steam squirting, and to perform proper ironing while always maintaining the base at the set appropriate temperature.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... iron body, 2 ... mounting table, 3 ... base, 6
... heater, 8 ... power supply terminal, 12 ... power supply terminal, 15 ...
Infrared sensor.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuharu Tsubaki 2570-1, Gosuda, Oaza, Kamo-shi, Niigata Prefecture Inside Shiba Heating Equipment Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroaki Sakai 2570-1, Gosuda, Oaza, Kamo-shi, Niigata Higashi (56) References JP-A-58-208520 (JP, A) Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-22000 (JP, B2) Jiko 2-567 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 79/02 D06F 75/26

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An iron body having a base for ironing, a heater for heating the base, and a power supply terminal connected to the heater, and the power supply terminal on which the iron body can be mounted and which is mounted in accordance with the mounting. And a mounting table provided with a power supply terminal for energizing the heater of the iron body by contacting the iron table, wherein the infrared sensor faces the mounting table separately from the base of the iron body according to the mounting of the iron body. 8 to 14 μ radiated from the base
m, detecting the intensity of infrared energy in the wavelength range of m as information on the temperature of the base by the infrared sensor, and controlling the energization of the heater based on the detection so that the base reaches a set temperature. Iron.