JP3136993B2 - Electric water heater - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure having a function of heating and maintaining the temperature of a liquid contained in a container and preventing the liquid from leaking during circulation of an electric water heater led out of the main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric water heater of this kind is shown in FIG.
To FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration of the conventional electric water heater will be described in detail. In FIGS. 6 and 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body constituting an outer shell, which contains a container 3 for containing the liquid 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a spout placed on the upper part of the main body 1, and the container 3 is placed on the central opening. Reference numeral 5 denotes a heating element for heating and keeping the temperature of the liquid 2 fixed to the bottom of the container 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes a cover for covering the upper opening of the container 3, reference numeral 7 denotes a pump for discharging the liquid 2, reference numeral 8 denotes an outflow path, and reference numeral 9 denotes a circulation path. Reference numeral 10 denotes a case placed inside the spout 4, and an upper case 10 a formed with a discharge port 11 for discharging the liquid 2 led out by the pump 7 to the outside of the main body 1 and a circulation port circulating into the container 3. 1
2 comprises a lower case 10b. One of the outflow paths 8 communicates with the lower case 10b and the other communicates with the pump 7, one of the circulation paths 9 communicates with a circulation port 12 formed in the lower case 10b, and the other communicates with the container 3.

[0003] Inside the case 10 is a hot water outlet control port 10c for making the upper case 10a and the lower case 10b communicate with each other.
And a drain hole 10d. A slidable control valve 13 that closes the tap control port 10c during normal and circulation and opens when tapping is provided by a valve spring 14 at the tap control port 10c. The check valve 15 is urged upward, and has a check valve 15 in the water drain hole 10d to normally open the water drain hole 10d and close the water drain hole 10d when the main body is overturned.

[0004] Above the control valve 13, an operation knob 16 held by the spout 4 is urged upward by a knob spring 17, and is externally operated via a case packing 18 mounted on the case 10 through the control valve 13. Is slidable downward. The switch 19 works with the operation knob 16 to control the operation of the pump 7.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the operating knob 16 is pressed by an external operation, the operating knob 16 is pushed downward against the urging of the knob spring 17, and in conjunction with this, the switch 19 operates to drive the pump 7, and the liquid 2 in the container 3 is discharged. It is derived into the outflow route 8. When the operating knob 16 is further pressed, the operating knob 16 comes into contact with the control valve 13 via the case packing 18 and the control valve 1
3 slides downward against the bias of the valve spring 14.

In this state, when the hot water control port 10c is opened, the outflow path 8 and the discharge port 11 are in communication with each other, and the liquid 2 in the container 3 led out by the pump 7 passes through the outflow path 8. The hot water passes through the opening of the hot water control port 10c and is led out of the discharge port 11 to the outside. When the pressing operation of the operation knob 16 is stopped and the pressing force is reduced, the operation knob 16 is pushed upward by the urging of the knob spring 17, and accordingly, the control valve 13 is moved upward by the urging of the valve spring 14. And finally the tapping control port 10c is closed by the control valve 13 so that the outflow path 8
And the discharge port 11 is shut off, and the discharge to the outside is stopped.

When the pressing force is further reduced, the operation knob 16 operates the switch 19 to stop the drive of the pump 7 and terminate the discharge of the liquid 2 in the container 3. After the end of the tapping operation, the liquid 2 collected in the upper case 10a is returned from the lower case 10b to the outflow path 8 and the circulation path 9 through the open drainage hole 10d.

Further, since the hot water outlet control port 10c is in a closed state during circulation water purification, the outflow path 8 and the circulation port 12 formed in the lower case 10b are in communication with each other. The liquid 2 in the container is circulated from the circulation port 12 through the outflow path 8 to the container 3 through the circulation path 9,
Calcium in the liquid 2 is removed by passing 0 through. At this time, the check valve 15 is configured to close the drain hole 10d by the water pressure of the liquid 2.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional construction, the check valve 15 closes the drain hole 10d by the water pressure of the liquid 2 during circulation, so that the drain hole 10d is closed.
There is a limit to the above function performed by the check valve 15, and if the limit is exceeded, the circulating liquid 2 leaks from the discharge port 11 to the outside of the main body 1 through the drain hole 10d, and there is a problem that the surroundings are wetted. Was.

[0010] In addition, there is a problem that the processing cost is high because there are many processing steps in the assemblability of the case 10.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to solve the problem of wetting the surroundings during circulation and to provide an electric water heater excellent in assemblability with a small number of processing steps.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a drainage path connecting a circulation path and a drainage hole, and drains the water by the flow rate of the liquid during circulation passing through the circulation path. The path is configured to have a negative pressure. With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the circulating liquid from entering the drainage path, and to avoid a situation in which the liquid leaks from the discharge port to the outside of the main body through the drainage hole. Further, even when the flow rate during circulation is increased, the same effect is produced by increasing the flow velocity of the circulating liquid and increasing the negative pressure in the drainage path.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main body constituting an outer shell, a spout mounted on an upper part of the main body, and a container containing a liquid inside the main body. A heating element that heats the liquid in the container, a lid that covers an upper opening of the container, a pump that draws the liquid in the container, and a liquid that is drawn out by the pump inside the spout. An upper case formed with a discharge port for discharging to the outside of the main body, a lower case formed with a circulation port circulating inside the container, and a tapping control port formed to connect the upper case to the lower case are formed. A case composed of a divided member, a control valve for opening and closing the hot water control port in the case, a check valve for opening and closing a drain hole for returning liquid in the upper case to the inside of the container, the pump and the lower An outflow route connecting the case, A circulation path for connecting the serial container and the circulation port, is provided with a drain path for connecting the water drain hole and the circulation path.

The invention according to claim 2 is such that the dividing member is sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case together with the elastic member.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, the check valve and the elastic member are integrally formed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the drainage path and the check valve are integrally formed.

In the apparatus provided with the drainage path connecting the circulation path and the drainage hole as described above, the drainage path is set to a negative pressure by the flow velocity of the liquid passing through the circulation path during circulation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the circulating liquid from entering the drainage path, and to avoid a situation in which the liquid leaks from the discharge port to the outside of the main body through the drainage hole. Further, even when the flow rate during circulation is increased, the same effect is produced by increasing the flow velocity of the circulating liquid and increasing the negative pressure in the drainage path.

Further, in the case where the dividing member is sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case together with the elastic member, the number of processing steps is reduced in the assemblability of the case, and the processing cost is reduced by improving the process defects. Quality loss cost can be reduced.

Further, when the check valve and the elastic member are integrally formed, the number of components of the above structure can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, in the case where the drainage path and the check valve are integrally formed, the number of components of the above-described configuration can be reduced and can be easily implemented.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The characteristic structure of the present embodiment relates to a function of preventing a liquid from leaking during circulation.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a main body constituting an outer shell, which contains a container 23 for storing a liquid 22 therein. Reference numeral 24 denotes a spout placed on the upper part of the main body 21, and a container 23 is placed on the central opening. 25 heats the liquid 22
A heating element for keeping the temperature fixed to the bottom of the container 23.
26 is a lid covering the upper opening of the container 23, and 27 is the liquid 2
A pump for deriving 2, 28 is an outflow path, 29 is a circulation path, and 40 is a drain path. Reference numeral 30 denotes a case placed inside the spout 24, and an upper case 30 a having a discharge port 31 for discharging the liquid 22 led out by the pump 27 to the outside of the main body 21, and a circulation circulating inside the container 23. Mouth 3
2 is formed, and a split member 30e is formed having a hot water control port 30c for making the upper case 30a and the lower case 30b communicate with each other.

One of the outflow paths 28 communicates with the lower case 30b, the other communicates with the pump 27, one of the circulation paths 29 communicates with a circulation port 32 formed in the lower case 30b, and the other communicates with the container 23, One of the drainage paths 40 is the split member 30
e through the drain hole 30d formed in
9 in communication.

A slidable control valve 33 that closes the tap control port 30c during normal and circulation and opens the tap when tapping is urged by a valve spring 34 at the tap control port 30c. The drain hole 30d has a check valve 35 that normally opens the water drain hole 30d and closes the water drain hole 30d when it falls down. Above the control valve 33, a spout 2
The operation knob 36 held at 4 is a knob spring 37
The control valve 33 is slidable downward through a case packing 38 attached to the case 30 by an external operation. Switch 39 is operating knob 3
In conjunction with 6, the operation of the pump 27 is controlled.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the operation knob 36 is pressed by an external operation, the operation knob 36 is pushed downward against the urging of the knob spring 37, and the switch 39 is operated in conjunction therewith to drive the pump 27, and the liquid 22 in the container 23 is moved. Out into the outflow path 28. Further, when the operation knob 36 is pressed, the operation knob 3 is pressed.
Reference numeral 6 contacts the control valve 33 via the case packing 38, and the control valve 33 slides downward against the bias of the valve spring 34.

In this state, when the hot water control port 30c is opened, the outflow path 28 and the discharge port 31 communicate with each other, and the liquid 22 in the container 23 led out by the pump 27 passes through the outflow path 28. After passing through the opening of the hot water control port 30c, it is led out from the discharge port 31 to the outside. When the pressing operation of the operation knob 36 is stopped and the pressing force is reduced, the operation knob 36 is pushed upward by the bias of the knob spring 37, and accordingly, the control valve 33 is controlled.
Slides upward by the bias of the valve spring 34, and finally the tapping control port 30c is closed by the control valve 33,
The outflow path 28 and the discharge port 31 are shut off and the outflow to the outside is stopped.

When the pressing force is further reduced, the operation knob 36 operates the switch 39 to stop the driving of the pump 27, thereby terminating the liquid 22 in the container 23. After the end of the tapping operation, the liquid 22 collected in the upper case 30a is returned from the drainage path 40 to the circulation path 29 via the drainage hole 30d in the open state.

In addition, during circulation water purification, since the tapping control port 30c is in a closed state, the outflow path 28 and the circulation port 32 formed in the lower case 30b are in communication with each other. The liquid 22 in the inside is circulated from the circulation port 32 via the outflow path 28 to the container 23 via the circulation path 29. At this time, the drainage path 40 becomes negative pressure due to the flow rate of the liquid 22 passing through the circulation path 29.

According to this configuration, by providing the drainage path 40 connecting the circulation path 29 and the drainage hole 30d, the drainage path 40 is negatively controlled by the flow velocity of the liquid 22 passing through the circulation path 29 during circulation. Pressure. In this state, the circulating liquid 22 is prevented from entering the drain passage 40, and the discharge port 31 is connected to the main body 21 through the drain hole 30d.
The situation of leaking to the outside can be avoided. Further, even when the flow rate during circulation is increased, the same effect is produced by increasing the flow velocity of the circulating liquid 22 and increasing the negative pressure in the drainage path 40.

As shown in FIG. 3, the dividing member 30e
And the upper case 30a and the lower case 3 together with the elastic member 30f.
0b, the case 30
By reducing the number of processing steps in the assemblability and improving the process defects, processing costs and quality loss costs can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, by integrally configuring the check valve 35 and the elastic member 30f, the number of components of the above configuration can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG.
By configuring the zero and the check valve 35 integrally, the number of components of the above configuration can be reduced and the configuration can be easily implemented.

[0033]

As is clear from the description of the above embodiment,
According to the first aspect of the invention, by providing the drainage path connecting the circulation path and the drainage hole, the drainage path is set to a negative pressure by the flow velocity of the liquid passing through the circulation path during circulation. Therefore, in this state, it is possible to prevent the circulating liquid from entering the drainage path, and to avoid a situation in which the liquid leaks from the discharge port to the outside of the main body through the drainage hole. Also,
Even when the flow rate during circulation is increased, the same effect is produced by increasing the flow velocity of the circulating liquid and increasing the negative pressure in the drainage path.

Further, since the dividing member is sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case together with the elastic member as in the second aspect of the invention, the number of processing steps can be reduced in the assemblability of the case, and the process defects can be reduced. Improvements can reduce processing costs and quality loss costs.

Further, since the check valve and the elastic member are integrally formed as in the third aspect of the present invention, the number of components of the above structure can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the drainage path and the check valve are integrally formed as in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the number of components of the above-described configuration can be reduced and the invention can be easily implemented.

As described above, it is possible to provide an electric water heater that can solve the problem of wetting the surroundings during circulation and has a small number of processing steps and excellent assemblability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an electric water heater of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of the electric water heater of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of an electric water heater according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an essential part of an embodiment of the electric water heater according to the third aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of the electric water heater according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional electric water heater.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part showing a conventional electric water heater.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Main body 23 Container 24 Spout 25 Heating element 26 Lid 27 Pump 28 Outflow path 29 Circulation path 30 Case 30a Upper case 30b Lower case 30c Hot water control port 30d Drainage hole 30e Dividing member 30f Elastic member 31 Discharge port 32 Circulation port 33 Control valve 35 Check valve 40 Drainage path

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Morimoto 7-6 Tonoshima-cho, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Excel Techno Co., Ltd. Inventor Kazu Oya 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takayuki Urata 1006 Odaka Kazuma Kadoma City, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inventor Satoshi Shimizu 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka JP-A-8-308736 (JP, A) JP-A-5-74421 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47J 27/21 101

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main body constituting an outer shell, a spout placed on an upper part of the main body, a container for storing a liquid inside the main body, a heating element for heating the liquid in the container, An upper case and the container each having a lid covering an upper opening, a pump for discharging the liquid in the container, and a discharge port for discharging the liquid derived by the pump to the outside of the main body inside the spout; A case comprising a lower case formed with a circulation port circulating therein and a split member formed with a tapping control port for communicating the upper case and the lower case with each other;
The case has a control valve for opening and closing the hot water control port, a check valve for opening and closing a drain hole for returning the liquid in the upper case to the inside of the container, and an outflow path connecting the pump and the lower case. A circulation path connecting the container and the circulation port, and a drainage path connecting the circulation path and the drainage hole, and the drainage is performed by a flow rate of the liquid during circulation passing through the circulation path. An electric water heater characterized in that a path is set to a negative pressure. 2. The electric water heater according to claim 1, wherein the dividing member is sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case together with the elastic member. 3. The electric water heater according to claim 2, wherein the check valve and the elastic member are integrally formed. 4. The electric water heater according to claim 1, wherein the water drain path and the check valve are integrally formed.