JP3515942B2 - Electric discharge liquid container - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric discharge liquid container such as an electric pot, and more particularly to an electric discharge liquid container for preventing the liquid from splashing during the discharge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional water heater, for example, when a discharge switch is pressed, an electric pump is turned on to start discharge, and hot water is poured into a cup or the like from a discharge pipe opening downward. Then, when the pressing of the discharge switch is released, the electric pump is turned off and the discharge is completed. Therefore, once the electric pump is turned on, discharge is performed at the maximum flow rate until it is turned off. For this reason, there is a risk that the boiling water poured into the cup bounces off and scatters, resulting in burns.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-228057 proposes a system in which the rotational speed of the electric pump is controlled so that the flow rate is small at the initial stage of discharge. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-314049 proposes that a large amount and a small amount of discharging operation can be selected, and when a large amount of discharging operation is selected, a small amount of discharging can be performed for a fixed time. ing.

[0004]

However, in the former case, a complicated control circuit for controlling the rotation speed of the electric pump is required, but when the liquid level is low, it takes a long time to discharge the liquid, and the user needs to do so. Give the impression that it is not good at.
Also, in the latter case, despite selecting a large amount,
There is a problem in that the user feels distrust because a small amount is produced against the user's will.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to prevent the liquid from spattering at the time of ejection by controlling the flow rate to the extent that the user cannot understand it by relatively simple control. An object is to provide an electric discharge liquid container.

[0006]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a container for storing a liquid, a discharge pipe communicating with the inside of the container and opening downward, and a discharge pipe. In an electric discharge liquid container having an electric pump for discharging the liquid in the container and a discharge switch operated for driving the electric pump, the electric pump is temporarily stopped at the initial stage of discharge. is there.

Thus, by temporarily stopping the electric pump, the flow rate of the liquid flowing downward from the discharge pipe is reduced, and the liquid is prevented from being scattered.

Since the time required for the liquid to reach the opening (pouring port) of the discharge pipe differs depending on the level of the liquid in the container, a liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level of the liquid in the container is used. It is preferable that the electric pump is provided and the timing for stopping the electric pump is determined according to the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an electric pot 1 according to the present invention. In this pot 1, a container 3 is housed and fixed inside a main body 2, and the container 3 is opened and closed by a lid 4. A heater 5 is provided at the bottom of the container 3 for heating the water contained in the container 3 to make hot water.
A discharge pipe 6 is connected to the bottom of the container 3 so as to communicate with the inside of the container 3, rises along the container 3, makes a U-turn, and is arranged downward, and its tip serves as a spout 7. It is open. A pressure sensor 8 for detecting the liquid level of the hot water in the container 3 by pressure is attached near the connection portion of the discharge pipe 6 with the container 3. At the bottom of the discharge pipe 6,
An electric pump 9 for discharging the hot water of the container 3 through the discharge pipe 6 is provided. Also, on the upper part of the discharge pipe 6,
A valve set 10 is provided to prevent hot water in the container 3 from flowing out when the body 2 falls. A discharge switch 11 that is operated to drive the electric pump 9 is provided on the shoulder of the main body 2.

The electric pot 1 includes a central processing unit 1
2. A control device 15 including a microcomputer having a memory 13, a timer 14 and the like is provided. The controller 15 drives the heater 5 to perform boiling and heat retention, and controls driving of the electric pump 9 based on an operation signal from the discharge switch 11 and a liquid level signal from the pressure sensor 8. It is like this.

Next, the operation at the time of discharge by the control device 15 of the electric pot 1 having the above structure will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG.

First, in step 101, the discharge switch 1
Judge whether 1 is turned on, and if not turned on, O
Wait until N. When the discharge switch 11 is turned on, the timer 14 is started in step 102 and the liquid level is detected based on the detection signal from the pressure sensor 8. Next, in step 103, the electric pump 9 is turned on to start discharging. Then, in step 104, the timer 14
Detects whether or not t1 time has been counted, and if t1 time is not counted, the electric pump continues to be turned on, and t
If one hour has been counted, the electric pump 9 is turned off in step 105 to stop the discharge. Here, t1 time is a different value depending on the detected liquid level. That is, when the liquid level is low as shown in FIG. 3 (A), the height h1 from the liquid level surface to the valve set 10 is high and the time for ascending the discharge pipe 6 is long. Figure 3
When the liquid level is high as shown in (B), the height h2 from the liquid level surface to the valve set 10 is low, and the time for ascending the discharge pipe 6 is short, so the time t1 is set small.

Then, in step 106, the timer 14 is set to t.
It is detected whether or not 2 hours have been counted. If t2 hours have not been counted, the electric pump 9 continues to be turned off, and
If 2 hours have been counted, the electric pump 9 is turned on in step 107 to restart the discharge. Here, the time t2 is set so that (t2-t1) is constant. Next, at step 108, the discharge switch 11 is turned off.
It is determined whether or not F has been performed, and if not turned off, the electric pump 9 is continuously turned on and discharge is continued. When the discharge switch 11 is turned off, the electric pump 9 is turned off to end the discharge.

As described above, the operation at the time of discharge by the controller 15 is t after the discharge switch 11 is operated.
At the beginning of the discharge after 1 hour, the electric pump 9 is temporarily stopped for (t2-t1) hours. This operation will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The time required for the electric pump 9 to be turned ON and the hot water to rise up the discharge pipe 6 to reach the valve set 10 is the liquid level as described above. Depends on The time that the hot water passes through the valve set 10 is constant regardless of the liquid level. Hot water valve set 10
At the time (+ = t1) after passing the
FF. However, since the electric pump 9 rotates by inertia here, the hot water in the discharge pipe 6 reaches the spout and is poured into the cup 16. At this time, since the electric pump 9 is off, the flow rate decreases as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). Therefore, the cumulative amount of hot water poured into the cup 16 is smaller than that of the conventional method shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG.
Since the temperature rises gently as indicated by the one-dot chain line in (A) and (B), there is no risk of the hot water poured into the cup 16 splashing.

The electric pump 9 is turned on at a time point (++ = t2) after the electric pump 9 is turned off and the hot water starts to flow down from the spout 7 by inertia. . After that, the electric pump 9 discharges the ink at the maximum flow rate.

In the above embodiment, the pressure sensor is used as the liquid detecting means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an optical sensor, a capacitance sensor or the like may be used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the electric pot capable of boiling water and keeping warm has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such an electric pot, but can be applied to any liquid container as long as it can electrically discharge. .

[0019]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the electric pump is temporarily stopped at the initial stage of discharge, so that the flow rate of the hot water flowing downward from the discharge pipe is reduced. The splash of hot water is prevented. Moreover, since the electric pump is also only temporarily stopped, the control is simple and the user does not notice that the flow rate has decreased, which is convenient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electric pot according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of discharging the electric pot of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the length of the distance from the liquid level surface of the discharge pipe to the valve set depending on the liquid level.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a discharge situation of the electric pot of FIG.

5 is a diagram showing changes over time in voltage, flow rate, and cumulative discharge amount of the electric pump during discharge of the electric pot of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a temporal change in voltage, flow rate, and cumulative discharge amount of an electric pump during discharge of a conventional electric pot.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electric pot (electric discharge liquid container) 3 containers 6 discharge pipe 8 Pressure sensor (liquid level detection means) 9 Electric pump 11 Discharge switch 15 Control device

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container for storing a liquid, a discharge pipe communicating with the inside of the container and opening downward, an electric pump for discharging the liquid in the container via the discharge pipe, and a drive for the electric pump. An electric discharge liquid container having a discharge switch operated for this purpose, wherein the electric pump is temporarily stopped at the initial stage of discharge. 2. A liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level of the liquid in the container is provided, and the timing for stopping the electric pump is determined according to the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means. The electric discharge liquid container according to claim 1, which is characterized in that.