JPH056479B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a steam iron for general household use.

Construction of conventional examples and their problems In recent years, steam irons have been proposed that are equipped with an increased steam generator to remove stubborn wrinkles that are difficult to remove with normal steam output.

However, what these steam irons have in common in structure is a base in which a heater 1 is embedded, and has a vaporizing chamber 2, a steam passage 3, and a steam outlet 4, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. A tank 8 having a dripping nozzle 7 for normal steam generation and a pump device discharge port 7a for increasing steam generation is provided on the tank 5 via gaskets 6 and 6a. Further, the water in the tank 8 is configured to adjust the water supply to the vaporization chamber 2 by vertical movement of an opening/closing rod 10 that is linked with a steam button 9.
The water droplets supplied to the vaporization chamber 2 instantly turned into steam, which was sent directly from the vaporization chamber 2 to the steam passage 3 and ejected from the steam ejection hole 4. In addition, if necessary, this general steam generation structure can be combined with a structure in which a pump device 11 built into the tank 8 forces a certain amount of water into the vaporization chamber 2 and instantaneously vaporizes the water to increase the amount of water. It becomes steam,
Moreover, the explosive vaporization power of the instantaneous vaporization of the water sent from the pump device 11 is expected to produce a so-called cleaning effect in which the hard substances remaining in the vaporization chamber 2 and the steam passage 3 are blown away from the steam outlet 4. It is also known that

However, since the pump device of such a steam iron with an increased steam generator is configured to be added to the drip nozzle 7 used as a normal water supply device for steam generation, the internal structure of the tank 8 becomes complicated. as well as tank 8
In the case of a steam iron in which the iron can be attached to and detached from the iron body, there is a drawback that the sealing structure when connecting the iron is complicated.

Purpose of the Invention In order to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention aims to simplify the configuration and improve operability by adding the functions of a normal steam-generated water supply device to a pump device for increasing steam generation. It will improve.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the steam iron of the present invention includes a base heated by a heater, a vaporization chamber formed in the base, and a steam iron arranged above the base and supplied to the vaporization chamber. a tank for storing water, a cylinder provided at the top of the tank, a water intake pipe extending from the cylinder toward the bottom of the tank, a piston slidably provided in the cylinder, one end of which is connected to the tank; a pump device having a discharge side water conduit connected to the outlet side of the cylinder and whose other end is connected to the vaporization chamber; and an air pump disposed above the tank and provided above the discharge side water conduit. It is equipped with a vent hole and a valve device having an operation part for opening and closing the air vent hole.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIGS. 3 to 7, reference numeral 12 designates a base in which a vaporizing chamber 14 is formed inside the buried heater 13 and a first steam passage 15 is formed outside. It also has a base back cover 18 with a second steam passage 17 formed between it and the base 12. 1
9 is the base upper cover, and the tank 2 is placed between it and the heat insulating plate 20.
A discharge port 23 of the pump device 22 protruding from the bottom of the
A flexible cylindrical member 24 made of heat-resistant silicone rubber or the like is installed for fitting.

The pump 22 includes a push button 26 equipped with a piston 25, a cylinder 27 in which the piston 25 moves up and down, a spring 28 that biases the piston 25 upward, and a ball valve provided in a suction side opening 29 below the cylinder 27. 30, a suction side water conduit 31 communicating with the opening 29, a discharge side water conduit 32 communicating with the cylinder 27 and reaching the discharge port 23, and a water conduit provided at an arbitrary location of the discharge side water conduit 32. It is composed of a valve device 32. This valve device 23 includes a spring 35a that urges a valve shaft 35 having a valve body 34 upward, an air bleed hole 36 that is opened and closed by the valve body 34, and a valve shaft 35 that has a valve body 34.
It is composed of a switching button 37 etc. attached to the switch.

To explain the operation in the above configuration, when performing normal steam ironing, when the push button 26 is operated up and down several times as shown in FIG. 4, the ball valve 30 functions as a check valve, and the 31 and cylinder 27, discharge side water pipe 32
The entire path is filled with water, and the water is sent out from the discharge port 23. The sent water instantly turns into steam in the vaporization chamber 14 and is guided to the steam outlet 16. Then, once from the water suction side water conduit pipe 31 to the discharge port 2
When the path leading to No. 3 is filled with water, water can be continuously sent to the vaporization chamber 14 without operating the push button 26 due to the principle of a communicating capillary, and stable steam can be obtained.

Note that the amount of water to be fed may be determined in advance by determining the inner diameter of the discharge side water conduit 32 and the like in accordance with the vaporization capacity level.

Next, if you want to smooth out particularly stubborn wrinkles during ironing, press the push button 26 at a faster speed as shown in Figure 5.
The amount will be increased accordingly.

In addition, if steam is not required during ironing, operating the switching button 37 downward as shown in FIG. The hole 36 is opened, air enters the discharge water conduit 32 which has been in a vacuum state, the water supply is stopped, and the steam can be stopped.

Further, if you want to release steam after this, close the air vent hole 36 with the switch button 37, operate the push button 26 in the same way as above, and open each water pipe 3.
1, 32 should be filled with water. Furthermore, when switching from dry ironing to steam ironing, it is desirable to minimize the number of operations of the push button 26 to improve usability. This can be achieved by leaving water in the discharge side water pipe 32, and by simply pressing and releasing the switching button 37, the remaining water can be removed by reducing the amount of air entering.

In addition, in the embodiment, the tank 21 was described as being removable from the iron body.
It can also be used for steam irons with a built-in tank. In addition, the pump device 22 is also connected to the tank 21.
The water in the tank 21 is pumped into the vaporization chamber 15 by the pump device 22.
It is acceptable as long as it is supplied to

Effects of the Invention As described above, the steam iron of the present invention includes a pump device having a discharge side water pipe connected to the outlet side of the cylinder at one end and connected to the vaporizing chamber at the other end, and arranged above the tank. and a dripping nozzle for generating normal steam by comprising an air bleed hole provided in the upper part of the discharge side water conduit pipe and a valve device having an operation part for opening and closing this air bleed hole; Without installing an opening/closing device for this dripping nozzle, it is possible to stably supply a limited amount of water to the vaporization chamber for normal steam generation with a pump device, and also temporarily supply a large amount of water to the vaporization chamber. The water supply to the vaporization chamber can be stopped and switched to dry.
Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the unstable natural dripping of water from minute nozzle holes, and to stably eject good steam, and there is only one water flow path between the tank and the vaporization chamber. It is possible to easily form a watertight connection by combining the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional steam iron, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 6 to 6 are partial cross-sectional views for explaining the same action, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the essential parts. 12...base, 13...heater, 14...vaporization chamber, 22...pump device, 32...discharge path (discharge side water conduit), 33...valve device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base heated by a heater, a vaporization chamber formed in the base, a tank placed above the base and storing water to be supplied to the vaporization chamber, and a cylinder provided above the tank.
A water intake pipe extends from this cylinder toward the bottom of the tank, a piston is slidably provided in the cylinder, one end is connected to the outlet side of the cylinder, and the other end is connected to the vaporization chamber. a pump device having a discharge side water conduit pipe;
A steam iron comprising an air bleed hole arranged above the tank and provided at the upper part of the discharge side water conduit, and a valve device having an operating part for opening and closing the air bleed hole.