JPH0669520B2 - Steam iron - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a steam iron capable of varying the amount of steam.

(B) Conventional technology In the conventional steam iron, the nozzle is generally opened to drop water from the water tank, and the dropped water is guided to the vaporization chamber to generate steam. Since the composition is made to drip, there is a problem that water stains and dust are clogged in the nozzle portion and steam generation failure is likely to occur.

Further, the steam iron disclosed in JP-A-59-97700 uses an electric pump device to supply water from the water tank to the vaporization chamber, and the pump device is activated when the switch is closed. Then, the water in the water tank is supplied to the vaporization chamber to generate a certain amount of steam, and when the switch opens, the pump device stops and the generation of steam stops. Since it can only be selected, it was not possible to obtain an arbitrary amount of steam like the conventional nozzle opening / closing type. In this steam iron, the amount of steam can be switched to some extent by frequently opening and closing the switch, but the amount of steam generated is not stable by repeating the maximum state and the minimum state, so depending on the fabric to be ironed. In addition to not being able to obtain a desired amount of steam, it is necessary to open and close the switch at all times during ironing, which increases the burden on the user and deteriorates usability.

(C) Problem to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, in consideration of the above points, the present invention aims to provide a steam iron capable of easily and continuously generating a desired amount of steam according to a fabric. To do.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems A steam iron according to the present invention includes a base portion having a vaporization chamber, a handle arranged on the upper surface of the base portion, a water tank for storing water, and a water tank for storing water. An electric pump device forcibly supplying to the vaporization chamber, a steam amount setting means for arbitrarily setting a steam amount by a manual operation, and a driving state of the electric pump device according to a setting state of the steam amount setting means. And a control means for electrically controlling the electric power supply apparatus, the drive state of the electric pump device is switched by the control means according to the setting state of the steam amount setting means, and the supply amount of water to the vaporization chamber is provided in a plurality of steps. It can be freely set to, and is configured to continuously generate steam.

Further, the control means may be configured to switch the number of times of driving the electric pump device per unit time according to the setting state of the steam amount setting means.

The number of times of driving can be set by changing the oscillation frequency of the astable multivibrator.

(E) Action The present invention has the above-described configuration, by forcibly supplying the water in the water tank to the vaporization chamber via the electric pump device.
It is possible to prevent defective steam generation due to clogging that has occurred in the dropping nozzle type, and to generate a larger amount of steam as compared with the dropping nozzle type. Further, a control means for electrically controlling the drive state of the electric pump device according to the setting of the steam amount setting means is provided, and the drive state of the electric pump device is switched according to the setting state of the steam amount setting means to vaporize. The amount of water supplied to the chamber can be set in multiple stages and steam is continuously generated, so there is no need for the user to turn the electric pump device on and off to adjust the amount of steam. Since the operability of ironing can be improved and the steam amount according to the user's setting can be continuously supplied,
It can be ironed with a steam amount according to the fabric, and the finish of ironing can be improved.

(F) Example (1) is a steam iron main body, which is arranged with a base (3) having a vaporization chamber (2) and a screw (4) so as to cover the upper surface of the base (3) with a gap. The base is provided with an installed base cover (5), a hollow handle (6) arranged on the upper surface of the base cover (5), and an engaging member (not shown) adjacent to the handle (6). It is composed of a water tank (7) which is attached to and detached from the cover (5). The base (3) and the base cover (5) form a base portion.

The vaporization chamber (2) has a heater (8) embedded therein, a steam ejection hole (9) formed in the bottom surface, and a top plate covered with a cover plate (11) having an opening (10). ing. The base cover (5) is provided with a cylindrical packing (13) having a communication hole (12) communicating with the opening (10).

An electromagnet (16) consisting of a U-shaped iron core (14) and a coil (15) is sandwiched inside the front of the handle (6) via a plate-shaped elastic body (17). The electromagnet (16) constitutes a drive unit of the electric pump device. And this electromagnet (1
6) is connected to a variable resistor (18) with a “off” function via an astable multivibrator (not shown) and also to a DC power circuit. Reference numeral (20) is an operation button for varying the resistance value of the variable resistor (18) in various ways, thereby varying the oscillation frequency of the astable multivibrator to control the energization time to the coil (15). . That is, the astable multivibrator and a part (electrical circuit part) of the variable resistor (18) constitute a control means for electrically controlling the driving state of the electromagnet (16), and the operation button ( 20) and a part (mechanical portion) of the variable resistor (18) constitute a steam amount setting means for arbitrarily switching the driving state of the electromagnet (16) to set the steam amount in a plurality of stages.

The water tank (7) has a pump (22) with a built-in bellows type air pump (21) that can be compressed and expanded, and a closed storage (23) for storing water with a partition plate (24). It is compartmentalized. The pump portion (22) has air inlets (25) (26) formed on the front side, and an inlet (29) having an inlet valve (28) arranged on the upper surface of the bellows type air pump (21). An exhaust port (31) having an exhaust valve (30) is formed on the bottom surface. The suction port (29) is provided with an adsorption plate (33) formed of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, nickel, cobalt or the like having an inflow passage (32) formed therein. A water injection port (36) is formed on the front surface of the storage chamber (23) and is sealed by a lid body (35) whose upper part is rotatable, and a hollow projecting portion (37) projecting inward and outward on the bottom surface. Is formed, and a rising wall (38) for preventing the shaking of water is formed inside. The hollow projecting portion (37) has a drip hole (40) formed in an upper portion thereof, and a bottom portion thereof is configured to come into liquid-tight contact with the communication hole (12). Reference numeral (41) is an air pipe having one end opened in proximity to the inner bottom of the reservoir (23) and the other end penetrating the partition plate (24) and communicating with the exhaust port (31). Reference numeral (42) is a siphon pipe having an inner diameter substantially the same as that of the air pipe (41) and temporarily opening at the same height as the air pipe (41) and the other end communicating with the drip hole (40). It has an inverted U-shape and climbs over the rising wall (38).

According to the slashing configuration, when the operation button (20) is operated to energize the electromagnet (16) through the variable resistor (18), the iron core (14) generates a magnetic force to pull up the adsorption plate (33),
Extend the air pump (21). Then, the air is introduced into the air inlets (25) (26), the inflow path (32) and the inlet (2
9) is sucked into the air pump (21). Then, when the power supply to the electromagnet (16) is automatically cut off, the pullback force of the air pump (21) and the own weight of the suction plate (33) compress the air pump (21) to discharge the air ( 31), press the water surface through the air pipe (41). By thus periodically driving the pump portion (22) by the electromagnet (16), the water in the water tank (7) is pressure-fed through the siphon pipe (42) to drop the water (40).
The gas is supplied to the vaporization chamber (2) through the communication hole (12) and the opening (10), and is ejected as steam from the ejection hole (9) to the outside.

Then, the variable resistor (18) is arbitrarily changed by operating the operation button (20), so that the electromagnet (1
The number of energizations to 6) is determined and the number of times the electromagnet (16) drives the pump section (22) per unit time is set. As a result, the amount of water supplied from the water tank (7) to the vaporization chamber (2) can be varied in multiple stages according to the drive state of the pump section (22) set as described above, and thus the amount of steam jetted out. Can be arbitrarily changed according to the fabric. Since the variable resistor (18) has the "off" function as described above, if the variable resistor (18) is set to "off" by operating the operation button (20), the electromagnet (16) will be activated. Is cut off, the drive of the pump part (22) is stopped, the supply of water to the vaporization chamber (2) is also stopped, and the jet of steam is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to switch between steam and dry and set the amount of steam by operating the operation button (20).

An air pump (21) for pumping air in the reservoir (23) to supply water from the siphon pipe (42) into the vaporization chamber (2) is arranged in the water tank (7), and Since this air pump (21) is indirectly driven from the outside, the air pressure-fed from the air pump (21) is reliably supplied into the reservoir (23) without leakage.

If the attraction plate (33) is made of a permanent magnet, the iron core (1
In order to prevent the magnetization in 4), it is necessary to make the facing surfaces of the iron core (14) and the permanent magnet the same pole.

(G) Effect of the Invention As described above, the steam iron of the present invention is forced to supply the water in the water tank to the vaporization chamber through the electric pump device, and thus the eye generated in the dropping nozzle type It is possible to prevent steam generation failure due to clogging, and it is possible to generate a large amount of steam as compared with the dropping nozzle type. Further, a control means for electrically controlling the drive state of the electric pump device according to the setting of the steam amount setting means is provided, and the drive state of the electric pump device is switched according to the setting state of the steam amount setting means to vaporize. The amount of water supplied to the chamber can be set in multiple stages and steam is continuously generated, so there is no need for the user to turn the electric pump device on and off to adjust the amount of steam. In addition, the operability during ironing can be further enhanced, and since the steam amount according to the user's setting can be continuously supplied, the steam amount according to the fabric can be ironed, The finish can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawing is a schematic sectional view of the steam iron of the present invention. (2) ... vaporization chamber, (3) ... base, (6) ... handle, (7) ... water tank, (16) ... electromagnet, (18) ...
… Variable resistor, (20) …… Operation button, (21) …… Air pump, (22) …… Pump part, (23) …… Reservoir part, (33)
…… Suction plate, (41) …… Air pipe, (42) …… Siphon pipe.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Nakao 3-201, Minami-Kichikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-60-171098 (JP, A) Kai 59-97700 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A base portion having a vaporization chamber, a handle arranged on an upper surface of the base portion, a water tank for storing water, and an electric type for forcibly supplying water in the water tank to the vaporization chamber. A pump device, a steam amount setting means for arbitrarily setting a steam amount by a manual operation, and a control means for electrically controlling a driving state of the electric pump device according to a setting state of the steam amount setting means. , The driving state of the electric pump device is switched by the control means in accordance with the setting state of the steam amount setting means so that the amount of water supplied to the vaporization chamber can be set in a plurality of stages, and steam is continuously generated. A steam iron characterized by having a structure that allows it. 2. The control means is configured to switch the number of times the electric pump device is driven per unit time in accordance with the setting state of the steam amount setting means. The described steam iron. 3. The steam iron according to claim 2, wherein the number of times of driving is set by varying the oscillation frequency of the astable multivibrator.