JPS61257700A - Steam iron - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

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

Prior Art A conventional steam iron of this type had a structure as shown in FIG.

That is, when used as a steam iron, by supplying water to the water tank 1 and setting the temperature setting knob 2 to the "steam" position, the temperature control device 3 is operated and the set temperature is reached. By operating the steam increasing device 4, the water in the water tank 1 is optionally sent to the vaporization chamber 6 provided in the base 6, and steam is generated.
Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such a configuration, the steam increaser 4
When used frequently, there is a problem in that water droplets leak from the steam outlet 7 provided on the bottom of the base 5, staining the clothes being ironed.

This is due to the following reasons.

In other words, if the steam increaser 4 is used frequently, a large amount of water is sent to the vaporization chamber 6 at once, exceeding the vaporization capacity of the base 5, and some water leaks from the steam outlet hole 7 without turning into steam. It was something.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to notify the user in advance that water will leak from the base surface when the steam increasing device is used frequently.

Means for solving the problems and technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems are as follows:
The display notifying means is activated when the temperature of the base surface becomes lower than the temperature at which water can evaporate.

action The effect of this technical means is as follows.

That is, when the steam augmentation device is used frequently, the temperature of the base decreases. This temperature change is detected by a temperature sensor and input to the microcomputer. When the base surface temperature becomes lower than the temperature at which water can evaporate, the output of the microcomputer is used to notify the user of the risk of water leakage from the base surface by display or notification means.

As a result, by temporarily stopping the use of the steam increasing device before water leaks, the user can prevent the accident of staining the clothes inside the ironing device.

Embodiment Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 8 is a base in which a heater 9 is embedded, and 1o is a vaporization chamber formed in a part of the base 8, which has a steam ejection hole 11 at the bottom. A water tank 12 includes a steam increasing device 13 and a nozzle 14 connecting the steam increasing device and the vaporization chamber 10. 15 is a handle provided above the base. Reference numeral 16 denotes a temperature control circuit that compares and processes the temperature set by the temperature setting means 17 and the output of the temperature sensor 18 attached to the base 8 using an electronic circuit such as a microcomputer 19 to control the supply of electricity to the heater 9. be.

2o is a display means consisting of an LED or the like that indicates the set temperature, and usually lights up to indicate each stage from 191J, when the heater is not energized, to "high", when the temperature of the base surface is approximately 200°C. Reference numeral 21 denotes a notification means such as a buzzer, which normally emits an electronic sound several times when the temperature of the base 8 reaches a set temperature and becomes usable.

Here, the microcomputer 19 described above will be described in detail. When the temperature of the base 8 falls below a temperature at which water sent to the vaporization chamber 10 can evaporate, the microcomputer 19 detects this using the temperature sensor 18. , the display means 2o or the notification means 21 are programmed to operate.

In this case, the operation of the display means 2o or the notification means 21 is a blinking display or continuous notification sound so that it can be distinguished from the normal lighting display and appropriate temperature notification sound. Also, display means 2
0 and the notification means 21 can also be operated simultaneously.

Next, the operation of the configuration of this embodiment will be explained. First, when ironing with steam is performed, by setting the temperature setting to "steam" using the temperature setting means 17, electricity is started to be supplied to the heater 9, and the temperature of the base 8 starts to rise. From then on, the temperature control circuit 16 is controlled by the temperature sensor 1.
The temperature of the base 8 is detected by the output of the temperature setting means 17, and energization to the heater 9 is controlled in order to maintain the base 8 at the "steam" temperature set by the temperature setting means 17.

After reaching the set temperature, by operating the steam increasing device 13, the water in the water tank 12 is sent from the nozzle 14 to the vaporization chamber 10, where it becomes steam and is ejected from the steam ejection hole 11.

If the steam increasing device 13 is frequently used here,
A large amount of water is sent to the vaporization chamber 10 at once, and the temperature of the vaporization chamber 1o begins to fall as shown in FIG. The temperature control circuit 16 energizes the heater 9 in order to keep the temperature of the base 8 including the vaporization chamber 10 at the set temperature, but if a large amount of water is supplied exceeding its capacity, the temperature of the base 8 will change. It will continue to fall further. However, when the temperature of the base 8 becomes lower than the temperature at which water can evaporate, this is detected by the temperature sensor 18 and input to the microcomputer 19. In response to this, microcomputer 19
A display means 20 such as an I4D or a notification means 21 such as a buzzer is operated to notify the user of the steam ejection hole 11.
Inform you of the danger of water leakage. This allows the user to know that he must temporarily stop operating the steam increaser and wait until the temperature of the base 8 rises to the set temperature again.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where the temperature of the base 8 that occurs immediately after starting to use the iron is lower than the temperature that can evaporate water was not particularly mentioned, but the steam increasing device was not operated at this point, From a practical point of view, it is preferable that the display means or the notification means not be operated immediately after the iron is started to be used, if the temperature of the base 8 is lower than the temperature at which water generated before reaching the set temperature can be evaporated.

Further, in the embodiment, an iron using the microcomputer 19 has been described, but other electronic circuits may be used as long as they satisfy the function.

Effects of the Invention The present invention has display means and notification means that operate when the temperature of the base becomes lower than the temperature at which water can evaporate due to frequent use of the steam increasing device. The purpose is to notify the user of the risk of leakage in advance and prevent accidents such as staining clothes inside the ironer due to water leakage.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a steam iron according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partial side view of the same steam iron, and Fig. 3 is a graph showing the base temperature of the iron, display means, and notification. FIG. 4 is a timing diagram showing the operation of the means, and is a vertical sectional view of the main part of a conventional steam iron. 8...Base, 9...Heater, 18.
...Temperature sensor, 19...Electronic circuit (
microcomputer), 20...display means,
21...Notification means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A base heated by a heater, a temperature sensor attached to this base to detect temperature, an electronic circuit that processes a signal from this temperature sensor, and a display means or notification means operated by the output of this electronic circuit. A steam iron, wherein the display means or notification means is set to operate when the temperature of the base becomes lower than the temperature at which water can evaporate.