JPH0726726B2 - Steam generator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 【Technical field】

The present invention relates to a steam generator used in a steam-type facial device, an inhaler or the like, and more particularly to a boiler-type steam generator.

[Background technology]

There are two types of steam generators, a boiler type in which a heater is installed in a steam generation chamber to which water is supplied, and a drip type in which water is dripped on the heater surface. Although there is not much time delay, when there is an excessive supply due to variations in the water supply amount, there is a risk that it will be discharged as hot water balls instead of steam, which may cause burns. Then the former wins. However, in the conventional boiler type, since the heater is operated with a large amount of water in the steam generation chamber, the waiting time until steam generation becomes long, and in order to shorten this time, steam When only a small amount of water is supplied to the generating chamber, the amount of steam generated is small, and the steam generation ends in a short time. For this reason, the present applicant has proposed the following in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-86165. That is, a water level sensor is provided in the steam generation chamber provided with a heater for heating, the water level sensor monitors the water level in the steam generation chamber, and when the water level drops, water is supplied from the water supply tank. In this case, a small amount of water needs to be stored in the steam generation chamber, and therefore the waiting time until steam generation is shortened. However, in this one, an electromagnetic valve provided in the water passage from the water tank to the steam generation chamber was changed from the fully closed state to the fully opened state by the output from the water level sensor when the water level in the steam generation chamber decreased, and After that, the amount of water in the steam generation chamber was controlled by returning to the fully closed state, that is, because the water was intermittently supplied to the steam generation chamber, the electromagnetic valve was opened and the water tank When water flows into the steam generation chamber, the amount of steam generated is greatly reduced, albeit temporarily, and the distance at which the steam from the nozzle bends is shortened and the user does not bend. Of course, if water is supplied to the steam generation chamber in an amount equal to the amount of steam generated, as in industrial boilers, a stable amount of steam can be obtained. The steam generator used has an extremely small amount of steam as compared with an industrial boiler, and therefore it is practically difficult to continuously supply a minute amount of water equal to the amount of steam generated.

[Object of the Invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stable amount in a boiler type for a steam-type facial device or an inhaler and which supplies water to a steam generation chamber from a water tank. An object of the present invention is to provide a steam generator capable of generating steam.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention, a steam generation chamber provided with a heater for heating, a water supply tank for supplying water to the steam generation chamber, a water supply means for supplying water from the water supply tank to the steam generation chamber, and a water level sensor provided in the steam generation chamber. In the steam generator provided with the above, the water level sensor is formed so as to be able to detect two states of a full water level and a low water level, and the water supply means can switch between a fully open state and three states of a medium flow rate and a small flow rate, and The full water level detected by the water level sensor switches the water supply amount from the fully open state to a small flow rate, and depending on whether low water level detection is turned on or off, it can be switched between a medium flow rate state slightly higher than the steam generation rate and a small flow rate state slightly lower than the steam generation rate. It is characterized in that it comprises a flow controller for continuous water supply. By switching between a small flow rate state slightly smaller than the steam generation rate and a medium flow rate state slightly higher than the steam generation rate according to the water level, the average flow rate becomes equal to the steam generation rate. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.The illustrated embodiment is a facial device for injecting ionized steam,
A housing 3 in which the water tank 2 is installed in a recess on the upper surface,
It is composed of an arm 4 which is mounted on a receiver 31 on the outer surface of the housing 3 so as to swing up and down by a shaft 32, and steam is jetted to the tip of the arm 4 whose angle can be changed by loosening an arm holder 40. A nozzle 19 is provided. The steam generation chamber 1 for generating the steam injected from the nozzle 19 is installed in the housing 3 in a state of being floated from the bottom plate by the legs 35, and the baffle plate 14 hung from the top plate allows the steam generation chamber 1 to Is divided into two chambers that communicate with each other at the bottom, a steam discharge port 17 connected to the nozzle 19 is arranged on the top face of one chamber, a heater 5 for heating is arranged on the bottom face, and a water level sensor S ₁ is installed in another chamber. Has been done. The water level sensor S ₁ is reed switch unit S ₁₁ and the reed switch unit S ₁₁ which is suspended from the top plate of the steam generating chamber 1
The exposed portion of the steam generating chamber 1 is attached in an electrically insulated state by a float switch system comprising a float portion S ₁₂ (having a permanent magnet for driving a reed switch) externally inserted into the steam generating chamber 1. The water level sensor S ₁ detects the initial full water level L _H , and the heater 5 and the high pressure discharge unit 61
After that, the electromagnetic valve 8 as a flow rate controller, which will be described later, is operated by detecting the lower limit water level L _L. Even when the water level reaches the full level L _H , the amount of water in the steam generation chamber 1 is small, and steam is generated immediately after the heating by the heater 5 is started. The steam obtained by heating the water in the steam generation chamber 1 with the heater 5 is guided from the steam discharge port 17 to the nozzle 19, and here, the elastic tube 18 provided with the nozzle 19 at one end. And the steam discharge port 17 are not directly connected, but are connected via the discharge tube 60 in which the discharge electrode 6 is installed. High-pressure discharge unit shown in FIG.
Steam is ionized by the discharge between the discharge electrodes 6 connected to 61. Further, the nozzle 19 is formed such that its injection direction is orthogonal to the steam passage leading up to here, and is formed so that the rear end projects into the steam passage. There is no (hot water) balloon. Water is supplied to the steam generation chamber 1 from the water supply tank 2, but the water supply tank 2 which is detachable from the housing 3 is always closed by a spring as shown in FIG. Water is supplied to the steam generating chamber 1 through a replenishing chamber 7 formed as a recess in the upper surface of the housing 3, which has a cap 21 in which a biased valve 20 is incorporated. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper portion of the replenishment chamber 7 is enlarged through the step 70, and the step 70
Is provided with a rib 72 for ensuring a space for bleeding air so that the water supply tank 2 is placed on the step 70.
A pin 71 is erected from the bottom surface, and a water level sensor S ₂ as a float switch composed of a reed switch section S ₂₁ and a float section S ₂₂ is provided. Further, the bottom surface thereof has an electromagnetic valve 8 and a water supply pipe 75. It is connected to the water supply port 15 of the steam generation chamber 1 through. The pin 71 pushes open the valve 20 of the water supply tank 2 placed on the upper portion of the replenishment chamber 7 with the cap 21 facing downward against the spring bias and replenishes the water in the water supply tank 2. It leads to the inside of the chamber 7. The water level in the replenishment chamber 7 is the level of the lower surface of the cap 21 facing downward until the water tank 2 becomes empty.
Kept at L ₁ . Further, the water level sensor S ₂ is used in the replenishment chamber 7
When the water level in L is at the above-mentioned level L _1, it is in a conductive state, and when the water level in the replenishment chamber 7 drops and falls below the L ₀ level in the figure, it is cut off, and it functions as a water shortage sensor. ing. Now, the water in the water supply tank 2 is sent to the steam generation chamber 1 through the water supply pipe 75 after passing through the replenishment chamber 7 as described above. The electromagnetic valve 8 provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 75 is As shown in FIG. 5, the valve body 80 is biased in a closing direction by a spring 81, a movable iron core 82 provided at the tip of the valve body 80, and a coil 83, and the coil 83 is energized. If you do so, the valve body 81 will be pulled up and opened,
The coil 83 here has two intermediate taps drawn from different winding numbers, and has three terminals indicated by Cl, Cm, and Cs in the figure, and the coil 83 is energized through the terminal Cl. At times, the electromagnetic valve 8 is fully opened, but the opening degree is less than half when energized through the terminal Cm, and the opening degree is further reduced when energized through the terminal Cs. For example, the flow rate when fully opened is 180c
If c / min and steam generation rate are 18cc / min, the medium flow rate when energized through the terminal Cm is 25cc / min, and the minimum flow rate when energized through the terminal Cs is 10cc / min. For the reason described below, when the fully open flow rate is L, the medium flow rate is M, the minimum flow rate is S, and the amount of steam generated is Q, L >>M>Q> S, and 2Q>M> Q, Q Make sure that the condition of>S> Q / 2 is satisfied. As is clear from the above description, the water level sensor S ₁ is installed in the steam generation chamber 1 and the water level sensor S ₂ is installed in the replenishment chamber 7. However, as shown in FIG. The microcomputer M that received the relay RT
The heater 5 and the high-voltage discharge unit 61 are controlled via a, and the electromagnetic valve 8 is controlled via a relay RTb. The relay RTb here is the above three terminals Cl,
Cm, Cs and the off state are switched. Then, the electromagnetic valve 8 is fully opened only in the initial stage to supply water to the steam generation chamber 1, and when the water level sensor S ₁ detects the full water level L _H , the contact Tb of the relay RTb is connected to the terminal Cs of the coil 83 and the electromagnetic valve is connected. And the contact Ta of the relay RTa is closed to energize the heater 5 and the high-voltage discharge unit 61. The water level rises a little before steam is generated, but the time until steam is generated is short and the amount of water flowing in through the electromagnetic valve 8 set to the minimum flow rate is small, so the amount of water level rise is very small. Is. When the water level in the steam generation chamber 1 decreases to L _L due to steam generation, the contact Tb of the relay RTb is connected to the terminal Cm for a predetermined time to slightly increase the water supply flow rate, and after the predetermined time elapses, rises to the water level L _L or more. If so, the contact Tb is again connected to the terminal Cs to set the electromagnetic valve 8 to the minimum flow rate. Thereafter, the electromagnetic valve 8 is similarly controlled by detecting the L _L water level. Here, after the inside of the steam generation chamber 1 reaches the full water level L _H , water is constantly supplied from the water supply tank 2 and the replenishment chamber 7 to the steam generation chamber 1. At this time,
The reason why the flow rate is adjusted to be increased / decreased in two stages without opening the electromagnetic valve at a constant aperture is as follows. That is, in order to stabilize the steam generation amount, it is ideal to continuously supply water with a flow rate Q ₀ that is comparable to the steam generation amount, but it is difficult to fix the electromagnetic valve 8 to a minute flow rate Q _0. Is. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening of the electromagnetic valve 8 is adjusted in two steps so that a minimum flow rate smaller than the flow rate Q ₀ and a medium flow rate slightly larger than that are obtained, and the average flow rate is adjusted. The flow rate is close to Q ₀ , which is comparable to the amount of steam generated. In this case, the amount of steam generated also increases / decreases because the water temperature changes in accordance with the increase / decrease in the amount of water supply, but as shown in Fig. 8, the change is minimal, and a stable amount of steam is continuously supplied. Can be generated. The broken line in FIGS. 7 and 8 indicates that according to the conventional example. Note that the total amount of water supplied when the electromagnetic valve 8 is set to a medium flow rate for a predetermined time is approximately equal to (water level L _H −water level _LL ) equivalent to the amount of water that becomes steam within the predetermined time. It is set to be equal. Also,
If the water level is below the level L _L after a fixed time due to clogging of the supply passage or the like, the timer is reset and the electromagnetic valve 8 is kept at the medium flow rate for a further fixed time (for example, 2 minutes). The heater 5 and the high-voltage discharge unit 61 are in the replenishing chamber 7.
When the water level inside the L ₀ level or less, regardless of the water level in the steam generation chamber 1 detected by the water level sensor S ₁ , a shorter time than the speaker SK driven by the alarm sound generation circuit AG (2
When an alarm sound is emitted only for about 3 seconds), the display lamp Lb is turned on to warn of water shortage. In addition, the heater 5 and the high-pressure discharge unit 61 are stopped by the automatic stopping means unless the water level is replenished by a certain time (for example, one minute) and the water level in the replenishment chamber 7 becomes L ₀ level or more, and the electromagnetic valve 8 is also closed. To be That is, the contact Ta of the relay RTa does not open until one minute has passed after the water level sensor S ₂ detected L ₀ or less. Also, this circuit makes contact when the timer expires.
When Ta is opened, the operations of the heater 5 and the high voltage discharge unit 61 are stopped. At this time, the notification sound generating circuit AG operates to let the speaker SK flow a time-up melody for a short time (5 to 6 seconds) to notify the time-up. Thermoswitch TS installed near the heater 5 on the bottom surface of the steam generation chamber 1.
Even if is opened, the same operation as the time-up is performed only by not playing Melody. The operation will be described in more detail below. By turning on the power switch SW arranged on the front surface of the housing 3, the time-up time of the timer T is increased from 0 minutes which is the initial setting displayed on the display unit TD. Using the push button FWD and the push button REV to decrease, set at an appropriate time, set the water tank 2 containing water, and then set the start / stop switch SWs that lights the operation display lamp La. close. At this time, if the water level in the steam generation chamber 1 does not reach the water level L _H detected by the water level sensor S ₁ , the electromagnetic valve 8 is kept fully open and the water from the water tank 2 is passed through the replenishment chamber 7 and steamed. Send it to the generation chamber 1. And the water level in the steam generation chamber 1 is L _H
Level sensor S ₁ detects it and relay RT
The contact Ta of a is closed, and the heater 5 and the high pressure discharge unit 61
Then, the generation of steam and the ionization of steam are started, and the electromagnetic valve 8 is set to the minimum flow rate state. After that, until the time of the timer T is up or the water runs out,
Alternatively, until the start / stop switch SWs is pressed again, the electromagnetic valve 8 adjusts the flow rate between the minimum flow rate and the medium flow rate by detecting the L _L water level of the water level sensor S ₁ according to the increase or decrease of the water level in the steam generation chamber 1. This is repeated, and steam is generated while the water level in the steam generation chamber 1 is maintained at a substantially constant level. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the above operation. Then, the steam toward the nozzle 19 is sprayed from the nozzle 19 after being made into an ionized one which is good for the skin and improves the paste of makeup by the discharge between the discharge electrodes 6. Due to the generation of steam and the effect of water flowing into the steam generation chamber 1, the water surface inside the steam generation chamber 1 is wavy, but due to the presence of the baffle plate 14, the water surface at the portion where the water level sensor S ₁ is installed does not wavy. . Further, the surface of the heater 5 is located below the inner bottom surface 1a of the steam generation chamber 1, and the water in the steam generation chamber 1 is drained after use (not shown).
When the heater 5 is opened and drained, water remains in the recess 101 formed on the front surface side of the heater 5, so that the heater 5 remains in a dry state while being hot and scale (calcium oxide etc.) Does not adhere in large amounts, and the surface temperature of the heater 5 is stable for a long period of time. In the above embodiment, the water is continuously supplied to the steam generating chamber 1 via the electromagnetic valve 8 as a flow rate controller. However, the water is supplied from the replenishing chamber 7 to the steam generating chamber 1 by the electromagnetic pump, and The water supply capacity of the electromagnetic pump may be switched by the output of the water level sensor S ₁ of the steam generation chamber 1 to control the amount of water supply as in the case of the above embodiment. In this case, the amount of water supply does not become unstable due to bubbles generated in the water supply pipe 75 and the water supply port 15, and the internal pressure of the steam generation chamber 1 can be increased, so that the injection from the nozzle 19 is performed. The reach of the steam is not shortened.

【The invention's effect】

As described above, in the present invention, when water is supplied from the water supply tank to the steam generation chamber, it is performed continuously rather than intermittently, so the amount of water in the steam generation chamber rapidly increases and the water temperature increases. There is no such a decrease, and in continuous water supply, depending on whether the low water level detection of the water level sensor is on or off, it switches between a small flow rate state slightly less than the steam generation amount and a medium flow rate state slightly more than the steam generation amount. Therefore, even if it is a steam generator used for a steam-type facial device or an inhaler, and it is difficult to continuously supply water at a flow rate equivalent to the steam generation amount because the steam generation amount is extremely small, The average flow rate is almost equal to the amount of steam generated despite using a simple flow rate controller with few flow rate adjustment steps. It is possible to carry out the water supply to continuously,
Therefore, a stable amount of steam can be continuously generated, and when the steam is ejected from the nozzle, the reach distance of the steam is stable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same as above, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a replenishing chamber and a water supply tank above, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a water supply tank above. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the above electromagnetic valve, Fig. 6 is a main circuit diagram of the same as above, Fig. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing a change in water supply amount, and Fig. 8 is a characteristic diagram showing a change in steam generation amount. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the above. 1 is a steam generation chamber, 2 is a water supply tank, 5 is a heater, 8
Is a solenoid valve and S ₁ is a water level sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A steam generating chamber provided with a heater for heating,
In a water supply tank for supplying water to the steam generation chamber, a water supply means for supplying water from the water supply tank to the steam generation chamber, and a steam generator provided with a water level sensor provided in the steam generation chamber, wherein the water level sensor is a full level. The low water level can be detected in two states, and the water supply means can switch between the fully open state and the three states of medium flow rate and small flow rate, and the full water level detection by the water level sensor changes the water supply amount from the fully open state to the small flow rate. Depending on the switching and low-water level detection ON / OFF, the steam is characterized by comprising a flow controller for continuous water supply by switching between a medium flow rate state slightly higher than the steam generation rate and a small flow rate state slightly lower than the steam generation rate. Generator. 2. The steam generator according to claim 1, wherein the flow controller is an electromagnetic valve. 3. The steam generator according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate controller is a pump.