Electric kettle

Abstract

To suppress an amount of liquid leaking from a nozzle when a kettle body falls, in an electric kettle provided with a narrow-mouth nozzle in a lower part of a kettle body.SOLUTION: An electric kettle 1 includes: a power feeding base 3; and a kettle body 5 freely detachably placed on the power feeding base 3. The kettle body 5 includes: a bottomed-cylindrical container 53 for storing liquid; a nozzle 57 provided to a lower part in a lateral face of the container 53; and a valve mechanism 6 for opening and closing a flow channel of the liquid from the container 53 to the nozzle 57.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric kettle.

Background Art

[0002] Electric kettles used on the dining tables or in the kitchens of ordinary households are widely known. An electric kettle is composed of a power supply base having a shape suitable for placement on a table or the like, and a kettle body detachably attached to the power supply base. By mounting the kettle body on the power supply base and driving a heater inside the container with the power supplied from the power supply base, the liquid inside the kettle body can be boiled.

[0003] In such an electric kettle, in order to reduce the pressure inside the container that has increased during boiling, or to prevent the inside of the kettle from becoming negative pressure when pouring, making it difficult for water (hot water) to come out of the nozzle, a steam passage for discharging the steam generated inside the container to the outside is formed in the lid of the kettle body. In addition, the kettle body is provided with a spout for pouring the liquid inside the kettle body.

[0004] In order to reduce the risk of burns to the user, it is desirable that when the kettle body is overturned, the liquid inside the kettle body does not leak to the outside. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a water stop function is provided in the steam passage so that the liquid inside the kettle body does not leak through the steam passage.

[0005] The spout of the kettle body includes those with a wide mouth equipped at the upper part of the kettle body so that hot water can be poured all at once, and those with a thin nozzle equipped at the lower part of the kettle body for coffee dripping. Although an electric kettle with a nozzle provided at the lower part of the kettle body does not have enough space around the base end of the nozzle compared to an electric kettle with a spout provided at the upper part of the kettle body, it is desirable that when the kettle body is overturned, the liquid inside the kettle body does not flow out from the spout.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-131234 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0007] In an electric kettle in which a nozzle with a narrow mouth is provided at the lower part of the kettle body, when the kettle body falls over, it is desired to suppress the amount of liquid leaking from the nozzle. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0008] The electric kettle according to the present embodiment includes a power supply stand and a kettle body that is detachably placed on the power supply stand. The kettle body has a bottomed cylindrical container that stores liquid, a nozzle provided at the lower part of the side surface of the container, and a valve mechanism for opening and closing the liquid flow path from the container to the nozzle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, in an electric kettle in which a nozzle with a narrow mouth is provided at the lower part of the kettle body, when the kettle body falls over, the amount of liquid inside the kettle body leaking from the nozzle can be suppressed. [Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, the electric kettle according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric kettle 1 includes a power supply base 3 placed on a table, and a kettle body 5 detachably attached to the power supply base 3.

[0012] The kettle body 5 has a bottomed cylindrical outer case 51. Typically, the outer case 51 is configured in a frustum shape that narrows from bottom to top. A lid 59 that covers the upper opening of the outer case 51 is detachably attached to the upper part of the outer case 51. A thin cylindrical nozzle 57 is attached to the lower front part of the outer case 51. The shape of the nozzle 57 is arbitrary, but typically, its tip spout 57b is gently curved so as to be located above the front upper part of the outer case 51 relative to the position of the rear end (base end) 57a of the nozzle 57. A handle 58 is attached to the upper rear part of the outer case 51.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, inside the exterior case 51, a partition plate 52 that horizontally partitions the internal space of the exterior case 51 is provided. The partition plate 52 is disposed below the position of the proximal end 57a of the nozzle 57 of the exterior case 51. The upper space of the internal space of the exterior case 51 partitioned by the partition plate 52 functions as a container for storing a liquid such as water, and the lower space functions as a storage portion for storing a control board, cables, etc. In the following description, the upper portion of the kettle body 5 defined by the exterior case 51 and the partition plate 52 is distinguished as the container 53, and the lower portion is distinguished as the storage portion 54, respectively.

[0014] A heater 55 for heating the liquid stored in the container 53 is attached to the partition plate 52. The heater 55 is connected via a cable to an electrical connection terminal (not shown) provided on the outer surface of the bottom portion 511 of the exterior case 51. This cable is wired inside the storage portion 54.

[0015] In the kettle body 5, if the nozzle 57 is attached to the lower portion of the kettle body 5, the other configurations are not limited to the above. For example, in the present embodiment, the upper portion of the body portion of the exterior case 51 also serves as the body portion of the container 53, but the exterior case 51 and the container 53 may be configured separately. In this case, the kettle body 5 can be configured to accommodate a bottomed cylindrical stainless steel container smaller than the exterior case 51 inside the hard resin exterior case 51. Also, if the upper opening of the container 53 can be covered, for example, the lid 59 may be configured to be detachable from the container 53. Also, if the kettle body 5 can be lifted, the position of the handle 58 attached to the kettle body 5 is not limited to the upper rear portion of the exterior case 51. Also, if the liquid stored inside the container 53 can be heated, the attachment location of the heater 55 is arbitrary. Of course, the exterior case 51 may be in a cylindrical shape, a rectangular tube shape, or the like.

[0016] (Valve mechanism 6) One feature of the electric kettle 1 according to this embodiment is that it has a valve mechanism 6 for opening and closing the flow path of the liquid flowing from the container 53 to the nozzle 57. When the flow path is not closed by the valve mechanism 6, that is, when the flow path is open, the user can discharge the liquid from the spout 57b of the nozzle 57 by tilting the kettle body 5 forward in the same manner as in the prior art. On the other hand, by closing the flow path with the valve mechanism 6, even if the kettle body 5 accidentally tilts, such as when the kettle body 5 falls over, the amount of liquid discharged from the spout 57b of the nozzle 57 can be significantly reduced compared to the kettle body 5 without the valve mechanism 6.

[0017] Typically, the valve mechanism 6 is configured as follows. (Water passage 60) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the valve mechanism 6 has a water passage 60 for defining a flow path of the liquid flowing from the container 53 to the nozzle 57. The water passage 60 is configured as an L-shaped cylindrical body, one end side of which is connected to the nozzle 57, and the opening on the other end side is provided so as to face downward. The liquid stored in the container 53 always flows into the nozzle 57 through the water passage 60. Therefore, by closing the opening on the other end side of the water passage 60 or blocking the middle part of the water passage 60, the liquid inside the container 53 can be prevented from flowing into the nozzle 57. Hereinafter, the opening on the other end side of the water passage 60 will be simply referred to as the opening of the water passage 60. The opening surface of the opening of the water passage 60 is preferably inclined at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees, typically 45 degrees, with respect to the vertical direction of the kettle body 5 so that the liquid inside the kettle body 5 can be easily guided into the water passage 60. Since the opening surface of the opening of the water passage 60 is inclined, when the opening of the water passage 60 is closed by the valve body 62 described later, the water pressure of the liquid inside the container 53 can also be utilized, so that the closing of the opening of the water passage 60 by the valve body 62 can be made stronger.

[0018] (Opening and closing mechanism 61) As shown in FIG. 3, the valve mechanism 6 has an opening / closing mechanism 61 that opens and closes the opening of the water passage 60. The opening / closing mechanism 61 includes a valve body 62 for closing the opening of the water passage 60, a support member 63 that supports the valve body 62, a valve rod 64 for pushing the valve body 62 in a direction from an open position where the opening of the water passage 60 is opened to a closed position where the opening of the water passage 60 is closed, and a drive mechanism 65 that drives the pushing operation of the valve body 62 by the valve rod 64. In the kettle body 5, the open position is located below the closed position. The direction from the open position to the closed position is defined as upward, and the direction from the closed position to the open position is defined as downward.

[0019] The opening / closing mechanism 61 is housed in the housing portion 54 of the exterior case 51. A through hole 521 is formed at the position of the partition plate 52 facing the opening of the water passage 60. This through hole 521 functions as an entrance and exit through which a part of the valve body 62 of the opening / closing mechanism 61 enters and exits.

[0020] (Valve body 62) The valve body 62 is provided so as to block the through hole 521 formed in the partition plate 52 from the side of the housing portion 54 of the exterior case 51. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the liquid filled in the container 53 from flowing into the housing portion 54 through the through hole 521 formed in the partition plate 52. Thus, the valve body 62 also serving as a sealing member for preventing the liquid from flowing into the housing portion 54 is one feature of the electric kettle 1 according to the present embodiment. Making the valve body 62 also function as a sealing member contributes to reducing the component cost and facilitating the assembly work by reducing the number of components.

[0021] Specifically, the valve body 62 is configured as follows. The valve body 62 is formed of, for example, an elastic resin so as to be elastically deformable. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the valve body 62 includes a main body portion 621 having a cylindrical shape, a seal portion 623 having an annular shape disposed around the main body portion 621, and a connecting portion 625 having a groove frame shape that connects the main body portion 621 and the seal portion 623. The entire valve body 62 has a substantially W-shaped cross-sectional shape. The main body portion 621 corresponds to the central portion located at the center of the valve body 62, and the seal portion 623 corresponds to the peripheral portion located at the periphery of the valve body 62. The main body portion 621 has a planar shape smaller than the through hole 521 so as to be able to enter and exit the through hole 521 formed in the partition plate 52. The tip 621a of the main body portion 621 has a slope parallel to the inclined surface of the opening of the water channel 60 so as to be able to closely adhere to the opening of the water channel 60. The rear end 621b of the main body portion 621 has a horizontal surface perpendicular to the vertical direction of the kettle body 5 so that the tip of the valve rod 64 can easily abut thereon. Of course, the shape of the tip 621a of the main body portion 621 is not limited to the above shape as long as it can close the opening of the water channel 60.

[0022] The valve body 62 is fixed to the back surface of the partition plate 52 by the seal portion 623 at its peripheral portion being pressed against the back surface of the partition plate 52 by a support member 63 described later. With the valve body 62 fixed to the partition plate 52, the main body portion 621 is pressed upward by the valve rod 64, causing the valve body 62 to elastically deform. Specifically, the connecting portion 625 elastically deforms without the main body portion 621 and the seal portion 623 elastically deforming, so that the main body portion 621 is pushed out to the closed position closing the opening of the water channel 60, and the tip 621a closely adheres to the opening of the water channel 60, thereby closing the opening of the water channel 60. When the pressing state of the main body portion 621 by the valve rod 64 is released, the entire valve body 62 returns the main body portion 621 to the position before pressing by its restoring force, thereby opening the opening of the water channel 60.

[0023] The valve body 62 is preferably configured such that the thickness of the connecting portion 625 is thinner than that of the main body portion 621 and the sealing portion 623. By reducing the thickness of the connecting portion 625 and making it easier to elastically deform compared to the main body portion 621 and the sealing portion 623, when the main body portion 621 is pressed upward by the valve rod 64, the connecting portion 625 elastically deforms while the main body portion 621 and the sealing portion 623 do not elastically deform significantly, and the main body portion 621 can be pushed to the closed position. By not significantly elastically deforming the main body portion 621 and the sealing portion 623 by the pressing operation of the valve rod 64 on the main body portion 621, it is possible to prevent a gap from forming between the main body portion 621 and the opening of the water passage 60, suppress a decrease in the closing performance of the water passage 60 by the main body portion 621, and prevent a gap from forming between the sealing portion 623 and the partition plate 52 or between the sealing portion 623 and the support member 63, thereby suppressing a decrease in the sealing performance.

[0024] (Support member 63, valve rod 64) The support member 63 is formed of, for example, a rigid resin so as not to elastically deform. Functionally, the support member 63 has a support portion for supporting the valve body 62, a guide portion for guiding the movement of the valve rod 64, and an attachment portion for attaching the support member 63 to the partition plate 52. Actually, the support member 63 has a main body portion 631 having a cylindrical shape with an inner diameter through which the rod-shaped portion of the valve rod 64 can pass. The main body portion 631 itself functions as a guide portion, and the valve rod 64 can move smoothly in the vertical direction by the support member 63. A recess 633 for fitting the valve body 62 is formed at the tip of the main body portion 631. This recess 633 corresponds to the support portion. A protrusion 635 for pressing the valve body 62 against the partition plate 52 is formed at the tip of the main body portion 631. Arms having attachment holes 637 into which fasteners such as bolts and screws can be inserted are provided in pairs on the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 631. This attachment hole 637 corresponds to the attachment portion. A pair of claws 639 are provided on the support member 63 so that the rod-shaped portion 641 of the valve rod 64 inserted into the main body portion 631 does not come out of the main body portion 631. The valve rod 64 has a pair of claw receiving portions 643 for receiving the pair of claws 639 of the support member 63.

[0025] With the valve body 62 fitted into the recess 633 of the support member 63, the seal portion 623 of the valve body 62 is placed on the tip of the support member 63. In this state, by firmly fastening the support member 63 to the back surface of the partition plate 52 with a fastener such as a bolt inserted into the mounting hole 637 of the support member 63, the valve body 62 has its seal portion 623 pressed against the partition plate 52 by the protrusion 635 of the support member 63, and thereby is fixed to the back surface of the partition plate 52, functioning as a seal member to prevent liquid from flowing into the accommodation portion 54 of the exterior case 51.

[0026] (Drive mechanism 65) The drive mechanism 65 has a manual operation portion 67 for manually operating the upward movement of the valve rod 64. This manual operation portion 67 corresponds to an operation portion for switching on and off the valve mechanism 6. The manual operation portion 67 is provided at the bottom 511 of the exterior case 51 so as to enable a slide operation by the user. The drive mechanism 65 has a conversion block 66 for converting the slide movement of the manual operation portion 67 into the upward movement of the valve rod 64. The conversion block 66 has an inclined surface 661 for pushing out the valve rod 64 and a locking surface 663 for locking the valve rod 64 in the pushed-out state. Typically, the conversion block 66 is configured in a shape where a trapezoidal block is coupled to the surface of a flat plate.

[0027] By providing the manual operation unit 67 at the bottom 511 of the exterior case 51 of the kettle body 5 and by making the manual operation unit 67 a slide operation, the following effects are achieved. Generally, the kettle body 5 is removed from the power supply stand 3 only when in use and is placed on the power supply stand 3 immediately after use. In the state where the kettle body 5 is placed on the power supply stand 3, the manual operation unit 67 is not exposed on the surface of the kettle body 5, and in order to operate the manual operation unit 67, the kettle body 5 must necessarily be removed from the power supply stand 3. For children who are at risk of burns, etc., removing the heavy kettle body 5 containing liquid from the power supply stand 3 is a difficult task. Even if, by any chance, the kettle body 5 can be removed from the power supply stand 3, in order to slide-operate the manual operation unit 67 provided at the bottom 511 of the kettle body 5, the heavy kettle body 5 must be held with one hand, so it is difficult for a child without strength, etc., to operate the manual operation unit 67. If the kettle body 5 is placed on a table, the manual operation unit 67 cannot be operated. Also, simply hitting the bottom 511 of the kettle body 5 cannot turn the manual operation unit 67 on or off. That is, in the state where the kettle body 5 is placed on the power supply stand 3, by not exposing the manual operation unit 67 on the surface of the kettle body 5, it is possible to prevent incorrect operation of the manual operation unit 67 compared to when it is exposed. Furthermore, by making the manual operation unit 67 a slide operation instead of a pressing operation, incorrect operation of the manual operation unit 67 can be prevented. When there is no liquid contained inside the kettle body 5, the kettle body 5 is light and it is easy to remove it from the power supply stand 3. However, if there is only a small amount of liquid contained in the first place, even if, by any chance, the manual operation unit 67 is operated and the valve mechanism 6 turns off, the amount of liquid leaking from the nozzle 57 is small, so the risk of serious burns is quite low. Of course, it does not completely deny making the manual operation unit 67 a pressing operation. As long as it is only from the perspective of manually turning the valve mechanism 6 on and off, the manual operation unit 67 can be configured to utilize a pressing operation.

[0028] (Explanation of the operation of the valve mechanism 6) The operation of the valve mechanism 6 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. In FIGS. 7 and 9, hatching is applied only to the components constituting the valve mechanism 6 for the purpose of distinguishing it from other structures. FIGS. 6 and 7 show the state where the valve mechanism 6 is turned off. The valve body 62 is not being pressed by the valve rod 64, and the main body portion 621 of the valve body 62 is disposed at an open position that opens the opening of the water passage 60. When the valve mechanism 6 is turned off, the user can discharge the liquid contained inside the container 53 from the spout 57b of the nozzle 57 by tilting the kettle body 5 forward.

[0029] FIGS. 8 and 9 show the state where the valve mechanism 6 is turned on. When the manual operation portion 67 is slid forward by the user, the conversion block 66 is slid forward, and the valve rod 64 is lifted upward by the inclined surface 661 of the conversion block 66. When the valve rod 64 is lifted upward, the main body portion 621 of the valve body 62 is pressed upward by the tip of the valve rod 64, and mainly due to the elastic deformation of the connecting portion 625 of the valve body 62, the main body portion 621 is moved to a closed position that closes the opening of the water passage 60. The tip 621a of the main body portion 621 is pressed against the opening of the water passage 60 by the valve rod 64, whereby the opening of the water passage 60 is closed by the main body portion 621 of the valve body 62. The state where the opening of the water passage 60 is closed by the main body portion 621 is maintained by being locked in a state where the valve rod 64 is lifted by the lock surface 663 that continues to the top of the inclined surface 661 of the conversion block 66. When the manual operation portion 67 is slid backward by the user, the conversion block 66 is slid backward, and the locked state of the valve rod 64 by the conversion block 66 is released. The valve body 62 is released from the pressed state by the valve rod 64, and due to its restoring force, the main body portion 621 is returned to the open position that opens the opening of the water passage 60.

[0030] According to the electric kettle 1 according to the present embodiment described above, by providing the valve mechanism 6 that opens and closes the liquid flow path from the container 53 to the nozzle 57, by turning on the valve mechanism 6, even if the kettle body 5 accidentally topples over, the amount of liquid discharged from the spout 57b of the nozzle 57 can be significantly suppressed compared to an electric kettle without the valve mechanism 6.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the opening and closing mechanism 61 was housed inside the housing portion 54 located below the container 53. However, as long as it is only from the viewpoint of opening and closing the opening of the water passage 60, its position is not limited to the above. For example, the opening and closing mechanism 61 may be arranged horizontally at the bottom of the container 53, and the opening of the water passage 60 may be opened and closed by a valve body 62 pushed out in the horizontal direction (the direction parallel to the partition plate 52).

[0032] In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the valve body 62 is returned from the closed position to the open position by its restoring force. However, in order to assist the restoring force of the valve body 62 or to return the valve body 62 from the closed position to the open position without using the restoring force of the valve body 62, a biasing member for biasing the valve body 62 may be added to the opening and closing mechanism 61. As the biasing member, a leaf spring, a compression coil spring, rubber, etc. can be used.

[0033] In the present embodiment, the valve body 62 also serves as a sealing member. However, a sealing member may be added to the opening and closing mechanism 61 as a separate body from the valve body 62.

[0034] In the present embodiment, the drive mechanism 65 is configured to include a manual operation portion 67. However, as long as it can drive the upward movement of the valve rod 64, it may be automatic. In this case, a motor that drives the vertical movement of the valve rod 64 and a control board that controls the motor and has a communication function are housed in the housing portion 54. By a remote control operation by the user, the valve rod 64 can automatically move up and down, thereby opening and closing the opening of the water passage 60.

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof at the implementation stage. Also, the respective embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combinations, and in such cases, the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments, and the problem can be solved and the effects can be obtained, the configuration with these deleted constituent elements can be extracted as an invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0036] 1... Electric kettle, 3... Power supply stand, 5... Kettle body, 51... Outer case, 511... Bottom, 52... Partition plate, 53... Container, 54... Accommodating portion, 55... Heater, 57... Nozzle, 57a... Base end, 57b... Tip (spout), 58... Handle, 59... Lid, 6... Valve mechanism.

Claims

1. A power supply station, and a kettle body detachably placed on the power supply station, wherein the kettle body has a bottomed cylindrical container for containing a liquid, a nozzle provided at a lower portion of a side surface of the container, and a valve mechanism for opening and closing a flow path of the liquid from the container to the nozzle. The valve mechanism has a cylindrical water path for defining the flow path of the liquid from the container to the nozzle, and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the water path. The opening / closing mechanism has a valve body provided so as to be able to open and close the flow path of the water path, a valve rod for pushing the valve body in a direction from an open position for opening the flow path to a closed position for closing the flow path, and a drive mechanism for driving the pushing operation of the valve body by the valve rod. The kettle body has a bottomed cylindrical outer case for housing the container, the opening / closing mechanism is housed in a space between a bottom plate of the outer case and a bottom plate of the container, and a hole for the valve body to enter and exit is formed in the bottom plate of the container, the valve body is provided so as to block the hole from a side of the space, and serves as a seal member for preventing the liquid from flowing into the space through the hole, an electric kettle.

2. The valve body is elastically deformable, elastically deformed by being pressed by the valve rod, a part of the valve body is pushed out from the open position to the closed position to close the water path, and when the pressing by the valve rod is released, a part of the valve body is returned from the closed position to the open position by its restoring force to open the water path, the electric kettle according to claim 1.

3. The valve body has a substantially W-shaped cross-sectional shape with the peripheral edge and the central portion protruding upward, and is mounted on the back surface of the bottom plate of the container at the peripheral edge, and the water passage is opened and closed by the central portion. The electric kettle according to claim 2.

4. The electric kettle according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the connecting portion connecting the peripheral edge portion and the central portion is thinner than that of the peripheral edge portion and the central portion.

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