Steam iron

Abstract

 A steam iron (1), comprising a handle associated in an upper region with a sole plate (2), the lower face of which is suitable to glide over fabrics, a heated tank, which comprises a water reservoir and means for generating steam (V) from the water, which are connected to a first opening (6a) for the outflow of the steam, which is formed on the lower face and is connected to first valve means (7a) for flow management, a chamber (8) for accumulating the water and/or steam that arrive from the heated tank, which is connected to a second opening (6b) connected to second valve means (7b) for flow management, the accumulation chamber being suitable to store the water and/or steam during the closure of the second valve means in order to increase the output flow-rate of the steam when the second valve means are opened.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a steam iron.

[0002] Steam irons are known which are commonly used to perform ironing operations intended to remove creases and wrinkles from items of clothing and from fabrics in general.

[0003] Known irons are provided with a heated sole plate, which can be made to glide over the clothes placed on an ordinary ironing board; in order to improve ironing and prevent the heat released by the sole plate from spoiling certain kinds of fabric, conventional irons are provided with heated tanks suitable to generate steam, which is used to moisten the clothes to be ironed; these heated tanks, in particular, can be provided either inside the sole plate or can be external and connected to the sole plate by means of flexible hoses.

[0004] The steam is released through particular openings formed essentially on the sole plate, the distribution of which is particularly important for improving the performance of the iron, especially as regards the possibility to release a jet of steam capable of reaching even the most difficult points of the items of clothing, such as for example the cuffs of shirts.

[0005] In order to facilitate ironing operations, therefore, some conventional irons are provided with openings arranged on the lower face of the iron, the one designed to be placed in contact with the item to be ironed, and with lateral openings, which allow to reach the adjacent portions of fabric without necessarily lifting the iron.

[0006] Depending on the varying requirements of use, in general the outflow of steam from irons is controlled directly by the user by operating one or more control buttons for opening/closing one or more valves, which are possibly also suitable to adjust in quantitative terms the flow-rate of steam in output.

[0007] These conventional irons are not free from drawbacks, including the fact that the maximum flow-rate of steam in output that they can provide is limited to a value that is set during manufacture and sometimes is not suitable to moisten efficiently particular items of clothing.

[0008] Further, it is noted that if the fabric to be ironed requires the application of an additional amount of steam, the user is forced to perform the dispensing action repetitively, consequently slowing the overall ironing operation.

[0009] The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the background art, by providing an improved steam iron that allows, other parameters being equal, to increase the flow-rate of steam at times of greater need, facilitating the task of the user in addition to improving the ironing and making it faster.

[0010] Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a steam iron that is simple, relatively easy to provide in practice, safe in use, effective in operation, and has a relatively low cost.

[0011] This aim and this and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by the present steam iron, which comprises at least one handle that is associated in an upper region with at least one sole plate, the lower face of which is suitable to glide over fabrics, at least one heated tank, which comprises a water reservoir and means for generating steam from said water, which are connected to at least one first opening for the outflow of said steam, which is formed on said lower face and is connected to first valve means for flow management, characterized in that it comprises at least one chamber for accumulating said water and/or said steam that arrive from said heated tank, said chamber being connected to at least one second opening connected to second valve means for flow management, said accumulation chamber being suitable to store said water and/or said steam during the closure of said second valve means in order to increase the output flow-rate of the steam when said second valve means are opened.

[0012] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an improved steam iron, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic and partial plan view of the iron according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the sole plate of the iron according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the iron according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the iron according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the iron according to the invention.

[0013] With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates an improved steam iron.

[0014] The iron 1 comprises a handle, not shown in the figures because it is of a conventional type, which is associated in an upper region with a metallic and internally hollow sole plate 2, a lower face 3 of which is suitable to be kept in contact with the fabrics to be ironed, gliding thereon.

[0015] The profile of the lower face 3 is of the conventional type and has a pointed shape at one end and a rounded and wider shape at the opposite end; said ends form respectively the front side 4a and the rear side 4b of the iron 1.

[0016] In the vicinity of the sole plate 2 there is a conventional electric resistor 5, which is constituted by a U-shaped rod which, during use, is suitable to be supplied with voltage in order to dissipate energy by way of the Joule effect, heating said plate.

[0017] The iron 1 is provided with a heated tank, not shown since it is known, which comprises a reservoir for containing water A and means for generating steam V obtained by evaporating said water.

[0018] Preferably, the heated tank is of the external type, but applications of the present invention in which it is rigidly applied to the sole plate 2 and can move with it are not excluded.

[0019] By means of a tube 20 that protrudes from the boiler, the means for generating steam V are connected to at least one and preferably a plurality of first openings 6a, formed on the lower face 3, at which the steam V can be expelled from the sole plate 2.

[0020] Between the means for generating steam V and the first openings 6a, the iron 1 has interposed first valve means 7a for managing the flow of the steam in output, which can be controlled from outside.

[0021] The iron 1 according to the invention is provided with a chamber 8 for accumulating the steam V that arrives from the tube 20, which is connected to at least one and preferably a plurality of second openings 6b connected to second valve means 7b for flow management, which can also be controlled from outside.

[0022] The chamber 8, during use, is suitable to accumulate internally a certain amount of steam V during the closure of the second valve means 7b; this accumulated amount is made available when said second valve means are opened in order to increase the flow-rate of steam V in output.

[0023] Conveniently, the second openings 6b are formed by a plurality of first holes 9a, which are formed through the lower face 3, and by a second hole 9b, which is arranged externally with respect to said sole plate.

[0024] Both the first holes 9a and the second hole 9b are arranged on the front side 4a of the iron 1; the first holes 9a, in particular, are formed at the pointed portion of the sole plate 2, while the second hole 9b is arranged above the first holes 9a and is formed by a nozzle that is orientated substantially obliquely with respect to the lower face 3 and does not intersect the sole plate 2, so as to direct the associated outflowing stream of steam V toward the portion of fabric arranged in front of said pointed portion.

[0025] Advantageously, the sole plate 2 internally comprises walls 10, which are substantially perpendicular to the lower face 3 and delimit internally a first compartment 11a and a second compartment 11b, onto which the first openings 6a and the first holes 9a open.

[0026] The second compartment 11b, in particular, has a substantially triangular cross-section so as to reproduce the orientation of the pointed end of the sole plate 2.

[0027] The walls 10 that delimit the first compartment 11 a instead form a conventional labyrinth-like structure 12, which is arranged at the central portion of the sole plate 2; this structure forces the steam V to flow along a winding path through particular slots 13, formed in the walls 10, so as to facilitate the transfer of heat from the electric resistor 5 to the steam V and avoid any condensation of said steam inside the first compartment 11 a.

[0028] In the vicinity of the tip of the plate 2, such structure assumes the shape of two blind ducts 14, which continue peripherally, following the lateral edge of the sole plate until they reach one of the walls 10 that delimit the second compartment 11b; the first openings 6a are distributed along said ducts.

[0029] Inside the sole plate 2 there is also the chamber 8, which is recessed between the walls 10 of the first and second compartments 11a and 11b; in particular, it is formed in the space delimited between the blind ducts 14.

[0030] In the embodiment of the sole plate 2 shown in Figure 1, the chamber 8 has substantially limited dimensions and does not require condensation-preventing devices such as the structure 12; however, alternative embodiments are not excluded in which it is larger and contains a labyrinth-like structure or the like that is suitable to keep the steam V in the gaseous state.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 3, the first and second valve means 7a and 7b are separate and distinct.

[0032] The second valve means 7b, in particular, comprise a first valve 15 a and a second valve 15b for adjusting the flow of steam V, which are interposed respectively between the chamber 8 and the first compartment 11a and between the chamber 8 and the second compartment 11b, while the first valve means 7a are constituted by a third valve 15c, which is independent of the others and can be associated with the boiler proximate to the means for generating the steam V, or can be arranged in the vicinity of the sole plate 2 and be rigidly coupled thereto.

[0033] In an alternative embodiment of the iron 1, shown in Figure 4, the first and second valve means 7a and 7b are instead formed by a single multifunction valve 16, which is connected to the tube 20 in order to receive said steam and send it to the first compartment 11a and/or to the chamber 8, and is connected to the chamber 8 in order to receive the steam V accumulated therein and control its delivery to the first holes 9a and/or to the second hole 9b.

[0034] The iron 1 is further provided with means for actuating the first and second valve means 7a and 7b, which advantageously can be of the electrical, mechanical or electromechanical type.

[0035] The actuation means, for example, can comprise one or more buttons arranged on the handle, which are not shown since they are of a conventional type and which, by providing one or more operating positions, are such as to control the outflow of steam V from the first openings 6a, from the first holes 9a and/or from the second hole 9b, optionally simultaneously depending on the different operating requirements.

[0036] In the embodiments of the present invention shown in Figures 3 and 4, the iron 1 is provided with a single tube 20, which is interposed between the means for generating the steam V and the sole plate 2 and is provided with a bifurcation 21, which in Figure 4 is formed inside the multifunction valve 16 and by means of which the tube 20 is connected both to the chamber 8 and to the first openings 6a; as an alternative, it is possible to provide two separate tubes, which are suitable to transfer the steam V separately and independently to the chamber 8 and to the first openings 6a, respectively.

[0037] Finally, the present invention may provide a further embodiment, shown in Figure 5, in which instead of one or more tubes 20 designed to transfer steam V there are two separate ducts 22, which are interposed between the heated tank and the sole plate 2: a first duct 22a, which is designed to transfer the steam V from the steam generation means to the first openings 6a, and a second duct 22b, which is designed to transfer to the chamber 8 part of the water A contained in the reservoir.

[0038] In this embodiment of the iron 1, the chamber 8 is suitable to be heated by means of the electric resistor 5 in order to cause the evaporation of the water A that has reached its interior: the steam V generated by the iron 1, therefore, is partly generated inside the heated tank and sent to the first openings through the first duct 22a and partly formed directly in the chamber 8, where it is accumulated until the second valve means 7b open.

[0039] As regards the remaining part of the iron 1, shown in Figure 5, reference is made to what has been described and illustrated previously.

[0040] In practice, it has been found that the described invention achieves the proposed aim and object.

[0041] It is noted, in this regard, that the particular refinement of using an accumulation chamber to store steam during the closure of the second valve means allows to utilize, when necessary, an additional amount of steam to moisten the fabrics to be ironed, which by adding itself to the gas that normally arrives from the heated tank allows to increase the total flow-rate.

[0042] In the case of the generation of steam directly inside the accumulation chamber, further, it is possible to have a particularly powerful jet in output by way of a considerable increase in pressure that can be observed inside said chamber upon transition from water to steam.

[0043] Finally, it is noted that the improved iron according to the invention allows to make the task of the user easier and faster, since the user is not forced to dwell on prolonged operations for dispensing steam, which are instead necessary when using conventional irons.

[0044] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

[0045] All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

[0046] In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements without thereby abandoning the protective scope of the appended claims.

[0047] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. M02004A000021 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0048] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A steam iron, comprising at least one handle that is associated in an upper region with at least one sole plate, the lower face of which is suitable to glide over fabrics, at least one heated tank, which comprises a water reservoir and means for generating steam from said water, which are connected to at least one first opening for the outflow of said steam, which is formed on said lower face and is connected to first valve means for flow management, characterized in that it comprises at least one chamber for accumulating said water and/or said steam that arrive from said heated tank, said chamber being connected to at least one second opening connected to second valve means for flow management, said accumulation chamber being suitable to store said water and/or said steam during the closure of said second valve means in order to increase the output flow-rate of the steam when said second valve means are opened.

2. The iron according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of said second openings, at least one of which is formed by a first through hole formed in said lower face.

3. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of said second openings is formed by a second hole arranged externally with respect to said sole plate.

4. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first hole is arranged at the front portion of said sole plate.

5. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second hole is arranged above said second hole.

6. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sole plate internally comprises walls for delimiting a first compartment, onto which a plurality of said first openings open, and a second compartment, onto which a plurality of said first holes open.

7. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said accumulation chamber is formed in said plate.

8. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said accumulation chamber is formed between said walls.

9. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first valve means are arranged proximate to said plate.

10. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first valve means are arranged proximate to said steam generation means.

11. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second valve means comprise at least one first valve for adjusting the flow of steam, which is interposed between said accumulation chamber and said first holes.

12. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second valve means comprise at least one second valve for adjusting the flow of steam, which is interposed between said accumulation chamber and said second hole.

13. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second valve means are formed by at least one multifunction valve.

14. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means for actuating at least one of said first and second valve means.

15. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation means are of the electrical type.

16. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation means are of the mechanical type.

17. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation means are of the electromechanical type.

18. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuation means comprise at least one button.

19. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said button is arranged on said handle.

20. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one tube for transferring said steam from said steam production means to said plate and is connected to said accumulation chamber and/or said first openings.

21. The iron according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one first duct for the transfer of said steam from said steam generation means to said first openings and at least one second duct for transferring said water from said reservoir to said accumulation chamber, said accumulation chamber being heated in order to convert said water into steam.

Drawing