EP0402256B1 - Steam iron with water tank at the rear - Google Patents

Abstract

The steam iron comprises a water reservoir (1a) arranged at the rear of the iron. The body of the iron possesses in its front part a pronounced descending profile (2). The invention is used for improving the stability of the iron in the vertical position of rest and the visibility at the front. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a steam iron comprising a water tank intended to supply a steam generating boiler which is generally integrated into the soleplate of the iron.

In known steam irons of this type, the reservoir is generally attached to the front of the iron.

This water tank is either fixed or removable.

When fixed, it generally extends horizontally under the upper handle and is relatively flat. Such an iron is described in the document GB 2 160 229.

The lateral faces of the tank substantially follow the ogival outline of the sole. This additional tank is crossed vertically by the dropwise water supply system of the vaporization chamber located under the tank, which has a control button projecting from the upper part of the iron in front of the handle.

In the case of steam irons with a removable reservoir, this reservoir is detached from the iron by the front of the latter.

In this case, the drip feed system is integral with the tank.

In all cases, due to the presence of the reservoir at the front, the center of gravity of the iron is substantially in the middle of it.

The Applicant has found that the current irons have a certain number of drawbacks precisely linked to the presence of the water tank at the front of the iron.

Indeed, due to the forward shape of the irons, it is impossible to give the reservoirs a compact form that is simple and inexpensive to produce. In addition, the presence of the drip feed system further complicates the shape of the tank and increases the manufacturing cost.

On the other hand, in the case of removable tanks, the fact that the drip feed device is integral with the tank, leads to each withdrawal or installation of the tank risks of deterioration of the aforementioned device.

In addition, the fact that the center of gravity of the iron is located substantially in the middle of the iron is not the ideal solution for the ease of positioning the iron in a vertical position or for its stability in this position.

An iron, described in US Pat. No. 4,484,399, has a water tank located at the rear of the iron which has a flat bearing face used to maintain the iron in a vertical rest position. However, due to the presence of a housing at the front of the iron for storing the tank filler cup, it is impossible to give the front part of the iron a very accentuated forward plunging profile, so that the visibility towards the front of the iron is reduced, in an area where the user precisely needs maximum visibility to locate the position of the point of the iron on the parts to be smoothed out or the folds of the textile articles to be ironed. This lack of optimal visibility greatly annoys users.

The purpose of the invention presence is precisely to remedy all the aforementioned drawbacks.

The iron targeted by the invention comprises a water tank, the rear face of the iron being flat and serving as a support surface for the iron to keep it in the vertical rest position, and most of the volume of the tank being disposed at the rear of the iron.

According to the invention, the iron is characterized in that the front profile of the body of the iron which extends between the front end of the handle of the iron and the tip of the sole forms with the latter an angle less than 60 °.

This arrangement of the water tank mainly at the rear of the iron makes it possible to move the center of gravity towards the rear, which considerably facilitates its positioning in the vertical rest position and improves its stability in this position.

In addition, since the rear section of an iron is larger than its front section, the tank can be accommodated more easily in this rear section, having a more compact shape and less costly to produce, in particular because it does not is not dependent on the drip feed system located at the front of the iron.

Furthermore, since the water tank is no longer located at the front of the iron, the shape of this front is no longer dependent on the tank, so that it can be given a profile dipping forward significantly more accentuated than in known embodiments, which considerably improves the forward visibility of the iron.

Indeed, when the angle between the front profile and the sole is less than 60 °, the visibility towards the front of the iron is clear and the user of the iron clearly distinguishes the tip of this iron, without having to bend over constantly above the iron.

The water tank can be fixed or removable. In the latter case, the reservoir is engaged either in a recess which opens on the upper face of the iron, or in a recess which opens on a lateral face of the iron, or in a recess which opens on the rear face of the iron.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the description below.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en élévation latérale d'une première réalisation d'un fer à vapeur à réservoir fixe,
• la figure 2 est une vue schématique d'une seconde réalisation d'un fer à vapeur à réservoir fixe,
• la figure 3 est une vue schématique d'une première réalisation d'un fer à vapeur à réservoir amovible,
• la figure 4 est une vue schématique d'une deuxième réalisation d'un fer à vapeur à réservoir amovible,
• la figure 5 est une vue de l'arrière du fer selon la figure 4,
• la figure 6 est une vue schématique d'une troisième réalisation d'un fer à vapeur à réservoir amovible,
• la figure 7 est une vue de dessus du fer selon la figure 6,
• la figure 8 est une vue en perspective à plus grande échelle d'un fer à vapeur conforme à l'invention,
• la figure 9 est une vue en coupe longitudinale du fer selon la figure 8.

In the appended drawings given by way of nonlimiting examples:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view of a first embodiment of a steam iron with a fixed tank,
• FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a steam iron with a fixed tank,
• FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a steam iron with a removable reservoir,
• FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a steam iron with a removable reservoir,
• FIG. 5 is a view of the rear of the iron according to FIG. 4,
• FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of a steam iron with a removable reservoir,
• FIG. 7 is a top view of the iron according to FIG. 6,
• FIG. 8 is a perspective view on a larger scale of a steam iron according to the invention,
• FIG. 9 is a view in longitudinal section of the iron according to FIG. 8.

In all of the embodiments shown in the appended drawings, the water tank is arranged at the rear of the iron and the body of the iron has in its front part an accentuated plunging profile 2 and in particular much more accentuated than in the case steam irons with a water tank at the front.

The profile 2 plunging before the body of the iron which extends between the front end 3a of the handle 3 of the iron and the tip 4a of the sole forms with the latter an angle a which is preferably less than 60 °. In the embodiments shown, this angle is close to 50 °.

Thanks to the arrangement of the reservoir 1a, 1b, ... at the rear of the iron, the center of gravity G is located between its rear face 5 and the middle of the iron.

This rear face 5 of the iron is flat and serves as a support surface for the iron to keep it in a vertical position. It can be seen in the appended figures that the water tank 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e has a substantially prismatic compact shape, one of the faces 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6th being substantially parallel to said rear face 5 iron.

Furthermore, in all the embodiments shown, the reservoir 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e extends over substantially the entire width of the rear part of the iron (see in particular Figures 5 and 6).

In addition, the water tank extends over more than half the height of the rear part of the iron.

As also shown in Figures 1 to 7, the water tank 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e is located in an area of the rear part of the iron which extends beyond the rear edge 4b of the sole 4 .

In addition, the lower face 7 of the rear part of the iron progressively rises from the rear edge 4b of the sole 4 towards the flat rear face 5 of the iron.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the tank 1a, 1b is fixed.

In the case of FIG. 1, the water supply to the reservoir 1a is carried out from an opening 8 leading to the front plunging profile 2 and connected to the reservoir 1a by a substantially horizontal pipe 9 passing under the recess 10 which delimits the handle 3.

In FIG. 2, the reservoir 1b opens out through an opening 11 located at the upper part of the iron near its flat rear face 5.

In the embodiments according to Figures 3 to 7, the reservoir 1c, 1d, 1e is removably fixed in the rear part of the iron.

In the case of Figure 3, the tank 1c is engaged in a recess 12 which opens on the upper face 13 of the iron. This recess 12 is limited by faces substantially parallel to the rear face 5 of the iron and which extend over the entire width of the rear part of the iron.

In the case of FIGS. 4 and 5, the reservoir 1d is engaged in a recess 14 which opens onto a lateral face 15 of the iron. In FIG. 5, it can be seen in particular that the reservoir 1d has a trapezoidal section adapted to that of the rear part of the iron, and which integrates perfectly with it.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, the reservoir 6e is engaged in a recess 16 which opens at the same time on the rear and upper faces of the iron. The front face 17 of the reservoir 6e covers a boss 18 in which the electrical connection means of the iron are located, to which the power cord 19 terminates.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rear face 20 of the tank 6e at the same time constitutes the flat rear face 5 of the iron support.

Of course, in all embodiments comprising a removable tank, means (not shown) are provided for locking the tank in the corresponding recess in the rear part of the iron. These means can be constituted by snap-fit spouts allowing reversible locking.

Furthermore, in all cases, the reservoir must have at its lower part an opening intended to communicate with a conduit leading to the drip feed system, placed at the front of the iron.

To allow the aforementioned opening to communicate with the aforementioned conduit, a valve can be provided which opens automatically when the reservoir is in place and which closes when this reservoir is removed from the iron.

In Figure 8, there is shown the external appearance of a concrete embodiment of an iron according to the invention.

This iron is of the same type as that shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1. Its reservoir is placed at the rear and its filling is effected by an orifice 8 which opens onto the very accentuated front profile 2.

The fact that the tank is fixed or removable does not change the external shape of the iron.

The longitudinal section view shown in Figure 9 shows the arrangement of the reservoir 1 at the rear of the iron, as well as the conduit 9 which extends horizontally forward where it opens into a chamber 21 which communicates with the chamber vaporization 22 via the needle 23 of the drip feed system. This needle 23 is controlled by a button 24 which projects slightly at the front end of the handle 3.

The filling of the reservoir 1a is carried out by an opening 8 located on the plunging front edge 2, this opening 8 communicating with the chamber 21 and with the conduit 9. In this embodiment, the reservoir 1a is not entirely housed in the part back of the iron. However, most of the volume of the reservoir extends between the middle of the iron and its rear face.

We will now detail the many advantages steam iron techniques just described.

First of all, the fact that the reservoir 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e is placed at the rear of the iron, makes it possible to lighten the front and therefore to shift the center of gravity towards the rear.

Thus, on the one hand the user can effortlessly tilt the iron to its vertical rest position and on the other hand this vertical position, in which the rear face 5 of the iron is supported on a horizontal surface will be much more stable than in known irons.

Furthermore, since the rear part of the iron has a wider section than its front part, the reservoir has a more compact and simple form to produce than in known embodiments, all the more so since this form, in the case of 'a removable tank, is not dependent on the presence of the drip feed system.

The absence of a tank at the front of the iron, makes the front part of the iron more plunging, thus ensuring better visibility of the tip of the iron.

FIG. 1 indeed shows that the eye 25 of the user can, thanks to the very plunging profile 2 of the front of the shoe, see the end 4a of the sole 4, without having to lean strongly and / or frequently his head forward, so the use of iron is less tiring. In addition, since the user has permanent optimum visibility on the toe of the sole, delicate ironing, such as the folds of clothing is carried out in better conditions and with more precision.

Claims (14)

1. A steam iron comprising a water reservoir, the rear surface (5) of the iron being flat and acting as a support surface for the iron to hold it in a vertical position of rest and the greater part of the volume of the reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) being disposed at the rear of the iron, characterised in that the front profile (2) of the body of the iron which extends between the front end (3a) of the handle (3) of the iron and the tip (4a) of the soleplate (4) forms an angle (a) with the latter of less than 60°.
2. An iron according to claim 1, characterised in that that part of the volume of the reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) which is disposed at the rear of the iron is adapted to place the centre of gravity (G) of the iron between the rear surface (5) and the centre of the iron.
3. An iron according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the water reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) has a substantially prismatic shape, one of the surfaces of which is substantially parallel to the said rear surface (5) of the iron.
4. An iron according to claim 3, characterised in that the reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) extends over substantially the entire width of the rear part of the iron.
5. An iron according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) extends over more than half the height of the rear part of the iron.
6. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the water reservoir (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e) is situated in a zone of the rear part of the iron which extends beyond the rear edge (4b) of the soleplate (4).
7. An iron according to claim 6, characterised in that the bottom surface (7) of the said rear part rises progressively from the rear edge (4b) of the soleplate to the flat rear surface (5) of the iron.
8. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the reservoir (1a, 1b) is fixed.
9. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the reservoir (1c, 1d, 1e) is detachably fixed in the rear part of the iron.
10. An iron according to claim 9, characterised in that the reservoir (1c) is engaged in a recess (12) which opens out on to the top surface (13) of the iron.
11. An iron according to claim 9, characterised in that the reservoir (1d) is engaged in a recess (14) which opens out on to a side surface of the iron.
12. An iron according to claim 9, characterised in that the reservoir (1e) is engaged in a recess (16) which opens out on to the rear surface of the iron.
13. An iron according to claim 12, characterised in that the front surface (17) of the reservoir (1e) caps a projection (18) in which the electrical connection means for the iron are situated.
14. An iron according to claim 12 or 13, characterised in that the rear surface (20) of the reservoir also forms the flat rear support surface of the iron.

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