EP1556538B1 - Iron comprising a water reservoir which is provided with a filling orifice on the rear face of said iron - Google Patents

Abstract

The iron has a water reservoir (3) provided with a filling orifice inclined towards the back side of the iron. The reservoir has a ventilating system including a vent pipe (12) extending in the reservoir. The vent pipe has a back end (12a) opening in a back upper part of the reservoir. The end (12a) is connected to a cover (15) that extends towards the base and presents an opening in its lower end.

Description

The present invention relates to an iron and more particularly to an iron having a water tank provided with a filling port on the rear face of the iron.

It is known from the patent application FR 2 830 266, filed by the applicant, an iron having a filling orifice of the reservoir placed at the heel of the iron and oriented so that the filling of the reservoir is carried out by holding the iron substantially vertically, the tip down. Such an arrangement allows to have a large filler orifice, clear of any obstacle, which facilitates rapid filling of the tank, placing it in particular directly under a tap. However, the tank of such an iron must be provided with a vent placed on the rear of the tank, this vent to be connected to a pipe opening in the open air at the front of the iron, above the tank , so that the water from the tank does not flow through the vent when the iron is placed on its heel, on its sole or is tilted forward.

However, such a vent circuit has the disadvantage of allowing the tank water to naturally rise in the pipe of the vent circuit when the iron is placed on its heel. Thus, if the iron is then tilted forward, the water in the pipe flows outside the iron through the outlet of the vent, which is poorly perceived by the user.

It is therefore preferable to use, for the vent circuit, a small section pipe to reduce the volume of water contained in the latter. The use of a small section pipe also has the advantage of reducing the size of the pipe, which is particularly important when it is placed in the tank. However, the Applicant has realized that the use of a small section pipe promotes the adhesion, by capillarity, drops of water to the walls of the pipe. These drops remain in the pipe instead of draining into the tank when the iron is tilted from the vertical position, on its heel, in the horizontal position on its sole, and thus prevent the vent from fully playing its role of venting the tank. The improper venting of the reservoir that results can lead to a stop of the flow of water to the vaporization chamber of the iron, especially when the height of water in the tank becomes less important, and interrupt the production of steam while there is water in the tank.

Also, an object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing an iron with a rear fill tank provided with an improved vent circuit which ensures a good venting of the tank while by reducing the risks of water flow outside the tank in the various functional positions of the iron.

For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an iron with a water reservoir provided with a filling orifice situated on the rear face of the iron so that the filling of the reservoir is effected by holding the iron tilted towards the front, the reservoir comprising a vent circuit having an end opening into the rear part of the tank and an end, in contact with the outside air, located in the upper front part of the iron, characterized in that the circuit vent comprises a pipe of small section which opens into the upper rear part of the tank and is extended by a hollow end element, of larger section, extending downwards and having an opening in its lower part.

A characteristic tette sucks the water droplets present in the pipe of the vent circuit when the iron is tilted from the vertical position, on its heel, to the horizontal position on its sole. In fact, the water contained in the end element, when the iron is placed on its heel, drops like a piston into the bottom of the tank when the iron is tilted on its sole, which causes the suction, such that a pump, water present in the pipe, thus eliminating any drops of water hooked by capillarity.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the hollow end element has the shape of a bell flaring up and down. Such a characteristic makes it possible to have a hollow end element having a reduced bulk in its upper part while having a volume important interior;

According to another characteristic of the invention, the vent circuit comprises a buffer chamber interposed between the pipe and the end of the vent circuit in communication with the outside air, the buffer chamber being placed in the upper front part of the body of iron so as to be above the maximum water level in the tank when the iron rests horizontally. Such a characteristic makes it possible to prevent the water from escaping through the end of the vent circuit by collecting, in the buffer chamber, the water present in the vent circuit when the iron is tilted towards the before.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the volume of the buffer chamber substantially corresponds to the volume of the pipe extending between the buffer chamber and the bell. Such a characteristic makes it possible to obtain a buffer chamber of small size whose volume is optimized to limit the risks of water flow outside the vent circuit.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the filling orifice of the reservoir is extended inside the reservoir by a sleeve forming in the reservoir, outside the sleeve, a reserve of air. Such a feature has the advantage of providing a reserve of air that is difficult to fill with water when filling the tank.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the bell is placed at the level of the reserve of air arranged on either side of the sleeve. Such a characteristic has the advantage of preventing water from entering the bell and flowing into the vent circuit during the filling operation of the tank.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir is in communication with a drip-and-tumble drier feeding a vaporization chamber, the bushel being fed by a pipe whose rear end opens into the tank at the level of the tank. from the bottom back of the tank. Such a characteristic makes it possible to prevent the water from flowing prematurely by the drip plug while filling the tank.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the rear end of the bus supply line opens into the air reserve on the one hand and other of the sleeve. Such a characteristic makes it possible to further limit the risks of water flow by the drip plug while filling the tank.

• la figure 1 est une vue générale, en coupe longitudinale, d'un fer à repasser selon un mode particulier de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue de dessus du fer à repasser de la figure 1 dans laquelle la demi-vue supérieure est représentée partiellement arrachée ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne III-III de la figure 2 ;
• la figure 4 est une vue similaire à la figure 1 représentant le fer en appui sur son talon ;
• la figure 5 est une vue similaire à la figure 1, représentant le fer en position basculée vers l'avant, adaptée pour le remplissage du réservoir ;

The aims, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the description given below of a particular embodiment of the invention presented by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in FIG. which:

• Figure 1 is a general view, in longitudinal section, of an iron according to a particular embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 2 is a top view of the iron of Figure 1 in which the upper half-view is shown partially broken away;
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line III-III of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the iron resting on its heel;
• Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the iron in the tilted position forward, adapted for filling the tank;

Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic view of a steam iron having a heating soleplate 1, a handle 2 and a body incorporating a water reservoir 3. The handle 2 is connected to the back of the iron by two arm 4 extending, away from the handle 1, to the body of the iron so that the resulting structure is substantially triangulated and is a heel on which can rest the iron.

According to Figure 1, the reservoir 3 of the iron comprises a filling orifice 5 disposed on the rear face of the iron, between the two arms 4. The orifice 5 is inclined towards the rear of the iron so that the filling of the iron is done by holding the iron tilted forward, as shown in Figure 5.

The filling orifice 5 is closed by a removable plug 6 and comprises a cylindrical sleeve 5a, in the axis of the orifice 5, extending a few centimeters towards the inside of the reservoir 3. The lower end of the sleeve 5a delimits the maximum filling level of the tank 3 when the iron is in the filling position, tilted forwards. In addition, in this filling position, the sleeve 5a household in the tank 3, on either side of the sleeve 5a, a volume difficult to fill with water constituting a reserve of air.

The reservoir 3 is connected, via a feed tube 8, to a chamber 9 integrated in the front part of the tank 3 and supplying a drop-shaped plug 7 that gradually delivers water to a chamber of vaporization 10 integrated into the heating soleplate 1.

The feed tube 8 extends to the bottom of the tank 3 and has an end 8a freely opening at the rear of the tank, in the volume surrounding the sleeve 5a. The other end 8b of the feed tube is connected to a non-drip valve 11 interposed between the reservoir 3 and the feed chamber 9 of the drip bus 7. In known manner, the anti-drip valve 11 is controlled by a control member, not shown, ensuring the closing of the valve when the temperature of the vaporization chamber is not sufficient for the production of steam.

According to FIGS. 1 to 3, the tank 3 is provided with a vent circuit comprising a vent pipe 12, of small passage section, extending into the tank 3, the inside diameter of the vent pipe 12 being of the order of 4 mm. The vent pipe 12 has a rear end 12a opening into the upper rear portion of the tank 3 and a front end 12b connected to a buffer chamber 13 placed above the tank 3, at the front end thereof. The buffer chamber 13 has a volume substantially equal to the volume of water that can be contained in the vent pipe 12 and has an upper wall provided with an opening 13a communicating with the outside air via a nozzle 14 .

The rear end 12a of the vent pipe is connected to a bell-shaped element 15 flaring gradually from top to bottom and having an opening 15a at its lower end disposed substantially halfway up the tank 3. This bell 15 is placed as far back as possible in the tank 3 so as to be submerged by the water of the tank when the iron is on his heel.

The operation of such an iron and in particular the different flows occurring in the vent circuit and in the bushel supply circuit when the iron is placed on its heel, on its sole or tilted forward go now be described in connection with Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 shows the iron in a vertical position on its heel. In this position, the bell 15 is full of water and the water rises through the vent pipe 12 until it reaches equilibrium with the water level in the remainder of the tank 3. If the iron is then brought back to the horizontal position, the water contained in the bell 15 falls to the bottom of the tank 3, under the effect of gravity, by acting-such a piston-creating a suction in the vent pipe 12. The pipe The vent 12 is thus rid of any drops of water adhering by capillarity to its walls. In addition, the suction created by the drop in the volume of water in the bell has the advantage of being maximum when the water level in the reservoir becomes low, that is to say when it is necessary to have a good vent tank to ensure a good flow of water from the tank to the spray chamber.

The bell 15 also has the advantage of having a wave breaking effect which limits the upwellings in the vent pipe 12 during the ironing phases where the iron is shaken back and forth in the horizontal position.

Figure 5 shows the iron of Figure 4 tilted forward, in a position adapted for filling the tank.

According to this figure, the presence of the buffer chamber 13 prevents water from flowing through the tip 14 of the vent circuit when the iron, full tank, passes from the position in support on its heel in the tilted forward position shown in Figure 5. This situation can occur especially when the user wants to put water in the tank when the latter is already full. In such a case, the water in the vent pipe 12 is recovered in the buffer chamber 13 when the iron is tilted forward. When the iron is returned to the horizontal position, the water in the buffer chamber 13 flows through the vent circuit for 3. Finally, the feed tube 8 of the plug 7 allows, for its part, to prevent the tank from being emptied through the drip plug 7, if the latter remained open when the iron is tilted forward. Indeed, the end of the feed tube 8 opens at the rear of the tank 3 in an air pocket formed by the presence of the sleeve 5a. Thus, only the small amount of water present in the feed tube 8 and in the feed chamber 9 can flow toward the vaporization chamber 10 when the iron is tilted forwards.

Such an iron therefore has the advantage of having a rear fill tank having a vent circuit ensuring excellent venting of the tank and not allowing the water to flow out of the tank by the vent circuit when the iron is placed on its heel, its sole or tilted forward for filling the tank.

Claims (8)

1. An iron having a water reservoir (3) provided with a filling orifice (5) situated in the back face of the iron so that the reservoir (3) is filled while holding the iron tilted forwards, the reservoir having a venting circuit presenting one end opening out in the rear portion of the reservoir (3) and one end in contact with the outside air and situated in the front top portion of the iron, said venting circuit comprising a pipe (12) of small through section that opens out in the rear top portion of the reservoir (3), said iron being characterized in that said pipe (12) is extended by a hollow end element (15), of larger section, extending downwards and presenting an opening (15a) in its bottom portion.
2. An iron according to claim 1, characterized in that the end element (15) is bell-shaped and flares from the top downwards.
3. An iron according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the venting circuit has a buffer chamber (13) interposed between the pipe (12) and the end of the venting circuit that is in communication with the outside, said buffer chamber (13) being placed in the front top portion of the body of the iron so as to be situated above the maximum water level in the reservoir (3) when the iron is standing horizontally.
4. An iron according to claim 3, characterized in that the volume of the buffer chamber (13) corresponds substantially to the volume of the pipe (12) extending between the buffer chamber (13) and the bell (15).
5. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the filling orifice (5) of the reservoir (3) is extended into the reservoir by a sleeve (5a) which forms an air reserve inside the reservoir (3) and outside the sleeve while the reservoir is being filled.
6. An iron according to claim 2 or claim 5, characterized in that the bell (15) is placed in the air reserve provided on either side of the sleeve (5a).
7. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said reservoir (3) is in communication with a drip feed (7) feeding a steam generation chamber (10), said drip feed (7) being fed via a duct (8) whose back end (8a) opens out inside the reservoir (3) at the rear bottom portion of the reservoir (3).
8. An iron according to claim 7, characterized in that said back end (8a) of the duct (8) opens out into the air reserve formed on either side of the sleeve (5a).

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