EP3581700B1 - Device for treating laundry comprising a base provided with a removable tank - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for steaming laundry comprising a base connected by a conduit to an ironing and / or smoothing tool, and more particularly relates to an apparatus in which the base comprises a removable reservoir and comprises a side wall which defines at least one side of a housing for receiving the reservoir.

It is known from the document EP 3 327 196 and the Chinese utility model CN2547754U , an ironing appliance comprising a base, comprising a removable reservoir, connected by a steam duct to an iron. This apparatus comprises a housing for receiving the reservoir which is disposed on the rear of the base and the base comprises a side wall which defines the front part of the housing for receiving the reservoir. In addition, the document US 2014/0238086 A1 describes an apparatus for the treatment of laundry with steam comprising a removable reservoir.

Such a device has a reservoir which is weakly integrated into the base so that a large part of the periphery of the reservoir remains visible. However, the side wall of the base which delimits the front part of the tank receiving housing has the drawback of hiding the tank when the user is placed in front of the device so that the user cannot see the level. of water in the tank when it is in this position.

Also, an object of the present invention is to provide an ironing / smoothing device overcoming this drawback.

To this end, the invention relates to an apparatus for the treatment of laundry with steam comprising a base connected by a conduit to an ironing and / or smoothing tool, the base comprising a removable reservoir and comprising a side wall which delimits at least one side of a receiving housing for the reservoir, the reservoir being able to be inserted into or extracted from the receiving housing through an access opening provided on one side of the base, characterized in that the side wall has a window arranged at the side 'opposite of the access opening, giving visual access to the contents of the reservoir, the reservoir comprising a transparent or translucent part facing the window when the reservoir is placed in the receiving housing.

The term window is understood to mean any opening allowing visual access to the interior of the housing.

Such a feature makes it possible to improve the visibility of the water level in the reservoir by allowing the user to have visual access through the window when in a position where the reservoir is normally concealed by the side wall.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the side wall extends over at least two sides of the receiving housing of the reservoir.

Such a feature makes it possible to visually integrate the reservoir into the base and to protect the latter on at least two of its sides, thus limiting the risk of impact with the reservoir which could cause the latter to be damaged or to be disconnected from the base.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the side wall extends over at least three sides of the receiving housing of the reservoir.

Such a feature makes it possible to further increase the visual integration of the reservoir in the base and its protection.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the side wall extends over the entire periphery of the reception housing.

Such a feature makes it possible to have a tank fully integrated into the base.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir can be inserted or extracted from the receiving housing through an access opening provided on one side of the base.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to obtain a base in which the reservoir does not come to occupy the upper part of the base.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the access opening is made in the side wall.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the window is arranged opposite the access opening.

Such a feature makes it possible to provide visual access to the contents of the reservoir on the side of the base opposite the access opening.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the window is an opening passing through the side wall.

Such a characteristic has the advantage of being simple and economical to implement.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the window is equipped with a transparent pane.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir comprises a transparent or translucent part facing the window when the reservoir is placed in the receiving housing.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the reservoir comprises a handle.

Such a feature makes it possible to simplify the handling of the reservoir.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the reservoir has a transparent or translucent front face and the handle is made of a part of opaque material which is attached to the front face of the reservoir. According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the apparatus comprises a device for locking the reservoir in the receiving housing.

Such a feature makes it possible to secure the tank on the base, in particular during the transport of the base.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the locking device comprises a latch returned by elastic return means to a locking position and an unlocking button making it possible to manually move the latch into an unlocking position.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the base comprises a transport handle for its movement, the transport handle being advantageously arranged on the upper face of the base.

Such a characteristic has the advantage of providing very good ergonomics of use.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the appliance comprises an ironing board mounted to pivot on a mast by means of an articulation device making it possible to immobilize the ironing board at different inclinations.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the base comprises an electric pump making it possible to send water from the reservoir towards the anti-crease tool, the anti-crease tool comprising an instantaneous vaporization chamber.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to have a base which is very simple to produce and which takes up little space, the production of steam being carried out directly in the vaporization chamber carried by the anti-crease tool.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the tool is an iron.

• Les figures 1 et 2 sont des vues en perspective d'un appareil de repassage selon un mode particulier de réalisation de l'invention ;
• Les figures 3 et 4 sont des vues en perspective de la base représentée seule avec le réservoir sorti du logement de réception ;
• La figure 5 est une vue en perspective du réservoir équipant la base,
• La figure 6 est une vue en perspective éclatée du réservoir de la figure 5.

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 nonlimiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

• The figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of an ironing appliance according to a particular embodiment of the invention;
• The figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the base shown alone with the reservoir removed from the receiving housing;
• The figure 5 is a perspective view of the tank fitted to the base,
• The figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the tank of the figure 5 .

Only the elements necessary for understanding the invention have been shown. To facilitate reading of the drawings, the same elements bear the same references from one figure to another. It will be noted that in this document, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "lower", "upper", "front", "rear" used to describe the apparatus refer to this apparatus when it rests flat on it. its base as illustrated on the figure 1 .

The figures 1 and 2 show a steam ironing appliance comprising a portable base 1 connected by a flexible duct 2 to a steam iron 3, the base 1 being electrically connected to a domestic network by a cable, not visible in the figures.

The base 1 includes a removable tank 10 and a pump that draws water from the reservoir 10 to send it to the iron 3 through a pipe integrated in the duct.

The iron 3 comprises, in a manner known per se, a flat sole 30 surmounted by a body which comprises a gripping handle 31 comprising a free rear end projecting laterally from the body. The body contains, in a manner known per se, a foundry which is in thermal contact with the sole and which comprises a heating resistor, regulated by means of a non-adjustable thermostat, making it possible to maintain the temperature of the sole 30 around a setpoint temperature of around 135 ° C.

The foundry is advantageously made of aluminum and it comprises an instantaneous vaporization chamber into which water from the tank 10 is injected by the pump, the operation of the pump being controlled by a trigger 32 placed under the front end of the gripping handle 31. The pump and the vaporization chamber are advantageously sized to allow the production of a vapor flow rate of the order of 25 g / min continuously when the trigger 32 is actuated, the sole 30 conventionally comprising holes 30A for vapor emission.

The apparatus also comprises a base 4 on which the base 1 removably rests, the latter being provided with a carrying handle 11 at its upper end to facilitate its movement. The base 4 advantageously comprises an indentation 41 matching the external contour of the base 1 in which the lower end of the base 1 engages.

Preferably, the base 4 comprises two telescopic poles 40 comprising an upper end supporting a rigid ironing board 5 comprising an ironing surface 50, advantageously flat, intended to be covered with a cover, not shown in the figures, and on which laundry can be placed.

The ironing board 5 is pivotally mounted on the end of the poles 40 by means of an articulation device 6 making it possible to immobilize the ironing board 5 at different inclinations and advantageously in a vertical position (illustrated in the figures 1 and 2 ), in a horizontal position, and in an intermediate position in which the ironing board 5 forms advantageously an angle of the order of 40 ° relative to the vertical.

This articulation device 6 is for example in accordance with that described in more detail in the patent application filed in France by the applicant under the filing number FR 1756063 .

Advantageously, one of the telescopic poles 40 supports a transverse arm 7 at the end of which is arranged a support device 8 on which the iron 3 can be placed during inactive ironing / smoothing phases.

In accordance with figures 3 and 4 , the base 1 comprises a side wall 14 provided with an access opening 12 through which the reservoir 10 can be placed in the base 1.

The access opening 12 advantageously has a generally rectangular shape and opens onto a housing 13 for receiving the reservoir 10 which is delimited by the side wall 14 of the base 1, the latter comprising, opposite the opening d 'access 12, a window 15 advantageously constituted by an opening opening onto the receiving housing 13.

In accordance with figures 5 and 6 , the reservoir 10 comprises a front wall 100 which defines the front face of the reservoir 10 and which is connected in a sealed manner to a substantially parallelepipedal body 101 which engages in the receiving housing 13 when the reservoir 10 occupies an operating position, illustrated on figures 1 and 2 . The front wall 100 has a shape complementary to that of the access opening 12 and comes in the extension of the side wall 14 of the base 1 when the reservoir 10 occupies the operating position.

The body 101 and the front wall 100 define an enclosure which can be filled with water through an orifice 102 formed at the top of the body 101, this orifice 102 being preferably disposed at the bottom of a cavity 103 formed on the upper wall of the body 101, the cavity 103 acting as a funnel.

The body 101 and the front wall 100 of the tank 10 are made of a transparent or translucent material which allows the user to see the water level in the tank 10 by looking at the tank 10 from its front face or its face. rear face.

Preferably, the rear face of the body 101 has a part 104 facing the window 15 at which the transparency of the body 101 is enhanced, for example by reducing the thickness of the wall or by making this part in a material with greater transparency.

The front face of the reservoir 10 preferably comprises a handle 105 which is advantageously attached to the front wall 100 of the reservoir and can be made of a non-transparent plastic material, for example colored.

The handle 105 makes it possible to grasp the reservoir during the introduction or withdrawal of the reservoir 10 in the receiving housing 13, this operation being carried out by a translational movement of the reservoir 10 in the axis of the access opening. 12.

In order to ensure the fluidic connection of the reservoir 10 with the base 1, the latter is provided with a connection end piece 106 which is arranged in the lower part of the base 1, opposite the access opening 12, this connection end 106 being fluidly connected to the pump arranged in the base 1.

In accordance with the figure 5 , the reservoir 10 comprises a ball valve 107 coming to connect with the connection end piece 106 when the reservoir 10 occupies the operating position, the valve 106 being situated under the enclosure of the reservoir 10 and preventing the flow of liquid in outside the reservoir 10 when the reservoir 10 is disengaged from its receiving housing 13.

Preferably, the reservoir 10 is secured in the operating position by means of a locking device comprising a latch 108 returned to a locking position by a spring, not visible in the figures, and movable into an unlocking position by means a release button 109 arranged at the top of the handle 105.

The device thus produced has the advantage of having great ergonomics of use while being very economical to manufacture.

In particular, the removability of the tank 10 from the base 1 makes it possible to simplify the operation of filling the tank 10 and to limit the risk of water being spilled on the base 1.

In addition, the user can check the water level in the tank 10 without having to extract it from the base 1, the user having access to the water level in the tank 10 at a time by looking at the base 1 by its front face, thanks to the transparency of the front wall 100 of the tank but also by looking at the base 1 by its rear face thanks to the presence of the window 15 on the rear face of the base 1 and to the transparency of the part 104 of the body defining the rear face of the reservoir 10.

Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has been given only by way of example. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment not shown, the window for viewing the water level in the reservoir can be closed by a transparent wall instead of being constituted by a through opening.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment not shown, the base may include a window on each of the three lateral faces of the base not including the access opening.

Claims (12)

1. Apparatus for steam-treatment of laundry including a base (1) connected by a conduit (2) to an ironing and/or smoothing tool (3), the base (1) comprising a removable reservoir (10) and including a side wall (14) which delimits at least one side of a housing (13) for accommodating the reservoir (10), the reservoir (10) being able to be inserted into or extracted from the housing (13) through an access opening (12) provided on one side of the base, characterised in that the side wall (14) includes a window (15), provided opposite the access opening (12), allowing visual access to the contents of the reservoir (10), the reservoir (10) comprising a transparent or translucent portion positioned opposite the window (15) when the reservoir (10) is arranged in the housing (13).
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the side wall (14) extends over at least two sides of the housing (13) for accommodating the reservoir (10).
3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterised in that the side wall (14) extends over at least three sides of the housing (13) for accommodating the reservoir (10).
4. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the side wall (14) extends over the entire perimeter of the housing (13).
5. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the access opening (12) is provided in the side wall (14).
6. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the window (15) is an opening through the side wall (14).
7. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the window (15) is equipped with a transparent pane.
8. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the reservoir (10) includes a handle (105).
9. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the apparatus comprises a locking device (108, 109) adapted to lock the reservoir (10) into the housing (13).
10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterised in that the locking device comprises a latch (108) moved by an elastic return device into a locking position, and an unlocking button (109) allowing the latch (108) to be manually moved into an unlocking position.
11. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the base (1) includes a transport handle (11) so that the base can be moved.
12. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the tool is an iron (3).

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