CA1118615A - Steam iron water gauge - Google Patents

Abstract

STEAM IRON WATER GAUGE

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a lightweight steam iron with a soleplate and means to selectively deliver water for steam distri-bution and having a first plastic plate above the soleplate coextensive therewith and a skirt portion around the plastic plate with a second plastic housing having a handle and sealingly supported by the plate whereby the skirt and housing form internal water tank walls and also enclose other iron opera-ting components. A water gauge is supplied for the iron and an improvement on the gauge in this combina-tion includes an entirely integral elongated rectan-gular niche or cut-out with back, bottom and sides, so the niche forms one of the housing edges parallel to the handle. The niche has spaced apertures in its back side facing outwardly of the iron and connecting with the interior of the tank top. Disposed in the niche is an enclosed integral blow-molded rectangular translucent tubular gauge that is made of the game basic material as the housing material and is nested in the niche against all sides to complete the edge for a symmetrical outer housing surface. The gauge has spaced integrally formed tubes projecting from one side and aligned with the apertures to extend into the tank whereby they are secured such as by heat staking inside the tank to lock the gauge to the housing. The materials are preferably polypropylene and the simple construction forms an integral one-piece water gauge that requires no seals or mastics and the gauge itself is preferably transparent to provide high water level visibility when the iron is either flat or in its vertical storing position.

Description

STEAM IRON WATER GAUGE
~.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to lightweight ~team irons, and, more particularly, plastic iron~ with an improved water gauge structure comprising a blow-molded tubular gauge nesting in the housing to form a one-piece highly viQible gauge for the iron in flat or vertical position.

2. Descriptlon of the Prior Art It is common practice to provide steam irons with some form of water level gauge for viHual obser-vance of the water level during ironing. Various types of gauges are used to monitor the water level~
some indicating the level only when the iron 18 in a ver~ical or filling position and others indicatlng the level only when the iron is in a horizontal ironing position and ~ome lndicating water level in both positions. Such gauges have been somewhat com-plex structure using tubes or relat$uely largeopening~ in the side wall~ of the iron and generally re~uiring numerou~ small piece~ that mwt be accurately fitted durlng a60e~bly.

SUMMARY OF T~E INVENT~ON

An obiect of the present inventlon ls to pro-vlde, in a lightweight plastic steam iron, ~n im-proved water gauge th~t smoothly ne~t~ in an ironhousing to comple~e ~t~ symmetry and 1~ ea~lly a~em-bled.

Another ob~ect iB to provide a simple water gauge construction that ind~ca~es water level in ~lther vertlcal or flat lron po~ltion and u~es n~wex structure and technique~ employing plast~cs.

A further ob~ect i8 to provid~ such ~n improved water gauge in a lightweight plastlc iron whereln the gauge i8 made of the ~am~ materl~l ~8 ~he lron per-lS mlttlng e~sy a~embly wlthout the need ~or fieala orma~tlcs and hav~ng hlgh water level vlslbillty in all pO8 i t ion~ o~ the lron.

Briefly stated, ~ l~ght~eight pl~tlc st~a~ lron having a soleplate and mean~ to ~el~ctlvely ~ellver water for steam dlstribution has a flr~t pla~c plat~ coextenJlva with and above the ~ol~pl~e to form ~ skirt portlon around the 801epl~te. A ~econd plAstlc housing wlth an inte~rally formed bandl~ l~
~oallngly ~upport~d by the plate, and the ~klrt and hou~lny form internal water tank ~alls and also en-clo~e other lron op~rating components. An l~proved water gauge l~ provld~d ln thi~ comblnatlon comprl-~lng an ~ntlrely lntegsal ~long~ted sub~tantially r~ctangul~r nich~ that ha~ back, bo~to~ and end ~laes to form part o~ the housing ~dge par~llal to the h~n-dle, ~lmllar to a square cut-ou~ in th~ hou~ing edge.

- 3 - 6D-5335 Spaced apertures ~n the back ~lde of the niche con-nect the ~nterior top of the wa~er tank and f~ce out-w~rdly of the iron body. Fltting ~nugly ln the niche ~ ~ completely enclosed blow-mold~d rectangul~r S translucent tubular g~uge made of the same b~i¢
mat~rlal a~ the housing ~uch ~ polypropylene, wlth the gauge nest~d in the niche against all ~id~s to complete the edge of the houslng or a ~ymmotrical outer hou~ing surface~ Connectlng the int~rior of th~ gauge are plur~l, preferably a pair of, ~paced lntegrally-formed tubes that are aligned with the apertures ln and pro~ect from the gauge and extend through the aperture~ into the tank. The tub~s ar~
secured inside the tank 6uch a~ by heat staklng them to the tank inner surface to 6ecurely lock the gauge to the houslng in a leak-proof manner. Thu~, the main ob~ect o~ tbe lnvention i~ to provlde an lron of pla~tic construction wlth a unlque, eas~ly a~s~mbled water gauge of an lntegral ono-piece ~auge th~t roquires no seal~, or oastlcs, that 18 eaily as3em-bled, and that provlde~ high water level vl~lbllity when the iron iB elther ln flat or vertical heel-rast posltlon.

~ BRIEF D~SCRIPTION OF THB DRAhING

FIG. 1 ~8 a dotted per~pective vlaw of a ~tea~
lron lncorporating th~ pees~nt inv~ntion shown ln solid line~t FIG. 2 is a cros~-sectlon on lin~ 2D2 of FIG.
ls FIG. 3 is ~ cro4s-~ection on lin~ 3-3 o~ ~IG.
2~ and ,, ... ,,. ~ .

s

- 4 - 6D-5335 ~IG. 4 18 ~ perepective o~ the lnteqral blow-molded tubular gau~e.

DE~CRIPTION 0~ THE PREFFRRED EM~ODIM~N~

~ he inventlon 18 de~crlbed ln connection wlth a lightwelght steam iron that u~e~ a con~entlonal alu-mlnum soleplate, such a~ shown ln patont 4,031,C38 ot co~mon assignment, whlch i~ ~ttached by sultabl~
moan~ to pla~tic sklrt and hou~lng por~lons, the up-per portion o~ tbe $ron being all pla~tic and ~o~med to provide an lnternal water tank. R~f~rring flr~t to FIG. 1, there i8 shown an electrlc #tea~ iron that lncludes a 801eplate 10 wlth a plurallty of ports not shown to dlstrlbute stea~ through th~ ~oleplate for st~amlng fabric~ ~hil~ lronlng ln th~ conv~ntlonal mann~r. The iron 18 providad wlth a flr~t pla~tla plate 12 above the soleplate and coextonslve vlth the Roleplate to form a ~kirt portlon around th~ 801e-plate belng ~pac~d rom the ol~plato and oupported thereon by convontlonal structure ~o provl~ an openln~ 1~ for clrculatlon o~ alr. Becau~ of th~
proximlty to the heated ~oleplata, plate 12 ~ay b phenol~o to re~lst the heat. Dir~ctly abo~o the plat~ 12 and ~ecured thereto ~n any conven~lonal ~an-n~r and pr~ferably ~ealed at lg 1~ a ~econd plast~c 2S hou~lng 16 ~hich has an enclo~ed or ~pen handl~ 18 that 1~ pr~ferably molded as part o~ th~ housins.
Conv~nt~onally, the soleplate 10 1~ qen~r~lly a aate-rlal such a~ Qast ~lumlnum wlth an electri~al heatlng el~ment cast in the soleplate an~ ~-cure~ thereto and uhich i~ controll~d by a thQrmo~t~t knob maan~ 20 ~ultably cal~brated for the common fabrlcs and ~ith th~ iron o~erable through ~ cord not ~hoNn all w~ll known ln th~ art. The iron 1~ ~llled ~lth ~at~r through an opening in receEs 22 ~nd may havQ A ~pr~y S

~ S - 6D-5335 ,, ~, ,, c~ ~", c /), nozzle 2~ or *lter~h~y, may have extra ~urge capa-city, elther operable by button 26 and the lron 1 operable dry or ~teaming dependlng on the posltlon o control knob 28, which when in the up posltion as shown, permlts wat~r from an intorn~l re~ervolr or t~nk 30 to s~lectively drip and deliv~r water lnto a boiler cavlty or generation and subsequent dlQtrlbu-tlon of ~team all a~ well known. For storing, the iron can be tllted to its he~l rest po~tlon ~her~ a 8uitable support mean~ ~ provldes ~tabillty~ As de-6cribed, the iron u~e6 two main plastic compon~n~
~uch as pla~e 12 with lt~ sklrt portion ~nd housing 16 which, when s~led tog~ther at 15 provi~ wall~
for an lnternal water ~ank 30 and ~he hou~ln~ hnd plate also enclo~e other lnternal iron operating comr ponents. ~o this general comb$nation, there i8 pro-vided a water gauge generally indlc~ted at 32 whlch 1~ th~ improvement d$sclosed herein.

In accordance wlth th~ lnventlon, a gauge lmr provement i8 obt~ined by provlding an ~ntlrely lnte-qral elongat~d rectangular n~che 34 that 1~ form~d ln the upper edg~ of houslng 16 and extend~ parallal to handle 18. ~hls 18 tbe general conv~ntlonal locatlon of many tubular w~ter level gauges ln prior art lrons. B~cau~e of the molded and form~d pla~tlo con-structlon, elongated niche 34 i8 r~ctangular ln cro~s-~ctlon, substantlally ~uare a8 shown, and has back ~lde 36, bottom sl~o 38, and opposlt~ end side3 40 for~ed to snugly ne#t ~nd accommodate water gauge 32 a~ wlll become apparent. For connectlng ~lth th~
lnt~rnal w~ter t~nk 30, thar~ i~ provided ~pace~, ~pr~f~rably ~ palr) apertures 42 formed d$roctly ln the back ~ide 36 an~ ~aclng outwardly of thQ lron body formed by housing 16. Thu~, co~munlcatlon b~-35 tween the n~ch~ ~nd ~h~ top of th~ lnt~rnal tank 30 ~1~86~5 i~ proYlded. Cooperatlng wlth the niche ~n a tight snugly ne~ted arrangement i~ a separate ~ntegral blow-~olded correspondingly ~haped, ~uch a8 rectan-gular, tran~lucent ~ubular gauge 32 that fits ln the niche tightly agaln~t all three side~ 36, 3~, and 40 being ~ormed to complete the edge of hou~lng t6 for a symmetrical outer houslng 0urfac~ a~ shown ~n FIG. 2.
Pre~erably, gauge 3a ~ transparent and i~ made of the same material as housing 16, convenlently poly-10 propylene, to avoid s2aling problems a~ expl~lned be-low. Water gauge 32 i8 a blow-molded plastic tublng that has a hollow portlon ~4 to rece~o wat~r for vi~lblllty as a gauge. ~8 a blow-molded ~tructure there are provided integrally formed, pre~erably ~
~S pair, o~ ~pAced tubes 46 ~t each end o~ the gauge to pro~ect f rom the gauge as shown ln FIG. 4. The tube~
are form~d long enough to extend ~nd open into the tank 30 to aommunic~te with the interlor of the tank at lt~ top.

Because tbe houaing 16 and water gauge 32 are both made of the ~ame pla~tic materlal, th~lr coe~i-c~ents of expan310n are ldent~cal and a structur~
that does not require any ~eals or ma~tic ln po~
ble. A watertlght fittlng between the tube~ and back slde 36 1~ provlded by ~rendl~ the tub~s on the ~n-t~rlor of back w~ll 36 by a ~lmpl~ heAt ~taklng ope-rat~on. Thl~ provides a tlght flt be~ween the g~uge 32 and hou~lng 16 and a watertlght connectlon that holds th2 gauge ln po~itlon wlthout any ma~tlc~ or sealing ccmpound belng required.

The pre~ent lnvent~on thus provlde~ water gaugQ lmprcvemnt ~pplicabl~ to pl~stl~ iron conetruc-tlon wherein a s~ngle integrally for~ed blow-~old~d translu¢ent tubular gauge ls ~lmply ~or~ed, 1~86~S

aestheticAlly ~itting lnto the lron, easily a~embled with no extra part~ on the assembly line, has hlgh vis~bllity ln both horizontal ironing and vertlcal stor~ge posltlon and provlde~ ~n inexpenslve a$ngle-piece con~truction over the multi-p~eces tubul~r con-~truction heretofore on iron~.

While I have hereinbefore shown ~ preferred form of the inventlon, obvlou~ equivalent varlation~ are posslble in ll~ht of the above teachings. It i~
Sherefor~ to be under~tood that, within the 8cope 0~
tho appended clalms, the lnvention may be practic~d otherwl~e than as specifically de wribea, and the clalms ~re intended to cover uch equivalent varia-tions.

Claims (4)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A lightweight steam iron having a soleplate and means to selectively deliver water for steam distri-bution therefrom with a first plastic plate above the soleplate coextensive therewith and having a skirt portion therearound, a second plastic housing with a handle and sealingly supported by said plate, the skirt and housing forming water tank walls and enclosing operating components, and a water gauge for said tank, a gauge improvement comprising, an entirely integral elongated rectangular niche with back, bottom, and end sides forming a housing edge parallel to the handle, spaced apertures in the back side connecting the interior tank top, said apertures facing outwardly of the iron body formed by the housing, an enclosed blow-molded rectangular translucent integral tubular gauge of housing material nested in said niche against all sides completing the edge for a symmetrical outer housing surface, spaced integrally-formed aperture-aligned tubes projecting from the gauge, said tubes extending and opening into said tank through said apertures, and means securing the tubes inside said tank to lock the gauge to said housing and form an integral one-piece water gauge without seals or mastics for high water level visibility with the iron flat and vertical.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said tubes comprise a pair of tubes, one substantially at each end of the elongated blow-molded gauge, and said apertures comprise a pair spaced equally with said tubes.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein said plastic tubes are secured by heat staking to the similar material housing wall interior forming a water tight fitting between the tubes and wall.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said housing, gauge, and integral tubes are all poly-propylene.