CN113373665A

CN113373665A - Portable ironing apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN113373665A
Application number: CN202110191392.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 斯特凡·洛普雷特; 劳拉·邦伊
Original assignee: SEB SA
Current assignee: SEB SA
Priority date: 2020-02-21
Filing date: 2021-02-19
Publication date: 2021-09-10
Also published as: EP3868951B1; FR3107533A1; EP3868951C0; EP3868951A1; FR3107533B1

Abstract

A portable ironing apparatus comprising a handle (2) and a steam discharge head (3) connected to an upper end of the handle (2), the steam discharge head (3) comprising a front end portion comprising a treatment surface (30A), the treatment surface (30A) being intended to face vertically towards a garment to be ironed when the apparatus is held in a vertical ironing position with the handle (2) below the steam discharge head (3), characterized in that the steam discharge head (3) comprises a through opening (9), the through opening (9) being open to the treatment surface (30A) and allowing visual observation through the steam discharge head (3).

Description

Portable ironing apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a portable ironing device comprising a handle and a steam discharge head connected to an upper end of the handle, the steam discharge head comprising a front end portion comprising a treatment surface intended to be facing vertically a garment to be ironed when the device is held in a vertical ironing position.

Background

From patent application US3620055 a portable ironing apparatus is known, comprising a steam discharge head connected to a handle, the steam discharge head comprising a treatment surface intended to be vertically facing the garment to be ironed when the apparatus is held with its handle substantially vertically oriented. Such a device has a rectangular-shaped treatment surface equipped with a metal heating plate and steam discharge holes, which is intended to be applied to the garment to be ironed.

Such a device has the advantage of being easy to use, of being of small size and of allowing ironing of the garment. However, such an apparatus has the disadvantage of having a treatment surface of reduced area which does not allow rapid treatment of large areas. A known solution to overcome this drawback consists in increasing the size of the treatment surface. However, in this case, the size of the steam discharge head becomes more important and covers a large part of the garment being treated, which may hamper the user, who no longer has a good view of the area where the garment is being treated.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ironing apparatus that overcomes these drawbacks, in particular to provide a portable ironing apparatus comprising a treatment surface that may have a relatively large treatment area while providing good visibility of the treatment area.

To this end, the invention provides a portable ironing apparatus comprising a handle and a steam discharge head connected to an upper end of the handle, the steam discharge head comprising a front end portion comprising a treatment surface intended to face vertically towards a garment to be ironed when the apparatus is held in a vertical ironing position with the handle positioned below the steam discharge head, characterized in that the steam discharge head comprises a through opening which opens onto the treatment surface and allows visual observation through the steam discharge head.

Such a device has the advantage of comprising an opening that provides visual observation through the steam discharge head and thus the area under treatment, which allows for better ergonomic use.

The device may also have one or more of the following features, used alone or in combination.

According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the opening opens into the rear end of the head and advantageously extends longitudinally to the head.

This feature has the advantage of providing a visual observation through the entire length of the head when the head is aligned with the eyes of the user.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the opening is arranged at the centre of the treatment surface.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the treatment surface comprises an end plate, advantageously heated, which extends around the opening.

This feature allows straightening and drying of the garment moistened with steam to improve ironing performance.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, said end plate has a substantially triangular shape.

This feature allows for easy handling of the corner regions of the garment, thereby providing for better ergonomic use of the device.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the head comprises a support portion of divergent shape carrying the end plate and upstream of the support portion a convergent portion, the head having a section restriction at the junction between the support portion and the convergent portion.

This feature allows optimizing the visibility around the treatment surface and in particular around the end plate.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the treatment surface comprises at least one steam outlet hole.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the opening is defined by a wall comprising at least one steam outlet hole, said steam outlet hole being provided in the vicinity of the end plate.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the opening has a diverging shape at its end opening onto the treatment surface.

This feature allows for further improved visibility through the opening.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, said opening is closed by a transparent glazing.

This feature allows to avoid steam rising through the opening.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the device comprises an instantaneous evaporation chamber and a water reservoir supplying water to the instantaneous evaporation chamber.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, said water reservoir is provided in said steam discharge head.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the handle comprises a lower end connected to a base in which the evaporation chamber is housed.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the water is supplied from the reservoir to the evaporation chamber by gravity alone.

This characteristic allows to obtain a device that is cheap and reliable to manufacture.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the base has a shape suitable for allowing the apparatus to rest stably on its base in the rest position.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the lower portion of the handle has a flared shape, the handle having a cross section that progressively increases as it approaches the seat.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the device comprises a power cord intended to be connected to a household electrical network.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the steam discharge head has an elongated shape extending transversely to the handle by preferably forming an angle a of between 55 ° and 90 °, and preferably of about 65 °, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle.

Drawings

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

fig. 1 is a side view of an ironing apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is another perspective view of the apparatus of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Only the elements necessary for understanding the invention are shown. To facilitate reading of the figures, identical elements have been provided with the same reference numerals in the different figures.

It is noted that in this context, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "lower", "upper", "front", "rear" used to describe the ironing apparatus refer to the case when the apparatus is lying vertically on its base.

Fig. 1 shows a portable steam ironing device comprising a portable plastic housing comprising a base 1, on which base 1 a handle 2 and a steam discharge head 3 are mounted, the lower part of the handle 2 having a flared shape, the cross-section of which gradually increases as it approaches the base 1.

The base 1 comprises a flat lower surface 10 on which the apparatus can rest stably in the rest position shown in fig. 1, in which the longitudinal axis L of the handle 2 is inclined slightly forwards by about 15 °. The base 1 also comprises a power cord 11 allowing its connection to the household electrical network and has a rear surface provided with a push button 4, this push button 4 allowing the device to be energized.

According to fig. 1 to 3, the steam discharge head 3 has an elongated shape extending transversely to the handle 2 by forming an angle α of preferably about 65 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle.

The steam discharge head 3 comprises a front end equipped with a flat end plate 30, which flat end plate 30 has a treatment surface 30A intended to face vertically towards the garment to be ironed and comprises a through opening 9, which through opening 9 opens on the one hand into the treatment surface 30A and on the other hand into the rear surface of the steam discharge head 3.

Preferably, the treatment surface 30A and the end plate 30 have a substantially triangular shape, the opening 9 extending longitudinally to the head 3 while being centred with respect to the head 3.

According to fig. 2 and 3, the opening 9 has a triangular cross section which reproduces, in a reduced passage section, the triangular shape of the end plate 30, the opening 9 being delimited by a side wall 90, the side wall 90 having a first diverging end which opens into the centre of the treatment surface 30A and a second diverging end which opens into the centre of the rear surface of the vapor discharge head 3. For example, the end plate 30 may comprise an outer edge having a triangular shape with a side length of 10cm and an inner edge defining a first diverging end of the opening 9 having a triangular shape with a side length of 6 cm.

As can be seen in fig. 2, the first end of the side wall 90 comprises a plurality of steam outlet holes 32 distributed along the end plate 30, the steam outlet holes 32 alternately having the shape of slots extending along the side edges of the triangular end plate 30 and the shape of openings provided at the three corners of the triangle.

According to fig. 1, the end plate 30 is supported by a support portion 31 having a diverging shape, the head 3 comprising, upstream of the support portion 31, a converging portion 33, so that the head 3 has a cross-sectional limitation at the junction between the support portion 31 and the converging portion 33.

The steam discharge head 3 houses a water reservoir 5, the water reservoir 5 being preferably arranged in the rear part of the steam discharge head 3 and having a transparent outer shell 50, the outer shell 50 defining the outer wall of the water reservoir 5, the outer wall being equipped with a removable stopper 52, the stopper 52 allowing filling of the water reservoir 5.

Preferably, the water reservoir 5 feeds by gravity a vaporization chamber 6 provided in the base 1 of the apparatus, the vaporization chamber 6 being arranged in an aluminium casting conventionally built in with a resistor not shown in the figures.

The water reservoir 5 is connected to the evaporation chamber 6 by a conduit 7, the conduit 7 being advantageously equipped with a dispenser 70, the dispenser 70 allowing the control of the passage of water through the conduit 7, the dispenser 70 being brought back to the closed position of the conduit 7 by return means, such as a spring, and to the open position of the conduit 7 when a manual pressure is applied to a trigger 71, the trigger 71 being provided on the front surface of the handle 2.

The evaporation chamber 6 is connected to a vapor diffusion chamber 8 by a duct 60, the vapor diffusion chamber 8 being arranged in a heating body arranged in thermal contact with the end plate 30, the vapor diffusion chamber 8 communicating with a vapor discharge hole 32 arranged at the edge of the treatment surface 30A.

The operation of the apparatus will now be described.

When the user wishes to use the device, he fills the water reservoir 5 with water and then activates the device by exerting pressure on the button 4. The electrical resistor of the evaporation chamber 6 is then supplied in order to reach its operating temperature, which is advantageously regulated by means of a thermostat.

When the user wishes to use the apparatus in the vertical ironing position, the user brings the treatment surface 30A vertically facing the garment to be ironed, and then presses the trigger 71, which has the effect of opening the dispenser 70 and allowing water to flow through the conduit 7 to the evaporation chamber 6.

The steam generated in the evaporation chamber 6 then escapes through the conduit 60 in the direction of the steam diffusion chamber 8 and subsequently through the steam outlet openings 32. The steam then diffuses onto the garment, which, in combination with the heating and drying action of the end plate 30, allows ironing of the garment.

The apparatus may also be used in a horizontal ironing position on time, for example to iron a garment placed horizontally on an ironing board by bringing the treating surface 30A horizontally over the garment.

During this ironing action, the openings 9 extending longitudinally through the steam discharge head 3 have the advantage that the garment area on the part to be treated can be visually observed, which allows for an improved ergonomic use of the device. In particular, such an opening 9 allows to have an apparatus which at the same time comprises a large-sized metal plate 30 allowing to rapidly treat large areas, and such an opening 9 allows to maintain a good visual observation of a portion of the garment subjected to the treatment of the metal plate 30.

The invention is of course in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown by way of example. Modifications can be made, in particular from the point of view of the construction of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

In a variant embodiment, not shown, the opening provided through the steam discharge head can therefore be closed by a transparent glazing. This variant embodiment has the advantage of allowing a visual observation of the treatment area to be maintained by means of the opening, while avoiding the steam rising through the opening in the direction of the user.

Claims

1. A portable ironing apparatus comprising a handle (2) and a steam discharge head (3) connected to an upper end of the handle (2), the steam discharge head (3) comprising a front end portion comprising a treatment surface (30A), the treatment surface (30A) being intended to face vertically towards a garment to be ironed when the apparatus is held in a vertical ironing position with the handle (2) below the steam discharge head (3), characterized in that the steam discharge head (3) comprises a through opening (9), the through opening (9) being open to the treatment surface (30A) and allowing visual observation through the steam discharge head (3).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening (9) opens into the rear end of the steam discharge head (3), the opening (9) advantageously extending longitudinally to the steam discharge head (3).

3. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the opening (9) is arranged at the center of the treatment surface (30A).

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the treatment surface (30A) comprises an end plate (30), advantageously heated, the end plate (30) extending around the opening (9).

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the vapor discharge head (3) comprises a support portion (31) of divergent shape, the support portion (31) carrying the end plate (30), and in that the vapor discharge head (3) comprises, upstream of the support portion (31), a convergent portion (33), the vapor discharge head (3) having a cross-sectional limitation at the junction between the support portion (31) and the convergent portion (33).

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the treatment surface (30A) comprises at least one steam venting hole (32).

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the opening (9) has a diverging shape at its end opening onto the treatment surface (30A).

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises an instantaneous evaporation chamber (6) and a water reservoir (5), said water reservoir (5) supplying said instantaneous evaporation chamber (6) with water.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that the water is fed from the water reservoir (5) to the evaporation chamber (6) solely by gravity.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the steam discharge head (3) has an elongated shape extending transversely to the handle (2) by forming an angle a of between 55 ° and 90 °, and preferably about 65 °, preferably with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle.