CN211872369U

CN211872369U - Apparatus for steam treating laundry

Info

Publication number: CN211872369U
Application number: CN202020161111.1U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 洛朗·德奥利维拉迪亚斯
Original assignee: SEB SA
Current assignee: SEB SA
Priority date: 2019-02-12
Filing date: 2020-02-11
Publication date: 2020-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 2030-02-11
Also published as: DE202020100597U1; FR3092593A1; FR3092593B1

Abstract

An apparatus for steam treating a garment, comprising an ironing and/or pressing tool (3) and support means (8) for stably placing the tool (3) during a non-working phase of ironing and/or pressing, the ironing and/or pressing tool (3) comprising at least one aperture for discharging steam, the support means (8) comprising a securing member removably secured to a base (7), the apparatus comprising locking means allowing the securing member to be secured in the base (7), characterized in that the locking means comprise an unlocking element (91), which unlocking element (91) can be manually actuated by a user in order to facilitate the removal of the securing member from the base (7).

Description

Apparatus for steam treating laundry

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for steam treating garments, comprising a base, a water tank built in the base, said base being connected by a conduit to an ironing and/or ironing tool, said ironing and/or ironing tool comprising at least one hole for discharging steam. The present invention relates more particularly to a device comprising support means for stably placing the tool during the non-working phase of ironing and/or ironing, said support means comprising fixing means removably fixed on a base.

Background

From chinese utility model CN205603917U an ironing apparatus is known, which comprises a base connected to an ironing head by a conduit and a support means for placing the ironing head. In this document, the support means are removable and can be arranged on the base according to different orientations to facilitate ergonomic use of the device.

However, such support means have the disadvantage of being locked on the arms by resilient tongues which have the disadvantage of either being too rigid to allow easy removal of the support means with respect to the arms or too flexible to ensure a reliable retention of the support means on the arms. As a result, the apparatus has the disadvantage of having a support means which is difficult to remove from its base or, conversely, which does not hold well on its base.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an ironing/ironing apparatus that overcomes these drawbacks.

To this end, the subject of the present invention is a device for steam treating a garment, comprising an ironing and/or ironing tool and support means for stably placing the tool during the non-working phase of ironing and/or ironing, the ironing and/or ironing tool comprising at least one hole for discharging steam, the support means comprising a fixing member removably fixed on a base by means of locking means allowing the fixing member to be fixed in the base, characterized in that the locking means comprise an unlocking element which can be manually actuated by a user in order to take the fixing member out of the base.

According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the unlocking element protrudes on the base or on the support device.

This feature allows to make the unlocking element completely visible and accessible for its actuation. In particular, the locking element has the advantage of protruding from the base or from the support means, so that it can be actuated directly by the fingers of the hand.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the locking element protrudes on the base or on the support device by a height greater than 5 mm. This feature optimizes the actuation comfort of the unlocking element.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the locking device comprises a blocking element which elastically returns to a blocking position and the unlocking element allows to move the blocking element to an unlocking position.

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

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the blocking element comprises a boss elastically engaged into an opening to fix the fixing member in the base.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the locking means comprise a resilient tongue which supports the boss or the opening.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the resilient tongue comprises an actuation area directly accessible to the user and constituting the unlocking element, the pressure on the actuation area allowing the manual deformation of the resilient tongue to take the boss out of the opening.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the fixing means comprise a fixing lug intended to be introduced into a slit arranged on the base, the elastic tongue being carried by the base and extending at the edge of the slit.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the fixing lug is inserted into the slit by vertical displacement from top to bottom.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the fixing means allow the removable fixing of the support device on the base according to at least two fixing positions of the support device on the base corresponding to two different orientations, the locking device being in the active condition in the two fixing positions.

This feature allows for greater ergonomic use by adapting the orientation of the support means according to the user's preference.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the device comprises a base containing a water tank, the base being connected to the tool by a flexible conduit.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the device comprises at least one pole supporting an ironing stand and/or an ironing board on which garments can be hooked and/or pressed to allow the garments to be treated by means of the tool.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the support means comprise a plastic body having a surface equipped with heat insulating pads against which the tool is intended to rest.

This feature allows to obtain a support device that is inexpensive to manufacture and light-weight.

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

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the ironing plate is pivotably mounted on said supporting bar by means of a hinge means which allows to make said ironing plate fixed according to different inclinations.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the strut is telescopic.

This feature allows to adapt the height of the ironing board.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the supporting bar is vertically arranged.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the device comprises two parallel struts supporting the ironing plate.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the base comprises an electric pump allowing to convey the water of the tank towards the ironing tool, which comprises a flash evaporation chamber.

This feature allows having a very simple to realize and not bulky base, the generation of steam being realized directly in the evaporation chamber carried by the ironing tool.

Drawings

The objects, aspects and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings,

in the drawings:

figure 1 is a perspective view of an ironing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting means being coupled to the base according to a first orientation;

fig. 2 is a perspective view of a support device coupled to its base according to a first orientation, an iron being arranged on the support device;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, with the iron raised from the support;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the support device coupled to its base according to a second orientation;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the support device unhooked from its base;

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the connecting arm and the support device when they are coupled to each other;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a detailed bottom perspective view of the connecting arm used as the base of the support device;

figure 9 is a top view of a connecting arm used as a base for the support device.

Detailed Description

Only the elements necessary for understanding the invention are shown. To facilitate reading of the figures, identical elements between different figures have identical reference numerals. It should be noted that in this document, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "lower", "upper", "front" and "rear" used to describe the device refer to the situation when the device is lying on its base, as shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows a steam ironing device comprising a portable base 1, the base 1 being connected to a steam iron 3 by a flexible conduit 2, the base 1 being electrically connected to a domestic electric network by means of a cable, not visible in the figure.

The base 1 comprises, in a manner known per se, a removable water tank 10 and a pump which draws water into the water tank 10 to deliver it to the iron 3 through a tube integrated in the flexible conduit 2.

Preferably, the iron 3 comprises a flat soleplate 30, which soleplate 30 is surmounted by a main body comprising a grip handle 31, which grip handle 31 comprises a free rear end portion protruding laterally to the main body. The body houses a casting in thermal contact with the soleplate and comprising a heating resistor which is regulated by means of a non-adjustable thermostat, allowing the temperature of the soleplate to be kept around a set temperature of about 135 ℃.

The casting is advantageously made of aluminium and comprises an instantaneous evaporation chamber into which water is injected from a water tank 10 by a pump, the operation of which is normally controlled by a trigger carried by the iron 3. The pump and the evaporation chamber are advantageously sized to allow a steam flow of about 25g/min to be continuously generated when the trigger is actuated, the soleplate 30 typically comprising holes for discharging the steam.

The apparatus further comprises a base 4 on which the base 1 removably rests, the base 1 being equipped at its upper end with a handle 11 to facilitate its transport. The base 4 advantageously comprises a cavity which follows the outer contour of the base and into which the lower end of the base 1 engages.

Preferably, the base 4 comprises two telescopic struts 40, the two telescopic struts 40 comprising an upper end supporting a rigid ironing plate 5, the rigid ironing plate 5 comprising an ironing surface, advantageously flat, for being covered by a cover, not shown in the figures, and on which the garment to be ironed can be placed.

The ironing board 5 is pivotably mounted on the end of the supporting bar 40 by means of a hinge means which allows to fix the ironing board 5 according to different inclinations and advantageously in a vertical position, a horizontal position and an intermediate position, as shown in figure 1, in which the ironing board 5 advantageously forms an angle of about 30 ° with respect to the vertical.

This hinge device is for example identical to the hinge device described in greater detail in the patent application filed by the applicant in france under the filing number FR 1756063.

Preferably, one of the telescopic struts 40 supports the arm 7, the arm 7 comprising an opening 70 into which opening 70 the strut 40 is inserted, the arm 7 typically comprising a clamping bar (not shown in the figures) at the opening 70 which allows the arm to be secured at the height desired by the user on the strut 40.

The arm forms a base 7, on which base 7 a support means 8 is provided, which support means 8 is intended to house the iron 3 during the inactive phase of ironing.

According to fig. 2 to 4, the support means 8 comprises a plastic body having a substantially flat surface forming a protective screen 80, the protective screen 80 extending opposite the soleplate 30 of the iron when the iron 3 is resting on the support means 8 in the storage position shown in fig. 1 and 2.

The protective screen 80 is advantageously inclined by about 10 ° with respect to the vertical plane when the support means 8 are attached to the base 7, the protective screen 80 preferably comprising two raised ribs 81, the two ribs 81 supporting thermal pads 82 against which the soleplate 30 can abut when required when the iron 3 rests on the support means 8.

The support means 8 further comprise a retaining collar 83, which retaining collar 83 laterally elongates the protective screen 80 and forms a ring extending in front of the protective screen 80, the collar 83 laterally surrounding a portion of the body of the iron 3. The collar 83 also comprises a retaining finger 84, which retaining finger 84 is inserted into a complementary shaped opening 33 provided on the rear end of the body of the iron 3 when the iron 3 is placed on the support means 8, the interaction of the retaining finger 84 with the opening 33 ensuring a stable retention of the iron 3 in the storage position.

More specifically, according to the present invention, the support means 8 are removably fixed to the base 7 and comprise locking means which allow to fix the support means 8 on the base 7.

As can be seen in fig. 5, the support means 8 comprise a fixing member which allows it to be removably fixed to the base 7, advantageously constituted by a fixing lug 86, the fixing lug 86 extending substantially vertically in the extension of a foot 87 arranged at the rear of the surface 80, the fixing lug 86 having an upper end connected to the foot 87 and comprising a free lower end.

The fixing lug 86 can engage in a complementary shaped slot 71 provided at the end of the base 7, as shown in fig. 5, the support means 8 comprising a stop 85, the stop 85 abutting against the edge of the slot 71 when the fixing lug 86 is fully inserted in the slot 71.

Preferably, the fixing lugs 86 and the slits 71 have an H-shaped passage section, clearly visible in fig. 9, which allows to engage the support means 8 according to two different positions which allow to obtain two opposite orientations of the support means 8. Thus, in the first engagement position shown in fig. 1 to 3, the surface 80 of the support means may be oriented on one side of the base 7, and in the second engagement position shown in fig. 4, the surface 80 may be oriented on the other side of the base 7. This freedom of orientation of the support means 8 has the advantage of providing better ergonomic use by allowing the user to select the orientation that best suits him.

According to fig. 6 to 9, the locking means comprise a resilient tongue 9, which resilient tongue 9 is advantageously carried by the base 7, which resilient tongue 9 comprises a boss 90, which boss 90 can occupy a locking position in which the boss 90 engages into the opening 86A of the fixing lug 86 when the fixing lug 86 is fully inserted into the slit 71.

The resilient tongue 9 is preferably arranged at the edge of the slot 71, and the resilient tongue 9 extends parallel to the insertion direction of the fixing lug 86. The boss 90 advantageously has a suitable shape so that the insertion of the fixing lug 86 into the slit 71 is achieved by automatically generating the deformation of the resilient tongue 9 and so that the removal of the fixing lug 86 cannot be easily achieved without the user having previously manually moved the resilient tongue 9 into the unlocking position. For example, the boss 90 may comprise an upper surface forming an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the side surface of the resilient tongue 9 and a lower surface extending substantially perpendicular to the side surface of the resilient tongue 9.

Preferably, the elastic tongue 9 has a lower portion that protrudes on the lower surface of the base 7 and forms an unlocking element 91, which unlocking element 91 should be manually actuated by the user to deform the elastic tongue 9 and to cause the projection 90 to protrude at least partially from the opening 86A, so as to allow the removal of the support device 8 from its base 7.

The device thus realised has the advantage of great ergonomic use, while being very economical to manufacture. In particular, the support device thus realized has the advantage of being reliably hooked on the apparatus, thus limiting the risk of accidental unhooking when handling the apparatus, in particular when transporting it.

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 substituting technical equivalents, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

In a variant embodiment that is not shown, the unlocking element can therefore be realized by an unlocking button that is directly accessible on one side of the support device.

Thus, in another embodiment variant not shown, the locking tongues can be carried by the support means and cooperate with openings carried by the base.

Claims

1. A device for steam treating garments, comprising an ironing and/or pressing tool (3) and support means (8) for stably placing the tool (3) during non-working phases of ironing and/or pressing, said tool (3) comprising at least one hole for discharging steam, said support means (8) comprising a fixing member, the fixing member being removably fixed on the base by means of locking means allowing to fix the fixing member in the base (7), characterized in that the locking device comprises a fully visible and accessible unlocking element (91), the unlocking element (91) protrudes on the base (7) or on the support device (8), the unlocking element (91) can be manually actuated by a user in order to facilitate the extraction of the fixing member from the base (7).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said locking means comprise a blocking element which is elastically returned to a blocking position and said unlocking element (91) allows to move said blocking element to an unlocking position.

3. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the locking means comprise a blocking element comprising a boss (90), the boss (90) being elastically engaged into an opening (86A) to fix the fixing member in the base (7).

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said locking means comprise a resilient tongue (9), said resilient tongue (9) supporting said boss (90) or said opening (86A).

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that said elastic tongue (9) comprises an actuation area directly accessible to the user and constituting said unlocking element, the pressure on said actuation area allowing to manually deform said elastic tongue (9) to take said boss (90) out of said opening (86A).

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said fixing means comprise fixing lugs (86), said fixing lugs (86) being intended to be introduced into slits (71) provided on said base (7), and in that said elastic tongues (9) are carried by said base (7) and extend at the edges of said slits (71).

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that said fixing means allow removably fixing said support means (8) on said base (7) according to at least two fixing positions of said support means (8) on said base (7) corresponding to two different orientations, and in that said locking means are in an active condition in said two fixing positions.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises a base (1), said base (1) containing a water tank (10), said base (1) being connected to said tool (3) by means of a conduit (2).

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises at least one strut (40), said at least one strut (40) supporting a holding element on which a garment can be hooked and/or pressed to allow the garment to be treated by means of said tool (3).