EP1055025B1

EP1055025B1 - Folding ironing board

Info

Publication number: EP1055025B1
Application number: EP99905361A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rudolphus Cornelis Henricus Daams
Original assignee: Brabantia Nederland BV
Current assignee: Brabantia Nederland BV
Priority date: 1998-02-13
Filing date: 1999-02-11
Publication date: 2002-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-11
Also published as: WO1999041444A1; DE69903130D1; AU2551899A; DK1055025T3; DE69903130T2; EP1055025A1; NL1008293C2

Description

The invention relates to a folding ironing board, especially a domestic ironing board, comprising:

an ironing board table,
a supporting frame having leg elements which can be swiveled between a folded and an unfolded position,
a locking mechanism for locking the position of the ironing board table in the unfolded position and at a safe working height above a floor and comprising a first locking element connected to the ironing board table as well as a second locking element which can be moved relative to the said first locking element and interacts with one of the leg elements, and
a control member for unlocking the locking mechanism, which control member can be moved by a user manually from a locking position into an unlocking position. An ironing board of this type is commonly known from practice and is also described in Dutch patent No. 1008292 filed by the applicant on the present priority date.A drawback of the known ironing board is that the operation for unlocking the unfolded ironing board can be realized inadvertently, especially also by small children from whom, after all, the underside of the ironing board is often easily reachable by virtue of their small stature. The inadvertent unlocking of the ironing board shall cause this to collapse, which may have serious consequences, especially when there is a hot iron present on the ironing board.The object of the invention is to provide an ironing board of the type stated in the introduction which is safer than the known ironing board and therefore the folding ironing board as indicated in the preamble is characterized in
that the control member comprises a control handle which is mounted on the underside of the ironing board table and can be moved counter to spring force in the direction of the bottom edge of the ironing board table, and
that a jamming member is present which is manually displaceable into a jamming position in which the space between the control handle and the underside of the ironing table is locally, in any event partially, filled, so that a movement of the control handle counter to spring force in the direction of the bottom edge of the ironing board table is prevented to such an extent that the locking mechanism is prevented from being unlocked.

By jamming the control member, this is prevented from any longer being accidentally operated.

FR-A-1482083 discloses a folding ironing board comprising an ironing board table, a supporting frame having leg elements which can be swiveled between a folded and an unfolded position, locking means for locking the position of the ironing board table in the unfolded position and at a save working height above a floor, and control means for unlocking the locking mechanism which control means can be moved by a user manually from a locking position into an unlocking position. This known folding ironing board comprises two locking mechanisms each having their own actuating handle. To prevent inadvertent collapsing of the ironing board, which could have serious consequences, the collapsing of the ironing board can only take place by actuating the two handles simultaneously.

Further US-A-2912775 discloses a folding ironing board comprising an ironing board table, a supporting frame, two sets of legs, interpivoted intermediate their ends, one of said set of legs having a pivot connection to the board table and the other of said set of legs having an upper end rectilinearly movable with respect to the ironing board in the longitudinal direction thereof and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the working height of the board table. The adjusting mechanism has two stop members or sets of stop members, one of said stop members or sets of stop members being adjustably connected to a locking rod at a position between the upper ends of the set of legs, which locking rod has a pivot connection with the movable upper end of one of the sets of legs. The other stop member or set of stop members is connected to the board table in a stationary position with respect to the longitudinal direction of the board table and is limitedly tiltable between a position in which it engages the locking rod and prevents moving thereof, and a position in which the locking of the locking rod is perished and the set of legs may be collapsed.

In a first embodiment the control handle comprises an elongated element having a free end and a jamming member from the loose element which is provided with an opening into which the free end of the control handle can be inserted.

Preferably the jamming member is essentially elastic and spherical and the spherical jamming member is provided with a blind opening. The jamming member can easily be slipped over an end of a control handle.

Ease of use is offered by an embodiment having means to suspend the jamming member at the free-hanging object from the ironing board in the vicinity of the control handle.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the schematic drawings, which show an embodiment of the invention solely by way of example and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view obliquely from above onto an unfolded domestic ironing board,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a part of the bottom edge of the ironing board of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of individual components of the locking mechanism of the ironing board according to Figures 1 and 2, having a fitted jamming member according to the invention,

Figs. 4-5 show respectively a view and a section of a jamming member employed in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1 shows a folding ironing board 1 having an ironing board table 5 with an underframe having leg elements 11 and 13 which can be swiveled between a folded and an unfolded position. These two leg elements are hinged together at 15 and are provided at their free ends with

respective supports

11A, 11B and 13A, 13B to enable the ironing board to be placed firmly on the ground. On the top side, around the ironing board table 5, the ironing board is provided with a table rim 3, in which the ironing board table is mounted. To the rim of the ironing board table are clamped a couple of accessories, namely a tray 7 and a supporting element 9 for the accommodation of an iron.

On the underside of the ironing board table 5 there is a locking mechanism present for locking the position of the ironing board table 5 in the unfolded position and at a safe working height above a floor. This locking mechanism comprises a pair of first locking elements 17 connected to the ironing board table, as well as

locking elements

19, 21 in the form of sliding locking bars 19 which can be moved relative to the said first locking elements and interact with the leg element 13. For the operation of the locking, reference is made to the aforementioned patent application filed by the applicant on the same date and bearing the applicant's reference: NL-A-1008292. Suffice it here to state that the bar 27 is hinge-mounted with limited pivotal movement in a pair of stiffening profiles 29 present on the bottom edge of the ironing board table and, with the aid of a handle 31, can be pivoted counter to the action of a spring (not shown in the drawing). On the bar there is a couple of locking elements 17, which can be crossed to perform a locking action upon the locking bars 37.

In Fig. 3, the position of the handle 31 and the

locking elements

17 and 19 is shown schematically in the crossed and hence locked position.

The control member or the handle 31 can be jammed in the locking position shown in Fig. 2. As can clearly be seen in Figures 2 and 3, a jamming member 33 is present, which, together with the handle, is manually displaceable into the jamming position shown in Fig. 2 in which the space between the control handle 31 and the underside of the ironing board table 5 is locally filled so that the movement of the control handle 31 counter to spring force in the direction of the bottom edge of the ironing board table 5 is prevented to such an extent, and possibly in total, that the locking mechanism is prevented from being unlocked.

The control handle 31 forms an elongated element, namely a part of the bar 27 which is cranked at a 90-degree angle and possesses a free end 47. The jamming member comprises a loose element which is provided with an opening 49 into which the free end 47 of the control handle 31 can be inserted.

As can be seen in Figs. 2-5, the jamming member is spherical. It is made from an elastic rubbery plastic or something similar, so that it poses no danger to children, for example, and can be fitted in clamping arrangement around the free end 47 of the control handle 31. Figs. 3-4 show that the opening 49 is a blind opening, so that the free end 47 does not protrude beyond the jamming member.

In order to suspend the jamming member as a free-hanging object from the bottom edge in the vicinity of the control handle (not shown in the drawing), this is provided with a suspension eye 51 having an opening 53. Through this opening can be fitted a chain or a piece of cord, for example, by which the jamming member can be suspended.

Although the invention has been discussed with reference to just a single illustrative embodiment, the invention is by no means limited thereto but, on the contrary, embraces all those embodiments which are feasible within the scope of the appended Claim 1. Thus, in place of a loose jamming member, a jamming member can be used which is fixedly connected to the handle 31 and is hinge-mounted, for example, such that it can be pivoted relative thereto. Also conceivable is a jamming member which is mobile, for example, on the underside of the ironing board table and which can be placed or otherwise in the movement path of the control handle.

Claims

Folding ironing board (1), especially a domestic ironing board, comprising:

an ironing board table (5),

a supporting frame having leg elements (11, 13) which can be swiveled between a folded and an unfolded position,

a locking mechanism (21) for locking the position of the ironing board table (5) in the unfolded position and at a safe working height above a floor and comprising a first locking element (17) connected to the ironing board table as well as a second locking element (19, 21) which can be moved relative to the said first locking element and interacts with one of the leg elements (13), and

a control member (31) for unlocking the locking mechanism, which control member can be moved by a user manually from a locking position into an unlocking position, whereby the control member comprises a control handle (31) which is mounted on the underside of the ironing board table (5) and can be moved counter to spring force in the direction of the bottom edge of the ironing board table,

a jamming member (33)
characterized in

that the jamming member (33) is manually displaceable into a jamming position in which the space between the control handle (31) and the underside of the ironing table (5) is locally, in any event partially, filled, so that a movement of the control handle (31) counter to spring force in the direction of the bottom edge of the ironing board table (5) is prevented to such an extent that the locking mechanism is prevented from being unlocked.
Folding ironing board (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in

that the control handle (31) comprises an elongated element having a free end (47) and

that the jamming member (33) forms a loose element which is provided with an opening (49) into which the free end (47) of the control handle (31) can be inserted.
Folding ironing board according to Claim 1, characterized in

that the jamming member (33) is essentially elastic and spherical and

that this spherical jamming member (33) is provided with a blind opening (49).
Folding ironing board according to Claims 2 or 3, characterized in that means are present to suspend the jamming member (33) as a free hanging object from the ironing board in the vicinity of the control handle.