Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F75/00—Hand irons
  • D06F75/08—Hand irons internally heated by electricity
  • D06F75/10—Hand irons internally heated by electricity with means for supplying steam to the article being ironed
  • D06F75/14—Hand irons internally heated by electricity with means for supplying steam to the article being ironed the steam being produced from water in a reservoir carried by the iron
  • D06F75/18—Hand irons internally heated by electricity with means for supplying steam to the article being ironed the steam being produced from water in a reservoir carried by the iron the water being fed slowly, e.g. drop by drop, from the reservoir to a steam generator

Definitions

• the present invention concerns an ironing apparatus for clothes or fabrics in general, of the type provided with a steam iron and with a water tank for the production of steam.
• the iron according to the present invention comprises an ironing plate heated by means of one, or more, electric resistances, and which is shaped internally, and/or on its upper face, so as to define an obligatory path of progressive evaporation into which water is injected.
• the apparatus according to the invention also comprises valve means that allows to achieve a super-pressurization of a certain quantity of water inside the ironing plate, so that when the valve means is activated, said quantity of water can easily be transformed into steam and delivered under pressure in the form of steam in a substantially instantaneous manner onto the garment to be ironed.
• Apparatuses for ironing fabrics comprising a steam iron and a water container unit, or tank, provided externally, or internally, with respect to the iron, and able to feed thereto, by means of a feeding pump, the water for the production of steam.
• Known irons are generally provided with a heated ironing plate from which the steam is delivered and with an instant boiler that transforms the water fed into steam to be selectively delivered through a plurality of holes disposed on the lower face of the plate.
• Ironing apparatuses are also known in the art in which an evaporation chamber is defined between the heated plate and a central body of the iron, where the water is injected at atmospheric pressure and transformed into steam by the heating means which normally heats the plate.
• One purpose of the present invention is to achieve an ironing apparatus provided with a steam iron and with a water container unit, which can be produced simply and cheaply and which guarantees an optimum pressurized delivery of steam, whatever the temperature of the plate, without needing any boiler or autonomously heated pre-evaporation chamber.
• Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve an ironing apparatus that, given the same technical characteristics, has a lower energy consumption than known apparatuses.
• An ironing apparatus comprises an iron provided with at least an ironing plate heated by heating means, for example an electric resistance, and provided at the lower part with a steam delivery zone, and a container unit able to contain a determinate quantity of water and to feed it selectively to the ironing plate through an inlet zone made inside the plate, for the production of steam.
• heating means for example an electric resistance
• container unit able to contain a determinate quantity of water and to feed it selectively to the ironing plate through an inlet zone made inside the plate, for the production of steam.
• the valve means can assume a first closed condition in which it defines, in correspondence with the heating means, a heating chamber in which the water is kept still, in order to reach determinate conditions of temperature and pressure, and a second open condition in which it allows the water, heated and pressurized, to access and follow the obligatory path, in order to undergo a rapid and effective progressive evaporation.
• the loading chamber is made in the area where the heating means has the highest heating capacity.
• the water injected into the iron even if it is fed by the container unit at temperatures and pressures inconvenient for evaporation, is initially heated and pressurized, keeping the valve means closed, and then forcibly and at higher pressure made to follow the obligatory path, opening the aforesaid valve means.
• the water is subjected to prolonged heating over time, until it is progressively transformed into steam.
• the initial increase in pressure caused by the heating of the water in the loading chamber also allows a quick response of the steam delivery with respect to the opening of the valve means, it prevents steam residues forming inside the ironing plate which cause a delay when stopping the delivery, and it guarantees an effective delivery pressure of the steam, substantially simulating a delivery with a traditional boiler heating.
• a water feeding pump is also activated, so as to promptly inject a new amount of water into the inlet zone.
• the same opening command of the valve means also activates the feeding pump.
• the water is made to evaporate efficiently and is delivered in the form of steam in a substantially immediate manner and with an efficient pressure, thus improving the total energy consumption needed for the correct functioning of the ironing apparatus.
• the ironing apparatus according to the present invention also has the advantage of not having pre-evaporation chambers and/or instant boilers for transforming the water into steam, therefore reducing production costs.
• the obligatory path comprises, as well as the loading chamber, selectively defined by the valve means in correspondence with the inlet zone, at least an evaporation chamber, preferably two, each substantially coil-shaped and whose segments develop at least partly in correspondence with the heating means, so as to oblige the water to repeatedly pass at least in close proximity, or directly in contact, with the latter, and a steam chamber disposed in correspondence with the steam delivery zone.
• the obligatory path is defined by a plurality of dividing walls, which, according to a preferential solution of the invention, comprise sealing means that prevent the water, flowing in a first segment or in a determinate chamber, from overflowing into a second segment or into an adjoining chamber, or also from directly accessing the delivery zone in a state where it is not totally vaporized, influencing the evaporation state in process. In this way, a correct and complete evaporation of the water injected into the obligatory path is further guaranteed.
• - fig. 1 shows schematically a partly sectioned lateral view of an ironing apparatus according to the present invention
• - fig. 2 shows a section from II to II of fig. 1.
• the iron 11 is of the steam type and comprises a central body 13 provided in the upper part with a gripping handle 15 on which a button 14 to selectively deliver steam is housed.
• the central body 13 is associated in the lower part with an ironing plate 16 pointed in shape and made of metal material.
• the central body 13 is of the substantially traditional type and is connected by means of a pipe 25, shown only schematically in fig. 1, to the tank 12 so as to allow the passage of water therefrom to an inlet zone 26 of the ironing plate 16.
• the central body 13 also comprises a valve 18 disposed downstream of the inlet zone 26, and connected mechanically to the button 14, which allows, when suitably activated, the selective passage of the water inside the ironing plate 16 through an obligatory path 23, described in detail hereafter.
• valve 18 is disposed upstream of the obligatory path 23, in the direction of advance of the water, and comprises a first closed condition, in which it defines, upstream thereof, a loading chamber 29, in which the water is temporarily maintained in a substantially still position, and a second open condition in which it allows the water to flow inside the obligatory path 23.
• the ironing plate 16 can be heated by means of an electric resistance 17, and it comprises a lower ironing surface 19, and an upper surface 20, opposite the ironing surface 19 and facing towards the lower part of the central body 13.
• the ironing surface 19 is substantially smooth so as to improve, during use, its ability to slide on the fabrics to be ironed and, according to known techniques, it can be made of double material, with steps or in other solutions intended to improve its functionality.
• a front zone, and close to the point, of the ironing surface 19 there is a plurality of through holes 21 for the output of steam, defining a delivery zone 27 for the steam.
• a plurality of dividing walls 22 are made on the upper surface 20 of the ironing plate 16, able to define the obligatory path 23 for the water, which develops between the inlet zone 26 and the delivery zone 27.
• the dividing walls 22 are connected in their upper part to a closing plate 24, which is in turn connected to the lower part of the central body 13.
• all the dividing walls 22 have an upper edge provided with a silicon sealing packing 28, so that the obligatory path 23 defined is closed and sealed, also between its different segments through which the water flows.
• the obligatory path 23 also comprises, in this specific case, two evaporation chambers 30 and 31, disposed in specular manner with respect to a median axis of the ironing plate 16, and each one shaped like a coil and placed close to a corresponding rectilinear section of the U-shaped resistance, in order to keep the water circulating in close proximity, or in contact, in this specific case indirectly, with the segment of the electric resistance 17.
• each evaporation chamber 30, or 31 causes the water to make a repeated and prolonged passage close to the respective segment of electric resistance 17, thus promoting the progressive evaporation of the water.
• the obligatory path 23 also comprises a steam chamber 32 made in correspondence with the delivery zone 27 and in which both evaporation chambers 30 and 31 terminate. All the steam progressively formed in the evaporation chambers 30 and 31 accumulates in the steam chamber 32, and from here is delivered to the outside through the through holes 21.
• the seal guaranteed by the silicon packings 28 of the dividing walls 22 prevents the water in progressive evaporation from accidentally passing from one chamber to another of the obligatory path 23, or directly to the delivery zone 27, which could modify the reciprocal conditions of evaporation temperature and pressure.
• the tank 12 comprises a water container 33, a feeding pump 35, and a safety valve 36.
• valve 18 By activating the button 14 the valve 18 is mechanically brought to its open condition and the water, heated and pressurized, present in the loading chamber 29 can enter with greater pressure into the evaporation chambers 30 and 31, and the steam chamber 32.
• the solution according to the present invention therefore allows a better progressive vaporization of the water and a substantially instantaneous delivery, and with a determinate pressure, of the steam through the through holes 21, avoiding the risk of drops of condensation or incompletely vaporized water leaking from the holes 21.
• the safety valve 36 is set to a determinate safety pressure, such that the water is prevented from re-entering the feeding pump 35, especially in the case where, due to the heating of the water in the loading chamber 26, a pressure higher than safety pressure develops and the water is forced to flow back through the pipe 25.
• the obligatory path 23 is made inside the thickness of the ironing plate 16, so that the water directly contacts the electric resistance 17, at least in some segments.
• the obligatory path 23 is made partly on the upper surface 20 and partly inside the ironing plate 16.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Irons (AREA)
• Beans For Foods Or Fodder (AREA)
• Formation And Processing Of Food Products (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
• Massaging Devices (AREA)
• Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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• 2006
  • 2006-07-27 IT IT000189A patent/ITUD20060189A1/it unknown
• 2007
  • 2007-07-25 AT AT07787869T patent/ATE473319T1/de active
  • 2007-07-25 EP EP07787869A patent/EP2049727B1/de active Active
  • 2007-07-25 CN CN2007800322643A patent/CN101512063B/zh active Active
  • 2007-07-25 WO PCT/EP2007/057639 patent/WO2008012315A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2007-07-25 ES ES07787869T patent/ES2346099T3/es active Active
  • 2007-07-25 DE DE602007007625T patent/DE602007007625D1/de active Active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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