EP3023536B1 - Base for a household appliance for ironing and/or smoothing comprising a reservoir extending around a compartment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a base for an appliance for ironing and / or degreasing comprising a reservoir extending around a compartment and relates more particularly to a base in which the reservoir comprises at least two lateral wings s' extending along two opposite sides of the compartment.

It is known from the demand for WO01 / 53596 , an ironing apparatus comprising a liquid reservoir connected to a pump by a discharge pipe at which the reservoir liquid is drawn. However, in this document the tank is visible only on one side of the tank.

It is known from patent application FRA 14 53774 filed by the applicant, an ironing apparatus comprising a base comprising a water tank extending around a compartment receiving a tank for the generation of steam under pressure. Such an apparatus has the advantage of providing a very good visibility of the water level in the tank and a very great compactness through the integration into the compartment of certain components of the device.

However, in this document, the tank is connected to the pump by a discharge pipe which communicates with the interior of the tank at a single point so that the water present in the tank can remain trapped in certain parts of the tank, and in particular upstream of a boss allowing the passage of the drain duct of the apparatus, and have difficulty in pouring into the discharge duct when the water level in the tank is low. In addition, the user is not always able to lay the base perfectly flat so that it is possible that the base is inclined slightly in one direction does not promote the emptying of the entire tank during use of the device. Thus, the device may be forced to stop operating while there is still some water in the tank.

Also, an object of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing a base for an appliance for ironing and / or degreasing comprising a reservoir winding at least partially around a compartment that can receive components of the apparatus and comprising two wings extending along two opposite sides of the compartment in which the emptying of the tank is optimized.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a base for a household appliance for ironing and / or steam-freeing comprising a reservoir of liquid extending around a compartment and comprising at least two lateral wings extending along two opposite sides of the compartment, the reservoir being connected to a device member by a discharge pipe at which the reservoir liquid is drawn, characterized in that the discharge duct also connects the two lateral wings of the tank.

Such a discharge pipe hydraulically connecting the two wings of the tank has the advantage of being supplied with liquid from the tank by each of the lateral wings of the tank so that the discharge pipe remains fed with liquid when the water level in the tank becomes low and the unit is tilted slightly to one side. In addition, such a construction also promotes the emptying of the tank when the bottom wall of the tank has reliefs tending to trap water in a wing of the tank.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the tank comprises a bottom wall connecting an outer wall to an inner wall of the tank, establishing a separation between the tank and the compartment, the evacuation duct extending below the level of the tank. Bottom wall of the tank.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to promote the gravity flow of the water contained in the tank towards the evacuation duct.

According to another characteristic of the apparatus according to the invention, the evacuation duct opens into the two wings of the tank through openings in the bottom wall or in the inner wall near the bottom wall.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to optimize the complete emptying of the tank by gravity.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the orifices have the form of slots formed in the inner wall, at the edge of the bottom wall.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to have orifices which are not very visible and which do not come to deteriorate the aesthetics of the apparatus when the external wall of the device is made of transparent material.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention the reservoir has, in a horizontal plane, a general U shape.

Such a U-shape of the tank has the advantage of offering an excellent view of the level of liquid contained in the tank while providing a space between the branches of the U, in which components necessary for the operation of the apparatus can be easily integrated. In addition, such a shape has the advantage of leaving a free face of the device, located at the end of the branches of the U, where a control panel can be arranged while being perfectly visible for greater ergonomics of use .

According to another characteristic of the invention, the bottom wall of the tank comprises a convex boss, the exhaust duct having a first end that opens into the tank on one side of the boss and a second end that opens into the tank. the other side of the boss.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to promote complete emptying of the tank despite the presence of the boss in the bottom of the tank.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir is a water reservoir.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the compartment receives at least part of a vessel for the generation of pressurized steam comprising a drainage channel closed by a plug disposed on a lateral face of the base, near the bottom of the tank, the boss of the bottom wall of the tank spanning the drain pipe.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to produce a particularly compact steam generating base, especially in height, while having a high capacity water tank.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir is constituted by the assembly of an inner part and an outer part engaging one in the other, the evacuation conduit comprising an upper part defined by the outer part of the tank and a lower part defined by the inner part of the tank.

Such a characteristic has the advantage of allowing a manufacturing the reservoir and its evacuation pipe, the latter having the advantage of being integrated directly into the manufacture of the tank.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the inner and outer parts are made by molding and are assembled to one another by an overmolding operation of a seal at the junction between the inner and outer parts, the inner part being advantageously made of an opaque plastic material and the outer part being advantageously made of a translucent or transparent plastic material.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the base is portable.

The invention also relates to an appliance for ironing and / or degreasing comprising an iron connected by a cord to a base as previously described.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un appareil de repassage selon un mode particulier de réalisation de l'invention ;
• les figures 2 et 3 sont des vues en perspective éclatée de la base équipant l'appareil de la figure 1, seules certaines pièces étant représentées ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective partiellement arrachée de la base illustrée sur les figures 2 et 3, une fois assemblée ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en perspective de la partie arrière de la base équipant l'appareil de la figure 1.

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

• the figure 1 is a perspective view of an ironing apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the invention;
• the figures 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of the base equipping the device the figure 1 only certain parts being represented;
• the figure 4 is a perspective view partially broken away from the illustrated base on the figures 2 and 3 once assembled;
• the figure 5 is a perspective view of the rear part of the base equipping the apparatus of the figure 1 .

Only the elements necessary for the understanding of the invention have been represented. To facilitate the reading of the drawings, the same elements bear the same references from one figure to another.

The figure 1 represents a domestic ironing apparatus comprising, in a manner known per se, a portable base 1 generating steam supplied electrically by means of a cable 2 coming to connect to the electrical network, the base 1 being connected by a cord 3 to an iron 4 having a sole 40 provided with steam outlet holes, the latter being fed by a conduit integrated steam in the cord.

The base 1 comprises, in a manner known per se, a lower surface 10 intended to lie flat on a horizontal work plane, such as an ironing board, and has an inclined top surface comprising a location 11 for laying the iron 4 during the inactive ironing phases, this location being inclined, of the order of 20 ° to 30 ° relative to the work surface and having pads 11A projecting to thermally isolate the base 1 of the sole 40 of the iron to board.

In accordance with figures 2 and 3 , the base 1 is made by assembling several plastic parts, and comprises in particular an outer part 5 made of polypropylene, advantageously translucent or transparent, defining the external appearance of the base 1 and an inner part 6 made of polypropylene, advantageously opaque, coming to fit into the volume of the outer part 5.

The inner parts 6 and outer 5 comprise complementary shapes which form between them a space defining a peripheral reservoir 7, better visible on the Figures 1 and 5 , the reservoir 7 having, in a horizontal plane, a generally U-shaped surrounding a central compartment 8 receiving different components of the apparatus and comprising a filling port masked by a flap 7A pivoting.

The reservoir 7 extends around the periphery of the base 1 and has two lateral wings extending on either side of the central compartment 8, the reservoir 7 comprising an inner wall 7B and a bottom wall 7C which are defined by a part of the inner part 6 of the base and comprising an outer wall 7D which is defined by a part of the outer part 5.

Preferably, the base 1 comprises a control panel 12 formed on a front face of the base 1, the reservoir 7 extending along the side faces and the rear face of the base 1. The central compartment 8, arranged inside the inner wall of the tank, contains at least partially a tank 9 for producing steam under pressure, shown in dashed lines on the figure 2 .

The tank 9 comprises controlled heating means for producing steam at a pressure greater than 4 bar, and preferably of the order of 5 to 6 bar, and comprises a drain pipe 90 comprising an end closed by a plug 13 disposed on a lateral face of the base 1, at the height of the bottom wall 7C of the tank, the latter locally having a convex boss 14 which spans the drain pipe 90.

The drain duct 90 also comprises, in a manner known per se, a lateral inlet 91 connected by a pipe to a high pressure pump providing a pressure of the order of 15 bar, the pump sucking water from the tank 7 for the The pipe and the pump, not shown in the figures, advantageously take place in a housing disposed in the front part of the base 1, under the control panel 12 in a manner similar to the apparatus described above. details in the application for FR 1456087 filed by the plaintiff.

As can be seen on the figure 4 , the reservoir 7 comprises a discharge duct 70 hydraulically interconnecting the two wings of the reservoir 7, the exhaust duct 70 comprising a suction strainer 60 disposed in a portion of the exhaust duct 70 extending under the level of the bottom wall 7C of the tank, at which the water of the tank 7 is drawn by the pump.

Preferably, the evacuation duct 70 opens into the two wings of the tank through orifices 71, 72 formed in the inner wall 6 of the tank 7, at the edge of the bottom wall 7C, one of the orifices being constituted by a slit 71 of small width, visible on the figure 2 , disposed on the side of the tank 7 receiving the drain plug 13, between the boss 14 and the front face of the apparatus, the other of the orifices being constituted by a slit 72 of greater width, visible on the figure 3 , disposed on the opposite side of the base 1, near the front face.

The evacuation duct 70 is advantageously disposed at the interface between the inner and outer parts 6 and 5 so as to be made during assembly. internal and external parts 5, 5, an upper part of the exhaust duct 70 being defined by the outer part 5 and a lower part of the exhaust duct 70 being defined by the inner part 6, a seal being overmolded at the interface between the internal 6 and outer 5 parts to ensure the sealing of the exhaust pipe 70 and the tank 7.

Such an integration of the exhaust pipe 70 at the interface between the internal and external parts 5 has the advantage of allowing the hydraulic connection of the two wings of the tank 7 economically directly during the manufacturing process of the tank 7, c that is to say without having to perform an additional operation for the installation of the exhaust duct.

Thus, by way of example, the inner and outer parts 6 and 5 will be made during a molding operation carried out simultaneously in the same manufacturing mold, then the inner and outer parts 6 and 5 will be transferred to a dedicated area of the mold where they will be assembled to one another by overmoulding a joint made of polypropylene.

The apparatus thus produced has the advantage of promoting the complete emptying of the water contained in the reservoir during the operation of the apparatus, each of the wings comprising an orifice allowing the flow of water through the duct. evacuation. In particular, the water contained in the wing of the tank disposed on the side of the drain plug may flow completely despite the presence of the boss in the tank bottom.

Such a construction also makes it possible to propose an apparatus providing very good ergonomics of use while being particularly compact, the apparatus having the advantage of having a control panel and a particularly visible reservoir, the level of water in the reservoir notably being visible on an angle close to 280 °.

In addition, the presence of an orifice on each side of the tank for supplying the discharge duct also makes it possible to favor emptying the tank when the apparatus is not perfectly flat but is slightly inclined on one side.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has been given by way of example. Modifications are possible, particularly from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment not shown, the evacuation duct may open into the wings of the reservoir through orifices formed directly in the bottom wall of the reservoir.

Thus, in another variant embodiment not shown, the evacuation duct may open into each of the wings of the tank through several orifices.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment not shown, the evacuation duct may be constituted by an independent pipe which is attached during the assembly operation of the tank.

Claims (10)

1. Base (1) for a household appliance for ironing and/or smoothing, comprising a liquid reservoir (7) extending around a compartment (8) and comprising at least two lateral wings extending along two opposite sides of the compartment (8), the said reservoir (7) being connected to an appliance body by a release pipe (70) on the level of which the liquid from the reservoir (7) is drawn, characterised in that the release pipe (70) also connects the two lateral wings of the reservoir (7).
2. Base (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the reservoir (7) comprises a bottom wall (7C) connecting an external wall (7D) to an internal wall (7B) of the reservoir, establishing a separation between the reservoir (7) and the compartment (8), and in that the release pipe (70) extends under the level of the bottom wall (7C) of the reservoir.
3. Base (1) according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the release pipe (70) leads to the two wings of the reservoir (7) through the orifices (71, 72), arranged in the bottom wall (7C) or in the internal wall (6) close to the bottom wall (7C).
4. Base (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the orifices (71, 72) have the form of slits arranged in the internal wall (6), on the edge of the bottom wall (7C).
5. Base (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the reservoir (7) has, horizontally, a general U-shape.
6. Base (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the bottom wall (7C) of the reservoir comprises a convex boss (14) and in that the release pipe (70) comprises a first end which leads to the reservoir (7) from one side of the boss (14) and a second end which leads to the reservoir (7) from the other side of the boss (14).
7. Base (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that the compartment (8) holds at least in part, one tank (9) to generate steam under pressure, comprising a draining pipe (90) closed by a stopper (13) positioned on a lateral face of the base (1), close to the bottom (7C) of the reservoir, and in that the boss (14) of the bottom wall (7C) of the reservoir spans the draining pipe (90).
8. Base (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the reservoir (7) is constituted by assembling an internal component (6) and an external component (5) slotting into each other, and in that the release pipe (70) comprises an upper section defined by the external component (5) of the reservoir and a lower section defined by the internal component (6) of the reservoir.
9. Base (1) according to claim 8, characterised in that the internal (6) and external (5) components are produced by moulding and are assembled on top of each other by overmoulding a seal to the joint between the internal (6) and external (5) components, the internal component (6) being advantageously made from an opaque plastic material and the external component (5) being advantageously made from a translucent or transparent plastic material.
10. A household ironing and/or smoothing appliance, characterised in that it comprises an iron (4) connected by a cord (3), containing a steam pipe, to a base (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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