EP3985167A1 - Portable crease removal device comprising a device for distributing an additive - Google Patents

Abstract

Steamer comprising a handle (2) and a steam emitting head (3) connected to the handle (2), the steam emitting head (3) comprising a treatment face (30) provided with at least one steam outlet orifice (33) and intended to come vertically opposite a garment to be smoothed, the steam emitting head (3) further comprising a device for diffusing an additive (7) and a heating body (6) comprising an instantaneous vaporization chamber (63), the steam produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber (63) escaping in the direction of said at least one steam outlet orifice (33) via a steam (66), characterized in that the steam distribution circuit (66) comprises a bypass circuit (67) comprising the said device for diffusing an additive (7), the bypass circuit (67) allowing a part of the vapor flow produced by the flash chamber (63) to incorporate a additive before the latter is emitted from said at least one vapor outlet orifice (33).

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of portable steaming appliances comprising a handle and a steam emitting head connected to the handle, in which the steam emitting head comprises a treatment face, provided with at least one steam outlet, which is intended to come vertically opposite a garment to be smoothed. The invention relates more particularly to a steaming appliance comprising a device for distributing an additive and a heating body comprising an instantaneous vaporization chamber.

State of the art

It is known from the document CN207277040U , a portable steamer comprising a handle and a steam emitting head connected to the handle, the steam emitting head comprises a treatment face provided with steam outlet orifices and a cavity receiving an impregnated absorbent material of a perfume.

However, such a device does not allow good diffusion of the additive, the diffusion of the additive being strongly linked to the contact of the treatment face with the garment to be treated.

It is also known from the document CN205420870U a hand-held steamer has a treatment side with steam outlets in which the treatment side can be covered with a cloth for diffusing an additive, so that the additive is diffused with the stream of steam.

However, such a construction does not allow regular and constant diffusion of the additive over time, the diffusion of the additive gradually decreasing as the steam passes through the wipe.

Summary of the invention

The present invention aims to remedy this drawback by proposing a portable steamer in which the quantity of additive diffused with the steam is better controlled. In particular, an object of the present invention is to to propose a device which allows the diffusion of an additive in small quantities and in a controlled manner.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a steaming device comprising a handle and a steam emitting head connected to the handle, the steam emitting head comprising a treatment face, provided with at least one orifice steam outlet, intended to come vertically opposite a garment to be smoothed, the steam emission head further comprising a device for diffusing an additive and a heating body comprising an instantaneous vaporization chamber, the steam produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber escaping in the direction of the said at least one steam outlet orifice by a steam distribution circuit, characterized in that the steam distribution circuit comprises a bypass circuit comprising the said vapor diffusion device an additive, the bypass circuit making it possible to take part of the flow of vapor produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber in order to incorporate an additive therein before the emission of the latter pa r said at least one steam outlet.

Such a characteristic allows better control of the quantity of additive emitted with the steam, the latter being directly linked to the dimensioning of the bypass circuit. In particular, the puncture of only part of the vapor produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber, for its mixing with the additive, allows better control of the maximum quantity of additive that can be diffused with the vapor, which makes it possible to avoid excessive diffusion of additive.

The apparatus may further have one or more of the following characteristics, taken alone or in combination.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the bypass circuit comprises a device for adjusting the flow rate of steam.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to further improve the control of the diffusion of the additive by allowing adjustment of the flow rate of steam passing through the bypass circuit.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the device for adjusting the steam flow includes means for modulating the section of passage of the steam in the bypass circuit.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the device for adjusting the flow of steam is a tap which comprises a plug extending through the bypass circuit.

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

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the device for distributing an additive comprises a reservoir for receiving a liquid additive, for example an essential oil.

The use of such an additive, of the essential oil type, has the advantage of being easily accessible commercially and of offering a very large choice of flavors.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the reservoir has a volume of less than 200 mm3.

Such a characteristic has the advantage of limiting the quantity of additive that can be introduced into the device to a few drops, which makes it possible to avoid the diffusion of too large a quantity of additive.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the reservoir is formed by a cup arranged in a well comprising a filling opening closed by a plug, said cup being mounted so as to be able to move in translation between a filling position, towards which it is returned by a return spring in the absence of the cap, and an operating position to which it is returned by the cap.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, in the filling position, the cup prevents the steam circulating in the bypass circuit from escaping through the filling opening.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to limit the risk of burning the user with the steam escaping through the filling opening when the user operates the appliance having forgotten to replace the cap on the filling opening.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the plug comprises a pusher element which pushes the cup towards the operating position when the plug closes the filling opening, the pusher element having the form of a grid coming to rest on the upper edge of the cup.

Such a grid has the advantage of being simple and economical to produce and of allowing the circulation of steam on the top of the dish.

Brief description of figures

• [Fig 1] La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un appareil selon un mode de réalisation particulier de l'invention ;
• [Fig 2] La figure 2 est une vue de côté du corps chauffant et de la face de traitement équipant l'appareil de la figure 1 ;
• [Fig 3] La figure 3 est une vue en perspective éclatée du corps chauffant équipant l'appareil de la figure 1 ;
• [Fig 4] La figure 4 est une vue en perspective éclatée de la face de traitement équipant l'appareil de la figure 1 ;
• [Fig 5] La figure 5 est une vue en coupe longitudinale du corps chauffant et de la face de traitement équipant l'appareil de la figure 1 ;
• [Fig 6] La figure 6 est une vue en coupe selon la ligne VI-VI de la figure 2, avec le bouchon en position fermée et le robinet en position ouverte ;
• [Fig 7] La figure 7 est une vue semblable à celle de la figure 6 en l'absence du bouchon de fermeture ;
• [Fig 8] La figure 8 est une vue de détail du bouchon de fermeture ;
• [Fig 9] La figure 9 est une vue semblable à celle de la figure 6 avec le robinet en position fermée.

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 appended drawings in which :

• [Fig 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the invention;
• [Fig 2] Figure 2 is a side view of the heating body and the treatment face fitted to the apparatus of Figure 1;
• [Fig 3] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the heating body fitted to the device of Figure 1;
• [Fig 4] Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the treatment face fitted to the apparatus of Figure 1;
• [Fig 5] Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the heating body and the treatment face fitted to the apparatus of Figure 1;
• [Fig 6] Figure 6 is a sectional view along line VI-VI of Figure 2, with the cap in the closed position and the valve in the open position;
• [Fig 7] Figure 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 in the absence of the closure cap;
• [Fig 8] Figure 8 is a detail view of the closure cap;
• [Fig 9] Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 with the valve in the closed position.

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

It will be noted that in this document, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "lower", "upper", "top", "bottom", "front", "rear", "longitudinal", "transversal", used to describe the device refer to this device when it is lying flat on its base.

FIG. 1 represents a steaming appliance comprising a portable case made of plastic material comprising a base 1 surmounted by a handle 2 and a head 3 for emitting steam, the base 1 comprising a flat lower face on which the steaming device can come to rest stably in a substantially vertical position.

The base 1 of the steamer includes an electrical power cord 10 allowing it to be connected to a domestic electrical network, and the steam emitting head 3 includes a rear face provided with a button (not visible on the figures) to switch on the steamer.

The base 1 contains an electric pump 4, illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1, the operation of which is controlled by means of a trigger 5 placed at the top of the handle 2, the trigger 5 actuating, in a manner known per se, a switch connected to an electronic card for controlling the pump 4, not shown in the figures. The pump 4 is supplied with liquid by a reservoir 11 provided in the base 1, this reservoir 11 being advantageously removable from the steaming device to facilitate its filling.

The steam emitting head 3 has a slender shape extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the handle 2 and has a longitudinal end provided with a treatment face 30 intended to come vertically opposite a garment to be smoothed.

Preferably, the treatment face 30 comprises at its center a metal heating plate 31, of rectangular shape, the heating plate 31 being surrounded by a non-heating peripheral surface 32 covered with a textile. The treatment face 30 also comprises a steam outlet orifice 33 constituted by a slot which extends all around the heating plate 31, the slot being formed between the heating plate 31 and the peripheral surface 32.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 2, the steam emission head 3 contains a heating body 6 having the general shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the heating body 6 comprising a foundry, for example aluminum, and a resistive heating element 60, such as an electrical resistance, bent in a U and integrated into the foundry.

The heating body 6 comprises a front face coming into thermal contact with the heating plate 31, the heating plate 31 being fixed on two contact pads 62 projecting from the front face of the heating body 6, visible in FIG. 4. In this way , the heating plate 31 is heated by thermal conduction through two contact pads 62 of the heating body 6.

The heating body 6 also comprises a lid 61 which rests, in a sealed manner, on the foundry, and an instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 delimited by the foundry and the lid 61. The foundry more particularly comprises a peripheral wall on which the lid 61 rests. and which laterally delimits the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63.

Advantageously, the power supply to the resistive heating element 60 is regulated by means of a thermostat 9 (visible in FIG. 2) around a set temperature, measured at the center of the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63, for example included between 110°C and 150°C.

The cover 61 comprises a water inlet chamber 68 comprising two water injection orifices 68A opening into the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 in the vicinity of the front end of the latter, the inlet chamber being connected to the pump 4 via a fluid conveying conduit (not shown in the figures).

The flash vaporization chamber 63 comprises a bottom wall 64 forming a vaporization surface on which is vaporized the liquid injected into the flash vaporization chamber 63 via the two injection orifices. of water 68A.

The vaporization chamber has a passage 65 for the vapor outlet provided on the peripheral wall, the passage 65 being formed at a rear part of the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 disposed opposite the treatment face 30.

The steamer further comprises several deflection walls 69 extending in the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 between the zone where the water is injected on the bottom wall 64 and the passage 65 for the steam outlet. These deflection walls 69 form baffles configured to deflect the flow of steam generated in the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 and retain any droplets of water that may be transported by the flow of steam.

The heating body 6 also comprises a steam distribution circuit 66 in which the flow of steam coming from the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 is intended to flow. According to the embodiment represented in the figures, the steam distribution circuit 66 is arranged around the flash chamber 63.

The steam distribution circuit 66 is fluidically connected on the one hand to the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 via the passage 65 for the steam outlet, and on the other hand to the steam outlet orifice 33 via a port 34 , having the shape of a rectilinear slot, provided in the front face of the heating body 6. The steam distribution circuit 66 is thus configured to supply steam to the steam outlet orifice 33. In particular, the steam leaving the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 through the passage 65 can flow into the steam distribution circuit 66, on either side of the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 to then be diffused through the vapor outlet orifice 33.

In accordance with FIG. 6, the vapor distribution circuit 66 also includes a bypass circuit 67 in which part of the flow of vapor produced by the vaporization chamber can be diverted in order to inject therein a liquid additive, preferably an oil. essential, the flow of steam taken from the bypass circuit 67 being reinjected into the steam distribution circuit 66 upstream of the steam outlet orifice 33.

The bypass circuit 67 comprises for this purpose a device for distributing an additive 7 comprising a reservoir 70, of essential oil, closed by a removable cap 72, accessible on the housing of the device.

Reservoir 70 advantageously has the shape of a cup mounted so as to move in translation in a well 71 extending transversely to a duct of branch circuit 67, well 71 comprising an opening 73 at its upper end closed by plug 72 which is removable. A return spring 74 is provided to return the cup 70 to a filling position, illustrated in FIG. 6, in which the cup 70 comes to rest against a flange provided on the edge of the opening 73 and prevents the steam circulating in branch circuit conduit 67 does not escape through opening 73.

In this filling position, the cup 70 has a cavity 75 which is located directly under the opening 73 so that the user can deposit a droplet of essential oil there. Preferably, the volume of the cavity 75 of the cup 70 is limited to a volume of less than 0.2 cm3 so that the quantity of essential oil that can be placed in the device is limited to a few drops. In the example illustrated, the cavity 75 has a circular peripheral wall having a diameter of 9 mm and a height of 3 mm.

In accordance with Figure 8, the closure cap 72 has a lower end provided with a pusher element 76 which pushes the cup 70 towards an operating position, illustrated in Figure 6, when the cap 72 closes the opening 73. This pusher element 76 is advantageously formed by a grid 76 which has openings 76A allowing the circulation of steam through the grid 76.

In this operating position, the steam circulating in the duct of the branch circuit 67 passes through the openings 76A of the grid 76 and comes to lick the essential oil present in the cup 70, as illustrated by the arrow in the figure. 6, taking away micro-droplets of essential oil. These micro-droplets are then injected into the steam distribution circuit 66 by a tube 67A passing through the front face of the heating body 6, the tube 67A opening into a distribution chamber 35 arranged behind the heating plate 31, upstream of the steam outlet orifice 33, as can be seen in Figure 4.

Preferably, the holes of the grid 76 are arranged in the central zone of the grid 76 so that a solid ring results at the periphery of the grid 76. This ring rests on the upper edge of the cup 70 and has a small diameter with respect to the diameter of the circular cavity 75 so that the ring protrudes with respect to the peripheral wall of the cavity 75 and forms a rim preventing the essential oil from rising in the conduit of the circuit of derivation 67 when tilting the device.

In the particular embodiment illustrated in the figures, the bypass circuit 67 also includes a device for adjusting the flow rate of steam consisting of a valve 8 making it possible to modify the passage section 65 of the steam in the bypass circuit 67 in order to modulate the flow of steam circulating in the bypass circuit and therefore the quantity of additive injected into the flow of steam exiting through the steam outlet orifice 33.

The tap 8 includes a plug 80 which can occupy a closed position, illustrated in FIG. 9, in which the plug 80 closes off the bypass duct and prevents the circulation of steam. The valve 80 can also occupy different open positions, one of which is illustrated by way of example in Figure 6, in which the valve 80 passes a flow of vapor into the bypass circuit 67.

The operation of the apparatus thus produced will now be described.

When the user wishes to use the device to diffuse an additive mixed with steam on the laundry, he just has to fill the water tank of the device and open the cap 72 to place a few drops of oils. essential in the cup 70, the latter then occupying the filling position illustrated in Figure 6.

He then replaces the cap 72 so that the grid 76 pushes the cup 70 towards the operating position illustrated in Figure 6.

The user then activates the trigger 5 of the device, which causes the start-up of the pump 4 and the sending of water into the water inlet chamber. formed on the cover 61. The water then flows through the two injection openings and is then projected against the bottom wall 64 where it is instantly vaporized. The steam produced then escapes through the steam distribution circuit 66 in the direction of the steam outlet orifice 33.

If the valve 80 of the valve 8 is not placed in the closed position, part of the steam produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber 63 escapes through the bypass circuit 67 where it licks the essential oil present in the cup 70 by circulating through the grid 76. The vapor is then loaded with droplets of essential oil, then is sent to the distribution chamber 35 where it mixes with the main flow of vapor which has passed through the light 34, bypassing branch circuit 67.

If the user wishes to modulate the quantity of essential oil present in the vapor emitted by the vapor outlet orifice 33, he can do so simply by modifying the setting of the valve 8 in order to increase or decrease the quantity of vapor passing through the bypass circuit 67 and therefore the percentage of vapor loading additive.

The device thus produced also has the advantage of preventing the user from getting burned with the steam emitted by the opening 73 for filling the cup 70 when the device is used, by mistake without having replaced the cap 72. Indeed, in the absence of the stopper 72, the return spring 74 automatically brings the cup 70 back to the filling position in which it closes the opening 73 so that the steam cannot escape, or else in very small quantity, through this opening 73.

Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has been given only by way of example. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Thus, in a variant embodiment not shown, the heating plate may have its own resistive element, independent of the heating resistance of the heating body containing the vaporization chamber.

Claims (9)

Steamer comprising a handle (2) and a steam emitting head (3) connected to the handle (2), the steam emitting head (3) comprising a treatment face (30) provided with at least one steam outlet orifice (33) and intended to come vertically opposite a garment to be smoothed, the steam emitting head (3) further comprising a device for diffusing an additive (7) and a heating body (6) comprising an instantaneous vaporization chamber (63), the steam produced by the instantaneous vaporization chamber (63) escaping in the direction of said at least one steam outlet orifice (33) via a steam (66), characterized in that the steam distribution circuit (66) comprises a bypass circuit (67) comprising the said device for diffusing an additive (7), the bypass circuit (67) making it possible to take off a part of the vapor flow produced by the flash chamber (63) to incorporate a additive before the latter is emitted from said at least one vapor outlet orifice (33). Steamer according to Claim 1, characterized in that the bypass circuit includes a device (8) for regulating the flow of steam. Smoothing appliance according to Claim 2, characterized in that the said device for regulating the flow of steam (8) comprises means making it possible to modulate the passage section (65) of the steam in the bypass circuit (67). Steamer according to any one of Claims 2 to 3, characterized in that the said device for regulating the flow of steam is a tap (8) which comprises a valve (80) extending through the bypass circuit (67 ). Steamer according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device for distributing an additive (7) comprises a reservoir (70) for receiving a liquid additive, for example an essential oil. Steamer according to claim 5, characterized in that the reservoir has a volume of less than 200 mm3. Steamer according to any one of Claims 5 to 6, characterized in that the said reservoir is formed by a cup (70) placed in a well (71) comprising a filling opening (73) closed by a plug (72) , said cup (70) being mounted to move in translation between a filling position to which it is returned by a return spring (74) in the absence of the plug (72) and an operating position to which it is returned by the cap (72). Steamer according to Claim 7, characterized in that , in the filling position, the cup (70) prevents the steam circulating in the bypass circuit (67) from escaping through the opening (73) of the filling. Steamer according to Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the stopper (72) comprises a pusher element (76) which pushes the cup (70) towards the operating position when the stopper (72) closes the opening (73 ) Filling and in that the pusher element (76) has the shape of a grid (76) bearing on the upper edge of the cup (70).

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