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
  • D06F75/12—Hand irons internally heated by electricity with means for supplying steam to the article being ironed the steam being produced from water supplied to the iron from an external source

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a method for managing an ironing apparatus usable in the domestic or semi-professional field, which comprises at least one iron, or a similar or comparable device, conformed to selectively deliver steam, and at least one water tank connected to the iron and configured to supply water and/or steam to the iron.
• ironing apparatuses having at least one iron, provided with a handle by means of which it can be handled by the user, and a heating plate, usually at the opposite end with respect to the handle, comprising one or more multiple outlet holes to deliver the steam.
• Known ironing apparatuses comprise an iron electrically and hydraulically connected to a separate base, equipped with a boiler, usually made of metal, equipped with one or more electric resistances, able to heat the water and generate steam inside it. These boilers are normally put at a pressure comprised between 0.5 and 10 bar to promote the generation of steam.
• One or more solenoid valves are usually associated with this type of boiler, and are conformed to selectively open an aperture in the boiler and allow the steam to be sent to the iron.
• the solenoid valve/valves is/are generally driven by means of a suitable command placed on the iron and selectively drivable by a user.
• Ironing systems are also known that are equipped with a system to automatically load the water into a suitable tank disposed inside the boiler.
• These loading systems usually consist of a pump commanded by a control unit, which, with reference to the detection of determinate physical quantities by means of a plurality of sensors, determines the selective activation of the loading pump.
• the ironing systems described heretofore provide to load a determinate quantity of water into the boiler by means of the pump, to heat it until defined pressure and/or temperature values are reached, to open the solenoid valve conveying the steam through a connection pipe in a path inside the plate of the iron in order to superheat the steam and possibly vaporize possible condensation and, finally, to let the steam escape through the outlet holes of the plate.
• the limescale formations are highly variable, sometimes generating the emission of particles from the plate, or other types of problems.
• Another purpose is to provide an ironing apparatus that can produce sufficiently wet steam to increase the ironing efficiency of the iron, in particular in cases of difficult ironing.
• control and command unit in the event the user selects an economic ironing mode, which requires a medium-low steam flow rate, can deactivate the boiler and activate only the second water feed means in order to supply the water directly from the tank to the steam chamber, in which it is transformed into steam.
• the method provides to selectively activate the heating means of the boiler and/or the heating means of the iron so as to regulate the temperature of the steam and/or the temperature of the soleplate, in order to optimize the effectiveness of the action of the steam and obtain a sufficient drying of the fabrics previously made moist by the steam.
• the ironing system comprises temperature and/or pressure sensors located respectively in the boiler and in the iron, wherein the control and command unit is configured to manage the functioning of the iron and/or the boiler and of the first and/or second water feed means, as a function of the settings selected by the user by means of the user interface and of the values detected by the sensors.
• - fig. 2 is a diagram of the functioning of the ironing apparatus of fig.l in a MAXIMLTM ironing mode according to some embodiments described here;
• the plate 14 comprises heating means 18, for example an electric resistance, configured to heat the plate 14 and therefore the water and/or steam contained in the steam chamber 15, and possibly the ironing soleplate 16.
• heating means 18 for example an electric resistance, configured to heat the plate 14 and therefore the water and/or steam contained in the steam chamber 15, and possibly the ironing soleplate 16.
• the iron 11 also comprises a command 19 to deliver steam configured to allow the delivery of steam.
• the first water feed means 24 can comprise a first pump 24a suitable to selectively introduce water from the tank 23 into the boiler 22, in order to regulate the quantity of water inside the boiler 22 itself.
• the second water feed means 28 can comprise a solenoid valve, hydraulically connected along the hydraulic pipe 26 between the first water feed means 24 and the boiler 22, which can be selectively commanded in order to selectively divert the flow of water, normally directed toward the boiler 22, along the water feed pipe 29.
• the mixing valve 30 is conformed to mix the steam generated by the watertight boiler 22 and the water at room temperature removed directly from the tank 23 by means of the second water feed means 28, before they are introduced into the connection pipe 12 and then arrive into the steam chamber 15.
• the conformation of the mixing valve 30 is optimized so as to regulate the mixing of water and steam, in order to generate a homogeneous fluid, composed of saturated steam and water, which, upon reaching the steam chamber 15, can be vaporized in a uniform and optimal manner.
• the ironing settings can comprise the direct selection of determinate levels or parameters of the temperature of the plate 14 and/or of the flow rate/quantity of steam to be delivered, or the selection of a determinate ironing mode chosen from a plurality of predefined ironing modes.
• the ironing apparatus 10 comprises a control and command unit 40 connected to the user interface 36 and configured to command the functioning of the components of the ironing apparatus 10 as a function of the selections made by the user by means of the user interface 36.
• control and command unit 40 is configured to selectively drive the first water feed means 24 or the second water feed means 28, or both, in order to feed into the steam chamber 15, as a function of the ironing mode, only steam, only water at room temperature, or a mixture of water and steam.
• the steam generated in the boiler 22 is saturated steam, for which the correlation between pressure and temperature is shown, by way of example, in table A below. Furthermore, as the pressure increases, there is also an increase in the quantity of steam generated, and then emitted, for the same unit of time.
• the management method provides to:
• the method can provide that, as the quantity of steam required increases, the temperature of the plate 14 is increased, so as to dry the garments subjected to ironing as best as possible.
• MINIMUM to be used for delicate and/or light and/or slightly wrinkled garments
• the management method according to the invention provides to carry out a cleaning cycle of the plate 14 in order to remove possible limescale encrustations accumulated in it, that is, in the steam chamber 15.
• the cleaning cycle for washing the plate 14 provides to introduce into the plate 14, and in particular into the steam chamber 15 of the iron 11, both cold water and also hot water and/or steam, possibly alternating between them.
• the ironing apparatus 10 can behave like an ironing apparatus of the “hybrid” type.
• the method can also provide that the emission of steam following the drive of the steam command 19 by the user occurs in an intermittent and not continuous manner.
• the activation of the first 24 and the second water feed means 28 can be modulated as a function of the amount of time the steam command 19 is driven.
• the method can provide to generate delivery cycles with an alternation of drier steam with higher pressure, with the activation of the first water feed means 24 and the solenoid valve 25, and deactivation of the second water feed means 28, and wetter steam with lower pressure, with the simultaneous activation of the first 24 and of the second water feed means 28.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Irons (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=69811503

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

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• 2020
  • 2020-10-21 CN CN202080089122.6A patent/CN114829699A/zh active Pending
  • 2020-10-21 EP EP20800731.0A patent/EP4048835A1/de active Pending
  • 2020-10-21 WO PCT/IT2020/050255 patent/WO2021079394A1/en unknown

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