FR3070405B1 - IRON CONTAINING AN HOUSING, A HEATING BODY AND A FUNCTIONAL PLATINUM INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE HEATING BODY AND THE HOUSING - Google Patents

Abstract

Iron comprising a housing, a heating body (4) and a plate (5) functional interposed between the heating body (4) and the housing, the heating body (4) comprising an electrical resistance (40) provided at each of its ends of a connection terminal (40A), characterized in that the two connection terminals constitute male plugs (40A) which are engaged in female connectors (7) carried by the plate (5), the female connectors (7). ) comprising an elastically deformable body comprising two contact blades extending longitudinally between a proximal end, at which the two blades are interconnected by a connecting arm, and a distal end where the two blades form between them an opening passage for the plug, the plug being pinched between the two contact blades of the female connector (7).

Description

IRON COMPRISING A HOUSING, A HEATING BODY AND A FUNCTIONAL PLATINUM INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE HOUSING

The present invention relates to an iron comprising a housing, a heating body and a functional plate interposed between the heating body and the housing, the heating body comprising an electrical resistance provided at each of its ends with a connection terminal.

It is known from the patent application FR2690173, an iron comprisinga housing, a heating body and a functional plate interposed between theheating body and the housing. In this document, the heating body comprises an electrical resistance provided at each of its ends with a connection terminal which is connected by welding to the electrical supply circuit of the iron.

However, such a welding operation is expensive and complicates the operation of assembly of the iron. In addition, the connection of the plate by solder also complicates the after-sales service when it is necessary to disassemble the plate of the heating body to make a repair.

Also, the object of the present invention is to provide an iron that overcomes these disadvantages and in particular to provide an iron with greater flexibility of construction, a simplified assembly and greater ease of repair. For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an iron comprising a housing, a heating body and a functional plate interposed between the heating body and the housing, the heating body comprising an electrical resistance provided at each of its ends with a connection terminal. , characterized in that the two connection terminals constitute male plugs which are engaged in female disconnectors carried by the plate during assembly of the platinumfunctional on the heating body, the female connectors comprising a bodyelastically deformable body comprising two contact blades s' extending longitudinally between a proximal end, at which the two blades are interconnected by a connecting arm, and a distal end where the two blades form between them a passage opening for the plug, the male plug being pinched between the two blades of the female connector.

Such an iron has a construction that allows the automatic connection of the heating resistor with the female connectors worn platinum during the fixing of the plate on the heating body during the assembly of the iron. In particular, during this assembly of the platinesur the heating body, the male plugs of the electrical resistance automatically engage in the female connectors carried by the platinum byelastically spacing the two blades of the female connector. Thus, the two female disconnector blades form a clamp which clamps the male plug under the effect of the elastic recall of the body of the female connector to ensure a good electrical connection between the blades of the female connector and the male plug.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the two blades of the connector distance from one another by moving essentially in a transverse direction T during the insertion of the plug between the two blades, the female connector being disposed in a receiving housing of the platen which has a shape adapted to allow a displacement of the female connectorur a race of at least one millimeter in the transverse direction T.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to obtain an automatic centering of the female connector on the male plug during the assembly of the functional plate on the heating body. This improves the reliability of the electrical contact between these two elements.

In addition, such a characteristic makes it possible to make up for any positioning differences between the plug and the connector during the assembly of the platinum on the heating body, these positioning differences being able to be related to disdispersions in the manufacture of the different parts.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the receiving housing has a shape allowing pivoting of the female connector around an axis perpendicular to the plane of the plate.

Such a feature makes it possible to make up for any positioning differences between the plug and the connector related to the presence of a twisted plug, for example following a shock.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the female connector comprises flat portions respectively disposed in the extension of the link armand at the distal ends of the blades, the flat parts coming into contact with the platinum and ensuring the immobilization of the female connector in a plane perpendicular to the plan of the stage.

Such a female connector has the advantage of being simple and economical to achieve.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the two blades of the female connector comprise a contact zone which comes into contact with the male plug when the latter is engaged in the female connector, the contact zone having a width of less than 3 mm and advantageously a lower width at 2 mm.

Such a female connector, with contact areas of reduced width, has the advantage of being able to be connected more easily with a plug which is not arranged parallel to the plane of closure of the clamp formed by the blades of the female connector.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the contact areas of the two lamess are arranged opposite one another and have the shape of a boss that protrudes on the blade.

Such a boss has the advantage of further improving the ability of the connector plug to correctly connect with a plug when the latterprovides an inclination relative to the closure plane of the clamp formed by the blades of the female connector.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the boss has a width of the order of 1 mm.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the contact zones of the two lamines are axially offset from one another.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the blades of the female connector sontréalisées stainless steel, nickel-plated stainless steel, or nickel-plated brass or nickel-plated steel.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the plate forms a heat shield between the heating body and the housing.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to reduce the temperature of the housing.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the plate is made of plastic material, and advantageously made of thermoplastic material of the PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) type.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to produce, at low cost, a platen which can present complex shapes.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the female connectorscomportent a terminal intended to be connected to a power supply.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the female connectors are electrically connected to the electrical supply circuit of the iron.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the plate is fixed on the heating body.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the heating body comprises a fuse disposed on the supply circuit of the electrical resistance to cut off the supply of the resistor in case of overheating of the heating body, the fuse being disposed in a housing formed on the platinum.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the fuse rests on a socleménagé on the heating body.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the plate comprises futurtien elements taking place under the fuse to maintain the fuse in the housing when the plate is raised from the heating body.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to use the platen as support part of the fusiblelors of the assembly operation of the iron. The invention also relates to an ironing apparatus comprising a basereliée by a conduit to an iron as previously described.

According to yet another advantageous feature of the invention, the labase encloses a vessel for the generation of pressurized steam and the conduit is a conduit for the conveyance of steam.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the base contains a water reservoir and the conduit is a water inlet conduit.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the iron comprises a fluidic connector connected to the conduit and the fluidic connector is supported by platinum.

Such an iron has a construction that also allows the fluid connection of the automatic conduit of the heating resistance with thefemellesfemelles worn by the plate during the fixing of the plate on the heater during assembly of the iron.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the fluidic connector comprisesa cavity open at its lower end in which a connecting tube carried by the heating body is engaged,

According to another characteristic of the invention, the fluidic connector comprises a junction which is fixed in the cavity and which is interposed between the inner surface of the cavity and the external surface of the connecting tube. The invention also relates to a method of assembling an iron as previously described in which the connection of the electrical resistance with the female connectors carried by the plate is performed automatically during the assembly operation of the plate on the body heating.

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 attached drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ironing apparatus with an iron to iron according to a particular embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a subset of the heating element / functional plate equipping the iron of FIG. 1; FIG. 2B is an enlarged detail view of one of the receiving housings of the female connectors illustrated in FIG. 2A; FIG. 2C is a view similar to FIG. 2B in which the functional plate is represented alone; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the female connector coupled to the male connector; - Figure 4 is a perspective view of the female connector representedeul; FIG. 5A is an exploded perspective view of the subassembly of FIG. 2A; FIG. 5B is an enlarged detail view of the fuse receiving housing shown in FIG. 5A; FIG. 6 is a view in longitudinal section of the fuse disposed in its housing when the functional plate is assembled on the heating body; Figure 7A is another exploded perspective view of the subassembly of Figure 2A; FIG. 7B is an enlarged detail view of the fuse receiving housing shown in FIG. 7A; FIG. 7C is an enlarged detail view of the fluid duct connector of steam illustrated in FIG. 7A; - Figure 8 is another perspective view of the fluid connector; - Figure 9 is a detail view, in section, of the sub-assembly hot body / platinum functional at the fluid connector; - Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of the functional plate. - Figure 11 is a detail view, in perspective, of the platinum functionelleau level of the receiving housing of the fuse; - Figures 12 and 13 are perspective views of embodiments of female connectors that can equip the functional board of the iron according to the invention.

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.

Note that in this document, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "lower", "upper", "front", "rear" used to describe the iron fontréférence iron when it rests flat on his ironing board.

FIG. 1 represents an ironing apparatus comprising a base 1, an iron 2 and a cord 3 connecting the base 1 and the iron 2, the cord 3 enclosing a conduit 30 for the conveyance of steam, visible in FIGS. 2A and 5A. , and electrical wires belonging to a power supply circuit iron to iron 2.

According to Figure 1, the iron 2 comprises a housing 6 of plastic material which incorporates a gripping handle 60 which extends towards the rear of the iron 2 by two lateral branches 21 forming a heel on which iron 2 can rest substantially vertically. The iron 2comporte also a flat ironing plate 22 surmounted by aheating body 4 and a functional plate 5, shown in isolation in Figure2A, on which is fixed the housing 6.

The base 1 encloses, in a manner known per se, a tank for steam generation under pressure, a water tank and a pump configured to supply the steam generator with water from the tank, the tank including a solenoid valve controlled by a trigger 60A disposed underthe handle 60 of the iron 2 and connected to the conduit 30 for feeding the steamer.

The heating body 4 is advantageously constituted by an aluminum foundry in which is embedded an electrical resistance 40, shielded, a power of the order of 800W, bent horseshoe-shaped, the power supply of the electrical resistance 40 being regulated at by means of a thermostat constituted by a sensor 50, of the CTN type, carried by the functional plate 5, the sensor 50 coming into contact with a stud 41, visible in FIG. 5A, integrated with the heating body 4.

The heating body 4 comprises a planar lower face, having a pointed front end and a broad and rounded rear end, on which is fixed the ironing plate 22. The heating body 4 has an upper face comprising a peripheral wall 42 protruding delimiting, in a known manner in itself, a steam distribution circuit closed in its upper part by a closure plate 43 comprising a steam flow inlet 44 intended to be placed in fluid communication with the steam transport duct 30, the distribution circuit opening into holes 22A of steam 22A formed in the ironing plate 22, shown in Figure 7A.

Preferably, the steam distribution circuit comprises a condensate retaining device, not shown in the figures, formed under a dome 43A which protrudes from the closure plate 43, the retaining device being configured to retain entrained water droplets. by the vapor stream flowing into the vapor distribution circuit and vaporize it, the retainer device being similar to that described in more detail in the patent application filed under application number FR1656546 by the plaintiff.

The plate 5 extends above the heating body 4 and thus forms a heat shield between the heating body 4 and the housing 6, the plate 5 being advantageously made of a thermoplastic material of the PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) type and being fixed on the heating body 4 by means of a flange 51 disposed at the front of the heating body 4 and two screws 52 engaging in threaded bores at the rear of the heating body 4.

According to FIG. 5A, the electrical resistance 40 of the heating body 4combines a connection terminal 40A at each of its longitudinal ends, this connection terminal 40A having the shape of a rigid nail with a diameter of about 2 mm and a length of the order of 12 mm, that quidbouche obliquely on the upper face in the rear part of theheating body 4. These two connection terminals are male plugs 40Adestinées to be automatically connected to two female connectors 7portés by platinum 5 during the assembly of the plate 5 on the heating body 4, the two female connectors 7 being connected to the electric supply circuit of the iron 2.

The two female connectors 7 advantageously have a similar construction, illustrated in FIG. 4, each female connector 7 comprising aelastically deformable body made of an electrically conductive material, the body of the female connector 7 being advantageously obtained by a cutting process and then folding of a stainless steel sheet, possibly nickel-plated or nickel-plated brass or nickel-plated steel.

The body of the female connector 7 advantageously comprises two blades 70 decontact extending facing one another and substantially parallel to each other. The two blades 70 extend longitudinally along a vertical axis at a proximal end, at which the two blades 70 are interconnected by a connecting arm 71, and a distal end where the blades 70 move between them a passage opening 72 , the distal end of the blades 70se advantageously extending by an intermediate portion 73 folded at 45 ° to the outside, then by a flat end portion 74 extending perpendicularly to the blades 70 towards the outside of the female connector 7.

In accordance with FIGS. 3 and 4, the intermediate portions 73 of the female connector 7 form guide walls which converge towards the outlet opening 72 and facilitate the insertion of the plug 40A of the electrical resistance 40 between the two blades 70 of the connector according to FIG. vertical axis V when the female connector 7 is brought vertically above the male plug 40A, the two blades 70 then deviating in a transverse direction T while gripping the male plug 40A under the effect of the elastic deformation of the connector body .

Preferably, the body of the female connector 7 also comprises a flat lateral portion 75 supporting a terminal 75A connected to an electric wire of the supply circuit of the iron 2, not shown in the figures, the partial flat 75 being connected by a cross member 76 to the connecting arm 71 and having two longitudinal ends which protrude laterally from the cross member 76.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2B, 2C and 7B, the plate 5 comprises, for each of the female connectors 7, a receiving housing 55 which has a shape substantially complementary to that of the female connector 7, the terminal parts 74 being flat of the female connector 7 taking place in cavities 53 formed on the lower face of the plate 5 while bearing on the bottom of these cavities 53, while the flat lateral part 75 bears on a surface 54 of the upper face of the plate 5 disposed at the edge extension of reception 55.

According to FIG. 2B, the surface 54 comprises two stops 54A which co-operate with the ends of the flat lateral part 75 to immobilize the female connector 7 along the longitudinal axis of the plate 5. A space 54B is arranged between the two stops 54A for the passage of the cross-member 76, this gap54B being much greater than the width of the cross-member 76 and the clearance dimensions 53 being much greater than the flat end 74 of the female connector 7 to allow a translational movement of the female connector 7 in its receiving housing 55, in the transverse direction T, surplus millimeters but also a rotational movement over a few degrees of the female connector 7 about the vertical axis V, perpendicular to the plate the plate 5.

Preferably, the blades 70 of the female connector 7 comprise a contact zone 70A which has the shape of a boss projecting substantially all the height of the blade 70, this boss 70A for increasing the capacity of the female connector 7 to receive a 40A male plug is not perfectly aligned with the longitudinal axis L of the female connector 7. For example, the contact blades 70 have a width of about 5 mm and a height of about 1 cm , the boss 70A having the shape of rice grain which protrudes to a height of about 1 mm and having a width of about 1 mm. At rest, the space between the two blades 70 female connector 7 is advantageously less than 0.7 mm to ensure stressing of the male plug 40A.

In accordance with FIGS. 7A and 7B, the plate 5 also supports a fuse 8 which is intended to cut off the supply circuit of the iron 2, and in particular the power supply of the electrical resistance 40, when the temperature of the heating element 4 is a predetermined temperature corresponding to the temperature of the fuse 8.

Preferably, the fuse 8 is a fuse of cartridge type having a U-shaped body and having the same technical characteristics as that sold under the reference SF 184 by the company Nec Shott., This fuse 8 isdisposed in a housing 56 formed in the rear part of the plate 5.

The housing 56 has the form of a through opening, visible inFigure 10, and comprises two retaining lugs 56A extending at the lower face of the plate 5 on which the longitudinal ends of the fuse 8 come to rest when the fuse 8 is introduced into the housing 56 by the upper faces of the plate 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the fuse 8 is held in the housing 56 by means of a fastening flange 57 made of folded sheet metal, which is fed to the upper face of the plate 5 and which is fastened to a fixing well. 46 of the heating body 4, visible in Figure 5A, by means of a screw 57A.La fastening flange 57 is preferably surmounted by a cover 58plastic material which serves as a holding part and guiding the various electrical wires required for operation of the device.

Preferably, the fastening flange 57 has a bellastically deformable tongue 57 which bears on the top of the fuse 8 when the latter is disposed in the housing 56 and has two lateral arms 57C which grip the lateral branches of the U-shaped fuse 8. in order to keep the latter oriented upwards.

According to FIGS. 5B and 6, the heating element 4 comprises a base 45 for receiving the fuse 8 having the shape of a half-cylinder, open at its upper ends, carried by a stud 45A obtained directly with the aluminum foundry of the heating body 4, which stud 45Afaisantie the rear of the peripheral wall 42délimitant the steam distribution circuit.

Thus, when the plate 5 is fixed on the heating body 4, the fuse 8 carried by the platen 5 is automatically positioned on the base 45 formed on the heating body 4, the length of the tongue 57B of the fixing flange 57 being dimensioned to deform elastically by binding the fuse 8 against the base 45 when the screw 57A is tightened so as to optimize thermal transfer between the fuse 8 and the heating body 4 despite the dispersions of manufacture.

Preferably, the plate 5 also supports a fluid connector 9 making it possible to form a tight connection between the steam transport duct 30 coming from the base 1 and the steam flow inlet 44 formed on the closing plate 43 of the heating body 4.

As can be seen in FIGS. 5A and 7C to 10, the steam flow inlet 44is disposed at the top of a frustoconical connecting tube 44A projecting from the closing plate 43 and the fluidic connector 9 comprises a body comprising a cavity 90 open at its lower end in whichengeare the connecting tube 44A, the cavity 90 comprising a frustoconical upper portion 90A communicating with a connecting tube 91 on which is fitted the conduit 30 for the delivery of steam.

The cavity 90 comprises, under the frustoconical upper part 90A, a cylindrical part 90B receiving an annular seal 94, with lips, and comprising an open lower end through which the connecting tube 44A engages. The cavity 90 has, at the junction between the frustoconical upper portion 90A and the cylindrical portion 90B, a shoulder against which the seal 94 is applied, the seal 94 being immobilized against this shoulder by means of a ring-shaped ring 95, which is fixed in the cavity 90 under the seal 94, the ring95 advantageously having a chamfered lower edge which converges towards the interior of the cavity 90.

Preferably, the ring 95 is fixed in the cavity 90 by means of two studs 95A carried by the ring 95, these lugs 95A engaging in two openings formed symmetrically in the cavity 90, these openings debouching in grooves 96 formed on the periphery of the fluidic duct body 9.

According to FIGS. 8 and 10, the external part of the body of the fluid connector 9 comprises, in the vicinity of the top of the cylindrical portion 90B of the cavity 90, a flange 92 intended to rest at the edge of a circular opening 59 formed in the plate 5 and comprises two locking lugs 97 extending radially at the base of the fluidic connector 9, intended to engage in two notches 59A formed at the edge of the opening 59, then to slide on the plate 5 by rotation of the fluidic connector 9 over a quarter of turn to make a bayonet type connection.

Preferably, the fastening system of the fluid connector 9 is dimensioned to allow a radial clearance of the fluid connector 9 of at least one millimeter in the plane of the plate 5 to allow a self-centering connector on the connecting tube 44A during the assembly of the plate 5on the heating body 4. For this purpose, the external part of the fluidic connector 9, engaged in the opening 59circulaire, has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the opening 59circulaire. By way of example, the circular opening 59 may have an upper diameter of the order of 2 mm with respect to the diameter of the fluidic connector 9.

The iron 2 thus produced has the advantage of being equipped with a functional plate forming a subassembly which supports the electrical supply circuit of the electrical resistance 40 of the heating body 4, the fuse 8 of the associated safety against overheating to this supply circuit and the fluid connector 9 for connecting the steam conduit 30 to the steam distribution circuit in the heating body 4.

In particular, this plate 5 has the advantage of being assembled simply on the heating body 4 by bringing the latter vertically above the heating body 4, for example in an automated manner by means of unrobot, then bringing the plate 5 closer to the heating body 4 so as to bring the male plugs 40A of the electrical resistance 40 facing thefemelles connectors 7 carried by the plate 5, the fluid connector 9 facing the connecting tube 44A and the fuse 8 facing the base 45 of reception.

During this assembly, the docking of the plate 5 on the heating body 4 can be performed without precise positioning of the parts 7, 8, 9 on the plate 5 is necessary.

Indeed, the shape of the female connector 7 and its attachment allow a lateral clearance of the female connector 7 relative to the longitudinal axis of the plate 5 which vapermettre a self-centering of the female connector 7 on the male plug 40A same sicette last is shifted a little over a millimeter from the position ideally required. In particular, due to the manufacturing tolerances of the heating elements 4, the position of the plug 40A of the electrical resistances can vary of plus or minus 1 mm in all directions but also angularly.

Thus, the presence of the bosses on the contact areas and the ability of the female connector 7 to pivot slightly on itself in its receiving housing 55 around the vertical axis V, will ensure a reliable connection female connectors 7 on the plugs 40A even if the latter are not positioned perfectly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the heating body 4.

Similarly, the device for holding the fuse 8 on the plate 5 also simplifies the assembly of the iron 2, the good heat exchange between the fuse 8 and the heating body 4 is guaranteed by the stressing fuse 8 by the fixing flange 57, a possible misalignment of the fuse 8 relative to the base 45 being compensated by an elastic deformation of the fixing flange 57, and in particular the two lateral arms 57C of the latter, which contributes to further increase the stressing of the fuse 8 on the base 45 and thus to optimize the heat transfer.

Finally, the fixing system of the fluidic connector 9 on the plate 5 has the advantage of allowing a lateral displacement of the fluidic connector 9 over several millimeters which will allow self-centering of the fluidic connector 9 on the connection tubing 44A in the event of a defect. alignment during the docking of platinum 5 on the heating body.

In particular, the chamfered shape of the ring 95 and the frustoconical shape of the connecting tube 44A will cooperate with each other to achieve the automatic distribution of the fluidic connector 9 on the connecting tube so that the seal 94 ensures a perfect sealing of the connection. The seal thus produced, by means of a lip seal interposed between the internal surface of the cavity 90 and the external surface of the connecting tube 44A, has the advantage of guaranteeing the tightness of the connection without the need to It is thus not necessary to apply the functional platinum 5 against the heating body 4 with a high compressive stress at the level of the fluidic connector 9. In addition, the impermeability of the seal has the advantage of be reliable and be subject to little leakage in the case of high vapor pressure.

The iron 2 thus produced thus makes it possible to optimize the assembly time by virtue of the simultaneous establishment of the electrical connection and of the fluid connection of the heating body 4 when the functional plate 5 is placed on the heating body 4, the functional plate 5 also having the advantage of constituting a heat shield which limits the rise of the temperature of the housing 6 over the heating body 4.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate alternative embodiments of connectorsfemelles 7 that can be fitted to the iron 2 of FIGS. 1 to 11.

FIG. 12 illustrates a first variant in which the female connector 7 differs from that illustrated in FIG. 4 only in that the female connector body 7 comprises a connection tab 77 having a width of 4.8 mm for a thickness of 0.5 mm for connecting a wire with a female lug engaging on the connection tab. Such an embodiment variant makes it possible to connect an electrical wire to the female connector 7 by means of a standard lug when the latter is made of a non-weldable material, such as, for example, nickel-plated brass.

FIG. 13 illustrates a second variant embodiment in which the body of the female connector 7 comprises a first contact blade 701 and a second contact blade 702 disposed facing each other and connected to one another by a connecting arm 71, the first blade of FIG. contact 701 comprising a lug 701 A, of a width of the order of 3 mm, having a planar face defining a contact zone and the second contact blade 702 comprising two parallel lugs 702A, 702B, each having a width of the order 3 mm, providing between them a space in which is inserted the tab 701A of the first contact blade 701. In this embodiment, the bending of the body of the female connector 7 is made so that the tab 701A of the first contact blade 701 is engaged between the two tabs 702A, 702B of the second contact blade 702 when the female connector 7 is aurepos, that is to say, it is not engaged s on the plug. Such a variant embodiment makes it possible to increase the clamping forces of the contact blades 701, 702 on the plug and thus to further improve the reliability of the electrical connection in the case of high temperature. In this embodiment, the small width of the tabs 701A, 702A, 702B makes it possible to obtain a good contact with the plug even if the latter is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the female connector 7. However, as for the With the connector illustrated in FIG. 4, the ability of the female connector 7 to receive an aligned male plug can be further enhanced by adding a boss on the tabs. Of course, the invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiments of the invention. have been given as examples only. Modifications remainpossible, especially 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 embodiment not shown, all of the vapor diffused through the steam outlet holes of the ironing plate can be produced in a vaporization chamber formed in the heating body of the iron, the fluidic connector carried by the platfunctional then serves to hydraulically connect a water injection port in the vaporization chamber with a water inlet conduit enprovenance a tank carried by the housing or carried by a separate base of the latter.

Thus, in an embodiment variant not shown, the functional plate may be made from a sheet of cut steel and overmolded plastic material, the use of a metal base for making conductive strips to establish electrical connections directly in platinum .

Claims (14)

1) Iron (2) comprising a housing (6), a heater (4) and a functional platen (5) interposed between the heating element (4) and the housing (6), the heating element (4) comprising an electrical resistor (40) provided at each end with a connection terminal (40A), characterized in that the two connection terminals constitute male plugs (40A) which are engaged in female connectors (7) carried by the plate ( 5), the female connectors (7) having an elastically deformable body comprising two contact blades (70; 701,702) extending longitudinally between a proximal end, at which the two blades (70; 701,702) are interconnected by a linkage arm (71), and a distal end where the two blades (70; 701,702) provide between them an opening (72) for the plug (40A), the plug (40A) being clamped between the two blades ( 70; 701, 702) of contact t of the female connector (7). 2) iron (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the two blades (70; 701, 702) of the connector deviate from one another by essentially moving in a transverse direction T when the inserting the plug (40A) between the two blades (70; 701, 702) and in that the plug connector (7) is disposed in a receiving housing (55) of the plate (5) which has a shape adapted to allow a deflection of the female connector (7) over a stroke of at least one millimeter in the transverse direction T. 3) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the receiving housing (55) has a shape for a pivoting of the female connector (7) about an axis perpendicular to the plate platinum (5). 4) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the female connector (7) comprises portions (74, 75) flatisposées respectively in the extension of the connecting arm (71) and ends distal blades (70; 701, 702), the flat portions (74, 75) coming in contact with the plate (5) and ensuring the immobilization of the female connector (7) in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the plate (5) . 5) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the two blades (70; 701, 702) of the female connector (7) comprisea contact zone which comes into contact with the plug (40A) when the latter is engaged in the female connector (7) and in that the decontact area has a width of less than 3 mm and advantageously a width of less than 2 mm. 6) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterizediséleas zones of contact of the two blades (70) are arranged opposite one another and in that the contact zones have the shape a boss (70A) projecting from the blade (70). 7) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the contact areas of the two blades (701, 702) are axially offset from each other. 8) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the plate (5) forms a heat shield between the heating body (4) and the housing (6). 9) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the plate (5) is made of plastic material, and preferably thermoplastic material of the type PBT (Polybutylene terephthalate). 10) Iron (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the heating body (4) comprises a fuse (8) disposed on the power supply circuit of the electrical resistance (40) to cut the l power supply (40) in case of overheating of the heating body (4), said fuse (8) being placed in a housing (56) formed on the plate (5) and resting on a base (45) formed on the heating body (4), the plate (5) comprising holding elements (56A) taking place under the fuse (8) to maintain the fuse (8) in the housing (56) when the plate (5) is lifted from the bodyheating (4) ). 11) Ironing apparatus comprising a base (1) connected by a conduit (30) to an iron (2), characterized in that the iron (2) is according to one of claims 1 to 10. 12) An ironing appliance according to claim 11, characterized in that the base (1) contains a vessel for the generation of steam under pressure and that the conduit (30) is a conduit for the conveyance of steam. 13) An ironing appliance according to claim 12, characterized in that the base (1) contains a water reservoir and in that the conduit (30) is a water inlet conduit. 14) Ironing appliance according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the iron (2) comprises a fluidic connector (9) connected to the conduit (30) and in that the fluidic connector (9) is supported by laplatin (5).