FR3115050A1 - IRON INCLUDING A LIGHTING DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

Iron (1) comprising an ironing surface intended to come into contact with the laundry and a housing (4) provided with a gripping handle (40), the housing (4) comprising a lighting device (5) comprising at least one light source (52) arranged to emit light, the lighting device (5) comprising at least one projection surface (51) for receiving the light emitted by the said at least one light source (52) and projecting a light beam on a zone located at the edge of the ironing surface, characterized in that said lighting device (5) comprises transmission means arranged between said at least one light source (52) and said at least one projection, for transmitting and distributing light emitted by said at least one light source (52) to said at least one projection surface. Fig. 1

Description

IRON INCLUDING A LIGHTING DEVICE

The present invention relates to the field of irons comprising an ironing surface intended to come into contact with the laundry and a housing provided with a gripping handle in which the housing comprises a lighting device comprising a light source arranged to emit light.

State of the art

It is known, from document CN203360895U, an iron comprising an LED lighting device configured to illuminate the area of the laundry ready to be ironed, the LED being arranged behind a translucent protective cover.

Such an iron has the advantage of providing improved ergonomics of use by allowing the area of the linen ready to be ironed to be illuminated and by bringing out any creases present on the linen.

However, in this document, the LED is arranged in an unsightly protuberance formed on the housing of the iron, such a protrusion being necessary in order to be able to position the LED in the immediate vicinity of the front end of the iron and to effectively illuminate the area linen. Indeed, the front end of the housing of the iron usually has a tapered shape which delimits a volume of low capacity which does not allow the integration of the LED system without the latter forming a boss on the front end of the iron. However, such a protrusion on the front part of the iron, in addition to being unsightly, obstructs the vision of the front tip of the ironing surface, which can be annoying when the user wishes to iron precision, for example for ironing shirt collars.

In addition, to allow grazing lighting bringing out the folds of the linen to be ironed, the LED must be placed relatively close to the heating soleplate, that is to say in a zone where the temperature in the housing of the iron is relatively high, which can affect the life of the lighting device or increase the cost of the components that must be used to withstand this temperature.

The present invention therefore aims to remedy these drawbacks by proposing an iron in which the integration of the lighting device in the housing of the iron is facilitated.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an iron comprising an ironing surface intended to come into contact with the laundry and a casing provided with a gripping handle, the casing comprising a lighting device comprising at least one source light arranged to emit light, the lighting device comprising at least one projection surface for receiving the light emitted by the said at least one light source and projecting a light beam onto a zone located at the edge of the ironing surface, characterized in that said lighting device comprises transmission means arranged between said at least one light source and said at least one projection surface, to transmit and distribute the light emitted by said at least one light source towards said at least one surface of throwing.

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 transmission means comprise at least one light guide made of transparent material, said at least one projection surface being a side surface of said at least one light guide.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said at least one light guide comprises a face opposite to said at least one projection surface, the opposite face comprising light distribution means, arranged to distribute the light along said at least one projection surface.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the distribution means comprise a plurality of at least partially reflecting surfaces arranged along the opposite face and arranged to each reflect part of the light emitted towards said at least one projection surface.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said at least one light source is remote from the projection surface, said at least one light source being located in a zone of the housing where the temperature, during operation of the device, is less higher than the temperature in the vicinity of the projection surface.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said at least one light source is closer to the grip handle than the projection surface.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said at least one light source is an LED.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the handle contains an electronic circuit for managing the LED.

Such a feature has the advantage of placing the electronic circuit in an environment where the temperature is low.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the electronic circuit comprises a motion detector, such as an accelerometer, and controls the automatic switching on of the lighting device when a movement of the iron in at least one direction is detected.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the electronic circuit controls the switching off of the lighting device when no movement of the iron is detected for a predetermined period.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the iron has a heel on which it can rest vertically during inactive ironing phases and the electronic circuit controls the automatic extinction of the lighting device when the iron rests vertically on his heel.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the ironing surface is in contact with a heating soleplate, said heating soleplate advantageously comprising an electrical resistor.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the distance separating said at least one light source from the heating soleplate is greater than the distance separating the projection surface from the heating soleplate.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the distribution means consist of a light guide made of transparent material.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the light guide has a general V-shape which matches the tapered shape of the front end of the housing of the iron.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, a light source is arranged at each of the two ends of the V-shaped light guide.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the projection surface is smooth and is arranged opposite an opposite face which comprises a plurality of ridges.

Brief description of figures

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 :

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an iron according to a particular embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the iron of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the lighting device fitted to the iron of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view along line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the lighting device of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail view in longitudinal section, of the front part of the iron, some parts of the iron not being shown to better highlight the positioning of the lighting device.

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 sharpening device refer to this device in use, when it rests flat on its base.

FIG. 1 represents an iron 1 intended to be connected by a conduit 2 to a steam-generating base, not shown in the figures, the base comprising, in a manner known per se, a vessel for the production of steam under a pressure of the order of 4 to 6 bars.

In accordance with FIG. 2, the iron 1 comprises a cover 10 which comprises a flat lower surface defining an ironing surface intended to come into contact with the laundry, the cover 10 being attached to a heating soleplate 3 comprising a substantially flat lower wall coming directly into contact with the cap 10, the latter being glued to the heating sole 3 by a silicone adhesive.

The cap 10 is advantageously made of an aluminum or stainless steel sheet and generally has a triangular shape with a pointed front end and a wider rear part ending in a rounded rear edge.

The heating sole 3 consists of an aluminum foundry in which is embedded a shielded electrical resistance 30 in the form of a U. The heating sole 3 comprises, in a manner known per se, a steam distribution circuit which is supplied by the conduit 2 and which distributes the steam through steam outlet holes 11 made in the cap 10.

The iron 1 comprises a casing 4 which covers the heating soleplate 3, the casing 4 comprising a handle 40 at its upper end and a heel 41 at its rear end on which the iron 1 can rest vertically when inactive phases of ironing.

More particularly according to the invention, the iron 1 is equipped with a lighting device 5 which makes it possible to illuminate a zone at the edge of the cap 10 and advantageously the zone located in front of the pointed front end of the cap 10 .

As can be seen in Figures 2 to 6, the lighting device 5 comprises a light guide 50, an outer face of which forms a projection surface 51.

The projection surface 51 is arranged to project a light beam onto the periphery of the cap 10 of the iron 1, as shown by the arrows represented in FIG. 1. The light beam projected by the projection surface 51 is created by two light sources 52 arranged in the housing 4 of the iron, set back from the projection surface 51, and advantageously arranged near the front end of the grip handle 40.

The light guide 50 has a general V shape which matches the tapered shape of the front end of the housing 4 of the iron, the two light sources 52 being arranged at each of the two rear ends of the light guide 50 in the shape of V. A preferred embodiment for light source 52 is a light emitting diode, commonly referred to as an LED.

The light guide 50 collects the light emitted by the light sources 52 and transmits this emitted light towards the projection surface 51 over its entire length, to obtain a light beam uniformly projected along the edge of the front end of the cap 10 The light guide 50 is made of transparent material. It is possible to envisage using polycarbonate, and in particular a polycarbonate having a high transmittance for the light waves of the visible range.

The light guide 50 makes it possible to position the two LEDs inside the casing 4 of the iron 1 in a zone of the casing 4 where the temperature, during operation of the appliance, is lower than the temperature in the vicinity of the projection surface 51. By way of example, the two LEDs are arranged at a distance from the heating sole 3 such that the distance separating the LEDs from the heating sole 3 is greater than the distance separating the projection surface 51 of the heating sole 3. Thus, the LEDs are arranged in an environment protected from heat and shocks, for greater robustness. In addition, the two LEDs are sufficient to project a homogeneous beam of light towards the front of the iron 1 and along the front edge of the cap 10.

The projection surface 51 is smooth, and is arranged opposite an opposite face 53 which comprises a plurality of striations 54. The plurality of striations 54 is arranged to reflect the light emitted by the two LEDs from the opposite face 53 towards the projection surface 51. In order to mask the inside of the light guide 50 and make the projection of the light beam as homogeneous as possible, the projection surface 51 is advantageously frosted.

Preferably, the housing 4 of the iron 1 comprises an electronic circuit, advantageously arranged in the grip handle 40, and intended to manage the switching on of the LEDs. This electronic circuit can be associated with a switch arranged on the front part of the grip handle 40 which allows the LEDs to be switched on or off.

In a preferred embodiment, the electronic circuit may include a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer, and automatically control the lighting of the LEDs, when the iron is set in motion with the cap 10 arranged horizontally, and the extinction LEDs when the iron 1 rests vertically on its heel.

The iron to be produced thus produced has the advantage of offering great ergonomics of use, thanks to the lighting of the zone intended to be treated by the ironing surface, while maintaining a rewarding aesthetic, the use of a light guide making it possible to deport the light source in an area of the iron housing that is less cluttered and more suitable for receiving the light source without distorting the aesthetics of the iron.

In addition, the use of such a light guide makes it possible to place the light source in a part of the casing of the iron having a lower temperature, which makes it possible to improve the reliability of the lighting device.

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 of the invention not shown, the iron may not be connected to a separate steam-generating base but integrate directly, and in a manner known per se, an instantaneous vaporization chamber in the heating soleplate , this vaporization chamber being able to be fed by a water tank embedded directly in the housing of the iron or to be arranged in a separate base.

Thus in a variant embodiment of the invention not shown, the LEDs could be replaced by halogen bulbs.

Claims (10)

Iron (1) comprising an ironing surface intended to come into contact with the linen and a casing (4) provided with a gripping handle (40), the casing (4) comprising a lighting device (5) comprising at least one light source (52) arranged to emit light, the lighting device (5) comprising at least one projection surface (51) for receiving the light emitted by the said at least one light source (52) and projecting a light beam on a zone located at the edge of the ironing surface, characterized in that said lighting device (5) comprises transmission means arranged between said at least one light source (52) and said at least one projection (51), for transmitting and distributing the light emitted by said at least one light source (52) to said at least one projection surface (51). Iron (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the transmission means comprise at least one light guide (50) of transparent material, and in that the said at least one projection surface (51) is a surface side of said at least one light guide (50). Iron (1) according to Claim 2, characterized in that the said at least one light guide (50) comprises a face opposite (53) to the said at least one projection surface (51), and in that the face opposite (53) comprises light distribution means, arranged to distribute the light along said at least one projection surface (51). Iron (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the distribution means comprise a plurality of at least partially reflecting surfaces arranged along the opposite face (53) and arranged for each to reflect a part of the light emitted towards said at least one projection surface (51). Iron (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the said at least one light source (52) is remote from the projection surface (51), the said at least one light source (52) being located in a zone of the housing (4) where the temperature, during operation of the device, is lower than the temperature in the vicinity of the projection surface (51). Iron (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the said at least one light source (52) is an LED. Iron (1) according to Claim 6, characterized in that the handle (40) contains an electronic circuit for managing the LED. Iron (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the electronic circuit comprises a motion detector, such as an accelerometer, and controls the automatic switching on of the lighting device (5) when a movement of the iron (1) according to at least one direction is detected. Iron (1) according to any one of Claims 7 to 8, characterized in that the electronic circuit controls the switching off of the lighting device (5) when no movement of the iron is detected for a predetermined period . Iron (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the distribution means consist of a light guide (50) made of transparent material.