GB2214935A

GB2214935A - Cordless iron

Info

Publication number: GB2214935A
Application number: GB8802282A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joseph Dikoff
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-01-14
Filing date: 1988-02-02
Publication date: 1989-09-13
Also published as: GB8802282D0; NL8800126A; DE3800921A1

Abstract

A cordless iron comprising an iron body (1), a heating plate (2), a bottom frame (3), a heatproof member (4) and a support (5), wherein the iron may be placed onto the support (5) to contact a power source and attain and maintain a desired temperature. and the heatproof member (4) serving to prevent scorching or burning of a garment being ironed. …<??>Heatproof member (4) is a flexible sheet whose periphery is fixed in grooves (31) of bottom frame (3) by a strip (32). The member has apertures (19) to transmit vapour. …<??>When the iron is placed on support (5) plug terminals (11, 12) are pressed against power supply terminals (7, 8) and protection (13) of the iron moves contact (91) of switch (9) to supply current. Sparking or plugging and unplugging is thereby prevented. …<IMAGE>…

Description

Title: Cordless Iron Garment ironing is a necessary and important link of the garment industry and laundry, also a complicated job during the daily life. Since the rapid development of textile industry and the garments made of various fibres are ever-changing in quantities, the ironing job is more complicated than ever before. When ironing a great number of garments, the electric cord which extends from the tail of conventional electric iron always hinders the progress of ironing action of user who has to put aside the cord carefully so as to avoid the iron from leading to danger in case of ironing onto the cord, and has to displace the well-ironed garment when the said cord is not long enough.

In addition, the fibrous ingredients of garment are rather diversified, the desirable temperature of the iron has to be carefully set during ironing and readjusted when ironing each different clothing material; if the user forgets to readjust it, the garment tends to be ironed yellowish or scorched, and particularly, the garment made of acrylic fibre tends to be burnt. Furthermore, when the electric cord of conventional electric iron is plugged into or removed from the power source socket, an electrode spark tends to take place to unfavourably affect safety.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cordless electric iron which can maintain a required temperature during ironing without causing scorching, sparking from a power source or hindering operation, and is conveniently moveable by the user.

The present invention provides a cordless iron device consists of an iron body comprising a plug, an iron support comprising a socket, and a heatproof member, which prevent the user from being hindered and the garment being scorched.

It is also characterized by an automatic temperature controller and the efficiency is to prevent any spark during ironing. In paricular, the present invention provides a cordless iron comprising an iron body, a heating plate, a bottom frame, a heatproof member, and a support, wherein the iron may be placed onto the support to contact a power source and attain and maintain a desired temperature, and the heatproof member serving to prevent scorching or burning of a garment being ironed.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Fig. l is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the support as shown in Fig. l with parts omitted for clarity, Fig. 3 is a breakdown view of the receptacle and locking member at the tail end of the support shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a side view of an example of the present invention with the locking member secured onto a work table, Fig. 5 is an overhead view of the tail end of the iron and the front part of the support, Fig. 6 is an overhead view of the tail end engaged in the support, Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a part-sectioned underneath plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. l.

The iron shown in Fig. l comprises an iron body (1), an iron heating plate (2), a bottom frame (3), a heatproof member (4) and a support in the form of a rack base (5). The tail end of iron body (1) is provided with a pair of plugs (11) (12), and the bottom surface thereof is provided with a plurality of screw hole seats so that the plugs (11) (12) can be connected to two ends of an electric heating tube (21) in

the iron heating plate (2) which can generate heat through contact for conductance. The bottom frame (3) is provided with a groove (31) into which the periphery of heatproof member (4) can be squeezed and fixed by a frame strip (32).

The tail end of the bottom frame (3) is provided with a screw hole seat (33) through which the bottom frame (3) can be locked onto the bottom surface of iron body (1).

The iron heating plate (2) with a shape similar to the iron body (1) bottom surface is provided with a plurality of holes (18) for vapor flow. The plate (2) also includes an electric heating tube (21) and two screw hole seats (22) (23) are provided through which the iron heating plate (2) may be assembled with the iron body (1) and the two open ends of electric heating tube (21) which can thus contact the two plugs (11) (12) at the tail end of iron body (1).

The heatproof member (4), a product of Du Pont (Du Pont Kapton R) being preferred having an excellent heatproof and high temperature resisting effect, is also provided with a plurality of holes (19) (as shown in Fig. 8) for vapor flow, and its periphery can be squeezed and fixed into the groove (31) on the bottom frame (3) through a frame strip (32). The heatproof member (4) can be fixed onto the bottom frame (3.) and contact the bottom surface of iron heating plate (2) and so prevents the garments from burning and scorching by direct contact.

The rack base (5) is integrally formed from a piece of

0 phenolic wood, and inclines at an angle of approximately 10 to horizontal so the iron body (1) can automatically slide down when being placed thereon, retainers (51) (52) being provided on each side so that the iron body (1) can be retained in position on the rack base (5). The central part of bottom surface of the rack base (5) is provided with a metallic conducting member (53) to contact a pressure switch (6) at the tail end of the rack base (5) for temperature control, current flowing to the metallic conducting member (53) from the power source via the pressure switch (6), socket conducting members (7) (8) and contact-actuation switch (9), the socket conducting members (7) (8) and the contact-actuation switch (9) also being provided at the tail end of the rack base (5). The"contact-actuation point (91) of contact-actuation switch (9) is provided in between the two socket conducting members (7) (8), and the power source wire can be pivotally jointed with the contact-actuation switch (9) (as shown in Fig. 2) to provide an electrical contact to the socket conducting members (8) (7) and in order make the socket members (7) (8) conductive, the contact-actuation point (91) on contact-actuation switch (9) must be closed. When the iron body (1) is placed in the rack base (5), contact is made through the two plugs (11) (12) at the tail end of iron body (1) to contact the contact-actuation point (91) on the contact-actuation switch (9). Consequently, sparking can be prevented from

around these two plugs (11) (12) and two socket conducting members (7) (8) when removing the iron body (1) from the rack base (5).

As shown in Fig. 3, the tail end of rack base (5) is provided with two holes (14) (15) for securing the rack base (5) onto a working table (18) through a set of locking members (16) of which the top end is bent into two rectangular shafts (161) (162) to be inserted into the two holes (14) (15), the bottom of the member (16) being provided with a bolt, a gasket (171) and a nut (17) to be used to fix the rack base (5) onto the working table (18) as shown in Fig. 4.

In use, the iron body (1) can slide directly down along the inclination of support (5) and the two plugs (11) (12) and body part at the tail end of iron body (1) can contact the two socket conducting members (7) (8) and contact-actuation point (91) of contact-actuation switch (9) at the tail end of rack base (5), so heating the plate (2) at the bottom of iron body (1) for ironing a garment. When the user needs to use both hands to arrange the garment, the iron may be replaced on the rack base (5) for further heating. When the iron is held to iron the garment, electrical contact is. broken. Therefore, the required temperature can be retained by the iron body (1) and the power source can be saved. The user can freely iron a garment without any hinderence from an electric cord and the garment is easily prevented from

being burnt.

An indicator lamp (75) is provided on the grip at the top of iron, which may be pivotally jointed with the pressure switch (6) on the support (5) for temperature control; when the heating plate (2) is heated up to the preset temperature, the pressure switch (6) will cut off the power source automatically adding to the safety of the apparatus while the user is not nearby or if the apparatus is neglected in use. In order to turn on the power source, the pressure switch (6) for temperature control has to be pushed again.

In view of the above, the primary object of the present invention is to offer an iron structural design without an electric cord which can be used freely during ironing and the secondary object of the present invention is to offer an iron structural design which will prevent scorching the garment during ironing operation. A third object of the present invention is to offer an iron structural design which will never generate spark to unfavourably affect safety when sliding in or out of said rack base (5), and a fourth object of the present invention is to offer an iron structural design with an indicator lamp for temperature control.

In summary, the present invention is characterized by the

foregoing advantages which can enhance the performance of the iron and make the iron more practicable.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A cordless iron comprising an iron body, a heating plate, a bottom frame, a heatproof member, and a support, wherein the iron may be placed onto the support to contact a power source and attain and maintain a desired temperature, and the heatproof member serving to prevent scorching or burning of a garment being ironed.
2. A cordless iron as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the iron body is provided with a plurality of screw hole seats for locking with other members, and the tail end thereof is provided with a pair of plugs to contact the two ends of an electric heating tube in the heating

plate so that the heating plate can be conductive to dz generate heat.
3. A cordless iron as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the bottom frame is similar to the heating plate and provided with a groove into which the periphery of the heatproof member can be squeezed and fixed, and a screw hole seat is provided to the tail end of said frame so as to lock the frame onto the bottom surface of iron body through the seat.
4. A cordless iron as claimed in any preceding claim

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wherein the heating plate is similar to the bottom surface of iron body and provided with a plurality of holes for vapor flow, an electric heating tube and two screw hole seats, enabling the heating plate to be assembled with the iron body through the said seats, and the two open ends of electric heating tube contacting the two plugs at the tail end of the iron body.
5. A cordless iron as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the heatproof member is made from Du Pont Kapton R and has an excellent heatproof effect and high temperature resistance and is provided with a plurality of holes for vapor flow, and the periphery of said member can be squeezed and fixed into the groove on the bottom frame through a frame strip such that the said member can be secured onto the said frame to contact the bottom surface of heating plate in order to prevent burning or scorching of the garment by contacting the heating plate directly.
6. A cordless iron as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support is integrally formed from a piece of

phenolic wood and is provided with an inclination of 0 approximately 10 to allow the iron body to slide down when placed thereon, and with a retainer on each side so that the iron body can be kept retained in position placed thereon ; in addition, the central part of bottom surface of the

support is provided with a metallic conducting member to

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contact a pressure switch on the tail end of the support for temperature control so that the current can flow to the metallic conducting member from the power source via the pressure switch, two socket conducting members and a contact-actuation switch, and the contact-actuation point of said contact-actuation switch is provided inbetween the two socket conducting members, and a power source cord can be pivotally jointed with the contact actuation switch, such that in order to make the socket conducting members conductive, the plugs contact with the socket conducting members, and the contact-actuation point must be based so as to prevent sparking when sliding the iron in or out of the support.
7. A cordless iron claimed in Claim 6 wherein two holes are provided to the tail end of the support which can be fixed onto a working table by a set of locking members.
8. A cordless iron in Claim 7 wherein the top end of said locking member is bent into two rectangular shafts to be inserted into the said two holes, and the bottom thereof is provided with a bolt, a gasket and a nut to be used to fix the support onto the working table.