GB2353296A - Inprovements in or relating to steam irons - Google Patents

Abstract

The steam iron comprises a handle 1, a water tank, a steam generating chamber, a conduit taking water from the tank to the chamber, a valve device capable of adjusting water flow through the conduit 5,6, and a sliding top mounted controller 2. The sliding controller 2 allows a mechanical linkage 4,7,8 to control the valve. The top mounted controller is located in the handle and a sliding movement forwards (toward the irons nose) or backwards controls the amount of water flow and hence the steam generation. The movement can either be smooth sliding and variable or notched allowing settings of specific amounts of steam generation.

Description

2353296 IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO STEAM IRONS.

This invention relates to steam irons, and it relates in particular to the control of the steaming functions of such irons.

It is well known that domestic steam irons have the capability of generating (subject of course to the provision of an adequate water supply) steam which can be applied selectively to clothing being pressed. The amount of steam that is needed clearly varies from garment to garment, and so it is usual for the rate of steam to be.user-variable between set limits.

User-variable controls provided for this purpose need to be robust, bearing in mind their hostile operating environment, economical to make and assemble, bearing in mind the relatively low price levels that have been established for these appliances, reliable in operation, ergonomically acceptable in operation and siting, and user friendly. Hence their construction, operating mode and siting are thus critical factors bearing on the commercial success of the appliance.

It is the object of this invention to provide an improved user-variable steam control arrangement.

According to the invention there is provided a steam iron comprising a handle, a water tank, a steam generating chamber, a conduit capable of conveying water from the tank to the chamber, a valve device, capable of adjustably varying the flow of water through said conduit, and a user operable arrangement for controlling the operation of said valve device, thereby enabling a user to control the rate of generation of steam, the arrangement including a mechanical linkage comprising a lever member having, coupled to a first end thereof, a user- operable controller mounted in the handle of the iron and capable of sliding movement, relative to the handle, between opposed end stops; the controller being stably settable by the user at each of a pluralit,y of locations between said end stops, and a second end of said lever member being operationall) linked to said valve device for controlling the rate of generation of steam in dependence upon the setting occupied by said controller.

Preferably, at least a portion of the lever member is capable of pivotal movement in response to user movement of the controller. This permits simple and effective transmission of the user controlled setting to the valve device.

1 The slidable movement of the controller may be continuous, enabling the controller to occupy any position between the end stops, or it may be notched, or step-like, permitting the controller to be set only to selected, discrete positions along its travel.

The sliding movement executed, under user operation, by the controller may be rectilinear, or may follow an arcuate or otherwise non-linear path; the shape of the path being dependent, amongst other things, on the shaping of the handle and the siting, relative to the handle, of the controller. Preferably the controller is sited atop of, and near the front end of, the handle and its path is substantially linear but follows the local profile of the iron's handle. 10 In any event, scale or other markings can be applied, in known manner, at or near the controller's path, to provide an indication to the user as to the changes in steaming performance that can be expected from the iron as the controller's position is changed. Such markings may, for example, comprise numerics or graphics applied by techniques such as printing, transferral or moulding, 15 or combinations thereof. Moreover, the markings may be placed adjacent one or both sides of the controller's path and/or at or adjacent either end thereof. In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the 20 accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 shows, in schematic cut away view and in side elevation, the salient components of a steam iron in accordance with one example of the invention; and Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the iron as a whole, illustrating the placement of the user-operable actuating components utilised in accordance with the example of the invention shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, it will be appreciated that those components of the iron which are well known and have no relevance to the invention are omitted for reasons of clarity.

2 The handle of the iron is shown in outline at 1 and is provided, towards the front thereof, with a topmounted controller 2 which is user-operable and can slide within a slot 3 defined by the handle moulding.

The controller 2 is linked, by way of a lever member 4, to the upper part 5 of the control element 6 of a needle valve (not shown); the control element being constrained to execute strict vertical movement under the influence of the controller 2. The lever member 4 is pivotally mounted, as shown at 7 and 8 respectively, to the controller 2 and the valve control element 6.

In this example, the total extent of the vertical movement of which the control element 6 is capable amounts to some 20mm.

The iron also comprises a water inlet spout 9 of generous dimensions, to facilitate the replenishment of the iron's water tank (not shown) with water, and user- operable push buttons 10 to enable the user to generate a burst of steam when required. These components 9 and 10 are not essential to the invention, but are described merely for completeness of the steaming function and to provide orientation for the reader.

It will be appreciated that the principal aspect of the invention resides in providing a handle mounted controller for the steam generating function. Hitherto it has been usual to site such controllers on the body of the iron itself, often beneath the handle, an area which is not easily or conveniently accessible to the user. Handle mounting of such controls, if considered at all, has been dismissed hitherto as impractical due to the potential for accidental user-operation of the controller and the need to couple the valve-operating mechanism to a location relatively more remote, and less accessible, from the valve device than the body of the iron itself.

The controller 2 follows, in this example, a substantially rectilinear path which curves slightly downwards in the vertical plane to follow the line of the handle. The motion may be smooth and continuous or step-wise, depending on whether the steam setting is intended to be continuously or discretely variable; the latter being preferred if the siting of the controller might lead to any tendency for its accidental movement, since a notched, or step-wise movement can generally be made more motion resistant than can a smooth, continuous movement. Moreover, the user is more likely to notice an accidental step-wise movement than a small, smooth or continuous., 3 shift. Thus the tactile nature of the motion may have a significant part to play in circumstances such as those just described.

As mentioned above, the iron may be provided with markings, at or near the slot 3, indicating to the user how the controller's movement will affect the steam performance of the kettle.

Depending upon the degree of precision attributable to any particular construction, the marking may comprise merely an arrow, or similar device (such as the triangle universally used to indicate the direction of increasing volume in audio devices), or more complex markings., distributed along the slot, and indicating progressive variation of the steaming function.

In normal operation, when the controller 2 is slid to its rearmost position, as shown in Figure 1, the control element 6 of the needle valve is raised to its fullesi extent, thereby opening the valve to its maximum extent and allowing generation of steam at the maximum level to occur.

When, on the other hand, the controller 2 is moved forwards (i.e. towards the front of the iron where the components 9 and 10 are sited; and towards the position shown in Figure 2), the control element 6 is moved downwards, progressively closing the valve and thus reducing the amount of steam that the iron can generate. Thus, the steaming rate is variably controllable by user-operation of the handle-mounted controller 2.

A significant advantage of the arrangement as described is that, by means of the frequent operation of the controller 2, and thus of the control element 6, and the corresponding frequent rectilinear probing motions which the control element 6 makes into the valve assembly., the arrangement becomes self-cleaning. This avoids the need to provide a separate valve-cleaning button elsewhere on the appliance.

It is of course possible, if preferred, to invert the valve configuration such that the valve is fully.

open when the control element 6 is driven to its lowest position and closed, or substantially closed, when the control element 6 assumes its highest position. This would cause the steaming rate to increase with forward movement of the controller 2, which may be considered a more natural configuration.

1 If desired, the controller 2 and the periphery of the slot 3 through which it protrudes can be formed with co-operative elements of any convenient kind to temporarily latch the controller 1 4 into a chosen position. Such latching means may be provided at intervals along the slot 3, or just at one or two locations appropriate to settings known to be commonly employed by users.

Particularly where the controller 2 is configured to execute smooth or continuous motion, it is :5 preferable to utilise co-operative friction surfaces on overlying, relatively slidable components, to control the movement and to assist in resisting accidental movement of the controller by the user.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the controller 2 may be disposed at any convenient position on the handle, depending amongst other things, on the shape and configuration of the handle, the iron as a whole and the location of other components relative to that of the invention.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS:

1. A steam iron comprising a handle, a water tank, a steam generating chamber, a conduit capable of conveying water from the tank to the chamber, a valve device, capable of adjustably varying the flow of water through said conduit, and a user- operable arrangement for controlling the operation of said valve device, thereby enabling a user to control the rate of generation of steam, the arrangement including a mechanical linkage comprising a lever member having, coupled to a first end thereof, a user-operable controller mounted in the handle of the iron and capable of sliding movement, relative to the handle, between opposed end stops; the controller being stably settable by the user at each of a plurality of locations between said end stops, and a second end of said lever member being operationally linked to said valve device for controlling the rate of generation of steam in dependence upon the setting occupied by said controller.

2. An iron according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the lever member is capable of pivotal movement in response to user movement of the controller.

3. An iron according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the slidable movement of the controller is continuous.

4. An iron according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the slidable movement of the controller is notched, or step-like, permitting the controller to be set only to selected, discrete positions along its travel.

5. An iron according to any preceding claim wherein said sliding movement executed, under user operation, by the controller is substantially rectilinear.

6. An iron according to any of claims 1 - 4 wherein said sliding movement of the controller follows an arcuate or otherwise non-linear path; the shape of the path being dependent on the shaping of the handle and the siting, relative to the handle, of the controller.

7. An iron according to any preceding claim wherein the controller is sited atop of, and near the front end of, the handle and its path is substantially linear but follows the local profile of the iron's handle.

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8. An iron according to any preceding claim wherein scale or other markings are applied, at or near the controller's path, to provide an indication to the user as to the changes in steaming performance that can be expected from the iron as the controller's position is changed.

9. An iron according to any preceding claim wherein the arrangement is such as to provide self-cleaning of said valve, by virtue of frequent operation of the controller, and thus of the control element, and the corresponding frequent probing motions which the control element makes into the valve assembly.

10. A steam iron substantially as herein describtd with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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