GB2456412A - Iron Holder with Movable Retaining Means - Google Patents

Abstract

An iron holder comprises a body 1 and retaining means 6 which are movable with respect to the body. There may be two retaining means symmetrically arranged and they may be attached via resilient means 9 at one end and pivotally mounted 13 to the body 1 at the other end such that they are pushed sideways, away from each other, when an iron is placed in the holder (figure 5), allowing the holder to retain different sizes and shapes of iron. The holder may have a moulded plastics body 1, and a heat resistant support plate 2, for example made from aluminium. Hooks 15 may be provided for hanging an ironing board from the holder and a hook 17 may be attached for hanging the holder over a door. Apertures 19 may be provided for screwing or nailing the holder to an upright surface such as a wall. The holder may be disassembled for compact packaging and storage (figure 11).

Description

2456412

IRON HOLDER

The present invention relates to an iron holder and particularly, although not exclusively, to an iron holder intended to be mounted on an upright surface.

Iron holders are well known. They typically comprise a body presenting a surface adjacent which the sole plate of an iron stored on the holder is intended to lie. A retaining means is provided for retaining the iron relative to the surface. In existing arrangements the retaining means has been formed by wire or rods or a plastic moulding which is substantially fixed relative to the surface. The substantially fixed relationship between the retaining means and surface limits the range of sizes and styles of iron which can be accommodated by a particular iron holder.

Another problem with existing iron holders is that they are relatively bulky items in terms of the amount of space they occupy for their mass. This has an impact upon storage and distribution costs for the holders.

Embodiments of the present invention have been made in consideration of the above problems.

According to the present invention there is provided an iron holder comprising a body and a retaining means operative to hold an iron relative to the body wherein the retaining means is movably mounted to the body.

Movably mounting the retaining means to the body increases the range of types and sizes of iron which can be accommodated by the holder as compared to conventional holders, as well as improving ease of use.

The retaining means may be resiliently mounted to the body. In particular, it may be mounted to the body by way of a resilient member. The resilient member may be a spring, for example a helical spring, but could alternatively be formed from an inherently resilient material such as rubber or silicone. The resilient member may be a flexible tube.

The retaining means may comprise an elongate member. Opposite ends respectively of the elongate member may be mounted to the body. One end of the elongate member may be pivotally mounted to the body. In one arrangement one end of an elongate member is pivotally mounted to the body and the opposite end of the elongate member is mounted to the body by way of a resilient member. A pair of elongate members may be provided. The pair may be arranged substantially symmetrically. The elongate member or members may be formed by wires, rods or tubes. Suitably they are made from metal, such as steel, but could be made from any other suitable material. The elongate member or members are preferably heat resistant.

The retaining means is preferably substantially rigid, such that allowable movement of the retaining means relative to the body is afforded by its mounting.

The retaining means is preferably formed separately to the body and may be arranged to be demounted from the body. The holder may therefore be packaged in an unassembled state for shipping. This reduces the volume of packaging required, saving in shipping and storage costs.

The body may comprise an iron support surface which may be provided by an iron support plate. The body may comprise means for affixing it to a surface, preferably an upright surface. The body may also include means for suspending it from a door or

3

• • • •

I l

• • • •

• • • • • • • • •

other similar structure. The body may comprise one and preferably two or more hooks depending from it and from which an ironing board may be hung for storage.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying 5 drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective, front view of an iron holder according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective, rear view of the iron holder of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the iron holder of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a front view of the body of the holder of Figure 1;

10 Figure 5 is the view of Figure 1 with an iron partially introduced into the holder; Figures 6 and 7are perspective views of the holder of Figure 1 in use;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the holder of Figure 1, together with an iron;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the holder of Figure 1 in use, suspended from a door;

15 Figure 10 is a perspective view of the holder of Figure 1 in use, mounted to a door; and

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the holder of Figure 1 dismantled and packaged in a box.

Referring to the drawings, an iron holder comprises a moulded substantially rigid, 20 heat proof plastics body 1. The body 1 is the outline shape of, but larger than, a typical sole plate of an iron.

4

The moulded body 1 supports a metal, typically aluminium, iron support plate 2. The iron support plate could be formed from any other suitable heat resistant material. The iron support plate includes a number of apertures 3 spaced around its periphery. Lugs 4 are formed on the moulded body 1 in positions corresponding to the apertures 3. 5 The support plate is positioned on the body so that the lugs extend through the apertures and fasteners are placed over the lugs, thereby to fasten the support plate 2 to the body 1. The body 1 extends around the iron support plate 2.

The moulded body 1 also supports two shaped metal, typically steel, rods 6 which together form a retaining means for retaining an iron 7 on the support, adjacent the iron 10 support plate 2. Opposite ends of each rod 6 are respectively mounted movably and

• •

• • •

resiliently to the body 1. To the lower edge of the front face of the body 1 (in the

• • • ♦

orientation shown in Figure 1) are formed two spaced apart apertures 8 each leading into

• •

• ••• a generally cylindrical bore. A helical spring 9 is mounted in each aperture and extends

• •••

out of the aperture. Each spring 9 is secured in the aperture 8, and hence to the moulded

• • •

• ♦ •

. 15 base 1 by a respective screw 10 (only one of which is shown in Figure 2) which extends • •

through an aperture 11 in a metal plate 12, discussed further below, and into an expansion plug disposed in the helical spring 9. An end of each shaped rod 6 is received into the outwardly protruding end of a helical spring 9, mounting the rod 6 to the body 1 and allowing movement of the rod 6 with respect to the body 1 whilst resiliently biasing the 20 rod to the configuration shown in Figure 1.

The opposite end of each rod 6 to that received into a helical spring 9 extends into a respective aperture 13 in the moulded body, positioned about mid-way along the length

of the side of the body. Each aperture leads into a generally cylindrical bore. The axis of the bore is generally parallel to the plane of the iron support plate 2 and intersects nearest of the two apertures 8 towards the lower edge of the body 1. In this embodiment the angle of the axis of the bores extending from apertures 10 is about 40° to a line bisecting

5 the holder as shown in Figure 4. The end of each rod 6 received into the apertures 13 to the side of the moulded body may rotate relative to those apertures.

The two rods 6 are symmetrically shaped. They extend outwardly from the helical springs 9, and then curve so that they extend away from each other generally parallel to the iron support plate, towards the lateral edges of the moulded base 1 and

10 generally in line with the lower edge of the moulded base, as shown in Figure 1. The

• • •

• • •

.... rods 6 then curve again and extend in a direction generally parallel to the lower part of

• • • •

the sides of the moulded base until they are about mid-way along those sides. They then

• • • •

• • •

• •

.... curve again, each rod extending towards its respective aperture 13 in the side of the body and then turn through an angle of over 90° and extend through the aperture 13 and into

• • •

• • •

• 15 the associated bore! Each rod 6 is thus able to move towards and away from the other rod through flexing of the helical spring 9 and rotation of the other end of the rod 6 in the aperture 13.

The plate 12, secured to the rear of the lower part of the moulded base by the screws 10 which extend into the helical springs 9, has projecting tabs at opposite ends,

20 each defining a substantially circular aperture 14. Hooks 15 are supported in these apertures and by moulded formations 16 in the body 1. The hooks 15 extend

downwardly and outwardly of the body 1 and may be used to suspend an ironing board for storage, as shown in Figures 6,7,9 and 10.

The hooks 15 shown in Figure 3 are connected by a joining rod or tube 16 to form a single structure with hooks formed at opposite ends. Alternatively such a structure could be formed in one piece or two separate hooks could be used.

Towards the top of the holder, as shown oriented in figure 1, a door mount 17 may be fastened to the body 1. This may be fastened to the moulded body with screws extending through apertures 18 in the door mount 17. The door mount is of a square U-shaped cross-section having substantially parallel sides connected by a perpendicular base and is arranged to fit over the top of a door so that the iron holder can be suspended on one side of the door.

As an alternative means of mounting the holder to an upright surface apertures 19 are formed in the moulded body 1 through which screws or other suitable fasteners may pass to secure the body 1 to a surface, typically an upright surface.

In use the iron holder may be mounted on an upright surface as described above and shown in Figure 10, or suspended from a door or similar structure by way of the door mount 17 as shown in Figure 9. An iron 7 to be stored, which may still be hot from use in view of the heat resistant nature of the iron support plate 2 and body 1, is introduced into the holder as shown in Figure 5 so that it is supported by the holder in the manner illustrated in Figure 6. The iron 7 is introduced so that its sole plate bears against the iron support plate and the iron is retained in this position and supported underneath by the rods 6. The resiliently flexible nature of the mounting for the rods 6 allows the rods to

7

move apart to allow introduction of the iron and the holder to accommodate different sizes and shapes of iron.

An ironing board may also be stored by the holder, by suspending it by one of its legs 20 from the hooks 15 beneath the holder.

5 When the iron is required again it can be withdrawn from the holder in the manner it was introduced or, indeed, in view of the resilient mountings of the rods 6 by simply pulling the iron away from the iron support plate 2 as shown in Figure 8.

As the iron holder is made from a number of component parts it can be packaged, in an unassembled state, in a smaller volume than would otherwise be necessary. This

.... 10 can lead to significant savings in storage and distribution costs for the holder. A user

• • •

• • •

,••••. might also dismantle the holder for storage should this be required.

• • • •

Figure 11 shows how the iron support can be accommodated in a generally

I t •

» »

,••••. cuboidal box in a disassembled state. The depth of the box is sufficient to accommodate

• •••

# ## the moulded body 1 and door mount 17. The rods 6 and hooks 15 are placed over and

• • •

• • •

15 around the moulded body 1. The plate 12 is placed on the iron support plate 2. Other

• •

components, such as screws and the plate 14, are placed in the hollow space beneath the moulded body. The holder could be packaged in a moulded plastics container shaped to accommodate the various components.

The described iron holder improves significantly over known holders by being 20 able to accommodate a variety of different irons and being able to be packaged in a compact space.

8

The above embodiment is described by example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. An iron holder comprising a body and a retaining means operative to hold an iron relative to the body wherein the retaining means is movably mounted to the body.

2. An iron holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the retaining means is resiliently mounted to the body.

3. An iron holder as claimed in either claim 1 or 2 wherein the retaining means is mounted to the body by means of a resilient member.

4. An iron holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein the resilient member is a spring.

5. An iron holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the retaining means comprises an elongate member.

6. An iron holder as claimed in claim 5 wherein opposite ends respectively of the elongate member are mounted to the body.

7. An iron holder as claimed in either claim 5 or claim 6 wherein one end of the elongate member is pivotally mounted to the body.

8. An iron holder as claimed in claim 5 wherein one end of the resilient member is mounted to the body by means of a resilient member and the opposite end of the resilient member is pivotally mounted to the body.

9. , An iron holder as claimed in any of claims 5 to 8 wherein the elongate member is a rod or tube.

10. An iron holder as claimed in any of claims 5 to 9 wherein there is a pair of elongate members.

10

11. An iron holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the retaining means is substantially rigid.

12. An iron holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the retaining means may be demounted from the body.

13. An iron holder substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.