US2369623A

US2369623A - Hat steamer

Info

Publication number: US2369623A
Application number: US477544A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ray C Utley; Jr Arthur Feilchenfeld
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1943-03-01
Filing date: 1943-03-01
Publication date: 1945-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 1962-02-13

Description

Feb. 13, 1945. R C;7 UTLEY ET AL 2,369,623

HAT STEAMER Filed March 1, 1945 5 sheets-sheet 1 f Fell 13, 1945. R. c. UTLEY E'rAl. 2,369,623

HAT STEAMER Filed March l, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .797 Je?? 'forms' Feb. 13, 1945.

R. C. UTLEY Er Al.

HAT STEAMER Filed March 1, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 vPatented Feb. 13, 1945 oFIFLlcE HAT STEAIMERA Ray C. Utley `and Arthur Feilchenfeld, Jr.,

Chicago, Ill. l i

.Application 'March 1, 1943, seriaiNo. 477,544

` 11 claims.

- In our prior Patent No. 2,276,809, we have :disclosed a, small, portable apparatus for rapidly generating steam and discharging it, in a manner to permit successful steaming of hats or other articles. The object vof the present invention is further to improve the apparatus disclosed in th aloresaid patent. l -v i When steam is generated rapid-ly and allowed to escape'it is apt to carry with it water .in liquid form. In our prior patent, in order to ,-permit'the liquid water to become separated from the steam and collect oli/surfaces down which it may travel to reach the body of water that is beingheated, we make the delivery pipes quite long. One' of the objects of the present invention is to do away withV the need for long delivery pipes, thereby conserving material and space, making possible a ymore compact structure and simplifying the problem of maintaining the exterior of the apparatus at an unobjectionably low temperature.

A further object -of the present invention is tov provide a simple and novel means for collecting sediment that may be deposited in the ap` paratus, wherebythe sediment will not interfere with either the proper supplying ofwater or emcient heating of the water to transform it into steam.

A further object of `the present invention-is to provide the steam generating apparatus with a simple and novel casing or housing which' may easily be applied or removed, and which will not become objectionably hot during the use Vof the apparatus. l

A further object of the present invention is to reduce the possibility of short circuits .being created by the wires which carry the current lto the ,heating coils. .l

The various features of novelty whereby our invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of our invention .and of its objects and advantages, referencemay be had to the following detailed vdescription taken in connection with the, accompanyingy drawings, wherein:

Figm'e 1 is a central vertical section through an apparatus embodying the present invention; 2,is a section online 2-2 of Fig. 1;.Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 o1' Fig. 1; Flgf-gi is 'a bottom plan view, a portionv of the bottom wall being broken away; Fig. 5 is an end view,"l'ooking from the right hand side of Fig. 1; and Fig. B

` is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

The apparatus as a whole is; generally speaking, like Ythat o! our aforesaidA patent, No. 2,276;

809atnd need only briefly be described` It comprises'a suitable flat base' l, fromA which rises van open-top reservoir 2 upon which a bottle A is to be placed upside down. Rising` from the base in` spaced relation to each other and Aat one side of thereservoir, are two short sleeve-like projections 3. The parts I, 2 anda may convenientlyconstitute a single casting, as shown. On the undersideA of the base is a tunnel or passage I, one 'end of which communicates with the bottom ofthe reservoir, through an opening or port 5, while'towardf the other end are two ports 6 connecting the passage with-the interiors of the sleeve-like parts 3*.v Screwed into the projections 3' are vertical pipes '1, which are quite short comparedwith the corresponding Pipes in, said patent. rI'l-ie upper ends of the pipes fare connected together by'an overlying hollow heads, terminatin la nozzle s; The interior of-"the head contains-a transverse ,partition l0, separating it into a. lower compartment communicating directly with' the pipes 11, and anH upper compartment which mergesV into `the nozzle. This partition contains a central opening Ilv which lies above the space between the two pipes, namely outwandly from the imaginary surfaces correspondingto the cylindrical'surfaces vof the inlets into theV bottom` ofi the head. Thepartition is incli-ned'- upwardly and laterally'from opposite sides ofthe opening H so as'to form directly above each ofl the pipes `a pocket or dome located `above theplane of the opening l I. Surounding each of the pipes 'l is a heating coil I2; this part of the apparatus being preferably the samey as that in the aforesaid patent. l When a full. bottle of water is 11p-ended and set'upon lthe reservoir, water will iiow therefrom until' it reaches a predetermined level in the res/- ervoir and inthe pipes 1. As water is 'trans-4 formedinto steam, additional water is delivered from the bottle to maintain `a constant level. A s the steamis. generatedit rises through the pipes and enters the pockets or domes in the head. Any liquid thus carried along,,with the steam therefore strikes Ythe walls of ,the pockets `or domes, collects thereon, and nally drops back into the bottom of the head. j From there the water can flow back into the pipes.- In this way, substantially all-of the free water is separated which lit is to be put. I

come heated, so as to provide an insulating air space between the latter and the casing. This makes it necessary to cause the housing to be held in a fixed relation to the apparatus proper by some means that would not be. required if the casing were a tight fit. In the arrangement shown, the base is provided at its long sides near The open end of each cup terminates in a reduced` portion or neck I5 that iits snugly into an enlarged upward continuation of the corresponding port 6. Each member I4 has one or more holes` I1, extending through the cylindrical wall thereof,

near the upper or closed end. Thus water rising through the port 6 must reach the level of the holes I'I before it enters the free space within the pipes; andsince this level is considerably above the'bottom of such space; an annular pocket or well'is provided below the immediate waterinlet to e'ach pipe. Each 'member I4 may be connected to' the lower end of a rod I9, carrying the little wire -mesh disks I8 as in the aforesaid patent.

We have found that when our Steamers are carelessly handled, as they frequently are, there is'danger of damage to the insulation of the wires 2`I that bring the current to the terminals 22 of the heating coils. Therefore, as bestshown in Figs. 4 and-6, We carry these wires through long tubes 24 of insulating material which extend between and through vanes or

ears

25 and 26 projecting downwardly from the inside of the base; the vanes or ears 25 being close to the terminals 22 whereas the others are 'near the end of the base at which the electrical connections are made.`

The base has at the four corners thereof down- Wardly projecting lugs 21. Underlying and engaged with these lugs is a false bottom composed preferably of a metal plate 28 anda sheet 29 of insulating materialzoverlying the plate. The plate may be secured to the lugs 21 by attaching means includingfeet 30 on which the structurer is supported.

"I'he entire device or apparatus is enclosed within a housing orcasing, not only for the sakeof improving the appearance thereof but to protect the same and to insure that all exposed surfaces, excepting only the extreme end of the nozzle, remain cool even through prolonged periods of use. The casing or housing is without a bottom but covers the device on top and on all sides,

leaving openings onlyv for the tip of the nozzle and the top of the reservoir. The casing or housing isc'onveniently formed of two similar sections 3| and 32 meeting in the longitudinal vertical central plane of the steamer. The two sections are preferably provided at their meeting edges with means that interlock, when the two sections are brought together by lateral movements, to prevent relative movements, in other directions. 'I'his may conveniently be vaccomplished as in 2' in which the"section 3l has at its vertical edges a pair of bosses 34 which engage with similar bosses 35 on the other section. Each ofthe bosses 35 is provided with a pin 36 lfixed thereto and adapted to be engaged in a hole 33 in the corresponding boss'34 when the two sections are brought together. The two sections may be fastened together by a single screw passing through one of the sections and into the other at a poin between the reservoir and the pipes 1.

lIt is desirable-that the casing or housing be spaced apart from the metal parts that may bethe four corners with thin flange-like sections 38, unless the base itself be ofthe necessary thinness. These portions enter notches39 in ears 40 projecting inwardly from the side walls of the casing The parts are so proportioned that, when the two sections of the casing are assembled on the device, the flanges 38 enter the notches 39 and are clamped in the same upon the tightening of the screw 31. The casing i's therefore readily attached to the apparatus and is supported thereby, through being clamped against the same at four points. Inl order that the casing be not re quired to support the weight of the steaming apparatus, the feet 30 arepermitted to extend a substantial distance below the plane of the lower s edge of the casing as best shown in Fig. 1, so that the weight of the whole structure, including the casing, is borne by these feet. While we have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of our invention, we do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and de-` scribed; but intend to cover 'all forms andI arl rangements which come within the definitions of our invention constituting the appended claims; We claim: 1. In an apparatus of the character described, a vertical pipe through which steam rises during use, there being above and carried by the pipe a hollow head wider than the diameter of the pipe and divided into an upper and a lower compart-f ment by a transverse partition, the portion of the head containing the upper compartment terminating in a nozzle, there being an opening through said partition at a substantial distance beyond one side of an imaginary upward extension of the periphery of the pipe, and said partition being shaped to form a dome directly above said pipe to trap all of the steam that rises from the pipe before it can flow through said opening. 2.. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of vertical pipes spaced apart from each other, through which steam rises in use; a hollow head overlying and attached to the upper ends of the pipes; the interior of the head being divided into an upper and a lower compartment by'a transverse partition, the upper compartment terminating in a nozzle; and said partition having therein, at a point between the pipes, an outlet from the lower compartment into the upper compartment.

.3. In an apparatus ofthe character described, a pair of vertical pipes spaced apart from each other, through -which steam rises in use; a hollow bulges above said pipes to form pockets into'whieh the steam must rise before flowing said outlet.

4. In an apparatus of the character described. a base,- a pipe rising from said base and having an outletat the upper end, an inverted cup-shaped laterally t member smaller in diameter than the interior of the pipe located in the pipe in engagement with the base, said cup-shaped member having an outlet for water toward the top, and there being a hole through the base into the bottom of said member, whereby any solids deposited in the pipe may settle into the space around said cup-shaped -member below said outlet and be rendered harmless to choke the water inlet to the pipe.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a base, a pipe rising from the base, the base having a hole coaxial with the pipe, and an inverted cup-shaped member, smaller in diameter than the pipe fitting tightly into said hole, said member having an opening through a wall thereof at a substantial distance above the base to provide a settling well in the lower end of the pipe below said opening in the cup-shaped member.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a base, a pipe rising from the base and open at its upper end, the base having therein coaxial with the pipe a hole for the passage of water into the pipe, an inverted cup-shaped member fitting into said hole and having holes through the wall thereof near the top, and a stem fixed to said cup-shaped member and extending up through the center of the pipe.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a base, a pipe rising from the base and open at its upper end, the base having therein coaxial with the pipe a hole for the passage of water into the pipe, an inverted cup-shaped lmember fitting into said hole and having holes through the wall thereof near the top, a stem xed to said cupshaped member and extending up through the center of the Ipipe, and a plurality of open-work disks distributed along the stern and forming a series of transverse partitions in the pipe.

8. In an apparatus of the character described inwhich there is a base member and electric heating means for Water mounted on top of the base, an electric terminal on the under side of the base, an ear projecting down from the lbase near said terminal, a second ear remote from the other ear, a tube of insulating material extending through and supported by said ears, and a conductor enclosed by said tube and connected to said terminal.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, in which there is a base lmember and electric heating means for water mounted on top of the base, an electric terminal on the under side of the base, an ear projecting down from the base near said terminal, a second ear remote from the other ear, a tube of insulating material extending through and supported by said ears, a conductor' enclosed by said tube and connected to said terminal, and a rigid plate underlying and xed to the base and forming a cover for the said tube and terminal.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a main body member having supporting feet and thin horizontal side flanges projecting therefrom near the lower end, a casing surrounding said member and divided on a vertical plane into two sections each of which can be moved laterally into and out of position, each section containing channels to receive the anges on the corresponding side of said member, and means to secure said sections together.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, a main body member having supporting feet and thin horizontal side flanges projecting therefrom near the lower end, a casing surrounding said member and divided on a vertical plane into two sections each of which can be moved laterally into and out of position, each section containing channels to receive the anges on the corresponding side of said member, and a single screw eX- tending between and securing said sections together.

RAY C. UTLEY.

ARTHUR FEILCHENFELD, J R.