US2506941A - Steam iron - Google Patents

Description

May 9, 1950 R. J. scoTT 2,506,941

STEAM IRON Filed July 7, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l wy b w 60 l May 9, 1950 R. J. scoTT 2,506,941

STEAM IRON Filed July '7, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arr ,QNEK

Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STEAM IRON Robert J. Scott, Blue Springs, Mo., assignor to John C. Hockery,4 Kansas City, Mo., as trustee for Henry J. Talge and Foster L. Talge Application July 7, 1949, serial No. 193,399

(C1.- ca -77) 13 Claims.

each having certain advantages over the other,v

and each having corresponding disadvantages. First, there is the tea kettle type of steam iron wherein a relative large body of water contained in the iron is heated (usually by the same electrical element which heats the sole plate) the steam formed above the surface of the water being conducted through suitable ducts onto the fabric being ironed. Secondly, there is the flash boiler type wherein water stored in a reservoir is fed drop by drop onto a hot plate, the individual drops thereby being ashed into steam in a more or less continuous succession and the steam being fed onto the fabric as it is generated.

One of the shortcomings of the teakettle type of unit is that so long as it contains water it must be used as a steam iron; it is impossible, in other words, for the operator to shut off the flow of steam at will and use the iron as a conventional dry iron.

Another disadvantage lies in the necessity of bringing the entire body of water to the boiling point before any steam is generated. Thus, starting with a cold iron and cold waterA there inevitably is considerable delay in obtaining steam; likewise, when thev heating element is turned off after a period of operation,` the steam continues to issue from the iron for an undesirable interval due to the stored heat. Whatever heat has been stored in the body of water when the element is turned oif is, of course, lost without serving any useful purpose.

Added to this inefficiency and the sluggishness in starting and stopping steam generation, the

tea kettle type of iron presents an exceedingly difficult problem of thermal design owing to the fact that the entire body of water must be heated to the boiling point. Obviously, this requires heat transfer of high efficiency and considerable magnitude, conditions which are difficult to meet in practice, having proper regard for economic considerations and other design requirements. Especially critical does the problem become when the iron is to be operated at the relatively low sole plate temperatures that must be used in orf. der to avoid scorching celanese and like syn-'- thetic fabrics when theseareironed.A All prac-r tical irons of this character developed in the past therefore have involved certain compromises and sacriiices in design in order that moderately successful operation might be obtained at a reasonable cost. 1 f

Most of these difficulties and shortcomings are obviated in the ash boiler type of unit. In the latter because the entire body of stored water is not heated, it is possible to obtain steamyery quickly and to shut it olf quickly at will. Also because the amount of water being heated at any.

given instant is small, it is not diiiicult to obtain steam even at low sole plate temperatures.

Despite these apparent advantages, the tea* 'is quite critical and must be regulated in accordance with the temperature of the plate; this temperature varies as the sole plate temperature is adjusted for ironing different fabrics and thus' far no satisfactory arrangement for correlating the rate of feed and the temperature of the sole plate has been developed. Also there often is a tendency for a drop of water upon striking the hot plate to spatter or roll sizzlingly across the surface of the plate without flashing into steam, and, in many instances, the steam issuing from vthe iron contains a large amount of entrained globular water which, of course, is objectionable in that it will spot many fabrics. Customarily a needle valve is used to regulate the feeding of water onto the hot plate and this likewise is a frequent source of trouble by virtue of becoming clogged o r improperly adjusted. Another diiculty is that the needle valve must be closed whenever the heating element is turned off, and in practice the irons often are flooded due to failure of the operator to take this precaution.

It is the purpose of the present invention broadly speaking, to provide a new type of iron which has the advantages of both types outlined above but is free from their respective disadvantages. An important feature resides in the provision of a steam generator, novel in construction and operation.

Morespecifically, one of the objects is to provide an iron which will generate steam very quickly .after being connected, and will cease generating steam quickly when the heat` is turned 01T; another object is to make it possible to usel the unit as a Asteam `iron or a dry iron at willwithout the necessity ci removing the water therefrom.v ,y .A` further object is to provide av steam iron 3 which heats only a relatively small amount of water at a time and hence will generate steam even at relatively low sole plate temperatures, yet which is free of troublesome feed valves, valve adjustments, spattering and the other dii culties present in the flash boiler type of iron.

Another object is to provide an iron of high thermal efficiency both from the standpoint of the transfer of heat to the water for generating steam and also from the standpoint of minimizing loss of stored heat at the close of an ironing operation.

Still another object is to provide an iron of the character indicated above which is simple and economical to manufacture and service, which is rugged, durable and trouble free in operation, and which is attractive in appearance.

Other and further objects of the invention together with the novel features of construction whereby objects are achieved, will appear in the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings which form. a part of the specification and are to be read' in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals are employed to indicate like parts of the various views:

Fig. l is a plan view of a steam iron embodying my invention, part of the handle and housing being cut away for purposes of illustration,

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional View taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig.. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 in the directionof the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a cross sectionalplan view taken along. the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 6. is a view of the bottom or under side of the sole plate of my iron,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view showing in detail the. arrangement for sealing together the upper and lower parts of the iron when the two are in assembled condition, and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 illustrating a modied form of construction.

Referring more. particularly to the drawings, my iron has a sole plate I0 with a U-shaped resistance heating element I2. embedded therein. Conveniently thel sole plate is cast of aluminum or other metal having suitable thermal conductivity. In order to heat the. sole plate,. electrical connections, not shown are made to upstanding insulated terminals or binding posts. I4 at the rearmost extremities of the legs. of the resistance element. Its temperature is controlled thermostatically by means oi a bi-metal blade I6 secured to the sole plate, this blade cooperating with a pair of contact springs I8 and 20 which together form a switch wired in series with the heating element in conventional fashion.

As will be clear from the. drawings, the aforementioned contact springs are mounted. on insulaters 22 in a longitudinal recess 24.located at the rear end ol the sole plate. between the two. legs. of the heating element. Also mounted on the. insulators by means of an oiset' arm 26 is a stationary nut 28 which supports a threaded shaft 38. Avnger 32 of insulating material secured to the lower end'of the shaft extends through an aperture in the upper spring I8 and engages the lower spring 2G; thus by turning knob 34 spring 20 may be adjusted up or down to regulate the temperature at which the contacts will be opened and closed by the bi-metal element I6. This method of regulating and maintaining the temperature of the sole plate automatically is conventional, and forms no part of the present invention.

Forwardly of the bi-metal element is a small boiler or steam generator 35 comprising an arched cover 35 which is flanged about its periphery and secured to the upper side of the sole plate by screws 38. Preferably the flange is sealed to the sole plate by a gasket material such as an inorganic silicon elastomer applied to the underside of the ange before it is screwed down.

The forward portion of the cover is provided with a dome 48 for receiving the upper end of a tube 42 through which steam may pass downwardly onto the fabric being ironed. The lower end of the tube is threaded into the sole plate and communicates with the triangular recess 44 in the underside of the sole plate., this being covered byA a plate 45 ush with the ironing surface, which plate is provided with steam outlet orices 48 arranged in any desired pattern. Attached by screws as shown, the plate 46 is maintained spaced from the bottom of the recess by a rim or boss 5U.

Spaced above the sole plate is a water reservoir 52, which comprises a hollow shell or housing. 54 with a plate 56 covering the bottom and suitably sealed .about its margin to the shell. Shell. 54 conveniently may be a die casting or may be molded of phenolic resin or the like. A handle 58 is formed integral with the shell or housing and at the forward end of this is a ller opening S8 provided with a closure 62 which presently will be described in detail.

The reservoir is detachably mounted on the sole plate by means of three downwardly extend. ing posts 64 on the reservoir that are insertable intothree registering hollow studs 66 on the sole plate. The studs have threaded Shanks which are'screwed into tapped holes in the sole plate as shown; the pins likewise are threaded at their upper ends and screwed into the housing 54, lock nuts 58 being provided to anchor the pins to the housing and also to assist in fastening the bottom plate 56 tov the housing. When the pins have been inserted into the hollow studs they are secured by'means of screws 10.

To enclose the space between the bottom of the water reservoir and the top of the sole plate a rabbet is provided around the front and sides of the latter, and a band or skirt 12 conforming with theexterior contour of housing 54 is mounted therein; at the rear of the housing the ends of this skirt turn inwardly and are formed into loops 14 to receive shoulder screws 'I6y which extend into the sole plate to hold the skirt in place. The fastening screws, as Well as the working parts and wiring disposed rearwardly of the skirt, are concealed byr an inclined cover plate 18, the upper edge of which nts into a notch in the housing while the lower edge isl-secured by screws 82 threaded into upturned lugs 84 on the heel rest 86. Theheel rest comprises a plate fastened by screws 88 to the. sole plate and extending rearwardl7 thereof.

Centrally disposed in the upper surface of the sole plate is a shallow well or pocket 98 which be circular as shownL or of any other desired' shape. e. g. rectangular or. oval. This, it will be noted. is within the boiler under the arched cover 36, and is straddled by the legs of 5V the heating element 2, with the Walls of the well in close proximity to the heating element.

Forward of the well is a floor plate 92 apertured ,to fit over tube 42 and fastened by a nut 94. This plate conforms in outline with the interior walls of the boiler cover 33, and its for` ward portion is elevated above the sole plate by aspacing washer 9S, it being seen that the plate inclines downwardly to the rear and terminates in an upstanding flange 93 forming a bafe at the edge of the well. The ends of the baille are spaced slightly inward from the sides of the cover 36 leaving openings |00 through which liquid may drain from the iioor plate back onto the sole plate around the well. The purpose of the iioor plate and baffle will be explained presently.

Directly over the well is an aperture |02 in the top of the boiler 35, and registering with this is an aperture |34 in the bottom of the water reservoir. A tube |06 forms a duct from the reservoir to the well, the lower end of the tube being spaced above the bottom of the well but below the top. The tube may be constructed to pass freely through hole |02, its upper end being flared outwardly and brazed or otherwise aiiixed to the margin of hole |04 as shown in Figs. 2 and '7; alternatively, the fired upper end of the tube may be secured to the margin of hole |02 as shown in Fig. 8 in which case the bottom of the reservoir around hole |34 is rolled downwardly. In either case, a resilient deformable O-ring I 08 is employed to seal the parts together, this preferably being formed of a heat resisting silicone elastomer. The ring is seated in an annular centering depression in the boiler cover 36, and in the Fig. "I construction it will be understood that it prevents leakage of steam through the clearance between tube |06 and hole m2; in the Fig. 8 construction the ring prevents any leakage of the water entering the tube through aperture |04.

Above the upper end of the tube is a disk-like closure valve H2 operable at will to prevent the passage of water downwardly from the reservoir into the well. This valve is secured by a screw to the lower end of a rotatable shaft |I4, which has a manual control knob H5 at its upper end. On the under side ci the knob is a projecting boss i8 which rides on an inclined annular track |20 in the housing 54, a coiled spring |22 around the shaft always serving to urge the shaft, valve and knob downwardly. On rotating the knob ap proximately one-half turn, the boss l0 travels down the inclined track and valve l l2 closes the passageway, it being seen that the valve seats directly on the tube |06 if the Fig. 7 construction is employed, whereas it seats on the depressed margin of aperture l if the Fig. 8 construction is employed. When the knob is rotated back to the position shown, it not only opens the passageway to the well, but also seats against thev bottom of the protuberance |25 in the housing thereby preventing any leakage or" moisture upwardly around the shaft.

'Around the opening H34 are a pair of upstanding arcuate bailies 82d and |28.l As best seen in Fig. 3, these are of different diameters and 'overlap one another to a certain extent so that they completely encircle the opening; however, any lwater in the reservoir may readily iiow through the space between the baiiies in order to drain through the opening. Returning now to the closure 52, this comprises a" deformable disk of rubber or the like disposed between a pair of washers |30. A stem |32 having an enlarged head |34 below the lowermost washer is threaded through the center of the washers and the disk so that its upper end protrudes above the upper washer. Straddling the upper end of the stem is the bifurcated end of a lever |36 which is adapted to lay in a groove |38 in the handle 58. The lever is connected to the stem by a pivot pin |40 and its forward end is rounded in eccentric relation to the pivot pin to form a camming surface.

In its normal unrestrained condition, disk 62 is slightly smaller than the ller opening; however, when lever |35 is positioned as shown, the disk is squeezed between the washers |30 so that it expands outwardly and tightly engages the wall of the opening to seal the opening and hold the disk in place. In order to iill the water reseri/oir, lever |36 is swung upwardly about its pivot pin as indicated by the arrow |42. This permits washers i3d to move slightly apart releasing the pressure on disk S2 which now restores to its normal diameter and can be Withdrawn easily from the filler opening. During the filling of the reservoir, the outlet from the res-y ervoir to the well so is sealed by closure valve i2 as hereinbefore described. The reservoir may be partially lled as shown or completely filled, and in the latter case, the water rising in the hollow cavity m4 of the rear handle post forces the air above the surface out of a bleeder tube |46 in the handle. Having been lled to the desired extent, the reservoir is resealed by inserting clo sure 62 into the mouth of the filler opening and swinging lever |355 down to the position shown thereby to expand the closure as explained.

Knob H5 now is turned in order to elevate valve H2 and thus open the outlet from the reservoir. When this is down the water descends in tube |06 filling well Sil to the point where it covers the open lower end of the tube. With the lower end of the tube covered, it is impossible for air to enter the reservoir and hence no additional water will leave the latter.

When the heating element l2 is turned on, the water in the well is hea-ted to the boiling point and the resultant steam passes over baffle 98, up into dome 40, thence down tube 42 and out of oriiices 43 onto the fabric being ironed. As the water in the well boils away it automatically is replenished from the reservoir, for whenever the level in the well drops below the end of tube H96, air can enter the lower end of the tube and pass upwardly into the reservoir displacing and releasing a small amount of water into the well.

.At no time, however, will the level in the well rise materially above the end of tube |06.

When the supply of water in the reservoir becomes very low, there is a tendency for it to surge back and forth across the mouth. of opening Illl as the iron .is moved in the course of normal pressing operations. To minimize this, and to prevent the opening from at times being completely uncovered as the water travels away therefrom, baffles |26 and |28 are provided around the opening.

Baflie 98 similarly prevents water in well 90 from rushing forward, for example when the iron is drawn backward rapidly. Due to the brisk boiling which occurs in the well, it nevertheless is inevitable that small globules of water sometimes pass over the baffle 98 and descend on the iioor plate 92. If the boiling were to continue in this region, water globules might occasionally spatter upwardly and enter the tube 42. To prevent this and eliminateV the possibility of entrained mois.

turefrom reaching the fabric being ironed, the floor. plate isiseparatecl from-the solerplate by an airspace and thus is maintained cool enough to minimizeboiling around-the base of: the tube d2; also it is sloped downwardly toward the rear so that moisture reaching it drains -backthrough the openings ldto a point behind the baflle 98. Any spattering which occurs in the latter region is too far from tube 62 to carry any water into the tube.

The amount of water in the well is so small that even when'the sole plate is operated at relatively low temperatures thereis no diculty in heating the water and generating steam. Moreover the water is raised. to the boiling point very quickly; starting with a cold iron and cold water from the tap, it has been found that steam begins to issue from thel orifices in the sole plate in approximately 30 seconds after the heating element is turned on. This obviously is much faster than would bepossible if the whole body of water had to be heated, as is the case in conventional tea kettle type irons. It will be noted that in my iron the bottom of the water reservoir is sepa rated by an air spacefrom thetop of the small boiler 35 and is separated by a larger space from the sole plate, hence little heat is transferred to the main-body of water held in storage.

If it is desired to use the iron dry, it is not necessary to empty the water` from the iron; instead the operator merely turns knob H6 to lowerclosure valve H2 into seating engagement with the outlet from the reservoir. Assuming the ironis in operation, the well 9U will boil dry in approximately seconds, after which no further steam will be generated until valve H2 is again lifted.

To. disassemble iron for repair or servicing, knob Sdfrst is removed from shaft 30, then screws 82 are loosened and the rear cover plate 'I8 is removed. This exposes the electrical wiring, which has been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity, and givesaccess to screws 16. If the latter are unscrewed, skirt l2 may be taken off-1 and screws 'm now can bfi-loosened. so that theupper portion of the iron (i. e. the water reservoir and handle) can be lifted free of the sole plate and its attached boiler. This renders all of the remaining partsreadily accessible and the manner of completing the disassembly will be obvious. In remounting the water reservoir on the sole' plate care should be taken to press the two together suciently to compress the O-ring 08 into sealing engagement, as shown, before tighteningthescrews l il.

From. the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to obtain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set for-th, togather with other advantages which are obvious and' which are inherent to the apparatus. It is free of the various shortcomings of both the tea kettle type of iron andthe flash boiler type, and in particular achieves all of the advantages of heating but a reiativels7 small amount of water while atv the same time avoiding the use of troublesome feed valves.

Itwill be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

Inasmuch as various embodimentsV of the inventionmay be made without departing from the scope-thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown inthe accompanylill 8. ingdrawings is to be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus describedmy invention, I. claim:

1. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means for heat'- ing the soleplate, a boiler attached to the sole plate and. overlying it, one of said boiler` and sole. plate elements being formed with a recessed portion to provide a well whereby the well is heatedl by. said sole plate and heating means, a water. reservoir having in its bottom an outlet duct extending downwardly into said well with an out.- l`et opening spaced above the bottom but below the top-of the well, the Lipper end of said duct being substantially flush with the bottom ofsaid reservoir, baffle means in the reservoir around'the mouth of the duct to prevent the water from surging across the mouth of the duct as the result of changes in the direction of the irons movement, means for hermetically sealing said reser.- voir above the surface of the water therein, whereby water is fed automatically from thereservoir whenever the water level in said well drops below said outlet opening. and a steam outlet connected to said boiler.

2. in a steam iron, a sole plate, means for heating the sole plate, said sole plate having its upper surface recessed to form therein a shallow well of restricted horizontal cross section, a water reservoir having an outlet duct extending downwardly therefrom into said well with an outlet port spaced above the bottom but below the top of the well, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water therein whereby the water is maintained at a suflicient depth in said well to cover said port baille means in the reservoir around the mouth of said duct to prevent the water from surging across the mouth of the duct as the result of changes in the direction of the irons movement, a dome over the surface 0f the water in said well for confining the steam generated by the heating thereof; said dome being positioned intermediate said reservoir and said sole plate, and a steam outlet passageway extending from the dome through the sole plate for conducting the steam onto the fabric being ironed.

3. In a steam iron, a sole plate, the upper surface of the sole plate being recessed to form therein a shallow well of restricted horizontal cross section, a U-shaped heating element embedded in the sole plate with its legs straddling said well, a water reservoir having an outlet duct extending downwardly therefrom into said Well with the open lower end of the duct spaced'below the top of the well, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water therein whereby the water is maintained at a sufcient depth in the well to cover said open lower end of the duct, a dome overthe'surface of the water in said well confining the steam generated by the heating thereof, said dome being positioned intermediate said reservoir and said sole plate, and a steam outlet passageway extending from the dome through the sole plate for conducting the steam onto the fabric being ironed.

1i. In a steam iron, a sole plate, a boiler attached to the sole plate and overlying it` oneA o! said boiler and sole plate elements being formed with a recessed portion to provide a well, a water reservoir having in its bottom an outlet duct extending downwardly into said well with an outlet port spaced above the bottom butV below the top of the well, the upper endof said duct being substantially ush with the bottom of said reservoir, baliie means in the reservoir around the mouth of said d uct to preventthe water from surging across the mouth of the duct as the result of changes in the direction of the irons movement, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water therein, means for heating the bottom and sides of the well thereby to convert into steam the water entering the well from the reservoir, and a steam passageway from the boiler extending through the sole plate for conducting the steam onto the fabric being ironed.

5. A steam iron as in claim 4 having a valve for said outlet duct, manually operable means for seating or unseating said valve at will to prevent or permit the flow of water through said duct, and `means to automatically retain said valve in the position to which it was last operated.

6. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means for heating .the sole plate, a boiler attached to the sole plate and overlying it, one of said boilerand sole plate elements being formed with a recessed portion to provide a well whereby the well is heated by said heating means and said sole plate, a water reservoir, means for detachably securing said reservoir to the sole plate above same and in vertically spaced relation thereto, an outlet duct integral with said reservoir extending downwardly through an aperture in the top of said boiler and into said well with its open lower end spaced below the top of the well, sealing means between the duct and the boiler closing said aperture around the duct, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water therein.

7. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means for heating the sole plate, a boiler attached to the sole plate and overlying it, one of said boiler and sole plate elements being formed with a recessed portion to provide a well whereby the well is heated by said heating means and said sole plate, a water reservoir, means for detachably securing said reservoir to the sole plate above same and in vertically spaced relation thereto, the bottom of the reservoir and the top of the boiler having registering apertures, sealing means between the apertures forming a luidtight passageway from the reservoir to the boiler when the reservoir is secured to the sole plate, a duct extending downwardly through the boiler into said well, the open upper end of the duct communicating with said reservoir through said passageway and the open lower end being spaced below the top of the well, said reservoir having a filler opening and a closure therefore, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water when the ller opening is closed whereby water is maintained at a sufficient depth in said well to cover the open lower end of said duct.

8. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means for heating the sole plate, a boiler attached to the sole plate and overlying it, one of said boiler and sole plate elements being formed with a recessed portion to provide a well whereby the well is heated by said heating means and said sole plate, a water reservoir, means for detachably securing said reservoir to the sole plate above same and in vertically spaced relation thereto, the bottom of the reservoir and the top of the boiler having registering apertures, sealing means between the apertures forming a uidtight passageway from the reservoir to the boiler when the reservoir is secured to the sole plate, a duct extending downwardly through the boiler into said well, the open upper end of the duct communicating with said reservoir through said passageway and the open lower end being spaced below the top of the well, said reservoir having a ller opening and a closure therefore, means operable to open and close said passageway, means for hermetically sealing the reservoir above the surface of the water when the ller opening is closed whereby water is maintained at a suicient depth in said well to cover the open lower end of said duct.

9. A steam generating device comprising a boiler, heating means for the boiler, a steam outlet for the boiler, a Water reservoir above the boiler, a resilient annular gasket sandwiched between thebottom of the reservoir and the top of the boiler, a tension link connection between the reservoir and boiler forcibly clamping the two together and maintaining the gasket under compression, the bottom of the reservoir and the top ofthe boiler having aligned openings registering with the opening in said annular gasket whereby said gasket forms a fluidtight passageway from the reservoir to the boiler, a duct extending` downwardly into the boiler, the open upper end of the duct communicating with the said reservoir through said passageway and the lower end of the duct being below the normal level of the water in the boiler, means for hermetically sealing said reservoir above the surface of the water therein whereby water is fed from the reservoir into the boiler when the level in the boiler drops below the opening at the lower end of the duct, and means for releasing said tension link connection to permit separation of the reservoir from the boiler.

10. A steam generating device comprising a base Ihaving a well adapted to contain water, means for heating the water in the well to produce steam, a cover carried by the base over the surface of the water for confining the steam, an outlet duct communicating with the steam space under the cover, means for automatically replenishing the water in said well as it is converted into steam; said last means comprising a water storage receptacle having an integral open neck of reduced cross section projecting from the bottom thereof, means removably supporting the receptacle on said base above said cover with said neck extending downwardly through an opening in the cover into said well and terminating above the bottom but below the top of the well, an annular gasket closely encircling said neck, the top of the gasket engaging the bottom of the receptacle and the bottom of the gasket engaging the top of said cover around said opening, said supporting means including releasable clamping connection between the base and reservoir compressing said gasket between the bottom of the reservoir and the top of the cover, whereby said gasket seals said opening around the neck, and means for hermetically sealing said receptacle above the surface of the water therein whereby water is automatically fed from the receptacle whenever the level in the well drops below the opening in the lower end of said neck.

11. In a steam iron of the type having a self contained reservoir carried by the sole plate, a horizontally disposed main reservoir section conforming in contour with the sole plate, a pair of laterally spaced posts upstanding from the top of said main section and carrying at their upper ends a hand grip spanning the space between the posts, both posts being hollow and having their interiors communicating with the interior of said main section to augment the water carrying capacity thereof, the upper end of one post being closed and the upper end of the other being open 11 to form a ller opening for the reservoir, a pas,- saaeway extending from the upper end 0f' said one post into said other post to permit escape of. air during the lling of the reservoir, and a Closure for Said 1111er opening.

In a steam iron, a sole plate having heating means therein and a steam passageway therethrough, a boiler carried by the sole plate on the upper face thereof, one of said boiler and sole plate elements being provided with a recessed portion to provide a well, a transverse baiiie upstanding from the floor of the boiler dividing the interior thereof into forward and rear secu tions, a stand pipe in the forward section of the boiler communicating with the steam passagewey through the sole plate for conducting steam the fabric being ironed, the floor of the fQlWald section of the boiler sloping rearwardly downward toward said baille and the oor of the rear section being horizontal and substantially ush with the lowest, point of saidl forward section, a drain passageway extending from the floor of the forward section past said baille to the floor of the rear section to permit drainage of moisture from said sloping forward floor, a water storage reservoir, and flow control means to feed water from said reservoir into said well and maintain the water lever in the well substantialy constant;L

13. A steam iron as in claim 12 wherein the forward floor section of said boiler and sole plate are spaced from each other to provide, an ah' space therebetween.

ROBERT J. SCOIT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 285,585 Del Valle Sept. 25, 1883 671,374 Flinn Apr. 2, 1901 1,347,971 Ray 1 July 27, 1920 1,521,058 Walker Dec. 30, 1924 2,164,881 Meyerson July 4, 1939 2,188,011 Miller Jan. 23, 1940` 2,302,476 Rubinstein Nov. 17,` 1942 2,337,078 Morton Dec. 21, 1943 2,427,521 Butman Sept. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 202,491 Switzerland May 1, 1939 690,034 France June 10, 1930

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