US2660821A - Iron - Google Patents

Description

1 G. E. KANTA IRON Filed Nov. 15, 1946- I IN V EN TOR. George E. Kan ta BY/ 52 5% m lvx a ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 1, 1953 IRON GeorgeE."Kanta,Three Forks,"Mon't., assignor to The Hoover Company, North-Canton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio ApplicationNovember 15, 1946,;Serial No. 7119,9223

'5 Claims.

*The present invention relates to a new and improved sad iron construction, and more par- 'ticularly to those having a built-in heating device.

More specifically the invention relates to a sad iron having a unique operating handle movable to a non-ironing position in whichit cooperates with .another part of the iron to provide a wide base support having unusual safety and stability characteristics. Another feature of the invention is the provision of a collapsible iron rest which has a wide base so positioned that the center .of gravity of the iron proper falls well within its periphery when at rest for safety and stability purposes and yet one which is. rugged, .simpleand readily operated to a compact collapsed ironing position in which the rest presents no interferenceto the operator or the material being ironed.

The primary object of the invention is'therefore the provision of a novel sad iron having an operating'handle which, at the will of the user, can be simply and readily operated to provide a Wide base support .or quickly collapsed to a position in which the supports are entirely removed item the action area.

.Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and the drawings wherein:

,Figure l is aside elevational view partially in section of a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a side view showing the sad iron in an appended, rest position.

The sad iron may be of any conventional ty e, the one illustrated being of the electrically energized type having a sole plate H and a casins 2.

Secured to the front of the casing is a handle bracket which may comprise a generally .U-shaped member It. An operating handle it has its forward leg pivotally mounted in bracket 13 as by a through bolt l5. If desired, a coil spring [6 may be mounted on the pivot and have its ends operatively connected to the bracket and the handle so as normally to urge the handle towards a closed position against the iron, or to an open position as illustrated in Figure 2. Or spring 16 may be omitted since some users may prefer to move the handle to both open and closed positions manually. A preferred construction, and the one illustrated, employs the spring to urge the handle to an open position. This arrangement has the advantage of employing the spring to urge the handle to a fully open position and to insure a rest base of maximum size and stability without any particular vigilance on the part .of the operator.

,A .stop llxsecured to thej'lower end of the handle is shown as movable in arcuate slot 1'8 of bracket 13 and functions to limit the outward pivotal-movement of the handle as will be. readily understood.

Secured .to therear of the iron is an upstanding member or post 19. The adjacent portions of the handleconsist of front and side skirt members 28 which are shaped to telescope about at least a portion of this post. If desired, the lower rear end of the'handle may be provided with a cavity adapted-substantially to enclose post it when the handle is in closed position. Preferably fiat spring members '21 aremounted on member 19 and serve to guide the handle into closed position and to eliminate play "between'the handle and the post.

A passageway22 is provided inthe grip portion of theha-ndle, and houses a latch member-23' which is pivotal-1y mounted near the rear of the "handle at 24. The lower end of thelatch lever is provided with a'notch'25 which cooperates with a 'catch26 secured to post -t9. Tl'ieuforvvard end of the latch lever is prov-ided'with a manually operable button 2? extending through an opening '28 in the forward end of the handle into arconvenient operating position for the user ofxthe iron. Latch lever '23 is springbiased towards latched position by coil spring as.

An electric cord as may be permanentlyat- 'tached to the iron and extend through a side opening 3! in post it. 'A slot 32 in one of the lateral skirtmembers'z-fi of the handle registers with opening '31 and permits the handle to be pivoted into closed or open position without interference from the service cord.

The iron may be provided with a conventional manually operable temperature control device "having a control handle '33. As shown, this control is positioned centrally of the top side of the iron casing.

The operation of my novel construction will be apparent from the foregoing description. Normally the handle will be latched in closed position as shown in Figure 1, ready for ironing operation. However, whenever it is desired to discontinue use of the iron temporarily or for storage purposes, the operator merely depresses button 21 slightly and tilts the iron upwardly upon heel 34. Depression of button 2! rotates latch lever 23 counterclockwise and permits spring [6 to urge the rear end of the handle outwardly and upwardly until stop l1 limits the movement.

Hence, as the operator tilts the iron backwardly the handle pivots outwardly so that the rear skirt portions 20 of the handle come to rest upon the supporting surface. Thus, the iron is sup ported in part by the rear of the handle and in part by the heel 34 of the iron.

It will be apparent that the supporting base comprises the full Width of the heel, the full Width of the widely spaced apart skirts of the handle and the widely spaced apart heel and opened handle end. Moreover, the center of gravity of the relatively heavy sole plate and its associated casing will fall well within the periphery of this supporting base, thus assuring unusual safety and stability.

Whenever it is desired to place the iron in use, the operator merely grasps the handle and pivots the top of the iron forward while closing the handle against the base. As soon as the handle has become firmly seated about post i 9, spring 29 will cause the latch to become seated on catch 26. Under these conditions the two supporting members comprising skirts 29 and the rear of the iron casing will be adjacent one another as will be manifest from the drawings. Thus the portions of the iron utilized to provide a rest are instantly movable to positions forming a wide area base and collapsible to positions within the confines of the iron proper thereby eliminating the possibility of interference with the user or the material being processed.

When the ironing task is concluded, the operator may tilt the iron back on its support and place it in a confined storage area without fear of its becoming accidentally upset or of the hot sole plate coming in contact with adjacent stored articles. This constitutes another important feature of my invention.

Although the handle is shown as having its lower forward end pivoted to the casing, it will be understood that the pivot may be located at various points between its opposite ends without departing from the spirit of my invention. Thus, I have found it advantageous for certain purposes to locate the pivot at the top of the front leg portion of the handle, as for example, when it is desired to locate the temperature control in the front leg. Other locations may be equally desirable as will be readily understood.

While I have shown but a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not Wish to be limited to the specific construction shown and described but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A sad iron comprising a sole plate, a housing thereabove, a collapsible rest for supporting said sole plate out of contact with an ironing surface including an operating handle mounted on said housing and pivoted thereto forwardly of the grip portion of said handle, means for limiting the pivotal movement of said handle between a normal operative position and an extended position further removed from said housing, latching means for latching the rear, free end of said handle in said normal operative position when using or transporting said iron and for releasing said latch to permit pivotal movement of said handleto said extended position in which the free end of said handle cooperates with a portion of said housing to provide a rest for the iron to support the sole plate out of contact with an ironing surface.

2. A sad iron as defined in claim 1 including a cavity extending lengthwise of said handle grip through which said latch means extends, said latch means including a control button located adjacent the forward end of said grip and detent means cooperable with means rigidly secured to said iron for locking said handle in said normal operating position.

3. In combination with an electric iron having a sole plate and a cover shell thereabove, of an operating handle pivotably connected to said iron toward the forward end of said handle, an upstanding member rigidly secured to said iron adjacent the rear end of said handle, said rear handle end having a cavity formed to telescope over said rigid member when said handle is pivoted into its normal operating position and being engageable therewith to support said rear handle end during use of the iron.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 including means for mounting an electric service cord in said rigid member so that the service cord does not interfere with the pivotal movement of said handle.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 including cooperating means between said pivotably mounted handle and said rigid member to lock the same in telescoped relationship normally, and manually operable means for unlocking said cooperating means to permit said handle to be pivoted with respect to said iron when the operator so desires.

GEORGE E KANTA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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