US3570276A - Portable clothes steamer with water gage - Google Patents

Abstract

A HOUSING CONSTRUCTION IS PROVIDED FOR A PORTABLE APPLIANCE THAT STREAMS CLOTHES TO REMOVE WRINKLES. THE HOUSING COMPRISES AN UPRIGHTLY DISPOSED CYLINDRICAL TYPE HOLLOW WATERTIGHT MEMBER WITH AN ELECTRICALLY HEATED WATER CHAMBER INSIDE AND WHICH HAS UPPER AND LOWER INTERFITTING SECTIONS. A STREAM HEAD IS PROVIDED FOR TREATING A GARMENT AND A BAFFLE NETWORK BETWEEN IS DISPOSED IN A STREAM CONVEYANCE PATH BETWEEN THE HEAD AND THE WATER CHAMBER TO PREVENT SPILLING OF WATER WHEN THE MEMBER IS TILTED AND TO PREVENT SPUTERING OF STEAM FLOW BY CONDENSATION OF WATER.

Description

FIGZ

B. FRANK Original Filed Feb. 27, 1968 FIG.|

INVENTOR BERNARD FRANK ATTORNEY PORTABLE CLOTHES STEAMER WITH WATER GAGE l l I I {4 v I l J 4 I L March 16, 1971 United States Patent Ofice US. Cl. 68-222 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A housing construction is provided for a portable appliance that steams clothes to remove wrinkles. The housing comprises an uprightly disposed cylindrical type hollow watertight member with an electrically heated water chamber inside and which has upper and lower interfit-ting sections. A steam head is provided for treating a garment and a bafile network between is disposed in a steam conveyance path between the head and the water chamber to prevent spilling of water when the member is tilted and to prevent sputtering of steam flow by condensation of water.

This is a divisional application of US. Ser. No. 708,657 filed Feb. 27, 1968, now Pat. No. 3,485,065.

This invention relates to a portable garment steamer, and more specifically, it relates to structure for conveying steam from a heated water chamber to a steam head so that it may be used in steaming clothes such as described in my copending application Ser. No. 692,828 now Pat. No. 3,470,719 for Fabric Treatment Means and Methods, which is incorporated herein as a reference to the state of the prior art.

In a portable garment steamer which is manually operated and is fashioned for storage in a suitcase, problems are presented in making a watertight structure that will nevertheless generate and direct steam to a garment. If valves or shutters are used to retain water inside a steamer and to permit steam to escape, the device becomes expensive and perhaps dangerous if steam is generated and shutters or valves are not opened. Portable steamers are designed to stand in a position such that water is directed by gravity toward an internal electrical heater element. In operation, however, as the steamer is handled, it is tilted and tipped or even held in an upside down position momentarily. Also, it may be tipped over from its stand position, and in storage in a suitcase may be left for long periods in almost any position. It is desirable not to have to remove water from the device between use, and even if attempted, some drops remain that could leak.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a simple inexpensive garment steamer.

It is another object of the inventionto provide a garment steamer without any moving parts.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a gar ment steamer that is leakproof and which may be stored in any position with water inside.

These and other objectives and features of the invention will be recognized in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which makes reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a garment steamer constructed in accordance with the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a top view, partly in section, of a bafile element arrangement provided in accordance with this invention.

By reference to the drawings, it is seen that the portable 3,570,276 Patented Mar. 16, 1971 garment steamer rests upon a stand 5 to hold its substantially cylindrical, hollow body 6 vertically disposed with an apertured steam head 7 at the top to permit steam 8 to escape. Basically, the body 6 is watertight with a lower water chamber 9 having an electrical heater assembly 10 therein for heating the water 11. Preferably, the body is of plastic or has some insulating holding portion if of metal, since the steamer is hand held and this insulates the hand from the heated water and steam. The body is divided into upper 12 and lower sections 9 which are coupled at an intermediate position 14 by means of an interfitting coupling arrangement 15. This coupler can be either a threaded coupler or a bayonet type removable coupling which produces a generally watertight seal at the coupling.

The upper member 12 serves as a steam conveyance means between the lower water chamber member 9 and the steam head 7. Within this member 12 is disposed an array of baffles 20 with aperture or slot sections 21 disposed in such a manner that escaping steam must take a zig-zag path 22 out of the water chamber.

In this configuration, the top section 12 may be removed at the coupling 15 and the baffle array is affixed inside the top section by means of rod 25 and rivet or screw 26 to extend coaxially within the confines of the top section 12. As may be seen from the top view of FIG. 2, the rod-bafile assembly is made of a plastic material with the semi-circular wafer-like bafiles 20 disposed at an angle from the vertical body axis to provide at their lowermost extremities the slot-aperture position 21 through which the steam escapes. The baffles 20 may be of a semirigid plastic at least about the edges of the discs disposed on rod 25 to comprise flexible diaphragm-like contact at the engaging surfaces 30 with the interior surface of the upper section 12 when the rod-disc assembly is inserted into the top section 12, thereby providing in essence a watertight seal except at the aperture portions 21.

Preferably, the angle a from the vertical axis 3 1 at which the baffles are disposed is chosen to produce several desirable features. Any water droplets or condensation are directed by gravity back into the water chamber 9 by these baffles 20 through the reverse zig-zag path of that 22 taken in exit of the steam. This prevents any sputtering or wetting of the garment by means of water escaping with the steam 8. Also, the number of baffles may be chosen to produce the desired valveless leakproof feature of this construction. It may be seen that the amount of water 11 is limited to a height of 14 beyond which it may not be filled when upper member 12 is removed. This is the amount that may be efiiciently heated to steam and which resides below the first escape aperture 21A when the water is heated in the stand position.

To illustrate the leakproof feature, assume that the steamer tipped on its side. The water might escape into the first compartment 40 through aperture 21A but would remain trapped there. Slots 21, 21A may be staggered as shown in FIG. 2 if desired, to assure that water does not reach the head 7 in any rotary position when the body 6 is lying on its side. When returned to upright position, the water will return to the water chamber 9.

Even should the steamer be held temporarily in upside down position during use or in storage, the sloping baflles will constitute a series of cups designed with a capacity to hold the water capacity of water chamber 9 without reaching or spilling out of the apertures 45 in head 7. Even should some of the water reach the head 7, its angular disposition provides much the same action as the batfles, and the centrally disposed escape apertures 45 are surrounded by internally facing bosses or ridges so that a significant water level must be introduced to perm1t leakage.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable garment steamer comprising in combination a housing having a water chamber, heating means disposed to heat water in said chamber, an apertured steam head connected with said housing for treating a garment with steam escaping from the heated water and removable connection means dividing the steamer housing into two interfitting sections one of which comprises said water chamber permitting the entry of water thereinto, wherein the two sections are joined at an intermediate position which limits the amount of water to be held in the chamber to a specified volume.

2. A steamer as defined in claim 1, wherein said steam head extends away from and is disposed at an angle to the housing.

3. A steamer as defined in claim 1, wherein said head member comprises a flat outer surface having at least one centrally located aperture extending with inwardly facing surrounding bosses.

4. A steamer as defined in claim 1, wherein said head member comprises a fiat plate with a plurality of steam emitting apertures distributed throughout its surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM 1. PRICE, Primary Examiner

Images