WO2004061192A1

WO2004061192A1 - Steam generating iron

Info

Publication number: WO2004061192A1
Application number: PCT/FR2003/003948
Authority: WO
Inventors: Augustine Fung Kai Tung
Original assignee: Augustine Fung Kai Tung; Beaulieu Alain
Priority date: 2002-12-31
Filing date: 2003-12-31
Publication date: 2004-07-22
Also published as: FR2849453A1; FR2849453B1; WO2004061193A1; CN1756868A; AU2003303572A1; GB2414488B; GB2414488A; GB0515434D0; AU2003300213A1; DE20321040U1

Abstract

The inventive steam generating iron comprises a sole plate (10) consisting of a heating surface provided with orifices (44), at least one heating element, a control unit making it possible to produce pressurised steam through said orifices and water vaporisation units consisting mainly of a steam generator which is formed by plurality of vaporisation chambers (26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36) beginning with the first chamber where a predefined quantity of water is introduced with the aid of the control unit in such a way that at least the part thereof is vaporised, to the end chamber (42) provided with the orifices. Each chamber is connected to the following chamber by means of a calibrated channel (38) in such a way that the successively arranged chambers from the first to the last becomes hotter, thereby successively heating vapour as it passes from one chamber to another.

Description

Steam generator iron

Technical area

The present invention relates to steam irons and in particular a steam generator iron.

State of the art

Conventional steam irons generally include a water tank, a steam chamber heated by heating elements located in the soleplate of the iron to quickly evaporate the water which reaches it drop by drop from the tank. The heated soleplate has the ironing surface having holes generally on the periphery through which the vapor produced in the vaporization chamber escapes.

Conventional irons have been improved so that excess steam can be sent for a very short time when folds in the ironing garment cannot be smoothed with only the steam produced in the steam chamber, the excess surplus outlet vapor being concentrated in a weaker area of the sole. These improved irons generally include a second chamber near the tip of the sole where the heating is most intense intended to provide an excess of steam. Irons with a surplus steam chamber are generally equipped with a manual water pump injecting a small volume of water into the chamber at each pulse. The user must give a boost to the pump to obtain a new surplus of steam. It is therefore a tedious and not very ergonomic constraint for the user, both for horizontal ironing and when the iron is used in a vertical position to smooth out. To avoid the above-mentioned drawback, it was therefore thought to obtain a surplus of steam continuously by means of a steam generator which may be inside the iron or outside. In both cases, the user presses a button on the handle of the iron either to open a valve when the steam generator is inside the iron, or to control a solenoid valve for supplying steam to the iron . Unfortunately, the use of such a steam generator makes the iron bulky and heavy in the first case or requires the use of a bulky system if the generator is outside the iron. In both cases, the addition of the steam generator entails a significant additional cost.

Statement of the invention

This is why the invention aims to provide an iron having a steam generator which does not lead to an increase in volume, weight or cost insofar as the generation of steam takes place in the spaces of the iron located near the heating element.

The object of the invention is therefore a steam iron comprising a soleplate consisting of a heating surface having orifices, at least one heating element, means for vaporizing water and a control means suitable for get pressurized steam through the ports. The vaporization means comprising a steam generator formed of a plurality of vaporization chambers from a first chamber into which a predefined quantity of water is introduced using the control means to be at least partially vaporized therein to a final chamber in which the orifices are located, each chamber communicating with the next chamber by means of a calibrated passage and the successive chambers being increasingly hot from the first chamber to the final chamber of so as to reheat the steam as it passes from one room to the next.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The objects, objects and characteristics of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description made with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an iron soleplate according to the invention, showing the succession of the vaporization chambers, and

• Figure 2 is an elevational view of a travel iron sole in which the first vaporization chambers are superimposed on the other vaporization chambers of the sole.

Detailed description of the invention

The sole 10 of an iron according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises one or more heating elements (not visible) made up of electrical resistors located at the base of the sole just above the ironing surface and of which the power is supplied by the two terminals 12 and 14.

The iron of Figure 1 has a main vaporization chamber 16 in which water from gravity from a water tank located above is vaporized. The steam thus produced follows a circuit passing through a chamber 18 at the rear of the soleplate allowing complete vaporization of the entrained water droplets and a rise in temperature, before arriving in two lateral corridors 20 and 22 where it s' escapes through orifices 24 passing through the ironing surface.

The sole 10 also includes a steam generator to provide a surplus of steam used mainly to smooth the crumpled parts of clothing. This generator consists of a plurality of successive vaporization chambers 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 separated by walls, each chamber communicating with the next through a calibrated passage such as passage 38 between chamber 26 and chamber 28. The last vaporization chamber 36 communicates by an orifice 40 with the final chamber 42 having the shape of a U-shaped passage located at the front of the sole where there are orifices 44 for outlet of the vapor through the surface. ironing. The first chamber 26 located at a location thermally distant from the heating elements is placed just under the supply of water to be vaporized which is carried out by means of a manual pump and operated by the user, the quantity of steam and the duration for which the surplus of continuous steam is obtained being determined by the number of pulses supplied by the user on the pump control.

The essential characteristic of the invention resides in the arrangement of the chambers of the steam generator. In a figurative way, the rooms are more "close heat" heating ^elements' when moving from the first to the last room. In physical terms, this means that the heat flow received by each of the chambers increases from the first to the last chamber. Note that to obtain such an increasing heat flow, provision could be made for the chambers to be closer and closer to the heating elements. However, other factors play a role in the value of the heat flow received. Thus, the latter also depends on the conductivity coefficient of the metallic materials located between the chamber and the heating elements, as well as on their thickness.

When water is injected into the first chamber, it vaporizes and, under the effect of the pressure generated, the steam passes into the second chamber and so on until the steam reaches the final chamber 42 where it escapes through the orifices 44. Because the first chamber 26 has a relatively low rate of heat received, the water does not vaporize instantaneously but takes a certain time (several seconds) to vaporize entirely. The vapor which passes into the second chamber 28 therefore transports water droplets. Because the heat flow received is higher in the second chamber, part of these droplets is vaporized at the same time as the steam increases in temperature. Thus, as the steam passes from one room to another, it heats up and gradually loses the fine water droplets transported. When the steam arrives in the final chamber 42 comprising the orifices 44, it no longer carries any water droplet), is at high temperature and under high pressure, which makes it possible to obtain the jets of steam suitable for smoothing.

Note that the iron includes a temperature control device (not shown) which can be a thermostat or an electronic sensor. In order to prevent the cold water injected into the first chamber 26 from sensitizing the regulating device (causing a sudden rise in temperature), it is necessary that the first chamber 26 (and to a lesser extent the following chambers) be distant of the temperature control device.

Although the iron which has just been described with reference to FIG. 1 is a conventional iron having a main vaporization chamber into which water is introduced continuously, it is clear that the invention can be implementation in any type of iron and steamer, even if it does not have such a main steam chamber. In the case where the iron only comprises the steam generator according to the invention, the quantity of steam obtained at the outlet of the orifices is depending on the number of pump control pulses applied manually by the operator. The higher the number of pulses, the longer the time during which steam is supplied. The use of the only steam generator according to the invention is justified for travel irons and steamers whose volume must be reduced. In addition, in a travel iron, it makes sense to optimize the reduced volume. Thus, with reference to FIG. 2, a travel iron soleplate comprises, in addition to the ironing surface, the soleplate fixing pads 52 and 54 and the connection terminals of the electrical supply, a steam generator in which the vaporization chambers are arranged in a rather original manner. Indeed, the first or the first two chambers are located in the upper part 58 and therefore superimposed on the other chambers of the lower part 60, the water being injected through an orifice 62 in the first chamber. Thus, where the first chambers are located at the upper part, they are more "thermally" distant than the following, which constitutes the essential characteristic of the invention while contributing to the reduced volume of the iron.

Claims

) CLAIMS

1. Steam iron comprising a soleplate (10) consisting of a heating surface having orifices

(44), at least one heating element, water vaporization means and a control means adapted to obtain pressurized steam through said orifices, said iron being characterized in that said vaporization means comprise a steam generator formed from a plurality of vaporization chambers (26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36) from a first chamber into which a predefined quantity of water is introduced using said means control to be at least partially vaporized in a final chamber (42) in which are located said orifices, each chamber communicating with the next chamber by means of a calibrated passage (38) and the successive chambers being increasingly hot said first chamber to said final chamber so as to heat the steam as it passes from one chamber to the next.

An iron according to claim 1, wherein each of said vaporization chambers (26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36) has a flow of heat received less than the flow of heat received from the next chamber.

Iron according to claim 2, wherein at least the first of said vaporization chambers (26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36) is superimposed on the following chambers.

4. Iron according to claim 2 or 3, in which water droplets are entrained with the vapor formed in said first vaporization chamber (26), said droplets being partly vaporized in the second vaporization chamber (28) and so on so that there are no more water droplets with the vapor when the latter reaches said final chamber (42) .

5. Iron according to one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a temperature control device and wherein said first chamber (26) is remote from said control device. So as to avoid causing a sudden rise in temperature when water is introduced into said first chamber.

6. Iron according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said control means is a manual pump actuated by the user, the amount of steam supplied through said orifices (44) being a function of the number of pulses applied to the pump.

7. Iron according to one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a main vaporization chamber (16) independent of the vaporization chambers of said steam generator into which water is continuously introduced so as to provide continuous steam through orifices (24) arranged on the sides of said sole.