WO2017158632A1

WO2017158632A1 - Ironing board with interconnection with a remote iron

Info

Publication number: WO2017158632A1
Application number: PCT/IT2017/000052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pier Antonio Milanese
Original assignee: Pier Antonio Milanese
Priority date: 2016-03-17
Filing date: 2017-03-14
Publication date: 2017-09-21
Also published as: EP3430190A1; ITUA20161793A1; AU2017234388A1

Abstract

Ironing board comprising a unitized body (1), supported by legs adjustable in height (4) and provided with a bored plane (2) covered by a breathable cloth (3), and comprising an electrical supply cable (16) for the ironing board, which is connectable to the electrical supply line, for supplying the various electrical components of the ironing board, a motorized fan (5) supported into the unitized body (1) and adapted to suck and blow the vapour, at least an electrical heating resistance (6) for the bored plane (2), at least a regulating thermostat (7) for the heating temperature of the plane, a control board (8) including the switch for turning on the board (12), a switch (13) for the suction/blowing ventilation, a pushbutton (14) for switching on the ventilation automatically, and comprising also at least a remote vapour iron separated from the ironing board, constituted by an iron (30) supplied with vapour by a boiler vapour generator (31) or by an iron (32) generating the vapour in the chamber of its own plate by introducing the water from the tank (33) inside the unitized body (1) with at least an electronic card (9) composed by various electronic components and by at least a radio receiver device (17); in said remote iron (30 or 32) at least a remote control is installed consisting in a remote control body (18) comprising an electronic card (20) with motion sensors (21), and a radio pulse transmitter (23), suitable to transmit or not transmit radio pulses to said radio receiver device (17), a pushbutton for reversing (22) the ventilation direction from suction to blowing and vice versa, a rechargeable battery (24), a USB plug (25) to recharge the remote control, and a fixed base body for the remote control (19).

Description

"IRONING BOARD WITH INTERCONNECTION WITH A REMOTE IRON"

DESCRIPTION

This invention concerns a new ironing board for domestic use with a device for radio interconnection with a remote iron on which a remote control is installed for the automatic start of the ventilation of the ironing board and the reversal of the suction/blowing function. Ironing boards are known with motorized fans for the suction and blowing function from the board that are particularly used for ironing with vapour irons. The switch-on, start and stop controls of the motorized fan are installed on the control board of the ironing board body as well as the controls for reversal from suction to blowing and vice versa.

Therefore, in order to be able to start the ventilation the operator shall manually operate the controls installed on the control board of the ironing board. The ventilation will work uninterruptedly until it is switched off by the operator.

In the same way, the reversal from suction to blowing and vice versa will be carried out by the operator by means of the controls on the control board.

This is clearly inconvenient for the operator, who is forced to manually press the pushbuttons on the control board and must leave the iron each time to press them.

Such inconveniences are completely solved by the new interactive ironing board provided with an electronic receiver remotely controlled by means of a remote control located on the iron so that the operator is not obliged to manually operate the ironing board controls and can also save energy.

The new ironing board consists of a unitized body, usually made of plastic, supported by metal legs adjustable in height. The upper part hosts a bored plane or a grid that allows air and vapour to pass through while ironing.

Such plane is covered with a breathable cloth on which the clothes to be ironed are laid. The body hosts inside a motorized fan for the suction and/or blowing function of the ironing board.

The bored plane is provided with a heating element and a thermostat to heat the same plane. A control board is located on the ironing board body and shows the ironing board on/off switch, a switch to start and reverse the ventilation from suction to blowing, and a pushbutton to start the automatic system interacting with the remote iron.

Inside the body there is an electronic receiver interconnected with the ventilation motor of the board plane by means of a control relay that is located on the electronic card of the device. Such device is started remotely by means of a remote control applied to the iron that the user intends to use. The remote control is provided with a radio-transmitting electronic card and with a motion sensor. When starting ironing and the iron is moved, the sensor activates the card that transmits a signal to the card of the receiving device located in the ironing board, which starts the motorized fan for the board plane ventilation by means of a control relay. When the iron is put down and does not move, the motion sensor sends another signal to the receiver that stops the motorized fan by means of the control relay, thus stopping the ventilation.

The electronic card of the receiver is timed so that the motorized fan stops with a certain delay after receiving the radio signal to guarantee that the motorized fan blows out all residual vapour inside the board body before stopping. When recovering the ironing operations, the cycle described above will start again.

Therefore, this system makes it very easy and automatic to use the ironing board without any manual operation on the pushbuttons located on the ironing board to start and stop the ventilation with the advantage that the ventilation is automatically stopped every time the iron is put down with remarkable energy saving and the elimination of noise.

The remote control also hosts a pushbutton for reversing the ventilation direction. When pressing this pushbutton, the remote control sends a radio signal to the receiver on the ironing board that, by means of a second control relay, changes the direction of the rotation of the motorized fan by reversing the ventilation from suction to blowing and vice versa without the need to manually operate the control board on the ironing board.

A USB plug is also located on the ironing board control board to recharge the remote control battery.

As an explanation but with no limitations of the characteristics of this invention, an example is now described of construction of the system according to this invention with reference to the enclosed drawings in figures A, B and C.

Figure A shows the entire ironing board, whose elements are shown in the following order: the unitized body (detail 1), the legs adjustable in height (detail 4), the bored plane (detail 2), the breathable cloth (detail 3), the motorized fan (detail 5), the heating element to heat the plane (detail 6), the thermostat for adjusting the plane temperature (detail 7), the control board (detail 8) that hosts: the ironing board on/off switch (detail 12), the switch for the suction/blowing ventilation (detail 13), the pushbutton for automatically switching on the ventilation (detail 14), and the USB plug for recharging the remote control battery (detail 15). Inside the unitized body an electronic card is installed (detail 9) that contains a radio receiver (detail 17). This card also hosts a control relay to start and stop the motorized fan (detail 10) and a second control relay to reverse the rotation direction of the motorized fan from suction to blowing and vice versa (detail 11).

Figure B shows a remote control to be installed on the remote iron. It shows the remote control body (detail 18) inside which an electronic card is located (20) with a motion sensor (detail 21), a radio pulse transmitter (detail 23), a pushbutton to reverse the ventilation from suction to blowing and vice versa (detail 22), a rechargeable battery (detail 24), a USB plug to recharge the remote control (detail 25) and the fixed base body supporting the remote control (detail 19). In the same figure B an example is shown of functioning of the motion sensor that consists of a casing (drawing 26) and of a wall (drawing 27) detached from the casing. When the remote control (drawing 18) is moved because it is fastened onto an iron (detail 30 or 32) the ball (drawing 29) moves and closes the circuits (drawings 27-28), thus changing the state of the motion sensor.

The ironing board is turned on by connecting the plug of the power supply cable (detail 16) to the grid and by pressing the pushbutton (detail 12) located on the control board (detail 8). When turning on the ironing board the heating element of the board plane (detail 6) is also turned on and the thermostat (detail 7) keeps the bored plane (detail 2) at the preset temperature (usually between 85 and 120 °C). The heated plane facilitates the drying of the clothes ironed with a vapour iron.

Figure C shows vapour irons that can be used and in particular a vapour iron (detail 30) fed by a boiler vapour generator (detail 31) and, as an alternative, an iron (detail 32) that generates vapour inside the chamber of its own plate by taking water from the built-in tank (detail 33). In both examples, the irons are completely independent from the ironing board.

Therefore, when the user begins ironing, the movement of the iron (dr.30 or 32) causes the motion sensor (detail 21) installed on the electronic card (dr.20) of the remote control (dr.18) to change its state because of the movement of the ball (dr.29) that closes the circuit when moving as shown above in the example of functioning (dr.28/27 ) and the electronic card (dr.20) sends a radio pulse through the transmitter (dr.23) that is received by the electronic card (detail 9) that hosts the receiving device (dr.17) in the ironing board (dr.l). The electronic card (detail 9) receives the pulse and activates the control relay (dr.10) connected to the motorized fan through a cable (dr.5), thus activating the plane ventilation (dr.2) that will remain on as long as the iron is moved.

Moreover, the electronic card (detail 9), is provided with a timed device and keeps the motorized fan (detail 5) working a few seconds after the iron has stopped and however for the time necessary to release all residual vapour inside the ironing board body (detail 1). When recovering ironing, exactly the same cycle explained above will be repeated.

This will automatize the ventilation start-stop function that depends on the movements made by the iron, without the need for the operator to manually operate the ironing board controls, thus saving energy and eliminating the noise produced by the fan that would otherwise remain on.

The remote control (fig. B) also hosts a pushbutton (detail 22) to reverse the ventilation direction of the motorized fan (detail 5) from suction to blowing and vice versa. When the pushbutton (detail 22) on the electronic card (detail 20) is pressed, it sends through the transmitter (dr.23) a radio pulse received by the receiving device (detail 17) located on the electronic card (detail 9) that causes the reversal of the ventilation direction from suction to blowing and vice versa through the control relay (detail 1 1) connected by means of a wire to the motorized fan (detail 5).

In this case too, the reversal of the direction of the ventilation occurs automatically without the need for the operator to manually operate the inverter (detail 13) on the control board (detail 8).

Moreover, the remote control (fig. B) consist of two elements, the remote control body (detail 18) and the fixed base body (detail 19) that is fixed to the iron body close to the handle (detail 34 of fig. C). Said remote control can be then removed from its base (detail 19) to recharge its battery by plugging the USB plug (detail 25) into the receptacle on the ironing board (detail 15 in fig. A).

This brief explanation is sufficient to an expert to build the invention and as a consequence, the actual application can show some variations that do not change the substance of the idea. For Milanese Pier Antonio

Claims

1. Ironing board comprising a unitized body (1), supported by legs adjustable in height (4) and provided with a bored plane (2) covered by a breathable cloth (3), and comprising an electrical supply cable (16) for the ironing board, which is connectable to the electrical supply line, for supplying the various electrical components of the ironing board, a motorized fan (5) supported into the unitized body (1) and adapted to suck and to blow the vapour, at least an electrical heating resistance (6) for the bored plane (2), at least a regulating thermostat (7) for the heating temperature of the plane, a control board (8) including the switch for the ignition of the board (12), a switch (13) for the suction/blowing ventilation, a push button (14) for switching on automatically the ventilation, and comprising also at least a remote vapour iron separated from the ironing board, constituted by an iron (30) supplied with vapour by a boiler vapour generator (31) or by an iron (32) generating the vapour into the chamber of its own plate by introducing the water from the tank (33) included therein, characterized in that in the interior of the unitized body (1) it is installed at least an electronic card (9) composed by various electronic components and by at least a radio receiver device (17), the electronic card (9) comprising moreover at least a first control relay (10) for starting and switching off the motorized fan (5) and a second control relay (11) for reversing the rotating direction of the motorized fan (5) from the suction state to the blowing state and vice versa ; that into said remote iron (30 or 32) it is installed at least a remote control, that is formed by a remote control body (18) including an electronic card (30) with motion sensor means (21), and one radio pulses transmitter (23), adapted to transmit or not transmit radio pulses toward said radio receiver device (17), a control push button (22) for reversing the ventilation from the suction state to the blowing state, and vice versa, a rechargeable battery (24), an USB plug (25) for re-loading the remote control, and a fixed base body (19) for supporting the remote control, said motion sensor means (21) being adapted to co-operate with said radio pulses transmitter (23) and being shaped in such a way to be displaced by the displacement of the iron (30 or 32), from a first operative position thereof, in which they don't activate said radio pulses transmitter (23), that therefore doesn't generate and doesn't transmit radio pulses toward said radio receiver device (17), to a second operative position thereof in which they activate said radio pulses transmitter (23), that therefore

generates and transmits some radio pulses toward said radio receiver device (17), with the consequent activation by the electronic card (9) of the first relay (10) that, being connected with said motorized fan (5), activates therefore the ventilation of the bored plane (2) up to the iron is still displaced, such electronic card (9) being programmed with a timer device in such a way that the motorized fan (5) be operated for some seconds after the iron has been de-activated, and anyway for the time needed for eliminating the remaining vapour present in the interior of the unitized body (1), and that when the ironing is started again the just described cycle be repeated, and characterized also in that by pushing the push button (22) included into the remote control and provided for reversing the ventilation of the motorized fan (5) from the suction state to the blowing stated and vice versa, the electronic card (20) including said push- button (22) provides to generate and to transmit a pulse to the radio receiver device (17), that activates said second relay (11) connected to the motorized fan (5), by determining consequently the movement reversal from the suction state to the blowing state, and vice versa.

2. Ironing board according to claim 1, characterized in that said motion sensor means (21) comprise a metallic casing (26) and a wall (27) spaced away from the same, and a ball (29) slidable into the metallic casing (26) and displaceable into the first and second operative position thereof, in such a way that in the first operative position of said motion sensor means (21) said ball (29) does not come into contact with said wall (23) and doesn't shut off the activation electric circuit of said radio pulses transmitter (23), and in the second operative position of said motion sensor means (21) said ball (29) comes into contact with said wall (27) and shuts off the activation electric circuit of said radio pulses transmitter (23).

3. Ironing board according to claim 2, characterized in that said remote control is also composed by a body (18) and a base (19), which is fixed to the unitized body of the iron (30 or 32), near the handle (34), in such a way that such remote control may be removed from its own base body (19) for re-loading its battery, by inserting the USB plug (25) in to the plug of the ironing board (15).