WO2018115662A1

WO2018115662A1 - Iron for domestic or professional use

Info

Publication number: WO2018115662A1
Application number: PCT/FR2017/053616
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guy Dupoyet; Brice Dupoyet; Nicolas Dupoyet
Original assignee: Guy Dupoyet
Priority date: 2016-12-20
Filing date: 2017-12-15
Publication date: 2018-06-28
Also published as: EP3559333A1; FR3060615A1; FR3060615B1; EP3559333B1

Abstract

The sole (2) of the iron (1) exhibits one or more housings or orifices able to accept within them, and allowed to protrude partially, one or more boulders (5) which are mounted in the iron (1) in such a way that their length is substantially parallel to the underside (2a) of the sole (2) of the iron, each roller (5) being able to turn. According to the invention, at least one of said rollers (5) is configured so that as it turns corresponding to a forward movement of the iron during an ironing action, it produces an action that tends to move the fabric or material that is to be ironed in a direction away from the longitudinal median axis of the sole (2).

Description

IRON FOR DOMESTIC OR PROFESSIONAL USE

The present invention relates to an iron for domestic or professional use, namely an iron of the type most frequently used, especially for clothing or linens. This iron is provided with a sole having a generally flat and heated surface which is intended to be applied, while hot, on one side of the articles to be ironed. The other side of said articles is generally brought into contact with either the upper and relatively flat, possibly flexible, table or ironing board, also well known, or a more or less rigid support device having a surface comprising one or more curvatures to better adapt to the configuration of the articles to be ironed, or a flow of air or steam having a swelling effect and itself partially degreasing.

Current irons generally have electric heating and, more often, nowadays, orifices passing water vapor through the sole, this steam being produced either inside the iron by resistors or other electrical devices, either outside, in a steam plant flexibly connected to the iron.

The irons, and especially their sole, which is a key element because in contact with the articles to be ironed, have been the subject of many improvements and patents to date, the objectives being most often to optimize the wrinkling fibers or articles to be ironed in a general way (from where, in particular, the introduction of the steam booster), to facilitate the work of the operator (human being or machine), to increase the qualities of slip and non-adhesion of the sole on the article to be ironed, and / or reduce the construction or use costs (power consumption, cleaning, etc.) of the iron.

Despite all these improvements, there are still some disadvantages inherent in this ironing system, and in particular the relatively large mass of the iron, often more than 1 kg, which is necessary if we do not want the operator himself to even to strongly press the iron during ironing so that the wrinkling and afterglow of the flattening of the surface of the article to be ironed are sufficient; also, the use of steam that is growing in the current systems to obtain sufficient efficiency in terms of wrinkling and persistence of the flatness obtained, will, in fact, increasing with consumption energy; indeed, it may be useful to remember that, under our atmospheric pressure, if we want to pass a single gram of water from the liquid state at 20 ° C in the vapor state to 100 ° C by heating, you have to spend more than 2400 Joules.

These quasi-necessities of mass and of important use of steam, and therefore of energy, are directly related to the difficulty of flattening areas of fabrics or fabrics of all kinds previously wrinkled by the simple combination of heat and compression between two relatively flat surfaces: that of the sole of the iron and that of the support (ironing table or other). The heat (temperature of the sole often included, according to the material of the articles, between 100 ° C and 220 ° C), related to the pressure exerted, contributes of course largely to the desired result, but it is not perfect, hence the addition of steam which, by changing both the temperature and the hygrometry of the ironing board, improves the result.

Nevertheless, the operators must frequently return to this or that area of the item to be ironed because the wrinkling has not completely disappeared or a "wrinkle" has been made by the action of iron, and must again manipulate iron and exert pressure, hence lost time and energy.

The present invention aims to overcome this significant disadvantage, providing an iron having a greater efficiency of wrinkling or unfolding of ironing articles than an iron according to the prior art.

DE 94 19 545 U1, FR 2 708 295 A1, US 2,164,085 A and

FR 2 087197 A5 describe various irons according to the prior art, does not achieve this goal.

The iron concerned comprises, in a manner known per se from DE 94 19 545 U1, a heating soleplate having a generally planar lower surface, possibly pierced with orifices for the passage of steam produced by the iron or by a central unit to which the iron is connected, the sole having one or more housings or orifices adapted to receive in them, and to let partially exceed, one or more rollers mounted in the iron so that their length is substantially parallel to the lower face of the sole of the iron, each roll being able to rotate.

According to the invention, at least one of said rollers is shaped to achieve, during its rotation corresponding to a movement of the iron forward during an ironing action, an action tending to move the fabric or fabric to iron in a direction away from the longitudinal median axis of the sole; this action can result:

at least one helical groove arranged in a roll, progressing from a median zone of this roll towards a longitudinal end of the roll or from a longitudinal end of the roll towards the other longitudinal end of the roll;

bristles or flanges present on the surface of the roll, oriented inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the roll, from a median zone of the roll towards a longitudinal end of the roll or from a longitudinal end of the roll towards the other longitudinal end of the roll; or

a roll having an envelope formed by a tubular piece of elastically stretchable material, this envelope being engaged and being pivotable on a curved rod mounted on the iron so that its convexity is turned towards the outside of the soleplate of the iron and protrudes from the outer face of this sole, so that the casing, during the rotation of the roller, undergoes a stretch at the middle portion of the roller.

The iron is thus equipped with one or more rollers and / or straighteners, which can significantly increase the efficiency of ironing.

The iron may have at least one roller extending on one side and the other of the longitudinal median zone of the sole, in which case this roller comprises, on two lateral portions, grooves, flanges or bristles such that mentioned above, which develop or are inclined from the middle portion of the roll towards the respective lateral portions of this roll, by developing or being inclined oppositely from one lateral portion to the other.

The iron may also have at least one roller extending only on one side of the longitudinal central zone of the sole, in which case this roller comprises one or more grooves, or collars or bristles, as mentioned above, which develop or which are inclined from a longitudinal end of the roll towards the other longitudinal end of this roll.

The axis of at least one roller may be substantially orthogonal to the median longitudinal axis of the iron sole or may not be orthogonal to this median longitudinal axis; it can notably form with this median longitudinal axis, on the front side of this sole (considered with respect to a movement of the iron forward), an angle greater than 90 °, for example of the order of 120 °.

At least one roller may be mounted on the iron non-movably in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sole of the iron, or be mounted movably in the same direction.

In this second case, when, especially in the ironing situation, a pressure force from the weight of the iron and the usual effort of the operator on the iron exerted on the spreaders rollers, these rollers, under the effect of this pressure force and given the flexibility of their constituent material and / or the flexibility of their mounting in the iron, are compressed and retract partially or completely in said housing or orifices. Thus, the iron according to the invention, when it advances in the ironing situation under the action of the operator on the article, generally textile, to iron, or the spreader rolls, by their exceedance, are rotated by their contacts with said article to be ironed, thus able to perform their function of unfolding / unwinding thanks to this relative movement of translation / rotation. The compression and complete retraction of their protruding parts, however, allows the lower surface of the sole of the iron to perform its conventional function of smoothing / flattening the ironed article.

When the sole of the iron is not based on anything, this or these spreader rollers, which have a diameter of between 4 and 30 millimeters for example and a length that can be between 0 and 150 mm (without these limits are limiting) partially exceed the lower surface of the sole of the iron, a dimension preferably between 0.02 mm and 10 mm, advantageously of the order of 1 to 4 mm, depending in particular on the diameter of the spreader roller, the flexibility of the material constitutive of this roll and / or the flexibility of mounting said spreader roller in the iron.

At least one roller can rotate freely relative to the iron, or can be rotated by a motor. This motor advantageously confers a variable speed to the roller, being of the DC type, for example, and, when it is not supplied with electricity, leaving the unfolding roller free to rotate. The control of the operation of said motor can be of very easy access for the operator, for example in the form of a progressive effect button (for variation of the speed), very advantageously combined, for the irons having the option Steam, steam control (simultaneous motorized stretcher and steam effects). The advantage of this motorized version is, on the one hand, to make the unfolding / wrinkling more efficient thanks to a speed of rotation of the spreading roller, which may be greater than that which is conferred on it by the only movement of the iron on the ironed article (without however reaching a level too important that could create problems due to the friction of the spreader roller on the ironed article), and, secondly, which can facilitate the movement of axial displacement of the iron by the operator, the motorized roller spreader also playing a role of driving the iron in translation on the article to be ironed, which substantially reduces the efforts of the operator for his ironing work.

Advantageously, the roll or rolls have, in their general form, tapered and / or rounded ends so as not to hang the fabric to be ironed during movements, possibly lateral, of the iron.

Preferably, the spreading rolls which will be mounted in the irons will be made, at least for the peripheral layer, a very flexible material, and / or have a very flexible configuration (see for example the spreading rollers with bristles or bouquets of inclined fibers of polymer marketed by the company MINK BÛRSTEN), or, for other types of spreading rollers (with groove (s) or curved shape for example), the very flexible material can be an elastomeric foam on a base silicone or fluorinated elastomers (such as VITON® for example) to withstand the ironing temperature and humidity, and Shore 00 hardness between 40 and 80 or for example Shore A hardness of between 5 and 50. Any grooving may be relatively deep (for example having a depth of about one-third of the diameter of the spreading roll), be inclined and / or be multi-grooved in order to soften again the part in contact with the item to be ironed.

The iron may include at least one conduit for channeling all or part of the steam produced by the iron or a central to which the iron is connected to the roller or rolls that includes iron, or around this or these rollers , so that this steam comes out of the sole passing towards the roller or rolls or around this or these rollers.

This steam can thus be partially channeled by the grooves (for spreading rollers which have such grooves) or can circulate all around fibers (for spreading rolls equipped with bunches of fibers), further optimizing the straightening or unfolding of the ironed article.

It is also conceivable to provide at least one of said rollers with a hollow structure and with one or more openings for exhausting the vapor through its wall and / or through flanges or bristles that comprise this wall of the roll, and to provide a supply of the interior of this steam roll, at the axis of rotation of the roll.

The invention will be better understood, and other features and advantages thereof will appear, with reference to the attached schematic drawing, showing, by way of non-limiting examples, several possible embodiments of the concerned iron.

Figure 1 is a partial view, front, of the sole of an iron according to the invention, according to a first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a partial view of this side iron, partially in section;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a first type of roller that can understand this iron;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a second type of roller that can include this iron;

Figure 5 is a view of the iron similar to Figure 2, according to a second embodiment;

Figure 6 is a view of the iron similar to Figure 1, according to a third embodiment;

Figure 7 is a view of the iron similar to Figure 2, according to a fourth embodiment; and

Figures 8 and 9 are views of the iron according to a fifth embodiment, respectively in partial section along the line VIN-VIN of Figure 9 and along line IX-IX of Figure 8.

Figures 1 and 2 show an iron 1 whose sole 2 is heated and has a lower surface 2a generally flat. In the example shown, the sole 2 is pierced with orifices 3 for the passage of steam produced by the iron 1 or by a central unit to which this iron is connected. The soleplate 2 has a plurality of housings or orifices adapted to receive in them, and to let go, two rollers 5 mounted in the iron 1 so that their length is substantially parallel to the underside of the soleplate 2.

The two rollers 5 are, in this embodiment, located in the front tip of the sole 2, a first roll 5 of shorter length being located in front of a second roll 5 of greater length, and each roll 5 s extending from one side to the other of the longitudinal median zone of the sole 2, that is to say from the zone situated along the longitudinal median axis A of the sole 2.

Each roll 5 is able to rotate about its axis and is shaped to achieve, during its rotation corresponding to a movement of the iron 1 forward during an ironing action, an action tending to move the fabric or fabric in a direction away from the A-axis.

It appears in FIG. 2 that the rollers 5 are mounted on the sole 2 by means of a mounting piece 6 fixed to the sole 2, this part 6 receiving journals 7 (FIGS. 3 and 4) of the rollers 5 through of two opposite walls that it forms.

FIG. 3 represents a type of roll 5 that can comprise iron 1, namely a roll 5 having, on both sides of a median portion 5a, two lateral portions 5b in which two helical grooves 8 are arranged, progressing in in opposite directions from the middle portion 5a to the opposite end of the corresponding lateral portion 5b. Each groove 8 has, in cross section, an internal flank 8a formed by a flat wall inclined relative to the axis of the roll, then a bottom 8b connected by a rounded recess 8c to an outer surface 8d of support against the fabric or ironing cloth. The flank 8a and the outer surface 8d form marked edges which, when the roll 5 bears against the fabric or fabric to be ironed, tend to perform the aforesaid action of moving the fabric or fabric.

It is understood that the iron 1 is thus equipped with one or more rollers 5 spreaders and / or steamers, which can significantly increase the efficiency of ironing.

FIG. 4 shows another type of roll that can be used, comprising bristles 9 or bundles of bristles 9 present on the surface of roll 5, oriented inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the roll, since the portion median 5a to the side portions 5b of the roll, being oppositely inclined from one side portion 5b to the other.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the iron 1, in which the soleplate is equipped with a single roller 5, which is driven by a motor 10 by means of a transmission belt 11 engaged on respective pulleys connected to the motor. and by roller. This motor 10 is controlled by means of a knob 12 equipped with a variator making it possible to vary the speed of rotation of the motor, and therefore of the roller 5. The motor 10 is connected to a power source by means of wires 13 and is connected to the button 12 by means of wires 14.

Figure 6 shows yet another embodiment of the iron 1 according to the invention, wherein the sole 2 is equipped with three rollers 5, including a front roller 5 and two rear rollers 5. The front roll 5 extends on either side of the median longitudinal axis A of the sole, and accordingly comprises grooves 8 as previously described, which progress in reverse on the respective lateral portions of the roll. Each rear roller extends only on one side of the axis A, and comprises a helical groove as aforesaid, unique, extending from one longitudinal end of the roller to the other longitudinal end of the roller; the groove of one of these two rear rollers progresses inversely with respect to the groove of the other rear roll.

In addition, it appears that the axes of rotation of these rear rollers 5 are not orthogonal to the median longitudinal axis A of the sole 2 but each of them forms an angle of the order of 120 ° with this axis on the front side of the sole 2.

FIG. 7 also shows another embodiment of the iron 1, in which the mounting piece 6 is connected to a duct 15 which is itself connected to the steam production unit comprising the iron 1. In this embodiment , steam is fed into the interior of the room 6 and flows through the orifice that includes the sole 2 for the passage of the roller 5, and this vapor can also flow in the grooves 8 or between the bristles 9 that includes the roll 5.

Figures 8 and 9 show yet another embodiment of the iron 1 according to the invention, wherein the journals 7 of each roll 5 are engaged and can slide and pivot in the lights arranged in the opposite walls of the mounting piece 6 receiving these pins 7. These lights are oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sole 2, and each of them receives a spring 20 bearing against the pin 7 and against the portion of the part 6 delimiting the end of the light on the side of this light opposite the surface 2a of the sole 2.

Each roll 5 is thus mounted floating relative to the iron 1, being returned to a position in which it projects beyond the surface 2a of the sole 2.

The invention provides an iron having decisive advantages, mentioned above, with respect to an iron according to the prior art.

The invention has been described with reference to several embodiments described by way of examples; it goes without saying that it is not limited to these embodiments and that the definition of protection results from the formulation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Iron (1) for domestic or professional use, comprising a heating sole (2) having a generally planar lower surface (2a), optionally pierced with orifices (3) for the passage of steam produced by the iron (1) or by a central to which this iron is connected, the sole (2) having one or more housings or orifices adapted to receive in them, and to let partially exceed, one or more rollers (5) mounted in the iron (1) of such that their length is substantially parallel to the lower face (2a) of the soleplate (2) of the iron, each roller (5) being able to rotate

characterized in that at least one of said rollers (5) is shaped to carry out, during its rotation corresponding to a movement of the iron forward during an ironing action, an action tending to displace the fabric or fabric ironing in a direction away from the longitudinal median axis of the sole (2); this action can result:

at least one helical groove (8) arranged in a roll (5), progressing from a central zone (5a) of this roll (5) towards a longitudinal end of the roll (5) or from a longitudinal end of the roll ( 5) towards the other longitudinal end of the roll (5);

bristles (9) or flanges present on the surface of the roll, oriented inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the roll (5), from a central zone of the roll (5) towards a longitudinal end of the roll ( 5) or from one longitudinal end of the roll (5) towards the other longitudinal end of the roll; or

2. Iron (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one roller (5) extends on one side and the other of the longitudinal median zone of the sole (2), and in that this roller (5) comprises, on two lateral portions (5b), grooves (8), flanges or bristles (9) as mentioned above, which develop or which are inclined from the middle portion (5a) of the roller (5) towards the respective lateral portions (5b) of this roller, by developing or being inclined in opposite directions from one lateral portion (5b) to the other .

3. Iron (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one roller (5) extends only on one side of the longitudinal median zone of the sole (2), and in that this roller (5) comprises one or more grooves (8), or flanges or bristles (9), as mentioned above, which develop or are inclined from one longitudinal end of the roll (5) towards the other longitudinal end of this roll.

4. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the axis of at least one roller (5) is substantially orthogonal to the median longitudinal axis (A) of the sole ( 2) iron.

5. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the axis of at least one roller (5) forms with the median longitudinal axis of the sole (2) iron on the front side of this sole, an angle greater than 90 °, for example of the order of 120 °.

6. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one roller (5) is mounted on the iron non-movable manner in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sole (2 ) iron.

7. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one roller (5) is mounted on the iron movably in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the sole (2). iron.

8. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one roller (5) rotates freely relative to the iron.

9. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one roller (5) is rotated by a motor.

10. Iron (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it includes at least one conduit for channeling all or part of the steam produced by the iron or by a power plant to which the iron is connected to the roller or rollers (5) that the iron comprises, or around this or these rollers (5), so that this steam leaves the sole (2) passing to or around the rollers (5) or around this or these rollers (5).

1 1. Iron (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that at least one of said rollers is designed with a hollow structure and with one or more steam escape holes through its wall, and / or through flanges or bristles that includes the wall of the roller, and in that the iron comprises a supply of the interior of the steam roller, at the axis of rotation of the roller.