WO2021043522A1

WO2021043522A1 - Stable support element for an active substance for treating a piece of clothing

Info

Publication number: WO2021043522A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/071995
Authority: WO
Inventors: Walter Heberlein; Frank Pessel; Christian Brueckmann; Ulrich PLATZBECKER; Vera DIEL; Jens Bode
Original assignee: Henkel Ag & Co. Kgaa
Priority date: 2019-09-04
Filing date: 2020-08-05
Publication date: 2021-03-11
Also published as: US20220298720A1; EP4025737A1; DE102019123708A1; KR20220052940A

Abstract

The invention relates to a support element (1) for an active substance for treating a piece of clothing, wherein the support element (1) is designed to be flowed through transverse to a main extension plane by a hot vapor (4) and to enrich the steam (4) with the active substance in the process. The invention is characterized in that the support element (1) has a structurally stabilizing frame (30) extending in the main plane and at least two chambers (34) which are separated from each other, wherein the active substance is stored in at least one of the chambers.

Description

Stable carrier element for an active ingredient for treating an item of clothing

The present invention relates to a carrier element for an active substance for treating an item of clothing.

In the unpublished German patent application DE 102018222295, a functional element is described that can be inserted into a receiving space of an attachment that is attached to a steam outlet opening of a steam generator. The hot steam from the steam generator flows through the planar support element transversely or perpendicularly to a main extension plane of the planar support element. When flowing through the vapor-permeable carrier element, the steam is enriched with the active substance contained in the carrier element, for example in the form of a fragrance, immediately before it hits the item of clothing. The item of clothing can thus be easily refreshed by the steam, so that a more complex washing or cleaning of the item of clothing can be postponed.

The carrier element of DE 102018222295 has a flat textile structure (steamer pad) into which the active ingredient is filled in the form of granules. When flowing through the fabric, the active ingredient is released and carried along by the steam.

The textile fabric (or pad) has a soft structure without significant inherent stability, so that it can be deformed or even buckled when it is inserted into the receiving space of the attachment and then does not lie properly in the receiving space. Also, due to gravity, for example, an uneven distribution of the granulate can develop within the textile fabric, so that a desired release of active ingredient is not achieved when the steam steamer flows through the fabric. In addition, the active ingredient tends to clump or stick together if it is distributed on one side in the sheet-like structure because, for example, in an area where the granulate density is too high, a sufficient flow speed of the steam can no longer be achieved. Ultimately, a one-sided distribution of the solid active ingredient within the attachment can lead to flow misdirections that promote undesired condensation of the hot steam in the attachment.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a flat carrier element for an active material for treating an item of clothing, which can be arranged in an attachment for a steam generator and enables simple and efficient treatment of the item of clothing.

The object on which the invention is based is achieved with the combination of features according to claim 1. Embodiments of the invention can be found in the subclaims to claim 1. According to the invention it is provided that the carrier element has a structure-stabilizing frame extending in the main plane and at least two chambers separated from one another, the active substance being stored in at least one of the chambers. Preferably more than three chambers are provided, of which at least two active ingredients are stored.

The frame gives the carrier element a certain stability, which simplifies its handling. Due to the increased stability, the carrier element can also be positioned more easily and more clearly within the receiving space of the attachment, so that an undesired incorrect position within the receiving space can practically be ruled out. If the (solid) active ingredient is stored in several chambers, the risk of the active ingredient being distributed too unevenly within the carrier element is reduced. With the multi-chamber system proposed here, different active ingredients can also be stored, the common storage of which in only one chamber could lead to problems during storage due to certain mutual incompatibilities of active ingredients. In addition, the multi-chamber system offers the possibility of assigning different functionalities to the individual chambers. For example, one or more chambers can store the active ingredient or the active ingredients, while a further chamber is designed to receive condensate that occurs.

The frame is preferably made of a plastic such as polyamide, ABS, PSA or a plastic composite material. The frame can also be made of a renewable raw material such as bamboo. It is also conceivable that the frame is made of a biodegradable plastic. Other possible materials for the frame are metals such as aluminum.

In one embodiment, the frame has a circumferential frame edge. An intermediate web of the frame, by means of which two chambers are separated from one another, can be arranged within the frame edge. If, for example, five chambers are desired within the circumferential frame edge, they can be separated from one another by four intermediate webs. An intermediate stand can connect two spaced-apart locations of the circumferential frame edge with one another, dividing the area which the frame edge encloses. The intermediate web can also meet other intermediate webs within the circumferential frame edge or represent a connection between two other intermediate webs.

At least one outer chamber can be provided, which is arranged outside the circumferential frame edge. Due to the arrangement outside the frame edge, a particularly clear separation from the chambers within the frame edge can be achieved. This can be advantageous if the outer chamber has a different function than the chambers within the frame edge. Preferably, the frame edge is continuously convex, which leads to a compact design of the carrier element. The frame edge can have a concave constriction against which the outer chamber can rest. Here, apart from this concave constriction, the frame edge is preferably also continuously convex.

A filling or composition of the outer chamber can differ from a filling or composition of the chambers located within the circumferential frame edge. For example, the chambers within the frame edge can be filled with the active substance, which is released when the steamer flows through the carrier element in order to enrich the steam accordingly. The outer chamber, on the other hand, can have a water-absorbing material such as a superabsorbent or a silicate.

In one embodiment, the carrier element has a flat textile structure to form a chamber. The planar structure can be filled, soaked, printed or wetted with the (solid or liquid) active ingredient. Another possibility is that the flat structure is filled with a carrier granulate, which in turn carries the active ingredient. The textile fabric can be woven, felted, knitted or knitted. The active ingredient can be a fragrance, laundry starch or an active substance based on oxygen.

The frame can have two frame parts between which the textile fabric is clamped. To clamp the planar structure, the frame parts, which are initially separated from one another, are connected to one another or placed on top of one another with the interposition of the planar structure. The frame parts can be connected by gluing, welding or by a snap-in connection.

In addition to the separation of the chambers by the above-described intermediate webs of the frame, the chambers can alternatively or additionally be separated by separating means directly in or on the textile fabric. For example, these separating means can be a seam or an adhesive line of the textile fabric.

The invention is explained in more detail using the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 shows an attachment and parts of a steam generator;

FIG. 2 shows a holding element of the attachment from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically shows the attachment of FIG. 1 in an unfolded state; and

FIG. 4 shows a carrier element according to the invention in various views (see FIGS. 4a to 4d). Before going into more detail on FIG. 4, which shows a carrier element according to the invention marked 1, it is described with the aid of FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows an attachment 2 which is attached to a steam generator 100, of which only one application tip 101 can be seen in the illustration in FIG. A steam outlet opening of the application tip 101 is covered by the attachment 2 in the illustration in FIG. Hot steam that is generated by the steam generator 100 is passed through the channel-shaped or tubular application tip 101 and emerges from the steam outlet opening. The attachment 2 is permeable to vapor. The steam emerging from the steam generator 100 thus flows through the attachment 2 to the outside. Further components of the steam generator 100, such as a water reservoir or a heating element for heating the water, are not shown in FIG.

The attachment 2 comprises a front cover 10 made of plastic and a holding element 20, preferably also made of plastic, which is also shown separately in FIG. The front cover 10 is rotatably connected to the holding element 20 about a pivot axis 3 via a hinge eye 11. The holding element comprises two spaced-apart hinge eyes 21 which laterally enclose the hinge eye 11 in the assembled state. The hinge eyes 11, 21 and a pin, which is guided through the openings in the eyes 11, 21, form a swivel joint between the front cover 10 and the holding element 20.

Figure 1 shows the front cover 10 and the holding element 20 in a closed position. In this position, a latching tab 12 engages behind an edge 22 of the holding element 20 and thus secures the closed or closed position. In contrast to this, FIG. 3 shows the front cover 10 and the holding element 20 in an unfolded state.

Together with the holding element 20, the front cover 10 delimits a receiving space for the exchangeable carrier element 1, which cannot be seen in FIG. 1 (but see FIG. 4 in this regard). The carrier element 1 is a sheet-like element, its spatial dimensions (length L and height H) being significantly larger in a main plane of extension than in a direction perpendicular to this main plane of extension (thickness D). The ratios L / D and H / D are both preferably greater than 3 or even greater than 5 or 7. In FIGS. 4b and 4d, the plane of the drawing lies in the main plane of extent. A preferred range for the length (in the direction of the horizontal in FIG. 4) extends from 100 to 150 mm. A preferred range for the height (in the direction of the vertical in FIGS. 4b, 4d) is 50 to 100 mm. The carrier element 1 is used to store an active ingredient. This active ingredient can be a fragrance, for example. If the carrier element 1 is located in the receiving space when the attachment 2 is placed on the application tip 101, the hot steam from the steam generator 100 flows through this carrier element 1 transversely to its main extension plane. The carrier element 1 is designed in such a way that it releases the active ingredient to the steam flowing through and thus enriches the steam with the active ingredient. The steam enriched in this way can be used in particular for the treatment of an item of clothing, the active material being added to the steam only immediately before the steam hits the item of clothing. To treat the item of clothing, the application tip 101 with the attachment 2 attached to it is directed at the item of clothing accordingly. The item of clothing can thus be freshened up in a simple manner, with any bad smells being eliminated by the fragrance. Because the active ingredient is added to the steam immediately before the steamer hits the item of clothing, the thermal load on the active ingredient can be reduced compared to an application known from the prior art in which the active ingredient is dissolved in the water, which is heated to generate the steam.

The arrows 4 in FIG. 1 are intended to illustrate how the hot steam from the steam generator 100 flows through the application tip 101 and the attachment 2. The hot steam emerges from several steam outlet openings 13 from the front cover 10. The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a total of nine steam outlet openings 13. The average openings 13 are arranged in an upper region of the front cover 10. In a lower region of the front cover 10 on an outer side 14 of the front cover 10, three elongated bracket elements 15 are arranged. They protrude slightly from the outside 14 of the front cover 10 and form a common ironing surface. Thus, the attachment 1 can also be used as an iron to smooth the garment to be treated. The bracket elements are made of a material with high thermal conductivity, for example metal.

It should be noted that FIG. 1 shows the application tip 101 with the attachment 2 attached in a basic orientation. The passage openings 13 are located above the bracket elements 15 and the front cover 10 is approximately in a vertical plane. Of course, it is possible to deviate from this basic orientation by guiding the application tip accordingly. If the attachment 2 is to be used as an iron, it may be that the attachment 2 with the front cover 10 is directed downwards and the front cover 10 then lies in a horizontal plane.

It is clear from FIG. 2 that the holding element 20 has a circumferential frame 23 with a flange 24. An unhindered flow of steam through the holding element 20 is thus possible. The shape of the surrounding frame 23 corresponds to the shape of an outer edge 16 of the front cover 10 (see also FIG. 3). In the closed position, the outer edge 16 of the front cover 12 encloses the flange 24. A separating web 25 is formed on the circumferential flange 24, which separates part of the oval or flow cross section of the holding element 20 enclosed by the frame 23. The separating web 25 branches off from the circumferential flange 24 in a lower area, i.e. where the hinge eyes 21 are attached, then runs approximately radially inward in a first section, spaced apart in a second section and approximately parallel to the flange 24 and finally again in a third section radially outwards, so that it meets the flange 24 again.

The outer edge 16 of the front cover encloses an area which corresponds to the flow cross section of the applicator tip 101. The area is preferably in a range from 40 to 100 cm ² .

FIG. 3 shows the front cover 10 and the holding element 20 in the unfolded state, with an inner side 17 of the front cover now being visible in the illustration in FIG. The inside 17 faces the receiving space for the carrier element 1.

A partition 18 is provided on the inside 17, the course of which corresponds to the partition 25 of the holding element 20. This means that in the closed state the dividing wall 18 and dividing web 25 lie one above the other and essentially completely overlap. The partition wall 18 also has two lateral openings or openings 18a. Any condensate that forms on the inside 17 of the front cover 10, with the usual basic orientation of the appliqué tip 101 with the attachment 2 placed on it, can pass through the openings 18a into a condensate collecting space 19, which is passed through the partition 18 and a lower section of the outer edge 16 ( Section between the connections for the partition 18) is limited.

FIG. 4 shows the carrier element 1 with a frame 30 which has a circumferential frame edge 31. The frame edge 31 also has an oval basic shape, which is slightly smaller than the outer edge 16 of the front cover 10, so that the carrier element 1, when it is in the receiving space, rests with the frame edge 31 against the outer edge 16 from the inside. If the retaining element 20 is folded up after the carrier element 1 has been inserted into the receiving space, the flange 24 of the retaining element 20 presses against the side 32 of the carrier element 1 visible in FIGS. 4a and 4d 30 fixed. Centering elevations 33 on the side 32 ensure that the carrier element 1 is exactly aligned relative to the holding element 20 or to the flange 24. When the front cover 10 and the holding element 20 are in the closed state, the centering elevations 33 rest against the flange 24 from the inside, viewed in the radial direction.

The carrier element 1 has a plurality of chambers, the chambers lying inside the circumferential frame edge being designated by 34 and an outer chamber lying outside the circumferential frame edge being designated by 35 (not shown in FIG. 4a). The frame edge 31 has a constriction 36, which has essentially the same shape as the partition 18 of the front cover 10 and the partition 25 of the holding element 20. In the closed state of the components 10, 20, the partition 18 and partition 25 each rest on one side of this constriction 36 . The outer chamber 35 can thus be arranged in the condensate collecting space 19 of the front cover 10.

The chambers 34, 35 comprise a textile planar structure 37 which, in the case of the outer chamber 35 in FIGS. 4b to 4d, and in the case of the inner chambers 34 only in FIG. 4c, is indicated as dashed lines. The textile fabric 37 can be woven, felted, knitted or knitted. The textile fabric 37 is then preferably soaked or wetted with the active substance. Another possibility is that the textile fabric 37 is filled with a carrier granulate that carries the active ingredient.

The outer chamber 35 has a special role. The chamber 35 can comprise material that can bind water (for example a superabsorbent). Condensate that forms on the inside 17 of the front cover 10 and flows along the inside 17 through the openings 18a can thus be chemically bonded through the outer chamber located in the condensate collecting space 19.

The frame 30 has a plurality of intermediate webs 38, 39 through which the chambers 34 are separated. The intermediate webs 38 are intermediate webs which extend between two points of the circumferential frame edge 31. The intermediate web 39, on the other hand, extends from the circumferential frame edge 31 to another intermediate web 38.

The carrier element 1 is designed mirror-symmetrically to a central longitudinal axis (runs in the vertical direction of FIGS. 4b to 4d). Correspondingly, the chambers 34, 35 and the intermediate webs 38, 39 also follow this mirror symmetry, as a result of which the carrier element 1 has a pleasing and tidy design.

The carrier element 1 with the frame 30 and the flat textile structure 37 can be produced by placing an overall flat structure between two frame halves, which are then joined together to form the frame 30. In the area of the circumferential frame edge 31 and the intermediate webs 38, 39, the textile fabric 37 is practically completely compressed, so that only between the intermediate webs 38, 39 and the circumferential frame edge 31 there are bulging spaces (see Figure 3c) for the active ingredient or the condensate Material. List of reference symbols

1 support element

2 attachment

3 swivel axis

4 arrow (steam)

10 front cover

11 hinge eyelet

12 locking tab

13 Steam passage opening

14 outside

15 bracket element

16 outer edge

17 inside

17 outer edge

18 Partition wall with openings 18a

19 Condensate collecting area

20 retaining element

21 hinge eyelet

22 edge

23 frames

24 flange

25 divider

30 frames

31 frame border

52 edge

31 frame border

32 page

33 Centering elevation

34 chamber

35 outer chamber

36 constriction

37 textile fabrics

38 Intermediate bridge

39 Intermediate bridge

100 steam generators

101 appliqué tip

Claims

Patent claims:

1. Carrier element (1) for an active ingredient for treating an item of clothing, the carrier element (1) being designed to be flowed through by a hot steam (4) transversely to a main extension plane and thereby enrich the steam (4) with the active ingredient characterized in that the carrier element (1) has a structure-stabilizing frame (30) extending in the main plane and at least two separate chambers (34), the active ingredient being stored in at least one of the chambers.

2. Carrier element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame (30) has a circumferential frame edge (31).

3. Carrier element (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the frame (30) has at least one intermediate web (38, 39) arranged within the frame edge (31), by means of which the two chambers (34) are separated from one another.

4. Carrier element (1) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least one outer chamber (35) is provided, which is arranged outside the circumferential frame edge.

5. Carrier element (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the frame (30) has a concave constriction (36) against which the outer chamber (35) rests.

6. Carrier element (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a filling or composition of the outer chamber (35) differs from a filling or composition of chambers (34) located within the circumferential frame edge (31).

7. Carrier element (1) according to claim 4 to 6, characterized in that the outer chamber has a water-absorbing material.

8. Carrier element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a textile fabric (37) is provided.

9. Carrier element (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the textile fabric is filled, soaked, printed or wetted with the active substance (carrier granulate).

10. Carrier element (1) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the frame (30) is also composed of two frame halves, between which the textile fabric (37) is clamped.

11. Carrier element (1) according to one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the separation between two chambers (34) takes place by a seam or gluing of the textile fabric.