ES2575406T3 - Ironing apparatus that includes a steam generating base and an iron interconnected by means of a steam duct - Google Patents

Abstract

Ironing apparatus comprising a steam generating base (100) and an iron (1) related to each other by a steam duct (4), the iron (1) including an ironing sole (3) comprising at least one zone humidification (30) of the clothing provided with steam outlet holes (31) and at least one drying area (32) devoid of steam outlet holes, the steam outlet holes (31) being fed by a chamber diffusion (50) conditioned within a non-heating body that covers the sole (3) in correspondence with the humidification zone (30) of the clothing, the drying zone (32) being in thermal contact with a heating body (6 ), characterized in that the steam conduit (4) includes a heating element (40), the diffusion chamber (50) being fed directly with the steam from the conduit (4), without passing through the heating body (6).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Ironing apparatus that includes a steam generating base and an iron interconnected by means of a steam duct

The present invention relates to an ironing apparatus comprising a steam generating base and an iron related to each other by means of a conduit for the transport of steam, the iron including an ironing sole comprising at least one humidification zone of the clothes equipped with steam exit holes and at least one drying zone devoid of steam exit holes, the steam exit holes being fed by a diffusion chamber conditioned inside a non-heating body that covers the sole in correspondence with the zone of humidification of the clothes, finding the zone of dried in thermal contact with a heating body.

It is known from patent application FR 1354961 filed by the requesting firm, an ironing apparatus comprising a steam generating base and an iron interconnected by means of a conduit for the transport of steam, the iron comprising a sole that includes a front part provided with steam exit holes and a rear part devoid of steam exit holes, the steam exit holes of the sole being fed by a diffusion chamber conditioned inside a non-heating body that covers the front part of the sole, finding the rear part in thermal contact with a heating body.

Document DE 4238502 discloses the characteristics of the preamble of revindication 1.

An ironing device equipped with such an iron has the advantage of having a sole equipped with a humidification zone for clothing, by steam emission, differentiated from a hot zone for drying clothes, allowing, when the sole is devoid of element heater in the vicinity of the humidification zone of the clothes, obtain a better condensation of the steam on the clothes and a greater ironing efficiency.

In this apparatus, the steam is passed through a distribution circuit within the heating body that crowns the back of the sole to ensure evaporation of condensates that form in the connection hose. However, when the temperature of the heating body is insufficient, the apparatus can expel condensates through the outlets of the sole. On the contrary, when the temperature of the coronation heating body is too high, the steam reaches the outflow holes of the sole with a temperature too high to verify a good condensation of the steam from its same tissue contact establishment.

Ace! therefore, it is an aim of the present invention to propose an ironing apparatus that remedies these inconveniences. It is another purpose of the present invention to propose an apparatus that is simple and economical in its implementation.

For this purpose, the object of the invention is an ironing apparatus comprising a steam generating base and an iron interconnected by means of a steam conduit, the iron including an ironing sole comprising at least one humidifying zone of the clothes equipped with steam exit holes and at least one drying zone devoid of steam exit holes, the steam exit holes being fed by a diffusion chamber conditioned inside a non-heating body that covers the sole in correspondence with the humidifying zone of the clothes, the drying zone being found in thermal contact with a heating body, characterized in that the steam duct includes a heating element, the diffusion chamber being fed directly with the steam coming from the duct, without passing through the heating body.

Such characteristic allows to obtain a steam flow with a temperature and a percentage of humidity optimized to ensure a good humidification of the clothes, reducing the risk of staining the clothes with steam condensates.

In fact, the presence of the heating element on the steam duct makes it possible to keep the steam inside the steam duct at a temperature sufficiently high so that very few or no condensates are produced. In addition, the absence of a heating element on the body that includes the steam diffusion chamber allows at the same time to simplify the construction of the iron and not to overheat the steam to obtain a wet steam.

According to another feature of the invention, the power and the feeding of the heating element are adapted so that the temperature of the steam at the outlet of the steam duct is between 100 ° C and 110 ° C.

According to another feature of the invention, the diffusion chamber is adapted to lower the temperature of the steam coming from the steam duct and bring it to a temperature of the order of 100 ° C in correspondence with the steam outlet holes of the sole.

Such characteristic allows to have a humid steam that allows to offer the best ironing performance.

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According to another feature of the invention, the heating element of the steam duct has a power between 100 W and 400 W.

According to another feature of the invention, the heating body includes a screen-printed flat heating element.

Such heating element has the advantage of having a low thermal inertia, so that it allows to obtain a rapid change in the temperature of the sole, especially in the cooling phases.

According to another feature of the invention, the surface of the humidification zone of the sole, covered by the diffusion chamber, represents between 30% and 50% of the total surface of the sole.

Such characteristic allows to offer an optimal relation of surfaces between the humidification zone and the zone of drying of the clothes.

According to another feature of the invention, the steam duct is made of EPDM elastomeric material (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) that is not electrically conductive or silicone.

Such materials have the advantage of having good vapor resistance and good pressure behavior.

According to another feature of the invention, the heating element includes at least one heating wire that is braided on the steam conduit, said heating wire assuming only a partial covering of the steam conduit.

According to another feature of the invention, the heating wire is constituted by a stainless steel wire with a diameter of less than 1 mm, advantageously coated with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).

According to another feature of the invention, the steam duct includes reinforcing threads, advantageously made of para-aramid fiber, which are braided over the steam duct, the reinforcing threads assuming only a partial covering of the steam duct .

According to another feature of the invention, the steam duct includes an external braid that covers the whole of the steam duct, the heating wire and the occasional reinforcing threads.

Such characteristic allows to verify a thermal insulation of the steam duct and the heating wires with respect to the outside.

According to another feature of the invention, the external braid includes a mixture of metharamid aramid fibers and glass fibers.

According to another feature of the invention, the humidification zone of the clothes is conditioned in a front part of the sole, and the drying zone is conditioned in a rear part of the sole.

The purposes, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood in accordance with the description given below in a particular embodiment of the invention, presented by way of non-limiting example, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view from one side of an ironing apparatus according to a particular embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lower part of a sole subset, steam diffusion chamber and heating body with which the iron of the ironing apparatus of Figure 1 is equipped, the sole being shown separated from the heating body and of the steam diffusion chamber;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the upper part of the assembled subset of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the subset of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view of a section of the steam duct integrated in the link cord that relates the steam generating base to the iron, the link cord being devoid of its outer braid; Y

Figure 6 is a view of the section of the steam duct of Figure 5 provided with its outer braid.

Only the elements necessary for the understanding of the invention have been represented. To facilitate the reading of the drawings, the same elements of the same references have been provided through the different figures.

Figure 1 represents an ironing apparatus that includes a steam generating base 100 and an iron 1

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related to each other by means of a link cord 2, including the plate 1, conventionally, an ironing sole 3, advantageously made of stainless steel or an enamel coated aluminum sheet, crowned by a plastic material housing that conventionally has an integrated grab handle

The base 100 includes an inclined plane on which the iron 1 can rest in the inoperative ironing phases and, in a known manner, accommodates a boiler 101 for steam production under a pressure of the order of 4 to 6 pubs. The boiler 101 is fed with water from a tank 102 by means of a pump 103 and comprises a steam outlet orifice equipped with an electrovalve 104 whose opening is governed by a trigger 10 arranged under the handle of the iron 1, being connected the solenoid valve 104 with a steam duct 4 integrated in the connection cord 2.

The base 100 is connected to the home electrical network by an electric wire 105 which at the same time allows the electric feeding of heating means of the boiler 101 and the electric feeding of the iron 1 by means of several electric wires, not represented in the figures, integrated in the link cord 2.

According to Figure 2, the sole 3 of the iron has a front part that includes a humidification zone 30 of the clothes, provided with steam outlet holes 21, surmounted by a non-heating body 5, and has a rear part comprising a drying zone 32, devoid of steam outlet holes, surmounted by a heating body 6, representing the humidification zone 30 of the clothes, preferably between 30 and 50% of the total surface of the sole 3 .

The heating body 6 is advantageously constituted by a metal plate that includes a screen-printed flat heating element 60, with a power comprised between 200 W and 500 W, which comes into contact with the rear part of the drying zone 32 of the sole 3, This flat heating element 60 being electrically fed, screen-printed by an electronic card comprising an thermostat that allows a regulation of the temperature of the drying zone 32 of the sole 3 around a setpoint temperature, advantageously adjustable by the user, between 115 ° C and 200 ° C.

The non-heating body, which covers the humidification zone 30 of the sole, is constituted by a cover 5 defining a steam diffusion chamber 50 above the steam outlet holes 31 of the sole 3, the lid being made 5, advantageously, by molding in a plastic material or in an aluminum foundry.

As can be seen in Figures 2 to 4, the steam diffusion chamber 50 is constituted by a cavity whose lower surface is delimited by the front part of the sole 3 and whose upper and perimeter walls are delimited by the cover 5, including the cover 5 projecting walls that run through the interior of the diffusion chamber 50 to determine a circular diffusion channel 51 provided with side slits 51A which are in charge of a homogeneous distribution of the steam above the front part of the sole 3.

According to FIG. 4, the steam diffusion chamber 50 is steam fed by an intake port 52 made in the lid 5, the intake port 52 flowing into the diffusion channel 51 and being directly connected to the duct steam 4 integrated in the connection cord 2 that relates the iron 1 with the steam generating base 100.

More particularly according to the invention, the steam conduit 4 includes a heating element 40 which allows limiting the cooling of the steam contained in the steam conduit 4 and preventing the appearance of condensates.

For this purpose, the steam conduit 4 is advantageously made of an elastomeric material of the EPDM type (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer), preferably non-conductive of electricity, and the heating element is constituted by one or more electric heating wires 40 which they are braided on the steam duct 4, as shown schematically in figure 5.

By way of example, the heating wires 40 are constituted from stainless steel wires of a diameter of less than 1 mm, coated with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), which have an electrical resistance of the order of 13 ohms / m. The heating wires can be fed with an alternating voltage of 220 V by an electronic card that carries the steam generating base 100, the electrical supply of the heating wires 40 can be regulated by a thermostat or carried out continuously or periodically, with a alternation of feeding phases and cutting phases.

Depending on the length of the connecting cord 2, the total power released by the heating wires 40 with which the steam duct 4 is equipped is advantageously between 100 W and 400 W.

Preferably, the steam conduit 4 carries a thermal fuse, not shown in the figures, to cut the supply current of the heating wires 40 when the temperature of the steam conduit 4 exceeds a predetermined threshold, for example of the order of 130 ° C, in order to avoid overheating in an occasional failure of the supply system of the heating wires 40.

According to Fig. 5, the support of the electric heating wires 40 on the steam duct is advantageously reinforced by a braid of reinforcing wires 41 that intersect with the heating wires 40

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partially covering them, the reinforcing threads 41 being preferably constituted by synthetic para-aramid yarns, such as threads made from Twaron® fibers marketed by the Teijin firm or Kevlar® fibers marketed by the Du Pont de Nemours firm.

The whole of the steam duct 4, the heating wires 40 and the reinforcing wires 41 as! It is made covered with an external braid 42 illustrated in Figure 6, whose function is to protect and thermally insulate the heating wires 40 from the outside, the external braid 42 being preferably constituted by a mixture of synthetic meta-aramid and fiber threads of glass covering the cord assembly 4. By way of example, synthetic meta-aramid yarns are made from Nomex® fibers marketed by the firm Du Pont de Nemours.

The operation of such ironing apparatus will now be described.

At the start of the apparatus, the boiler 101 is heated by its heating means so that the water it contains is boiled, the heating wires 40 of the steam cord 4 being electrically fed from the same tensioning of the apparatus, of so that the interior of the steam duct 4 is brought to a temperature of at least 100 ° C, and preferably at a temperature between 100 ° C and 110 ° C.

When the water contained in the boiler 101 is boiling, a pilot indicates to the user that the apparatus is ready for use and the user can carry out a steam ironing session by pressing the trigger 10 of the iron 1 to open the solenoid valve 104 and release the steam through the steam duct 4.

The steam is then transmitted to the iron 1 passing through the steam duct 4 heated to a temperature greater than or equal to 100 ° C, so that the steam reaches the iron 1 without having been cooled sufficiently to allow the appearance of condensates .

In particular, the steam contained in the steam conduit 4 is maintained at a temperature greater than 100 ° C, even during the ironing phases during which the steam remains stagnant within the steam conduit 4, that is, when the user does not press trigger 10.

When the steam reaches the inside of the iron 1, it penetrates directly into the steam diffusion chamber 50 through the intake port 52 made in the cover 5 covering the humidification zone 30 of the sole 3. The passage of the steam flow the diffusion chamber 50 is accompanied by a decrease in the steam temperature, due to the absence of a heating element on the lid 5, then the steam temperature collapses until reaching a temperature of the order of 100 ° C corresponding to the holes of steam output 31 of the sole, resulting in such a decrease in steam temperature increasing the percentage of steam moisture, increasing the number of small droplets of water, of a diameter less than 10 pm, contained in the steam flow

The diffusion of this humid steam flow makes it possible to guarantee very good ironing performance, presenting the humidification zone 30 of the sole, covered by the diffusion chamber 50, the advantage of being heated only by conduction of the heat coming from the rear heater through the thickness of the sole 3, so that the sole 3 has, in correspondence with the steam outlet holes 31, a slightly elevated temperature, advantageously less than 110 ° C, which contributes to excellent vapor condensation in the clothes to be ironed.

Therefore, the ironing apparatus ace! It has a sole 3 equipped with a front part, not heated, equipped with steam outlet holes 31, which allows to obtain an excellent humidification of the clothes, while the rear part 32 of the sole, which is heated and is devoid of steam outlet holes, allows to quickly evaporate all the moisture contained in the clothes in the movement of the iron 1 forward.

In addition, the use of a flat-screen heating element 60 screen-printed to heat the heating zone of the sole 3 allows to obtain a very large reactivity of the drying zone to the temperature changes of the thermostat, thanks to the scarce thermal inertia of the element flat screen 60 heater.

Finally, iron as! It has the advantage of being less heavy and of being smaller, since it does not include the smelter usually necessary to reheat the steam at the steam duct outlet. Thus, an iron is obtained that has a greater manageability, which, therefore, contributes to reducing the ironing operation's hardship.

Obviously, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and illustrated, which has only been given by way of example. Modifications are no longer possible, especially from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution by other technically equivalent ones, without thereby leaving the scope of protection of the invention.

Thus, in a variant embodiment not shown, the sole may have a humidification zone, provided with steam outlet holes, fitted in the center of the sole, and a drying zone devoid of

steam outlet holes, arranged on the periphery of the sole, drying zone surrounding the humidification zone.

Thus, in a variant embodiment, the steam duct may be made of silicone or any other material that is not electrically conductive but resistant to pressure.

5 Thus, in another variant embodiment, the steam duct could be made of an electrically conductive EPDM material, the heating wires being then coated with an insulating material, being, for example, impregnated with silicone.

Thus, in a variant embodiment not shown, the heating body could be constituted by a smelter that encloses an armored electrical resistance.

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Claims (13)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 1. Ironing apparatus comprising a steam generating base (100) and an iron (1) interconnected by means of a steam conduit (4), the iron (1) including an ironing sole (3) comprising at least a humidification zone (30) of the clothes provided with steam exit holes (31) and at least one drying zone (32) devoid of steam exit holes, the steam exit holes (31) being fed by a diffusion chamber (50) conditioned inside a non-heating body that covers the sole (3) in correspondence with the humidification zone (30) of the clothes, the drying zone (32) being found in thermal contact with a heating body (6), characterized in that the steam duct (4) includes a heating element (40), the diffusion chamber (50) being fed directly with the steam coming from the duct (4), without passing through the heating body (6) ). 2. Ironing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the power and supply of the heating element (40) are adapted so that the temperature of the steam at the outlet of the steam duct is between 100 ° C and 110 ° C. 3. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the diffusion chamber (50) is adapted to lower the temperature of the steam coming from the steam duct (4) and bring it to a temperature of the order of 100 ° C in correspondence with the steam outlet holes (31) of the sole. 4. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the heating element (40) of the steam duct has a power between 100 W and 400 W. 5. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said heating body (6) includes a screen-printed flat heating element (60). 6. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the surface of the humidification zone (30) of the sole (3), covered by the diffusion chamber (50), represents between 30% and 50% of the total surface of the sole (3). 7. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the steam conduit (4) is made of EPDM elastomeric material (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) which is not electrically conductive or silicone. 8. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the heating element includes at least one heating wire (40) that is braided on the steam duct (4), said heating wire assuming so only a partial covering of the steam duct (4). 9. Ironing apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the heating wire (40) is constituted by a stainless steel wire with a diameter of less than 1 mm, advantageously coated with PTFE. 10. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the steam duct (4) includes reinforcing threads (41), advantageously made of para-aramid fiber, which are braided over the steam duct (4), said reinforcement threads (41) assuming only a partial covering of the steam duct (4). 11. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the steam duct (4) includes an external braid (42) covering the steam duct assembly (4) of the heating wires (40) ) and the occasional reinforcement threads (41). 12. Ironing apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the outer braid (42) includes a mixture of meta-aramid fibers and glass fibers. 13. Ironing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the humidification zone (30) of the clothes is conditioned in a front part of the sole (3), and the drying zone (32) is condition on a back of the sole (3).