CN100567617C - Steam ironing appliance, ironing board and ironing system having means for providing an electrical steam output - Google Patents

Abstract

A kind of steam ironing appliance (10) uses ionization to arrange that (30) provide the steam output of ionization.Ionization process, the steam particle is resolved into trickleer particle especially for the high-energy discharge of ionization.As a result, more the steam particle that is generated of vast scale can be penetrated in the fabric of institute's ironing out of total laundry to improve fabric treating and wet fabric.Also can use air ionization.Ionization process improves by the temperature of restriction steam.

Description

Steam ironing appliance, ironing board and ironing system having means for providing an electrical steam output

technical field

The present invention relates to a steam ironing appliance such as a steam iron with an integrated water reservoir, a steam ironing system with a separate steam boiler or an integrated steam iron in which the boiler or steam generator is integrated with the ironing board. Steam ironing system.

Background technique

Steam irons are well known household appliances.

Conventional steam irons include a soleplate heated by an electric heating unit. Keep the soleplate at the desired temperature with the help of a thermostat and temperature dial. Steam is generated by a steam generator consisting of a water tank, dosing pump and steam chamber. The water pump pumps water from the tank to the steam chamber via the hose (as droplets rather than a large stream) under command of the pump signal from the electronic control unit. The water supply rate dictates the amount of steam produced, which is low enough not to significantly affect the temperature of the soleplate.

Instead of a pump system, water can be dosed to the steam chamber under gravity.

The steam room is usually heated by the soleplate, but an auxiliary heating unit can be provided instead.

Steam from the steam chamber reaches steam ports provided in the base of the soleplate.

The steam produced by the steam iron is used to moisten the fabric to be ironed. Applying moisture to the garment during ironing makes the ironing process easier and reduces the time required. Specifically, the softness of some fabrics increases with water content, especially cotton, linen, viscose and wool. The application of moisture thus renders the fabric ready for subsequent ironing. This ironing process is essentially a relaxation process by which the fabric recovers from the plastic deformation caused by the wearing of the garment. An optional way to apply steam is to use a cold water spray or to pre-wet the garments prior to ironing.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to improve the effectiveness of the steam iron.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steam ironing device, comprising: an iron with a soleplate for pressing an object to be ironed; a water reservoir; and a steam generating device, wherein the ironing device further includes a Means for providing an electrified steam output to said item being ironed.

Charging the steam output achieves the object of the invention by providing smaller steam droplets, since the formation of larger droplets is prevented by electrostatic forces. As a result, a greater proportion of the generated steam droplets can penetrate into the fabric of the garment being ironed. The finer steam also presents an increased surface area of the steam droplets, enabling faster dissipation of heat. This allows for increased condensation levels for fabrics to be achieved.

Preferably, charging is achieved using an ionization arrangement. It has been found that the ionization process, in particular the high energy electrical discharge used for the ionization, can also break down the vapor droplets into finer droplets, thus having the above mentioned benefits.

The invention is also based on the recognition that the effectiveness of the ionization process is temperature dependent and is more efficient at lower temperatures, which may be below normal steam temperatures. Thus, in one aspect, the present invention also seeks to reduce the temperature of the ionized vapor.

Preferably, the temperature of the steam output is below 160 degrees Celsius for all temperature settings of the device.

By ensuring that the steam output has a low temperature below 160 degrees Celsius, the ionization to provide the charged output is more efficient.

The steam generating means preferably comprises a chamber and provides saturated steam as a steam output. This provides a mechanism for obtaining steam temperatures below 160 degrees.

Even more preferably, the temperature of the steam output is between 100 degrees Celsius and 150 degrees Celsius for any temperature setting of the device.

The steam generating means may comprise a chamber with a dosing water input from the water reservoir, and the dosing water input may be arranged adjacent to the steam output from the steam generating means. By providing the steam output from a portion of the steam chamber in the vicinity of the water dosing input, this provides a way of obtaining low temperature (ie below 160 degrees Celsius) saturated steam as output. In particular, the steam generated in the vicinity of the water supply to the steam chamber, preferably from a cold water reservoir, will be saturated steam.

Instead, the steam output from the steam generating device may be coupled to a region adjacent to the dosing water input through a steam channel. This also means that the steam delivered to the steam output originates in the vicinity of the dosing water input, ie the area in the steam chamber where saturated steam will be present.

These steam channels are then preferably arranged through the vicinity of the lower temperature regions of the soleplate of the iron. This minimizes heating of the steam as it passes from near the dosing water input to the steam output.

Steam can be supplied from the steam generating device to the steam output via these channels, which themselves provide cooling, for example if formed with thermally insulating material. The steam channel can extend beyond the floor, for example. This enables the steam temperature to be reduced compared to the temperature in the steam chamber.

The means for providing a charged output may also include means for providing ionized air. This can be applied directly to the laundry or mixed with steam.

The iron preferably comprises a steam chamber with a steam outlet nozzle, while an electrode arrangement is provided within the steam chamber. For example, an electrode arrangement may comprise at least two electrodes to which different voltages are applied. These electrodes then provide a field that causes ionization. The electrode arrangement may instead comprise at least two electrodes to which the first voltage is applied, while the vapor chamber may define a further ground electrode. Water molecules in the vicinity of the electrodes are then charged to the same polarity.

For example, substantially only negatively charged water droplets may be provided in the steam output. It has been found that fabrics tend to be positively charged and the generation of negatively charged steam droplets exploits this by allowing the electrostatic attraction of steam droplets to the fabric. This makes the use of the generated steam more efficient.

The steam may be generated using the same heater arrangement as used for the soleplate, or other different heating arrangements may be used.

Embodiments of the steam ironing appliance according to the invention are defined in claims 2 to 28 .

The present invention also provides a steam ironing system, comprising:

Irons having a soleplate for pressing the item to be ironed;

ironing board;

water storage and steam generating means; and

A device for supplying an electrified steam output to items to be ironed.

The system according to the invention uses steam charging as described above in a system comprising an ironing board. The steam generating means may be part of the board or part of the iron.

Embodiments of the steam ironing system according to the invention are defined in claims 30 to 32 .

The present invention also provides an ironing method comprising applying charged steam to the clothes during the ironing process, the steam having a temperature below 160 degrees Celsius.

Description of drawings

Examples of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a first example of a steam iron according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows in detail the steam chamber of the iron of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 shows a second example of a steam iron according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a third example of a steam iron according to the invention;

Figures 5A and 5B show two versions of a fourth example of a steam iron according to the invention;

Figure 6 shows an example of a soleplate for an embodiment of the steam iron of the present invention;

Figure 7 shows the design of the ionization chamber of the present invention;

Figure 8 shows another embodiment of the steam iron of the present invention using a shielding plate;

Figure 9 shows the ironing system of the present invention, wherein the steam generation is integrated into the ironing board; and

Fig. 10 shows yet another example of the steam iron of the present invention using external cooling channels.

Detailed ways

Figure 1 shows a first example of an iron according to the invention.

The iron comprises a metal soleplate 12 heated by an electric heating unit 14 . The temperature of the soleplate is maintained at the desired temperature by means of a thermostat and a temperature dial 16 . Steam is generated by a steam generator comprising a water tank 18 , a dosing pump 20 and a steam chamber 22 . The water pump 20 pumps water from the water tank 18 to the steam chamber 22 via a hose under command of a pump signal from the control processor 24 .

In the example shown, the steam chamber 22 is heated by the soleplate 12 (and in practice may be part of it), but an auxiliary heating unit may instead be provided so that the water chamber 18 may be implemented as a separate boiler.

Steam from the steam chamber is delivered to steam ports 26 in the base of the soleplate.

The iron of the invention is conventional to the extent indicated above.

According to the invention, the steam iron has means for charging the steam output. In FIG. 1 , this charging means comprises an ionizing electrode 30 powered by a suitable power source 32 and provided within the vapor chamber 22 . These electrodes cause a high energy discharge within the vapor formed in the vapor chamber.

The ionization process breaks down the steam into finer water droplets. As a result, a greater proportion of the generated steam droplets can penetrate into the fabric of the garment being ironed. This provides better penetration of small water droplets into the fabric and also increases the condensation rate.

The ionization process charges the water molecules, and it also ionizes the surrounding air. The resulting charged vapor prevents the formation of large water droplets, which are more uniform in size, during transport and due to electrical repulsion during deposition.

The use of ionization has been proposed in various household appliance applications for different reasons, with the use of ionization in steam irons providing corresponding auxiliary benefits.

For example, air ionization systems have been proposed to provide antibacterial and deodorizing properties. In particular negative ions have been found to possess these properties.

For a steam iron, the use of ionization may thus also provide deodorizing benefits to the clothes being ironed and to the surrounding air, which of course is in the vicinity of the user of the iron. The combination of air and steam ionization thus keeps the clothes in shape, removes odors, refreshes the clothes and the environment around the iron and prevents mold formation.

A stream of charged steam is also used to reduce fabric static.

Yet another benefit is that ions obtained from the ionization process can be electrostatically attracted to the laundry. It has been found that fabrics tend to be positively charged (by the process of giving up surface electrons). This propensity to give up surface electrons is dependent on the moisture content of the fabric, but in all cases the generation of negative ions exploits this by allowing the ionized vapors to be electrostatically attracted to the fabric.

Ionization can be achieved in conventional ways. In essence, pairs of electrodes placed in close proximity between an applied high frequency alternating field will generate high corona discharge energies. The energy of the high-energy corona discharge can reduce the size of small water droplets, while the emitter in the AC system will alternately emit positive and negative ions. Alternatively, a DC ionizer is available and is capable of emitting only one ionic charge.

Figures 2 to 4 illustrate in detail a possible implementation of the invention. In each case the soleplate 12 is shown, while the steam chamber 244 is integral with the soleplate and heated by the soleplate heater 14 . The water supply to the steam chamber is indicated schematically at 38 .

In Fig. 2, the electrode 30 of the ionizer 40 extends through the vapor chamber with an insulating insert 42 isolating the electrode 30 from the base metal. Each electrode 30 extends into the nozzle opening 26, thereby providing charging of the steam exiting the nozzle.

In Fig. 3, the electrodes 30 are of the same polarity, while the other electrodes are defined by the base plate itself at ground potential. Accordingly, one of the output terminals 44 of the ionizer 40 is grounded.

In FIG. 4 , instead of providing the ionizer electrodes in the vapor chamber, they are provided at the nozzle output 26 .

Further variants are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , where ionizer electrodes are provided either at a single output nozzle ( FIG. 5A ) or at multiple output nozzles ( FIG. 5B ) of the vapor chamber. In Fig. 5B, wires 31 effectively extend between two electrodes 30 so as to define two pairs of electrodes each within the output nozzle of the vapor chamber. The electrodes discharge against the wires adjacent to them.

The operation of the ionization apparatus described above could be improved if the temperature of the steam could be kept as low as possible. Typically, the steam output of a steam iron is in the range of 180°C to 200°C at the full temperature setting. The full temperature setting of the iron typically corresponds to a soleplate temperature in the range of 200°C to 220°C, which gives a steam temperature range of 180°C to 200°C. Thus, in a conventional steam iron, the steam will be in a temperature range from 100°C to 180°C - 200°C depending on the iron design and temperature setting.

A modification to the above design would be to reduce this steam temperature range, for example to provide a maximum steam temperature range of 160°C or less, and more preferably to provide steam in the temperature range of 100°C to 150°C (also according to temperature setting), various ways of doing this are described below. In particular, even for soleplate temperatures as high as 220 degrees Celsius, the present invention still has benefits in keeping the steam temperature below 160 degrees Celsius, in particular the benefit of improved ionized steam.

Figure 6 schematically shows a soleplate of an iron formed to define a steam chamber. The base plate 60 has a flat base surface and incorporates a heating unit, only the terminals 62 of which are shown. The steam chamber is defined by raised walls 64, and the water dosing feeds the steam chamber. This water dosing input supplies water to the position indicated at 66 . For simplicity, the steam output is shown as a single hole 68, but this could be arranged or created as an array of openings in the underside of the soleplate.

The steam temperature in the chamber is not uniform and depends on the temperature variation across the soleplate and the water temperature and location of the dosing water input. In practice, zone 70 will exist where the steam is saturated and thus at a lower temperature.

"Superheated" or "dry" steam is steam at a temperature higher than the saturation temperature. "Saturated" or "wet" steam is steam at a boiling temperature corresponding to its pressure. Initial formation of steam will occur when the water from the dosing water input reaches this boiling point. Thus, the steam in the chamber in the vicinity of the water dosing input will be saturated and at or near this boiling point (which depends on the pressure in the steam chamber). As the steam flows in the steam chamber, the temperature rises, especially if the soleplate temperature is set to a high temperature. Thus, the use of steam from near the dosing water input enables the temperature of the steam to be lower than that which may occur in other parts of the steam chamber.

In the design shown schematically in Figure 6, steam passes along channel 72 to output 68, while wall 74 blocks a direct connection between the dosing water input and output and prevents water in the chamber from flowing to the output.

In an alternative arrangement, a columnar wall upstanding from the output 68 may be provided, also to prevent spouting from the output 68 .

In Figure 6, the water dosing input is adjacent to the steam output of the steam generating device so as to be able to provide saturated steam as output. A steam channel 72 is provided to direct steam to the output, but in the example of Figure 6, the dosing water input, output and channel are all in the saturated steam zone.

As the steam travels down the channel, it heats up, so the channel should be as short as possible. However, the temperature of the soleplate near the saturated steam zone is usually lower than that of the zone further away from this zone, and the use of channels that follow a path through this zone will minimize heating and enable the steam output to be some distance from the dosing water input, While still providing low temperature steam.

An alternative way to achieve greater flexibility in component location design is to use channels designed to provide some cooling.

Materials with higher thermal insulation such as rubber tubing may be used inside the soleplate to prevent coupling of heat from the soleplate to the steam. Furthermore, these channels may extend beyond the base plate to provide cooling. With the steam contained within the external channels, additional cooling mechanisms such as fans or radiators can be utilized. The steam may then be released directly from outside the steam iron, or may be directed back to the soleplate before being released via the soleplate.

Ionization may be performed in a separate chamber as shown in FIG. 7 , which shows a chamber 82 housing electrode pins 80 . The expected arc is indicated at 84 . The chamber is electrically insulated to prevent discharges to the base plate and may be made, for example, of rubber, plastic or ceramic. Wiring to the ionizer electrode pins is indicated at 87 .

To enhance effectiveness for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), the chamber may be surrounded or partially surrounded by a grounded conductive material that acts as an EMC shield.

Conductive material may also be used to wrap around the wires 87 connected to the ionizing electrodes. With these electrodes connected to ground, an EMC shield is formed. The electrode pins 80 can be insert molded with the ionization chamber to simplify the assembly process and provide a good seal.

An example of this EMC shielding is shown in FIG. 8 , where a metal plate 86 is provided over the ionizer wiring 87 and the ionizer chamber 82 . In this example, a steam chamber is formed by the bottom plate 12 in the manner explained with reference to FIG. 6 . The ionization chamber 82 is capable of receiving vapor from the vapor chamber for electrical ionization. The metal plate 86 also acts as a thermal shield between the soleplate and the body of the iron.

Yet another improvement is to provide steam ionization only when the iron is in use. This reduces wasted power consumption. This can be achieved using a position/orientation sensor as shown at 88 in FIG. 8 . This sensor is used to sense horizontal orientation. This position sensor can be in the form of a switch and can be an electrical or mechanical sensor. When the iron is in the horizontal position, the switch is closed to allow power to the ionizing electrodes, and when the iron is sufficiently removed from the horizontal position, power is interrupted. The same function can be achieved by a switch that is depressed when the iron is in its upright position, and depression of this switch activates the ionization function.

There are of course many ways to implement this cutoff function.

DC power for the ionizer can be obtained by using a simple rectifier circuit such as a voltage regulator in the form of a Zener diode and resistor and a rectifier diode. The position sensitive switch may then form part of the AC to DC converter circuit, eg the switch may be a relay, a triac and/or a thyristor in the path of the current supply to the ionizer device. Alternatively, an AC ionizer can be used.

Visual or audio indicators can be used to indicate when the ionizer is activated.

As mentioned above, the ionization process can provide charged vapor droplets and ionized air. Vapor ionization can be most efficiently achieved using an AC ionizer. This is because the efficiency of DC ionizers can drop in the presence of moisture around the DC emitter.

For air ionization, DC ionizers are the most commonly used of the existing air ionization technologies. Negative ions from air ionization have been found to have antibacterial and deodorizing properties.

In the example above, the steam chamber is heated by the soleplate. Fully independent control of the soleplate heating function and the steam generation function is also possible with a separately powered steam generator.

As mentioned above, ionization can be induced by an alternating current field or a direct current field. A large negative voltage applied to the electrodes can provide the generation of negative ions that are associated with deodorization and reduction of particulate impurities. Implementation of the ionization function, particularly the required electrode design and voltage drive scheme, will be routine to those skilled in the art.

There may be additional functions implemented by the processor 24, but these are not relevant to the invention, so only an overview of the operation of the steam iron is given. The invention can be applied to all types of known steam irons, and accordingly many different variants will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The specific examples given all relate to steam irons where the water reservoir and steam generation are internal to the iron. There are also other types of ironing appliances to which the invention may be applied and which are intended to fall within the scope of this application.

Steam ironing "systems" in which a separate external steam boiler is provided are known. The boiler can be mounted on a stand and steam is supplied from the boiler to the iron by connecting a steam hose. A steam hose can also provide a power line to the iron. In this case, the ionization can be provided in the iron itself or in an external boiler. The boiler in the mount may have a separate water reservoir for feeding water to the boiler as required. Instead of an external boiler, the steam generation may be in the iron, with only an external water reservoir provided in the iron stand. In this case, a pump feeds water from the water reservoir into the iron, while the water hose can likewise provide the power line to the iron.

Ironing systems are also known in which an external boiler or steam generator is integrated into the ironing board. The ironing board can have additional functions, such as heating of the board and a fan.

FIG. 9 illustrates an ironing system comprising a board 90 with an ionized steam generating system 92 and an iron 94 . The steam generation system may deliver steam to the iron for subsequent application to the item being ironed, or alternatively, the steam generation system 92 may apply steam directly to the item being ironed.

The water supply to the steam chamber can be pumped or under gravity.

For completeness, Figure 10 shows a steam iron of the present invention in which external cooling channels 72' are provided for cooling ionized steam before it is delivered to the garment being ironed.

In the example above, heat was applied to the soleplate of the iron. However, it is possible to perform the heating alone, including by means of applied steam, and then use the soleplate of the iron purely for pressing.

The above examples all use an ionization arrangement to charge the steam output and also to provide finer steam droplets.

Various techniques for maintaining steam at low temperatures are described above. Additional techniques may be utilized, such as using materials with different thermal properties for different parts of the chassis. This can be used to define lower and higher temperature zones within the steam chamber.

Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (33)

1. a steam ironing appliance (10), comprising: flatiron has the base plate (12) that is used to push article to be pressed; Water receiver (18); And generation device of steam, wherein said ironing equipment also comprises the device (30,32,40) that is used for providing to the described article that pressed charging vapour output.

2. equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temperature of described steam output all is lower than 160 degrees centigrade for all temperature settings of described equipment.

3. equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temperature that described steam is exported for any temperature setting of described equipment is all between 100 degrees centigrade and 150 degrees centigrade.

4. equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said generation device of steam comprise steaming chamber (22), and wherein provide saturated vapor to export as steam.

5. as the described equipment of arbitrary aforementioned claim, wherein said generation device of steam comprises the steaming chamber (22) that has from the quantitative water supply input of described water receiver, and the input of wherein said quantitative water supply is contiguous with the steam output (68) from described generation device of steam.

6. equipment as claimed in claim 5, wherein steam output ground or fully surrounded by wall.

7. as the described equipment of arbitrary claim in the claim 1 to 4, wherein said generation device of steam comprises the steaming chamber (22) that has from the quantitative water supply input of described water receiver, and wherein is coupled to and the contiguous zone of described quantitative water supply input by steam channel (72) from the steam output (68) of described generation device of steam.

8. as the described equipment of arbitrary claim in the claim 1 to 4, wherein said generation device of steam comprises the steaming chamber (22) that has from the quantitative water supply input of described water receiver, and wherein provides steam from described generation device of steam to steam output by steam channel (72).

9. equipment as claimed in claim 8, the extension between the zone of described quantitative water supply input and the output of described steam of wherein said steam channel.

10. equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein said steam channel is formed by heat insulator.

11. equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein said steam channel (72 ') extends to beyond the described base plate.

12. as the described equipment of each claim in the claim 1 to 4, wherein said base plate (12) is heated.

13., wherein be used to provide the described device of charged output to comprise to be used for the arrangement of electrodes that described steam is charged as the described equipment of each claim in the claim 1 to 4.

14. equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein said arrangement of electrodes are contained in the ionisation chamber (82), described ionisation chamber (82) is an electric insulation.

15. equipment as claimed in claim 14, the electrode inserted mode system of wherein said arrangement of electrodes is in described ionisation chamber (82).

16. as claim 14 or 15 described equipment, wherein said ionisation chamber (82) is surrounded by conductive component at least in part.

17. equipment as claimed in claim 16, wherein said conductive component comprises earth plate.

18. equipment as claimed in claim 17, the electrical connector that wherein is connected to described arrangement of electrodes is partially or fully surrounded by described conductive component.

19. equipment as claimed in claim 16, wherein said conductive component is with described ionisation chamber (82) inserted mode system.

20. equipment as claimed in claim 4 comprises the have steam outlet nozzle base plate (12) of (26), and wherein is used to provide the described device of charged output to be included in arrangement of electrodes (30) in the described steaming chamber (22).

21. equipment as claimed in claim 20, wherein said arrangement of electrodes (30) comprise at least two electrodes (30) that are applied with different voltages.

22. equipment as claimed in claim 20, wherein said arrangement of electrodes comprise at least two electrodes (30) that are applied with first voltage, and wherein said base plate limits another earth electrode (44).

23., wherein be used to provide the device (30,32,40) of charging vapour output that anion is provided as the described equipment of each claim in the claim 1 to 4.

24. as the described equipment of each claim in the claim 1 to 4, the described article that wherein said water receiver, described generation device of steam and Zhou Yuxiang pressed provide the described device (30,32,40) of charging vapour output to be arranged in the described flatiron.

25. equipment as claimed in claim 4, the heater that wherein is provided for heating described base plate (12) is arranged (14), and described steaming chamber (22) is by arranging that with the heater of the described base plate of heating (12) identical same heater arranges (14) heating.

26. as the described equipment of each claim in the claim 1 to 4, also comprise the sensor of the orientation that is used to detect described equipment, and the output of wherein said sensor is used for controlling described electric steam charging.

27. equipment as claimed in claim 26, the described equipment of wherein said sensor whether at the operation ironing position, start described electric steam charging then.

28. equipment as claimed in claim 27 wherein provides audio frequency or visible feedback to indicate the operation of described electric steam charging.

29. a steam ironing system comprises:

Flatiron (94) has the base plate that is used to push article to be pressed;

Iron board (90);

Water receiver and generation device of steam (92); And

Be used for providing the device of charging vapour output to the described article that pressed.

30. system as claimed in claim 29 wherein is used to provide the described device of charging vapour output that the steam of temperature between 100 degrees centigrade to 160 degrees centigrade all is provided for all temperature settings of described flatiron.

31. as claim 29 or 30 described systems, wherein said generation device of steam forms the part of described flatiron.

32. as claim 29 or 30 described systems, wherein said generation device of steam forms the part of described iron board.

33. a flatiron method is included in the iron process and applies the charging vapour that temperature is lower than 160 degrees centigrade to clothing, described flatiron comprises uses soleplate to exert pressure to described clothing.

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