HK1075921B - Iron comprising a water reservoir which is provided with a filling orifice on the rear face of said iron - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ironing iron and in particular to an ironing iron with a water tank with a filling hole on the back of the iron.

It is known from the applicant's application FR 2 830 266 that an ironing iron with a tank filling hole is placed at the heels of the iron and oriented so that the tank is filled by holding the ironing iron substantially vertically, the tip of the pipe downwards. Such a arrangement allows a large filling hole to be provided, free of any obstacle, which facilitates the rapid filling of the tank, by placing it directly under a tap. However, the tank of such an iron must be fitted with a vent on the back of the tank, when this vent is connected to a free vent at the front, above the tube, so that the water from the tank does not discharge or is placed on the heels of the iron before the air is discharged.

However, such a vent circuit has the disadvantage of allowing water from the tank to flow naturally up the pipe of the vent circuit when the iron is placed on its heel, so that if the iron is then tilted forward, the water in the pipe flows out of the iron through the vent outlet, which is not perceived by the user.

The applicant has found that the use of a low section pipe promotes the capillary adhesion of water droplets to the walls of the pipe. These droplets remain in the pipe instead of escaping into the tank when the iron is tilted from the vertical position to its heel, the horizontal position to its base, and prevent the water vents from playing an important role in the tank. This can lead to less water vapor in the tank and less air flowing out of the tank, which in turn leads to a decrease in the production of water vapor from the reservoir, which in turn leads to a decrease in the production of water from the reservoir.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to remedy these disadvantages by proposing an ironing iron with a back-fill tank with an improved ventilation circuit which ensures good ventilation of the tank while reducing the risk of water flowing out of the tank in the various functional positions of the iron.

The invention relates to an ironing iron containing a water tank with a filling hole on the back side of the iron so that the tank is filled by holding the iron tilted forward, the tank having a vent circuit with one end leading into the back of the tank and one end in contact with the outside air in the front of the iron, characterized by the fact that the vent circuit has a small section of pipe leading into the upper part of the tank and extending by a larger section of pipe leading downwards and opening into its lower part.

A characteristic nipple allows the water droplets in the exhaust pipe to be sucked in when the iron is tilted from the vertical position on its heel to the horizontal position on its sole, as the water in the end element, when the iron is placed on its heel, descends like a piston into the bottom of the tank when the iron is tilted on its sole, which causes the water in the pipe to be sucked in like a pump, thus eliminating any water droplets trapped by capillarity.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the hollow end element has the shape of a bell that blows from top to bottom.

According to another feature of the invention, the exhaust circuit has a buffer chamber between the pipe and the end of the exhaust circuit in communication with the outside air, the buffer chamber being placed in the upper front part of the iron body so as to be above the maximum water level in the tank when the iron is lying horizontally.

According to another feature of the invention, the volume of the buffer chamber corresponds to a considerable extent to the volume of the pipe extending between the buffer chamber and the bell.

According to another feature of the invention, the filling hole of the tank is extended inside the tank by a sleeve which provides an air reservoir in the tank, outside the sleeve, which has the advantage of providing an air reservoir which is difficult to fill with water when filling the tank.

According to another feature of the invention, the bell is placed at the level of the reservoir of air saved on either side of the sleeve, which has the advantage of preventing water from entering the bell and flowing into the vent during the filling operation.

According to another feature of the invention, the tank is in communication with a drip casing feeding a vaporization chamber, the casing being fed by a pipe whose back end leads into the tank at the bottom back of the tank, such a feature prevents water from flowing prematurely through the drip casing when the tank is filled.

According to another feature of the invention, the rear end of the casing supply pipe leads into the reservoir of air on either side of the sleeve, which further reduces the risk of water flowing through the casing when filling the tank.

The purposes, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of a particular embodiment of the invention, which is given as a non-limiting example, by reference to the attached drawings in which: Figure 1 is a general, longitudinal view of an ironing iron according to a particular embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a top view of the ironing iron of Figure 1 in which the upper half view is shown partially torn off; Figure 3 is a cut view according to lines III-III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing the iron pressed against its heel; Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 1; Figure 1 shows the iron in a forward tilted position suitable for filling the tank;

Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic view of a steam iron with a heating sole 1, a handle 2 and a body with a water tank 3. The handle 2 is connected to the back of the iron by two arms 4 extending, apart from the handle 1, to the body of the iron so that the resulting structure is considerably triangular and forms a heel on which the iron can rest.

According to Figure 1, the iron tank 3 has a filling hole 5 on the back of the iron, between the two arms 4. The hole 5 is inclined towards the back of the iron so that the filling of the iron is done by holding the iron tilted forward, as shown in Figure 5.

The filling hole 5 is closed by a removable plug 6 and has a cylindrical 5a sleeve, in the axis of the hole 5, extending a few centimetres inwards into the tank 3. The lower end of the sleeve 5a defines the maximum level of filling of the tank 3 when the iron is in the forward-tipped filling position. In addition, in this filling position, the sleeve 5a accommodates in the tank 3 on either side of the sleeve 5a a volume of water which is difficult to fill and constitutes an air reserve.

The tank 3 is connected by a supply tube 8 to a chamber 9 integrated in the front of the tank 3 and feeding a drip casing 7 gradually delivering water to a vaporization chamber 10 integrated in the heating sole 1.

The supply tube 8 extends to the bottom of tank 3 and has a 8a end that exits freely into the back of the tank, into the volume surrounding the sleeve 5a. The other end 8b of the supply tube is connected to a drip valve 11 between tank 3 and the 9 supply chamber of the drip casing 7.

According to Figures 1 to 3, tank 3 is fitted with a vent circuit with a low-pass tube 12 extending into tank 3 and the inside diameter of the vent tube 12 being of the order of 4 mm. The vent tube 12 has a rear end 12a leading into the upper rear part of tank 3 and a front end 12b connecting to a buffer chamber 13 above tank 3 at the front end of tank 3.

The rear end of the vent 12a is connected to a bell-shaped element 15 which gradually evaporates from top to bottom and has an opening 15a at its lower end which is placed about halfway up the tank 3 and this bell 15 is placed as far back as possible into tank 3 so that it is submerged by the water of the tank when the iron is placed on its heel.

The operation of such an iron and in particular the various flows in the vent and in the feed circuit of the beam when the iron is placed on its heel, on its sole or tilted forward are now described in relation to Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 shows the iron in a vertical position on its heel. In this position, bell 15 is filled with water and the water rises through the vent tube 12 until it reaches equilibrium with the water level in the rest of the tank 3. If the iron is then brought back to the horizontal position, the water in bell 15 falls back to the bottom of tank 3 under the effect of gravity, acting -like a piston- creating a suction in the vent pipe 12. The vent pipe 12 is cleared of any droplets of air adhering to its walls.

The bell 15 also has the advantage of having a wave breaking effect which limits the updrafts in the vent pipe 12 during the ironing phases when the iron is shaken back and forth in a horizontal position.

Figure 5 shows the iron in Figure 4 tilted forward in a position suitable for filling the tank.

In accordance with Figure 5, the presence of the buffer chamber 13 prevents water from flowing through the vent nozzle 14 when the iron, with the tank full, moves from the heel-supported position to the forward tilted position as shown in Figure 5. This may occur in particular when the user wishes to put water into the tank when it is already full. In this case, the water in the vent pipe 12 is recovered into buffer 13 when the iron is tilted forward.Finally, the supply tube 8 in beam 7 prevents the tank from draining through the drop-by-drop beam 7 if the latter has remained open when the iron is tilted forward. The end of the supply tube 8 drains to the rear of the tank 3 into an air pocket saved by the presence of the sleeve 5a. Thus, only the small amount of water present in the supply tube 8 and in the supply chamber 9 can flow in the direction of the vaporization chamber 10 when the iron is tilted forward.

Such an iron has the advantage of having a back-fill tank with a ventilation circuit which provides excellent ventilation of the tank and does not allow water to flow out of the tank through the ventilation circuit when the iron is placed on its heel, sole or tilted forward for filling the tank.

Claims (8)

1. An iron having a water reservoir (3) provided with a filling orifice (5) situated in the back face of the iron so that the reservoir (3) is filled while holding the iron tilted forwards, the reservoir having a venting circuit presenting one end opening out in the rear portion of the reservoir (3) and one end in contact with the outside air and situated in the front top portion of the iron, said venting circuit comprising a pipe (12) of small through section that opens out in the rear top portion of the reservoir (3), said iron being characterized in that said pipe (12) is extended by a hollow end element (15), of larger section, extending downwards and presenting an opening (15a) in its bottom portion.
2. An iron according to claim 1, characterized in that the end element (15) is bell-shaped and flares from the top downwards.
3. An iron according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the venting circuit has a buffer chamber (13) interposed between the pipe (12) and the end of the venting circuit that is in communication with the outside, said buffer chamber (13) being placed in the front top portion of the body of the iron so as to be situated above the maximum water level in the reservoir (3) when the iron is standing horizontally.
4. An iron according to claim 3, characterized in that the volume of the buffer chamber (13) corresponds substantially to the volume of the pipe (12) extending between the buffer chamber (13) and the bell (15).
5. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the filling orifice (5) of the reservoir (3) is extended into the reservoir by a sleeve (5a) which forms an air reserve inside the reservoir (3) and outside the sleeve while the reservoir is being filled.
6. An iron according to claim 2 or claim 5, characterized in that the bell (15) is placed in the air reserve provided on either side of the sleeve (5a).
7. An iron according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said reservoir (3) is in communication with a drip feed (7) feeding a steam generation chamber (10), said drip feed (7) being fed via a duct (8) whose back end (8a) opens out inside the reservoir (3) at the rear bottom portion of the reservoir (3).
8. An iron according to claim 7, characterized in that said back end (8a) of the duct (8) opens out into the air reserve formed on either side of the sleeve (5a).