US2685890A - Steam iron control means - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 10, 1954 T. s. zAsTRow STEAM IRON CONTROL MEANS Filed Oct. 11, 1948 /NVENTOR THOMAS 'S. ZASTROW BY 7 W ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 10, 1954 UNITED STATES A'TEN-TI OFF ICE STEAM IRON CONTROL MEANS Thomas S. Zastrow, St. PauL'Minn assignor to General Mills, Inc., a corporation ofillelaware Application October 11, 1948, "Serial-No. 53,961 (01. 137587) 15 Claims.

tank in a steam iron to the customary steam gencrating chamber. In some cases, it has been suggested that a single control knob be provided which serves both to adjust the setting of the usual valve member and also as a filling opening for replenishing the supply in the tank. In this type of construction there is the problem of preventing leakage or splashing of thecontents of the tank in the vicinity'of the control member, particularly where the dimensions of the tank and of the valve and control members are subject to small manufacturing variations. If the control member is mounted in one wall of the tank, and the valve member tends to move with respect to that wall during adjustment, it is difiicult to maintain the knob in sealing engagement with the wall, unless an expensive and complicated separate knob mounting is provided.

Also, where the control knob and iron carry cooperating indicia to indicate the adjustment of the valve member, there is ordinarily no provision for setting the valve parts to correspond tothe indicated adjustment. This is particularly troublesome where the valve member is mounted within the tank. p

With these problems and difficulties of the prior art in view, it is accordingly. one object of the present invention to provide an improved steam ironcontrol mechanism. 7 It is a further object to provide a construction in which a liquid supply control member is mounted directly on the liquidtank. a

A further object is theprovision of a construction in which a control member mounted in one.

wall of a liquid supply tank is operatively connected to a valve member fixedly mounted'with respect to a. different wall of the tank;

Another object is to provide such a construction with a driving connection between the operating. knob and valve member for rotary movement of one by the other which at the same time permits limited longitudinal movement between the parts.

A, still furtherobject is to provide an axially resilient connection between such a controlk'nob member'within the tank maybe adjusted without- 2 3 disassemblyof the tank, so that the valve setting corresponds .withindicia on the control knob.

Another object .is a construction of thetype described in which the. control knob also serves as a filler plug forthe tank.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification in which a preferred embodiment of .the invention is described byway of example and not limitation. In the drawings which form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 i a side elevation of asteam iron embodying features of they present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on the line '-22 of Fig. 1;v

Fig 4 is a partial perspective view of the top opening in the supply tank; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional. Viewv on the line 5+5 of Fig-2.

In Fig. 1 a steam.,ironing device has been shown which includes "a steaming attachment is iastened to the bottom of a regular. fiatiron H.

The fiatiron includesthe usual heated bottom plate i2, handle I3, and electrical supply cord Hi connected tothe internal electrical resistance which heats the flatiron.

* The steaming attachment 513 includes a steam soleplate It and a liquid, supply tank 58. The, supplytank is mounted at the rear of the sole-. plate in a position behind the handle it of the V flatiron sothat it will not obstruct theview of V the operator. Side brackets 29, mounted on the.

rear of the steamsoleplate" it, support a hori zontal plate member 22 (Fig. 2) connected thereto by screws 2 5. The supply tank is is sup ported. by the brackets Ziland plate member 22. A pipe or conduit 25 carries the liquid from supply tank I8 to thesteam soleplate itwh'ere it is vaporized'in a suitablegenerating chamber Zl so that the resulting steam may passdownwardly through openings 29 inthe bottom of the steam soleplate and into the material which is being ironed. k V

i The bottom of tank leis provided with a circular opening 28 (Fig.2) in which the'cylindrical stem SI of a valve memberi supported. The portion of valve-membersi inside thre'tankineludes a shoulder as "whichflimits downward movement of the stem and valve body with re-- spect'to the bottomwall it-oi the tank; suit-' able sealinggasket 36'is clamped' between the shoulder 3t and the bottom wall-3t to 1 provide J a liquid-tight and air-tight connection at this point.

It will be noted that the lower portion of the stem 3! of valve body 32 extends downwardly through a circular opening in the horizontal plate 22. Below plate 22, the stem 3! is provided with flattened portions defining a non-circular section or wrenching portion 31 (Figs. 2 and A wrenching collar 39, having a corresponding noncircular bore, as at 4|, is mounted on the noncircular section. The lower portion 38 of valve body 32, below section 31, is threaded for reception of a suitable lock nut 40. Thus the parts are all clamped firmly together with the valve body 32 fixed in position with respect to the tank and with the tank itself clamped firmly against the horizontal plate 22. Furthermore, the use of the external wrenching collar 39 provides for rotary adjustment of the valve body 32 without disassembly of the parts. This adjustment is an important feature of the invention as discussed in a subsequent portion of this specification.

The lower portion 38 of the valve body includes a hollow bore 42 into which the conduit 26 projects. The conduit is held in position by suitable compression fittings 44 and 46 of known construction. Fitting 44 is likewise threaded onto the lower end of the valve body.

Above the end of conduit 26 the valve body 32 is provided with a central bore 48 which acts as a metering orifice to determine or limit the maximum flow of liquid from the tank to the conduit. At the upper end of this bore 48 a valve seat 58 is provided. Above the valve seat 50 the bore is enlarged as indicated at 5|. A plurality of lateral passages 52 communicates with the enlarged bore 5! above the valve seat 50 so that the liquid in the bottom of the tank I8 may reach the valve seat and pass on through the conduit 26 when the valve is open.

The upper portion 54 of the valve member 32 serves as a support for a valve rod 60. Thus the upper portion of bore 5| is further enlarged and is internally threaded as at 56 to receive the threaded portion 58 of valve rod 66. At the lower end of this valve rod there is a valve portion 62 adapted to cooperate with the valve seat 56 to control the flow of liquid to conduit 26.

The upper end 64 of valve rod 66 is operatively connected to a control member or knob 65 mounted in thetop wall 68 of the supply tank. Knob 66 is preferably made of moulded plastic material. The main body portion of this control knob 66 is in the form of an annular cylindrical shell 76 which tapers slightly toward the interior of the tank. On the inner surface I2 of this shell-like portion In a number of longitudinal projections or splines 14 are provided and these projections are separated by a plurality of longitudinal or axial slots 16. In the present case there are six of the axial projections M and six of the corresponding intermediate slots 16, all of which are equally spaced around the internal surface 72 of the shell portion in order that respective pairs of the slots 16 will be oppositely or diametrically aligned.

A pin or key 18 extends laterally through the end as of the valve rod 60 and is adapted for selective engagement with any desired pair of diametrically opposite slots 16 in order to provide a driving connection between the knob 66 and valve rod 60 which will result in rotation of the valve rod and corresponding adjustment of the valve seat 62 in response to rotary movement of knob 66. At the same time the slots 16 will permit limited axial or longitudinal movement of the rod 66 with respect to knob 66 for a purpose described below. The ends of pin it engage he inner surface l2 of the knob to prevent accidental removal of the pin.

At the lower ends of the projections '76 in the knob, a series of internal shoulders 66 are provided. The inner or axial surfaces it of these projections 86 fit loosely around the body of valve rod 66 and provide a bearing portion in which the rod as is axially slidable. The upper or radial surfaces 83 or these projections 66 provide a horizontal shoulder on which one end of a spring 8! is engaged. The other end of spring 8! abuts the lower side of pin 53. Spring 5:! is normally under compression so that it tends to cause relative downward movement of shoulders 63 and control knob 66 with respect to the valve rod 86. The purpose of this resilient axial connection between the rod 60 and control member 66 will be apparent from the subsequent description. In the closed position of valve 62, spring 6i is almost fully compressed, so that its coils practically engage each other. Thus the spring provides a positive limit to prevent substantial upward movement of the knob "it, since shoulders 86 engage the spring which in turn engages pin it. After complete compression of the spring, further movement of the knob it away from the valve and tank is prevented.

The upper ends of the longitudinal projections 14 on the interior of control member 56 are provided with threaded portions 82 into which threaded end 8d of a stopper or filler plug 86 may be screwed. Plug 86 is provided with a sealing gasket 88 to engage the upper portion of the control member 66 and thereby form an air-tight and liquid-tight closure for the upper end of the hollow annular body portion of the member. When plug 86 is removed, the operator of the iron may replenish the supply of liquid in tank it by pouring additional liquid through the hollow control member 65. To facilitate the passage of the liquid to the interior of the tank a relatively large lateral opening 5 6 is provided in the body of the annular shell 16. Opening :96 is located so that its upper edge is at least as high as the top wall 68 of the supply tank H3, in order that the liquid may be completely drained from the tank when the latter is inverted and the plug is removed. Thus the liquid may be removed from the tank when the steam iron is not in use. The use of a plurality of grooves '36 be tween projections M increases the eifective cross-section of the filling opening. It also provides extra driving connections between the knob and rod, which may be utilized in case of undue wear of one pair of projections.

To mount the control member 66 in the top of the tank, the top wall 68 is provided with an opening 52 whose internal diameter is slightly greater than the external diameter of the body portions 76 of the control member 66. Preferably the top wall 68 of the tank has an upwardly turned flange 9d around the edge of opening 92.

The upper end of control member 66 is provided with an outwardly and downwardly directed peripheral flange 96 which is spaced slightly from the body shell portion '16 to provide an an nular groove 93 into which the flange 6 may project. A sealing gasket I 66 is mounted adjacent the outer edge of the flange 94% and serves as a support for the lower inner corner it! of the ge or shoulder 96.

7 portion $2 with respect to valve seat-55;- 4 5 The adjustment of the valve members-so that ass-s oo V The width of' the groove 2981i's so"'chosen" that e no part of thelo'ody "ill of control member B6wil1 engage directly with'th'e' flange 54 or 'theitopwa'll'. 6815f the tank. The control member is supported controlmember tili provides a means for replenon the sea-ling gasket H56 and because the'internal" 5 iz'tvh'a'n" pa te Openings for the mounting of a diameterof flange. 943s greater than the external diameter of the corresponding portion of shell '59, there is a small annular. air space lmloetween the respective portions. The supporting flange Marthe-control memberfifi is provided with'one or morelateral openings it vzhich'cominunicate with the internal groove or space 98X" Thus'a round-about or substantiallytortuous air passage. is provided between the interior of tank 'I a and the. outer atmosphere: eThisairv passage includes I the narrow annular spaceliifi the groove HQQand the opening-or openings HM.- Such. anair pase. sage is essential inorder to permitdownward flow of the liquidwithinthe tank under-the inefluence of gravity, even when the plug 86?com-.i pletely seals-the large'central-filling opening in the control member.

One or more transversepartitions or abutments illtsmay be provided in the" space 93 to'oooperate 2 With-.an'upstanding lugor stop member I08 on the-flangetiof the tank. Thus the lug ita -may limitthe rotation of control member Stein-either dire'ctionso that suitable indicia-i won the uppersurfaceor other portion of'the control meinber 3 already described; Thus 'theori'ginal'setting of 40 knob 1% cannot be disturbed by'theuser;

Furthermore; since the resilientconnectionin-i volving' spring 3! tends to urge theicontrol meme"; ber downwardly at all'times with respect to:

"on 'lEH ofthc the valve rod-t3, thebearin'g por: flange 96 on the control mern'loer" held firmly against the sealing gaske if lo coprovide anair and liquid-tight closure betweenithe" control niein oerand the tank wall t3; This" tight '1 sealing engagem nt will be maintained at all times regardless of variations in the initial dimensions due to manufacturingtolerances-and? regardless of vertical or axial move; ent" ofthe control rodliS-as it is rotatedtoadiu the valve" theycorrespondto the indicia'. lit and iiionthe knob and tank; may be readily accomplishedwith out disassembly of theparts. It is only necessary to loosen the'lock nut dil With the valve 6 screwed to its fully closed position',-'and withpinlSin driving engagement with the desired pair 1 ll" always. he

- tween the *valve and control members for. posiof slots it; it is a simple matter to turn the wrenching collar 39 (and with it the valve oody 3:2,Valve rod 9%; and knob ttf untilth'e' indicia 65 see and H2 indicate the closed position. Such .anadjustinent may be made 'b oth in in itialfam toryassem'cly of the device and in later testing of "the attachment without 'disa ssembly; V V

A construction has accordingly bSEDjElGYldBd? life-. hich a single control member t t-is op tiv'ely connected to a valve actuating member supported within the supply. tank leso-asto "maintainthe control memberin sealing"engagement-with the control-member and'a filling plug respectively. An air passageis provided to permit the gravity pleteemptying of-the tank for-periods of storage.

Theiresilient connection" between the valve rod 66 and control membertt may be established in any one'oi a pluralityof angular positions in case of excessivewear of the plastic parts. And finally, it is a simple matter to'adjust the initial setting of 'theknoban'dits 'indicia tocorrespond to the-- actual condition of the valve itself, without disassembly of the valve.

parts, in the light of the teachings ofthis application. The'presentinvention is accordingly intended to include all such modifications and im' 'provement'sia'sfall'within the spirit andscope of ternally projecting annular. flange surrounding the. opening, valve means controlling the flow of liquid fro'mthe' tank and including a valve casing memben-a rotatable valve regulating member ,threaded into .thecasing member within the tank,.

a control memberrotatable in the opening and.

havingan inwardly projecting peripheral flange cooperatingwith the tank outside the annular flangeto close the openingand to maintain the control member in operative position within the opening, and-la direct operative. connection betive-- rotation in i both directions, the connection including resilient means directly engag-ingthei valve and control members and urging the pe ripheral flange against the tank. regardlesaof H relative axial movement of the valve member;

2. in steam"ironing device comprising a liquid supplyetank having an opening and an annularflange surrounding the opening, valve means controlling-thefiow' of-liquid from the tank, and includinga rotatable valve regulating member Within: the tank; a control member rotataL-ly mountedinthe opening and having a substan- --tially smaller :diameter thanthe opening to provid'eran annularxair passage-between the member and. flange,-"the control member having a pe-- ripli'eralflangecooperating with the tank outside theitankifiahgerto"clo'sethe opening, the peripheral -ilar'lge being'fspaced .from the bodyofthe control- -m'emberi to' provide an annular groove intowhich the annular fiangeproj ects, said an nular groove.communicating with the annular air spaceandt theperipheral flange having an airven-t 'therein -icommunicatingwith the groove, r means maintaining the control meinher'in oper ative-positionwithin theopening; and anLoper+ ative-connectionibetween the valve and control mernbers'for positiverotati'on inboth directions;

.dingto claim noetween the' valve and--control memloers includes resilient 3; A steam ironing device ace: 2, in which the operative connect meang-urg'ing the peripheral-flange of the con" trol memberagainstthe tankregardless of rela titre-axialmovement of the" valve member.

Cha'ngesyand modifications may be made inthe" specific" struotureand arrangement oi the 4. A steam ironing device according to claim 2, the control member having an axial filling opening therein and a plurality of angularly spaced axial projections in the opening, and a driving key on the valve regulating member for selective engagement with one of said axial projections.

5. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening in one wall and an annular bearing flange surrounding the opening, valve means controlling the flow of liquid from the tank and including a control member rotatable in the opening and having a smaller diameter than the opening and thereby providing an annular air passage between the control member and bearing flange, the control member also having a spaced peripheral flange cooperating with the tank outside the bearing flange and having an air vent communicating with said annular air space, and coacting portions on the peripheral flange and bearing flange limiting relative lateral movement of the control member within the opening.

6. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening and a bearing flange surrounding the opening, a rotatable regulating member within the tank, a control member rotatable in the opening and having a smaller diameter than the opening to provide an annular air passage between the control member and bearing flange, the control member having a peripheral flange cooperating with the tank outside the bearing flange to close the opening, a stop member on the bearing flange, an abutment on the control member inside the peripheral flange for engagement with the stop member to limit rotation of the control member, the control member having an air vent communicating with said annular air passage, and an operative connection between the regulating and control members.

'7. A steam ironing device according to claim 6 in which the operative connection includes cooperating shoulders on the control and regulating members, and a spring compressed between the shoulders urging the control member and its peripheral flange against the tank, the spring in its fully compressed condition limiting relative outward axial movement of the control member and preventing effective axial disengagement of the abutment from the stop member.

8. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening, a valve casing member inside the tank having a projection extending out through the opening, locking means mounting the projection and easing member in fixed position in the tank opening, a valve regulator rotatably mounted in the casing member and having a control member outside the tank, means controlling the rate of liquid flow in accordance with the relative angular adjustment of the regulator and casing member, cooperating indicia on the control member and another part of the device to indicate the condition of the valve regulator relative to the casing, and a wrenching portion on the extending projection for relative rotary adjustment of the casing member to correct the setting of the indicia.

9. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having aligned openings in opposite walls, a valve casing member in the tank having a hollow liquid conducting projection extending out through one opening, locking means fastening the projection and easing member in the opening, a valve regulator rotatably mounted in the casing member and having a control memher rotatable in the opposite opening, means controlling the rate of liquid flow in accordance with the relative angular adjustment of the regulator and casing member, cooperating indicia on the control member and tank to indicate the condition of the valve regulator relative to the casing, and a wrenching portion on the projection outside the tank for rotary adjustment of the casing member to correct the setting of the indicia.

10. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening, a valve including a valve member inside the tank with a wrenching portion externally accessible through said opening, a control member outside the tank operatively connected to the valve and having indicia showing the condition of the valve, and means controlling the rate of liquid flow through the valve in accordance with the relative adjustment of the control member and valve member, said valve member being independently adjustable by said wrenching portion to obtain correspondence between the showing of said indicia and the actual condition of the valve.

11. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening, a rotatable regulating member within the tank, a control member rotatable in the opening, cooperating stop portions on the tank and control member limiting the relative rotation of the latter and normally capable of disengagement by predetermined relative axial movement of the control member and tank in one direction, and an operative driving connection between the regulating and control members including cooperating shoulders on said members and a spring compressed between the shoulders and normally urging the control member in the opposite direction relative to the tank, thereby maintaining the control member in operative position within the opening, the amount of relative axial movement of the control member required for full compression of the spring between said shoulders being less than the predetermined amount of relative axial movement required for disengagement of said stop portions.

12. A one-piece valve control member and filler for use with a liquid supply tank having an opening and a rotatable valve regulating member inside the tank aligned with the opening, said control member having a cylindrical body portion of diameter smaller than the opening, a radially outwardly projecting flange on said body member for engagement with the tank around said opening, the body portion having an axial filling opening and angularly spaced axially extending integral driving projections in the filling opening for rotary driving engagement with said regulating member, a radially inwardly projecting bearing shoulder at the lower end of at least one of said driving projections, and threaded portions on the upper ends of said projections providing retaining means for a coaxial threaded filler plug.

13. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening, a valve including relatively movable valve casing and valve regulating members inside the tank, one of said valve casing and valve regulating members having a wrenching portion externally accessible through said opening, and a control member ou side the tank operatively connected to the other of said valve members and having indicia showing the condition of the valve regulating member relative to the valve casing member, the rate of liquid flow through the valve being controlled according to the relative adjustment of the valve regulating member and valve casing member, and said one valve member being independently adjustable by said wrenching portion to make the actual relative condition of said valve members correspond to the showing of said indicia.

14. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening in one wall, valve means controlling the flow of liquid from the tank and including a valve casing member, a rotatable valve regulating member rotatably mounted in the casing member and located within the tank, the casing and regulating members cooperating directly with each other and thereby providing a valve orifice which varies according to the relative rotary adjustment of the regulating member with respect to the casing member, a control member rotatably mounted in the opening and having a peripheral portion cooperating with the tank wall around the opening to close the latter, and a direct operative connection between the valve and control members for positive rotation in both directions, the connection including resilient means directly engaging the valve regulating and control members and urging said peripheral portion against the tank regardless of relative movement of the valve member.

15. A steam ironing device comprising a liquid supply tank having an opening in one wall, valve means controlling the flow of liquid from the tank and including a rotatable valve regulating member within the tank, a control member rotatably mounted in the opening and having a urging the control member portion against the tank regardless of relative axial movement of the valve member, said spring also urging the valve member axially in one direction at all times and thereby eliminating lost motion axially of the valve member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 142,860 MoiTet Sept. 16, 1873 776,769 Wisbech Dec. 6, 1904 1,073,676 Goodspeed Sept. 23, 1913 1,353,053 Lavigne l- Sept. 14, 1920 1,398,025 James Nov. 22, 1921 1,532,251 Lorraine Apr. 7, 1925 1,727,702 Folmsbee Sept. 10, 1929 1,921,895 Taurisano Aug. 8, 1933 1,954,217 Morrow Apr. 10, 1934 2,198,924 Smith Apr. 30, 1940 2,322,593 Ridolington June 22, 1943 2384,839 Kistner Sept. 18, 1945

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