Textiles: ironing or smoothing – Smoothing implements – Flatirons
Patent
1984-05-15
1986-02-25
Schroeder, Werner H.
Textiles: ironing or smoothing
Smoothing implements
Flatirons
38 89, 126412, 219270, 431344, D06F 7502
Patent
active
045718636
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to the field of smoothing irons for laundry purposes and, while not restricted thereto, is particularly applicable to irons for domestic use.
There is a need for an iron which can be used conveniently in situations where there is no electricity supply, and also not a supply of domestic house gas. Butane and propane gas in liquid form has become readily available in aerosol-type cans which can readily be applied for filling gas-fuelled appliances through a non-return valve.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved iron which can be fuelled with a supply of liquefied gas, such as butane or propane, under pressure.
According to the present invention a smoothing iron comprises a body structure having a handle and a baseplate for application to the material to be ironed, a gas burner for heating said baseplate, and a tank for liquefied fuel gas under pressure.
The body structure preferably comprises a first portion including the handle and said tank, and a second portion including the baseplate. To reduce heat conduction to a minimum between the first and second portions, advantageously they are spaced by an air gap over the whole of their mutually opposed surfaces, except where connected by connection means of very low heat-conductive capacity, e.g. a small number, say two or three, island sites of plastics material.
The handle and tank may advantageously be included integrally in a single moulding of plastics material, and preferably the tank is disposed to the rear of the handle and may have an underside opening closed in fluid-tight manner by an openable, e.g. releasable, closure. In a preferred arrangement, the closure defines chamber means opening to the exterior and at least in part closed by an openable cover, said chamber means serving to house power-supply and switching means for an electrically-powered ignition device for the gas burner. The switching means may include timing means. Said closure may carry a burner jet for the gas burner.
Fuel flow control means comprising a flow restricter and a shut-off valve may be disposed in a flow path between the tank and burner jet, and said switching means and said shut-off valve advantageously have a common operating member such as a slide projecting laterally from the body structure and operable with the fingers.
In a preferred arrangement the flow restricter permits variation of flow rate of fuel by variation of compression of a deformable porous material arranged in the flow path. Advantageously, the flow restricter includes means for increasing flow restriction, to the point of cut-off if desired, with rise of temperature.
For filling of the tank with liquefied gas, there may be provided a spring-loaded inlet valve accessible from the exterior, e.g. at the top of the tank, and adapted to receive the conventional filler stem of an aerosol tank of the fuel.
There may be provided a flow restricter control member, e.g. a knob, for control of the rate of feeding of gas to a burner. In a first preferred embodiment, the tank contains wick means leading to a gas outlet passage. The wick is disposed on a seating and is under pressure from a presser element, such as a ball bearing or a plastic restricter, the tightness of which can be controlled by rotation of the control member, thereby to give fine adjustment of the rate of flow of gas to a burner jet.
In a second embodiment, the liquid fuel of the tank passes through cellular material to an adjustable flow restricter having one or more layers of cellular material under variable compression from a manual control, and an expandible restricter responsive to increase of temperature to exert increased pressure may be interpolated between the manual control and the one or more layers.
The gas jet may conveniently be a ceramic or other heat-resistant jet which is mounted in a wall of the end plate and which is directed into an air inlet opening of the base portion of the iron.
The base portion may comprise a base proper, for contacting the material to be ironed, and a cov
REFERENCES:
patent: 2065492 (1936-12-01), Hoff
patent: 2117259 (1938-05-01), Slezak
patent: 2542858 (1951-02-01), Boring
patent: 2561270 (1951-07-01), Felt
patent: 3591938 (1971-07-01), Arbulo
patent: 3648680 (1972-03-01), Hein
patent: 4115935 (1951-02-01), Toft
patent: 4207032 (1980-06-01), Collaud et al.
Bird John S.
Freckleton Howard O.
Falik Andrew M.
Schroeder Werner H.
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