Textiles: ironing or smoothing – Smoothing implements – Flatirons
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-22
2001-02-20
Izaguirre, Ismael (Department: 3741)
Textiles: ironing or smoothing
Smoothing implements
Flatirons
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189245
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention is relative to a steam iron soleplate comprising distinct steaming and drying zones.
1. Prior Art
Originally, ironing was effectuated simply with heat and a mechanical action. This was the era of pressing stones up to that of dry irons. However, the need for efficiency and practical observation of phenomena lead certain homemakers to interpose, between the dry iron and the garment, a fabric impregnated with water to improve the quality and the speed of the pressing. This was the establishment of the utilization of the “damp cloth”.
With the arrival of technologies for rapidly producing steam, there were created the so-called “steam” irons which permitted, as a result an almost ideal heat carrier, achievement of the moistening of the fibers at the same time as their heating in a very short time, practically in the same time as the application of the mechanical smoothing action.
It has been realized subsequently that this injection of steam left, however, significant residual moisture in the fabric. It is in effect easy to note in the course of ironing that a piece of material, considered to have been pressed and which after folding is put down before being put away, retains significant residual moisture and sometimes requires a non-negligible drying time in a pile before being able to be put away.
The patent DE 452559 relates to a steam iron whose lower soleplate is divided into a first flat forward steaming area having a plurality of steam outlets, and a second rear pressing area normally blocked by a soleplate closing a heated air chamber. Based on the observation that this rear soleplate maintains moisture in the fabric, it is proposed to withdraw it in order to only leave two transverse pressing rollers, the heated air then directly ensuring a simultaneous drying.
However, the first soleplate being slightly inclined toward to the front, flattening of the article can only be approximate. Above all, heating of the fabric solely by mixing with heated air has been found to be too slow to achieve an efficient drying.
The document SU 1796718 discloses a steam iron soleplate provided with four steam outlet channels arranged in a chevron, or herringbone, pattern with the tips oriented toward the front and opening onto lateral edges. Thus, steaming is limited to the level of these channels, the excess steam naturally being evacuated at the sides, thus leaving the rest of the smooth soleplate assigned to pressing and drying.
However, the herringbone form of these channels causes the steam to not truly have the time to achieve its moistening task during forward movement of the iron, this steam being in fact evacuated too rapidly toward the exterior. In addition, these herringbones being distributed on the totality of the soleplate, drying is hardly achieved before a new moistening is effectuated.
An iron soleplate according to the preamble of claim
1
is known from the document EP 621365.
More particularly, the document EP 621365 discloses a steam iron soleplate comprising, from its tip to its heel, a first steam area comprising lateral steam outlets and central steam outlets supplied by two chambers, followed by a first drying area free of steam outlets and extending transversely between the lateral edges of the soleplate, then followed by a second steam area extending equally transversely between the lateral edges and in which open lateral steam outlets supplied by the same chamber as well as central steam outlets supplied from the lateral outlets via longitudinal and transverse channels; this second steam area being itself followed by a second drying area free of steam outlets and extending also over all of the remaining rear surface of the soleplate.
According to the patentee, this distribution of drying and steam areas equally avoids, during pressing, a useless excessive moistening of the articles, and permits performance of a double action thus assuring a better smoothing: articles are during a first time stretched then steamed, then dried and in a second time again steamed then dried.
However, in reality, the smooth heating areas have been found to be too small and too close to the steam areas in order to truly observe a thorough drying and as a result one re-moistens an area impregnated by the first moistening. One then observes that too many creases remain “rounded” and hold for too short a time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present inventions is to optimize pressing, particularly by substantially improving the fixing of the flatness or of the form of the desired creases by a distinctly more efficient drying.
These goals are achieved by a steam iron soleplate divided into at least one steaming area comprising a plurality of steam outlets, and at least one drying area that does not contain steam outlets, the drying area having one or several grooves, characterized in that the totality of grooves is in the form of a network of furrows defining a pattern of raised lands.
After an extensive study of the pressing mechanism, it has been recognized that the fixation of the flatness or of the form of the desired crease is effectuated under the effect of heat removing moisture by heating of the fabric. Now, it has been noted that steam is accumulated at the center of the soleplate then is displaced towards the rear with the advance of the iron to form a pneumatic cushion. This cushion then has a tendency to lightly raise this rear drying zone, thus hampering the transfer of heat to the article while maintaining a high moisture level.
The first function of these grooves is then to limit the effect of this accumulation of steam between the surfaces in contact, and this in containing it mainly in its volume. The rear heating surface can then come in complete contact with the fabric for an efficient heating.
According to the invention, the set of grooves is present in the form of a network of furrows defining a pattern of raised lands, this network containing a major part of the steam cushion which it evacuates via the edges. Preferably, the furrows present a width comprised between 0.1 and 2 mm with a depth comprised between 0.005 and 1 mm. Equally preferably, the spacing of the furrows is such that the surface of the lands is comprised between 0.5 and 50 mm
2
.
Due to this network of furrows, the bothersome steam cushion is very rapidly dissipated. In addition, the roughness of the drying surface induced by these furrows adds a mechanical pulling and smoothing effect to the fibers at the moment of evaporation of residual moisture, leaving by this effect a perfectly flat article.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the network of furrows defines a pattern of circular or polygonal lands, these configurations permitting a particularly freely flowing circulation of the steam towards the rear then outside of the soleplate.
Usefully, the surface of the lands in contact with the fabric is structured in the form of submillimeter reliefs permitting at the macroscopic level a mechanical action on the fiber to be combined with an increase in the contact surface improving accordingly heat transmission from the hot soleplate toward the fabric.
Alternatively, or in combination, the grooves are present in the form of steam evacuation channels having a width comprised between 1 and 10 mm with a depth comprised between 0.1 and 1 mm. Advantageously, the channels are oblique from the center toward the rear of the soleplate where they open.
These channels permits collection of the steam, notably that dissipated at the center of the network, to evacuate it as rapidly as possible towards the rear and thus prevents all formation of an undesired pneumatic cushion. This oblique arrangement toward the rear particularly facilitates evacuation of the steam during advance of the iron.
Usefully a cavity is arranged at the middle of the boundary between the forward steam area and the rear drying area and the channels place this central cavity in communication with the lateral or rear edges of the drying area.
The presence of channels in this heating zone
Daulasim Denis
Louison Bernard
Browdy and Neimark
Izaguirre Ismael
Seb S.A.
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