Steam iron with all temperature steam production

A steam iron with a valve between the water reservoir and the soleplate. The valve has a valve stem that is connected to the temperature control. The valve stem is axially rotated when the temperature control is moved without longitudinally moving the valve stem. The valve stem has a groove of varying depth located between an inlet and an outlet of the valve member to vary the flow of water through the valve based upon the rotational position of the valve stem relative to the valve member. A user actuated mechanism is also provided to longitudinally move the valve stem among closed, variable, and non-variable open flow positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to steam irons and, more particularly, to an 
iron with variable steam production. 
2. Prior Art 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,800 discloses a rotary dial on a steam iron for 
simultaneously controlling the temperature control of the iron and a water 
metering valve. U.S. Pat. No. 2,317,706 discloses two separate controls 
for a thermostat and a water valve. The valve stem is axially rotated to 
longitudinally move the valve stem relative to a valve member. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention a steam iron is 
provided having a housing with a water reservoir, a soleplate, a 
temperature control connected to the soleplate, a valve between the water 
reservoir and the soleplate, and a connection between the temperature 
control and a valve stem of the valve for varying water flow through the 
valve based upon temperature setting of the temperature control. The valve 
stem is connected to the temperature control by the connection to axially 
rotate the valve stem when the temperature control is moved, without 
longitudinally moving the valve stem relative to a valve member of the 
valve, to vary the flow of water through the valve. 
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a steam iron 
is provided comprising means for moving a valve stem and means for varying 
flow of water from a reservoir to the soleplate. The means for moving the 
valve stem can move the valve stem among three positions including a 
closed position, a non-variable flow open position, and a variable flow 
position. The valve is located between the reservoir and the soleplate. 
The means for varying flow is adapted to vary the flow of water from the 
reservoir to the soleplate when the valve is in the variable flow 
position. The means for varying flow varies the flow of water by axially 
rotating the valve stem based upon movement of a temperature control of 
the iron. The means for varying flow only varies the flow of water through 
the valve based upon axial rotation of the valve stem when the valve stem 
is located in the variable flow position. 
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a steam iron 
is provided having a soleplate, a temperature control and a water 
reservoir. The steam iron further comprises a valve and a transmission 
mechanism. The valve is located between the water reservoir and the 
soleplate. The valve has a rotatable valve stem and a valve member. The 
transmission mechanism connects the valve stem to the temperature control 
such that movement of the temperature control axially rotates the valve 
stem. The valve stem has a section with a perimeter channel that varies in 
area at different radial positions. The valve member has an inlet and an 
outlet such that water can travel from the inlet through the perimeter 
channel and out the outlet. Axial rotation of the valve stem changes the 
area of the channel between the inlet and outlet to vary the flow of water 
through the valve. 
In accordance with one method of the present invention a method of 
assembling a steam iron is provided comprising steps of providing a valve 
with a valve stem and a valve member, the valve stem having a section with 
a channel along a perimeter, the channel varying in size at different 
radial positions, and the valve member having a main hole with an inlet 
and an outlet that are angularly offset from each other relative to a 
center axis of the main hole; and connecting a transmission between a 
temperature control of the iron and the valve stem such that movement of 
the temperature control axially rotates the valve stem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an electric steam iron 10 incorporating 
features of the present invention. Although the present invention will be 
described with reference to the single embodiment shown in the drawings, 
it should be understood that the present invention may be incorporated 
into various different types of alternate embodiments of irons. In 
addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or material could 
be used. 
The iron 10 generally comprises a soleplate 12, a housing 14, a temperature 
control knob 16, a spray button 18a and a surge button 18b. Referring also 
to FIG. 2 a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the iron is 
shown. The soleplate 12 has a raised wall 24 in a general triangular shape 
that forms the side walls for the steam chamber 20. A cover 22 is attached 
to the top of the wall 24 to form the top of the steam chamber. A 
thermostat 26 is mounted on the soleplate 12 and connected to the 
temperature control knob 16 by the shaft 28. The housing 14 includes a 
water reservoir 30. A valve 32 is provided between the reservoir 30 and 
the soleplate 12. 
The valve 32 includes a valve body or member 34 and a valve stem 36. The 
valve member 34 is mounted on the steam chamber cover 22 and forms a valve 
seat 37. Referring also to FIGS. 3a and 5, the valve member 34 has a main 
hole 38, an inlet 40, an outlet 42, and an alignment notch 44. The inlet 
40 and the outlet 42 are both located at the main hole 38, but are 
radially offset from each other relative to a center axis of the hole 38. 
An exit 46 is provided at the bottom of the reservoir 30 at the inlet 40. 
The valve stem 36 has a bottom cone 48, a groove 50 at a section above the 
bottom of cone 48, and a top section 52. Referring also to FIG. 4, a 
cross-sectional view of the stem 36 at the groove 50 is shown. As seen, 
the depth of the groove 50 varies at different radial positions. The 
groove 50 does not extend entirely around the perimeter of the stem 36. 
Thus, the area of the groove 50 varies with the radial position on the 
stem 36. The stem 36 also has a protrusion 54 at the end of the groove 50. 
A portion 56 of the stem between the protrusion 54 and the groove 50 does 
not have either the groove or the protrusion. FIGS. 2 and 3a show the 
valve stem 36 in an open variable flow position relative to the member 34. 
The groove 50 is in the same plane as a top portion of the outlet 42 and a 
bottom portion of the inlet 40. The variable flow position will be 
described in further detail below. 
The top section 52 of the stem 36 has a rim 58 and a stud 64. The 
temperature control shaft 28 is connected to the valve stem 36 by two 
gears 66, 68. The first gear 66 is connected to the shaft 28 such that 
axial rotation of the shaft 28 axially rotates the first gear 66. The 
second gear 68 is mounted on the top stud 64 of the valve stem 36. The two 
gears 66, 68 have relatively broad outer perimeters 70, 72 with teeth 74, 
76, respectively. The teeth 74, 76 are intermeshed at a junction 78 of the 
two gears. The stud 64 has a keyed shape. The bottom center of the second 
gear 68 has a keyed aperture 80. The stud 64 is located in the aperture 80 
such that axial rotation of the second gear 68 axially rotates the valve 
stem 36. A spring 60 is provided in a spring cavity 62 of the housing. The 
spring 60 is in contact with the bottom of the rim 58 and biases the valve 
stem 36 in an upward direction. The bottom of the second gear's center 
rests against the top of the rim 58. Therefore, the second gear 68 is also 
biased in an upward direction. The top center of the second gear 68 has a 
rider protrusion 82. As seen best in FIGS. 1 and 2, mounted to the housing 
14 is a user actuatable selector 84. The selector 84 is a lever pivotably 
mounted to the housing 14 at pivot 86 and captured under a sleeve 88 of 
the housing 14. Located on the bottom of the selector 84 is a cam section 
90 that projects through a hole 92 in the housing 14. The biasing action 
of the spring 60 biases the rider protrusion 82 against the bottom surface 
of the cam section 90. The bottom surface of the cam section 90 forms a 
cam surface. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, the operation of the selector 84 will 
be described. FIG. 3c shows the selector 84 at a first closed position. In 
this first closed position the lowest surface 90c of the cam section 90 is 
in contact with the rider protrusion 82. The cam section 90 holds the 
second gear 68 in a down position. The second gear teeth 76 remain in 
contact with the first gear teeth 74 at the junction 78 in this down 
position of the second gear 68. Because of the connection of the second 
gear 68 on top of the valve stem 36, the valve stem 36 is also located at 
a down position when the second gear 68 is at its down position. In the 
down position of the valve stem 36, the portion of the valve stem above 
the groove 50 is located between the inlet 40 and the outlet 42 of the 
valve member 34 and, more specifically, blocks the inlet 40 from the main 
hole 38. Therefore, water cannot flow from the inlet 40 to the outlet 42. 
Because the first gear 66 is still operably mated with the second gear 68, 
rotation of the temperature control knob 16 (see FIG. 1) still rotates the 
shaft 28 (see FIG. 2), first gear 66, second gear 68 and valve stem 36, 
but has no effect on flow of water through the valve. 
FIG. 3a shows the selector 84 at a second open variable flow position. In 
this second position the intermediate surface 90a of the cam section 90 is 
in contact with the rider protrusion 82. The cam section 90 and spring 60 
cooperate to hold the second gear 68 in the second variable flow position. 
The second gear teeth 76 remain in contact with the first gear teeth 74 at 
the junction 78. Because of the connection of the second gear 68 on top of 
the valve stem 36, the valve stem 36 is also located at the variable flow 
position. In this intermediate variable flow position, the groove 50 is 
aligned between the bottom of the inlet 40 and the top of the outlet 42 in 
the valve member 34. Thus, it is possible for water to flow from the inlet 
40, through the groove 50, and out the outlet 42 to the soleplate 12. 
However, referring also to FIG. 4, because of the non-uniform shape of the 
groove 50, the rate of flow of water through the valve at this second 
variable flow position is dependent upon the axial position of the valve 
stem 36 relative to the valve member 34. The valve member 34 is prevented 
from axially rotating because of an interlocking engagement of a portion 
of the reservoir tank 31 with the alignment notch 44 (see FIG. 5). Because 
of the connection of the temperature control knob 16 (see FIG. 1) to the 
valve stem 36 via the shaft 28 (see FIG. 2) and two gears 66, 68, movement 
of the knob 16 axially rotates the valve stem 36. When the knob 16 is at 
an OFF position, the axial position of the valve stem 36 is such that the 
protrusion 54 blocks the bottom of the inlet 40. Therefore, no water flows 
through the valve with the knob 16 at the OFF position. When the knob 16 
is rotated by a user from the OFF setting, the valve stem 36 is axially 
rotated to open a path via the groove 50 from the inlet 40 to the outlet 
42. The more the knob 16 is rotated away from the OFF setting, the higher 
the setting of the thermostat 26 (see FIG. 2) and the larger the area of 
the path by the groove 50 between the inlet 40 and outlet 42. Therefore, 
the rate of flow of water through the valve is correlated to the 
temperature setting selected by the user. A low temperature setting will 
have a small rate of flow of water through the valve. This will help to 
insure that water is transformed into steam at a low temperature setting 
and thereby prevent water spotting problems. However, at a high 
temperature setting, a sufficient rate of flow is provided to allow for a 
good quality and quantity of steam generation at the higher temperature. 
The rate of flow of water through the valve is, thus, dependent upon the 
temperature setting of the iron when the valve stem is at its variable 
flow position. 
FIG. 3b shows the selector 84 at a third non-variable open flow position. 
In this position, the upper surface 90b of the cam section 90 is in 
contact with the rider protrusion 82. The cam section 90 and spring 60 
cooperate to hold the second gear 68 in the up position. The second gear 
teeth 76 remain in contact with the first gear teeth 74 at the junction 
78. Because the spring 60 biases the valve stem 36 in an upward direction, 
the valve stem 36 is located at the non-variable open flow position. In 
this position, the top of the bottom cone section 48 of the valve stem 36 
is located at the bottom of the inlet 40. This allows water to flow 
directly from the inlet 40, through the main hole 38, and into the chamber 
20 of the soleplate as seen by arrow A without having to travel through 
the groove 50 or the outlet 42. The non-variable open flow position allows 
a self-cleaning function of the iron to be performed by the user. Because 
the gears 66, 68 are still operably connected to each other by their 
teeth, movement of the knob 16 will axially rotate the valve stem 36, but 
this will not affect flow of water through the valve. 
The present invention allows the valve stem 36 to be longitudinally moved 
among the three positions shown in FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c. When the valve 
stem 36 is located at the intermediate position shown in FIG. 3a, axial 
rotation of the valve stem 36 varies the rate of flow of water through the 
valve. The gears 66, 68 remain operably connected to each other to prevent 
misalignment problems. Preferably, both of the gears 66, 68 are rotatably 
mounted on portions of the tank 31 to keep the two gears 66, 68 engaged 
with each other. This is shown best in FIG. 2 with section 33 inside the 
first gear 66 and section 69 of the second gear 68 inside the section 35. 
With the present invention, a variable rate of continuous steam is 
possible from the lowest temperature setting to the highest temperature 
setting. It allows a user to have steam at a low setting of 220.degree. 
F., such as for ironing acrylic or acetate material. In alternate 
embodiments, other types of configurations could be possible, such as an 
embodiment where axial rotation of the valve stem moves the valve to the 
three closed, open/variable and open/non-variable positions and 
longitudinal movement of the valve stem varies the rate of flow when the 
valve stem is at the open/variable position. Other alternate structural 
details and embodiments could also be designed by people skilled in the 
art. 
It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative 
of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by 
those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the 
invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all 
such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope 
of the appended claims.