Ironing mitt with flexible soleplate

An iron having a mitt component and a heating element subdivided into at least two portions. A pivot interconnects the at least two portions of the heating element. A reservoir system interconnects a fluid tank to the heating element to enable the iron to possess steam generating capabilities. The mitt is preferably attached to the heating element by an annular crimping portion. The mitt further includes a pocket for receiving the hand of a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to household irons used to iron 
clothing as well as fabric mitts used to hold hot articles such as baking 
pans removed from an oven. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
The art to which the invention relates includes a variety of conventional 
irons and ironing devices used for ironing the wrinkles from clothing. The 
art also includes mitts and gloves used to shield a person's hand from a 
hot object such as a baking pan or other pot or pan removed from a stove 
or oven. 
Conventional irons have a substantially rigid, planar ironing surface that 
becomes hot when energized. Thus, conventional irons are known to be 
useful for ironing wrinkles from clothing, but are somewhat cumbersome and 
difficult to manipulate into corners and crevices of the article being 
ironed. That is, the substantially planar ironing surface makes it 
difficult for the user of such a device to iron contoured surfaces such as 
sleeves, collars and shoulders of shirts and blouses. 
Until now, however, an ironing device incorporating a mitt and a flexible 
ironing pad, whether it be comprised of tubular elements or a single 
flexible heating element, capable of ironing hard to reach surfaces and is 
more easily controlled by the hand of the user, has not been invented. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a heating 
element of a flexible or pivoting design attached to an insulated mitt for 
receiving the hand of the user. The mitt may be permanently or removably 
attached to the heating element so long as positive communication between 
the mitt and the hot ironing elements is maintained during use. 
The ironing mitt can be of any conventional construction such as those 
associated with insulated mitts used in the kitchen while baking or 
removing hot objects from the stove or oven. The heated element(s) may 
comprise a flexible material, planar in shape but capable of bending in to 
a user's manipulation of the device, or it may comprise a plurality of 
heating bars, each of which are preferably independent to enable the 
ironing mitt and heating element assembly to be flexed in a desired 
fashion. In either case, such a device would tend to lessen the problems 
associated with ironing difficult or hard to reach places on the garment. 
The present invention may, therefore, be summarized in a variety of ways, 
one of which is the following: an iron, comprising: a heating element 
having at least two portions pivotally connected to one another enabling 
the heating element to flex; and a mitt attached to the heating element. 
The heating element may be further comprised of: a front portion and a 
rear portion and a pivot is operably positioned therebetween. 
The iron may further include steam generating means for producing steam 
from a fluid such as water. The steam generating means may further 
comprise reservoir means for holding the fluid and suction means for 
moving the fluid within the reservoir means; and the reservoir means may 
further include: a tank, a fluid reservoir, a steam reservoir, and at 
least one conduit interconnecting the tank with the fluid reservoir. 
In addition, the alternate embodiments of the invention may also include a 
plurality of heating element portions operably interconnected to enable 
each portion to pivot one with respect to the other, an annular crimping 
strip to attach the mitt to the heating element, and a plurality of steam 
ports. The mitt further include a pocket for receiving the hand of a user. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ironing mitt. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ironing mitt with an 
insulated glove or mitt component attached to a flexible heating element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention is 
designated generally by the reference numeral 10. Embodiment 10 is shown 
in a rest position in cooperation with a base unit 12 which serves as a 
heat sink when the embodiment 10 rests thereon while radiating heat. 
Embodiment 10 includes a mitt component 14, and a flexible heating element 
component 16. A housing 18 interpositioned between the mitt 14 and heating 
element 16 and is associated with the heating element 16 to comprise a 
part thereof. In FIG. 2, embodiment 10 is shown adjacent a piece of fabric 
or garment 20 which is being ironed. 
With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4A-B, mitt component 14 further includes a 
pocket 22 for receiving the hand and wrist of the user (see FIGS. 6B and 
7B as indicated by the dashed lines). Heating element 16 further includes 
a first component or rear portion 24 and a front portion 26. The two are 
in pivotal operable communication with one another by hinge 28. Thus, 
portions 24 and 26 are allowed to pivot, one with respect to the other at 
the hinge 28. 
Front portion 26 further includes a plurality of steam ports 30 which are 
in communication with a steam reservoir 32 which, in turn, is in 
communication with a fluid reservoir 34 by flow tube 36. Pressure delivery 
bubble 38 is preferably formed of an elastomeric material for flexibility 
and is positioned below mitt 14, but is adjacent to it to enable the user 
to depress the bubble 38 from the interior of the pocket 22. 
Reservoir tube 40 is in communication with a tank 42 which is a 
substantially closed compartment having an opening 44, the closure of 
which is achieved by fill cap 46. In use, the user simply removes the fill 
cap 46 and introduces water into the tank 42 through the opening 44 and 
replaces the fill cap. When the user places their hand into the 
compartment 22 or the mitt 14 and depresses bubble 38, which is preferably 
an elastomeric material capable of assuming a memory shape as shown in 
FIG. 3 after it is depressed, causes a suction force to draw fluid from 
the tank 42 through the conduit 40 into fluid reservoir 34. In this 
manner, the fluid entering fluid reservoir 34 is allowed to pass through 
conduit 36 into stem reservoir 32 to create stem which is expelled through 
the stem ports 30 of the base portion 26. 
When the bubble 38 is allowed to flex back to its rest convex position, a 
vacuum is created in the conduit 40 to enable fluid to be drawn into the 
reservoir 34. 
With reference to FIG. 4, a coaxial heating element 48 is present in both 
the first portion 24 and front or second portion 26 of the base heating 
element 16. Thus, coaxial element 48 may be a bifurcated construction as 
shown in the figure. Electrical connection 50 is provided to pass 
electrical energy to the heating element 48 positioned in both the first 
and second portions 24 and 26 of the base heating element 16. Thus, 
electrical energy is introduced through a connection 52 and the preferred 
coaxial resistive heating elements 48 are in the form of simple resistors 
which heat up in response to the electrical energy supplied through 
connection 52. 
With reference to FIG. 4B, the attachment of the mitt 14 to the housing 18 
is accomplished by an annular crimping strip 54 which effectively secures 
the mitt portion 14 to the housing 18. The interface between the heating 
elements 24 and 26 is preferably shielded with an aluminum strip 56 which 
also serves as a stop to ensure that element 24 and element 26 remain in 
the proper pivotal orientation during use such that a substantially planar 
surface is created on the bottom surface of the elements 24 and 26. 
Thus, it is contemplated that first and second heating element portions 24 
and 26 may be provided, but in alternate embodiments, a plurality of 
elements (more than two) is also contemplated as is a single element 
having a flexible configuration of virtually any suitable material capable 
of allowing heat transfer from the resistive heating element 48 to the 
base heating element portions comprising base heating element 16. 
Thus, with reference to FIGS. 5, 6A-6B, and 7A-7B, mitt component 14 may be 
shown in communication with alternate base heating element structures 16 
such that in FIGS. 6A and 6B a single flexible heating element 16 is 
provided and in FIGS. 7A and 7B a plurality of hinged heating elements 25 
are provided. 
These and other embodiments of the present invention shall become apparent 
after consideration of the scope of the specification and drawings set 
forth herein. All such alternate embodiments and equivalents are believed 
to be contemplated as part of the present invention whose only limitation 
is the scope of the appended claims attached hereto.