Electric iron

Abstract: A combination pump and spray or surge function selector valve for an electric iron comprises a valve stem (60) having a user operated member (50) on a first end and a valve member (62) on a second end. A housing (52) is spaced circumferentially about the valve member (62) and includes a first water inlet (64) and a pair of water outlets (68, 70) in fluid flow communication with said inlet (64). The stem (60) is movable in a first direction relative to the housing (52) so that the valve member (62) selectively connects the water inlet (64) with a selected one of the outlets (68, 70) while discontinuing communication between the inlet (64) and the other of the outlets (68, 70). The stem (60) is movable in a second direction relative to the housing (52) to pump water from the inlet (64) to the selected one water outlet.

Description: This invention relates to an electric iron and, in particular, to a combination pump and spray or surge function selector valve for an electric iron. Many electric irons of the type that are commonly used in the modern household, include means to emit a spray of water droplets onto the object to be ironed which is positioned in the path of movement of the iron. This spray function is used when ironing certain fabrics and the spray function is controlled by the user of the iron. The typical modern steam iron also generally includes a "surge" function. The surge function increases the speed and effectiveness of the steam iron in removing wrinkles from certain fabrics by enabling the user of the iron selectively to generate relatively large quantities of steam at intermittent times in the ironing process. Typically, the spray and surge function utilise separate pumps and controls, or a single pump with a separate control to select the desired function, thereby, increasing the cost and complexity of the iron's manufacture. Further, the reliability of the iron may be reduced due to the number of separate components used to develop the surge and spray functions. An electric iron according to the precharacterising part of Claim 1 is known from US-A-3 691 660. It is an object of this invention to manufacture an electric iron having surge and spray functions which utilises a single control to operate the pump and to select the spray or surge function. The electric iron according to the invention comprises a sole plate, a housing connected to the soleplate, and a water tank associated with the housing and having a water inlet and at least one water outlet, and a combination pump and spray or surge function select valve including an axially extending stem extending through the housing and having a first user operated member mounted at a first end and a valve member mounted at a second end; valve housing means spaced circumferentially about the valve member and having a first water inlet in communication with the water outlet from the water tank and a pair of water outlets in fluid flow communication with the inlet, the stem being rotatable about an axis around a first and a second rotatable position, in the first position the valve member provides for communication between the water inlet and a one of the outlets, and disconnects an other of the outlets from the inlet and in the second position the valve member provides for communication between the water inlet and the other of the outlets and disconnects the one of the outlets from the inlet, and the stem being axially movable relative to the housing means to pump water from the water inlet to the selected one water outlet, a first of the pair of water outlets providing water for the spray function and a second of the pair of water outlets providing water for the surge function characterised in that the pair of water outlets are horizontally axially aligned and circumferentially spaced and in that said valve member includes a cutaway portion forming an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the stem, the cutaway portion providing for the communication between the water inlet and the one of the outlets when the stem is in the first rotatable position, and for the communication between the water inlet and the other of the outlets when the stem is in the second rotatable position. An embodiment of an electric iron will now be described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view, partially in cross-section, of an electric steam iron incorporating a pump and spray or surge function selector valve in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a detail of a portion of the electric iron illustrated in Figure 1 particularly showing the manner in which the present invention is used within the iron; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2, and Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the selector valve of the present invention. An electric steam iron including a pump and spray or surge function selector valve in accordance with the present invention is shown in partial cross-section in Figure 1 and is designated generally therein by the reference character 10. As shown, steam iron 10 includes a housing or body portion 12, a handle 14 for manipulating the steam iron, a forward or nose portion 16, and an electrically heated soleplate 18. A water-containing reservoir 20 is formed within body portion 12 of steam iron 10 and contains a supply of water used for the generation of steam. As is well known in the art, the steam iron 10 includes a fill port 34 by which the reservoir 20 is periodically filled by the user. The reservoir 20 may include a transparent or translucent window by which the level of water in the reservoir can be gauged by the user. The steam iron 10 is provided with a user-operable temperature control 22 to control the electric power provided to the soleplate 18 and a steam flow control knob 24 which controls the amount of steam issued from steam apertures (not shown) in the soleplate 18, as is conventional in the art. The temperature control 22 is connected to a thermostat (not shown) that periodically opens and closes an electric circuit to supply power to the soleplate 18 and thus establish the ironing temperature of the soleplate. The soleplate 18 includes an interior surface portion 28 that is closed by a coverplate 30 to define a steam chamber 32 in which water from the reservoir 20 is flashed to steam. The steam chamber 32 is connected to passageways (not shown) that lead to the steam apertures formed in the soleplate to provide the steam to the fabric being ironed. The flow of water from the reservoir 20 is controlled through actuation of the knob 24. The knob 24 is connected via a rod 36 to a metering valve (not shown). When the steam flow control knob 24 is rotated, the rod 36 moves axially to regulate the operation of the metering valve to control the flow of water from the reservoir 20 into the steam chamber 32. The iron 10 further includes a water spray nozzle 46 mounted at the forward or nose portion 16. The spray nozzle 46 enables the user of the iron to emit a spray or water droplets onto the object to be ironed which is positioned in the path of movement of the iron. This spray function is used when ironing certain fabrics. The steam chamber 32 includes a surge of steam function which operates to produce relatively large quantities of steam upon user demand. When the surge function is desired, a jet of water is suddenly introduced into the steam chamber. The surge function increases the speed and effectiveness of the steam iron in removing wrinkles from certain fabrics by enabling the user of the iron selectively to generate relatively large quantities of steam at intermittent times in the ironing process. To obtain selectively either the surge or spray functions, the electric iron 10 includes a user operable control knob 50. The knob 50 extends above the top surface of the iron 10 and is mounted within the handle 14 for movement in either a rotational direction or in an axial direction relative to the handle. A valve housing 52 formed from a mouldable plastic, is axially spaced from the lower surface 54 of the control knob 50. A spring 56 is resiliently mounted between the lower surface of the control knob 50 and spring retaining ribs 58 formed on the valve housing 52. The spring 56 is a compression spring and resiliently urges the control knob 50 upwardly relative to the valve housing. The control knob 50 includes an axially extending stem portion 60 terminating in a valve member 62 which as illustrated in Figures 2 to 4 has a portion removed along a cut-line that is taken at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the stem. With specific reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4, it will be observed that the valve housing 52 has an inlet opening 64 formed at its lower end and in general alignment with the longitudinal axis of the valve stem. A ball check valve 66 is normally seated to control the flow of fluid through this opening. The valve housing 52 also includes a pair of nozzles 68, 70 formed in axial alignment and spaced circumferentially about the valve housing. Each nozzle 68, 70 has a ball check valve 67 to control the flow of fluid through the nozzles. The inlet opening 64 is connected to a first tube 72 which in turn communicates with the water reservoir 20. The first one of the nozzles 68 is connected to a second tube 74 which, in turn, is connected to spray nozzle 46. The other of the nozzles 70 is connected to a third tube 76 which communicates with the steam chamber 32. As illustrates specifically in Figure 3, as the control knob 50 is rotated by the user, the cutaway portion of the valve member 62 defined by the angled cut line can be selectively communicated with one or the other of the nozzles 68, 70. When the cutaway portion of the valve member is aligned with the nozzle 68 communicating with the spray nozzle 46, water can flow from the reservoir 20 through the tube 72 to unseat the ball check valve 66 and flow through the inlet opening 64. The water then is supplied via the nozzle 68 and second tube 74 to the spray nozzle 46. When the control knob is rotated to align the cutaway portion of the valve member 62 with the other of the nozzles 70, as illustrated in Figure 3, water will flow from the water reservoir, through the tube 72, inlet opening 64, nozzle 70 and third tube 76 to the steam chamber 32. To obtain water flow, the user pumps the control knob 50 in a reciprocating manner to cause water to flow upwardly through the tube 72 to unseat the check valve 66. Thence, depending upon the specific needs of the user, the water will flow either through one or the other of the nozzles 68, 70 as selected by the user to obtain either the spray or surge functions. The described pump and spray or surge function selector valve of the present invention provides an effective and cost efficient arrangement for readily achieving the desired spray or surge functions within an electric iron. If desired, the design of the valve member 62 may be modified. Specifically, the valve member may include a pair of axially spaced seals, with the lower seal having a portion removed to define a fluid flow path thereabout. The valve member will be rotated to align the removed portion of the seal with the nozzle providing the desired surge or spray function.

Claims: An electric iron (10) comprising a soleplate (18), a housing (12) connected to the soleplate, and a water tank (20) associated with the housing and having a water inlet (34) and at least one water outlet (72), and a combination pump and spray or surge function select valve (50) including an axially extending stem (60) extending through the housing (12) and having a first user operated member (50) mounted at a first end and a valve member (62) mounted at a second end; valve housing means (52) spaced circumferentially about the valve member (62) and having a first water inlet (64) in communication with the water outlet (72) from the water tank (20) and a pair of water outlets (68,70) in fluid flow communication with the inlet (64), the stem (60) being rotatable about an axis around a first and a second rotatable position, in the first position the valve member (62) provides for communication between the water inlet (64) and a one of the outlets (68), and disconnects an other of the outlets (70) from the inlet (64) and in the second position the valve member provides for communication between the water inlet (64) and the other of the outlets (70) and disconnects the one of the outlets (68) from the inlet (64), and the stem (60) being axially movable relative to the housing means (52) to pump water from the water inlet (64) to the selected one water outlet, a first (68) of the pair of water outlets (68,70) providing water for the spray function and a second (70) of the pair of water outlets (68,70) providing water for the surge function wherein the pair of water outlets are horizontally axially aligned and circumferentially spaced, characterised in that said valve member (62) includes a cutaway portion forming an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the stem, the cutaway portion providing for the communication between the water inlet (64) and the one of the outlets (68) when the stem is in the first rotatable position, and for the communication between the water inlet (64) and the other of the outlets (70) when the stem is in the second rotatable position. An electric iron according to Claim 1, characterised in that the valve member (62) comprises a resilient moulded member. An electric iron according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the stem (60) includes a first flange-like surface (54) and the valve housing means (52) includes a plurality of retaining ribs (58), and a compression spring (56) mounted between the flange-like surface (54) and retaining ribs (58) for normally urging the stem (60) axially away from the housing means (52).

Inventors: FARRINGTON RICHARD I, FARRINGTON, RICHARD I.
Applicants: BLACK & DECKER INC, BLACK & DECKER INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: D06F75
IPC codes: D06F75