Abstract:
A pressing iron composed of a case provided with an opening and a power cord that extends from the opening, and a cord guide device mounted to the case and disposed in the opening for reinforcing the cord in a region adjacent to the case in order to limit flexural of the cord. The cord guide device includes a body enveloping a portion of the cord and a mobile guide member for permitting the extent of the cord that is reinforced by the cord guide device to be varied. The mobile guide member is supported by the body and is adapted to occupy a folded up position in which the mobile guide member is substantially integrated into the body and a deployed position in which the mobile guide member projects outside of the body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a pressing iron having a housing, or case, provided with an opening into which a flexible power cord extends and receiving a cord guide device to limit flexure, or bending, of the cord at the outlet of the housing. 
   The patent document DE 93 06 930U discloses a pressing iron having a power cord that is reinforced locally by a flexible cord guide device that surrounds the cord adjacent to the housing of the iron. The iron also has a maintenance shank, or rod, pivotally mounted on the heel of the iron and adapted to occupy a deployed position in which the free end of the rod comes to support the cord at a point relatively distant from the cord outlet in order to displace the cord and a folded up position in which the rod is folded up against the heel of the iron. With such a solution, the maintenance rod in the deployed position presents the advantage of extending the cord in order to prevent it from rubbing against the articles being ironed. The possibility of retracting the maintenance rod also presents the advantage of reducing the space occupied by the iron during storage. However, such a maintenance rod is not usable with an iron whose power cord is disposed at a lower position, close to the center of the heel of the iron, and not near the top. In addition, such a maintenance rod presents the drawback of encumbering the heel of the iron when it is in the retracted position, with one result being that it cannot be used with an iron provided with a filling orifice at the rear. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention overcomes these drawbacks by providing a pressing iron having a cord guide device that can guide a relatively long length of the cord, in order to sufficiently extend the cord, and that presents a reduced length in order to limit the space occupied by the iron during storage. 
   In addition, the cord guide device of an iron according to the present invention itself takes up little space and that can be mounted at different locations of the iron without difficulty. 
   Thus, the invention provides a pressing iron having a housing, or case, provided with an opening into which a power cord extends, the opening receiving a cord guide device that serves to reinforce the portion of the cord adjacent the housing in order to limit flexure, or bending, of the cord. The cord guide device according to the invention has a body that surrounds, or envelops, the portion of the cord adjacent to the housing of the iron and mobile guide means permitting the cord length over which the cord is maintained to be varied. In particular in accordance with the invention, the mobile guide means are supported by the body that envelops the cord and can occupy a folded up position, in which they are substantially integrated into the body, and a deployed, or extended, position, in which the guide means project outside of the body. 
   According to one characteristic of the invention, the mobile guide means are displaced by spring means into the deployed position. 
   This presents the advantage of permitting an automatic deployment of the mobile guide means toward the most appropriate position for ironing, i.e., in which the length of cord guidance is increased. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the cord guide device has locking means permitting the mobile guide means to be maintained in the folded up position, the locking means being associated with an unlocking button. 
   This characteristic helps to facilitate storage of the iron by assuring that the mobile guide means of the cord guide device will be maintained in the folded up position in which it occupies the least space. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the body of the cord guide device is pivotally mounted on the iron and the unlocking button is actuated automatically when the body is rocked toward the rear. 
   This characteristic provides assurance of automatic deployment of the mobile guide means upon the first application of a tension force to the cord during ironing. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the mobile guide means are flexible. 
   This characteristic helps to assure that the cord will not be damaged or weakened by flexure when the guide means are deployed. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the body of the cord guide device has a greater rigidity than do the mobile guide means. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the mobile guide means are movable in translation with respect to the body of the cord guide device. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the mobile guide means are constituted by an extension piece that is displaceable in the body of the cord guide device to form a telescopic cord guide. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the body of the cord guide device and the extension piece are slightly conical. 
   According to another characteristic of the invention, the cord is an electric power cord. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pressing iron having a cord guide device according to one embodiment of the invention, the guide device being in its folded up position. 
       FIG. 2  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 1  of the same appliance with the cord guide device deployed, or extended. 
       FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the cord guide device of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are cross-sectional views, along line IV-IV of  FIG. 3 , of the cord guide device of  FIG. 3 , in respective ones of an extended position and a retracted position. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a pressing iron having a cord guide device according to a second embodiment of the invention, in its deployed position. 
       FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the cord guide device of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  are cross-sectional views, taken along the line VII-VII of  FIG. 6 , of the device of  FIG. 5  in respective ones of an extended position and a retracted position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   In the present description and illustrations, only the elements needed for an understanding of the invention will be described and shown. In order to facilitate an understanding of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals from one figure to another. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show a pressing iron having a plastic housing  1  that carries a soleplate  2  connected to the bottom of housing  1 . Soleplate  2  is heated, in a conventional manner, by an electric resistance that receives electric power through a power cord  3 . One end of cord  3  is provided with an electric plug (not shown) for connecting the iron to an electric outlet. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , housing  1  includes a handle  4  that is connected to the rear end of the iron by two arms  5  extending in a diverging manner from handle  4  to the body of the iron so that the resulting structure has a substantially triangular shape. Arms  5  delimit, and enclose, an open space at the rear of the iron, where the iron is also furnished with an opening through which cord  3  enters the interior of housing  1 . 
   More particularly, according to the invention, at the location where the cord extends out of housing  1 , there is provided a cord guide device  6  composed of a body  60  that is slightly conical and through which cord  3  passes. Cord guide device  6  also has mobile guide means  61  movable relative to body  60  in order to permit the length, or distance, over which cord  6  is supported by guide device  6  to be varied. 
   In a preferred manner, body  60  is pivotally mounted to housing  1  by a pivot element  62 , composed, for example, of two pivot pins, as shown most clearly in  FIGS. 3 and 6 . Pivot element  62  permits body  60  to pivot about an axis generally perpendicular to the length, or longitudinal direction, of the iron. Housing  1  is provided with a notch  7 , at the junction of the two arms  5  with handle  4 , in which body  60  can be inserted when brought into a substantially vertical position. The length of body  60  is advantageously close to the distance separating pivot element  62  from the rear end of handle  4  so that the free end of body  60  is found in the extension of handle  4  when body  60  is inserted into notch  7 . 
   The mobile guide means are preferably constituted by an extension piece  61  in the form of a sheath for reinforcing cord  3 . Extension piece  61  is slidable at the interior of body  60  through an opening formed in the end of body  60  that is opposite to pivot element  62 . Thus, body  60  and extension piece  61  together give device  60  the form of a telescopic cord guide device. 
   The end of extension piece  61  that is located outside of body  60  includes a protection ferrule, or nozzle,  63  having the form of a trumpet mouthpiece and serving to prevent the cord from being brought into contact with a sharp edge. In an advantageous manner, extension piece  61  is flexible and has a progressive flexibility in order to better distribute strains imposed on cord  3 , and thus increase its ability to undergo flexure, the flexibility of the extension piece preferably increasing along the length of the piece in the direction of protection ferrule  63 . This progressive flexibility of extension piece  61  is obtained due to a slightly frustoconic form of the extension piece and to the presence of cavities  64  in proximity to the end provided with protection ferrule  63 . 
   By way of example, body  60  is made of a hard plastic, such as a polycarbonate, and the extension piece is molded from a flexible material, such as an elastomer material. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , the end of body  60  provided with pivot element  62  is closed by a ferrule  65  that includes a flange  65 A for immobilizing cord  3 , thus assuring that a tension force applied to cord  3  outside of the iron will not have an adverse influence on the electric connections inside housing  1 . In other words, flange  65 A acts as sort of clamp on a portion of cord  3  that is arranged to extend, within the housing, at right angles to the portion of cord  3  that extends through body  60 . 
   As is seen most clearly in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b , a biasing spring  66  is placed at the interior of body  60  to automatically urge extension piece  61  into its deployed position in which the major part of extension piece  61  is located outside of body  60 , as particularly shown in  FIG. 4   a.    
   Extension piece  61  is retained in this position by an end of travel abutment, formed by a shoulder  61 A disposed at the end of extension piece  61 , cooperating with a collar, or neck,  60 A formed at the end of body  60 . 
   Body  60  of device  6  also has a locking system permitting extension piece  61  to be immobilized, or locked, or latched, in a retracted position in which the major part of extension piece  61  is located within body  60 , as shown most clearly in  FIG. 4   b.    
   The locking system is constituted by a latch  67 A carried by a button  67  mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot axis  68  carried by body  60 . Button  67  is biased by a spring  69  toward a rest position in which latch  67 A projects into body  60  and cooperates with shoulder  61 A of extension piece  61  in order to retain extension piece  61  in the rest position. Latch  67 A is carried by the part of button  67  that is closer to pivot element  62 , while spring  69  is located at the opposite side of button  67  with respect to pivot axis  68 . Thus, in order to unlatch extension piece  61 , it is sufficient for the user to rock button  67  against the action of spring  69  in a manner to displace latch  67 A away from shoulder  61 A. This allows extension piece to automatically move to its deployed position by the action of spring  66 . In an advantageous manner, the resulting cord guide device can be dimensioned to guide the cord over a length portion of between 60 and 120 mm. 
   Such a cord guide device presents the advantage of simplifying storage of the iron as a result of the reduced amount of space occupied by cord guide device  6  when extension piece  61  is in the retracted, or folded up, position, cord guide device  6  being able to be positioned vertically in notch  7 , and cord  3  can then be wound around casing  1  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
   Conversely, for utilization of the iron, extension piece  61  can be deployed in order to increase the effective length of guidance of cord  3 , which permits cord  3  to be extended from the rear of the iron and to particularly prevent cord  3  from rubbing against the edge of the ironing board or against the fabric being ironed. 
     FIGS. 5-7  show another embodiment of the invention in which button  67  is close to the axis of pivot elements  62  and in which spring  69  of latch  67 A have their positions reversed with respect to pivot axis  68  of the button in such a manner that spring  69  is located between button  67  and pivot element  62  and button  67  can be actuated automatically by coming to abut against a wall  50  extending between the two arms  5  when cord guide device  6  is rocked toward the rear of the iron, for example through an angle of more than about 45° from the vertical position. 
   This second embodiment presents the advantage of assuring an automatic deployment of the extension piece when tension is applied on cord  3  in the direction to rock cord guide device  6  toward the rear. Thus, if the user forgets to manually deploy extension piece  61  before starting an ironing session, the extension piece will deploy automatically the first time the cord is pulled toward the rear during the ironing session. This serves to prevent cord  3  from experiencing a premature failure which could occur in the part of the cord that extends from the housing if ironing were performed with the extension piece retracted, because of the substantial rigidity of body  60  of cord guide device  6  and of the short length of the flexible guidance of the cord when extension piece  61  is in the retracted position. 
   This application relates to subject matter disclosed in French Application number FR 05 09546, filed on Jan. 19, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. 
   The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.