Abstract:
A garment steamer with an inclinable ironing board ( 100 ) comprises a base ( 10 ) and a support structure ( 50 ) that includes an upper part ( 51 ), a lower part ( 52 ) and an ironing board ( 60 ) attached to the upper part. The garment steamer further comprises an inclining structure ( 70 ) including an inclining linkage ( 80 ) that connects the upper and lower parts, wherein the upper part ( 51 ) is inclinable relative to the lower part ( 52 ) at an angle between horizontal and vertical. The inclining linkage ( 80 ) comprises first and second link arms ( 83,84 ) extending between and pivotably connecting with the upper and lower parts. The first link arm ( 83 ) is longer than the second link arm ( 84 ) such that upper part ( 51 ) assumes an inclined position relative to the lower part ( 52 ) when the upper and lower ends of the link arms ( 83,84 ) are pivoted about the upper and lower parts ( 51,52 ), respectively.

Description:
This application is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/050243, filed on Jan. 8, 2016, which claims the benefit of International Application No. 15152230.7 filed on Jan. 23, 2015. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to garment steamers, particularly, relates to garment steamers with inclinable ironing board. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventional garment steamer offers a convenient way of removing wrinkles. However when compared to conventional ironing method, the level of wrinkle removal performance is much lower since there is nothing to support the hanged garment. Tough wrinkles cannot be pressed out like in the process of conventional ironing method which uses a horizontal board to support the garment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a garment steamer  200  is introduced trying to solve the above problem. The stand garment steamer  200  comprises a fixed vertical ironing board  210  for steaming. However, such vertical ironing board  210  is not ergonomic and difficult to use, users have to operate in vertical direction, which is not comfortable. Furthermore, such vertical ironing board  210  is very unstable, when exerting force onto the ironing board  210 , it tends to fall over. Therefore, this type of garment steamer cannot really support any significant pressing force for removing wrinkles. 
     An ironing board for multifunctional use is known from US 2010/0095565. This document discloses an ironing board having a base and a body with a work surface which is connected to the base by a column. The column has a tilting means for tilting the body about a tilting axis which extends perpendicularly to the column. 
     OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to propose a stable and compact garment steamer with inclinable ironing board which can be inclined relative to its support structure. 
     The invention is defined by the independent claims. The dependent claims define advantageous embodiments. 
     According to the present invention, a garment steamer with inclinable ironing board is provided, the garment steamer comprises a base and a support structure extending upwardly from the base, the support structure comprises an upper part and a lower part, an ironing board is attached to the upper part, an inclining structure comprising an inclining linkage that connects the upper part and the lower part in such a way that the upper part is inclinable relative to the lower part and can be fixed in a position in which the upper part is inclined from the lower part at an angle between horizontal and vertical, wherein the inclining linkage comprises first and second link arms extending side-by-side between the upper and lower parts of the support structure, each of the first and second link arms having an upper end pivotably connected to the upper part and a lower end pivotably connected to the lower part, the first link arm being longer than the second link arm such that upper part assumes an inclined position relative to the lower part when the upper and lower ends of the link arms are pivoted about the upper and lower parts, respectively, of the support structure. 
     Preferably, the incline angle is between 15 to 45 degrees relative to vertical direction, and a support structure extends upwardly from both sides of the base. The inclining structure may be part of the support structure. 
     According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the first inclining linkage comprises a top link rigidly connected to the upper part of the support structure; a bottom link rigidly connected to the lower part of the support structure; wherein the upper ends of the first and second link arms are pivotably connected to the top link and the lower ends of the first and second link arms are pivotally connected to the bottom link. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the garment steamer comprises a sleeve mounted to the support structure and slidable between a first position in which it encloses the first and second link arms to hold the first and second link arms in a first position in which the upper and lower ends of the link arms are free to pivot about the upper and lower parts, respectively, of the support structure. The incline angle may be determined by the difference in length of the first and second link arms. Preferably, the top link is part of the upper part of the support structure, and the bottom link is part of the lower part of the support structure. 
     According to a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a garment steamer with inclinable ironing board comprising a base, a support structures extending upwardly from the base, the support structure comprising an upper part and a lower part, an ironing board attached to the upper part, an inclining structure, comprising an inclining linkage, connecting the upper part and the lower part in such a way that the upper part is inclinable relative to the lower part and can be fixed in a position in which the upper part is inclined from the lower part at an angle between horizontal and vertical, wherein the inclining linkage comprises: an upper link pivotably connected to an lower link, the lower link comprising a rounded end and a plurality of recesses radially defined in the rounded end; and a spring loaded plunger arranged inside the upper link, and biased against the rounded end of the lower link such that when the plunger is aligned to one of the recesses, it locates in said recess to lock the upper link in an inclined position relative to the lower link. 
     The upper link may be integral with, or rigidly connected to, the upper part of the support structure. The lower link may be integral with, or rigidly connected to, the lower part of the support structure. 
     The incline angle may be determined by the angle between the recess and the vertical direction. In one embodiment, a spring housing is secured inside the upper link, the plunger extends through the spring housing, a spring is housed in the spring housing and arranged between an inner face of the spring housing and a shoulder on the plunger in order to exert a spring force on the plunger. 
     By the inclining structure of the present invention, the ironing board of the garment steamer can be inclined relative to the lower part of the support structure so that users can operate the steamer comfortably. The incline angle can be fixed by employing the first inclining linkage, and alternatively the incline angle can be adjustable by employing the second inclining linkage. The support structure of the garment steamer with inclinable ironing board can be implemented as a pair of support poles which extends upwardly from both sides of the base, which enable the steamer to stand stably when force is exerted on the ironing board. A selected sized board can also strengthen the stability of the steamer. The support structure is preferably implemented as retractable structure, when not in used, the inclining structure together with the support structure can be retracted in order to save storage space. 
     Detailed explanations and other aspects of the invention will be given below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Particular aspects of the invention will now be explained with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter and considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which identical parts or sub-steps are designated in the same manner: 
         FIG. 1  shows a garment steamer with fixed vertical ironing board that is known from a prior art; 
         FIG. 2  shows a garment steamer with inclinable ironing board with ironing board which can be inclined via an inclining structure according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a first embodiment of the inclining structure of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4A to 4C  show the inclining process of the first inclining linkage shown in  FIG. 3 ; and 
         FIG. 5A to 5C  show a second embodiment of the inclining structure of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     To make users feel comfortable when operating the garment steamer, its ironing board need to be ergonomic, which required the ironing board can be inclined to a certain angle. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the present invention proposes a garment steamer with inclinable ironing board to meet the above requirement. The garment steamer with inclinable ironing board  100  comprises a base  10 . A steam generator  20  is attached to or separately positioned from the base  10 . A steamer head  30  is connected to the steam generator  20  by a steam hose  40 . A support structure  50  extends upwardly from the base  10 , the support structure  50  can be a pole. In a preferred embodiment, there are two poles extends upwardly from both sides of the base  10 , and the poles are preferably retractable which can be retracted when they are not in use in order to make the garment steamer compact. It is understandable that the number of the pole and the position of the pole can be varied depend on its size, the requirement of stability, and other consideration. 
     The support structure  50  has an upper part  51  and a lower part  52 . The upper part  51  and lower part  52  are connected via an inclining structure  70 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inclining structure  70  is part of the support structure  50 . In an alternatively embodiment of the invention, the inclining structure  70  is separate component which is attached upper part  51  and lower part  52  of the support structure  50 . 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ironing board  60  is attached to the upper part  52  of the support structure  50 . Therefore the ironing board  60  moves together with the upper part  52 . The inclining structure  70  is connected to the support structure  50  such that the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is inclined relative to the lower part  52  of support structure  50  and can be fixed in a position in which the upper part  51  is inclined from the lower part  52  at an angle between horizontal and vertical. As a result of being attached to and moving together with the upper part  51  of the support structure  50 , the ironing board  60  is therefore inclined from the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  at an angle between horizontal and vertical. The ironing board  60  can be a full board, or for compact consideration, a half board or a board with a size within the footprint of the base  10 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a first embodiment of the inclining structure  70 , which is described here as a first inclining linkage  80 . 
     The first inclining linkage  80  comprises a top link  81 , a bottom link  82 , a front link  83 , a rear link  84 , and a sleeve  85 . The upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the top link  81 . The lower part  52  of the structure  50  is rigidly connected to the bottom link  82 . In a preferred embodiment, the top link  81  is part of the upper part  51  of the support structure  50 , and the bottom link  52  is part of the lower part  52  of the support structure  50 . In an alternative embodiment, the top link  81  and bottom link  82  are separate components which are rigidly connected respectively to the upper part  51  and lower part  52 . 
     The front link  83  and rear link  84  are, respectively, pivotably connected to a lower end of the top link  81  and an upper end of the bottom link  82 . There is a height difference between the ends of the front link  83  and rear link  84  at where they connect the top link  81  or the bottom link  82 . Therefore, when pivoting, the front link  83  and the rear link  84  form a step which defines an incline angle between the top link  81  and bottom link  82  which connect to the front link  83  and rear link  84  respectively. Since the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the top link  81 , and the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the bottom link  82 , the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is therefore inclined from the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  at a predetermined incline angle defined by said height difference. Furtherly, the ironing board  60  attached to the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  moves together with the upper part  51  and is therefore inclined from the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  at a predetermined incline angle defined by said height difference. By varying the height difference, the incline angle can be varied between horizontal and vertical. A comfortable incline angle for users&#39; steaming operation is commonly from 15 to 45 degrees, preferably 30 degrees. 
     The sleeve  85  is arranged slidably enclosing the top link  81 , bottom link  82 , front link  83  and rear link  84  in a vertical position. The overall outside dimension of the top link  81 , bottom link  82 , front link  83  and rear link  84 , when in a vertical position, is smaller than the inner opening of the sleeve  85 . This allows the sleeve  85  to slide up or down along the top link  81 , bottom link  82 , front link  83  and rear link  84 . When the sleeve  85  slides to a first position where it encloses the front link  83  and rear link  84 , the front link  83  and rear link  84  are held substantially in a vertical position without pivoting; when the sleeve  85  slides to a second position where it does not enclose the front link  83  and rear link  84 , that is, the front link  83  and rear link  84  are exposed from the sleeve  85 , the front link  83  and rear link  84  pivot relative to the top link  81  and bottom link  82  so that a step is formed which leads to incline angle between the top link  81  and bottom link  82 , and therefore between the upper part  51  and lower part  52  of the support structure, and further between the ironing board  60  and the lower part  52  of the support structure  50 . 
     Preferably, the overall outside size and profile of the sleeve  85  are the same as the support structure  50 , therefore, in the case of the support structure  50  is implemented as retractable pole, it enables the whole first inclining linkage  80  to be refracted together with the retractable pole for a compact storage purpose. 
       FIG. 4A to 4C  show the inclining process of the first inclining linkage  80 . Referring to  FIG. 4A , the sleeve  85  is initially in the first position where it encloses the front link  83  and rear link  84 , in this case, the front link  83  and rear link  84  are held inside the sleeve  85  and cannot pivot, the first inclining linkage  80  is therefore locked in a vertical position. To release the first inclining linkage  80 , the sleeve  85  slides upwardly to the second position where it clears both the front link  82  and rear link  83 . Referring to  FIG. 4B , at the second position, the sleeve  85  is slightly pulled towards the front link  83  in order to break the straight line of the first inclining linkage  80 . After which, due to gravity, the weight of the top link  81 , sleeve  85 , upper part  51  of the support structure  50 , and ironing board  60  will actuate the front link  83  and rear link  84  to pivot relative to the top link  81  and bottom link  82 . Referring to  FIG. 4C , when the pivoting stops, a step is formed between the front link  83  and the rear link  84 , the top link  81  is therefore inclined to an angle relative to the bottom link  82 . 
     To reset the first inclining linkage  80 , the top link  81  is lifted up to a vertical position. Due to the connection between the top link  81  and the front link  83  and rear link  84 , the front link  83  and rear link  84  are pulled up to a vertical position. Due to gravity, the sleeve  85  drops down to a position where it encloses and holds the front link  83  and rear link  84  so as to lock the top link  81  and bottom link  82  in a vertical position without inclining. 
       FIG. 5A to 5C  shows a second embodiment of the inclining structure  70 , which is described here as a second inclining linkage  90 . The first and second inclining linkages ( 80 , 90 ) may be used together or, they may be used independently. 
     The second inclining linkage  90  comprises an upper link  91  and a lower link  92 , the upper link  91  is pivotably connected to the lower link  92  via a pivot  93 . The upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the upper link  91 , and the lower part  52  is rigidly connected the lower link  92 . In a preferred embodiment, the upper link  91  is part of the upper part  51  of the support structure  50 , and the lower link  92  is part of the lower part  52  of the support structure  50 . In an alternative embodiment, the upper link  91  and lower link  92  are separate components which are respectively rigidly connected to the upper part  51  and lower part  52  of the support structure  50 . 
     The lower link  92  comprises a rounded end  921  which faces the upper link  91  when the lower link  92  is connected to the upper link  91 . A plurality of recesses  922  are radially defined in the rounded end  921 . Inside the upper link  91 , a spring housing  94  is secured at a bottom of the upper link  91 . A plunger  96  extends through the spring housing  94 , one end of the plunger  96  is fixed to a release button  97  arranged on a surface of the upper link  91 , the other end of the plunger  96  rides along the rounded end  921  of the lower link  92 . The plunger  96  comprises a shoulder  961 . A spring  95  is housed in the spring housing  94 , one end abuts against an inner face of the spring housing  94 , and the other end abuts against the shoulder  961  of the plunger  96 . 
     When the upper link  91  pivots relative to the lower link  92 , the plunger  96  rides along the rounded end  921  of the lower link  92 , when the plunger  96  is aligned to one of the recesses  922 , the plunger  96  is pushed by the spring  95  to plug into the recess  922 . In this case, the upper link  91  is locked in a position where it is inclined relative to the lower link  92  at an incline angle. Since the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the upper link  91 , and the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  is rigidly connected to the lower link  92 , the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  is therefore inclined from the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  at an incline angle defined by the angle between the recess  922  and vertical direction. Furtherly, the ironing board  60  attached to the upper part  51  of the support structure  50  moves together with the upper part  51  and is therefore inclined from the lower part  52  of the support structure  50  at an angle defined by the angle between the recess  922  and vertical direction. The incline angle can be adjusted by aligning the plunger  96  to different recesses  922 . To reset the upper link  91  and lower link  92  to vertical position, the release button  97  is pushed upward, the spring  95  is therefore compressed, and the plunger  96  is released from the recess  922 . Preferably, a recess  922  is defined in a vertical direction so that when the upper link  91  and lower link  92  is reset to the vertical position, they can be locked by the plunger  96  plugging into this recess  922 . 
     The width of the ironing board  50  of the present invention is preferably equal to the width of a hanger of the garment steamer with inclinable ironing board  100 . The length of the ironing board  50  is preferably shorter than or equal to the length of a typical top garment, for example a shirt. 
     The above embodiments as described are only illustrative, and not intended to limit the technique approaches of the present invention. Although the present invention is described in details referring to the preferable embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that the technique approaches of the present invention can be modified or equally displaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the technique approaches of the present invention, which will also fall into the protective scope of the claims of the present invention. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.