Patent GB-605247-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in electric steaming irons
IPC: D06F75/18
Filed: 1945-12-19
Abstract: 605,247. Electric steaming-irons. BOARDMAN, R. G., and THOMAS. A. P. Dec. 19, 1945, Nos. 34362/45 and 6910/46 [Class 138(ii)] Relates to an electricallyheated steaming-iron of the kind comprising a water reservoir 19 disposed above the sole plate 10, a water-supply tube 22 depending therefrom and communicating at its lower end with a flash boiler which is provided in the sole plate and delivers steam to the underside of the sole plate through one or more openings therein. According to the invention, the sole plate carries an upstanding member 32 which projects into the lower end of the tube 22 so as to prevent the water falling from the tube intermittently in drops and maintains by capillary action an even continuous flow of water to the flash boiler. The tube 22 extends vertically through the rear part of the reservoir 19, which is provided by the interior of the handle 20. The reservoir communicates with the tube 22 through a hole 23, and, above this hole, the tube 22 is threaded for engagement with the correspondinglythreaded stem 24 of a conical valve member 25 which co-operates with a seating 26. The lower part of the tube 22 projects beneath the reservoir and ends in a threaded portion 28 which screws into a hollow boss 29 formed on the sole plate 10. Fins 30, are provided on the exterior of the lower part of the tube 22 in order to reduce the transmission of heat from the sole plate to the reservoir. The upstanding member 32, which projects into the lower end of the tube 22, is in the form of a cone disposed centrally on the upper face of a metal plug 31 which is screwed into the boss 29 from the underside of the sole plate 10. A flat surface 33 is formed on one side, or two opposite sides, of the plug 31 so as to provide one or two vertical passages communicating with an annular passage 35 provided by co-operating grooves in the plug and boss. This passage 35 communicates with a passage 40, which is disposed in the sole plate so as to be tangentically disposed in relation to the passage 35 as shown in Fig. 2. The rear end of the passage 40 terminates at the rear end of the sole plate and is closed by a plug 41, and at its front end this passage communicates with a steam distribution opening 42 provided with one or more radiating channels 43 on the underside of the sole plate. The opening 42 is provided with a screwthreaded plug 44. One portion 47 of the steam passage 40 is of larger diameter than the other portion 48 so as to provide a shoulder 49 constituting a barrier to the passage of water with the steam along the passage. If desired, the sole plate may be provided with a second steam passage disposed in symmetrical relation to the passage 40, or more than two such passages may be provided. The handle 20 of the iron may be made of transparent or translucent material, or, if made of opaque material, it may be provided with a transparent or translucent window for use in observing the water level in the reservoir. The resistance element 11 and clamping plate 12, together with a thermostatic switch 13, are enclosed within a cover 16 having depending walls 17 which extend around an upstanding flange 18 adjacent the periphery of the sole plate. Knobs 15, 27, are provided for controlling the switch 13 and valve 25, respectively. The first Provisional Srecification also describes the following features:- (a) The water supply tube leads into a transverse hole which is disposed in the sole plate near the rear end thereof and is connected by two or more longitudinal holes with a second transverse hole near the front of the sole plate; this second transverse hole has one or more vertical or inclined steam discharge outlets leading to the undersurface of the sole plate; (b) The lower end of the water supply tube is fitted with a plug which has a small hole co-operating with an upstanding conical or other member on the sole plate for ensuring the passage of water in an even flow from the tube to the rear transverse hole in the sole plate; (c) The undersurface of the sole plate may be provided with grooves as described in Specification 492,999 for distributing the steam on to the work; (d) The water reservoir may be in the form of a separate container which is preferably of transparent plastic material and is secured to the rear of the handle or cover plate; (e) The upstanding wall formed near the periphery of the sole plate for co-operating with the cover plate is greater in depth than the combined thickness of the element and clamping plate; (f) The rear of the handle may be formed with a separate recess which receives the electric terminals and is closed by a cover plate carrying a signal lamp for indicating when current is passing. According to the second Provisional Specification, the upstanding member, which projects into the lower end of the water supply tube, has an annular recess, the base of which communicates by means of small radially-disposed openings with the passages in the sole plate