Patent Publication Number: US-3878628-A

Title: Steam iron baffling

Description:
United States Patent Gowdy Apr. 22, 1975 STEAM IRON BAFFLING Primurv Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson I d O t: [75] lmcnmr 22;? lam Gow n ma Attorney. Agent, or F|rm.lohn F. Cullen; George R Powers; Leonard J. Platt [73] Assignee: General Electric Company.  
 Bridgeport. Conn. [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: June 19, 1974 A steam iron having an enclosed water tank with a App]. NO.I 480,716  
 riser tube portion at the forward end and a fill opening into the portion to fill the tank has an improvement in means to reduce upchucking of water out the fill opening comprising a single baffle means shaped like an open-top box with one end open and the other end having partially closed flaps with the single baffle being substantially completely disposed in the riser portion so that sudden expelling by backsplashing or upchucking of the water out of the fill opening is minimized or avoided by the unique baffle structure.  
 5 Claims. 3 Drawing Figures STEAM IRON BAFFLING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention herein pertains to a steam iron that contains a water tank and. more particularly. to a novel separate baffle structure for the tank riser portion to prevent sudden expelling or sloshing of the water out the till opening to the tank.  
 2. Description of the Prior Art With the advent ofirons using water for either steam or spray purposes or both. it is customary to provide a water tank in the iron shell above the soleplate and to use controls whereby the water is dripped into a boiler and evaporated and directed out steam holes in the soleplate to steam the article. Additionally. spray attachments have been added to such irons which may pump a fine spray. either manually or power operated. from the water tank to spray onto the garment. In such an iron. when the iron is stopped at its forward stroke. depending on the till opening used and placement of the opening. the water tends to keep moving and may he suddenly expelled and backsplash or slosh out the fill opcning. Also. when the iron is turned up on its heel in a resting position. trapped water may also slosh out the fill opening. Further. when the water in the tank reaches boiling temperature it is hot and its viscosity is greatly reduced and the water can he and is suddenly expelled out the fill opening. This phenomenon is known as upchucking&#34;. It is known to put baffling in steam iron water tanks to dampen or reduce surges due to momentum of the water and baffling has been used in irons to prevent the water being suddenly expelled out ofthe fill opening during the various ironing operations. A typical arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3.497.975 olcommon assignment. Normally. when the fill opening is at a substantial height from the soleplate. the water tank may be sufficiently remote that the expelling of water is not a serious problem. However. as iron designs change. in some cases the fill opening is located closer to the water tank. providing a short path between the water and the opening so that expelling of the hot water can easily occur during the various motions in ironing and. with the viscosity change this can be cumulative at boiling temperature when the water can also be expelled. In irons in which the tank is not closed off by valve means. there is thus an open path from the tank water to the fill opening through which very hot water may he suddenly expelled for several reasons.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described. the present invention is directed to a steam iron which has an enclosed water tank with a riser portion at the forward end connected to a fill opening to fill the tank. The iron has improvement in means to prevent water sloshing out the fill opening which comprises a unique single baffle as an integral folded one-piece of sheet metal that is shaped like an open-top box with one end open and aligned with the fill opening and the other end having partially-closed flaps. and the floor of the box having apertures therein to connect with the tank interior. The baffle is substantially completely disposed in the riser portion of the tank and the partially closed flaps and apertures permit water passage for filling the tank through the fill pen ing while preventing the upchucking. backsplashing.  
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 and sudden expelling of hot water. Suitable control means may pass through the baftle and not interfere with its function. Thus. the main object ofthe invention is to provide a unique baffling structure disposed substantially completely within the riser portion of a nonpressurized iron so that sudden expelling due to backsplashing or upchucking of water out ofthe fill opening is obviated.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an elevational view. partially in section and broken away. showing the general parts of an iron illustrating the invention:  
  FIG. 2 is a partial broken section through the baffling structure of the iron showing its location in the riser tube and control means; and  
  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the integral folded one-piece baffle structure.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. I. there is shown an electric steam iron that may include a spray attachment if desired. The iron includes a soleplate It) with a plurality of steam ports [2 and a shell I4 secured thereto and suitably connected to handle structure 16 all in known fashion. In accordance with conventional practice. soleplate 10 may be of cast material such as aluminum with a looped heating element 18 cast in position. The heating element is of the sheath type and. with its electrical resistance of element. extends through an outer tubular protective sheath with the heating element separated from the sheath by an insulating compound resistant to heat such as granulated and compressed magnesium oxide. The heating element generally extends in a loop beginning at the rear of the iron and along one side to the forward or pointed end and then rearwardly along the other side to provide substantially uniform heat distribution when the iron is plugged in.  
  The iron includes means for generating steam by providing an enclosed water tank 20 with a vertical outer riser tube means 22 in the forward end portion which tube means 22 generally is cylindrical but may be any suitable shape. For steam. soleplate I0 has a steam generator cavity or boiler 24 into which water is dripped under control of metering valve structure generally .indicated at 26 and including a control button 28 and connected springbiased vertical stem 30. Water dripped through valve 26 from tank 20 onto the heated soleplate flashes into steam which is distributed through passages 34 under cover 36 and out ports I2 to the ironing surface. A manual spray assembly 38 may be operated by control button 40 to draw water from the tank through water tube 4| to control the spray and a typical spray assembly of the type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3.l83.oll of common assignment. Temperature control 42 operates to thermostatically control the heat generated in the soleplate in a known manner. In order to supply water to tank 20 for steam and/or spray. suitable fill opening 44 is provided opening directly into the riser portion 22 through an open ing 46 therein. The riser portion thus serves as a conduit for fill water to enter the interior tank and enables the till opening to be higher on the iron as is conventional in many irons.  
  If the iron is pressurized. it is customary to provide a valve to seal off between the fill opening and the interior ofthe tank so that the tank is automatically sealed when steam is being generated so no water can be ex pelled. Such an iron is shown in US. Pat. No. 3.758.969 of common assignment wherein valve means 48 is used to close off the interior of the water tank. However. in non-pressurized versions the valve may be dispensed with thus cutting complexity and costs resulting in the interior of the tank being open to atmosphere as shown in FIG. 1 herein.  
  In order to prevent the water from being suddenly expelled and sloshing out of the fill opening during the normal ironing motion with such an iron. a unique batlling structure is provided. It will be apparent that figure eight or side or jerky motion in ironing causes the water in the tank to slosh. due to its momentum. and it will he expelled out the fill opening during jerking movements and especially when suddenly up-ended on its heel rest which is also its fill position. since this water is hot. it will be obvious that it is necessary to prevent expelling due to upchucking or sloshing of the hot water out of the fill opening and. to this end. even some non-pressurized irons use valve means. similar to the (III patent supra. to prevent sudden expelling of the water. Obviously. this adds cost and complexity to the iron structure. Normal internal sloshing of the water in the tank generally is reduced by conventional internal baffling 48 to dampen the surges of the tank water.  
  ln an iron that does not employ a valve to close off the fill hole however. water still tends to slosh into the riser tube 22 and be expelled out the fill opening 44 because of lack of a positive seal. In order to block off the till opening 44 so that water cannot readily pass from the tank to the outside of the iron. a unique single integral sheet-metal box-like baffling 50 as generally shown in FIG. 3 is employed. This baffle is in addition and separatc and beyond the normal baffling structure or plates 48 usually supplied. In order that the water be retained in the tank. the single baffle means 50 is disposed substantially completely in the riser portion as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and it includes an apertured horizontal plate 52 across the bottom of the riser as best seen in FIG. 2. To prevent water passing around the sides. the plate may be provided with upstanding sides 54 which are open at the front as seen in FIG. 2 to align with the opening 46 and thus the till opening 44. The sides 54 also extend up into the riser portion to substantially fill the portion and thus prevent the leakage of any substantial amount of water around the sides so that it cannot escape through opening 46. In order to further block the outward flow of water but not hinder its inward flow. each side has a trailing extension 56 that is folded over like a door into the riser portion as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. As doors. the extensions 56 are left ajar so that water may easily flow through the open door and down the riser portion into the tank as seen in FIG. 3. Thus. fluid communication is provided between the riser portion and the interior of the baffle at all times while effectively hindering the reverse flow and especially sudden expulsion of the water from the tank below.  
  Entrance of water is also facilitated by the provision of apertures 58 which are larger than the cross section of the control means such as water tube 41 and stem 30 passing down to the lower part of the iron thus leaving an annulus around each opening through which water may easily flow into the tank interior while substan- (ill tially effectively preventing its reverse flow out opening 46.  
  In effect. the single baffle 50 with both sides. its hori zontal plate. and its door-like extensions from the trailing end. is shaped much like an open-top box with its front end open and in alignment with the fill opening and the other end having partially-closed flaps or extensions 56. Provision of the single separate and distinct integral folded baffle 50 disposed completely in the riser portion permits a valve to be omitted. the fill opening to be placed high. and thus reduces the cost and the complexity of assembly. by using a simple. cheap. and easily-assembled baffle to do the job which effectively restricts sudden expulsion out through the fill opening of water sloshing in the riser tube. Thus. this simple formed separate and distinct baffle in the riser tube away from the main body of the water tank 20 is a water block and enables an effective yet cheaper construction by eliminating a more costly valve in the non-pressurized irons.  
  While there has been described a preferred form of the invention. obvious equivalent variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that. within the scope of the appended claims. the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. and the claims are intended to cover such equivalent variations.  
 I claim:  
  I. In a steam iron having an enclosed water tank with a riser portion at the forward end and a fill opening into said portion to fill the tank. the improvement in means to prevent sudden water expulsion comprising.  
 a single baffle means disposed substantially completely in said riser including a horizontal plate across the riser bottom and having apertures therein. said plate having upstanding sides thereon and open at the front to align with the fill opening.  
 said sides extending up into said riser portion. and  
 each side having a trailing extension folded doorlike into the riser portion.  
 said extensions being left ajar to provide fluid communication between the riser portion and baffle interior to prevent expelling of water out said fill hole.  
  2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said tank has additional internal baffle means to prevent surges therein and said single baffle means is separate and distinct therefrom.  
  3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 wherein control means extends through said riser portion and the horizontal plate.  
 said apertures being larger than the cross section of the control means to form annuli for water flow therethrough.  
  4. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein said single baffle means is an integral folded one-piece sheet metal baffle.  
  5. Apparatus as described in claim 4 wherein the single baffle with its sides. extensions. and horizontal plate is shaped like an open-top box with one end open and aligned with the fill opening and the other end having partially-closed flaps. the box having apertures in the floor thereof connecting with the tank interior.  
  I I k I