FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates broadly to an iron holding device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common practice to rest an iron on an ironing board or place it in an iron holder provided as an extension of an ironing board between ironing of different garments, or parts of a single garment. This ironing practice can result in injury to people or damage to objects if people or animals moving past the ironing board make contact with the ironing board or an electric cord connecting the iron with its power source.

If a person or animal is unaware of the cord they may trip over it and pull the iron from the ironing board. Similarly, if they are unaware of the ironing board, they can inadvertently make contact with it. This can result in the iron being pulled or knocked off the ironing board and falling onto a person or animal, object or the floor. Because irons typically include a metal plate they are capable of injuring the person or animal, or damaging the object or the floor. Additionally, because the iron may be dislodged from the ironing board while it is on, it can also burn the person, animal, object or floor. If the iron is dislodged by an animal, or without the knowledge of a person, and the metal plate remains in contact with an object or the floor it can also cause a fire. Furthermore, dislodgement typically also results in damage to the iron.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an iron holding device comprising: retaining means being adapted to releasably grip an iron in a general upright disposition; and fastening means having at least one adjustable strap connected to the retaining means and being adapted to detachably secure the retaining means to an ironing board.

Preferably said at least one adjustable strap is adapted to encircle the ironing board and allows selective placement of the retaining means along the length of the ironing board. Preferably the retaining means is at least in part fabricated of a looped portion of VELCRO, a hooked portion of VELCRO being fixed to the iron, or vice versa. More preferably the hooked portion is fixed to a heel of the iron wherein it sits in the upright disposition when retained on the ironing board.

Preferably the looped portion is in the form of a pad to which the adjustable strap connects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of the present invention a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure Ia is a plan view of one example of an iron holding device of the present invention;

Figure Ib is a plan view of another example of the iron holding device of the present invention;

Figure Ic is a plan view of a further example of an iron holding device of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a still further example of an iron holding device of the present invention mounted on an ironing board;

Figure 3 shows an underneath view of the ironing board of figure 2 showing adjustable straps for attaching the iron holding device of figure 2 to the ironing board;

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of corresponding straps of figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the iron holding device of figure 2 being mounted on an ironing board and coupled to an iron;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the heel of an iron which the iron holding devices of figures 1 and 2 releasably grip; and

Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of the iron of figure 5 in use. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figures Ia, Ib and Ic and figure 2 show different examples of iron holding devices generally referenced IA, IB and 1C, and 2 respectively. The iron holding devices IA and IB comprise retaining means which in this example are in the form of square pads 100. The iron holding device 1C and 2 comprises retaining means in the form of rectangular shaped pads 200. The iron holding devices IA and 1C also comprise fastening means in the form of adjustable attachment straps 4 and 6 for coupling to an ironing board 8 (see figures 2 and 3). The iron holding device IB comprises fastening means in the form of wide adjustable attachment strap 7. The iron holding device 2 is a variation of the iron holding device 1C and also comprises adjustable attachment straps 4 and 6 but they are separated further from each other so that their outer edges are aligned with outer edges of the rectangular pad 200. The straps 4, 6 and 7 may be stitched or otherwise adhered or secured to the pads 100 and 200. In these examples, the straps 4, 6 and 7 are stitched to the underside of the pads 100 and 200 to maximise the exposed surface area of the pads.

Referring to figure 3, the straps 4 and 6 are designed to encircle the ironing board 8 and in this preferred embodiment are adjustable by way of buckles 10. As shown in figure 4, one end 11 of each of the straps 4 pass through a slot 12 in the buckle 10, back into itself, and is stitched onto the body 14 of the strap 4. An end 16 of the straps 6 also passes through the slot 12 of the buckle 10 and folds back on itself. However, the end 16 of the strap 6 is adjustably secured to the buckle 10 via corresponding VELCRO strips. A VELCRO hook strip (not shown) is attached to a free end portion 18 of the end 16 while a corresponding VELCRO loop strip (also not shown) is also attached to the end 16, adjacent the free end portion 18. The length of the VELCRO loop strip is sufficient to allow a desired amount of adjustment of the straps 6. As will be readily appreciated by a person skilled in the relevant art, the VELCRO hook and loop strip can be reversed so that the VELCRO loop strip is attached to the free end portion 18 of the strap 6. The adjustable straps 6 enable the iron holding device 1 to be attached to ironing boards 8 of difference sizes. Furthermore, the adjustable straps 6 allow selective placement of the iron holding device 1 along the length of the ironing board 8. Referring to figures IA and IB, and 1C and 2, the pads 100 and 200 respectively are at least in part fabricated of a looped portion of VELCRO and in these particular embodiments consist entirely of a VELCRO loop pad 22. Referring to figure 6, a corresponding VELCRO hooked portion which in this particular embodiment comprises a VELCRO hook pad 24 is fixed to an iron 26. It is preferred that the pad 22 is formed of VELCRO loop material to nrrinimise the likelihood of causing any damage to fragile or delicate garments. The position of the loop pad 22 and hook pad 24 may however be reversed. The hook is fixed to a heel 28 of the iron 26. The iron 26 is therefore secured relative to the ironing board 8 in an upright orientation by placing its heel 28 onto the VELCRO loop pad 22. Figure 7 shows the iron when it is in use with the VELCRO hook pad 24 detached from the VELCRO loop pad 22.

It is also contemplated that the VELCRO hook pad 24 which is attached to the heel of the iron 26 needs to be replaced periodically once there is a substantial build-up of lint (for example fine ravellings of cotton or linen fibres) on its surface as a result of contact with the garments being ironed. For this reason, the hook pad 24 is preferred to be self-adhesive such that a non-functional VELCRO hook pad 24 may be peeled off the heel of the iron 26 and replaced by a new VELCRO hook pad 24.

The general steps involved in operating the iron holding devices IA, 1C and 2 as follows:

1. the square or rectangular pads 100 or 200 are placed on top of an ironing board (conveniently at the blunt end of the ironing board) with the attached straps 4 and 6 hanging downwardly over opposite edges of the ironing board;

2. the straps 6 are passed through the slots 12, folded back on themselves and pulled further through the slots 12 to draw the buckles 10 toward an underneath of the ironing board 8 and tighten the straps 4 and 6 about the ironing board 8; and

3. the heel 28 of the iron 26 is placed on top of the pads 100 or 200 thereby attaching the VELCRO loop pad 22 to the VELCRO hook pad 24.

The square or rectangular pads 100 or 200 may be moved along the length of the ironing board any time during the course of ironing by loosening the straps 4, 6 and 7 and re- tightening them once the pads 100 or 200 have been moved to a desired location.

Now that preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the iron holding device has at least the following advantages:

1. it provides an effective mechanism for releasably securing an iron;

2. it effectively reduces the likelihood of an iron being unintentionally dislodged from an ironing board and damaging or injuring objects or people; and

3. it is suitable for use with ironing boards that have legs because, in a preferred form, the fastening means can be attached along the length of the board and the position of the ironing holding devices IA, IB, 1C and 2 are not dependent on the position of the legs of the ironing board.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and /or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the square or rectangular pads 100 or 200 may be stitched to the top or underside of the attachment straps. Also, the square or rectangular pads 100 or 200 may vary in shape to suit different irons. The looped pad may be permanently or removably attached to the cover of the ironing board by way of fastening means other than straps. In another variation, the retaining means includes one or more magnets which provide an adequate attractive force to hold or grip an iron. In this case, if the heel of the iron is made of ferrous material, the retaining means will releasably grip an iron when the iron is placed on it. However, if the heel 28 of the iron 26 is made of non-ferrous material, a ferrous or magnetic surface will need to be retrofitted onto the heel 28 of the iron 26.