"IRON"

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns an iron, of the electric type, or steam, used for ironing clothes or fabrics in general. In particular, the iron according to the present invention comprises an ironing plate having a thickness varying in such a manner as to make the ironing more simple and effective.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Irons are known, whether they are of the electric type, or steam, used for ironing fabrics and provided with an ironing plate, normally made of a single material, or conformed so as to have a central part made of a first material, for example steel or glass ceramic, and a peripheral part made of a second material, for example aluminum or steel, to improve the slide of the ironing plate on the fabric to be ironed. In any case, the ironing plate is heated by an electric resistance.

One requirement coming from this field is to provide the final user with an iron that has an optimum slide over the fabric, and that allows to iron, without particular effort and with excellent results, both heavy and particularly creased fabrics, near rigid parts applied to the fabric such as buttons, zips or other. Irons are thus known provided with an ironing plate having a great thickness over its whole extension and, therefore, great weight and high thermal mass. Such plates, however, have greater overall size, and do not allow effective penetration of the plate into the points of the fabric which are difficult to reach, such as for example the pleats. Irons are also known which are provided with an ironing plate having a thin thickness over its whole extension and therefore particularly suitable for penetrating into the points which are difficult to reach. However, this second type of plate has the disadvantage that it has a limited weight and thermal mass, to the detriment of its effectiveness in ironing particularly creased fabrics. Purpose of the present invention is to achieve an iron which has an optimum slide over the fabric to be ironed and which, at the same time, guarantees an effective and simple ironing of both heavy, thick and particularly creased fabrics, also near rigid parts applied to the fabric, and in general in parts that are difficult

to reach.

The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

In accordance with the above purpose, an iron according to the present invention comprises at least an ironing plate, made of a first heat-conducting material, for example aluminum, heated by heating means and having a lower surface lying on a lying plane.

According to a characteristic feature of the present invention, the ironing plate has a progressively reduced thickness from a rear zone to a front zone that ends substantially with a beveled point.

In this way, at least the segment of the plate that is in the pointed front zone has a reduced thickness compared with the segment of plate in the rear zone. Thanks to this configuration, the front pointed part of the plate can easily be inserted below, or brought up close to, rigid parts applied to the fabric, such as buttons, zips or other, whereas the rear part, with its greater thickness, is heavier and functions as a heat accumulator, keeping the heating temperature constant; furthermore, it ensures that a great amount of heat is transferred to the fabric.

With the present invention we therefore have an iron provided with an ironing plate which, apart from guaranteeing the efficiency of ironing performed with its rear part, with its front pointed part allows a greater accuracy in ironing, also in correspondence with zones of the fabrics to be ironed that are characteristically difficult.

In a preferential form of embodiment of the present invention, the segment of lower surface in correspondence with the front part of the ironing plate is inclined upwards with respect to the lying plane, so as to define substantially a lead-in which, when a fabric that is particularly hard and creased has to be ironed, allows to progressively flatten the creases in the fabric, increasing the efficiency and quality of the ironing performed, since every crease is substantially pre-ironed,

and subsequently definitively ironed by the ironing plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

- fig. 1 is a schematic view of an iron according to the present invention;

- fig. 2 shows an enlarged detail of the iron in fig. 1;

- fig. 3 is a plane view of the ironing plate of the iron in fig. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT

With reference to the attached drawings, an iron 10 according to the present invention for ironing a fabric 28 comprises a main body 11 made of plastic material below which an ironing plate 12 is attached, in a substantially known manner. The ironing plate 12 is substantially triangular in shape, or rhomboid, and is provided with a lower ironing surface 15, substantially plane, facing towards the fabric 28 to be ironed and lying on a lying plane "P".

The ironing plate 12 also comprises, drowned inside it, an electric resistance, of a substantially known type and not shown in the drawings, able to heat the lower surface 15 during ironing.

Moreover, the lower surface 15 of the ironing plate 12 advantageously comprises a central part 16 made of steel, possibly with a surface treatment of PVD or ceramic coating, or enameling, or other, on which the holes 18 are made for the steam to come out, and a peripheral part 13 made of aluminum, possibly with a surface treatment of PVD or ceramic coating, or enameling, or other. In this way, the central part 16 is harder on the surface so that it can iron more efficiently, whereas the peripheral part 13 is able to slide more freely on the fabric 28 and functions more as a heat accumulator.

In particular, the ironing plate 12 has a thickness that progressively lessens from a rear zone 12a, to a front pointed and beveled zone 12b, so as to be substantially thinner at the front, in order to increase the ironing accuracy of the iron 10.

In this case, the ironing plate 12 comprises, in its rear zone 12a, a first greater

thickness Sl, and, in the pointed front zone 12b, a second thickness S2, thinner than the first thickness S 1.

Moreover, the ironing plate 12 comprises a beveled tip segment 19 of its lower surface 15 which is substantially inclined upwards with respect to the lying plane P of the rest of the lower surface 15, in such a manner as to define a lead-in 20, to perform a progressive ironing of the creases in the fabric 28, until they are completely flattened under the action of the ironing plate 12.

Advantageously, the lead-in 20 also extends partly, progressively diminishing, along the lateral sides of the ironing plate 12. It is clear, however, that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made to the iron 10 as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of iron, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.