Claims
[1] An ironing board with a gripper, which comprises: a gripping means 20 mounted on one side of the ironing board 10 for gripping clothing articles; and a connection means 30 for connecting thegripping means 20 to the ironing board 10 so as to allow the gripping means 20 to be pivotallymoved onto the top surface of the ironing board 10 when it is used, and pivotallymoved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board 10 when it is not used to thereby return to its original position to be held in position.
[2] The ironing board according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means 20 includes an upper gripper 21 and a lower gripper 22 coupled to each other by means of a pin 23, and a gripping surface 27 formed on the end portions of the opposed inner surfaces of the upper and lower grippers 21 an 22, respectively, for gripping a clothing article, and wherein the gripping surface 27 is formed with a rubber pad attached thereon or formed witha series of ridges and valleys for preventing the clothing article from being slipped.
[3] The ironing board according to claim 1, wherein theconnection means 30 includes a linkage 33 having a hinge element 38 formed on theupper and lower portions thereof, respectively, the gripping means includes a pair of coupling pieces 31 integrally formed at one side end of the lower gripper 22 thereof for allowing the hinge elements 38 of the upper portion of the linkage 33 to be fittingly inserted therebetween, and a pair of coupling pieces 32 are mounted to the ironing board 10 for allowing the hinge elements 38 of the lower portion of the linkage 33 to be fittingly inserted therebetween, the coupling pieces 31 and 32 havinga plurality of latching grooves 35 and 37, respectively, radially formed on the opposed inner surfaces thereof, respectively, for allowing latching protrusions 39 of the linkage 33 to be latched by the latching grooves in a multistage latching manner.
[4] An ironing board with a gripper, which comprises: a gripping means 20 mounted on one side of the ironing board 10 for gripping a clothing article, the gripping means including an upper and a lower grippers 21 and 22; and a connection means 30 including a pair of guide rails 30b rearwardly protruded from the ironing board 10, and a connection block 30a for connecting the lower gripper 22 to the guide rails 30b, so thatthe gripping means 20 is slidably moved forward and rearward along the guide rail 30b. |
Description
AN IRONING BOARD HAS CLAW Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to an ironing board with a gripper, and more particular, to an ironing board with a gripper, in which a gripper is mounted at the upper portion of the ironing board so as to grip clothing articles when ironing them, so that the clothing article can be readily spread and ironed while one side of a winkled clothing article is gripped with a user's hand and the other side thereof is gripped by the gripper, thereby enabling wrinkles of the clothing article to be readily smoothed out. Background Art
[2] Generally, ironing boards have a flat plate structure for allowing for easy spread of the clothing articles to be ironed. An ironing process on the ironing board is typically performed such that a user pushes an iron forward or backward for ironing clothing articles while gripping the clothing article with his or her one hand and pressing an iron with his or her other hand so as to spread the clothing article. However, a particular caution is required for ironing the clothing article such as excessively creased clothes or flimsy scarf. In case of the scarf, since it is difficult to fully spread the scarf as long as it is not tightly pulled due to its sheer and light texture, both sides of the scarf needs to be tautly pulled in opposite directions. As a result, there exist some troublesomeness in that one person must tightly grip both sides of the scarf while the other person is ironing it, and in that according to circumstances one person has to iron the scarf while partially spreading it by oneself.
[3] In case of a relatively long trouser, one side of the trousers needs to be gripped with the user's hand while the other side thereof is pressed by an iron so as to spread the trousers. In other words, since the iron must be pushed forward or backward while it is pressed by the user's hand so as to spread and crease the trousers, an excessive strength needs to be applied to the hand gripping the iron. As a result, the ironing becomes a somewhat cumbersome task for the aged and infirm or weak women. Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[4] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ironing board with a gripper, in which a separategripper is integrally mounted on the ironing board for gripping clothing articles such as flimsy scarf or relatively long trousers when ironing them, so that the clothing article can be readily
spread and ironed while one side of the clothing article is gripped by the gripper and the other side thereof is gripped with a user's hand, to thereby readily do the ironing for the clothing article without applying an excessive strength to the hand gripping an iron. Technical Solution [5] To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an ironing board with a gripper, which includes: a gripping means mounted on one side of the ironing board for gripping clothing articles; and a connection means for connecting the gripping means to the ironing board so as to allow the gripping means to be pivotally moved onto the top surface of the ironing board when it is used, and pivotally moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board when it is not used to thereby return to its original position to be held in position.
Advantageous Effects
[6] According to the present invention, accordingto the ironing board with a gripper of the present invention, a gripper is mounted at the ironing board, so that one side of clothing article such as flimsy scarf or a relatively long trousers is gripped by the gripper while the other side thereof is gripped with a user's hand to thereby allow the clothing article to be easily spread, thus enabling them to be readily ironed.
Brief Description of the Drawings [7] Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [8] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention [9] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gripper of the ironing board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention [10] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the gripper of the present invention is pivotally moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board, to thereby return to its original position; [11] FIG. 4 is a front view of the ironing board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [12] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another preferred embodiment of the ironing board according to the present invention; [13] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showinganother preferred embodiment according to the present invention
[14] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 6.
[15] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ironing board of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention and
[16] FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 8.
Mode for the Invention
[17] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained in detail with reference to the appended drawings.
[18] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ironing board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gripper of the ironing board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The ironing board 10 of the present invention having a flat plate structure includes a plurality of steam-discharge holes 11 penetratingly formed on the top surface thereof for readily discharging the steam generated from an iron, a sheet 13 covered thereon to function as a buffering cushion to thereby permit the clothing article to be readily ironed thereon, and collapsible legs 12 formed thereon for supporting the ironing board 10.
[19] The ironing board 10 of the present inventioncomprises a gripping means 20 mounted on one side thereof for gripping the clothing article and a connection means 30 for connecting thegripping means 20 to the ironing board 10. The gripping means 20 is conveniently used especially for ironing clothing articles such as flimsy scarf or relatively long trousers and the like.
[20] The gripping means 20 includes an upper gripper 21 and a lower gripper 22.
[21] The upper and lower grippers 21 and 22 include pin brackets 24 and25 formed thereon, respectively, for receiving a pin 23 with a torsion spring 26 wound thereon, by which the upper and lower grippers 21 and22 are coupled to each other. As a result, the upper and lower gripper 21 and 22 are kept in their closed state. Further, the upper and lower grippers 21 and 22 include a gripping surface 27 formed on the end portions of the opposed inner surfaces thereof, respectively, for gripping the clothing article. The gripping surface 27 may be formed with a rubber pad attached thereon, or otherwise, formed with a series of ridges and valleys or a plurality of needles which is so fine that the dent marks are not left on the clothing article.
[22] The connection means 30 is adapted to allow the gripping means 20 to be moved onto the top or bottom surface of the ironing board 10 for use or storage of the gripping means 20 with it held in position.
[23] The lower gripper 22 is integrally formed with a pair of coupling pieces 31 at a rear portion thereof so as to permit the lower gripper 22 to be coupled to the ironing board 10. Further, the ironing board 10 includes a pair of coupling pieces 32 mounted thereon so as to havean identical configuration to that of the pair of coupling pieces 31. At this time, the coupling pieces 31 and 32 are connected with each other by means of a separate linkage 33 interposed therebetween.
[24] The coupling pieces 31 and 32 include hinge holes 34, 36 formed on the center thereof, respectively, and a plurality of grooves 35, 37 formed on the opposed inner surfaces thereof, respectively, in such a manner as to be arranged in a radial direction. Further, the linkage 33 includes hinge elements 38 formed on both sides thereof to confront the opposed inner surfaces of the coupling pieces 31 and 32 so as to be inserted into the corresponding hinge holes 34 and 36, respectively, and latching protrusions 39 formed on the both end portions of the same sides, respectively, so as to be latched by the corresponding latching grooves 35 and 37 in a multi-stage latching manner.
[25] An assembly process of the present invention constructed above will be hereinafter described in detail.
[26] The upper and lower grippers 21 and 22 of the gripping means 20 are coupled to each other by means of the coupling between the pin 23 and the pin brackets 24 and 25 with each other and are pivotally rotated about the pin 23 so as to be in their closed or opened position. Further, the upper and lower grippers 21 and 22 are constructed such that the clothing article is always gripped by the grippers 2 land 22 due to the elastic force of the torsion spring 26.
[27] The gripping means 20 is connected to the ironing board 10 by means of the connection means 30. The coupling pieces 31 and 32 of the connection means are mounted at the lower gripper 22 and the ironing board 10, respectively, and are engaged with the linkage 33 of the connection means 30, respectively.
[28] The pair of coupling pieces 31 of the lower gripper 22 are forcibly widened and then the linkage 33 is pushed therebetween, so that the hinge elements 38 are fittingly inserted into the corresponding hinge holes 34 to be latched by the hinge holes. Here, since the coupling pieces 31 formed of an injection molding material of a synthetic resin has an elastic force by itself in some degree, they generally have an intrinsic physical property to return to their original position immediately after they are forcibly widened with user's hands and then released. In other words, when the coupling pieces 31 are forcibly widened to an extent of being fit into between the pair of coupling pieces 31, the hinge elements 38 are inserted into the corresponding hinge holes 34. And then, when the widened coupling pieces 31 are released, they return to their original positions, to thereby allow the linkage 33 to be pivotally coupled to the lower gripper 22.
[29] Further, when the coupling pieces 32 mounted on the ironing board 10 are coupled to the hinge elements 38 of the lower portion of the linkage 33 in the same manner as the coupling manner as described above, the gripping means 20 and the ironing board 10 are coupled with each other by means of the connection means 30 without anyseparate tool. Since the upper and lower latching protrusions 39 of the linkage 33
are latched by the latching grooves 35 and 37 in a multi-stage latching manner, the lower gripper 22 and the upper gripper 21 which are coupled with each other by the pin 23 can be rotated while adjusting a rotation angle of the linkage 33.
[30] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where the gripping means 20 is moved onto the top surface of the ironing board 10 when it is used, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the gripping means 20 is moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board 10 when it is not used.
[31] The gripping means 20 is coupled to the ironing board 10 by means of thelinkage
33 of the connection means 30, and is rotated about the hinge elements 38, so that when the gripping means 20 is moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board 10 for its storage, the present invention can be used as a typical ironing board.
[32] When the gripping means 20 is used in a state where it is moved onto the top surface of the ironing board 10 as shown in FIG. 1, one side of a flimsy scarf or a relatively long trouser is gripped by the upper and lower grippers 21, 22, to thereby ensure convenient ironing. Particularly, since one side of the clothing article is gripped by the grippers 21 and 22 and the other side thereof is gripped with a user's hand, a state where the scarf or the trousers is spread is kept, to thereby make it convenient to push an iron forward and/or backward. Thus, since it is not necessary to provide an excessive strength to the hand gripping the iron so as to press and spread thescarf or the trousers, the aged and infirm or weak women who have comparatively little power can readily do the ironing.
[33] Meanwhile, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another preferred embodiment of the ironing board according to the present invention, which comprises a pair of gripping means installed thereon in such a manner as to be arranged in parallel. Two pair of the upper and lower grippers 40 and41 of the gripping means are coupled to each other by means of a single pin 42, respectively. Further, the pin 42 has a coupling member 43 at the center portion thereof so as to allow the pin 42 to be coupled to the linkage 33 of the connection means 30. Here, the coupling member 43 is constructed such thatit includes a pair of coupling pieces 44 having a hinge hole and a plurality of latching grooves formed on the opposed inner surfaces thereof, respectively, so that the hinge elements 38 and the latching protrusions of the linkage 33 are latched by the hinge hole and the latching grooves, respectively.
[34] The ironing board according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above has an advantageous effect in that two parts of the flimsy textured fabric or the trousers are gripped by the grippers, to thereby obtain a satisfactory ironing quality without creases.
[35] FIGs. 6 and 7 are views showing another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, which have an identical configuration to that of FIG 5, in that two
parts of a clothing article are gripped by the grippers, except that a hinge member 45 is provided at the upper distal end of the linkage 33 in such a manner as to have a through-holeformed thereon for allowing the pin 42 to pass therethrough, and that a hinge member 46 is provided at the lower distal end of the linkage 33 in such a manner as to have a through-hole formed thereon for allowing the pin 47 to pass therethrough, and that a coupling piece 32 is mounted on the ironing board 10 so as to be coupled to the hinge member 46.
[36] Further, a gripper of another preferred embodiment of the present invention constructed as described above has an identical configuration to that of the gripper of the above- preferred embodiments, in that it is moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board 10 for its storage, except that the upper and lower grippers 40 and 41 are conveniently coupled to the ironing board 10 by means of merely a single linkage 33.
[37] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showinganother preferred embodiment according to the present invention, in which a configuration of the gripper means 20 is identical to that of the above-preferred embodiments except for having a different configuration of the connection means 30.
[38] That is, the connection means 30 features that the connection means 30 to which thegripping means 20 is coupled is coupled to the ironing board 10 in a sliding manner. The connection means 30 includes a pair of guide rails 30b mounted to the ironing board 10, and a connection block 30a mounted on the guide rails so as to be slidably moved along the guide rail 30b. Further, the lower gripper 22 of the gripping means 20 is rotatably coupled to the connection block 30a by means of the hinge holes 34 formed on the lower gripper 22 and the hinge elements 38 formed on the upper portion of the connection block 30a.
[39] Thus, the gripping means 20 is moved rearwardly from the ironing board 10 by means of the connection block 30a and the guide rail 30b for its storage when it is not used.
Industrial Applicability
[40] As described above, according to the ironing board with a gripper of the present invention, a gripper is mounted at the ironing board, so that one side of clothing article such as flimsy scarf or a relatively long trousers is gripped by the gripper while the other side thereof is gripped with a user's hand to thereby allow the clothing article to be easily spread, thus enabling them to be readily ironed.
[41] Particularly, since it is not necessary to apply an excessive strength to the hand gripping the iron so as to press and spread thescarf or the trousers, the aged and infirm or weak women who have comparatively little powercan readily do the ironing. Further, since the gripper is moved onto the bottom surface of the ironing board for its
storage when it is not used, a relatively wide fabric may be readily ironed as is on a typical ironing board.
[42] While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.