Description

Technical Field

The present invention finds application in the field of systems for the treatment of textile materials and particularly has its object is an improved ironing machine characterized by the use of steam combined with an unheated ironing plane.

State of the art

Ironing machines are known, in particular those of a professional, industrial or semi industrial type, which are provided with an ironing board or surface associated with heating means adapted to heat the ironing board to a temperature suitable to facilitate faster ironing and drying of the fabrics.

A first type of such ironing machines provides for the heating of the board to be obtained by supplying steam in a closed cycle toward a pressure chamber located under the ironing board, so as to obtain heating thereof.

A second variant, shown in Fig. 1, provides instead for the steam supply circuit to be open-cycle, with an ironing board A having the ironing plane P suitably perforated for the escape of a jet of steam which will invest the fabrics, so as to favor the enlargement of the fibers and further speed up ironing.

The ironing board P is further heated by means of electrical resistors R which extend throughout its development, visible in Fig. 2.

A first drawback of these solutions is related precisely to the heating temperatures of the ironing board, which can reach values over 100 °C and which therefore require particular attention by the operator, causing difficulties to the operator as they do not allow extended contact with the ironing plane and then with the fabric to be ironed on it.

Secondly, ironing machines with closed-circuit steam heating require boilers with relatively large capacities and powers, for example 16-20 liters and 9-12 kW powers. In machines with a perforated top, however, it is not possible to avoid the presence of the resistors since in the absence thereof, condensation water would accumulate below the coating of the ironing plane.

Secondly, in these machines the steam jet is limited to a surface not exceeding 75% of the total work surface, with consequent lower effectiveness of the jet. In addition, the steam delivery is usually performed by means of a T-shaped double nozzle head, always visible in Fig. 2, which does not guarantee uniform distribution of the steam inside the collection chamber below.

Last but not least, the presence of the resistors constitutes an increase in consumption due to the need to provide powers increased by 1-2 kW.

Scope of the invention

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, providing an ironing machine which is particularly efficient and with relatively reduced energy consumption to also be particularly economical from an energy consumption point of view.

A particular object is to provide an ironing machine which exploits the operational advantages of the steam but without the drawbacks of the high temperatures of the heated surfaces.

Still another object is to provide an ironing machine which operates by steam and in the absence of constant heating of the ironing board but wherein at the same time the ironing board is not wetted.

Still another object is to provide an ironing machine wherein the steam jet is spread over a much wider surface of the ironing board than the known solutions.

These objects, as well as others which will become clearer hereinafter, are achieved by an ironing machine which, according to claim 1, comprises steam production means having a steam supply circuit with an emission head of one or more steam jets and an ironing board having an ironing plane which extends along a longitudinal direction and has an upper surface for supporting the fabrics to be ironed, said ironing board having a box-like structure with a side wall closed at the bottom by a bottom wall and above from said ironing plane to define a steam collection chamber.

The jet emission head is housed in said steam collection chamber and the upper surface of the ironing plane is at least partially open to allow the outcome of steam towards the fabric to be ironed placed thereon.

In addition, the upper support surface has a mesh or web structure that extends for the entire longitudinal extension of said ironing plane to allow the steam to outcome upwards and favor the return of the condensate into said collection chamber.

Thanks to this combination of features it will be possible to send steam to the ironing board to facilitate ironing but without it being necessary to heat the board itself and therefore making ironing more comfortable and safe for the operator, as the board will always remain cold enough to allow the operator to handle the fabric to be ironed without risk of burning.

On the contrary, the use of a perforated ironing plane according to the state of the art, in the absence of heating elements, would have caused the accumulation of condensate on the ironing plane.

Advantageous embodiments of the machine are obtained in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief disclosure of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more evident in the light of the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an ironing machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an ironing board according the state of the art;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the ironing board of Fig. 1 devoid of the ironing plane to allow the view thereinside;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ironing machine of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ironing board of the ironing machine of Fig. 3; FIG. 5 is a top view of the ironing board of Fig. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a detail of the ironing board of Fig. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a single mesh;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the mesh of Fig. 7;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the ironing plane of the ironing board of Fig. 4;

FIG. 10 is a top view of a steam emission head according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the ironing board of Fig. 2 with the ironing plane removed and provided with a steam emission head according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the steam emission head of Fig. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view of a detail of the ironing board of Fig. 4 wherein the side wall has been removed to allow the view thereinside.

Best mode of carrying out the invention

Fig. 3 shows a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an ironing machine according to the invention, indicated overall with 1, which, in a known manner, comprises a supporting structure 2 to which an ironing board 3 is fixed, covered by a covering fabric 4, of a known or non-limiting type for the present invention, which the fabric to be ironed will be arranged on.

The supporting structure 2 contains means 5 for the production of steam adapted to supply steam inside the ironing board 3, which will have an empty box-like structure inside to define a steam collection chamber 6.

In the illustrated configuration, the ironing board 3 has a substantially triangular plan configuration, i.e. tapered towards its front end 7, which will be suitably rounded. However, it is understood that this embodiment is only an example and is not limitative, since the ironing board 3 may also have other shapes, for example it may be rectangular.

Furthermore, it should be noted that in the present text the terms front and rear are for simplification only and have not limiting purposes, with the rear term indicating the area close to the support surface of the iron F, while the front term will indicate the longitudinally opposite areas and which are generally free.

The steam production means 5 comprise a boiler 8 for the production of steam connected to a steam supply circuit, not visible from the figures, having an emission head 9, 10 of one or more steam jets, which will be suitably housed inside the steam collection chamber 6, as shown in Fig. 11.

The steam supply circuit will suitably be an open circuit with a delivery duct that connects the boiler 8 to the nozzle head 9, 10 with the interposition of a solenoid valve, not visible, suitable for selectively closing the circuit to block the steam supplying.

In a known way, the solenoid valve may be controlled by means of a command placed on a pedal 11 associated with the supporting structure 2.

The ironing board 3, visible in more detail in Figs. 4 and 5, has a box-like shape with a side wall 12 closed at the top by an ironing plane 13 which extends along a longitudinal direction L and which has an upper surface 14 for supporting the fabrics to be ironed, and at the bottom by a bottom wall 15.

The upper support surface 14 of the ironing plane 13 has a mesh or web structure, visible in detail in Figs, from 6 to 8, which extends for the entire longitudinal extension of the ironing plane 13 to allow the steam to outcome upwards and therefore towards the fabric to be ironed placed thereon, at the same time favouring the return of the condensate inside said collection chamber 6.

By way of example and without limitation, the web or mesh structure will be of the stretched type with a mesh having a long diagonal DL of 10mm, short diagonal DC of 5.8mm, feed Av of 1mm, thickness Sp of 1mm, total thickness St of 1,5mm and weight P of 2.8Kg / mm2.

As can be seen from Fig. 9, the ironing plane 13 also comprises a plurality of ribs 16 which extend parallel to the longitudinal direction L, or slightly converging with each other towards the front end 7 of the board 3, also depending on the plan shape thereof, and which are placed on the lower surface 17 of the ironing plane 13 opposite the upper support surface 14 for increasing the flexural strength.

According to a first variant, shown in Fig. 10, the emission head 9 of the steam jets may be designed according to the prior art, that is, as in Fig. 2, with a delivery channel 18 of the steam connected to the boiler 8 and from which a pair of nozzles 19 branches which are arranged in a V path and mutually angled to send respective jets of steam according to divergent exit directions and directed towards opposite surfaces of the side wall 12 of the steam collection chamber 6.

According to a particularly advantageous alternative embodiment, shown in Fig. 11, the jets emitting head 10 comprises a bar 20 arranged transversely inside the collection chamber 6 and at the rear longitudinal end 21 of the ironing board 3.

Bar 20 will be entirely hollow and will have a central inlet fluidly connected to the delivery duct of the steam supply circuit.

As more clearly visible from Fig. 12, the bar 20 is provided with a plurality of nozzles or emission holes 22 of respective jets. The holes 22 are arranged in line with each other to emit jets of steam having substantially longitudinal exit directions.

This configuration will have the advantage of achieving uniform vaporization of the ironing board 13, as well as being faster than known solutions, being able to affect a larger portion of the upper support surface 14 of the fabrics to be ironed.

According to not shown variants, several transverse rows of holes 22 may also be made on the bar 20.

To further increase the portion of the upper surface 14 hit by the steam, one or more transverse barriers 23 are arranged inside the collection chamber 6, two in the illustrated embodiment and more clearly visible from Fig. 13, facing the emission head 9, 10 and arranged near the rear end 21 of the ironing board 3.

The transverse barriers 23 will have the purpose of at least partially intercepting the steam jets and favoring the outcome of steam at the openings of the mesh or web upper surface 14 arranged in the rear part of the ironing plane 13.

The transverse barriers 23 extend from the lower surface 17 of the ironing board 13 towards the bottom wall 15, preferably orthogonally thereto, with a height lower than the height of the collection chamber 6 to define a port 24 for the passage of the steam towards the front of the collection chamber 6, so as to allow the steam to also outcome from the parts of the ironing plane 13 located in front of the transverse barriers 23. Advantageously, the latter will be arranged at a distance d from the rear end of the ironing plane 13 equal to a value between 1/8 and 1/10 of the longitudinal length 1 of the ironing plane 13, measured with respect to a longitudinal axis passing through a vertical middle plane P which also defines a plane of symmetry.

In this way, the steam will invest up to 90% of the upper surface 14 of the ironing plane 13, with values far higher than the state of the art in which the steam will instead invest up to 75% of the ironing board.

Conveniently, the collection chamber 6 will also house at its inside heating means which, however, will not be in direct contact with the ironing plane 13 but, on the contrary, associated with the bottom wall 15, so as to favor the evaporation of the condensed water which precipitates from the openings of the ironing plane 13.

By way of example, the heating means may comprise one or more electrical resistances 25 which extend substantially throughout the longitudinal development of the collection chamber 6, above and in contact with its bottom wall 15, as always visible from Fig. 11.

The technical features of the steam production means 5 do not represent a limiting aspect of the scope of protection of the present invention, as they can be sized according to the needs.

However, thanks to the particular configuration of the ironing plane 13 and of the innovative nozzle head 10, in the case of a semi-industrial type machine it will be possible to provide a boiler 8 having a capacity between 6L and 10L and have a power supply between 5-7kW and even more preferably between 5.2-6kW, significantly reduced also thanks to the absence of heating elements for heating the ironing plane

13.

The ironing machine 1 may be implemented with further structures and devices, such as pedals, push-button panels, auxiliary ironing board for ironing particular fabrics or parts of them, according to typical schemes for common ironing machines which are no longer described in detail since they are not limiting for the present invention. From above, it is apparent that the invention achieves the intended objects and in particular that of making available an ironing machine which allows to have all the advantages provided by the use of steam on the ironing board but without the drawbacks produced by constant and excessive heating of the surface.

The machine according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept expressed in the attached claims. All the details may be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials may be different according to requirements, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Also the dimensions of the various components do not represent a limit for the present invention since they can vary according to the uses for which the machine is intended.