Background Art Recently, a portable iron has been introduced to make use of it while the user is taking a trip or a business trip. Korean Utility Model Registration No. 232254 applied by the applicant of the present invention discloses one of such portable irons.

The disclosed portable iron includes an ironing plate with a heating source, a body of synthetic resin installed on the ironing plate and a handle.

On the surface of the body and the handle, a guide groove and a coupling boss are respectively formed so as to fit the latter into former. The handle can be extended and collapsed depending on the user's selection. On one side of the body, the power connecting portion is provided to be connected by the power chord.

The disclosed portable iron has a problem in that the body may be deformed by heat during a long-term usage.

More specifically, the ironing plate has the heating source on its side so as to make it possible to iron clothes. Since the body made of synthetic material is coupled to an upper surface of the ironing plate, the body may be heat-deformed or melted by heat transferred from the ironing plate.

Further, the handle installed at the upper part of the body should be assembled or disassembled with/from the body depending on the usage or storage, it is inconvenient to use and carry the iron.

Disclosure of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a portable iron being capable of overcoming the above-detailed problems.

In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a portable iron, which comprises a heating plate including a heating body; an insulating plate installed on an upper surface of the heating plate ; a body installed on an upper surface of the insulating plate and including a power connecting portion positioned at a side thereof; a handle rotatably installed around a hinge axis so as to be rotated at a fixing portion in the body and formed with a stopper; a knob installed on an upper side of the body and including a restriction part for supporting the stopper so as to prevent the handle from being collapsed ; and a flexible bellows tube installed outside of the body and the handle so as to enclose the same.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable iron 1 according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the portable iron showing a partially cut-away section.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention The portable iron I of the present invention comprises: a heating plate 1 including a heating body 11; an insulating plate 2 installed on an upper surface of the heating plate 1; a body 3 installed on an upper surface of the insulating plate 2 and including a power connecting portion 31 positioned at a side thereof; a handle 4 rotatably installed around a hinge axis 41 so as to be rotated at a fixing portion 32 in the body 3 and formed with a stopper 42; a knob 5 installed on an upper side of the body 3 and including a restriction part 51 for supporting the stopper 42 so as to prevent the handle 4 from being collapsed ; and a flexible bellows tube 6 installed outside of the body 3 and the handle 4 so as to enclose the same.

The heating plate 1 is made of metallic plate and has a heating body 11 on its upper surface.

The insulating plate 2 is made of such material as having low heat deformation, high insulating rate and a high strength. For example, Bakelite may be used as the insulating plate. The insulating plate 2 has the same shape as the heating plate 1.

The body 3 has a hollow shape and is made of synthetic resin. The power connecting portion 31 is disposed at one side of the body 3. A power cable, which includes a power jack, a cable and a plug, serves to connect the power connection portion 31 to a power supply. On the upper surface of the body 3, a seating groove 33 is formed at a rear end thereof so as to receive the end of the handle 4 when the latter is collapsed. With regard to the rotation of the handle 4, further details will be followed herein below.

When the user pushes the knob 5 installed on upper surface of the body 3 in a downward direction, the restriction plate 51 moves downward accordingly. As a result, the restriction on the stopper 42 is released, so that the handle 4 can be rotated about the hinge axis 41 in the clockwise direction. When the user releases the pressure on the knob 5, the latter protrudes out of the upper surface of the body 3 by an action of elastic member (not shown) installed in the body 3. In other words, the knob comes to its original position.

The flexible bellows tube 6 is shown as a simple tube member in the drawings. However, the flexible bellows tube 6 is made of rubber bellows tube in order to enclose a clearance between the handle 4 and the body 3 when the handle 4 is collapsed.

In use of the portable iron I according to the present invention, the user can iron clothes by connecting a power chord to the power connecting portion 31. In other words, the heating plate 1 is heated by heat from the heating body 11. The insulating plate 2 installed between the heating plate 1 and the body 3 prevents the body 3 from being melted or heat-deformed even though it is used for a long time.

Further, in order to minimize the size of the portable iron I for storage, the handle 4 can be collapsed. For this, the user presses the knob 5 protruding out of the upper surface of the body 3, then the restriction plate 51 located at lower end of the knob 5 is pushed in the downward direction to release the restriction on the stopper 42. Thus, the handle 4 can be rotated around the hinge axis 41 and a rear end of the handle 4 comes to the receiving groove 33 formed at the rear end on the upper surface of the body 3.

Accordingly, the size of the iron ! can be minimized, so that it is convenient to carry.

Industrial Applicability As described herein above, the portable iron I of the present invention minimizes the heat-deformation and the occurrence of the disorder, so that service life can be extended. Further, the handle 4 can be collapsed/extended with respect to the body 3 as needed, so that it is very convenient and easy to use and carry. Thus, the reliability and the preference of the iron can be improved.