MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE FOR IRONING AND CLEANING FABRICS, PROVIDED WITH HIGH CAPACITY TANK

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The present invention relates to the sector of electrical household appliances, and in particular refers to a device for ironing and cleaning clothes, curtains and drapery, and fabrics in general. Currently, to wash and/or iron curtains it is necessary to take them down from their supports, and put them back up after they have been washed, hung out to dry, and ironed.

In addition to this, many garments must be dry- cleaned and hence cannot be washed either by hand or with normal household washing-machines. In these cases, in addition to the cost of dry-cleaning, there is added the inconvenience of having to take the garment to the laundry or the dry cleaner's, and then go and pick it up, which usually means waiting a couple of days.

The main purpose of the invention is to overcome the aforesaid disadvantages by providing an electrical household appliance that enables ironing and cleaning both of curtains, without having to take them down from their supports, and of clothes, even in the case where they have to be dry cleaned.

This has been obtained, according to the invention, by providing a manually brandishable device

• that comprises in combination: a tank for the water having a capacity equal to or greater than 100 ml, means for generating steam, means for directing a jet of steam towards the fabric to be ironed/washed, means for controlling emission of steam, removable means for

removing from the fabric the dust and/or fluff and/or superficial dirt, which can be replaced with removable means for brushing the area of the fabric sprayed with the steam. A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the ensuing description with reference to the figures of the attached plates of drawings, which illustrate, purely by way of non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment. In the plates of drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the invention with removable means for removing impurities from the fabric, which constitute a first type of brush; Figures 2 shows the replacement of the brush of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the invention with removable means for brushing the area of the fabric sprayed with the steam, which constitute a second type of brush;

Figure 4 shows the replacement of the brush of Figure 2;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are further views of the invention: a 3D view, a view from beneath, and a side view, respectively.

With reference to the figures, in the preferred embodiment that is described, there is envisaged a brandishable device that is shaped like a brush and is basically formed by a main body that is equipped with a grip 6.

The main body comprises at the rear a tank 2 for

the water having a top 1 for filling/emptying it, whilst at the front it is equipped with a plurality of holes designed to emit the jet of steam upon command by the user and with removable means 10 for removing from the surface of the fabric impurities, such as for example dust, and/or fluff, and/or superficial dirt.

According to a peculiar characteristic of the invention, the tank 2 has a capacity of at least 100 ml. It is preferable for said tank 2 to be made of transparent material so as to enable the user to check the amount of water still available.

In the example illustrated, the aforesaid holes for the emission of the jet of steam are aligned centrally in a longitudinal direction.

The removable means 10 for removing the impurities from the fabric have the surface coming into contact with the fabric that is convex. In particular, made in the central, more projecting, portion of said surface is a plurality of holes 13 to enable exit of the steam coming from the holes of the main body, whilst present on each inclined side portion of the same surface there is present an area 14 coated with an appropriate "oneway" material of a known type for removal of specks or fluff from the fabric to be cleaned and/or ironed.

It is evident that, for the steam to come out of the holes 13 present in said removable means 10, when the latter are mounted on the central body each hole 13 is to be superimposed on a respective hole of the main body.

According to the invention, as an alternative to

said removable means 10 for removing the impurities from the fabric, there are provided removable means _^ H that are simply designed to brush the area sprayed by the steam and are constituted by at least one row of active bristles set around the holes for the steam of the main body. In the example illustrated, said bristles are aligned to form a "U" open towards the grip 6.

Both the removable means 10 for removing the impurities from the fabric and the removable means 11 for brushing the area of the fabric sprayed with the steam are equipped with gripping means 8, whilst the main body is equipped with fast-coupling/release means 9 of a known type (such as, for example a quick-release push-button) designed to enable assembly/disassembly of the removable means 10 and 11.

The means for controlling emission of the steam comprise a push-button 4 for emission of the jet of steam, said push-button being located preferably on the grip 6 so as to be easily actuatable by the user' s thumb whilst holding the grip.

The means for generation of the steam comprise a thermostat, a protection fuse, a resistor, and a pump for spraying water on said resistor when it is at an appropriate temperature.

After pouring water in the tank 2 and plugging said device into a current socket using a supply cable 5, it is sufficient to press the push-button 4, which, by actuating said pump, sends an amount of water onto said resistor for generating emission of steam. At this point, it will suffice to direct the jet of steam onto

the fabric that it is intended to clean and/or iron for the steam that is emitted, by traversing the fabric, to disinfect it and favour expulsion of the dust and other impurities . According to the invention, provided at the rear on the main body is a warning light 3 for warning the user that the temperature for generating the steam has been reached.

Advantageously, as already mentioned, both the means 10 for removing dust or fluff from the fabric, which constitute a first type of brush, and the means 11 for brushing the area sprayed by the steam, which constitute a second type of brush, are mounted in a removable way on the main body of the device also for the purpose of facilitating cleaning thereof after use.

The present invention has been described and illustrated in a preferred embodiment thereof, but it is evident that a person skilled in the sector may make technically equivalent modifications and/or replacements thereto, without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the present industrial patent right.