The present invention relates to an appliance comprising a base for the production of steam having a tank and a boiling chamber fed by gravity with liquid from the tank and relates more particularly to an electrical household appliance in which the tank is mounted removably on a receiving pedestal of the base.
There is known from U.S. patent application 2005/0132761, a steam ironing appliance comprising a base with a boiling chamber fed by gravity from a water tank removably mounted on a receiving pedestal. In this document, the tank is a closed chamber equipped with an outlet orifice at its bottom, venting of the tank being effectuated by the outlet orifice so that water from the tank flows through the supply circuit of the boiling chamber until the liquid level in the base reaches the level of the outlet orifice.
Such an appliance has the disadvantage of being subject to flows of water during transport, water stagnating in the bottom of the receiving pedestal, around the outlet orifice, have a tendency to flow along the walls of the base during tilting of the appliance or during sudden movements.
Such an appliance also has the disadvantage of allowing a backflow of water at the level of the receiving pedestal when the vapor pressure rises in the boiling chamber, which happens particularly when the steam outlet conduit that is connected the steam brush is bent or kinked so that the steam flow does not take place normally.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide an apparatus reducing or overcoming these drawbacks.
To this end, the invention has for its object an electrical household appliance comprising a base for the production of steam having a tank for liquid mounted in a removable manner on a receiving pedestal and containing a steam generator disposed outside the tank, the steam generator being fed by gravity through a supply circuit from the tank and having a steam outlet through which steam can escape toward a working tool, such as a steam brush, the supply circuit having an inlet orifice disposed on the receiving pedestal, the tank comprising an enclosure with only one outlet orifice in communication with the inlet orifice when the tank is placed on the receiving pedestal, wherein the tank is coupled in a sealed manner on the receiving pedestal and in that the appliance includes a venting circuit for conducting air to the level of the outlet orifice of the tank, the venting circuit having one end in communication with the outside which is elevated relative to the outlet orifice of the tank.
According to another feature of the invention, the volume of liquid that can be contained in the venting circuit between the outlet orifice of the tank and the end in communication with the outside is greater than the volume of liquid contained in the steam generator and in the supply circuit under normal operating conditions of the appliance.
By volume of water contained in the steam generator and the supply circuit under normal operating conditions, is meant the volume of water contained in these organs when the water level is stabilized, i.e. when it reaches the level of the outlet orifice of the tank.
According to another feature of the invention, the venting circuit comprises a local buffer zone at the level of which the passage cross section is larger.
According to another feature of the invention, the volume of the buffer zone is greater than the volume of liquid in the supply circuit and in the steam generator under normal operating conditions of the appliance.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the appliance includes a collecting dish placed beneath the inlet orifice of the receiving pedestal, this collecting dish having a bottom presenting a discharge orifice leading to the steam generator and having a peripheral wall having a venting orifice.
According to another feature of the invention, the buffer zone of the venting circuit is integrated in the collecting dish.
According to yet another feature of the invention, the collecting dish has a deflector extending between the discharge orifice and the venting orifice.
According to another feature of the invention, the outlet orifice of the tank is equipped with a closing valve that is opened automatically when setting up the tank on the base by an element placed at the bottom of the receiving pedestal.
According to another feature of the invention, the receiving pedestal has a cavity at the bottom of which is disposed said inlet orifice.
According to another feature of the invention, the sealing of the connection between the tank and the receiving pedestal is made by means of a lip seal carried by the receiving pedestal on which the tank rests.
According to another feature of the invention, the base has at least two wheels and a transport handle.
One will better understand the objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention, from the description given below of a particular embodiment of the invention presented by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Only items necessary for the understanding of the invention have been shown. To facilitate the reading of the drawings, the same elements bear the same references from one figure to another.
This appliance is advantageously provided with two telescopic posts, or tubes, 4 supporting a handle 40 in the form of a coat hanger, shown only in
The base 1 has two wheels 12 disposed at the rear end of base 1 to allow easy movement of the appliance by grasping the handle and tilting the base back so that only the wheels 12 remain in contact with the ground.
The base 1 also includes a removable tank 6 located above the axis of both wheels 12, the tank 6 having a handle 60 at its upper end to facilitate its removal from the base 1.
According to
As can be seen in
Collecting dish 8 has a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall 81 and a bottom 82 comprising a depressed central portion at the middle of which a boss 83 protrudes, this boss 83 coming to engage in the center orifice 11A of the cavity 11 of receiving pedestal 10.
The depressed portion also has a channel 84, shown in
According to
The steam generator includes a steam outlet orifice 74 at its upper end which is connected by a tube 75 to a connector 76 disposed outside of the base 1 and provided to enable connection with the cord 2.
Preferably, the boiling chamber 72 contains a tube 77 extending from the outlet orifice 74 disposed at the upper end of the generator 7, to near the lower end of the boiling chamber 72, this tube 77 forming a separation limiting the heat exchange between the water present outside of the tube 77 and the water present inside the tube 77. Such a tube 77 has the advantage of allowing a faster increase in temperature of water placed outside the tube 77 at the start of operation of the appliance and thus reducing the time required for the production of steam. The upper part of tube 77 has openings 77A permitting transfer of the steam produced to outside the tube toward steam outlet orifice 74, these openings 77A being placed at a height such that they are above the level A of stabilization of water in the boiling chamber 72 when the supply circuit is supplied with water from the tank 6.
According to
The tank 6 thus produced can be transported by the handle 60 without risk of water flow through the orifice 52, valve 51 ensuring a tight closure of the conduit 50 when the tank 6 is disposed on the receiving pedestal 10.
Conversely, when the tank 6 is placed on the receiving pedestal 10, the stopper 5 for closing the tank 6 is engaged in the cavity 11 and projection 83, protruding from the bottom of the collecting dish 8, comes to move the valve 51, against a restoring spring, toward an open position allowing passage of water from the tank 6 towards the dish 8. To aid correct positioning of the tank 6 on the receiving pedestal 10 during this operation, the receiving pedestal 10 advantageously has side walls comprising guide ribs 13 cooperating with grooves 63 of the tank and imposing a vertical translation movement during removal or installation of the tank 6.
More particularly according to the invention, the tank 6 is coupled in a sealed manner to the receiving pedestal 10 so as to prevent any backflow of water from the supply circuit outside the base 1. This sealing of the connection between the tank 6 and the receiving pedestal 10 is advantageously made by means of a lip seal 14 extending to the periphery of the cavity 11 and coming to bear against the bottom of the tank 6.
To allow the flow of water from tank 6 toward collecting dish 8, a venting circuit is provided at the level of dish 8.
According to
This venting circuit ensures that the dish 8 is put in communication with the air and allows water from the tank 6 to flow into the supply circuit of the generator 7, the volume of water flow through the outlet orifice 52 of the tank being replaced by air entering the tank 6 through the outlet orifice 52 until the water level in the dish 8 reaches the lower end of conduit 50 for evacuating the tank, thus preventing all ingress of air into the tank 6 and thus the further flow of water out of the tank 6. The water level is then stabilized in the generator at a level A shown in dotted lines in
Such a venting circuit allows perfect operation of the appliance. It also permits the appliance to be transported in an inclined position without risk of flow of water out of the base. In effect, during inclination of the base 1, for example for transportation on wheels 12, the water in the collecting dish 8 cannot escape through the receiving pedestal 10 due to the presence of the sealing ring 14 at the junction between the tank 6 and the receiving pedestal 10, nor by the venting circuit which has an end 91 communicating with the air located at a raised height on the front of the base 1.
Advantageously, the venting circuit is dimensioned so that the volume of gas or liquid that the venting circuit may contain between the outlet orifice 52 of the tank and the end in communication with the outside air is greater than the volume of water contained in the boiling chamber 72 and in the supply circuit of the latter when the water level is stabilized at the height of outlet orifice 52.
This characteristic permits limiting of the amount of water leaking through the end of the venting circuit in communication with the outside, when due to some accident, the steam produced by the steam generator can not escape normally through the steam outlet orifice. Such a situation can occur for example when the cord for carrying steam to the steam brush is pinched or folded so that its passage cross section is greatly reduced. In such a case, the increase in pressure in the boiling chamber causes a backflow of water in the generator and in the supply circuit in the venting circuit until the steam can escape through the end of the venting circuit.
Preferably, the dish 8 comprises a header buffer zone 92 extending above the dotted line A, corresponding to the stabilization level of water in the normal operation of the appliance, the volume of which is greater than the volume of water contained in the boiling chamber 72 and in the supply circuit of the latter so that buffer zone 92 may receive all of the water that can be made to flow back toward the venting circuit. This buffer zone 92 prevents any backflow of water through the venting pipe 9 upon a pressure rise in the boiling chamber 72, steam escaping from the generator 7 repelling water in the buffer zone 92 and then escaping through the venting orifice.
According to
Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has been given as an example. Modifications remain possible, particularly in terms of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.
Thus, in one embodiment not shown, the venting circuit may be carried by the tank instead of being carried by the base of the appliance. This venting circuit could for example be constituted by a pipe extending within the tank from an opening at the top of the tank to the lower end of the evacuation conduit of the tank. This pipe can also advantageously include a buffer zone constituted by an area presenting a passage cross section of larger diameter than that of the pipe, dimensioned to accommodate all of the water that can be discharged by the boiling chamber.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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08/01950 | Apr 2008 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2009/000539 | 3/16/2009 | WO | 00 | 12/28/2010 |