Patent Application
20080189993
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of irons used to remove wrinkles from fabrics, in particular, heated soleplate irons that generate steam.
Irons have been used to remove wrinkles from fabrics for many years. Some conventional irons may have relied on a large mass or heat sink to deliver and maintain sufficient temperature for the ironing process. Currently a large mass of metal is casted to form the shape of a soleplate in the iron. This large mass, will take some time to heat up, and a very long time to cool. Times to heat up can be about two minutes, and to cool down as long as 40 minutes.
Within this mass, there may be a chamber where steam is generated for the aid of wrinkle removal. A steam generator may have been included within the soleplate for the realization of steam in the ironing process. Typically the heat source used to heat the soleplate is also used to boil fluid for steam generation. When using the soleplate at a low temperature, while the steam operation is enabled, there may be incidence of water droplets being released by the soleplate. In this case, there may not be enough heat/energy in the soleplate to do the ironing operation as well as to generate steam.
According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for controlling the temperature of a soleplate of an iron, the method having the following steps: energizing a heater element associated with the soleplate, wherein heat energy is transferred from the heater element to the soleplate; and heating the soleplate from room temperature to a temperature of greater than 100° C. in less than 45 seconds.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling an iron, the method having the following steps: setting a soleplate of the iron to a first temperature; and setting a steam boiler of the iron to a second temperature, wherein the first and second temperatures are different.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a device for removing wrinkles from fabric, the device having: a soleplate comprising a thickness less than 1.6 mm; and a heater element associated with the soleplate so as to heat the soleplate.
A further embodiment of the present disclosure provides a device for removing wrinkles from fabric, the device having: a soleplate comprising a steam hole; a soleplate heater element associated with the soleplate so as to primarily heat the soleplate; a steam boiler in fluid communication with the steam hole of the soleplate; and a boiler heater element associated with the steam boiler so as to primarily heat the steam boiler.
Some embodiments of the disclosure may be understood by referring, in part, to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers refer to the same or like parts and, wherein:
Selected embodiments of the disclosure may be understood by reference, in part, to
Referring to
Iron 10 generally comprises housing 12 with a rear cover 16, soleplate 20, heat insulating skirt 15, temperature control knob 18, steam surge button 14, reset button 11, and electric cord 13. However, features of the present invention could be incorporated into other types of irons and other types of electrical appliances. The control knob 18 may be connected to a thermostat (not shown) inside the housing 12. Alternatively, thermostat may be omitted and all thermistor feedback of temperature for a boiler and soleplate may be accomplished with micro controls appropriate for temperatures based on user selection. Temperature control for the boiler may also be by using a thermistor. A fixed temperature of 200 deg C. setting, may be changed to a variable setting later in the program. Steam rate may be changed by volume of water provided to boiler. The thermostat may be mounted on soleplate 20. In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), two control knobs are implemented: one for controlling the temperature of a soleplate, and one for controlling the temperature of a steam boiler. Reset button 11 may be attached to rear cover 16 and rear cover 16 may house an electronic module (not shown). In other embodiments, there is no reset button, but rather, there may be an ON/OFF switch, or a shake-to-start sensor and switch. Depending on the particular embodiment, the iron may comprise an auto-OFF module that has circuitry adapted to automatically turn iron 10 OFF after a predetermined period of time, such as one hour. Reset button 22 is adapted to depress an actuator of the module to reset the module. In alternate embodiments, any suitable type of electronic module or control could be used. In some embodiments, there may be no reset button. Iron may have an ON/OFF switch or a motion sensor which when activated will turn unit on (if plugged into AC). Heat insulating skirt 15 may be attached to soleplate 20. Skirt 15 may have electrical terminals positioned within skirt 15 for electrical communication with a heater in soleplate 20. Also, in certain embodiments, a steam boiler (not shown in
Referring to
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The electrically conductive material of heater element 24 may be a metal such as aluminum or silver and may be in the form of dust if it is provided as the filling of a conductive adhesive. The conductive material layer may be made transparent for example by the use of indium-tin-oxide or a like transparent conductive material. Making the heater element 24 transparent may increase the thermal emissivity of the thermal soleplate. Heater element 24 may be a thin vacuum deposited or painted-on metallic layer or it could be replaced by a relatively thick metal, e.g. aluminum, sheet (not shown).
In one embodiment, the heater element 24 may be an etched foil design element comprising circuitry for a Kapton®/Polyimide heater. The heater element may be constructed of a material that is a polyimide polymer, for example, a Kapton® material. Note that Kapton® is a trademark of the DuPont™ Corporation. A Kapton® material, in film form, can provide enhanced dielectric strength in very thin cross sections and very good bonding and heat transfer capabilities. Use may be made of a Kapton® film having a thermal conductivity below 0.5 W/mK and a dielectric strength exceeding 1250 V, which can be achieved with a thickness between 0 and 100 μm. The heater can therefore be implemented as a Kapton® type heater. Note that resistive heater element 24 of
Kapton®/Polyimide heaters made with this DuPont™ thin film may be transparent, lightweight, flexible and are electrically strong. Kapton®/Polyimide may be compatible with foil element alloys such as inconel, nickel, copper, and stainless steel. They may have low outgassing properties, may be resistant to solvents. They may work well with adhesive systems that permit higher operating temperatures. Thermal control and sensing devices may be incorporated into the soleplate. Heater elements according to the present invention may have a relatively longer life than traditional tubular heaters (calrods).
The soleplates shown in
Heater element 24 may be a deposited ink on a dielectric that is bonded to a metal substrate. Once energized, the conductive inks may provide the heat source to elevate the soleplate temperature. The ink pattern may be two side-by-side undulating ink deposit strands similar to the strands 40 shown in
Referring to
The infrared source may be a tungsten type lamp. The infrared source may be used to quickly heat up the thin metal substrate of the soleplate. Due to the metal soleplate being thin, once the infrared source is removed or de-energized, it may cool rapidly. Quartz lamps may also be used. Quartz tubes 50 may have a Watt density between about 65-120 Watts/linear inch. Quartz tubes 50 may also have an internal gold reflector. Quartz tubes and quartz lamps may have the ability to reach maximum temperature very quickly, if not instantly. Further, Quartz tubes and quartz lamps may reach maximum operating temperatures of 870° C. to 1370° C.
In one embodiment of the invention, the Kapton® layer is about 25 μm (0.001 inches) thick, the PFA adhesive is 25 μm (0.001 inches) thick, the etched film heater is 50 μm (0.002 inches) thick, so that the entire soleplate thickness is between about 0.1 mm (0.004 inches) and 1.6 mm (0.064 inches). The soleplate may also be of thicknesses other than that described. Some soleplate embodiment that have thinner dimensions and may be aided by ribs or any other structural support to prevent the thin metal from deforming, particularly once the heater element is energized.
Ironing plate 28 may be made of aluminum, stainless steel, or any material known to persons of skill. The soleplate can be of any good thermally conductive material. Sole plate 20 may be made of various types of stamped metal. For example, it may comprise steel, stainless steel, aluminum or any other suitable thermally conductive material. As technologies advance, newer materials can be used which may improve heat dispersion and ironing performance. As technologies advance, new alloys may be used for the sole plate, in particular, the heater element. Materials that may deliver relatively higher watt densities as well as heat up more evenly and faster may be desirable.
Components of sole plate 20, including heater element, insulating film, adhesive layers, and ironing plate may be manufactured by metal stamping and forming processes. For example, with reference to
In alternative methods, components of sole plate 20 may be die cast. Steam boiler 30 (see
According to one embodiment of the invention, the heater element may be mounted directly on a thin soleplate structure comprising metal. The heater element may be thin metallic layer of metal alloy protected by a dielectric insulator on both sides. Sole plate 20 may react very quickly to changes in temperature setting. It may heat up very quickly from room temperature to an ironing temperature of 100° C. or greater in less than 45 seconds. In some embodiments it may heat up to 200° C. in less than 45 seconds Further, sole plate 20 may cool down very quickly, for example, from an ironing temperature to a safe temperature of 60° C. in 4.5 minutes or less. Because new ironing temperatures may be reached quickly, a user may not need to start with low temperature garments and work up to higher temperature garments. 60° C. is considered a safe temperature, no burning or any sort of damage to user or environment. It may be called Cool Touch. A user may change temperature settings for each garment to be ironed.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, sole plate 20 is a relatively low mass structure. Low mass may reduce ironing fatigue. Because sole plate 20 has low mass, sole plate 20 may be heated quickly by a lower powered heater element. Heater element 24 may require less than 1000 watts to maintain an ironing temperature and ironing performance. Ironing temperatures may range from room temperature to about 200° C. Ironing temperature selections are typically from about 60-200° C. (150-400° F.).
The heater element may also be designed to comprise more than one heating zone. Heater element 24 may have a front end zone and two other zones for the heel side of sole plate 20. Each zone may be controlled independently in order to provide heat to where needed. Any number and/or configuration of zones may be implemented as beneficial in deferent iron designs.
According to still another aspect of the invention, electric steam iron 10 may be a completely cordless iron. Power may be generated by an alternative power source such as batteries or fuel cell. Capacitors may be used to store energy for quick release to the soleplate. Because the soleplate has the ability to heat up very quickly, energy released from one or more capacitors may be sufficient to heat the soleplate for a desired application. Capacitors may be recharged slowly over time and then released quickly for immediate heating of the soleplate.
Referring to
Steam generating fluid, such as water, is supplied to steam boiler 30 from reservoir 34. Reservoir 34 supplies fluid to pump 33 via conduit 36. Pump 33 injects water into steam boiler 30 via conduit 35. Pump 33 may be manually or automatically operated. For example, a manual pump may allow a user to inject fluid into the boiler only when a spurt of steam is desired for application to a fabric. As shown in
Depending on the particular embodiment of the invention, the generation of steam may be done by a steam boiler that is integrated with the sole plate or it may be generated by a separate, independently controlled steam boiler, either of which may use a multitude of heating technologies in order to produce the steam. The steam boiler may be a casted metal part with either imbedded calrods or another suitable heat source to elevate the chamber's temperature to the point of generating the steam. In embodiments of the invention where the steam boiler is separate from the sole plate, steam may be generated by a different heating element. In this case, a user may steam at any fabric setting, including with the sole plate OFF. When the sole plate is OFF and the separate steam boiler is operational, the iron functions as a garment steamer. Further, the separate steam generator may allow adjustment of the amount of steam to be dispersed, independent of the temperature of the sole plate. For example, the iron may be set to a low steam rate for some garments and a higher steam rate for others, regardless of the temperature of the sole plate.
Where it is desirable to independently control the temperature of the soleplate while generating steam, independent heat sources may be applicable. A steam boiler may be heated to 100° C. or greater so as to generated steam. At the same time, the soleplate may only be heated to a temperature between room temperature and 100° C. In some embodiments of the invention, independent temperature control may be accomplished by separate heat sources, one for the steam boiler and the other for the soleplate. In other embodiments of the invention, independent temperature control may be accomplished by a single heat source and the amount of heat communicated to the steam boiler and soleplate are regulated, respectively. For example, the heat source may be placed immediately proximate the steam boiler so that the greatest amount of heat is communicated to the steam boiler. An insulation layer may be placed between the steam boiler/heat source combination and the soleplate, wherein the insulation layer is controlled to regulate the amount of heat energy communicated to the soleplate from the steam boiler/heat source combination.
The alternate configurations for the steam boiler can be utilizing other heat sources to generate the steam. These may be Infrared type, mica card heaters, or heater cartridges. The heating structures described above for heating the soleplate may also be utilized to heat up the steam boiler.
Electric steam iron 10 may also comprise a user sensor. Because the iron may have the ability to heat up very rapidly, the iron may be OFF whenever a user is not actively using it. Through a sensing scheme, whenever the iron is not interacted upon for a very short period of time, it may be turned OFF automatically. Immediately upon interaction by a user, the iron may be turned ON automatically. Any known user sensor may be implemented to control the application of heat to the sole plate and/or the steam boiler. The user sensor may be a user presence type. For example, the iron may turn OFF when the user releases the handle area. Then upon the user grabbing the handle area, the iron may turn ON and reach ironing temperature almost immediately. By automatically turning the iron ON and OFF with each use, the iron may be more energy efficient.
It will be appreciated that while the disclosure is particularly described in the context of fabric irons, the apparatuses, techniques, and methods disclosed herein may be similarly applied in other contexts. In particular, the invention may be applied to heat any flat surface such as warming plates, water kettles, coffee makers, griddles, etc. Additionally, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as illustrated by the following claims.
