This invention relates to an ironing pad assembly, and more particularly to an ironing pad that may be made portable, and which is adapted to be used on top of a table or similar flat-topped furniture for ironing.
Recently, domestic ironing has been reduced as a household chore from as much as two full days per week to as little as a few hours per week. Thus, the less frequent use of conventional ironing boards, requiring setting up, folding of legs, and storage, has become a nuisance in view of the sporadic times in which ironing is done today. In this regard, there have been several attempts to provide portable pads to alleviate the nuisance of legged ironing boards, as well as providing means for assisting in portability by rolling the pad into a spiral for insertion into a pouch-like cover. These efforts were deficient in desired lateral support, which had, for the most part, been of flat wooden boards. The prior art also taught several efforts to provide portability to ironing pads with folding means to reduce size. By way of example, such means were disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,326,062 and 5,161,319, respectively granted to Beatrice Parker and to Mary Boyd. Both patents suggested the use of conventional wooden boards (See symbolic cross hatching used in the presentation of FIG. 7 of Parker and see the Abstract of the Boyd patent discussing a “plywood ironing board” with additional “wood supports”), fastened to conventional hardware store hinges 12 in Parker and hinges 20a and 20b in Boyd. Obviously, those structures are relatively heavy and cumbersome to carry and to set up for accomplishing the ironing task.
The present invention provides an improved ironing pad of multi-layered construction having at least one layer comprising an integrally formed hollow core construction having a plurality of substantially contiguous, open-cell cavities sandwiched between oppositely disposed, parallel panels. Preferably, the cavities are configured to included sidewalls extending between and substantially perpendicular relative to the oppositely disposed panels. It will be apparent that such construction materially lessens the weight of conventional ironing boards formerly utilizing solid wood construction. The compressive strength of open-cell, hollow core construction has been found to be substantially equivalent to solid construction.
Further, it is an additional object of this invention to provide a portable, multi-layered ironing pad assembly, which may include the aforementioned supporting layer of hollow core construction, or for that matter, a supporting layer of one or more longitudinally spaced, relatively thin, solid board or plywood construction. Such ironing pad assembly includes a longitudinally foldable sheet which, when folded, defines a close-sided envelope capable of being proportionally divided by transverse sewing stitches to provide adjacent pockets for receiving individual longitudinally adjacent, integrally formed, single panel units or supporting layers of open-core construction. The stitching together of overlying layers of the envelope layer also provides a satisfactory and convenient hinging means for folding the adjacent board or panels together. The folded sections also permit considerable reduction in pad length for convenience in transporting and storage.
Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts, and referring particularly to
The ironing pad assembly 10 made in accordance with the present invention, is preferably multi-layered, and includes a cover layer 12 of conventional heat-resistant fabric material that extends around the top of the pad assembly 10, the side 14 and the under layer 16. The various layers of the laminated pad assembly 10 may be conveniently enclosed by means of an elongated zipper unit 18. The zipper unit 18 need only extend around the periphery of the pad assembly 10 to provide access to the open-ended, hinged, pocket portions to be hereinafter described. The upper and lower marginal edges of the pad assembly 10 are preferably joined, sewn together, and covered by a sewn-on welting fabric strip 20. The pad assembly 10 is preferably constructed to be folded along the dotted lines 22.
With particular reference to
A preferred construction of individual hollow core units 30a, 30b and 30c, as shown in the views of
The construction of the supporting layer 30 (30a, 30b and 30c) may be, when desired, reduced in height to include a single panel unit 36. The individual panel units 36 and/or 38 may be selected from conventional panel board material. There are many available panel boards which provide adequate compressive strength, particularly for an ironing board pad such as the pad assembly described herein. Satisfactory individual supporting panel units 36 and/or 38 have been fabricated from conventional sheets having thicknesses ranging from 3/16th inch to 1 inch.
Some of these materials are flame resistant or may be treated to be flame resistant. All of them have high tensile and compressibility strength. Thicknesses may vary from 3/16th inch to 1 inch thick. An example disclosed in
For purposes of obtaining the above-mentioned materials, “GatorBoard” is readily obtainable in thicknesses between 3/16th inch and 1 inch from Art Grafix, a division of Stover Graphics of Beacon Falls, Conn., whereas “FireFlex” is a Melamine base obtainable from FireFlex Systems, Inc. of Boisbarand, Canada 37H 1N8. The three materials identified by the trademarks “SynPly”, “Gatorply” and “Luxcell” are each obtainable from Uniwood, Alcan Composites of Statesville, N.C. The multiple corrugated cardboard substrate or composite material is readily available by consulting local business telephone directories through an Internet browser or other local paper suppliers.
Depending upon the desired construction of the ultimate manufacturer, there may be another layer 44 added to cushion pressure exerted on the cover layer 12 during ironing. Also, consumer demand may require a bottom layer (not shown) of non-slip rubber mesh material, such as made from polyethylene mesh.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.