Clothes Iron Comprising a Device for Spraying Droplets of Liquid Outside the Surface Covered by the Sole Plate

Abstract

A clothes iron comprising a heated sole plate and a spray device for spraying water droplets of liquid on to a spray zone situated outside the surface covered by the sole plate wherein the clothes iron comprises applicator means extending outside the sole plate, wherein said applicator means comes into contact with the water droplets sprayed on the clothes to be ironed by said spray device before the sole plate reaches the spray zone while the clothes iron, resting on the sole plate thereof, is moved in translation toward the spray zone.

1 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) comprising a heated sole plate ( 2 ) and a spray device ( 6 ) for spraying droplets of liquid on a spray zone (P) located outside the surface covered by the sole plate ( 2 ), characterized in that it comprises applicator means ( 8 ,  9 ) extending outside the sole plate ( 2 ) and coming into contact with the droplets sprayed on the clothes to be ironed by said spray device ( 6 ) to cause them to penetrate into the clothes before the sole plate ( 2 ) reaches the spray zone (P) when the clothes iron ( 1 ), while resting on its sole plate ( 2 ), is moved in translation toward the spray zone (P). 
     
     
         2 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in  claim 1 , characterized in that said applicator means comprise a scraping element ( 8 ;  9 ) that extends to the periphery of the sole plate ( 2 ). 
     
     
         3 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in  claim 2 , characterized in that said scraping element ( 8 ;  9 ) extends between the sole plate ( 2 ) and the spray zone (P). 
     
     
         4 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in any of  claims 2  to  3 , characterized in that said scraping element ( 8 ;  9 ) has a shape that follows the shape of the edge of the sole plate ( 2 ). 
     
     
         5 . Clothes iron as in  claim 4 , characterized in that said scraping element ( 8 ;  9 ) and the edge of the sole plate ( 2 ) are separated by a gap. 
     
     
         6 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in  claim 5 , characterized in that said heated sole plate ( 2 ) has a front point where two lateral edges of the sole plate ( 2 ) meet and that said scraping element ( 8 ;  9 ) extends in front of said front point and along the lateral edges of the sole plate ( 2 ). 
     
     
         7 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in any of  claims 2  to  6 , characterized in that said scraping element ( 8 ) consists of a rigid wire. 
     
     
         8 . Clothes iron ( 1 ) as in any of  claims 2  to  7 , characterized in that said scraping element ( 8 ) is held by elastically deformable lugs ( 80 ), wherein said scraping element ( 8 ) extends below the level of the sole plate ( 2 ) when the clothes iron ( 1 ) when the scraping element ( 8 ) [sic] is not subjected to a mechanical load and is brought back into the plane of the sole plate ( 2 ), through the deformation of the lugs ( 80 ), when the clothes iron ( 1 ) rests on its sole plate ( 2 ). 
     
     
         9 . Clothes iron as in any of  claims 1  to  8 , characterized in that said spray device comprises an atomizer ( 6 ), such as a piezoelectric atomizer. 
     
     
         10 . Clothes iron as in any of  claims 1  to  9 , characterized in that the clothes iron ( 1 ) comprises a vaporization chamber sized to produce a maximum flow of steam of approximately 20 g/min.