US3809851A

US3809851A - Electric ironing press

Info

Publication number: US3809851A
Application number: US00313441A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Aeschlimann; M Fresard; A Jimenez
Original assignee: Mefina SA
Current assignee: Mefina SA
Priority date: 1972-02-24
Filing date: 1972-12-08
Publication date: 1974-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-07
Also published as: GB1392640A; DE2261161A1; IT976058B; JPS4896891A; CA968696A; DE2261161C3; JPS5227760B2; NL7217152A; IE37015B1; ES409626A1; DE2261161B2; BE792858A; BR7208990D0; CS157610B2; IE37015L; FR2172962B1; AR204235A1; FR2172962A1

Abstract

An ironing press wherein the heating plate suspended to a pivoting arm is adapted to be lowered onto and raised above the ironing area, and wherein a hand-operable lock may be rocked into a position wherein a bolt carried by it engages a groove in the arm so as to lock the lever in the position it assumes inside the groove when it urges the arm downwardly. Furthermore, the lowering of the arm acts mechanically through the lever or through said lock on an electric circuit so as to disconnect the latter from the heating means which it energizes inside the heating plate and to connect it with an alarm circuit. A delay system is advantageously incorporated with said circuit to delay said switching operation a few seconds after the lowering of the arm and plate.

Description

Aeschlimann et a1.

[5 1 ELECTRIC IRONING PRESS 3,454,741 7/1969 Stewart 219/243 Inventors: Pierre h m m ene a; Ma cel 3,272,114 9/1966 Rakal 100/53 Fresard, Petit-Lancy' Antonio Primary Examiner-C. L. Albrltton Jlmenez Geneva all of Swltzerland Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Emory L. Groff; Jr.Groff [73] Assignee: Mefina S.A., Fribourg, Switzerland 22 Filed: Dec. 8, 1972 B TR [21] Appl. NO 313 441 An ironing press wherein the heating plate suspended to a pivoting arm is adapted to be lowered onto and 4 raised above the ironing area, and wherein a hand- [30] Foreign Application Priority Data operable lock may be rocked into a position wherein a Feb. 24, 1972 Switzerland 2630/72 bolt Carried y it ng g a gro ve in he rm so as to Mar. 8, 1972 Switzerland 3489/72 leek the lever in the Position it assumes inside the groove when it urges the arm downwardly. Further- [52] U.S. Cl. 219/243, 100/53 more, the lowering of the m ts mechanically [51] Int. Cl. H05b 1/00 through h v r r hro gh aid lock on an electric [58] Field of Search ,1 219/243, 250, 251, 256; circuit so as to disconnect the latter from the heating 100/93 P, 53, 214, 17; 38/24-28; 192/129 A, means which it energizes inside the heating plate and 129 R to connect it with an alarm circuit. A delay system is advantageously incorporated with said circuit to delay [56] Refer nc Cit d said switching operation a few seconds after the lower- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing Ofthe arm and Plate- 2,231,46l 2/1941 Bush 38/25 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1451 May 7,1974

3L809L85l PATENIEDIAY 71974:

sum 3 as 4 m Qt 1 ELECTRIC IRONING PRESS The present invention has for its object an electric ironing press comprising a working surface extending over a support to which an arm is pivotally secured around an axis which is substantially parallel with the working surface, a heating plate carrying heating means adapted to be connected with the electric mains, a system for suspending the heating plate to the arm and a hand-controlled lever pivotally secured to the arm at a point remote from said pivotal axis, said lever being provided with an extension cooperating with the support, so as to make the heating plate assume selectively two stable positions corresponding respectively to a closing and to an opening of the press.

The improved press according to the present invention is characterized by the provision of a mechanical safety and an electric safety system.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example an embodiment of the ironing press forming the object of the invention. In said drawings:

-FIG. l is a perspective view of the improved ironing press.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view thereof, partly in section, with parts broken away, showing how the press is locked when in its closed position.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a part of the arm of the press, with parts broken away, to show how the press is locked when in its closed position.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a part of said arm, showing how the bolt-carrying-bar may act as a safety system when the press is in its open position.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the electric safety system.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a portion of the press, certain parts being broken away to show the electric safety system.

The electric ironing press illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a frame or support 1 carrying an ironing board 2 covered by a fabric. An arm 3 from which a heating plate 4 is suspended, which acts as a sad-iron is pivotally secured to the rear end of the frame 1 around a horizontal axis. A hand-operable lever 5 which is pivotally secured to the arm 3 at a point remote from said horizontal axis cooperates with the profiles of two cams, which are not illustrated, carried by the frame and ensuring the opening and the closing of the press.

The arm 3 encloses a portion of the arrangement adapted to adjust the temperature of the heating plate 4. A thermostat-adjusting knob 6 fitted on the heating plate 4 is shown in FIG. 1, together with a luminous signal which is extinguished when the thermostat switches off the electric current feeding the heating means in the plate 4 and a panel 8 providing an indication for the desired temperature to be assumed by the heating plate As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the arm 3 is provided with a groove 37 engaged by the lever 5 in its press-closing position.

A lock 38 controlled by a key which may be inserted in a bore formed for this purpose in the upper surface of the arm 3 is adapted to lock the lever 5 in its pressclosing position. For this purpose, the bolt 39 on the lock 38 projects into the groove 37 engaged by the lever 5 in its press-locking position. This eliminates all risks of an undesired inadvertent opening of the press when it is being put aside or taken hold of by unauthorized persons.

Similarly, when the press is open, the locking of the lock 38 prevents the press from being closed by an unauthorized person, since its bolt 39 prevents any lowering of the lever 5 into the groove 37, the bar 5 engaging the groove 37 for both positions of the lever. The lock 38 serves then as a safety system if, for instance, children were to try to close the press during a short absence of the actual operator. Preferably, the lock 38 controls a switch, not shown, which cuts off the electric circuit feeding the heating means of the press when lock 38 is in closed position and locking the press.

As illustrated, there is provided a second lever 40 rigid with the arm 3 of the press and through which the heating plate 4 may be shifted by hand towards the ironing board before the lever 5 is set in its pressclosing position.

FIG. 5 shows the electric safety system controlling the current feeding the heating means and adapted to switch off the current when the press remains closed over a period which lasts too long, say over 15 seconds.

The circuit extends between two terminals a and b adapted to be connected with the terminals of onephase mains. Heating means 9 are inserted in series with adjusting means 10 and a switch 11 between the terminals a and b. The adjusting means 10 include in particular the thermostat referred to hereinabove.

The switch 11 feeds the heating means when it is set in the position illustrated, whereas it releases an acoustic signal 12 when it is set in its other operative position.

The switch 1 1 comprises the contact pieces of a relay controlled by the energizing winding 12 subjected to the action of an electronic delaying system or timer. The latter is fed by the mains through a rectifier 14, a resistance R, and a Zener diode D which stabilises at a value of 24 volts the voltage of a condenser C inserted in parallel with a condenser C and loaded by the current from the mains after rectification at 14. Said delaying system includes a transistor T adapted to load under constant current conditions a condenser C To this end, the base-emitter circuit of the transistor T, is stabilized by a further Zener diode D and the resistances R and R The condenser is adapted to be discharged into a resistance R upon closing of a switch S. The voltage of said condenser C is applied to an amplifier of the Darlington type constituted by two transistors T and T and controlling the feed of the winding 13 forming part of the relay switch 11. A Zener diode D is inserted in series between the condenser C and the amplifier, so that the latter may become conductive only when the voltage of the condenser C rises above the critical voltage of the Zener diode D A resistance R, is provided for adjusting the voltage of the base of the transistor T while a condenser C inserted in series with a resistance R, cuts ofi all stray oscillations in the circuit. A diode D is inserted in parallel with the winding 13, so as to quench the break impulses.

The switch S is opened by the lock 38, for instance, when the press is closed, so as to the condenser C The voltage on the latter increases gradually and after about, say 15 seconds, it reaches ensure the loading of the threshold of conductibility of the diode D which results in the energization of the winding 13 of the relay switch 11. Consequently, the feed current is switched off and the acoustic signal 12 is released. If the press is now opened before the winding 13 is energized, this produces a closing of the switch S, whereby the condenser C discharges speedily into the resistance R...

Thus, when the press is again operated, the condenser C, must be re-loaded, starting from a practically zero voltage.

The delaying system forms a printed circuit constituted by a thin plate 15 fitted in the arm 3 (FIG. 6). Said plate carries a conductive blade 16 playing the part of the switch S of FIG. 5 and providing for the contact between two contact-pieces, not illustrated, carried by the plate 15. Upon closing of the press, that is upon lowering of the arm 3, one end 17 of the conductive blade 16 is raised by a cam which is not illustrated, which cam is actuated by the lever 5, so that the contact between the contact-pieces through the blade 16 is cut off.

According to a modification, the acoustic signal 12 may be replaced by any other signalling means such as luminous signal for instance.

We claim:

1. In an ironing press comprising a frame provided with a working area, an arm adapted to rock between an upper and a lower position with reference to said frame around an axis substantially parallel with the working area and provided with a groove extending across its upper surface perpendicular to said axis, a heating plate suspended from said arm, heating means within said heating plate and a hand-operable lever pivotally secured to said arm at a point remote from said axis and adapted to be shifted between an upper position raised above the arm for opening the press and a lower groove-engaging position for closing the press, the provision of mechanical lever-locking safety means in said arm and of an electric safety circuit also in said arm and opened and closed by actuation of said leverlocking safety means to make the heating means inoperative at a predetermined moment after the closing of the press.

2. A press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mechanical safety means includes a lock including a bolt, the bolt of said lock penetrating inside the groove in the arm over the location, to thereby lock said lever in said last-mentioned position.

3. A press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mechanical safety means includes a lock including a bolt mounted in the arm, the bolt of said lock penetrating inside the groove in the arm over the location of the lever when said lever is in its lower groove-engaging position, thereby to lock said lever in said last-mentioned position, the movement of the bolt inside the groove preventing the lever from entering said groove when the lever is raised above the arm.

4. A press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mechanical safety means includes a lock including a bolt mounted in the arm, the bolt of said lock penetrating inside the groove in the arm over the location of the lever when said lever is in its lower groove-engaging position, to thereby lock said lever in said last-mentioned position and wherein the electric circuit includes a switch controlled by the lock, said switch controlling the operation of the heating means.

5. An ironing press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electric safety circuit includes a timer controlling the electric current fed to the heating means, said timer being started when rocking the arm into its lower position and being adapted to switch off the heating means at a predetermined time after the press has been closed.

switched off and an alarm signal energized.

Claims

6. An ironing press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electric safety circuit includes a timer controlling the electric current fed to the heating means, said timer being started when rocking the arm into its lower position and being adapted to energize a relay controlling a two-way switch at a predetermined time after the press has been closed, whereby the heating means are switched off and an alarm signal energized.