US 7,603,800 B2
	Iron with a vertical crease-smoothing function
Michael Kübert, Klein-Winternheim (Germany); Matthias Hahn, Frankfurt (Germany); and Otto Göhre, Erbach (Germany)
Assigned to Rowenta Werke GmbH, Offenbach (Germany)
Appl. No. 10/567,065 PCT Filed Jul. 12, 2004, PCT No. PCT/IB2004/002319 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Feb. 03, 2006, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/012628, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 10, 2005.
Claims priority of application No. 03 09652 (FR), filed on Aug. 05, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2007/0000159 A1, Jan. 04, 2007
Int. Cl. D06F 75/20 (2006.01); D06F 75/18 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 38—77.83

13 Claims

1. Pressing iron having a sole plate (1) provided with steam outlet holes, and a heating body (2) provided with a heating element (201), the heating body (2) comprising a first steam chamber (210) used for ordinary ironing and a second steam chamber (220; 230) used to obtain a surplus of steam when the iron is in the horizontal position or a jet of steam when the iron is in the vertical position, said second steam chamber (220; 230) being fed with liquid by means of a manual pump actuated by the user and being associated with a steam circuit (223) ending in a set of steam openings in the sole plate, characterized in that, said second steam chamber is bounded by walls that prevent any liquid from flowing from said second steam chamber to said steam outlet holes when said iron is in the vertical position, and in that, when the iron is held vertically, the second steam chamber (220; 230) functions as a steam generator of the boiler type and in that, in this vertical position of the iron, the second steam chamber (220; 230) presents a form adapted to retain the liquid injected by the pump before its conversion into steam, the form of the second steam chamber (220; 230) being such that the heat exchange surface between the injected liquid and the walls (3, 221, 222; 3, 231) of said second steam chamber (220; 230) is smaller when the iron is in the vertical position than when the iron is in the horizontal position.