초록 ▼

An improved electric clothes iron comprises a water tank, chassis, handle, electrically heated soleplate, and steam chamber. The improvement, in one instance, includes heel and toe lifting pistons which are embedded in the soleplate and driven by an electric motor. A grip sensor in the handle trigge

An improved electric clothes iron comprises a water tank, chassis, handle, electrically heated soleplate, and steam chamber. The improvement, in one instance, includes heel and toe lifting pistons which are embedded in the soleplate and driven by an electric motor. A grip sensor in the handle triggers the lift piston motor to operate when the user is no longer gripping the handle. The lifting pistons are quickly retracted if the user grabs the handle again. The heated soleplate can be automatically turned off if the iron is left idle too long.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An iron comprising: an electrically heated soleplate; a handle; a separation mechanism including at least one lifting leg for lifting a bottom surface of said heated soleplate away from a supporting surface; a sensor disposed in said handle providing for control of said separ

What is claimed is: 1. An iron comprising: an electrically heated soleplate; a handle; a separation mechanism including at least one lifting leg for lifting a bottom surface of said heated soleplate away from a supporting surface; a sensor disposed in said handle providing for control of said separation mechanism, wherein, when said sensor detects the hand of the user, said sensor sends a signal to said separation mechanism to lower the iron by retracting said separation mechanism, and when the user releases said handle said sensor signals said separation mechanism to raise the iron. 2. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a position sensor for detecting a lift height of said separation mechanism, and for using feedback from said position sensor to control said separation mechanism. 3. The iron of claim 2, wherein said separation mechanism includes a DC motor having a gear box for converting a high rpm low torque output of said DC motor into a low rpm high torque output. 4. The iron of claim 1, wherein said legs comprise a material selected to have lower thermal conductivity than said thermal conductivity of said soleplate. 5. The iron of claim 1, wherein said legs comprise a material selected to have a higher coefficient of friction than said coefficient of friction of sole plate. 6. The iron of claim 1, further comprising an insulation having a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of said sole plate positioned between said at least one leg and said heated soleplate. 7. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a heat conducting, low thermal mass pad disposed on a bottom of said contact foot, said low thermal mass pad being recessable into a corresponding relief in said soleplate so as to provide a uniform soleplate heating surface when said separation mechanism retracts said at least one leg. 8. The iron of claim 1, wherein said at least one leg includes a rear leg positioned outside said soleplate, and including an air gap between said rear leg and said soleplate, said air gap acting as an insulating layer. 9. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a sealing device for inhibiting moisture from passing from a bottom of said soleplate into an interior of the iron. 10. The iron of claim 9, further comprising a physical barrier positioned between said separation mechanism and other components in said interior of the iron. 11. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a water barrier positioned over said at least one leg to inhibit water from passing between said at least one leg and said sole plate into an interior of the iron. 12. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a water valve providing water to a steam chamber only when said at least one leg is retracted. 13. The iron of claim 12, further comprising a set of cams mounted on a drive shaft to control movement of said separation mechanism and to actuate a valve for controlling water flow allowing steam production only when said separation mechanism is retracted. 14. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a valve allowing water to enter a steam chamber in the iron allowing a user to apply constant steam when the iron is in a non-horizontal position, to steam hanging clothes. 15. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a water filling port located on a side or a top of a housing of the iron so the user can fill the iron in a horizontal position. 16. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a flip-out fill port on a side of the iron for filling of the iron while the iron is standing in a roughly horizontal position on, and including means for creating a water-tight seal when said fill port is flipped closed. 17. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a switch to disable lifting by said separation mechanism. 18. The iron of claim 17, further comprising a timer and position sensor for detecting if the iron has not been used for a selected period of time, and providing for actuation of said separation mechanism to extend said at least one leg when selected period of time has passed, even if said switch was used to disable lifting by said separation mechanism. 19. The iron of claim 1, further comprising a timer and position sensor for detecting if the iron has not been used for a selected period of time, and for turning off power to said soleplate when said selected period time has elapsed. 20. The iron of claim 1, wherein said separation mechanism maintains the iron in a horizontal orientation, and includes at least one of a member of the group comprising a motor, a servo, or a solenoid, and further including a rotating drive shaft with cams that slide in slots on the at least one leg. 21. The iron of claim 1, wherein the separation mechanism operates to rotate the iron up on to a heel of the iron by shifting a center of gravity. 22. The iron of claim 1, wherein said separation mechanism lifts and lowers said sole plate at a variable rate over a total period of time, including a slower initial acceleration, a faster middle acceleration, and an ending deceleration. 23. The iron of claim 22, wherein a plot of acceleration over time of the lifting of said sole plate resembles an S-curve. 24. The iron of claim 22, wherein a plot of acceleration over time of the lowering of said sole plate resembles an S-curve. 25. The iron of claim 1, wherein the user may select a time delay between when the user releases said handle and said separation mechanism extends said at least one leg to raise the iron. 26. The iron of claim 1, wherein motion of a drive shaft of said separation mechanism is used to inhibit mineral build-up. 27. The iron of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a manually operated switch. 28. The iron of claim 12 further comprising an external steam generating apparatus in gas communication with a steam chamber of the iron. 29. The iron of claim 3 wherein said motor can turn in either direction, and wherein said motor acts on said cam shaft when turned in a first direction and acts on a water pump when turned in an opposite second direction. 30. An iron comprising: a sole plate, a handle, and a housing comprising a flip-out water filling port located on a side or a top of a housing of the iron so the user can fill the iron in a horizontal position, said water filling port further comprising a funnel and a ball pivot, said ball pivot including a fluid conduit.