Clothes iron

Abstract

To provide a clothes iron that allows a raised fabric to be ironed, with pile-laying being suppressed.SOLUTION: A clothes iron 1 smooths out wrinkles of a planar body 6. A base body 2 disposed at the bottom of the clothes iron 1 includes a planar iron surface 4 opposed to the planar body 6, and a plurality of ball rollers 5 that support the iron surface 4, with a specified space being kept from the planar body 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an iron for smoothing out wrinkles from fabrics, etc. More specifically, it relates to an iron that suppresses collapse of fibers on the surface of fabrics, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when ironing fabrics with a raised surface to remove wrinkles, there has been a need to prevent the fibers from falling down, which would deteriorate the appearance and texture of the fabric. As one measure to meet this need, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which the entire surface or part of the surface of the base of an iron is formed with an uneven surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 53-52793 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The iron described in Patent Document 1 has a base surface with a convex portion that contacts fabric or the like and a concave portion that does not contact fabric or the like. As a result, even if the raised nap on the surface of fabric or the like is pressed and laid down by the convex portion, the pressing force is released at the concave portion when the iron is moved, so the nap returns to its original state before being fixed in the laid-down state by heat. However, because the raised nap that has been laid down by the convex portion is pressed by the convex portion and rubbed in the laid-down state at the concave portion, there is a problem in that it is difficult to return to its original state even when the pressing force is released at the concave portion, making it difficult to recover from the laid-down state.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an iron that can iron fabrics and the like having raised naps on the surface while suppressing the falling of naps. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first invention of the present invention is an iron for smoothing out wrinkles on a sheet-like body, characterized in that a base body provided at the bottom of the iron has a planar ironing surface portion facing the sheet-like body, and a plurality of ball rollers that support the ironing surface portion at a predetermined distance from the sheet-like body.

[0007] According to the first invention, when ironing a sheet-like object with a raised surface, the naps are flattened by the pressure of multiple ball rollers, but because balls roll on the surface, friction is reduced compared to conventional irons with only textured surfaces. As a result, the naps are more likely to return to their original state when the pressure is released. This makes it possible to iron a sheet-like object with a raised surface while suppressing nap flattening. In other words, the appearance and texture of the sheet-like object are maintained even after ironing.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the predetermined interval is equal to or greater than 5 mm and less than 15 mm.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the present invention, radiant heat from the ironing surface can smooth out wrinkles in the sheet body while minimizing the occurrence of bristle collapse.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the surface of the ball of the ball roller is provided with irregularities.

[0011] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surface of the ball of the ball roller is made uneven, which reduces friction of the naps in a collapsed state caused by the pressing force of the ball roller, making it possible to iron a planar object with a napped surface while further reducing deterioration in appearance and texture due to the naps collapsing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of an iron according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the base portion of the iron according to the embodiment; [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in Figure 2, with the cover omitted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An iron 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. In the following description, directions will be described based on the up-down, front-rear, left-right directions shown in the respective figures.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the iron 1 has a base body 2 equipped with a heating means, and a cover body 3 attached to the top of the base body 2.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the base body 2 has a ironing surface 4 that is closely attached to its lower bottom surface. The ironing surface 4 is made of a metal plate with good thermal conductivity and has a fluorine coating on its surface to enhance durability. The ironing surface 4 has nine ball roller holes 41 for accommodating ball rollers 5 and 28 steam holes 42 for ejecting steam. The ball rollers 5 are components in which a smooth-surfaced ball 51, such as a metal sphere, is rotatably supported by multiple small balls 52, with a portion of its surface exposed. They are also sometimes called freebears or ball casters. Each ball roller 5 is disposed in a corresponding ball roller hole 41 and is attached to the base body 2 so that when the iron 1 is placed on a planar object 6, such as fabric, to be smoothed, the ball rollers 5 abut against the planar object 6, with a distance between the planar object 6 and the underside 43 of the ironing surface 4 being 5 mm or more and less than 15 mm. The diameter of each ball 51 is approximately 20 mm to 30 mm, and the distance between the centers of the balls 51 is approximately 40 mm to 50 mm. A plurality of heaters 7 made of nichrome wire, which serve as a means for heating the ironing surface 4, are disposed on the upper surface 44 of the ironing surface 4. The steam holes 42 are holes with a diameter of approximately 1 mm to 2 mm that penetrate the ironing surface 4 in the vertical direction, and spray steam 8 downward that is generated by steam generating means (not shown) that utilizes the heat of the heaters 7 disposed in the base body 2. The steam holes 42 are formed in rows of three to four in the region between adjacent ball roller holes 41.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the cover body 3 is a resin member attached to the upper side of the base body 2, and has a grip part 31 that is gripped by hand to move the iron 1 for ironing, wiring 32 that supplies power to the heater 7, and a steam button 33 that controls the release of steam 8. When the steam button 33 is pressed, steam 8 is released downward from the steam holes 42 in the ironing surface 4.

[0017] The iron 1 configured as described above operates as follows. When the iron 1 is placed on a sheet 6 having a napped surface, which is the object to be smoothed, the balls 51 of the ball rollers 5 abut against the sheet 6, creating a gap of 5 mm or more but less than 15 mm between the sheet 6 and the underside 43 of the ironing surface 4. In this state, the iron 1 is moved horizontally by holding the grip 31 while pressing the steam button 33. Then, the steam 8 ejected downward from the steam holes 42 and the heat radiated from the underside 43 of the ironing surface 4 smooth out the wrinkles on the sheet 6. At this time, the naps on the surface of the sheet 6 are flattened by the pressure of the balls 51 of the ball rollers 5. However, because they are not subject to friction in this state, they easily return to their original state when the pressure is released by horizontal movement of the iron 1. This allows ironing to be performed without flattening the naps, even on a sheet 6 having a napped surface. In other words, the appearance and texture of the sheet-like object are maintained even after ironing.

[0018] Although specific embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to those external appearances and configurations, and various modifications, additions, and deletions are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the following can be mentioned.

[0019] In the above embodiment, each ball 51 of each ball roller 5 is configured to have a smooth surface. However, this is not limiting, and each ball 51 can also be configured to have finely textured bumps formed on the surface. This can further reduce friction of the naps on the sheet body 6 in a collapsed state due to the pressing force of the ball roller 5. This makes it possible to iron even a sheet body 6 with a napped surface while further suppressing deterioration in appearance and texture due to nap collapse. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 1. Iron 2 Base body 3 Cover body 4. Surface 5 Ball Rollers 6 Planar body 7 Heater 8. Steam 41 Ball roller hole 42 Steam hole 51 Ball

Claims

1. An iron for smoothing out wrinkles on a sheet-shaped object, The base body provided at the bottom of the iron has a planar ironing surface portion facing the sheet-like body, and a plurality of ball rollers that support the ironing surface portion at a predetermined distance from the sheet-like body.

2. In claim 1, An iron in which the predetermined interval is equal to or greater than 5 mm and less than 15 mm.

3. In claim 1 or claim 2, The iron has a surface of the ball of the ball roller that is uneven.

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