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EP-4563740-B1 - STEAM GENERATOR AND VERTICAL IRON

EP4563740B1EP 4563740 B1EP4563740 B1EP 4563740B1EP-4563740-B1

Inventors

  • SCIAN, LUCIANO
  • MAZZOLO, EMANUELE
  • SPAGNOLO, FRANCESCO

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241128

Claims (14)

  1. Steam generator (10) for a vertical steam iron, said steam generator including a heating block (11) comprising a vaporization chamber (14), provided with an inlet aperture (15) for the water and an outlet aperture (16) for the steam and at least one heating element (17), to which there is connected a plate unit (12) provided with steam delivery holes (13) placed in communication with said outlet aperture (16), wherein said vaporization chamber (14) comprises a first zone (21) in which a channel (19) is provided which defines a segment of a curved or serpentine path (P) and having a first depth (D1) substantially constant, in which channel the steam follows a first trajectory (T1) lying on, or parallel to, a first plane (π1) which, in use, is substantially horizontal, or inclined between 0°-15° with respect to the horizontal, characterized in that between said first zone (21) and said outlet aperture (16) said vaporization chamber (14) comprises at least one other zone (22, 23), wherein said at least one other zone (22, 23) has an accumulation chamber (24) having a second depth (D2) greater than the first depth (D1) of said channel (19) in said first zone (21), and/or wherein said at least one other zone (22, 23) develops at an higher height that the channel (19) in said first zone (21), and wherein said path (P) in said at least one other zone (22, 23) develops along another trajectory (T2, T3) lying at least partly on a second plane (π2) transverse to said first plane (π1), and in that said vaporization chamber (14) comprises both a second zone (22) in which said accumulation chamber (24) is arranged and a third zone (23) located downstream of said second zone (22) in which there is a transit channel (40) defining a part of said path (P) which develops along a trajectory (T3) having a development substantially in the shape of a "U" inverted with respect to the first plane (π1).
  2. Steam generator (10) as in claim 1, wherein said vaporization chamber (14) comprises, in succession one after the other, said vaporization channel (19), said accumulation chamber (24) and said transit channel (40).
  3. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said accumulation chamber (24) is provided with a lower aperture (25) selectively closed by means of a limescale collection element (26) able to be inserted into and removed from said heating block (11) to allow access to said accumulation chamber (24).
  4. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said heating block (11) comprises a base body (42) in which said first (21) and said second zone (22) are created, and a covering element (43) which closes said base body (42) at the top and in which said third zone (23) is provided.
  5. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said vaporization chamber (14) has a section narrowing between said second zone (22) and said third zone (23) with respect to a section of said accumulation chamber (24) on said first plane (π1).
  6. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said transit channel (40) in said third zone (23) has a section with a width increasing from a passage hole (36) through which it communicates with said second zone (22) toward said outlet aperture (16), wherein said outlet aperture (16) has a shape elongated in a direction parallel to said plate unit (12).
  7. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said vaporization chamber (14) has widened sections (35) located in proximity to and/or upstream of edges and/or curves of said channel (19) and configured to allow the accumulation of any limescale particles in them.
  8. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein at least one raised element (38) is provided along said channel (19), protruding from a lower surface and disposed transversely with respect to the development of said channel (19) and the trajectory (T1) of the flow.
  9. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein it comprises a filtration element (48) located downstream of said outlet aperture (16) and configured to perform a filtration of the flow and retain any particles present therein upstream of said delivery holes (13).
  10. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein a protection element (47) made of temperature-resistant material is arranged between said plate unit (12) and said heating block (11), and said plate unit (12) comprises a plate (39) made of plastic material.
  11. Steam generator (10) as in any claim hereinbefore, wherein said outlet aperture (16) for the steam is arranged on a transverse smaller side (34) of said heating block (11).
  12. Vertical iron (50) comprising a containing body (51) provided with a handle portion (52) suitable to be gripped by a user and a steam generator (10) as in any claim from 1 to 11 installed above said handle portion (52) and disposed with the respective greater sides (31, 32) of said heating block (11) aligned on planes which are inclined between 0° and 15° with respect to a horizontal plane.
  13. Method of operation of a steam generator (10) as in any claim from 1 to 12, comprising: - injecting water into said vaporization chamber (14) of said heating block (11) through the inlet aperture (15); - making the water travel along the channel (19) of said vaporization chamber (14) while the channel is heated with a heating element (17) to transform the water into steam; - making the flow of steam follow a path (P) along at least two trajectories (T1, T2, T3) which lie on different planes and/or at different heights with respect to each other, of which a first curved or serpentine trajectory (T1) lying on, or parallel to, a first plane (π1), and at least one other trajectory (T2, T3) lying at least partly on a second plane (π2) transverse to said first plane (π1); - making the steam exit from said outlet aperture (16) toward said plate unit (12) and delivering the steam through said delivery holes (13).
  14. Method as in claim 13, wherein it comprises a washing step which provides to remove a removable collection element (26) from said heating block (11) in order to remove the limescale accumulated in it and to have access to at least part of said vaporization chamber (14).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns a steam generator for generating steam that is instantaneously usable, in particular, in vertical irons for ironing garments, also called vaporizers, for professional and/or domestic use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Steam generators are known to generate steam instantaneously and are used in vertical irons, which are used to perform ironing operations and in particular to freshen up hanging garments. These irons allow to perform an ironing of the garments easily and quickly by delivering steam toward the garments without the need to use an ironing board. These steam generators essentially comprise a heating block provided with a vaporization chamber and an ironing plate provided with steam delivery holes. The heating block may comprise a heating body, in which the vaporization chamber is made, comprising one or more resistors that heat the heating block and cause the water introduced into the vaporization chamber to evaporate substantially instantaneously. Normally the heating block is made of a heat-resistant material and has the shape of a parallelepiped of very small dimensions, on average with a width and length of about 60 - 70 mm; it follows that the vaporization chamber present inside it has a rather limited vaporization area. In known steam generators, the vaporization chamber is defined by a steam circulation channel, which develops between an inlet for the introduction of water and one or more outlets for the outflow of the steam toward the plate unit, whose path is defined by means of a plurality of walls or partitions present inside the heating body. A disadvantage of the known steam generators is that the steam circulation channel is irregular and has a rather convoluted development with a plurality of restrictions, elbow curves and/or edges in which scales and limescale and/or mineral deposits can form. These scales and deposits can affect the channel walls themselves, can spread to other operating components of the steam generator, for example in the plate unit and can lead to further inconveniences, such as: compromise the quality of the steam, until having, in the worst cases, water leaking from the ironing plate;clog the circulation channel and/or the section of the delivery holes of the plate unit.settle directly on the garments during the ironing step due to the presence of limescale deposits and/or minerals in the steam jet delivered. In addition, the known steam generators generally have a small vaporization area of the vaporization chamber, so the presence of such deposits leads to a significant loss of efficiency and performance of the steam generator itself. In addition, due to the presence of restrictions and/or edges along the vaporization channel, the complete removal of limescale by means of the known cleaning or washing methods is also complicated; therefore, even after cleaning or washing operations, small and medium-sized limescale flakes can remain attached to the walls of the vaporization channel and detach undesirably, being dragged by the flow of steam toward the plate unit. Examples of known steam generators for vertical irons are for instance disclosed in US 2021/277591 A1 and CN 115 387 102 A. US 2021/277591 A1 discloses a steam generator having a vertical use configuration in which the ironing plate is associated with a greater side of the heating block. The steam is made to flow through a coiled or spiral path along a channel laying on a vertical plane and having a substantially constant depth or at most having a greater depth zone at a water inlet aperture. CN 115 387 102 A discloses a steam generator in which the steam flow is made to flow through a coiled or spiral path along a channel having a substantially constant depth or at most having a zone of greater depth at a water inlet aperture. EP 3 192 919 A1 describes a conventional horizontal iron comprising a steam chamber. There is therefore the need to perfect a steam generator that can overcome at least one of the disadvantages of the state of the art. To do this, it is necessary to solve the technical problem of eliminating, or limiting as much as possible, that any limescale particles may arrive at the plate unit, eliminating or reducing the formation of limescale and/or mineral deposits within the vaporization channel and/or preventing the transit of any particles dragged by the steam toward the steam outlet holes. In particular, one purpose of the present invention is to realize a steam generator that allows both efficiency and overall performance to be maintained over time, avoiding rapid wear of the operating components thereof. Another purpose of the present invention is to realize a steam generator that can guarantee a good quality of the generated steam over time and in which the evaporation operation, i.e. the steam generation, takes place completely in the shortest possible time. Another purpose of the present invention is to realize a steam gener