Safety cover for steam iron sole plate
OwnerEhsan Alipourinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sole plate cover covers all exposed surfaces of a steam iron's sole plate to contain fluids leaking from the iron and prevent injury from contact with hot surfaces. The flexible cover includes a plate formed with a plurality of vent holes, a side wall extending outward from the plate all the way around the perimeter of the sole plate, a vent plug extending out from the plate to block a steam vent on the sole plate, and flanges configured to hold the cover to the front and rear ends of the sole plate. A sole plate cover may include a flexible strap for holding closed a water tank cover on the iron. An optional pressure relief valve on the strap blocks a vent hole on the water tank to prevent leakage, opening in the event of an over-pressure condition in the tank.
Claims18
A sole plate cover, comprising:
- a flexible plate;
- a flexible sidewall extending outward from said flexible plate;
- a front sole plate retaining flange attached to a front end of said flexible sidewall;
- and
- a vent plug extending outward from a storage side of said flexible plate, said vent plug positioned to block a steam vent on a sole plate of a steam iron.
An apparatus for covering a sole plate of a steam iron, comprising:
- a flexible plate;
- a flexible sidewall extending outward from said flexible plate;
- a front sole plate retaining flange attached to a front end of said flexible sidewall;
- a rear sole plate retaining flange attached to a back end of said flexible sidewall;
- a vent plug extending outward from a storage side of said flexible plate;
- a flexible strap attached to said flexible sidewall;
- and
- a pressure relief valve attached to said flexible strap, said pressure relief valve positioned to block a water tank vent aperture formed in a water tank cover on the steam iron, said pressure relief valve comprising:
- a valve body attached to said flexible strap;
- and
- a valve plug slidably engaged with said valve body.
A method, comprising:
- inserting a front end of a sole plate for a steam iron between a flexible plate and a front sole plate retaining flange on a sole plate cover;
- inserting a corner at a back end of the sole plate between the flexible plate and a rear plate retaining flange on the sole plate cover;
- and
- positioning a vent plug on the flexible plate to block a steam vent on the sole plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.