Downflow Water Diverter Specifically for a Steam Iron and Steam Iron Thereof

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of household appliances, and more particularly to a downflow water diverter specifically for a steam iron and a steam iron incorporating the same.

Functioning as a widely-used domestic appliance, the steam iron requires the addition of tap water during operation. The water is converted into high-temperature steam by the steam iron, and the high-temperature steam effectively softens the fabric's fiber structure, thereby achieving garment smoothing and wrinkle-removing effects.

In conventional steam irons, the absence of a water-diverting mechanism at the water tank outlet causes water to converge through a discharging port onto the base plate. This results in uneven water distribution on the base plate: areas proximal to the drainage port receive excessive water volume, while distal regions suffer from insufficient supply. During ironing operations, the excessive water volume impedes vaporization, leading to steam dripping at the proximal areas of the base plate; conversely, inadequate water volume elevates temperatures at the distal areas of the base plate, posing scorching risks to the fabrics.

The present disclosure provides a downflow water diverter specifically for steam iron and a steam iron incorporating the same with the prime objectives to address the problems exist in the prior art.

The present disclosure includes the following technical solutions.

A downflow water diverter specifically for a steam iron, comprising: a diverter body, wherein a central part of the diverter body is provided with a water collection chamber, an inlet port interconnected with the water collection chamber is disposed at an upper end of the diverter body, and at least two outlet ports interconnected with the water collection chamber are disposed at a lower end of the diverter body.

Furthermore, the downflow water diverter specifically for a steam iron comprises: a guide tube, wherein the outlet ports include a first outlet port and a second outlet port, the guide tube is arranged at the lower end of the diverter body and is interconnected with the second outlet port.

Furthermore, the guide tube is configured with an L-shaped bend.

Furthermore, a guiding protrusion is formed on an outer sidewall of the diverter body toward a bending direction of the guide tube.

Furthermore, the inlet port is formed as a gradually constricted tapered structure.

Furthermore, an annular protrusion is provided circumferentially on the outer sidewall of the diverter body.

Furthermore, a positioning groove is provided circumferentially on the outer sidewall of the diverter body.

Furthermore, the diverter body is connected to a water discharge unit of the steam iron.

According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a steam iron comprising: the downflow water diverter specifically for a steam iron as described above.

Compared with prior art, the present disclosure demonstrates the following advantageous effects.

The steam iron of the present disclosure splits a single-source water into multiple channels and allows the multiple channels of water to flow from the outlet ports down to the base plate of the steam iron simultaneously, this innovation achieves uniform water distribution across the base plate. This configuration effectively eliminates steam dripping and localized overheating risks caused by uneven water distribution on the base plate, thereby maintaining thermal uniformity of the base plate. Consequently, it enhances operational reliability and prolongs the service life of the steam iron.

References numerals in the drawings include:. diverter body;. water collection chamber;. inlet port;. first outlet port;. second outlet port;. guiding protrusion;. annular protrusion;. positioning groove;. guide tube.

Detailed embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. While numerous operational details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding, it will be evident to persons skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these details described herein.

As illustrated in, the present embodiment provides a downflow water diverter specifically for a steam iron which includes a diverter body. A central part of the diverter bodyis provided with a water collection chamber. An inlet portinterconnected with the water collection chamberis disposed at an upper end of the diverter body. At least two outlet portsinterconnected with the water collection chamberare arranged at a lower end of the diverter body. The steam iron of the present disclosure splits a single-source water into multiple channels and allows the multiple channels of water to flow from the outlet ports down to the base plate of the steam iron simultaneously, this innovation achieves uniform water distribution across the base plate. This structural optimization effectively eliminates steam dripping and localized overheating risks caused by uneven water distribution on the base plate, thereby maintaining thermal uniformity of the base plate. Consequently, it enhances operational reliability and prolongs the service life of the steam iron.

As shown in, the downflow water diverter further includes a guide tube. The outlet ports include a first outlet portand a second outlet port. The guide tubeis arranged at a lower end of the diverter bodyand is interconnected to the second outlet port. During flow distribution, a part of water from the water collection chamberdirectly flows down to the base plate from the first outlet port, another part of water from the water collection chamberflows from the second outlet portto the guide tubeto be guided to predetermined areas of the base plate. This configuration further ensures uniform and precise flow dividing, thereby preventing insufficient water amount on certain areas of the base plate.

As illustrated in, according to a preferred implementation, the guide tubeis configured with an L-shaped bend. During design, a couple of regions with the highest temperature on the base plate are identified according to the thermal distribution on the base plate. A guiding protrusionis formed on an outer sidewall of the diverter body. During installation, the bending direction of the guide tubeshould be adjusted to be aligned with the position of the guide protrusion, so as to achieve quick positioning and make sure that the guiding direction of the guide tubeis correct, thereby precisely directing the water flow toward the identified regions with the highest temperature. As a result, the thermal uniformity of the base plate can be effectively controlled.

As shown in, according to a preferred implementation, in the present embodiment, one first outlet portand one second outlet portare provided. The number of outlet ports can be adjusted according to operational demands. Additionally, the guide tubeis operatively connectable to the diverter bodythrough detachable coupling or permanent integration depending on specific requirements.

As shown in, as a preferred implementation, the inlet portis formed as a gradually constricted tapered structure. This tapered configuration guides and accelerates water flow convergence from the inlet portinto the water collection chamber, thereby establishing optimized conditions for subsequent flow splitting operations.

As shown in, the outer sidewall of the diverter bodyis circumferentially provided with an annular protrusionand a positioning groove. The annular protrusionand the positioning grooveserve as fixation structure to enhance mechanical engagement with internal structure of the steam iron, thereby achieving robust installation. Specifically, mating recesses corresponding to the annular protrusioncan be formed on relevant components inside the steam iron, such as a leak-proof silicone gasket at the water tank outlet, and limiting apertures complementary to the positioning groovecan be formed on other relevant components, such as the vaporization plate.

As shown in, the diverter bodyis connected to a water discharge unit of the steam iron. Conventionally, the water discharge unit refers to the water tank of the steam iron, where the diverter bodyis directly disposed at a discharge orifice of the water tank. In alternative configurations, the water discharge unit further includes a connection conduit or solenoid pump installed at the discharge orifice of the water tank, i.e. the diverter bodyis mounted at an outlet of said connection conduit or solenoid pump. Specific installation methods may be rationally designed according to the steam iron's internal structure without limitation herein.

According to another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a steam iron, the steam iron includes the downflow water diverter described above. The structure of the steam iron may be structures known in the prior art without limitation herein.

The foregoing descriptions constitute specific embodiments of the present disclosure, yet the inventive concept is not limited to these implementations. Any exploitation of this concept to make non-essential modifications to the present disclosure shall be deemed as infringing acts falling within the scope of protection defined by the claims.