US20130193171A1

US20130193171A1 - System for steaming clothes

Info

Publication number: US20130193171A1
Application number: US13/364,056
Authority: US
Inventors: Abdul Sean Carter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-02-01
Filing date: 2012-02-01
Publication date: 2013-08-01
Also published as: US20170114492A1; US9194077B2; US9863081B2; US20150101221A1

Abstract

A system for steaming clothes is disclosed. A steamer is connected through a hose to a human torso device. The human torso device includes a plurality of holes, wherein a plurality of steam air jets are located in the plurality of air holes. This human torso device is configured to be encapsulated in an article of clothing, where the human torso device is configured to receive steam from the steamer then utilize the plurality of steam air jets to simultaneously expel the steam through the plurality of air holes to entirely steam an entire portion of the article of clothing.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for steaming clothes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, when a person wants to get wrinkles out of their clothes they steam the clothes themselves. Usually, a person would use a steam iron to get the wrinkles out of their clothes. A steam iron similar to a regular iron has a cord that is plugged into an electrical outlet. However, the steam iron includes a compartment that holds water that is changed to steam when it is heated by a typical heating element connected to the cord of the iron. The steam from steam iron is used to get the wrinkles out of the clothes.
When a person utilizes a steam iron it may be time-consuming in that she may be rushing to work and/or trying to get her children ready for school so she may not have time to steam her clothes. Also, if the person is not careful she may burn her hands when using the steam iron. Currently, there's no hands free steam iron that allows a person to walk away from the steam iron without having to watch it to make sure an entire portion of the clothes are steamed.
Even when a steam iron is used there's a tendency that all portions of the clothing may not be thoroughly steamed because the amount of steam differentiates as you move the steam iron from one portion of clothing to another. There are also steamers that are used to steam clothes, but often they're bulky and cumbersome to utilize. Often these steamers sit in a house or an apartment without being utilized by anyone because they're too cumbersome to use because they don't easily allow someone to evenly simultaneously steam all portions of the clothes.
Therefore, there is a need for a steaming device that is easy to use and hands free that enables anyone to simultaneously steam an entire portion of their clothes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for steaming articles of clothing.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a system for steaming clothes is disclosed. A steamer is connected through a hose to a human torso device. The human torso device includes a plurality of holes, wherein a plurality of steam air jets are located in the plurality of air holes. This human torso device is configured to be encapsulated in an article of clothing, where the human torso device is configured to receive steam from the steamer then utilize the plurality of steam jets to simultaneously expel the steam through the plurality of air holes to entirely steam an entire portion of the article of clothing.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for steaming clothes is disclosed. The method includes: connecting a hose from a steamer to a human torso device; receiving steam from the steamer; transferring the steam from the steamer through the hose to the human torso device; and receiving the steam from the steamer at the human torso device; simultaneously expelling the steam with the plurality of steam air jets through a plurality of holes in the human torso device.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a steaming device is disclosed. A human torso device having a plurality of holes, where a plurality of air jets are placed in between the plurality of air holes. The human torso device is configured to be encapsulated by an article of clothing. A top portion of the human torso device is configured to have an opening to receive steam from a steamer, where the plurality of air holes are configured to simultaneously expel the steam through the plurality of air holes onto the article of clothing to steam an entire portion of the article of clothing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an entire steaming system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1 a is an illustration of an ON and OFF Level operating switch in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1 b is an illustration of another steaming system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of yet another steaming system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a steam clothing device of FIG. 2 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a depiction of a steam clothing device in a form of a pair of pants in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a depiction of a steam clothing device in a form of a dress in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow-chart of how the steaming system of FIG. 1 is utilized in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flow-chart of how the steaming system of FIG. 2 is utilized in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The presently preferred embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the drawings, where like components are identified with the same numerals. The descriptions of the preferred embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of an entire steaming system. A steaming system 100 is a typical steaming system with additional components. The steaming system 100 includes: a removable water tank 101, a heating element 101 a, an ON and OFF Level/Timer operating switch 101 b, water 103, a hose 105, a steamer pole 107, a hanger holder 108, a handle 109, an electrical cord 111 and wheels 113. The term “steamer” refers to the typical components associated with a steamer, such as a water tank 101, water 103, electrical cord 111, a steamer pole 107 and a hanger holder 108.
Hose 105 includes a male connector 105 a and a female connector 105 b. Male connector 105 a is connected to an outside portion 104 of the steaming system 100. Female connector 105 b is connected to the handle 109 through a receiving end of the handle 109 that receives the female connector 105 b.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the ON and OFF and timer/Level operating steam switch 101 b referred to as a “Level switch” is shown. This Level switch 101 b is a typical steam switch that allows a person to dictate when and how much pressure will be allowed to go through hose 105 into the handle 109. Level switch 101 b is connected to a typical heating element 101 a in the water tank 101 to the conventional electric cord 111 or a typical retractable electrical cord. Heating element 101 a is a boiling means to boil the water 101 to a certain temperature so steam can be created from the boiling water 103. For example, the ON/OFF and Timer/Level 101 b has a sliding portion 101 c that allows a person to choose a typical pressure setting for cotton, silk, denim and other materials which may take anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes to heat up the heating element 101 a to cause it to steam depending on the type of material and the time it may take to steam the article of clothing. In another embodiment of the invention, the ON/OFF and Timer/Level 101 b may be a rotating knob. This Timer/Level switch 101 b has a typical Auto-shutoff mechanism that typical steaming irons have that shuts itself off if it is left ON for a certain period of time.
FIG. 1 b is an illustration of another steaming system similar to steaming system 100 except that this steaming system includes a hanger 115 that has adjustable side bars 117 and 119 and bottom portion 125 connected to the adjustable side bars 117 and 119. Adjustable side bar 117 may or may not be removably connected to the steamer pole 107. Hanger 115 includes typical binding clips 115 a and 115 b and the bottom portion includes binding clips 115 c and 115 d. Typical binding clips 115 a, 115 b, 115 c and 115 d are used to hold clothes onto a hanger, such as pair of pants or any article of clothing. Binding clips 115 a and 115 d are used to hold a typical article of clothing, such as a scarf 121 while the handle 109 steams the scarf 121. The binding clips 115 b and 115 c are used to hold a typical article of clothing, such as a scarf 123 while the handle 109 steams the scarf 123.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of an entire steaming system. A steaming system 200 is a typical steaming system with additional components. The steaming system 200 includes: a removable water tank 201, water 203, a hose 205, a steamer pole 207, a hanger holder 209, a human torso device 211, a plurality of steam air jets 213 in the human torso device 211 and a plurality of air holes 215 in the human torso device 211 and wheels 217. Hose 205 is a removable hose that includes a male connector 205 a and a female connector 205 b. Male connector 205 a is connected to an outside portion 204 of the steaming system 200. Female connector 205 b is connected to the human torso device 211 by an opening 211 a in the human torso device 211 that receives the female connector 205 b. An ON/OFF and Timer/Level setting steam switch 201 b (“Level switch 201 b”) is equivalent to the ON/OFF and Timer/Level operating steam switch 101 b described above so a recitation of ON/OFF Timer/Level operating switch will not be disclosed herein. Level switch 201 b is a typical pressure steam switch that allows a person to dictate when and how much pressure steam will be allowed to go through hose 205 into the human torso device 211.
The level switch 201 b is connected to a typical heating element 201 a in the water tank 201 that has a conventional electric cord 219 or retractable electric cord 219. Heating element 201 a is a boiling means to boil the water 203 to a certain temperature so steam can be created from the boiling water 203. For example, the ON and OFF Timer/Level setting steam switch 201b may have a sliding portion similar to sliding portion 101 c that allows one to choose a setting for cotton, silk, denim and other materials which may take anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes to heat up the heating element 201 a to cause it to steam depending on the type of material and the time it may take to steam the article of clothing. In another embodiment of the invention, the ON/OFF and Timer/Level 201 b may be a rotating knob. This Timer/Level switch 201 b has a typical Auto-shutoff mechanism that typical steaming irons have that shuts itself off if it is left ON for a certain period of time.
As shown in FIG. 3, the human torso device 211 may also be referred to as a steam device. The human torso device 211 is made of a hard durable plastic that can withstand heat, such as polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyolefin. For example, the human torso device 211 may be in the foam a top portion of a person such as human torso device 211 or human torso device 401 in the shape of hips and leg portion or as in human torso device 501 in the shape of a dress for a person. The human torso device 211 is a lightweight device and may weigh anywhere from 1-5 pounds.
Human torso device 211 may have a thickness in the range of 0.01 to 0.5 inches, but preferably it has a thickness of 0.25 inches. Further, the human torso device 211 may be in the form of a shirt, but as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the steamer device 211 may have the form a pair of pants 401 and a dress 501 composed of at least one layer but may be made of multiple layers of the durable plastic. Also, the steamer device 211, steamer device 401 and steamer device 501 are hollow devices with multiple pathways that is able to receive steam from the hose 105 or hose 205 and expel steam through the plurality of air jets and plurality of holes. Steamer devices 401 and 501 include all of the components of steamer device 211 so a recitation of all the components will not be cited here.
Returning to FIG. 3., the human torso device 211 includes a plurality of jets 213 a, 213 b, 213 c, 213 d, 213 e, 213 f, 213 g, 213 h, 213 i, 213 j and 213 k that are placed in the plurality of holes 215 a, 215 b, 215 c, 215 d, 215 e, 215 f, 215 g, 215 h, 215 i, 215 j and 215 k in order to facilitate transfer of steam through the steamer device 211 and opening 211 a connected through pathways directly to the plurality of holes 215 a-215 k. This steamer device 211 is in the shape of a typical shirt that can be as small as size 16 to a larger size of 44 or more. The aims of the steamer device 211 are retractable in that they can retract in order to allow the sleeve of streamer device 211 to become shorter so as to reflect a short sleeve shirt instead of a long sleeve shirt for more effective and even steaming of the shirt.
FIG. 4 the steamer device 401 can be in the shape of a pair of pants for men or women ranging in size from a size 0 to a size 56 or more for larger size men or women. A plurality of air jets 413 a, 413 b, 413 c, 413 d, 413 e, 413 f, 413 g and 413 h are placed in the plurality of holes 415 a, 415 b, 415 c, 415 d, 415 e, 415 f, 415 g and 415 h in order to facilitate transfer of steam through the steamer device 401 with opening 401 a connected through pathways directly to the plurality of holes 415 a-415 h. The legs of the steamer device 401 are retractable in that they can retract in order to allow the legs of steamer device 401 to become shorter so as to reflect short pants instead of long pants for more effective and even steaming of the pants.
In FIG. 5 the steamer device 501 can be the shape of a dress from a size 0 to a size 18 or more depending on the size of the woman utilizing this steamer device 501. a plurality of air jets 513 a, 513 b, 513 c, 513 d, 513 e, 513 f, 513 g and 513 h are placed in the plurality of holes 515 a, 515 b, 515 c, 515 d, 515 e, 515 f, 515 g and 515 h in order to facilitate transfer of steam through the steamer device 501 through opening 501 a connected through pathways directly to the plurality of holes 515 a-515 h. The length of the steamer device 501 is retractable in that they can retract in order to allow the dress to become shorter so as to reflect a short dress, mini-skirt and then expand to show a long dress for more effective and even steaming of the dress. The hips of the steamer device 501 may retract in and out from an A shape back into an H shape similar to a rectangle.
FIG. 6 shows how an embodiment of the steaming system of FIGS. 1 and 1 b are utilized. At block 601, the hose 105 is connected to the outside portion 104 of the steaming system 100 to the handler 109. Next, at block 603 the steamer switch 101 b is turned ON and a level is chosen to steam an article of clothing (FIG. 1 A). For example, if the clothing is cotton then this level is shown that steams a cotton scarf to heat up the heating element 101 a for 1 minute to steam the scarf.
At block 605, the steam is transferred from the water tank 101 through the hose 105 to the handle 109. Next, at block 607 steam is expelled from the handle 109. A user at block 609 would then use the handle 109 to steam the cotton scarf for a period of time to get out the wrinkles in the scarf In another embodiment of the invention, at block 609 the user utilizes the handle 109 to steam the scarf 121 (FIG. 1 b) while the scarf 121 is attached to the binder clips 115 a and 115 d, then the user may utilize the handle 109 to steam another scarf 123 while the scarf 123 is attached to binder clips 115 b and 115 c. This method provides the user with a safe easy way to steam clothes, such as scarves, socks, leggings or any other article of clothing without injuring herself or himself. The user may extend the adjustable bars 117 and 119 by using the adjusting locks 117 a and 119 a to extend and contract from 2 feet to 1 feet the adjustable bars 117 and 119 depending on the size of the scarves 121 and 123 or the articles of clothing. At the end of this steaming process, then the user would turn the OFF switch at the ON/OFF and Level/Timer switch 101 b and this process would end.
FIG. 7 shows how the steaming system will be utilized for FIG. 2. At block 701, the hose 205 is connected from the steamer system 200 to the steam device 211. Next, at block 703 a person turns on the ON/OFF and Timer/Level setting steam switch at 201 b that dictates where and how the pressure steam will be generated from the water tank 201 and sent through the hose 205 to the steam device 211. This Level 201 b also activates the heating element 201 a to start heating the water 203 in the water tank 201, where the heating element 201 a connected to the electrical cord 219. At block 705, after a particular time is chosen at the ON/OFF and Timer/Level steam switch 201 b such as 1 minute to build up pressure steam in the water tank 201, then the steam is transferred from the water tank 201 through the hose 205 through the male connector 205 a to the female connector 205 b through the opening 211 a into the steam device 211.
Next at block 707, the steam goes through the steam device 211 then the steam is simultaneously expelled through the plurality of steam air jets 213 a-k and plurality of air holes 215 a-k by using the direct pathways of the steam device 211 to the plurality of holes 215 a-k (FIG. 3). Next, at block 709 as the steam is simultaneously expelled through the plurality of steam air jets 213 a-k and the plurality of air holes 215 a-k an entire portion of article of clothing covering the steamer device 211 is being steamed. The article of clothing may be a shirt, blouse, dress, pair of pants, jeans, suit, coat etc. depending on the form of the steaming device as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The user may then turn the steam switch OFF at the ON/OFF and Timer/Level steaming switch 201 b and then take the article of clothing off the steamer device 211.
This invention provides a worry free and hand free simple system for steaming a shirt, blouse, pants or dress. A person is able to utilize this steaming system to steam the wrinkles out of any article of clothing whereby they can place the article of clothing on a steam device, then initiate the steaming system where the entire clothing is steamed without any further interaction by a user. A specially made steam device is able to fit any type of clothing includes an opening to receive steam from a hose, a plurality of steam air jets and a plurality of holes where steam can be simultaneously expelled through the air holes and steam air jets causing the article of clothing surrounding the steam device to be steamed.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for steaming clothes comprising:

a steamer;

the steamer is connected through a hose to a human torso device; and

the human torso device includes a plurality of holes, wherein a plurality of steam air jets are located in the plurality of air holes; and

the human torso device is configured to be encapsulated in an article of clothing, wherein the human torso device is configured to receive steam from the steamer then utilize the plurality of steam air jets to simultaneously expel the steam through the plurality of air holes to entirely steam an entire portion of the article of clothing.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the human torso device is configured in the form a shirt.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the human torso device is configured in a form of a blouse.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the human torso device is configured in a form of a pair of pants.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the hose is removable.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the steamer has an ON and OFF Level operating switch.

7. A method for steaming clothes, the method comprising:

connecting a hose from a steamer to a human torso device;

receiving steam from the steamer;

transferring the steam from the steamer through the hose to the human torso device; and

receiving the steam from the steamer at the human torso device; and

simultaneously expelling the steam with the plurality of steam air jets through a plurality of holes in the human torso device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising encapsulating an article of clothing around the human torso device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the article of clothing is a dress.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the article of clothing is a shirt.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the article of clothing is a pair of pants.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising expelling the steam through the plurality of holes onto the shirt to steam an entire shirt.

13. An apparatus for steaming comprising:

a human torso device having a plurality of holes, wherein a plurality of steam air jets are placed in between the plurality of holes;

the human torso device configured to be encapsulated by an article of clothing; and

a top portion of the human torso device configured to have an opening to receive steam from a steamer, wherein the plurality of air holes are configured to simultaneously expel the steam through the plurality of air holes and the plurality of steam air jets onto the article of clothing to steam an entire portion of the article of clothing.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the expelled steam flows through the plurality air holes causes an article of clothing to be steamed.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the article of clothing is a shirt.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the article of clothing is a dress.