IRONING BOARD

Abstract

An ironing board includes an elongate board which locates two leg formations that are pivotally attached to one another to reside either in a first, storage orientation in which the leg formations lie parallel with an underside of the board or in a second, deployed orientation in which the leg formations are inclined relative to the board and relative to one another, at least a first of the two leg formations including a distal end region adapted to receive and support a connector which, in use, receives and locates a first foot formation whereby an end of the first foot formation may rest on a support surface when in the deployed orientation.

Claims

1. An ironing board comprising an elongate board which locates two leg formations that are pivotally attached to one another to reside either in a first, storage orientation in which the leg formations lie parallel with an underside of the board or in a second, deployed orientation in which the leg formations are inclined relative to the board and relative to one another, at least a first of the two leg formations comprising a distal end region adapted to receive and support a connector which, in use, receives and locates a first foot formation whereby an end of the first foot formation may rest on a support surface when in the deployed orientation.

2. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein at least the first leg formation comprises two elongate members each adapted to be received by respective connection formations defined by the connector.

3. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein the connector comprises a pair of connection formations each to receive one of a pair of first foot formations.

4. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein one of the leg formations comprises a pair of elongate members which at least in part extend parallel with one another when in the storage orientation and wherein the other of the leg formations comprises at least one elongate member that lies parallel with said parallel parts of the pair of elongate members of the said one leg formation when in the storage orientation.

5. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein the first leg formation and the first foot formation comprise tubular elongate members to locate securely with connection formations of complementary shape defined by the connector.

6. The ironing board according to claim 5 wherein the connection formations are of circular cross-sectional shape and have a length to diameter ratio of at least 1:1.

7. The ironing board according to claim 6 wherein the ratio is at least 1.5:1.

8. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein the first foot formation comprises two elongate members that, in the assembled condition, each support or define a respective foot region with the two foot regions being spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the length of the elongate board.

9. The ironing board according to claim 8 wherein two connection formations of the connector for locating two elongate foot formations have longitudinal axes which are inclined relative to the longitudinal axes of the or each of the connection formations that receives an end region of an elongate leg formation.

10. The ironing board according to claim 9 wherein the longitudinal axis of a connection formation for location with a foot formation is at an angle of at least 20? relative to the longitudinal axis of the or each connection formation that receives an elongate leg formation.

11. The ironing board according to claim 10 wherein said angle is in the range 20? to 60?.

12. The ironing board according to claim 10 wherein said angle is in the range 25? to 55?.

13. The ironing board according to claim 9 wherein the inclined connection formations for locating the first foot formation are angled relative to one another such that their longitudinal axes diverge from one another as considered in a direction from the other connection formation(s) of the connector.

14. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein an end region of the first foot formation defines a swaged surface that is adapted to be received and located by the connector.

15. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein the distal end region of at least the first of the two leg formations defines a swaged surface that is adapted to receive and support the connector.

16. The ironing board according to claim 9 wherein the elongate foot formations are of linear shape.

17. The ironing board according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the connection formations of the connector is provided with ribs that become deformed when the connector is assembled with a leg formation or foot formation.

18. A kit of parts for an ironing board, said kit of parts comprising a board having two leg formations, a connector and at least one said first foot formation as recited in claim 1.

19. The kit according to claim 18 wherein the kit comprises a connector pre-secured to either the first leg formation or the foot formation of the first leg formation.

20. A method of constructing an ironing board, said method comprising use of a kit of parts according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

[0028] FIGS. 1a and 1b show respectively the upper and under sides of a prior art ironing board when in a collapsed, storage orientation;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a view of the underside of an ironing board in accordance with the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 3 shows two perspective views in opposite directions of the connector of the ironing board of FIG. 2;

[0031] FIG. 4 shows the underside of the ironing board of FIG. 2 provided with a connector prior to assembly with a pair of foot formations;

[0032] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a part of the ironing board of FIG. 2 and wherein ends of the foot formations are swaged ends;

[0033] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a part of the ironing board of FIG. 2 and wherein ends of both the foot formations and elongate leg members are swaged ends;

[0034] FIG. 7 is a photographic view of the underside of an ironing board of the present invention and wherein the foot formations are provided with non-slip ferules, and

[0035] FIGS. 8a to 8c show connectors for use with ironing boards having other leg formation and foot formation configurations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The prior art ironing board 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a board which, in known manner, has an underside provided with a first leg formation 14 that comprises a pair of elongate tubular members 15 that are integrally formed with and support a pair of spaced apart foot regions 16, the ironing board 10 further comprising a second leg formation 12 that provides support for a pair of foot regions 13 and are spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the length of the board.

[0037] The prior art leg formation 14 is pivotally mounted to the underside of the board at the position X. The other leg formation 12 is pivotally attached to a component that is slidable relative to the length of the board and is securable at a plurality of positions along the length of the board in known manner thereby to enable the angle of the leg formation relative to the underside of the boards to be selectively varied.

[0038] The two leg formations 12, 14 are pivotally secured relative to one another at the position Z.

[0039] The underside of an ironing board 20 in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The ironing board 20 comprises a board 21 which provides support for a first leg formation 22 that comprises a pair of elongate tubular members 23 connected together at position P and which are pivotally mounted relative to the board 21 at the fixed position X.

[0040] The ironing board 20 additionally comprises a second leg formation 24 that comprises a pair of elongate tubular members 25 pivotally secured to a carriage 27 that is slidable along part of the length of the board and which is securable in known manner at a selected one of a plurality of positions relative to the length of the board by latch means (not shown).

[0041] The elongate members 25 of the second leg formation comprise end regions 28 that are angled outwards away from one another thereby to define two foot regions 26 for resting on a support surface when the ironing board is in a deployed orientation. In this construction the parallel sections of the two elongate tubes 25 are positioned either side of the pair of elongate tubular members 23 of the first leg formation 22.

[0042] The ironing board 20 of FIG. 2 additionally comprises a connector 30 that defines a pair of sockets which receive distal ends 31 of the two elongate leg formation tubes 23.

[0043] The connector 30 is shown in more detail in FIG. 3 and, in addition to the sockets 32 that receive distal ends of the elongate members 23, the connector comprises two sockets 34 each to receive a respective one of a pair of foot formations 35. The elongate members 23, 25 and the foot formations are formed from metal tubes of a circular cross sectional shape.

[0044] Each socket 34 has a longitudinal axis which is inclined at an angle of 30 degrees relative to the direction of the length of the board 21 whereby the foot formations 35 extend outwardly from the connector and diverge from one another to define two foot regions 36 that are spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the length of the board.

[0045] In this embodiment of the present invention the foot formations 35 have end regions 38 (see FIG. 5) that have been shaped by swaging thereby to provide accurately dimensioned surfaces for engagement with the sockets 34 of the connector 30. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6, the distal ends 31 of the two leg formation tubes 23 are of a slightly reduced diameter as compared with the remainder of the lengths of the tubes 34 as a result of swaging to provide accurately dimensioned surfaces for engagement with the sockets 32 of the connector 30.

[0046] In this embodiment each of the four sockets 32, 34 has a length in the longitudinal direction of the socket of approximately 1.5 times the diameter of the socket.

[0047] In this embodiment of the invention the connector is formed from a material such as nylon and is formed by a moulding operation. However it will be appreciated that connectors of other materials and other methods of manufacture may be employed to provide a connector that defines the required sockets for location of at least one foot formation and at least one leg formation.

[0048] The ironing board 20 of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 4 prior to the insertion of the foot formation 35 in the sockets 34 of the connector 30. It will thus be appreciated that the overall length of the ironing board as shown in FIG. 4 is substantially less than the length of the assembled board of FIG. 2 thereby providing a valuable advantage in respect of space and cost of transportation and storage. The pair of straight leg formations 35 may readily be temporarily packaged between ends of the board for transportation and storage.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows an assembled ironing board of the present invention with the foot regions 28, 36 each provided with a slip-resistant ferrule 37.

[0050] Although the ironing board of FIGS. 2 to 6 comprises two leg formations 23 which each comprise a pair elongate tubular members that extend parallel with one another it will be appreciated that, as exampled by FIG. 2, one of the leg formations may comprise only a single tubular member, at least over the length of the leg formation between the pivot position Z and the mounting position X or Y. Accordingly the present invention teaches that the connector does not necessarily need to comprise the four socket formations 32, 34 as shown in FIG. 3.

[0051] Referring to FIG. 8a the connector 61 comprises one socket 62 to receive a single leg formation 63 and two sockets 64 each to receive a foot formation 65 with the outlet sockets 64 being angled relative to the length of the board to provide the spaced apart foot regions 66.

[0052] In further alternative constructions a connector 70 may comprise a single socket 71 for location of a single foot formation 72 that has a distal end region that defines two spaced apart foot regions 73, as illustrated in FIGS. 8b in the case of a leg formation 75 having single elongate member or the construction of FIG. 8c in which the leg formation 76 comprises two elongate formations 77.

[0053] Although the ironing board may be supplied to an end user with the connector and foot formation(s) as separate components for assembly to form the construction of FIG. 2, it is envisaged that typically the connector will be pre-assembled securely at the end of one or each of the leg formations such that the end user is required merely to locate the foot formation(s) in the socket(s) of the connector.

[0054] Although for manufacturing convenience and reduction of cost it is generally advantageous to provide a connector that is an independent component, the present invention teaches that alternatively the connector may be formed integrally with a leg formation.