Falcon Translations VERIFICATION OF TRANSLATION Patent Application No. W02004/061192 I, Colin Jubb of Falcon Translations, Friars House, Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8EZ am the translator of the documents attached and I state that the following is a true translation to the best of my knowledge and belief of International Patent Application No. W02004/061192 filed 31 December 2003. DATED this .. .. .... day of... ............. 2005 naturee anslator) WO,2004/061192 1 PCT/FR2003/003948 Steam generating iron Technical field The invention relates to steam irons and in particular to a steam generating iron. 5 Prior art Conventional steam irons generally include a water reservoir and a steam chamber heated by heating elements located in the soleplate of the iron in order to rapidly evaporate the water delivered dropwise from the reservoir. The heated soleplate includes the ironing surface with holes generally arranged around the periphery through 10 which the steam generated in the steam chamber is released. Conventional irons have been improved so as to be capable of delivering extra steam for a very short time when creases in the garment being ironed cannot be removed using only the steam generated in the steam chamber, the release of the extra steam being concentrated in a smaller area of the soleplate. These improved irons generally 15 include a second chamber in proximity to the tip of the soleplate, where the heating is more intense, designed to deliver extra steam. Irons with an extra steam chamber are generally equipped with a manual water pump which injects a small volume of water into the chamber each time it is activated. The user must activate the pump repeatedly to obtain further pulses of extra steam. This therefore constitutes a tedious and 20 ergonomically inefficient constraint for the user, both when ironing horizontally and when the iron is used in the vertical position to remove creases. To overcome the above drawback, a means was devised to obtain extra steam continuously using a steam generator which can be arranged inside or outside the iron. In both cases, the user presses a button on the handle of the iron either to open a valve 25 when the steam generator is inside the iron, or to control a solenoid to deliver steam to the iron. Unfortunately, the use of such a steam generator makes the iron large and heavy in the first case, or necessitates the use of a cumbersome system if the generator is arranged outside the iron. In both cases, the addition of a steam generator entails significant additional cost. 30 Summary of the invention In light of the foregoing, the object of the invention is to provide an iron WO 2004/061192 2 PCT/FR2003/003948 wherein the generation of steam takes place within the spaces of the iron located in proximity to the heating element. The invention therefore discloses a steam iron including a soleplate composed of a heating surface incorporating holes, at least one heating element, water vaporisation 5 means, and control means designed to deliver steam under pressure through the holes. The vaporisation means including a steam generator formed by a plurality of steam chambers from a first chamber, in which a pre-defined quantity of water is introduced using the control means and is at least partially vaporised therein, to a final chamber in which the holes are placed, each chamber communicating with the following chamber 10 by means of a calibrated passage, and the successive chambers becoming progressively hotter from the first chamber to the final chamber thereby heating the steam as it passes from one chamber to the next. Brief description of the figures The aims, objects and characteristics of the invention will be made more clearly 15 apparent by reading the following description in reference to the drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view of a soleplate of an iron according to the invention, showing the succession of steam chambers, and - Figure 2 is a view in elevation of a soleplate of a travel iron wherein the first steam chambers are superimposed on the other steam chambers in the soleplate. 20 Detailed description of the invention The soleplate 10 of an iron according to the invention illustrated in Figure 1 includes one or more heating elements (not visible) composed of electrical resistances located in the base of the soleplate just above the ironing surface and receiving electrical power supply via the two terminals 12 and 14. 25 The iron in Figure 1 includes a main steam chamber 16 in which water fed by gravity from a water reservoir located above is vaporised. The steam thus produced follows a circuit passing through a chamber 18 at the rear of the soleplate enabling complete vaporisation of entrained water droplets and raising the temperature, before arriving in two side channels 20 and 22 wherefrom it is released via holes 24 passing 30 through the ironing surface. The soleplate 10 also includes a steam generator to supply extra steam used principally to remove creases from creased parts of garments. This generator comprises WO 2004/061192 3 PCT/FR2003/003948 a plurality of successive steam chambers 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 separated by walls, each chamber communicating with the next via a calibrated passage such as the passage 38 between chamber 26 and chamber 28. The last steam chamber 36 communicates via an aperture 40 with the final chamber 42 in the form of a U-shaped passage located at the 5 front of the soleplate where steam exit holes 44 are provided through the ironing surface. The first chamber 26 is thermally remote from the heating elements and is placed immediately below the inlet for the water to be vaporised, which is effected by means of a manual pump operated by the user, the quantity of steam and the period for 10 which the continuous extra steam is delivered being determined by the number of times the user operates the pump actuator. The essential characteristic of the invention lies in the arrangement of the steam generator chambers. Figuratively speaking, the chambers become "thermally closer" to the heating elements in passing from the first to the last chamber. In physical terms, this 15 means that the heat flux received by each chamber increases from the first to the last chamber. It will be noted that, in order to obtain such an increasing heat flux, it can be foreseen that the chambers are placed successively closer to the heating elements. However, other factors are involved in the quantity of heat received. Thus, this also depends on the coefficient of conductivity of the metallic materials situated between the 20 chamber and the heating elements, and on the thickness thereof When water is injected into the first chamber it vaporises and, under the effect of the resulting pressure, the steam passes into the second chamber and so on until it reaches the final chamber 42 where it escapes via the holes 44. Since the first chamber 26 receives a relatively low heat flux, the water does not vaporise instantly but takes 25 some time (several seconds) to turn completely to steam. The steam passing into the second chamber 28 therefore carries water droplets. Due to the fact that the received heat flux is higher in the second chamber, some of these droplets are vaporised at the same time as the steam increases in temperature. Thus, as the steam passes from one chamber to the other, it heats up and progressively loses the entrained fine water 30 droplets. When the steam arrives in the final chamber 42 incorporating the holes 44, it is no longer carrying any water droplets and is at an elevated temperature and pressure, thus producing jets of steam capable of removing creases. It will be noted that the iron includes a temperature control device (not shown) which can be a thermostat or an electronic sensor. To prevent the cold water injected WO 2004/061192 4 PCT/FR2003/003948 into the first chamber 26 from sensitizing the control device (producing an abrupt rise in temperature), it is necessary for the first chamber 26 (and to a lesser extent the following chambers) to be positioned away from the temperature control device. Although the iron just described in reference to Figure 1 is a conventional iron 5 having a main steam chamber into which water is fed continuously, it is clear that the invention can be implemented in any type of iron or crease removal appliance, even if it does not have such a main steam chamber. In the case where the iron includes only the steam generator according to the invention, the quantity of steam obtained at the outlet from the holes depends on the number of times the pump is actuated manually by the 10 operator. The higher the number of actuations, the longer the time during which steam is delivered. Use of the steam generator alone according to the invention is justified for travel irons and crease removal appliances which must be of reduced volume. Furthermore, in a travel iron, it is prudent to optimise the reduced volume. Thus, in reference to Figure 15 2, a soleplate of a travel iron includes, apart from the ironing surface, soleplate fixing posts 52 and 54 and power supply terminals, a steam generator in which the steam chambers are arranged in a rather original manner. In effect, the first chamber or the first two chambers are located in the upper part 58 and are therefore superimposed on the other chambers in the lower part 60, the water being injected via an aperture 62 in 20 the first chamber. Thus, where the first chambers are located in the upper part, they are "thermally" further away than the others, which constitutes the essential characteristic of the invention while at the same time contributing to the reduced volume of the iron.