If you accidentally leave a hot iron sitting on a shirt or other fabric item, it can burn a shape into it, or in extreme cases actually set it on fire. Apex Iron solves this problem. Here's how it works:
Apex Iron is named after its shape, which is that of an inverted V. This means that when it's at rest, only the rear section of the two outside edges are making contact with the surface of the ironing board or anything that's going to be ironed. As these edges are made of an insulating material, very little heat is transmitted through them, and it's insufficient to generate any burning action.
When you want to start ironing, you simply press down on the iron. Doing this causes it to flatten out and begin transmitting heat and steam to the fabric. This flattening action is possible because running along the apex of the upturned V is a spring loaded "front to back" recessed hinge. This hinge restores the iron to its resting position clear of the fabric when the downward hand pressure is released.
For safe storage purposes, Apex Iron can be folded up, resulting in the two heated half surfaces now facing each other completely, containing the heat inside.-- xenzag, Apr 08 2019 Hmm. If it's a steam iron, the springs are going to have to offset the maximum weight of water. This means that, when ironing with a near-empty iron, you'll need to provide a modest amount of force, which might make ironing tedious.
How about a motion sensor in the iron, that switches it off whenever it is left horizontal and immobile for more than, say, 6 seconds?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 08 2019 Switching it off won't remove the heat stored in the metal faces. As for being tiring, only modest pressure is needed, and since I never iron anything, I'm not going to have this experience. Ha-- xenzag, Apr 08 2019 More of a standoffish iron-y. Is it irony that extra force is needed to make this iron's force smooth clothes? Registering if the heat goes anywhere is probably the crux of the situation. Browning optical sensor?-- wjt, Apr 10 2019 random, halfbakery