U.S. patent application number 09/828916 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-10 for steam cleaner.
Invention is credited to Tsen, Samson.
Application Number | 20020144374 09/828916 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26056942 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020144374 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tsen, Samson |
October 10, 2002 |
Steam cleaner
Abstract
A steam cleaner includes a steam boiler having a steam outlet, a
control valve having a plug rod moved to close/open the steam
outlet, a hose holding a steam tube and a steam nozzle head at one
end of the steam tube for steam output control, a push bar pivoted
to the steam boiler and turned between a first position where the
plug rod is moved forwards to open the control valve and a second
position where the plug rod is returned to close the control valve,
a return spring adapted to hold the push bar in the second
position, and a pull cable inserted through the hose and connected
between one end of the push bar and a trigger at the steam nozzle
head for pulling the push bar from the second position to the first
position upon pressing of the trigger.
Inventors: |
Tsen, Samson; (Taipei City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JACOBSON HOLMAN PLLC
400 SEVENTH STREET N.W.
SUITE 600
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Family ID: |
26056942 |
Appl. No.: |
09/828916 |
Filed: |
April 10, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/321 ;
15/339 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 11/4086 20130101;
A47L 11/34 20130101; F16K 31/465 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/321 ;
15/339 |
International
Class: |
A47L 005/14 |
Claims
What the invention claimed is:
1. A steam cleaner comprising: a housing injection-molded from
heat-resisting plastics; a metal steam boiler, said metal steam
boiler comprising a steam outlet disposed in a top cover thereof
for output of steam, an electric heating element controlled to heat
water in said steam boiler into steam, and a temperature control
device adapted to detect the temperature of water in said steam
boiler and to control the operation of said electric heating
element subject to the detected temperature condition; a control
valve installed in the steam outlet of said steam boiler and
adapted to control output of steam from said steam boiler; an
electromagnetic valve installed in the top cover of said steam
boiler adjacent to said control valve and controlled to close/open
said control valve; and a control switch connected to said
electromagnetic valve by an electric wire and adapted to control
the operation of said electromagnetic valve.
2. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said control valve
comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a horizontal shell and a
vertical shell disposed in communication with said steam outlet of
said steam boiler, a plug rod axially movably mounted in said
horizontal shell and moved between a first position to close said
steam outlet and a second position to open said steam outlet; said
electromagnetic valve comprises a reciprocating valve rod connected
to one end of said plug rod and adapted to move said plug rod
between said first position and said second position.
3. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said housing comprises a
detachable hose disposed on the outside, said detachable hose
having one end connected to the horizontal shell nozzle head for
output of steam from said steam boiler.
4. The steam cleaner of claim 2 further comprising a connector
fixedly fastened to one end of the horizontal shell of said control
valve, and a heat-resisting high tensile steam tube inserted
through said hose, said heat-resisting high tensile steam tube
having one end connected to the connector at the horizontal shell
of said control valve and an opposite end connected to said steam
nozzle head for guiding steam from said steam boiler and said
control valve to said steam nozzle head for application.
5. The steam cleaner of claim 1 wherein said control valve and said
electromagnetic valve are mounted on a mount being fixedly fastened
to said steam boiler by screws, said mount comprising a mounting
hole disposed in communication with said steam outlet of said
control valve and two flat cut faces bilaterally disposed in said
mounting hole; said vertical shell of said control valve comprises
an outer thread mounted with an O-ring and inserted through the
mounting hole of said mount and the steam outlet of said control
valve and screwed up with a lock nut inside said steam boiler, and
two flat cut faces respectively forced into engagement with the
flat cut faces of said mount.
6. The steam cleaner of claim 4 wherein said control switch is
installed in said steam nozzle head for operation by hand to
control said electromagnetic valve.
7. A steam cleaner comprising a housing, a metal steam boiler
mounted in said housing, said steam boiler comprising a steam
outlet disposed in a top cover thereof for output of steam, an
electric heating element controlled to heat water in said steam
boiler into steam, a hose extended out of said housing, a steam
nozzle head fixedly fastened to one end of said hose remote from
said housing, a control valve mounted on a mount at said steam
boiler and connected to said steam outlet of said steam boiler, a
connector connected to said control valve, a steam tube inserted
through said hose and connected between said connector and said
steam nozzle head for guiding steam from said steam boiler and said
control valve to said steam nozzle head for application, and
control means controlled to close/open said control valve, wherein:
said control valve comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a
horizontal shell and a vertical shell disposed in communication
with said steam outlet of said steam boiler said horizontal shell
having a front end and a rear end, a gasket ring fixedly mounted in
the front end of said horizontal shell, a stopper, a plug rod
axially movably mounted in said horizontal shell and extended out
of the rear end of said horizontal shell, said plug rod having a
front end inserted through said gasket ring and said stopper and
screwed up with a nut and a neck near a rear end thereof, a
plurality of O-rings respectively mounted on said neck and disposed
in contact with an inside wall of said horizontal shell, and a
spring mounted on said plug rod and stopped against a part of said
horizontal shell to impart a backward pressure to said plug rod,
causing said nut to press on said stopper against said gasket ring
and to close said control valve; said control means comprises a
push bar disposed in contact with the rear end of said plug rod and
controlled to move said plug rod to close/open said control valve,
said push bar having a fixed end provided with a pivot hole
pivotally coupled to an upright support of said mount and a free
end, a trigger mounted on said steam nozzle head, a pull cable
controlled by said trigger to move said push bar, said pull cable
having a first end connected to the free end of said push bar and a
second end inserted through said hose and connected to said
trigger, and a return spring connected between the free end of said
push bar and a part said mount to hold said push bar in position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and,
more specifically, to a steam cleaner, which uses a pull cable and
a trigger to pull a push bar, causing the push bar to open a
control valve for letting steam to be delivered out of the steam
boiler to a steam nozzle head for application, and a return spring
to automatically return the push bar after releasing of the
trigger.
[0002] In order to effectively remove dirt and oil stains from the
furniture and kitchen apparatus, a housekeeper may use boiling
water with detergent to clean the furniture and the kitchen
apparatus. However, it is dangerous to use boiling water. One may
scald oneself with boiling water accidentally when using it.
Further, the boiling water becomes cool quickly when carried in a
container for washing. In order to eliminate these problems,
various steam cleaners have been developed. These steam cleaners
commonly comprises a steam boiler, and a steam tube adapted to
guide out steam from the steam boiler for application. However,
these steam cleaners have no means to automatically control the
output of steam from the steam boiler. Even if the power switch of
the steam cleaner has been switched off, residual steam is still
continuously delivered out of the steam tube to wet the
surroundings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention has been accomplished to provide a
steam cleaner, which eliminates the aforesaid problems. It is the
main object of the present invention to provide a steam cleaner,
which has means to automatically control the output of steam from
the steam boiler. According to the present invention, a control
valve is provided to control the output of steam from the steam
boiler, and a push bar is controlled by a trigger through a pull
cable to move the plug rod of the control valve between the open
position and the close position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a steam cleaner constructed
according to the present invention.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a part of the present
invention.
[0006] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a part of the present
invention, showing the structure and arrangement of the control
valve and the push bar.
[0007] FIG. 4 is a top view in section of a part of the present
invention showing the movement of the push bar and the plug
rod.
[0008] FIG. 5 is a side view in section of a part of the present
invention showing the steam passage of the control valve
closed.
[0009] FIG. 6 is a side view in section of a part of an alternate
form of the present invention, showing the reciprocating valve rod
of the electromagnetic valve connected to the plug rod of the
control valve.
[0010] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a part of the alternate form
of the present invention showing the control switch installed in
the handle of the steam nozzle head.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] Referring to FIGS. from 1 through 5, a steam cleaner in
accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a housing
1 injection-molded from heat-resisting plastics, a steam boiler 2
mounted inside the housing 1, the steam boiler 2, a control valve 3
installed in the steam outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2, a push bar
4, a mount 5 fixedly fastened to the steam boiler 2, and a hose 6
connected to the control valve 3 and extended out of the housing 1.
The steam boiler 2 comprises a steam outlet 21 for output of steam,
a water filling hole 24 for the filling of water, an electric
heating element 22 controlled to heat water in the steam boiler 2
into steam, a temperature control device 23 adapted to detect the
temperature of water in the steam boiler 2 and to control the
operation of the electric heating element 22 subject to the
detected temperature condition, a safety valve 25, which
automatically releases the steam from the steam boiler 2 when the
inside pressure of the steam boiler 2 surpasses a predetermined
high value. The mount 5 comprises a mounting hole 51 aimed at the
steam outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2 and adapted to receive the
control valve 3, two flat cut faces 511 bilaterally disposed in the
mounting hole 51, and an upright support 52. The control valve 3
comprises a T-shaped casing formed of a horizontal shell 31 and a
vertical shell 33, the horizontal shell 31 having a front end 311
and a rear end 312, a gasket ring 32 fixedly mounted in the front
end 311 of the horizontal shell 31, a plug rod 35 axially movably
mounted in the horizontal shell 31 and extended out of the rear end
312 of the horizontal shell 31, the plug rod 35 having a front end
inserted through the gasket ring 32 and a stopper 354 and screwed
up with a nut 355 and a neck 351 near a rear end thereof, a
plurality of O-rings 352 respectively mounted on the neck 351 and
disposed in contact with the inside wall of the horizontal shell
31, and a spring 353 mounted on the plug rod 35 and stopped against
a part of the horizontal shell 31 to impart a backward pressure to
the plug rod 35, causing the nut 355 to press on the stopper 354
against the gasket ring 32 and to close the steam passage of the
control valve 3. The vertical shell 33 of the control valve 3
comprises an outer thread 34 mounted with an O-ring 342 and
inserted through the mounting hole 51 of the mount 5 and the steam
outlet 21 of the steam boiler 2 and screwed up with a lock nut 343
inside the steam boiler 2, and two flat cut faces 341 bilaterally
disposed on the periphery thereof and respectively forced into
engagement with the flat cut faces 511 of the mount 5. A connector
36 is threaded into the front end 311 of the horizontal shell 31 of
the control valve 3. A heat-resisting high tensile steam tube 37 is
inserted through the hose 6, having one end connected to the
connector 36 and an opposite end connected to a steam nozzle head
61 at the front end (the end remote from the housing 1) of the hose
6. The steam nozzle head 61 comprises a handle 62 and a trigger
installed in the handle 63. The push bar 4 is disposed in contact
with the rear end of the plug rod 35, having one end (the fixed
end) made with a pivot hole 41 pivotally coupled to the upright
support 52 of the mount 5, and an opposite end (the free end)
connected to a steel cable 38 by a connector 382. Further a return
spring 42 is connected between the free end of the push bar 41 and
a part (for example, a screw rod) of the mount 5 to hold the push
bar 41 in position. The steel cable 38 is peripherally covered with
a protective sleeve 381, having one end connected to the push bar 4
and an opposite end inserted through the hose 6 and connected to a
trigger 63 at the handle 62 of the steam nozzle head 61. When
pressing the trigger 63, the push bar 4 is pulled by the steel
cable 38 and turned about the upright support 52 to push the plug
rod 35 forwards, thereby causing the stopper 354 and the nut 355 to
be moved with the plug rod 35 forwards from the gasket ring 32 to
open the steam passage of the control valve 3, and therefore steam
passes from the steam boiler 2 through the control valve 3, the
steam tube 37, and the steam nozzle head 61 for application. When
releasing the trigger 63, the push bar 4 is immediately returned to
its former position by the return spring 42, enabling the spring
353 to pull the plug rod 35 back to its former (close) position,
and therefore the nut 355 is pressed on the stopper 354 against the
gasket ring 32 to close the steam passage of the control valve
3.
[0012] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an electromagnetic valve 7 may
be used and installed in the mount 5 to control the operation of
the control valve 3. The electromagnetic valve 7 comprises a
reciprocating valve rod 71 connected to the rear end of the plug
rod 35. A control switch 72 is installed in the handle 62 of the
steam nozzle head 61, and connected to the electromagnetic valve 7
by an electric wire 721. When pressing on the control switch 72,
the electromagnetic valve 7 is energized to extend the
reciprocating valve rod 71, thereby causing the plug rod 35 to be
moved forwards to open the steam passage of the control valve 3. On
the contrary, when releasing the control switch 72, the
electromagnetic valve 7 is off, the reciprocating valve rod 71 is
retrieved, and the steam passage of the control valve 3 is
closed.
[0013] A prototype of steam cleaner has been constructed with the
features of FIGS. 1.about.7. The steam cleaner functions smoothly
to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
[0014] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention
is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
* * * * *