Steaming Apparatus With Removable Brush

Abstract

A portable steamer for removing wrinkles from fabrics having a cylindrical tank for holding the water used in steaming is disclosed. A steam head is inserted in a steam outlet channel which is located above the cylindrical tank. A removable ring having a material-treating member, such as a brush, surrounds the periphery of the housing which encloses the steam head. The brush is held in place upon the housing of the steamer by two slightly resilient tabs which are integrally formed with the sides of the removable ring. Each of the tabs have an inwardly projecting locking block which is received in a corresponding locking recess in the exterior housing surface of the steam outlet channel portion of the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable, hand-held steamers are presently receiving increased consumer acceptance. Portable steamers are useful in removing wrinkles from hanging garments which are made of many types of materials. However, for certain fabrics such as wool, velvet, corduroy etc., a steamer is suitable only if the fabric may be brushed during application of steam. In order to provide a steamer which is suitable for cottons, wash-and-wear type of fabrics, and other similar materials and which is at the same time useful for fabrics which require special treatment it is desirable to provide material-treating member, for example a brush, which is easily removable from the steamer.

The removable brush must be securely locked onto the steaming device when it is being used, and it must be capable of easy removal when use of the brush is not desired. The brush and its attachment features should be of low cost, and attachment of the brush to the steaming device should be achieved with a minimum of modification of the steaming device. For this reason, the use of conventional protruding tongues on the brush for insertion into corresponding grooves on the housing in which the tongues are received is not desirable. The present invention provides a portable steaming device with a removable material-treating member which is low in cost and which may be quickly and easily removed or placed on the steaming device according to the type of fabric being treated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the steaming device and the removable brush of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the heating element of the steamer.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the metallic steaming head and the surrounding housing sections of the steamer.

FIG. 5 is a partial cut away perspective view of the removable brush showing one of the resilient locking blocks.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the steam direction plate that is secured in the tank section.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the bottom section of the housing showing the thermostat and the fuse.

FIG. 8 is a partial cut away perspective view of the housing which shows a square locking recess which receives a corresponding square locking block on a tab of the removable brush.

FIG. 9 is a partial cut away view showing the heating element of the present invention.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The portable steamer of the present invention is formed with a cylindrical plastic housing which comprises the water storage tank. The cylindrical tank comprises an upper and a lower housing section which are screwed together. The upper portion of the cylindrical tank opens into a steam outlet channel which is inclined upwardly at a slight angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical tank section. A metallic or plastic steam head having an aperture surface closes the steam outlet channel and provides steam ports for directing steam onto the garment.

The lower section contains the heating element and a metallic cup-like water storage container. The heating element is positioned around the storage cup in a close heat-transferring relationship. A thermostat and a fuse, which are wired in a series with the heating coil, are secured to an electrically insulating wafer that is itself secured to the bottom plate of the housing. The thermostat rests on the wafer just below the bottom of the metallic storage cup so that it is effected by the heat generated in the cup and prevents overheating when most of the water in the tank has been consumed.

Sealing provisions are provided so that no water leaks into the portion of the lower section which houses the thermostat, the fuse and the heating coil. The sealing provisions also prevent leakage of water between the upper and lower sections of the housing when they are secured together.

The steam which is generated in the steamer passes upwardly from the storage cup in the lower section of the tank through a number of steam directing channels which are formed downwardly directed pipes in a steam directing plate that is secured across the interior of cylindrical portion of the steamer. The steam then passes upwardly through a vent which is located adjacent the rear wall of the steam outlet channel. The steam is thus forced to sharply reverse its direction once as it passes upwardly from the tank and outwardly through the outlet channel to the steam head. This provision allows for the passage of steam through the apertured surface of the steam head but it prevents the passage of water through these apertures when the steaming device is held in a tilted position.

A removable plastic ring having a material-treating member, such as a brush, surrounds the steam head in contact with the housing of the steamer. The ring of the brush has resilient tabs at the ends thereof each of which has inwardly protruding locking blocks thereon. The housing of the steamer has two relatively flat side surfaces which contain locking recesses therein which receive the locking blocks on the tabs of the removable brush. The tabs are thinner in cross sectional area than is the remainder of the ring of the brush so that they are somewhat more resilient. The tabs are integrally formed in the sides of the brush ring such that one end of the tab is joined to the ring, the other end is colinear with the inner edge of the ring and the longitudinal sides of the tab are separated from the remaining portion of the ring by longitudinal slots.

The housing of the steamer slopes gradually from the cylindrical tank portion of the housing to the exterior housing periphery of the outlet channel which surrounds the steam head. The base of the removable brush is shaped so that it substantially conforms to the slope of the housing.

The steam head, the exterior housing periphery which surrounds the steam head and the removable brush conform in shape to each other. The base of the brush is curved and is somewhat longer than the curved top of the brush in order to conform to the generally trapezoidal-shaped steam head. When the removable brush is inserted on the steamer the inner edge of the curved base of the ring is in contact with the housing of the cylindrical tank portion of the steamer at a tangent point. Exposed surfaces on the inner edge of the ring of the brush extend outwardly from both sides of the tangent point. When pressure is applied to these surfaces the associated resilient tabs are flexed somewhat and their locking blocks are disengaged from their corresponding locking recesses thereby allowing the brush to be removed from the steamer without the use of any tools.

The steaming device of the present invention, designated by the reference numeral 10, is shown in FIG. 1. The steaming device consists of two sections, an upper section 12 and a lower section 14. The two sections are screwed together by means of the screw threads 93 on the lower section 14 and the screw threads 94 on the upper section 12 to form a cylindrical-shaped tank. The lower section 14 contains the heating element 34, the thermostat 30 and a water storage cup 28. The upper section 12 contains a steam outlet channel 116 for the steam which is generated in the lower section 12. The outlet channel 116 provides a passageway which supplies the steam to the steam head 16. A handle 18 is integrally formed with the upper section 12 and it extends downwardly parallel to the longitudinal access of the cylindrical tank.

A removable material-treating member 20 consist of a ring 22 which may be molded of plastic or other suitable material. The ring 22 has a periphery that consist of two substantially straight sides 142, a curved top 23 and a curved base 25 which is somewhat longer than the curved top 23. The ring 22 surrounds the steam head 16 in engagement with the housing of the upper section 12. The ring 22 has an outer edge 27 to which the bristle brushes 24 are secured. The bristle brushes 24 which are preferably made of nylon, extend outwardly beyond the outer surface 26 of the steam head 16. The housing sections 12 and 14 and the ring 22 are preferably formed of plastic. Both the ring 22 and the housing may be made of modified polyphenylene oxide or other suitable plastic.

The steam is generated in the steamer in the lower section 14. The metallic water storage cup 28 formed of a lightweight heat conductive metal is supported in the lower section 14 for receiving water. The cup 28 is suspended over the thermostat 30 by its outward extending rim 92. Water poured into the cup 28 is turned into steam due to the heat generated by the heating coil 34 which surrounds the periphery of the cup 28. The heating element for the steamer consist of the heating coil 34 which is formed of two thin strips of a metallic heat conductive material. The strips are secured together by folding the ends 36 and 38 of the metallic strip 40 over the edges of the narrower metallic strip 42. The narrow end of the metallic strips 46 and 44 are then folded together and the two strips are bent to form a cylindrical ring-shape enclosure which fits over the cup 28 so that the inner surface of the conductive strip 40 is in heat transferring engagement with the outer surface of the cup 28. A wire 48 is placed behind the folded ends 44 and 46 and the lower ends 50 of the wire 48 are bent upward whereby the wire 48 holds the ends of the metallic strips 40 and 42 together.

The generation of heat in the heating element 34 is provided by Nichrome ribbon heating element 60 which is wound around one or more strips of insulating material 62, which may be reconstituted mica or other similar material. Electrical connection is made to the ends of the heating wire 60 through the openings 52 and 54 formed in the surface of the metallic strip 42, by means of the wires 56, respectively. The mica strips 62 on which the wire 60 is wound is best shown in FIG. 9. Surrounding the insulating strips 62 are a number of strips of electrical insulating material which serve to electrically insulate the heating wire 60 from the metallic conductive strips 40 and 42.

The thermostat 30 is connected in series with the heating wire 60 and with a protective fuse 66, which are best shown in FIG. 7. The thermostat 30 and the fuse 66 are secured to an insulating wafer 68. The insulating wafer 68 is secured to the removable base plate 70 by means of the screws 72 which extend through the washer 75 into insulating screw posts 77 which project upwardly from the base plate 70. The base plate 70 is secured to the lower section 14 by means of the screws 76 which are screwed into the screw posts 78 that extend inwardly from the side wall 32. The thermostat 30 and the fuse 66 are secured to the wafer 68 by three bolts 74 and their corresponding nuts 80 so that electrical contact is made between one end of the thermostat 30 and one end of the fuse 66.

The thermostat 30 is constructed with a stationery contact 84 and a removable contact 86 which is positioned on a heat-responsive movable arm 88. The movable arm 88 is positioned so that the contacts 84 and 86 are normally closed. When the heat in the lower section 14 becomes excessive, for example this will occur when most of the water in the cup 28 has been turned to steam, the movable arm 88 will be deflected upwardly toward the bottom of the cup 28 thereby breaking the circuit between the connectors 84 and 86 in order to protect the steamer from excessive heat.

It is also very important to prevent the water in the cup 28 from leaking into the interior of the lower section 14 where the heating element 34 and the thermostat 30 are located in order to prevent danger of electric shock to the operator of the steamer. In addition, in order to protect the operator from being burned, it is important to prevent leakage of hot water between the upper and lower sections of the steamer. The manner in which the sealing is accomplished in the steamer is best shown in FIG. 2. The cup 28 which contains the water has a thin outwardly extending rim 92. The rim 92 is used to support the cup 28 in a downwardly depending position such that the bottom of the cup is suspended over the thermostat 30 and the side wall of the cup is out of engagement with the side wall 32 of the lower section 14. The rim 92 rest on a metallic support ring 96 which is tightly wedged into a corresponding groove 97 in the side wall 32. The ring 96 has an upwardly projecting ridge 99. A second metallic ring 100 is located in a groove 101 in the side wall 32 such that the lower surface 90 of the ring 100 is in contact with the ridge 99 of the ring 96.

The sealing ring 104 has a circular cross section constructed of a resilient material such as rubber or plastic and is placed into a groove 97 between the ridge 99 and the side wall 32. A resilient sealing ring 98, having a generally rectangular cross section, is in contact with the upper surface of the rim 92 and is positioned in a groove 103 formed in the lower surface of the ring 100. A third resilient sealing ring 108, of a circular cross section is positioned in a groove 105 formed in the top surface of the ring 100. The sealing ring 108 is in contact with the lower edge 107 of the upper section 12 when the upper section 12 and the lower section 14 are screwed together. The sealing ring 104 is preferably more resilient than the sealing rings 98 and 108, since it must yield somewhat to allow insertion of the metallic support ring 96. The resilient sealing rings are preferably made of a material which will not deteriorate in the presence of heat. In addition, one or more circular heat insulating rings (not shown), formed of a material such as asbestos, are preferably inserted between the lower surface of the rim 92 and the upper surface of the support ring 96 in order to minimize the amount of heat which is transferred to the outer surface of the steamer.

When steam is generated in the steamer, it passes upwardly through the passageways 110 that are formed in the downwardly depending pipes 112. The pipes 112 are integrally formed with the plate 114 which is secured across the cylindrical side wall 115 of the upper section 12. The direction of the steam in the upper section 12 is shown by the arrows in FIG. 2. After the steam has passed through the channels 110, it flows through the chamber 117 and then through a vent 118 which is formed in the lower wall 120 of the steam outlet channel 116 adjacent of the rear wall 124. The steam, after passing through the outlet channel 116, then passes from the steamer through the apertures 130 which are formed in the surface 26 of the steam head 16. Each of the apertures 130 is coupled to an individual steam channel 132 formed in the metallic steam head 16. The steam in passing upwardly from the lower section 14 undergoes one sharp reversal of direction in passing from the chamber 117 into the output channel 116. In this manner, steam is allowed to pass through the apertures 130, but water will be prevented from passing through the apertures 130 when the steamer is positioned in a tilted manner.

The steam head 16 closes the open end of the outlet channel 116 and is secured into place by means of the screws 126 which are screwed into the threaded screw post s 128 formed in the wall sections 120 and 122 of the outlet channel 116. The steam head 16, as best shown in FIG. 4, is formed with two sides 133, a top 135 and a bottom 137. The exterior housing periphery of the steamer which surrounds the steam head 16 has a periphery consisting of the sides 136, the top 138 and bottom 134 which conforms to the corresponding portions of the steam head 16. The removable brush 20 has a ring 22 with sides 142, a top 23 and a base 25 which conforms to the exterior housing periphery of the steam outlet channel 116 and which is in intimate engagement with this exterior housing periphery.

The brush 20 is constructed so that a pair of resilient tabs 149 are formed in each of the side walls 142. The tabs are integrally formed with the side wall 142 so that one end of the tab is joined with the side wall 142 and the other end 150 of the tab 149 is substantially colinear with the inner edge 140 of the side wall 142. The tab 149 is approximately one-third as thick as the inner edge portion 140 so that the tab 149 is somewhat more resilient than the remainder of the brush. The tab 149 has an inwardly projecting locking block 152 formed thereon. The inner edge 153 preferably consists of a bevelled surface. The bevelled edge 153 aids insertion and removal of the locking block in the corresponding locking recess 154 which is formed in the sides 136 of the exterior housing periphery and which is best shown in FIG. 8.

The base 25 of the brush 20, as best shown in FIG. 2, is shaped to conform to the slope of the housing of the steamer between the tank portion and the outlet channel portion of the steamer. Since the outlet channel portion of the steamer is generally of a trapezoidal shape and the tank portion of the steamer is of a cylindrical-shape, the inner edge 146 of the brush 20 will contact the outer surface of the cylindrical tank portion only at a tangent point 129. The edge 146 is narrow in the vicinity of the tangent point and is wider at the surfaces 148 which extend outwardly beyond the tangent point 129. The brush 20 may be easily removed from the steamer by the application of pressure to the surfaces 148 wherein the tabs 149 will flex somewhat and the locking blocks 152 will be disengaged from their corresponding locking recesses 154 whereby the brush may be removed from the steamer without the use of any tools. In this manner, an easily removable and insertable brush which is relatively inexpensive to produce and which does not detract from the overall appearance of the steamer is provided.

While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described, it is intended that the described embodiment be illustrative only of the patentable novelty herein set forth and that reference be made to the claims to determine the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A material-steaming device comprising a housing, a water-containing tank and a steam outlet channel in said housing, heating means for heating the water in said tank for producing steam, head means having an apertured surface, said head means being secured in said housing in communication with said outlet channel for providing a spray of steam through said apertured surface, a removable ring having a shape which conforms to the shape of said head means, material-treating means secured to said ring, said ring comprising at least one tab, each tab having a protruding locking block thereon, said housing being provided with a corresponding number of locking recesses, each of which receives one of said locking blocks when said ring is positioned on said material-steaming device, said ring constructed such that pressure applied thereto results in the disengagement of the locking blocks and locking recesses associated therewith so that said ring may be removed from said material-steaming device.

2. A material steaming device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said material-treating means comprises a plurality of bristle brushes which extend outwardly from said ring past said apertured surface of said head means.

3. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said ring has a relatively long wall and two relatively short side walls attached to said long wall and one tab and one corresponding locking recess is adjacent to and associated with each of said relatively short side walls when said ring is secured on said material-steaming device.

4. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said material-treating means comprises a plurality of bristle brushes which extend outwardly from said ring past said apertured surface of said head means.

5. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said tabs are resilient and said ring is constructed such that pressure applied thereto results in the flexing of at least one resilient tab which results in the disengagement of the corresponding locking block and locking recess associated therewith.

6. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said material-treating means comprises a plurality of bristle brushes which extend outwardly from said ring past said apertured surface of said head means.

7. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said tabs are resilient and said ring is constructed such that pressure applied thereto results in the flexing of at least one resilient tab which results in the disengagement of the corresponding locking block and locking recess associated therewith.

8. A material-steaming device as set forth in claim 7 wherein said material-treating means comprises a plurality of bristle brushes which extend outwardly from said ring past said apertured surface of said head means.

9. In a hand-held steaming device for removing wrinkles from fabrics comprising a plastic housing having a generally cylindrically shaped lower housing section constructed for storage of water therein and containing an electrical heating element for heating said water to create steam, an upper plastic housing section containing a steam channel having an opening at an end thereof and an integrally formed handle for the user, a metallic head means having an apertured face for closing said open end of said steam channel except for said apertures which direct steam toward the fabric being treated, said lower and upper housing sections being screwed together during operation; the improvement comprising a removable brush assembly comprising a brush and a brush-holding member having two substantially parallel sides, each of said sides having a locking block formed thereon which projects inwardly toward said upper housing section when said brush assembly is on said steaming device and a pair of outwardly facing locking recesses formed in the exterior housing surface of said upper housing section adjacent said head means for securing said brush assembly onto said upper housing section by receipt of each one of said locking blocks into one of said locking recesses such that said brush extends outwardly beyond said head means when said brush assembly is secured to said steaming device and such that said brush assembly is removable from said steaming device by pressure applied to the brush-holding member by the user of said steaming device.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said brush-holding member is formed of plastic and is positioned on said upper housing section adjacent said head means, said bristles are positioned in an elongated row which extends outwardly beyond said apertured face of said head means and said upper housing section comprises a two exterior housing sides with one of said locking recesses being formed into each of said sides.