Domestic steam cleaning appliance

Details Domestic steam cleaning appliance Domestic steam cleaning appliance

1999-01-19

2001-11-13

Stinson, Frankie L. (Department: 1746)

Cleaning and liquid contact with solids

Apparatus

With heating, cooling or heat exchange means

C134S201000, C015S032000, C068S00500D

Reexamination Certificate

active

06314972

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to domestic steam cleaning appliances.
2. Description of Prior Art
The invention relates more particularly to portable cleaning appliances. Domestic steam cleaning appliances are already available, and where used for general cleaning, de-greasing and sterilising, comprise a steam generator coupled to the appliance by a suitable hose. There are inherent disadvantages resulting from this design. The steam generator is not truly or easily portable, the steam requires first heating up a significant quantity of water and then maintaining steam under pressure for use, both of which require suitable safety precautions, and during delivery along the tube the steam has a tendency to cool down and to condense.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least reduce these problems.
According to the invention there is provided a hand holdable domestic steam cleaning appliance having a generally arcuate single housing comprising a forward facing barrel portion and a handle portion, an elongate electric flash boiler in the barrel portion that converts water into steam supplied by a pump from a reservoir in the handle portion and an outlet nozzle arranged to allow the steam to be ejected from a forward end of the barrel portion, in which the handle portion has a through aperture to receive the fingers of one hand, and in which the pump is mounted generally in line with a longitudinal axis of the boiler and connected to an outlet of the reservoir.
The boiler may comprise an elongate hollow metallic cylinder and an U-shaped embedded electric heating element with limbs extending along the cylinder.
A thermostat may be mounted to the cylinder and arranged to cut off an electrical power supply to the heating element automatically whenever and so long as the temperature exceeds a predetermined value.
A thermostat mounted to the boiler may be included to inhibit the operation of the pump until the boiler temperatures rises to and remains above a predetermined temperature.
The hollow channel of the boiler may be fitted with a split hollow cylindrical metallic liner that slides into the boiler from one end and which split cylinder has a threaded inner surface.
The hollow channel of the boiler may be provided with a flat metallic spiral insert that extends along the length of the hollow channel and is located by the inner surfaces of the hollow channel.
The hollow channel in the boiler may be provided with a metallic insert that extends through the boiler and has an outer surface that fits against the inner surface of the boiler and a wavy inner surface so as to present a significantly increased surface area to water and steam in the boiler, as compared to a regular circular inner surface.
The boiler may include a flow regulator inside the boiler to damper any fluctuations caused by the pump.
The boiler may include a spring biassed flow restrictor inside the boiler to act as a temperature controller for exiting steam from the boiler.
A flexible hose may be connected inside the reservoir for supplying water to the boiler and in which a remote intake end of the tube is weighted so that it automatically falls towards a lowest region in the reservoir.
The outlet may be surrounded by releasable mechanical coupling means for selectively coupling a variety of attachments including brushes, wiping pads, angled nozzles and the like.
The reservoir is preferably held in use to the handle portion and is releasably attachable thereto.
A separate water filter compartment may be included that releasably fits to and between the handle portion and the reservoir.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2240005 (1941-04-01), Moyer
patent: 2292435 (1942-08-01), Crites
patent: 2908030 (1959-10-01), Schuchman et al.
patent: 3436787 (1969-04-01), Widsom
patent: 3701343 (1972-10-01), Bowers
patent: 4286735 (1981-09-01), Sneider
patent: 5341541 (1994-08-01), Sham
patent: 5819364 (1998-10-01), Sham
patent: 6006398 (1999-12-01), Larson et al.

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