JPH10174669A - Cleaning apparatus using steam - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steam cleaning apparatus, small in scale and in a low cost, which achieves a simplification of an application method by a quick storing-up while improving endurance with a lower energy cost. SOLUTION: This cleaning apparatus is provided with a water tank 1, a supply pump 5 for supplying water stored in the water tank 1 and a steam generating part into which water supplied by the supply pump 5 is introduced. An insulated pipeline 13 is arranged to send steam generated by a steam generating section 6, and a nozzle 16 which is mounted at an end part of the insulated pipeline 13 to eject steam and a superheating part 14 which is provided on the insulated pipeline 13 to superheat the steam are provided to constitute the apparatus.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the cleaning of floors, rugs such as carpets and carpets, and the surface of tatami mats by spraying steam.
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an instrument for cleaning and cleaning the surface of rugs such as carpets and carpets, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-100054 has been used.
There is known a steam cleaning device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) Publication. In this steam cleaning apparatus, high-temperature steam is sprayed onto a carpet or a carpet from a nozzle tip to eliminate wrinkles and torsion of fibers and to remove dirt and stains. At the same time, this steam cleaning device eliminates harmful insects such as mites lurking inside the fiber.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned known cleaning device for blowing steam has the following problems. That is, the conventional steam cleaning device is provided with a boiler, but it takes a long time to heat the water stored in the boiler, so that the steam generated by the boiler is supplied stably. There was a problem that the time until the start of the work was long.

Another problem is that part of the steam is condensed before the steam generated by the boiler reaches the nozzle, and this condensed water drips and contaminates carpets, carpets and tatami mats. Was. To remedy the above drawbacks, it is better to superheat the steam in the boiler, but if you do so,
Since the steam pressure becomes high, various dangers due to the use of high-pressure steam such as boiler destruction are increased.
Further, to generate superheated steam, energy for superheating is required, and when the steam of the entire boiler is superheated, the energy cost increases.

[0005] Further, when high-pressure steam is generated in the boiler, the durability of individual components is reduced, and the components cannot be used for a long time. On the other hand, a pressure-resistant boiler or pressure-resistant equipment is required to withstand long-term use, but the use of a pressure-resistant boiler or pressure-resistant equipment increases the size of the entire apparatus and reduces product prices. Will be expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the drawbacks of the above-described known steam cleaning apparatus, which is quick to start up, simple to use, has low energy costs, has improved durability, and is small in size and low in power. It is in providing a steam cleaning device at a price.

[0007]

The feature of the present invention in which the above-mentioned drawbacks are improved is as follows. That is, a water tank, a feed pump that feeds water stored in the water tank, a steam generator into which the water fed by the feed pump is introduced, and a steam generator formed by the steam generator. A cleaning device using steam, comprising: a pipe for sending steam, and a nozzle attached to an end of the pipe for ejecting steam.

Another feature of the present invention is that the pipe is a heat-insulating pipe made of a heat-insulating material, and the pipe for sending the steam is provided with a heating section for heating the steam. It is in.

[0009] Still another feature of the present invention is that a water level sensor is provided in the water tank, and a signal of the water level of the water level sensor is displayed on a control unit to notify a decrease in the water level. A hand switch for controlling the amount of steam ejected from the nozzle is provided, the number of rotations of the feed pump is controlled by the hand switch, and a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the steam is provided in the steam generation unit. It is controlled to stop the operation of the feed pump by the hand switch until the detection value of the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined value, and a temperature sensor is provided in the overheating section, and the detection value detected by the temperature sensor is The electric heater of the superheater is controlled so as to generate heat when the temperature is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

Another feature of the present invention is that in a steam cleaning apparatus for sending steam produced by a steam generating section to a nozzle through a pipe and ejecting the steam from the nozzle, a superheated portion of steam is provided in the pipe. A cleaning device using steam which is provided with the steam and becomes steam which is unsaturated.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The water tank 1 is provided with a cap 2 so that the cap 2 can be opened to supply water. The water tank 1 is provided with a water level sensor 3, and a signal from the water level sensor 3 is transmitted to a water level notification unit 4 </ b> A of the control unit 4. The water level notification unit 4A displays the level of the water level, blinks a red lamp when the water level decreases, and sounds a notification buzzer.

The water in the water tank 1 is fed by a feed pump 5 to a steam generator 6. The steam generator 6 heats water with an electric heater 7 to produce steam. The feed pump 5 is rotated by an electric motor (not shown), and the amount of water supplied by the feed pump 5 is rotationally controlled by a hand switch 8 that controls the flow rate of steam. That is, the hand switch 8 controls the flow rate of the steam generated by the steam generating unit 6, and in this embodiment,
There are three levels: strong, medium and weak. The rotation speed of the feed pump 5 is controlled according to the switching of the hand switch 8 between high, medium, and low.

The steam generator 6 is provided with a pressure sensor 9 and a temperature sensor 10. The pressure sensor 9 and the temperature sensor 10 are connected to the control unit 4, respectively, and when the detected value of the temperature in the steam generating unit 6 by the temperature sensor 10 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the electric heater is controlled by electric control. 7 is turned on, and when the detected value of the temperature exceeds a predetermined value, the electric heater 7 is turned off to perform heating control. The pressure sensor 9 turns off the electric heater 7 when the pressure in the steam generator 6 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The steam generator 6 is provided with a pressure gauge 11 so that the pressure of the steam can be monitored.

The steam that has exited the steam generating section 6
It is connected to the heat insulating pipeline 13 by 2. Thermal insulation pipe 1
Numeral 3 may be a synthetic resin tube made of a material having high heat insulation performance, or a structure in which a heat insulating material is provided on the inner surface of the synthetic resin tube. The heat-insulating pipeline 13 is provided with a superheater 14, which superheats the steam by an electric heater 14A. The superheater 14 is provided with a temperature sensor 15, which communicates with the controller 4 to display the superheat temperature,
When the value detected by the temperature sensor 15 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, the electric heater 14A is turned on by electric control to perform overheating control.

A nozzle 16 is detachably attached to an end of the heat-insulating conduit 13. The nozzle 16 ejects the steam generated by the steam generating section 6, and has a shape similar to that of the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner. That is, a brush 16B is provided on the lower surface of a square or circular plate 16A, and a steam ejection hole 16C is formed substantially at the center of the plate 16A. The brush 16B has a function of sweeping the surface of a carpet or a tatami mat to remove dirt, and also has a function of fuzzing fibers of the carpet or the carpet. At the same time, when fibers of carpets and carpets are fluffed, insects such as mites lurking inside are directly sprayed with high-temperature steam and killed.

The operation of the steam cleaning apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described below.
When the water level sensor 3 determines that the water level in the water tank 1 has been lowered, the cap 2 is opened to supply water. Now, when the water level is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the feed pump 5 is operated by the hand switch 8. Then, the water in the water tank 1 is turned into the steam generator 6.
Sent to Here, until the temperature inside the steam generating section 6 becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined value by the temperature sensor 10, the control section 4 controls the feeding pump 5 so that the feeding pump 5 does not operate even if the hand switch 8 is turned on. When the temperature of the steam in the steam generator 6 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value,
The steam is sent to the superheater 14 through the adiabatic line 13,
The steam is further superheated by the superheater 14 and jetted from the nozzle 16 to start cleaning with the steam. Nozzle 1
The amount of steam escaping from 6 is strong by hand switch 8,
Medium, weak selection.

In the steam generator 6, water is heated by an electric heater 7 and converted into steam. At that time, the temperature of the steam is transmitted to the control unit 4 by the temperature sensor 10. Then, the electric heater 7 is set so that the temperature of the steam becomes a predetermined value.
Is controlled on / off.

The steam introduced into the adiabatic conduit 13 may be cooled on the way to become supersaturated steam, and such supersaturated steam may condense to form water droplets. In view of this, the supersaturated steam is superheated by the superheater 14 to be converted into unsaturated steam and ejected from the nozzle 16. The amount of overheating by the overheating section 14 is controlled by a temperature sensor 15 attached to the overheating section 14, and the overheating is stopped when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 15 exceeds a predetermined value.

In the figure, the nozzle 16 used is
Are separately prepared for carpets, carpets, tatami mats, clothes, etc., and are detachable according to the use.

In addition to the above, the present invention may have the following structure. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the water tank and the steam generating section are separately installed. However, the water tank and the steam generating section are integrated, and a conventionally known steam cleaning apparatus in which an electric heater is disposed therein is provided. Obviously, a boiler structure may be used, and only the superheated portion may be attached to a conventionally known cleaning device. In this case, since the movement of the steam is performed by the pressure, the feed pump can be omitted, and the price of the apparatus is reduced accordingly. And
According to this structure, the trouble caused by the condensation of the vapor is eliminated, and the carpet or the like is not contaminated with condensed water during use. Further, the heat-insulating pipe is not always indispensable, and an ordinary synthetic resin pipe may be used as necessary.

[0021]

According to the present invention constructed and operated as described above, the following effects can be obtained. With the structure in which the steam generating section is provided separately from the water tank, it is not necessary to heat the entire water in the boiler to generate steam as in the related art. For this reason, the operation is quickly started and the device can be used immediately, so that the handling is simplified.

In the structure provided with the heat-insulating conduit, the vapor is less likely to be condensed to form water droplets, and there is no possibility that the water droplets will drop and stain the carpet or the like.

In the structure in which the steam is heated by providing the superheated portion, the steam is less likely to be condensed to form water droplets. The energy cost for superheating is lower than that for sufficiently heating the steam in the boiler, and the electric cost during use is reduced.

Further, in the structure in which the steam is superheated in the superheating section, the durability of individual parts is improved as compared with the conventional one in which high-pressure steam is generated in a boiler, and the structure can be used for a long time. It will be endurable. Further, since a pressure-resistant device is not required, the size of the entire device is reduced, and the product price is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water tank 2 Cap 3 Water level sensor 4 Control part 4A Water level notification part 5 Feed pump 6 Steam generation part 7 Electric heater 8 Hand switch 9 Pressure sensor 10 Temperature sensor 11 Pressure gauge 12 Joint 13 Heat insulation pipe 14 Superheater 14A Electric heater 15 Temperature sensor 16 Nozzle 16A Plate 16B Brush 16C Steam vent

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A water tank, a feed pump for feeding water stored in the water tank, a steam generator to which the water fed by the feed pump is introduced, and the steam generator A cleaning device using steam, comprising: a pipe for sending steam produced by the above method; and a nozzle attached to an end of the pipe for ejecting steam. 2. A cleaning apparatus using steam according to claim 1, wherein said conduit is a heat insulating conduit made of a heat insulating material. 3. The cleaning apparatus using steam according to claim 1, wherein a heating section for heating the steam is provided in a pipe for sending the steam. 4. A water level sensor is provided in said water tank,
The cleaning device using steam according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a signal of the water level of the water level sensor is displayed on a control unit to notify a decrease in the water level. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hand switch for controlling an amount of steam ejected from the nozzle, wherein the hand switch controls the rotation speed of the feed pump. A cleaning device using the steam according to claim 1. 6. A temperature sensor for detecting a temperature and a pressure of steam is provided in a steam generating section, and a control is performed such that an operation of a feed pump by a hand switch is stopped until a detected value of the temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined value. The cleaning device using steam according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cleaning device comprises: 7. A heating device according to claim 1, wherein a temperature sensor is provided in the overheating section, and the electric heater of the overheating section is controlled to generate heat when a detection value detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value. A cleaning device using steam according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A steam cleaning apparatus for sending steam generated by a steam generating section to a nozzle through a pipe line and jetting the steam from the nozzle, wherein a superheated portion of steam is provided in the pipe line to prevent the jetted steam. A cleaning device using steam, which is characterized by becoming saturated steam.