CN116236121A - Steam generator and surface cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a steam generator applied to a surface cleaning apparatus to enable the surface cleaning apparatus to clean a surface to be cleaned by steam provided by the steam generator, comprising: a heating device and a liquid supply portion, at least part of the liquid supply portion being located within the accommodation space; wherein a liquid circulation channel is formed inside the liquid supply part, one end of the liquid circulation channel is used for receiving cleaning liquid, and the other end of the liquid circulation channel is closed; the outer peripheral surface of the part of the liquid supply part in the containing space is provided with a plurality of water inlet spray heads, the water inlet spray heads are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the liquid circulation channel, and each water inlet spray head is communicated with the liquid circulation channel, wherein the water inlet spray heads are used for spraying at least part of liquid in the liquid circulation channel to the inner wall of the containing space. The present disclosure also provides a surface cleaning apparatus.

Description

Steam generator and surface cleaning apparatus

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a steam generator and a surface cleaning apparatus.

Background

As the living standard of people is continuously improved, the requirements on household cleaning equipment are also higher and higher. The functions and performances of household cleaning devices are also continuously improved according to the market demands, for example, from a simple dust collector capable of sucking dust only to a steam floor washing machine with a suction and dragging integrated function.

The design of the steam boiler, which is a core part of a steam scrubber particularly popular in the market in recent years, has a critical influence on the cleaning performance of the steam scrubber.

Aiming at the limitation of the battery capacity of the direct-current steam floor washing machine, on the premise of meeting the continuous time of one-time use of a user, the power of the steam boiler is strictly limited, so that the power of the steam boiler cannot be very high, and the utilization rate of the heat of the steam boiler directly influences the quantity of generated steam under the condition.

The main factors affecting the heat utilization of the steam boiler include the design of the heating pipes inside the boiler and/or the treatment of scale. The design of the pipeline of the boiler on the market at present is mainly circular, and because the flow of the pump of the once-through steam scrubber is not very large, water can only contact with the upper half part of the boiler when entering the boiler, and heat cannot be fully utilized. Because of the existence of metal ions such as calcium, magnesium and the like in water, scale is formed on the inner wall of a heating pipe of a boiler when the water is heated, heat transfer is hindered, and even the heating pipe is blocked when the water is seriously heated.

Aiming at the treatment of scale, the steam floor washing machine on the market at present mainly adds some scale remover in water, but can not completely remove the scale although having a certain effect. When the service time is long, scale can be generated on the inner wall of the heating pipe of the boiler.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a steam generator and a surface cleaning apparatus.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a steam generator for use in a surface cleaning apparatus to enable the surface cleaning apparatus to clean a surface to be cleaned by steam provided by the steam generator, comprising:

a heating device, wherein an accommodating space is formed inside the heating device, and the accommodating space is provided with an inlet and an outlet; and

a liquid supply portion, at least part of which is located within the accommodation space; wherein a liquid circulation channel is formed inside the liquid supply part, one end of the liquid circulation channel is used for receiving cleaning liquid, and the other end of the liquid circulation channel is closed; the outer peripheral surface of the part of the liquid supply part in the containing space is provided with a plurality of water inlet spray heads, the water inlet spray heads are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the liquid circulation channel, and each water inlet spray head is communicated with the liquid circulation channel, wherein the water inlet spray heads are used for spraying at least part of liquid in the liquid circulation channel to the inner wall of the containing space.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the water inlet nozzle is an atomization nozzle, and the atomization nozzle is used for atomizing the liquid in the liquid circulation channel and providing the atomized liquid to the inner wall of the accommodating space.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of the water inlet nozzles are uniformly spaced apart along the extending direction of the liquid circulation channel.

In accordance with the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the water inlet nozzle includes a plurality of branched nozzles arranged at intervals along the circumference of the liquid circulation channel, and each branched nozzle is connected to the liquid circulation channel, respectively.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part is formed with at least one recess.

In accordance with the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the water inlet nozzle is located in the recess.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least a part of the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part has the spiral blades, which are located in the accommodating space, and the recess is formed by the space between the spiral blades.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the spiral blade is spirally disposed along the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least a portion of the spiral blade is in contact with an inner wall surface of the heating device.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid supply part can be driven to be rotatable with respect to the heating device.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part is formed with at least one recess, and a grinding member is disposed in at least one of the recesses, and is in frictional contact with the inner wall of the heating device when the liquid supply part rotates.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the accommodating space is formed in a tubular shape, and the rotation axis of the liquid supply part coincides with the central axis of the accommodating space.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the water inlet nozzle is not provided at and near the outlet of the heating device.

In accordance with a vapor generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid is discharged from an outlet of the heating device after being heated to generate vapor.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the heating device is connected to an outlet portion, wherein the outlet portion has a gas flow passage therein, and an outlet of the heating device communicates with the gas flow passage.

In accordance with a steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas flow passage has a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion, wherein the first portion communicates with the outlet of the heating device, and the central axes of the first portion and the second portion are no longer in line.

According to the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a first sealing member is provided between the heating device and the outlet portion.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas flow passage is provided therein with a water absorbing member.

A steam generator according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, further comprising:

and an inlet portion formed with a through hole, one end of the liquid supply portion passing through the inlet portion and being located outside the inlet portion, thereby supplying liquid to the inside of the liquid supply portion through one end of the liquid supply portion.

A steam generator according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is provided with a second sealing member between the inlet portion and the liquid supply portion.

In accordance with the steam generator of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a third sealing member is provided between the heating device and the inlet portion.

A steam generator according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, further comprising:

the liquid supply pipe is used for providing liquid, and a water seal bearing is arranged between the liquid supply pipe and the liquid supply part.

The steam generator according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises an upper case and a lower case, wherein the upper case and the lower case are both fixed to the inlet portion and the outlet portion, and a receiving space is formed between the upper case and the lower case, and the heating device is located in the receiving space.

A steam generator according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, further comprising: and the temperature controller is used for controlling the power of the heating device.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising the steam generator described above.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a steam generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of a liquid supply according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a portion a of fig. 3.

The reference numerals in the drawings specifically are:

100. steam generator

110. Heating device

120. Liquid supply part

121. Liquid flow channel

122. Water inlet spray head

123. Spiral blade

124. Recess portion

130. Entrance part

140. Driving device

150. Grinding piece

160. Outlet part

161. Gas flow channel

161A first part

161B second part

162. Water absorbing component

170. First sealing member

180. Liquid supply pipe

190. Second sealing member

200. Third sealing member

210. Upper shell

220. Lower shell

230. And a temperature controller.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure is described in further detail below with reference to the drawings and the embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant content and not limiting of the present disclosure. It should be further noted that, for convenience of description, only a portion relevant to the present disclosure is shown in the drawings.

In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. The technical aspects of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Unless otherwise indicated, the exemplary implementations/embodiments shown are to be understood as providing exemplary features of various details of some ways in which the technical concepts of the present disclosure may be practiced. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, features of the various implementations/embodiments may be additionally combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the technical concepts of the present disclosure.

The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the drawings is typically used to clarify the boundaries between adjacent components. As such, the presence or absence of cross-hatching or shading does not convey or represent any preference or requirement for a particular material, material property, dimension, proportion, commonality between illustrated components, and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc. of a component, unless indicated. In addition, in the drawings, the size and relative sizes of elements may be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. While the exemplary embodiments may be variously implemented, the specific process sequences may be performed in a different order than that described. For example, two consecutively described processes may be performed substantially simultaneously or in reverse order from that described. Moreover, like reference numerals designate like parts.

When an element is referred to as being "on" or "over", "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. However, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element, there are no intervening elements present. For this reason, the term "connected" may refer to physical connections, electrical connections, and the like, with or without intermediate components.

For descriptive purposes, the present disclosure may use spatially relative terms such as "under … …," under … …, "" under … …, "" lower, "" above … …, "" upper, "" above … …, "" higher "and" side (e.g., as in "sidewall"), etc., to describe one component's relationship to another (other) component as illustrated in the figures. In addition to the orientations depicted in the drawings, the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use, operation, and/or manufacture. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "under" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below" … … can encompass both an orientation of "above" and "below". Furthermore, the device may be otherwise positioned (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," and variations thereof, are used in the present specification, the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof is described, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof is not precluded. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms "substantially," "about," and other similar terms are used as approximation terms and not as degree terms, and as such, are used to explain the inherent deviations of measured, calculated, and/or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a steam generator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the steam generator 100 of the present disclosure can be mounted to a surface cleaning apparatus when in use, and receives a liquid supplied from a liquid storage part of the surface cleaning apparatus, generates the liquid as steam, and then outputs the steam to the outside.

Preferably, in order to reduce the energy consumed by the steam generator 100, the inside of the liquid storage part may store hot water, for example, hot water having a temperature of about 80 ℃. So that steam can be easily generated when the hot water is input to the steam generator 100 and the energy consumed by the steam generator 100 is made small. At this time, the liquid storage part should be made of a material resistant to high temperature to prevent damage of the liquid storage part.

When the surface cleaning apparatus is in an operating state, the surface to be cleaned can be steam-cleaned by the steam supplied from the steam generator 100, thereby improving the cleaning effect of the surface to be cleaned.

In the present disclosure, the steam generator 100 may include a heating device 110 and a liquid supply 120.

The heating means 110 are adapted to provide heat and thereby heat the liquid to steam. In one embodiment, the interior of the heating device 110 is formed with a receiving space having an inlet through which at least a portion of the liquid supply 120 can be inserted into the interior of the heating device 110 and thereby enabling at least a portion of the liquid supply 120 to be located within the interior of the heating device 110.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view of a liquid supply according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a portion a of fig. 3.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, at least part of the liquid supply part 120 is located in the receiving space of the heating device 110, so that the liquid is supplied to the heating device 110 through the liquid supply part 120. In one embodiment, a liquid circulation channel 121 is formed in the liquid supply part 120 along an axial direction thereof, wherein one end of the liquid circulation channel 121 is used for receiving cleaning liquid, and the other end of the liquid circulation channel 121 is closed; preferably, one end (open end) of the liquid flow channel 121 is disposed near the inlet of the heating device, and the other end (closed end) of the liquid flow channel 121 is disposed near the outlet of the heating device 110.

In this disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, a plurality of water inlet nozzles 122 are disposed on an outer peripheral surface of a portion of the liquid supply portion 120 located in the accommodating space, where the plurality of water inlet nozzles 122 are disposed at intervals along an extending direction of the liquid circulation channel 121, and each water inlet nozzle 122 is communicated with the liquid circulation channel 121, and the water inlet nozzles 122 are configured to spray at least a portion of the liquid in the liquid circulation channel 121 to an inner wall of the accommodating space, so that the liquid is fully contacted with an inner wall of the heating pipe, thereby improving steam generating efficiency.

In a preferred embodiment, the water inlet nozzle 122 is an atomizer for atomizing the liquid in the liquid circulation channel 121 and providing the atomized liquid to the inner wall of the receiving space, thereby enabling the atomized liquid to be heated more quickly by the heating device 110 and be formed in a vapor state.

More preferably, a plurality of the water inlet nozzles 122 are uniformly spaced apart along the extending direction of the liquid circulation passage.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, the water inlet nozzle 122 includes a plurality of branched nozzles arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the liquid circulation channel 121, and each branched nozzle is connected to the liquid circulation channel 121, respectively, thereby enabling more uniform atomization and dispersion of the liquid through the arrangement of the branched nozzles.

Referring back to fig. 4, more specifically, the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part 120 is formed with at least one recess 124, at least one of the recesses 124 communicates with the liquid circulation channel 121 through the water inlet nozzle 122, so that the liquid in the liquid circulation channel 121 is supplied to the inner wall surface of the heating device 110 through the water inlet nozzle 122 through the recess, in other words, the opening of the recess 124 faces the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, so that the liquid can contact with the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, whereby the heating device 110 can heat the liquid of the recess 124.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the water inlet nozzle 122 is used for atomizing the liquid in the liquid circulation channel 121 and providing the atomized liquid to the recess 124, so that the liquid can be fully contacted with the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, thereby improving the thermal efficiency of the heating device 110; as an implementation, the water inlet nozzle 122 may be formed by a through hole having a diameter set to be capable of atomizing the liquid, that is, a diameter of the through hole is set relatively small.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, at least a part of the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply part 120 has spiral blades 123, the spiral blades 123 are positioned in the receiving space, and the recess 124 is formed by the space between the spiral blades 123; that is, the recess 124 is formed in one, i.e., continuous spiral shape, at this time, so that the generated steam can be delivered to the outlet of the heating device 110 through the recess 124.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 4, the spiral blades 123 are spirally disposed along the outer circumferential surface of the liquid supply portion 120, and the space between adjacent spiral blades 123 forms the above-mentioned concave portion 124; more preferably, at least a portion of the spiral blade 123 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, for example, the outer edge end surface of the spiral blade 123 may be in contact with or closely contact with the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, scale on the inner wall surface of the heating device 110 is removed by friction of the outer edge end surface of the spiral blade 123 when the spiral blade 123 rotates, and accordingly, the opening of the recess 124 may be closed by the inner wall surface of the heating device 110, so that steam may be transferred only through the recess 124.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, the liquid supply part 120 can be driven to be rotatable with respect to the heating device 110. At this time, the receiving space may be formed in a tubular shape, and the rotation axis of the liquid supply part 120 coincides with the central axis of the receiving space.

In one embodiment, the steam generator 100 may further include: an inlet portion 130, the inlet portion 130 being formed with a through hole, one end of the liquid supply portion 120 passing through the inlet portion 130 and being located outside the inlet portion 130, so that liquid is supplied to the inside of the liquid supply portion 120 through one end of the liquid supply portion 120.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 4, the liquid supply part 120 located outside the inlet part 130 may be provided with a driven gear, and the driving device 140 is provided with a driving gear so that the driving device 140 can drive the liquid supply part 120 to rotate by engagement of the driving gear and the driven gear. In the present disclosure, the driving device 140 may be selected to be a motor, and the gear transmission structure formed by the driving gear and the driven gear may be replaced by other transmission structures, such as a pulley transmission structure or a sprocket transmission structure.

As shown in fig. 4, at least one of the concave portions 124 is provided therein with a grinding member 150, and when the liquid supply portion 120 rotates, the grinding member 150 is in frictional contact with the inner wall of the heating device 110; in a specific embodiment, the grinding member 150 may be a grinding stone, and the frictional contact is that the scale generated on the inner wall surface of the heating device 110 is ground into powder by the frictional force between the grinding stone and the heating device 110 and then removed, and discharged along with the steam, thereby improving the thermal efficiency of the heating device 110; on the other hand, the polishing member 150 can remove scale on the surface of the recess 124, so that the friction force of the recess 124 is smaller when the steam is delivered.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, the water inlet nozzle 132 is not disposed at and near the outlet of the heating device 110, so that the liquid sprayed by the water inlet nozzle 122 can have a time to be heated sufficiently to be converted into steam, and the atomized liquid can be prevented from being directly discharged without effectively forming steam, thereby improving the use effect of the steam generator 100. Wherein said proximity is understood to be a distance of the outlet end of the heating device 110, e.g. around a thirty-th of the total length of the heating device 110, at most not exceeding a tenth of the total length of the heating device 110.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, after the liquid is heated to generate steam, it is discharged from the outlet of the heating device 110.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the steam generator 100 may further include an outlet 160, the heating device 110 is connected to the outlet 160, wherein a gas circulation channel 161 is provided inside the outlet 160, and an outlet of the heating device 110 is in communication with the gas circulation channel 161, whereby, in use, the outlet 160 serves as a steam outlet of the steam generator 100.

As shown in fig. 2, the gas flow channel 161 has a first portion 161A and a second portion 161B connected to the first portion 161A, wherein the first portion 161A communicates with the outlet of the heating device 110, and the central axes of the first portion 161A and the second portion 161B are no longer in line; more preferably, the central axes of the first portion 161A and the second portion 161B are vertical or substantially vertical, so that when the steam generator is in use, the liquid supply 120 thereof is disposed horizontally, and accordingly, the first portion 161A is also disposed horizontally, and at this time, the second portion 161B may be disposed vertically upward, and at this time, the liquid discharged through the gas flow channel 161 can be reduced.

More preferably, as shown in fig. 2, the gas flow channel 161 is provided therein with a water absorbing member 162, so that the absorption of the liquid by the water absorbing member 162 reduces the liquid discharged through the gas flow channel 161, i.e., prevents hot water which is not processed into steam yet from being ejected with steam; in a preferred embodiment, the water absorbing member 162 is disposed at the junction of the first portion 161A and the second portion 161B, for example, at the end of the first portion 161A near the second portion 161B. More preferably, the water absorbing member 162 may be a high temperature resistant sponge, so that the water absorbing member 162 can be prevented from being easily damaged.

A first sealing member 170 is disposed between the heating device 110 and the outlet 160, and the first sealing member 170 enables the steam discharged through the heating device 110 to be discharged only through the outlet 160.

In one embodiment, the other end of the liquid supply part 120 (i.e., the end near the outlet of the heating device 110) may be rotatably supported to the first portion 161A by a bearing, thereby enabling the rotation of the liquid supply part 120 to be more stable.

In the present disclosure, the steam generator 100 further includes: the liquid supply pipe 180 is used for supplying liquid, wherein a water seal bearing is arranged between the liquid supply pipe 180 and the liquid supply part 120, therefore, when the liquid supply part 120 rotates, the liquid supply pipe 180 cannot rotate, and the position between the liquid supply pipe 180 and the liquid supply part 120 cannot generate the problems of liquid leakage and the like.

A second sealing member 190 is provided between the inlet portion 130 of the present disclosure and the liquid supply portion 120, and gas is prevented from flowing out of the inlet of the heating device 110 by the second sealing member 190 and is discharged to the outside through a gap between the inlet portion 130 and the liquid supply portion 120.

More preferably, a third sealing member 200 is provided between the heating device 110 and the inlet portion 130, and the gas is prevented from flowing out of the inlet of the heating device 110 by the third sealing member 200 and is discharged to the outside through a gap between the heating device 110 and the inlet portion 130.

In one embodiment, the steam generator 100 further includes an upper housing 210 and a lower housing 220, wherein the upper housing 210 and the lower housing 220 are fixed to the inlet 130 and the outlet 160, and a receiving space is formed between the upper housing 210 and the lower housing 220, and the heating device 110 is located in the receiving space.

In the present disclosure, the outer wall surface of the heating device 110 may be provided with a heat insulating layer, thereby preventing heat generated by the heating device 110 from being transferred to the upper and lower cases 210 and 220; more preferably, a gap is provided between the circumferential surface of the heating device 110 and the inner wall surfaces of the upper and lower cases 210 and 220, thereby reducing heat transferred from the heating device 110 to the upper and lower cases 210 and 220.

In one embodiment, the steam generator 100 further comprises: a temperature controller 230, wherein the temperature controller 230 is used for controlling the power of the heating device 110; in the present disclosure, the power of the heating device 110 may be adjusted according to the amount of steam generated, for example, when the amount of steam required is relatively large, the power of the heating device 110 may be increased accordingly; conversely, when the amount of steam required is relatively small, the power of the heating device 110 may be reduced accordingly.

In the present disclosure, the mist supplied from the liquid supply part 120 can be directly applied to the inner wall of the heating device 110, so that it is possible to sufficiently use the heat generated from the heating device 110, heat more water into steam, and improve the cleaning effect of the surface cleaning apparatus.

In particular, in the present disclosure, by removing the scale of the heating device 110 and the liquid supply part 120, atomizing the water and spraying the atomized water onto the inner wall of the heating device 110, and preventing the hot water which is not processed into steam from being sprayed with the steam, the heat generated by the heating device 110 can be fully utilized, so that more steam is formed by the direct steam surface cleaning device, and the cleaning effect is improved.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a surface cleaning apparatus comprising the steam generator 100 described above.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment/manner," "some embodiments/manner," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment/manner or example is included in at least one embodiment/manner or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily for the same embodiment/manner or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments/modes or examples. Furthermore, the various embodiments/modes or examples described in this specification and the features of the various embodiments/modes or examples can be combined and combined by persons skilled in the art without contradiction.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless explicitly defined otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments are merely for clarity of illustration of the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other variations or modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure, and such variations or modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (10)

1. A steam generator for use in a surface cleaning apparatus to enable the surface cleaning apparatus to clean a surface to be cleaned by steam provided by the steam generator, comprising:

a heating device, wherein an accommodating space is formed inside the heating device, and the accommodating space is provided with an inlet and an outlet; and

a liquid supply portion, at least part of which is located within the accommodation space; wherein a liquid circulation channel is formed inside the liquid supply part, one end of the liquid circulation channel is used for receiving cleaning liquid, and the other end of the liquid circulation channel is closed; the outer peripheral surface of the part of the liquid supply part in the containing space is provided with a plurality of water inlet spray heads, the water inlet spray heads are arranged at intervals along the extending direction of the liquid circulation channel, and each water inlet spray head is communicated with the liquid circulation channel, wherein the water inlet spray heads are used for spraying at least part of liquid in the liquid circulation channel to the inner wall of the containing space.

2. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the water inlet nozzle is an atomizer nozzle for atomizing the liquid in the liquid flow channel and supplying the atomized liquid to the inner wall of the accommodating space.

3. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein a plurality of said water inlet nozzles are uniformly spaced along the direction of extension of said liquid flow path.

4. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the water inlet nozzle includes a plurality of branched nozzles arranged at intervals along a circumference of the liquid circulation channel, each of the branched nozzles being connected to the liquid circulation channel, respectively.

5. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply portion is formed with at least one recess.

6. The steam generator of claim 5, wherein the water intake nozzle is located in the recess.

7. The steam generator of claim 5, wherein at least part of the outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply portion has spiral blades which are located in the accommodation space and form the recess by spaces between the spiral blades.

8. The steam generator of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the spiral vane is spirally provided along an outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply portion;

optionally, at least part of the spiral blade is in contact with an inner wall surface of the heating device;

optionally, the liquid supply can be driven to be rotatable relative to the heating device;

optionally, at least one recess is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply part, and a grinding member is arranged in at least one recess, and when the liquid supply part rotates, the grinding member is in frictional contact with the inner wall of the heating device;

optionally, the accommodating space is formed in a tubular shape, and a rotation axis of the liquid supply part coincides with a central axis of the accommodating space;

optionally, no water inlet nozzle is arranged at and near the outlet of the heating device;

optionally, after the liquid is heated to generate steam, discharging from an outlet of the heating device;

optionally, the heating device is connected to an outlet portion, wherein a gas circulation channel is formed inside the outlet portion, and an outlet of the heating device is communicated with the gas circulation channel;

optionally, the gas flow channel has a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion, wherein the first portion is in communication with the outlet of the heating device, and the central axes of the first portion and the second portion are no longer in line;

optionally, a first sealing member is provided between the heating device and the outlet portion.

9. The steam generator of any one of claims 1-8, wherein a water absorbing member is disposed within the gas flow channel;

optionally, the method further comprises:

an inlet portion formed with a through hole, one end of the liquid supply portion passing through the inlet portion and being located outside the inlet portion so as to supply liquid to the inside of the liquid supply portion through one end of the liquid supply portion;

optionally, a second sealing member is provided between the inlet portion and the liquid supply portion;

optionally, a third sealing member is provided between the heating device and the inlet portion;

optionally, the method further comprises:

a liquid supply pipe for supplying liquid, wherein a water seal bearing is arranged between the liquid supply pipe and the liquid supply part;

optionally, the heating device further comprises an upper shell and a lower shell, wherein the upper shell and the lower shell are both fixed at the inlet part and the outlet part, a containing space is formed between the upper shell and the lower shell, and the heating device is positioned in the containing space;

optionally, the method further comprises: and the temperature controller is used for controlling the power of the heating device.

10. A surface cleaning apparatus comprising a steam generator as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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