CN217066265U - Surface cleaning apparatus with steam function - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function, comprising: a base including at least a cleaning portion; a liquid reservoir for storing a cleaning liquid to be dispensed; a vapor distributor; a first fluid pathway extending at least between the liquid reservoir and the vapor distributor; a thick film heater disposed on the first fluid pathway, the thick film heater comprising a cavity and a thick film heater, a first end of the cavity being associated with the liquid reservoir and a second end of the cavity being associated with the vapor distributor; the thick film heater is adapted to heat at least a portion of the cleaning liquid within the chamber above the boiling point of the cleaning liquid to form a heated cleaning liquid vapor, and the vapor distributor is at least capable of distributing the heated cleaning liquid vapor to the surface or portion to be cleaned.

Description

Surface cleaning apparatus with steam function

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of cleaning device/cleaning system technology, and more particularly to a surface cleaning device with steam function.

Background

One development route in the cleaning equipment (including floor washers, vacuum cleaners, mops, sweeping robots, etc.) industry is the use of steam as a cleaning agent.

Steam floor washers, steam cleaners, steam mops and the like generally require a boiler to be included as a steam generator. After the cleaning liquid is heated by the boiler, the vapor is pumped, for example, to a flat plate applicator where it comes into contact with the surface being cleaned.

An advantage of the steam system is that the temperature generated can be effective in killing various microorganisms, bacteria, microorganisms and mites. However, boiler systems suffer from high power and inefficient heating, and the high power requirements for steam generation do not allow sufficient surplus power to run the vacuum motor to recover the contaminated water from the cleaned surface, so cleaning performance is further hampered.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to solve at least one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a surface cleaning apparatus having a steam function, including:

a base including at least a cleaning portion;

a liquid reservoir for holding a cleaning liquid to be dispensed;

a vapor distributor;

a first fluid pathway extending at least between the liquid reservoir and the vapor distributor;

a thick film heater disposed on said first fluid pathway, said thick film heater comprising a cavity and a thick film heating body, a first end of said cavity being associated with said liquid reservoir and a second end of said cavity being associated with said vapor distributor; the thick film heater is adapted to heat at least a portion of the cleaning liquid within the cavity above the boiling point of the cleaning liquid to form a heated cleaning liquid vapor, the vapor distributor being at least capable of distributing the heated cleaning liquid vapor to a surface to be cleaned or to the cleaning section.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the surface cleaning apparatus with steam function, the thick film heater is provided on the base.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heater is laterally disposed within the cavity structure of the base.

According to the surface cleaning device with the steam function, the thick film heating body is a tubular thick film heating body, and the inner part of the tubular thick film heating body forms a cavity of the thick film heater.

According to the surface cleaning device with the steam function, in at least one embodiment of the disclosure, a fluid guide is arranged in the thick film heating body, and a cavity of the thick film heater is formed between the inner wall of the thick film heating body and the fluid guide.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heater includes a thick film heater housing, the thick film heating body is disposed within the thick film heater housing, and the cavity of the thick film heater is formed between the thick film heating body and the thick film heater housing.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus with a steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heating body includes at least a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being located above the second portion in a vertical direction, and an electrical resistance of the first portion being greater than an electrical resistance of the second portion.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus with a steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heating body includes at least a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being located above the second portion in the vertical direction, the first portion being not provided with the thick film heating layer.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a flow rate detector is provided on the first fluid path, the flow rate detector being provided between the liquid reservoir and the thick film heater to detect a flow rate of the cleaning liquid supplied to the thick film heater.

The surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a controller that provides a control signal to the thick film heater to turn off the thick film heater or reduce heating power of the thick film heater based on at least the detection signal generated by the flow detector.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function, the thick film heater inlet end is lower than the thick film heater outlet end.

A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, further comprising: the operation part is coupled and connected with the base and is suitable for receiving operation actions of a user.

According to the surface cleaning equipment with the steam function, in the base, the gas-solid separator and a suction source are arranged, the bottom of the base is provided with a suction opening, and the suction source is suitable for generating suction airflow to suck solid dirt generated based on the cleaning work of the surface cleaning equipment into the gas-solid separator through the suction opening.

A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a liquid replenishment line via which the liquid reservoir can be replenished with cleaning liquid.

A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a liquid distributor disposed between the cleaning liquid reservoir and the cleaning portion to provide cleaning liquid to the cleaning portion.

A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a second fluid pathway extending at least between the liquid reservoir and the liquid distributor, the liquid distributor having a distributor cavity and a plurality of exit holes via which cleaning liquid within the distributor cavity can be provided to the cleaning portion.

A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a power module comprising a rechargeable battery and/or an electrical line of 220V-240V or V-130V.

The surface cleaning device with the steam function according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a charging connector provided on the base to be adapted to be connected with an external power supply.

According to the surface cleaning device with the steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom of the base is provided with the roller.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus with a steam function of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the suction port portions is plural, and the plural suction port portions are arranged along the lateral direction of the base.

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 bottom structural schematic view of a base of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematic of the structure of the base of the surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a bottom schematic view of a base of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram schematic of the structure of the base of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a thick film heater of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is one of the partial structural schematic diagrams of the thick film heater shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a second schematic view of a portion of the thick film heater shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the overall structure of a surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thick film heater of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural view of a thick film heater according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Description of the reference numerals

100 base

101 liquid storage

102 vapor distributor

103 thick film heater

104 cleaning part

105 gas-solid separator

106 suction source

107 suction port

108 liquid replenishing line

109 charging connector

110 roller

111 first fluid path

119 flow detector

200 operating part

201 handle part

1000 surface cleaning apparatus

1021 steam distribution hole

1031 thick film heating body

1032 fluid guide

1033 holding part of thick film heater

1034 thick film heater inlet end

1035 Thick film Heater Outlet

1081 interface portion.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. It should be further noted that, for the convenience of description, only the portions relevant to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict. Technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Unless otherwise indicated, the illustrated exemplary embodiments/examples 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. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, features of the various embodiments may be additionally combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the technical concept of the present disclosure.

The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the drawings is generally used to clarify the boundaries between adjacent components. As such, unless otherwise noted, the presence or absence of cross-hatching or shading does not convey or indicate any preference or requirement for a particular material, material property, size, proportion, commonality between the illustrated components and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc., of a component. Further, in the drawings, the size and relative sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. While example embodiments may be practiced differently, the specific process sequence may be performed in a different order than that described. For example, two processes described consecutively may be performed substantially simultaneously or in reverse order to that described. In addition, like reference numerals denote like parts.

When an element is referred to as being "on" or "on," "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 purposes of this disclosure, the term "connected" may refer to physically, electrically, etc., and may or may not have intermediate components.

For descriptive purposes, the present disclosure may use spatially relative terms such as "below … …," below … …, "" below … …, "" below, "" above … …, "" above, "" … …, "" higher, "and" side (e.g., "in the sidewall") to describe one component's relationship to another (other) component as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below … …" can encompass both an orientation of "above" and "below". Further, the devices 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 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 this specification, the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof are stated but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms "substantially," "about," and other similar terms are used as approximate terms and not as degree terms, and as such, are used to interpret inherent deviations in measured values, calculated values, and/or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

The surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of the present disclosure is described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 to 11.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the present disclosure includes:

a base 100, the base 100 including at least a cleaning portion 104;

a liquid reservoir 101, the liquid reservoir 101 being for storing a cleaning liquid to be dispensed;

a vapor distributor 102;

a first fluid path extending at least between the liquid reservoir 101 and the vapor distributor 102;

a thick film heater 103, the thick film heater 103 being disposed on the first fluid pathway, the thick film heater 103 comprising a cavity and a thick film heating body 1031, a first end of the cavity being associated with the liquid reservoir 101 and a second end of the cavity being associated with the vapor distributor 102; the thick film heater 103 is adapted to heat at least a portion of the cleaning liquid within the cavity above the boiling point of the cleaning liquid to form a heated cleaning liquid vapor, the vapor distributor 102 being capable of distributing the cleaning liquid vapor to a surface to be cleaned or to a cleaning section.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to the arrow direction of fig. 2 and 4, the steam distributor 102 can distribute heated cleaning liquid steam to a surface to be cleaned located in front of the cleaning part 104.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, the surface cleaning apparatus with a steam function of the present disclosure may be a mop apparatus or a vacuum cleaner apparatus, and by providing the thick film heater 103 in the surface cleaning apparatus, the surface cleaning apparatus can provide heated cleaning liquid steam, so that the cleaning capability of the surface cleaning apparatus on dirt on a surface to be cleaned is improved, and a better cleaning effect is achieved.

Referring to fig. 1 and 3, in a surface cleaning apparatus such as a mop apparatus, a vacuum cleaner apparatus, etc., a base 100 thereof may be a structure having a housing, a cleaning part 104 thereof may be a flexible cleaning part such as a sponge sheet, a short-hair cleaning blanket, etc., and the cleaning part 104 may be provided at a bottom of the base 100 by means of removable adhesion or removable snap-fit, etc., so as to be adapted to be brought into contact with a surface to be cleaned, thereby cleaning the surface to be cleaned.

On a surface cleaning apparatus such as a floor scrubber, the cleaning portion 104 may be a roller brush type cleaning portion at least partially exposed from the bottom of the base 100 adapted to make contact with a surface to be cleaned for cleaning the surface to be cleaned.

Those skilled in the art, with the benefit of the present disclosure, may adjust the arrangement of the cleaning unit 104 on the base 100, and adjust the type (e.g., rotating disc type cleaning unit) and material of the cleaning unit 104, all falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

The liquid reservoir 101 of the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the present disclosure may be a box or cartridge structure, the liquid reservoir 101 having a liquid outlet via which cleaning liquid to be dispensed stored in the liquid reservoir 101 can be provided to the first fluid line, heated cleaning liquid steam is formed via the thick film heater 103 and provided to the steam dispenser 102.

Preferably, the steam distributor 102 of the present disclosure has a steam distributor cavity and steam distribution holes 1021, and the heated cleaning liquid steam provided by the thick film heater 103 enters the steam distributor cavity and is provided to the cleaning surface in front of the cleaning part 104 through the steam distribution holes 1021.

The steam distributor 102 of the present disclosure may be an elongated box structure, and is disposed along a transverse direction of the surface cleaning apparatus (i.e., along a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the surface cleaning apparatus), the steam distribution holes 1021 may be in the form of a single row of holes or a plurality of rows of holes, and the steam distribution holes 1021 are disposed along an extending direction of the steam distributor 102. Those skilled in the art, with the benefit of the present disclosure, may make modifications to the structure of the vapor distributor 102 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Preferably, the cavity of the thick film heater 103 may be provided as a labyrinth or a tube cavity (especially in the form of a bent tube).

The cleaning liquid described in the present disclosure may be clear water, a washing liquid, or a mixture thereof, etc., and the present disclosure is not particularly limited to the components of the cleaning liquid.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heater 103 is provided on the base 100.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 1 to 4, the thick film heater 103 is disposed on the base 100, for example, may be disposed within the cavity structure of the base 100.

More preferably, the thick film heater 103 of the steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus 1000 of the present disclosure is positioned laterally within the cavity structure of the base 100.

Referring to fig. 2 and 4, according to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heater 103 is an elongated thick film heater, and the cross section of the heater is preferably circular or elliptical (circular in fig. 2 and 4), and those skilled in the art can adjust the cross section shape of the thick film heater 103 within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 5 to 7, there is shown a structure of a thick film heater 103 of a surface cleaning apparatus having a steam function according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.

The thick film heater 103 of this embodiment has a thick film heater inlet port 1034 and a thick film heater outlet port 1035, and cleaning liquid dispensed from the liquid reservoir 101 enters the cavity of the thick film heater 103 through the thick film heater inlet port 1034, is heated within the cavity by the thick film heating body 1031 to form cleaning liquid vapor, and the cleaning liquid vapor is provided to the vapor dispenser 102 through the thick film heater outlet port 1035.

Preferably, both thick film heater inlet port 1034 and thick film heater outlet port 1035 have a through hole configuration, and thick film heater inlet port 1034 and thick film heater outlet port 1035 are removably and fixedly connected to thick film heating body 1031.

With respect to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 having a steam function of each of the above embodiments, preferably, referring to fig. 5 to 7, the thick film heater 1031 is a tubular thick film heater, and the inside of the tubular thick film heater forms a cavity of the thick film heater 103.

The thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment is a tubular thick film heater, which preferably has a circular or elliptical cross section, and those skilled in the art can configure the heater into a tubular shape with a rectangular or other cross section, and the heater falls into the protection scope of the present disclosure.

In the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment, the first end and the second end of the tubular thick film heater are preferably connected to the thick film heater inlet port 1034 and the thick film heater outlet port 1035 of the thick film heater 103, respectively.

Referring to fig. 5, the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment further includes a thick film heater holding portion 1033, the thick film heater holding portion 1033 is used for holding the thick film heater 103 within the housing of the base 100, and the thick film heater holding portion 1033 of the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment may adopt the structure of the thick film heater holding portion 1033 shown in fig. 5 or a similar structure thereof, all falling within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 5, thick film heater inlet port 1034 and thick film heater outlet port 1035 are removably fixedly attached to thick film heater retaining portion 1033.

According to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steaming function of the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 7, a fluid guide 1032 is provided in the thick film heating body 1031, and a cavity of the thick film heater 103 is formed between the inner wall of the thick film heating body 1031 and the fluid guide 1032.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the fluid guide 1032 is a spiral guide, and by the spiral arrangement, the contact time of the cleaning liquid with the thick film heating body 1031 can be increased, so that the cleaning liquid is more sufficiently heated to form steam.

The thick film heater 1031 may be a thick film heater 1031 made of stainless steel or a metal, the thick film heating layer (e.g., a resistor layer) is disposed on the outer surface of the substrate via an inner insulating medium layer, and an outer insulating medium layer is disposed on the outer surface of the thick film heating layer.

It is within the scope of the present disclosure that one skilled in the art may modify the configuration of thick film heater 1031 in light of the teachings of the present disclosure.

The thick film heating body 1031 generates heat to heat the cleaning liquid to form cleaning liquid vapor when supplied with electric power.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the present disclosure, unlike the structure of the thick film heater shown in fig. 5 to 7, the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment includes a thick film heater housing (not shown) within which the thick film heater 1031 is disposed, and a cavity of the thick film heater 103 is formed between the thick film heater 1031 and the thick film heater housing.

According to the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment, the thick film heating body 1031 may be formed by using a metal pipe or a stainless steel pipe as a base body, and providing a thick film heating layer on the inner wall of the base body via an insulating layer. The outer surface of the thick film heating body 1031 is used for contact with the cleaning liquid to heat the cleaning liquid.

With the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of each of the above embodiments, it is preferable that the thick film heating body 1031 includes at least a first portion (portion above the broken line in fig. 11) and a second portion (portion below the broken line in fig. 11), the first portion being located above the second portion in the vertical direction, the first portion having a resistance greater than that of the second portion.

Referring to fig. 11, in the thick film heater 1031 of the present embodiment, the resistance value of the first portion (the upper half is taken as an example) of the thick film heater 1031 is set to be greater than the resistance value of the second portion (the lower half is taken as an example), so that the heating power of the upper half is less than that of the lower half, the temperature of the upper half rises slowly, the temperature is relatively low, and the generated heat and the consumed heat are balanced to achieve the effect of preventing dry burning in the heating process of the thick film heater 1031.

The dimensions of the first portion and the second portion may be adjusted by one skilled in the art and are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 10 (fig. 10 is a sectional view in a-a direction in fig. 11), a surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with a steam function according to still another preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, a thick film heating body 1031 thereof includes a first portion (a portion above a broken line in fig. 10) located above the second portion in a vertical direction, and a second portion (a portion below the broken line in fig. 10) where the thick film heating layer is not provided (the thick film heating layer is indicated by a black bold line in fig. 10).

The thick film heater 103 of this embodiment does not have the thick film heating layer through the first part (above half is an example) with the thick film heating body 1031, because the thick film heater 103 transversely sets up, when the less cavity that can't fill the thick film heater 103 of clean liquid flow (clean liquid can be clear water, the mixed liquid of scrubber and clear water etc.), the upper portion region of thick film heating body 1031 can not produce the heat owing to not set up the thick film heating layer to do not take place to burn futilely.

With the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 having a steam function of each of the above embodiments, it is preferable that the flow rate detector 119 is provided on the first fluid passage 111, and the flow rate detector 119 is provided between the liquid reservoir 101 and the thick film heater 103 to detect the flow rate of the cleaning liquid supplied to the thick film heater 103.

In this embodiment, by providing the flow rate detector 119 to monitor the flow rate of the cleaning liquid supplied to the thick film heater 103, the flow rate detector 119 may adopt various types of flow meters in the prior art, and all fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

For the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the above-described respective embodiments, it is preferable that a controller (not shown) is further included, the controller providing a control signal to the thick film heater 103 to turn off the thick film heater 103 or reduce the heating power of the thick film heater based on at least the detection signal generated by the flow detector 119.

Wherein the controller provides the control signal to the thick film heater 103 when the flow signal detected by the flow detector 119 is equal to or less than a preset threshold, a plurality of preset thresholds may be set, for example, the controller provides a first control signal to reduce the heating power of the thick film heater 103 when the flow signal is equal to or less than a first preset threshold, and provides a second control signal to turn off the thick film heater 103 when the flow signal is equal to or less than a second preset threshold.

In light of the technical solution of the present embodiment, those skilled in the art can adjust the threshold size, the threshold number, and the like of the flow signal of the flow detector 119, and all of them fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

The controller of the present disclosure may be a control chip or a part of a control chip, and the present disclosure does not particularly limit a specific control circuit thereof.

According to the steam-enabled surface cleaning apparatus 1000 of the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the thick film heater inlet port 1034 of the thick film heater 103 is lower than the thick film heater outlet port 1035.

With reference to fig. 11, in the thick film heater 103 of the present embodiment, by setting the height of the inlet 1034 of the thick film heater to be lower than the outlet 1035 of the thick film heater, the factor of too fast flow rate of the liquid due to gravity can be offset, so that the cleaning liquid entering the thick film heater 103 can be heated more sufficiently to generate steam, and the steam distributor 102 is prevented from outputting liquid cleaning liquid.

It will be within the scope of the present disclosure for those skilled in the art, given the benefit of this disclosure, to adjust the placement of the thick film heater inlet port 1034 and the thick film heater outlet port 1035 on the thick film heater 103.

With respect to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the above embodiments, it is preferable that the surface cleaning apparatus further comprises an operation part 200 coupled with the base 100, and the operation part 200 is adapted to receive an operation action of a user.

Fig. 8 and 9 show schematic structural views of the overall structure of two embodiments of the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the present disclosure, and each of the surface cleaning apparatuses 1000 with steam function shown in fig. 8 and 9 may be a mop apparatus or a vacuum cleaner apparatus.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, the operating part 200 of the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the present disclosure may be in the form of a rod, a handle part 201 may be formed on the operating part 200, and an operating button including, but not limited to, a thick film heater on/off button may be provided on the handle part 201 to receive an operating action of a user. When the steam-enabled surface cleaning apparatus 1000 of the present disclosure is a vacuum cleaner apparatus, the operation buttons may further include a suction source on/off button.

Referring to fig. 4, for the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the above embodiments, preferably, a gas-solid separator 105 and a suction source 106 are provided in the base 100, a suction port 107 is provided at the bottom of the base 100, and the suction source 106 is adapted to generate a suction airflow to suck solid dirt generated based on the cleaning work of the surface cleaning apparatus into the gas-solid separator 105 through the suction port 107.

Therein, the gas-solid separator 105 preferably comprises a separator cavity and a filter member, and after filtering through the filter member, the solid contaminants are stored within the separator cavity. The filter member may be a porous filter member such as a hepa or the like.

Wherein, the suction port 107 may be a plurality of suction ports or suction nozzles distributed laterally, and may have the same aperture or different apertures. The distribution dimension of the suction mouths 107 at the bottom of the base 100 is preferably the same or substantially the same as the transverse dimension of the base.

In light of the technical solution of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art can select and adjust the type, shape, etc. of the suction port 107, all of which fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 2 and 4, the steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus 1000 of the present disclosure also preferably includes a liquid make-up line 108 via which the liquid reservoir 101 can be replenished with cleaning liquid 108. Fig. 2 and 4 each show a liquid replenishment line 108, one end of the liquid replenishment line 108 being connected to the liquid reservoir 101, and the other end of the liquid replenishment line 108 being provided with an interface 1081 adapted for connection to a liquid supply (water line or base station equipment, etc.) external to the surface cleaning apparatus.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid reservoir 101 may also be provided as a detachable liquid reservoir adapted to be replenished with cleaning liquid.

With the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 having a steam function of each of the above embodiments, it is preferable to further include a liquid distributor (not shown) provided between the cleaning liquid reservoir 101 and the cleaning part 104 to supply the cleaning liquid to the cleaning part 104.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid dispenser of the present disclosure may use the fluid dispenser structure described in chinese patent CN202110924974.9 such that the fluid output unit of the fluid dispenser provides cleaning liquid to the cleaning part of the present disclosure toward the cleaning part.

For the above-described embodiment of surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam functionality, a second fluid pathway (not shown) is also included, the second fluid pathway extending at least between liquid reservoir 101 and a liquid distributor having a distributor cavity and a plurality of exit holes via which cleaning liquid within the distributor cavity can be provided to cleaning portion 104.

Taking the mop apparatus as an example of the surface cleaning apparatus, the liquid dispenser may be in the form of a cartridge, which preferably provides cleaning liquid uniformly to the cleaning portion 104, such as a short felt or sponge sheet, by providing a plurality of exit holes, so that the surface cleaning apparatus can perform wet cleaning.

The liquid distributor and the vapor distributor of the present disclosure may output liquid and vapor simultaneously, or output one of liquid and vapor, and the cleaning liquid storage 101 may be selectively communicated with the liquid distributor and/or the vapor distributor through the flow dividing assembly.

Wherein the flow diversion assembly can be a valve assembly. The valve assembly may communicate the cleaning liquid storage 101 with the liquid dispenser and/or the vapor dispenser based on the control signal of the controller described above.

For the surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of the various embodiments described above, it is preferred that it further comprises a power module comprising a rechargeable battery and/or an electrical line of 220V to 240V or V to 130V.

With respect to the surface cleaning apparatus 1000 with steam function of the above-mentioned various embodiments, preferably, referring to fig. 4, it further includes a charging connector 109, and the charging connector 109 is disposed on the base 100 to be adapted to be connected with an external power source.

Referring to fig. 2 and 4, preferably, the bottom of the base 100 is provided with rollers 110.

One or more than two rollers may be disposed on the bottom of the base 100, and the number, size, etc. of the rollers may be adjusted by those skilled in the art, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

In the description herein, reference to the description of the terms "one embodiment/mode," "some embodiments/modes," "example," "specific example" or "some examples" or the like means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment/mode or example is included in at least one embodiment/mode or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to be the same embodiment/mode 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 and features of the various embodiments/modes or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without being mutually inconsistent.

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

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing 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 may occur to those skilled in the art, based on the foregoing disclosure, and are still within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (20)

1. A surface cleaning apparatus having a steam function, comprising:

a base including at least a cleaning portion;

a liquid reservoir for holding a cleaning liquid to be dispensed;

a vapor distributor;

a first fluid pathway extending at least between the liquid reservoir and the vapor distributor; and

a thick film heater disposed on said first fluid pathway, said thick film heater comprising a cavity and a thick film heating body, a first end of said cavity being associated with said liquid reservoir and a second end of said cavity being associated with said vapor distributor; the thick film heater is adapted to heat at least a portion of the cleaning liquid within the cavity above the boiling point of the cleaning liquid to form a heated cleaning liquid vapor, the vapor distributor being at least capable of distributing the heated cleaning liquid vapor to a surface to be cleaned or to the cleaning section.

2. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thick film heater is disposed on the base.

3. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of claim 2, wherein the thick film heater is positioned laterally within the cavity structure of the base.

4. The surface cleaning apparatus with steam function of claim 1, wherein the thick film heater is a tubular thick film heater, the interior of which forms the cavity of the thick film heater.

5. The steam powered surface cleaning apparatus of claim 4, wherein a fluid guide is provided within the thick film heating body, and a cavity of the thick film heater is formed between an inner wall of the thick film heating body and the fluid guide.

6. The steam powered surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thick film heater includes a thick film heater housing, the thick film heater body being disposed within the thick film heater housing, the cavity of the thick film heater being formed between the thick film heater body and the thick film heater housing.

7. Surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the thick-film heating body comprises at least a first section and a second section, the first section being located above the second section in the vertical direction, the electrical resistance of the first section being greater than the electrical resistance of the second section.

8. Surface cleaning apparatus with steam function according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the thick film heating body comprises at least a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being located above the second portion in the vertical direction, the first portion being not provided with a thick film heating layer.

9. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a flow detector is provided on the first fluid pathway, the flow detector being provided between the liquid reservoir and the thick film heater to detect the flow of cleaning liquid provided to the thick film heater.

10. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a controller that provides a control signal to the thick film heater to turn off the thick film heater or reduce heating power of the thick film heater based at least on the detection signal generated by the flow detector.

11. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the thick film heater inlet end of the thick film heater is lower than the thick film heater outlet end.

12. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: the operation part is coupled and connected with the base and is suitable for receiving operation actions of a user.

13. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a gas-solid separator and a suction source are provided within the base, the base being provided with a suction mouth at its bottom, the suction source being adapted to generate a suction airflow to draw solid dirt generated upon cleaning of the surface cleaning apparatus into the gas-solid separator through the suction mouth.

14. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to any of claims 1-3, further comprising a liquid replenishment line via which the liquid reservoir can be replenished with cleaning liquid.

15. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 further comprising a liquid distributor disposed between the cleaning liquid reservoir and the cleaning section to provide cleaning liquid to the cleaning section.

16. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to claim 15 further comprising a second fluid pathway extending at least between the liquid reservoir and the liquid distributor, the liquid distributor having a distributor cavity and a plurality of exit holes via which cleaning liquid within the distributor cavity can be provided to the cleaning portion.

17. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a power module comprising a rechargeable battery and/or an electrical line of 220V-240V or V-130V.

18. The steam enabled surface cleaning apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a charging connector disposed on the base adapted to connect with an external power source.

19. A surface cleaning apparatus with steam functionality according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the bottom of the base is provided with rollers.

20. The steam functional surface cleaning apparatus of claim 13, wherein the number of the suction port portions is plural, and the plural suction port portions are arranged along a transverse direction of the base.

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