JP5617029B2 - Steam cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a steam cleaner having a housing, in which a liquid tank is releasably held on the housing, and a steam boiler that can be electrically heated in the housing is adapted to apply steam to a surface to be cleaned. The invention relates to a steam scrubber arranged to generate.

  Such steam cleaners are used to clean a variety of surfaces, particularly hard surfaces. These steam cleaners include a liquid tank in which cleaning liquid can be stored. The liquid tank is releasably held on the housing so that it can be separated from the housing for filling purposes. The filled liquid tank can be secured to the housing again. The liquid tank is in flow connection with an electrically heatable steam boiler that is disposed within the housing and capable of evaporating the liquid. The generated steam can be applied to the surface to be cleaned, particularly the floor surface.

  A steam scrubber of the type mentioned at the outset is known from DE 10 2004 052 198 B4.

DE 10 2004 052 198 B4

  The object of the present invention is to develop a steam cleaner of the kind mentioned at the outset so that the liquid tank can be secured to the housing and released from the housing in a simple manner.

  This object is achieved according to the invention in a steam cleaner of the kind mentioned at the outset, in which the housing comprises a guide part in which the liquid tank is displaceably held, the guide part and the liquid tank being positive with respect to each other. It is accomplished in that it can be connected in a locking manner.

  In the steam scrubber according to the invention, the liquid tank can be displaced along a guiding part in order to establish a positive lock connection between the housing and the liquid tank. This facilitates securing the liquid tank to the housing and also facilitates releasing the liquid tank from the housing. The positive lock connection ensures that the liquid tank cannot be inadvertently removed from the housing. The positive lock connection also allows a high mechanical stability.

  It is advantageous if the liquid tank engages in the form of a U or C around the guide part.

  The guide piece may be configured in a guide profile manner in which the liquid tank is at least partially engaged circumferentially.

  The guide piece is preferably oriented perpendicular to the support surface of the steam cleaner. The support surface of the steam cleaner is usually formed by a horizontal floor surface. In this case, the guide part preferably extends in the vertical direction.

  In an advantageous embodiment of the steam scrubber according to the invention, the housing comprises a container into which the liquid tank can be inserted, and the guide part to which the liquid tank snuggles in a positive-lock manner projects into the container. ing.

  The container is preferably arranged on the front side of the housing. This facilitates handling of the steam cleaner.

In an advantageous embodiment, a connection for a steam supply line is arranged on the front side of the housing. The steam supply line can be, for example, in the form of a steam supply hose, which can be connected to the housing in the front region and is a steam supply nozzle for applying steam to the surface to be cleaned. Can be carried on its free end.

  The liquid tank includes a central tank region adjacent to the first and second side tank regions that are spaced apart from each other, and the first and second side tank regions are the first and second side tanks. It is advantageous if the guide parts are received between the regions and are connected to each other by a tank gripping part that the user can grip from behind. The user can easily hold the liquid tank by the tank holding portion. The tank gripping part forms a kind of bridge that can connect the side tank regions of the liquid tank to each other in a spaced relationship with respect to the central tank region. In order to remove the tank from the housing, the user can grip the tank grip from behind.

  Advantageously, the liquid tank includes a cover wall that forms the tank grip. The cover wall protrudes laterally beyond the peripheral wall or side wall of the liquid tank, and the tank gripping portion that can be gripped from the rear by the user can be formed in the protruding region.

  It is particularly advantageous if an actuating and / or display element that is circumferentially surrounded by a cover wall of the liquid tank is arranged on the guide part. In such a configuration, the cover wall has a recess in which the operation of the steam cleaner and / or the display element is arranged.

  The actuating and / or display element can protrude from the cover wall and is thus directly accessible to the user. Thereby, the actuating and / or display elements are easily recognized by the user. This facilitates handling of the steam cleaner. Furthermore, the actuating and / or indicating element is protected against mechanical damage from the side by the cover wall surrounding the actuating and / or indicating element.

  It is particularly advantageous if the actuating and / or indicating element comprises a concave recess adjacent to the notch in the housing and covered by the tank grip of the liquid tank. The concave recess makes it easier to grip the tank gripping part covering the recess from behind. In that case, an indentation extending on the side beyond the area of the tank gripping part is adjacent to the concave depression in the housing, and the user can use one finger from the side to the concave depression. Can be reached.

  It can be realized that the cover wall surrounds the push button. The push button can form an operating element of the steam cleaner. For example, the steam cleaner can be turned on and off by the push button.

  In an advantageous configuration of the invention, a particularly compact design is achieved by the electrical switch with which the push button interacts being arranged in the guide part. In such a configuration, the guide component forms a receiving space in which the electric switch is disposed. The push button is arranged above the receiving space, and the push button is surrounded by the cover wall of the liquid tank and interacts with the electrical switch via, for example, a switch plunger.

  It is particularly advantageous if at least one display panel is integrated in the push button. The display panel is configured in the manner of a lit display. This display panel can be connected to the control electronics of the steam cleaner via at least one optical waveguide, for example to indicate to the user the operating status of the steam cleaner. In particular, the display panel of the push button can indicate the operating status of the steam boiler and / or whether the filling level of the liquid tank has fallen below a minimum value. If the filling level in the liquid tank falls below a minimum value, this can then be shown to the user on the display panel so that the user can refill the liquid tank with liquid.

  In a particularly preferred configuration, the control electronics of the steam cleaner is arranged in the guide component. As explained above, the guide part of the housing can form a receiving space. The control electronics of the steam cleaner is preferably arranged in this receiving space. This gives the steam cleaner a particularly compact design.

  Alternatively or additionally, it can be realized that a filling level sensor assembly interacting with a filling level sensor arranged in the liquid tank is arranged in the guiding part of the housing. The filling level of the liquid tank can be monitored by the filling level sensor assembly. When the filling level is below the lower limit, this can be indicated to the user as an indication that the liquid tank should be filled with liquid.

  The filling level sensor assembly arranged in the guide part and the filling level sensor arranged in the liquid tank preferably interact in a non-contact manner. For example, the fill level sensor may include a permanent magnet that interacts with a magnetic field sensitive sensing element of the fill level sensor assembly. The sensing element can be configured, for example, in the form of a reed switch.

  The filling level sensor is preferably configured as a float whose position in the liquid tank depends on the filling level of the liquid tank.

  The fill level sensor assembly preferably includes a switch element that is switchable depending on the position of the float. The switch element can be configured, for example, in the form of a reed switch. The switch element is advantageously coupled to a display element or display panel arranged on the guide part.

  It is particularly advantageous if the filling level sensor assembly is arranged with the control electronics of the steam cleaner on a circuit board positioned in the guide part.

  As mentioned at the outset, the liquid tank can be released from the housing for filling. The liquid tank has a tank opening for filling purposes. Advantageously, the tank opening can be closed by a tank cover in the closed position and releasable to fill the liquid tank in the release position.

  Instead of separating the liquid tank from the housing for filling purposes, the user can also fill the liquid tank on the housing by moving the tank cover to its open position. In this connection, it is particularly advantageous if the tank cover forms a splash or splash shield in its open position to prevent electrical components of the steam cleaner from coming into contact with the liquid.

  For example, it can be realized that the tank cover in the release position is arranged between an actuating and / or indicating element arranged on the guide part and the tank opening. In this position, the tank cover forms a kind of intermediate wall that reduces the risk of liquid reaching the actuation and / or display elements when filling the liquid tank disposed on the housing. Can do.

  In a structurally simple construction, the tank cover is pivotally held on the tank opening. The tank cover can then pivot back and forth between a closed position covering the tank opening and a release position releasing the tank opening. The tank cover protrudes substantially vertically upward from the tank opening in its release position, so that a splash or splash shield can be formed in a simple manner.

  For a more detailed description, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below in conjunction with the drawings.

The perspective view of the steam cleaner provided with the liquid tank by which the tank cover is closed. The partial perspective view in which the tank cover of the liquid tank of the steam cleaner of FIG. 1 opened. The partial perspective view at the time of releasing a liquid tank from the housing | casing of a steam cleaner of the steam cleaner of FIG. 1 shown diagonally from back. FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the steam cleaner of FIG. FIG. 2 is a horizontal partial cross-sectional view of the steam cleaner of FIG. 1 in a liquid tank region. FIG. 2 is a vertical partial cross-sectional view of the steam cleaner of FIG. 1 in a liquid tank region.

  The figure illustrates a portable steam scrubber, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, with a housing 12 forming a transport handle 16 on its upper side 14. On the front side 18 of the housing 12, a closing flap 20 covering the hose connection 22 when in its closed position shown in the drawing is pivotally held. The closure flap 20 can be pivoted to a release position where the hose connection 22 is accessible to the user so that the user can connect the steam supply hose to the hose connection 22. Such steam supply hoses are known and are therefore not shown in the drawings. The steam supply hose can carry a steam supply nozzle, in particular a floor nozzle, in its usual manner at its free end directed away from the steam cleaner 10.

  Above the closure flap 20, a liquid tank 24 is removably held on the housing 12. The liquid tank 24 can be filled with a cleaning liquid, preferably water. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the liquid can be led from the liquid tank 24 to the electrically heatable steam boiler 28 surrounded by the housing 12 via the connection line 26. For this purpose, a pump 30 is connected in the connection line 26. The liquid sent into the steam boiler 28 by the pump 30 can be evaporated in the steam boiler 28 and guided to the hose connection portion 22 via the solenoid valve 32 and the outlet line 34. Then, a steam supply hose can be connected to the hose connection portion 22 to apply steam to the surface to be cleaned.

The housing 12 forms a container 36 into which the liquid tank 24 can be inserted above the closing flap 20. Container 36 includes a rear wall 38 and a bottom wall 40. The bottom wall 40 is stepped in its central region. This is particularly apparent from FIG.

A U-shaped guide part 42 of the housing 12 protrudes from the rear wall 38, and the guide part 42 is integrally connected to the rear wall 38 of the container 36 through the first guide side wall 46 and the second guide side wall 48. A concave guide front wall 44.

  The two guide side walls 46 and 48 enter the integrally formed guide hood 50 together with the front guide wall 44 on its upper side, which is directed away from the bottom wall 40. The guide hood 50 is tapered in a stepped manner in a direction directed away from the bottom wall 40 and has a central through opening 52.

  The guide component 42 has a control electronics 56 and a fill level sensor assembly 58 between the two guide side walls 46 and 48 on the side of the guide front wall 44 that faces away from the liquid tank 24. A receiving space 54 disposed on the circuit board 60 is defined. An electrical switch 62, which is connected to the control electronics 56 and by which the steam cleaner 10 can be switched on and off, is arranged inside the guide hood 50.

  The electrical switch 62 can be operated by an operating element in the form of a push button 64 that engages on the guide hood 50 and is coupled to the electrical switch 62 via a switch plunger 66. The switch plunger 66 is surrounded by a reset coil spring 68 that acts on the push button 64 with a return force directed away from the electrical switch 62.

  The push button 64 is adjacent to the rear side thereof facing away from the liquid tank 24 in the direction in which the notch 72 formed in the region of the transport handle 16 within the housing 12 is directed away from the front side 18. It has a concave recess 70.

The liquid tank 24 can be inserted into the container 36 of the housing 12. The liquid tank has a central tank region 74 disposed above the closure flap 20 and adjacent to the first side tank region 76 and the second side tank region 78. As can be seen from FIG. 5, this gives the liquid tank 24 a generally U-shaped or C-shaped configuration in a horizontal section, in which the liquid tank surrounds the guide part 42 in a positive-locking manner. Engage with. The rear tank wall 80 of the central tank region 74 has a convex configuration and nestle in a surface-surface contact with the concave guide front wall 44 of the guide part 42. The first side tank wall 82 of the first side tank region 76 clings to the first guide side wall 46 in surface-surface contact, and the second side tank wall 84 of the second side tank region 78 is guided by the guide component 42. Nestle to the second guide side wall 48 by surface-to-surface contact. Adjacent to the side tank walls 82 and 84 is a tank peripheral wall 86 that rests against the rear wall 38 of the container 36 in a positive locking manner to form the outer wall of the liquid tank 24.

The liquid tank 24 is partitioned by a cover wall 88 on the upper side thereof. The cover wall 88 has a tank opening 90 in front of the push button 64 that can be closed by a tank cover 92 pivotally mounted on the cover wall 88 in the central tank region 74. The tank cover 92 has a closed position for closing the tank opening 90 shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6, and a substantially vertically oriented tank opening 90 and push button 64 shown in FIG. Can be pivoted back and forth between the release positions located between the two.

  The cover wall 88 surrounds the push button 64 in the circumferential direction. For this purpose, the cover wall forms a tank grip 94 on the rear side of the push button 64 facing away from the tank cover 92. The tank gripping portion 94 integrally connects the free end regions of the side tank regions 76 and 78 directed away from the central tank region 74 and covers the concave depression 70 of the push button 64. The user can reach the area between the tank gripping portion 94 and the concave recess 70 via the notch 72 in the housing 12, thereby gripping the tank gripping portion 94 from the rear.

  A fill level sensor in the form of a float 96 with a permanent magnet, which is known per se and is not shown in the drawings, is therefore arranged at the lowest point in the liquid tank 24 in the central tank region 74. The float 96 slides along the rear tank wall 80 according to the filling level of the liquid tank 24. The float 96 interacts with the reed switch 98 of the fill level sensor assembly 58 in a non-contact manner. The reed switch is arranged in the receiving space 54 of the guide component 42 on the rear side of the guide front wall 44 that is directed away from the liquid tank 24.

  The push button 64 has three display panels 100, 102, and 104 arranged adjacent to each other. The first display panel 100 indicates to the user when the heating of the steam boiler 28 is in operation. The second display panel 102 indicates whether the steam scrubber 10 is switched on or off, and the third display panel 104 is lit when the float 96 is below the lower filling level. This indicates to the user that the liquid tank 24 should be filled.

For filling purposes, the user can remove the liquid tank 24 from the container 36. To do so, the user grips the tank grip 94 from the rear and then pushes the liquid tank 42 vertically along the guide component 24 until the liquid tank 42 releases the guide component 42 of the housing 12. Can do. The liquid tank 24 can then be removed from the housing 12 via the tank opening 90 and filled with liquid, preferably water. The filled liquid tank can then be placed again on the guide part 42 and pushed down vertically along the guide part 42 until the liquid tank 24 is seated on the bottom wall 40 of the container 36.

  Rather than removing the liquid tank 24 from the housing 12, the user can fill the liquid tank 24 while the liquid tank 24 maintains its position within the container 36 of the housing 12. To do so, the user can pivot the tank cover 92 to its release position. As particularly apparent from FIG. 2, when the tank cover 92 is in this position, the liquid accidentally reaches the push button 64 when filling the liquid tank 24, and the guide cover 42 of the guide part 42 is Splashes and splash shields are formed to prevent entry into the receiving space 54.

  The liquid tank 24 can rest against both the rear wall 38 of the container 36 and the guide part 42 in a positive locking manner and can be displaced vertically along the guide part 42. The liquid tank 24 is generally U-shaped in horizontal cross section, which facilitates handling of the steam cleaner 10 when releasing the liquid tank 24. Furthermore, the U-shaped liquid tank 24 is combined with a cover wall 88 that surrounds the push button 64 in the circumferential direction, thereby enabling a compact design of the steam cleaner 10. The tank grip 94 of the liquid tank 24 covers the concave recess 70 of the push button 64 and can be easily gripped from the rear by the user. By integrating the display panels 100, 102, and 104 into the push button 64, the space requirements of the steam cleaner 10 are further reduced. A tank opening 90 is disposed in front of the push button 64. The tank opening 90 can be closed by a tank cover 92. When the tank cover 92 is in its released position, the electrical components disposed in the receiving space 54 of the guide component 42, i.e., the control electronics 56 and the fill level sensor assembly 58, are splashed or splashed to prevent contact with liquid. Form a shield.

Claims (17)

A steam cleaner having a housing (12), wherein a liquid tank (24) is releasably held on the housing (12) and is electrically heated in the housing (12) (28). In a steam cleaner, which is arranged to generate steam applicable to the surface to be cleaned,
Wherein comprises a housing (12) has guide elements (42), the liquid tank on the guide elements (42) (24) is displaceably held in a vertical direction along said guide piece (42), the guide The part (42) and the liquid tank (24) can be connected in a manner that is conformally locked to each other; and
An operating element (64, 100, 102) for operating an electrical switch (62) for switching the steam cleaner on and off, which is at least partly circumferentially surrounded by a cover wall (88) of the liquid tank (24). 104) is arranged on the guide part (42),
A steam cleaner characterized by.   The steam cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that the liquid tank (24) is engaged around the guide part (42) in a U-shape or C-shape. .   The steam cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing (12) includes a container (36) into which the liquid tank (24) can be inserted, and the guide component (42) is the container ( 36) A steam cleaner characterized by protruding into the interior.   Steam cleaner according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the liquid tank (24) is adjacent to the first and second side tank regions (76, 78) spaced apart from each other. Including a region (74), wherein the first and second side tank regions (76, 78) receive the guide component (42) between the first and second side tank regions, and a user A steam scrubber characterized by being connected to each other by a tank gripping part (94) that can be gripped from the rear.   5. The steam cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the liquid tank (24) includes a cover wall (88) that forms the tank grip (94). A steam cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the operating element (64, 100, 102, 104) is adjacent to an indentation (72) in the housing (12). Vapor scrubber characterized by having a concave recess (70) covered by a tank grip (94). Steam cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the operating element (64, 100, 102, 104) is in the form of a push button (64). vessel.   8. A steam cleaner as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the push button (64) interacts with an electrical switch (62) arranged in the guide part (42). .   The steam cleaner according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that at least one display panel (100, 102, 104) is integrated into the push button (64).   10. Steam cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control electronics (56) of the steam cleaner (10) are arranged in the guide part (42). A steam cleaner.   A steam scrubber according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a fill level sensor assembly (58) interacting with a fill level sensor (96) disposed in the liquid tank (24). The steam cleaner is arranged in the guide part (42).   12. The steam cleaner according to claim 11, wherein the filling level sensor is configured as a float (96), and the position of the float (96) in the liquid tank (24) is the liquid tank (24). A steam scrubber characterized by being dependent on the filling level. 13. Steam cleaner according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the filling level sensor assembly (58) should be filled with liquid in the liquid tank (24) depending on the position of the filling level sensor. And a switch element (98) for switching on and off the instruction .   A steam cleaner according to claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the filling level sensor assembly (58) is placed on the circuit board (60) positioned in the guide component (42). Steam cleaner, characterized in that it is arranged with the control electronics (56) of the vessel (10).   15. A steam cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the liquid tank (24) can be closed by a tank cover (92) in the closed position and the liquid tank (24) in the open position. A tank opening (90), which is releasable to fill the tank cover (92) in its open position to prevent the steam cleaner electrical components from coming into contact with liquid Or a steam cleaner characterized by forming a splash shield. 16. The steam cleaner according to claim 15, wherein an operating element (64, 100, 102, 104) for operating an electrical switch (62) for switching on and off the steam cleaner is provided on the guide component (42). Steam cleaning, characterized in that the tank cover (92) arranged in the open position occupies a position between the operating element (64, 100, 102, 104) and the tank opening (90) vessel.   17. A steam cleaner as claimed in claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the tank cover (92) is pivotably held on the tank opening (90).

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